OLW #75: DO

Word Up at OLW this month is "Do".  And, to go with the theme, I decided to participate by just DOing the first thing that came to mind.

The Force was with me.  I thought of Yoda and his famous wisdom:

I stuck him into my art journal, and then scattered a few glow-in-the-dark stars across the page with the intention of misting over them, but I got a little scared of the reactivity with previous layers of color and water-reactive media that were already on the page.  This was a "Do Not" appropriate crossroad.

I love how the layers built up and that alphabet stamp. :)    

Instead, I pounced some acrylic paints atop the stars with a baby wipe, then used a white pen to better define their shapes.  

So, while this is sage advice from the great Jedi Master, as far as quotes go it can't rival my favorite from Bart Simpson:

"I can't promise I'll try, but I'll try to try…"

How's that for commitment? 

I'm off to make a Might Do list for today.  Lol!

And you?  For one, I'd head over to One Little Word and check out the awesome inspiration put forth and then join in on the fun!

Wishing you a wonderful and PRODUCTIVE Monday! 

No Worries

Today I'd like to share a couple projects I made inspired by another canvas-making technique from Alma Stoller's Mixed Media class.

I made these little shadow boxes from the lid of an ink pad, and added a soda can tab to the back for hanging.

I have a bunch of Worry Dolls in my stash left over from this project.  I was thinking about how far Jeremy has come in the past few years and how I don't worry about him or his future the way I did when he was younger.  So, what do worry dolls do if they are not given worries?  They chill out and relax!

The swing is made from a cardboard coffee cup cozy.
They look a little frightened, don't they?  Lol!  

This one I made for a friend's baby shower this past weekend.  I stitched up a "Mother's Work" heart pillow, too, to give her a place to hand over any worries--big or small--that come with being a mom.

I think I will make a little series of these scenes--worry dolls on vacation or something. :)  I am obsessing over putting a couple into a little canoe!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you a worry-free day!

Queen Bee

I'm taking an online mixed media class by Alma Stoller, and having so much fun!  I think it is just what I needed to get the ol' noggin jump started with some fresh ideas.

Alma's voice is soothing, the music that leads into each video lesson is lovely, and the techniques and materials she teaches with are resourceful, often recycled, and innovative.  She really speaks to my true heart.

She presents many ideas for making "canvases", surfaces to art on, and the first one I needed to try was making a stitched surface from magazine pages.

I gessoed over the page to prime the surface, then used a brayer to apply some green and yellow paint.  I had this song, "Honeybee" by Steam Powered Giraffe stuck in my head for a few days, and stumped over what to do next, decided to scribe the lyrics onto the background.   This lead to me looking for an image of a bee on the internet to collage on top.  I added some spray ink and gesso'd stenciling; meanwhile, those Googled links had me thinking about the plight of the honeybee and it's impact on the ecosystem.  "God Save the Queen," I thought, (queen, as in queen bee).

I stamped with StazOn ink on some scraps of canvas and stitched them to the piece.  The crown was freehand cut from a cardboard coffee sleeve and spritzed with Heidi Swapp's gold lame Color Shine (I love that stuff!)

I love the way this turned out!  It is the first thing I've made in a long time that I've felt a strong love for and had to find a place to hang up in the house. :) 

I'm looking forward to exploring more techniques in Alma's class!  

Thanks for having a look!