Favorite New Art Toys

Did I mention that I have been interested in papercutting?  I bought myself some essential new art toys to use for cutting paper better:  A self-healing mat and new x-acto blades for precise cuts!

The self-healing mat is amazing!  A recommend one for anyone who uses an x-acto knife!

I have been playing around with my new toys and here is a project that I am currently working on:

Nothing is glued down yet...I am still trying to figure out where I want to place my designs.  I am in LOVE right now with the combination of white and Paynes gray.   It is so winter-like:) 

Well I am off to paint some more white paper (sounds kind of weird but yes even my white paper is painted!)  I am trying to get everything done soon because I have a feeling the little one MIGHT make an appearance this weekend...fingers crossed!

Have a lovely day:)

Handmade Christmas Presents

Hello!  I just wanted to post my newest artwork that I made for my best friend's twin boys!  They are about 8 weeks old and as precious as can be!  They are half Kenyan so I wanted to incorporate some of their African heritage into this artwork:

This is how I started the artwork.  I hand- painted all of my papers and my canvas and then began to cut out my shapes and patterns.  

Here is my end result:

 "Harambee" is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events and literally in Swahili means "all pull together." It is the official motto of Kenya and is also located on their coat of arms.

I am going to give this to my friend today and hope she likes it!  She doesn't have time to go online anymore so I know she won't see this blogpost:)

I am STILL waiting for this little lady to come!  It is almost hilarious all of the things I am trying to do to get her to come.  I ate almost a can of pineapple yesterday, a really spicy pepper, Mexican food, tons of raspberry tea and I have been walking on the treadmill everyday!  Any other suggestions to get this little lady to come?!  Well have a great day!  I will post soon:)

More White!

I am thinking of doing a whole series with mostly white cutouts and a bit of color...what do you think?  I am also really into learning more about the process of paper cutting.   I have found some awesome pictures here for inspiration!  I am going to tweak this process to fit my own style somehow...we shall see how that goes.

The snow finally has stopped for now here in Ohio but it is bitterly cold out!  All I want to do is snuggle under the covers with a book or watch a movie!  What do you do to stay warm during the winter?

Winter Trees

I am kind of obsessed with this white and gold paper I made a while ago and have been using it for almost everything.  I love the simplicity of white and the cleanliness of it.  Anytime I go to an estate or garage sale and purchase furniture I always paint it white...it just goes with everything!

I am STILL waiting for the little one to make her appearance.  You will know when she comes because I might not post for a couple of days!  Meanwhile I am going to continue making art while I am not so busy and the husband and I are trying to stay warm in Ohio by making cheese dip and watching Christmas movies!  Weird combination...yes but fun:)  Hope you have a lovely Monday!

Momma and Baby Bird

Last night while watching It's a Wonderful Life (one of my favorite holiday classics!), I created this little artwork called Momma and Baby Bird.  I am currently waiting (ever so patiently) for my own little "baby bird" to come this week.   I will keep you updated!

Have a wonderful Sunday...we are getting MORE snow today!  I love freshly fallen snow as long as I don't have to drive or go out in it:)

Sketchbooks: Strange Drawings/Collages

I have a massive collection of sketchbooks that I have drawn, written and collaged in for the past 8 years.  These sketchbooks are like little diaries because I notice that I draw from my surroundings and also because I write whatever is running through my mind next to my drawings (even if it completely does not relate to my drawing!)  Recently my husband looked in one of my sketchbooks for the first time ( I usually don't let people look through them...I am very self conscious!) and he couldn't believe all of the weird things he found in just one little book!  So anyways I thought I would share with you some of my quick little sketches and collages from one of my books. 

A quick sketch of my tea

Collage/Painting with the helpful reminder: Draw everyday for 20-30 minutes...I TRY to do this every morning before I go to work.

Totally random assortment of coffee cups, a cake, bird and flowers...my mind is crazy sometimes:)

The garden hose from observation.  My husband saw this drawing and asked if any of our neighbors saw me drawing this because they must have thought I was strange!  

So those are some snippets from one of my sketchbook.   I find that I enjoy adding paint and collage to my sketchbooks best.  What kind of sketchbooks do you keep?  What are your favorite things to draw?

Gift Ideas for the Ladies that Give Back

Kerry and Myself (I am wearing one of her necklaces!)

Hello!  I just wanted to promote my lovely cousin Kerry's etsy shop called Sweet Charity Designs.  It is an amazing jewelry shop where ALL of the proceeds go to Maria High School in Chicago, Illinois.  Kerry was an art teacher at Maria High school for a couple of years and wanted to find a way to financially help the students. 

From her profile on etsy:

"I am a former art teacher from a Catholic high school on the southwest side of Chicago. I am now a stay-at-home mom, yet I still want to do something to help support the education of young inner-city women.

I teamed up with one of the Sisters I taught with to form "Sweet Charity Designs". We work together on creating the merchandise. I handle internet sales, and Sister Clement goes to craft shows.

100% of our profits go directly into the Maria High School scholarship fund to give underprivileged and exceptional young women the chance for an excellent education.

Maria is a Catholic secondary high school for young women located on the southwest side of Chicago across from Marquette Park in the Chicago Lawn community."

Here are some of  her awesome pieces from her store:

 I personally have bought a bunch of gifts for people from Kerry this Christmas and I am planning on buying some more for myself later also!  So if you get a chance, check out her site!

 

Up in the Trees

Here is one of my newest artworks called Up in the Trees.  I will be placing it in my etsy shop hopefully later today!

Hope you are having a good week so far!  It has been snowing here all week and SO cold!  All I can do is drink lots of hot chocolate to keep myself warm:)  

Have a great day!

Winter is Here...Officially

View from my kitchen window

 Our  backyard (my summer studio is on the right...too cold to be out there now!)

Well it has been snowing pretty hard this morning in Northeast Ohio.  It is definitely starting to feel like Christmas:)  

The husband and I are complete Christmas dorks.  We LOVE Christmas and go all out this time of year!  Check out our decorations so far:

Our tree

Going up into our loft

The loft landing

Kitchen centerpiece

I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you may be!  I have just started my maternity leave per my doctor.  She thought it would be a good idea for me to rest and relax before the baby comes...I would have to agree!  I am loving this whole concept of relaxing:)

Today I think I am going to do some artwork and probably some cleaning...so much has to be done before she comes!  

I will leave you with a great song that my little brother introduced me to called Bridge to Nowhere by The Sam Roberts Band

Have a great day:)