Monday, March 30, 2015

Life Book Lesson 13

It's time for another Life Book project!  And this one is by far one of my favorites!!  The lesson was taught by Juliette Crane.  I have a feeling that she's going to quickly become another one of my favorite mixed media artists.  Her work is all flowy and free form and she has a way to making drawing very accessible to those of us who are "drawing challenged."  For example, all of her animal drawings start out the exact same way...a circle and a rectangle.  Yeah, I think I can get behind those directions!

The other thing I loved about her work was how much she painted with her hands.  Finger painting is for me!  I'm will absolutely never be a fine artist...I simply don't have those natural talents nor the time to develop them, but give me some paint and no real rules?  Now that makes me happy!

This painting started with a background that I randomly covered with four different colors of paint.  (I used Dina Wakley's paint...love 'em!)  I then used the same four colors and started adding more paint with my finger tips...I just globbed and smooshed paint all over (oh, and I did add a bit of tissue paper first).  Then I added some darker blue around the edges, a touch of white, and the yellow for the moon.
The owl and branch was drawn with a Stabilo pencil and then I added paint (using my fingers and a palette knife).  I did need to go over the lines of my drawing a few more times and then I would activate the pencil with a water brush.  Just check out all of that gorgeous texture on the owl...it's dreamy!  I added a tiny bit of text stamping and then hand stamped by verse.  Unlike last week's lesson, which took me almost two weeks to complete, this project was finished in one evening.  I may go back and add a few more details (I'm always afraid of doing too much so I need to "sit" with this for a few days), but I just loved Juliette's style and I am definitely going to create more whimsical creatures...I can hardly wait!
 

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Love You Scrapbook Page

Today, I'm sharing another project from the "I can't believe I scrapbooked" series! (Seriously, I probably won't scrapbook for another five years! LOL!)  And can you believe this photo?  It's from my honeymoon...16 years ago!  Check out that hair...oh yeah, baby...

My hubby and I got married just five months after our first date (it was love at second sight), and not wanting to wait to save the cash for a big wedding, we ran off to Monterey, CA with only my brother and sister-in-law in tow!  (We also had some good friends fly out to attend the wedding)  Our sweet wedding was followed by two weeks in northern CA...it was a blast!  This picture was from the end of our stay...exploring around the Golden Gate bridge.
I love chipboard pieces and little banners...
 Me and my hubby in all of our youngness....sigh...it goes by too fast!

It only took me 16 years to scrapbook one photo from our honeymoon...I wonder what's next on the list... 
 

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Life Book...Hard Lessons

My next Life Book project...the lesson that took me over two weeks to complete.   This baby was hard work...so much so that I almost gave up.  (Notice my quote...)

The lesson was from the super talented Jane Davenport.  I adore her work, love her faces...oh, her eyes are divine, but I could not...for the life of me...seem to draw anything even remotely close to a "Jane" face.  I even tried to trace...for a bit of practice and it was a disaster.  It was if I had never drawn a face before!  UGH!  Frustrating!  I think that I tried five or six times before I decided to give up and try something completely different.

I'm in the middle of reading Pam Carriker's book on face drawing and I opted to follow one of her lessons for drawing my face.  Ahhhh...it was just what I needed...to completely change direction.

This project started with collage.  I added pieces of designer paper and vintage text paper to a 9"x14" piece of cold press watercolor paper.
Next, my face was actually drawn on a separate piece of watercolor paper and colored with a combination of gelatos and watercolor pencils (following Pam's tutorial, which was super helpful on shading)  Once the face was completed, it was cut out and attached to the collaged page.
(You can see my failed drawing attempts over on the left hand side...sigh...)  Once my face was attached, I hand drew the neck and shoulders.  Then...this is the really fun part...I applied gesso to the entire background, with the exception of the face, neck, shoulders, and hair.  Loved this part of the project!
  Gesso also does much to cover up all mistakes (I love gesso...)!  I used more gelatos and paper to color the neck, add shading, and give her some clothes. (Isn't the hair totally fun!)  The entire piece was lightly outlined with a Stabilo pencil for shading.  I added some lines to her hair and a whole bunch of butterflies to her head...fab headband!  I also added a tiny bit of stenciling around the entire page. And then...my sentiment on perseverance was stamped with individual letter stamps.   So happy to have this project finished!
 And guess what I did after I finished?  Bought Jane Davenport's book...yup...I'm going to learn how to draw her eyes if it's the last thing I do with art! LOL!  Here's to persevering!!
 
 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Sweet 'n Sassy Release Party - March 2015


Hello, sweet friends!  Welcome to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps March 2015 Release Day Blog Hop & Challenge!  The days are getting longer, the weather is changing, and Spring is on the way!  Who doesn't love watching for the first signs of spring after a cold and snowy winter?  Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will help set the stage for Spring with three new Mini Flower Block stamp sets ...AND for you animal lovers out there…two new stamp sets featuring our favorite canines and felines!  So get prepared to be inspired by the projects created for you by the talented Design Divas! 

Introducing our March 2015 Release

Mini Flower Blocks 1 Clear Stamp Set: $11
 Mini Flower Blocks 2 Clear stamp Set: $11
 Mini Flower Blocks 3 Clear Stamp Set: $11
-Stamp set includes four images
-Stamp set measures 4" x 4"
-Each flower block measures approximately 1 7/8" x 1 7/8"
-Designed by Korin Sutherland

-Stamp set includes 13 images and 12 sentiments
-Stamp set measures 6" x 8"
-Begging Golden image measures approximately 2" x 1 1/2"
-Designed by Korin Sutherland



- Stamp set includes 12 images and 16 sentiments
-Stamp set measures 6" x 8"
-Fluffy Kitty image measures approximately 1 3/4" x 1 1/2"
-Designed by Korin Sutherland
 ********************************************************************
  That's not all…the new items released for the March Sweet Perks Bundles are now available separately at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store.  Click over to the SNSS store or to the blog to read more about the additional sets and dies!

Release Giveaway!
What would a release be without a giveaway, right?  Well, here are the details of this month's release prize. One random commenter from one of the DT blogs will be selected to win a $10 Gift Code to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  You have until Thursday, March 19th at midnight EST to leave your comments.  The winner will be posted on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog on Friday, March 20th!

Last but not least...
We can't forget our fun Release Day Challenge!

"Love Your Pet"  
(Include a pet on your card or project) 

Just a few guidelines to remember as you play:
- You don't have to use a Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps image to enter (although we sure love when you do!)
- Please create a NEW card (no back linking)
We ask that you enter your card in no more than 3 challenges
 - You'll have until Thursday, March 19th at midnight EST to enter
- We'll draw 1 winner from this week's challenge to receive a $10 credit to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!  
If there are 25 participants, (not including the DT), we'll draw 2 winners!
- Please use code SNSMARCH2015RC when uploading to Splitcoaststampers or other galleries 
To enter simply share a link to your creation below!

Thanks for joining us today!  Be sure to join us again on Friday, March 20th to see if you've won!

 Now it's time to see what the DT has created with these fabulous products! The DT blog links can be found in the Linky Tool below...HAPPY HOPPING & SHOPPING!