Simplify

If I could choose one word that describes what I would like to do this year it would have to be simplify. I feel too often we have too many things and want too much. If we just simplify and focus on what is really important I think things will work out for the better.

Hope you had a wonderful New Years, mine was very nice and relaxing:) Today the husband put some of my new art on etsy. Yay! I am going to continue working on new collages and of course I will begin working on my artwork that I will be giving away. I have a pretty good idea on what I want to do. Stay tuned for the giveaway...I am so excited about it:)


Also I just wanted to say thanks for reading this blog the past couple of months. I never in a million years thought I would ever have a blog! I have met so many wonderful people through this blog and I LOVE reading all of your blogs as well! Thanks again my lovely friends!

Upcoming Art Giveaway!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day today...mine was lovely and kind of lazy again! I really do have a lot of stuff to do but it is just so cold outside....and I have this week off to not think about school stuff...but I really should!

Anyways I did do some artwork...Here is Vino 2



Here is my finished deer...it is a little different from my normal style...I guess I am experimenting a little!




I am also working on an art giveaway with another blogger I admire. I will give more details later but please be sure to vote in my poll so I know what type of art to give away! Thanks so much!

100th post!

Wow! This is my 100th post! I cannot believe it! I started this blog back in June but only really started writing on it in August. This blog actually started as a class project for one of my Technology in Education classes I took this summer. Apparently blogging is all the rage in education now!

I originally was going to use this blog with my students but ended up having too much fun writing about my own art and life...oops! I still am going to start a class blog someday!

Anyways today I had a lazy day...I am hoping I get a second wind tonight. I feel so blah if I don't get things accomplished!

Today I went grocery shopping and bought lots of healthy food for the husband and I! We are trying to be healthy now and having only "good for you" food in the house is key! I bought myself a little treat though at the store...those of you who are vegetarians or vegans I am sorry...

But I bought my favorite

SUSHI!



I think it is so pretty...the husband thought I was a weirdo for taking pictures of it! Sushi is my absolute favorite food and I rarely buy it at the store because it is so expensive! Oh well...treat for me:) The husband hates it! What is your favorite food?



I also worked on some new collages. Here is a work in progress...nothing is glued down yet.



I'm still going to paint some details after everything is collaged down. I will post the finished product!

I also have been playing around with masking fluid and watercolors. Here is a design I am working on:




Masking fluid works as a resist so wherever you put it on your paper, it will stay white even after you paint on top of it. I just love it!

Well have a happy Monday...I am off to do more art!

What did the boy olive say to the girl olive?

OLIVE YOU! hehe...corny right?!

In the spirit of Valentine's Day being around the corner (I know I know...not really... but everyone seems to be creating art for it already!) I thought I would share one of my new collage series I am working on. I have the whole week off (one of the perks of being a teacher!) so I am hoping to come up with a lot more art this week!

New Artwork

I have gotten back to doing some art today and this is what I have come up with:

Apparently I cannot get the idea of celebrating and being merry out of my mind!

This one is called Vino 1...yes there will probably be more of these to come!




This next one is called Still Life with Cupcake and Flowers in Vase....the sugar-filled holiday has made its way into my art I guess!



This last one is more of my typical style (birds and flowers). This does not have an official title as of yet...I need to think of one:)




I still need to glaze these and mat them before they get put on etsy. Hopefully someone will want to give these artworks a home!

Hope you are having a great Saturday! It is actually WARM in Ohio...kind of rainy though:( Oh well...I will take what I can get!

After the holidays....

I always feel a little sad after the holiday hoopla...does anyone else feel this way?

I'm glad that the shopping is done...everyone has opened gifts...all of the food and drink has been merrily consumed. I think I am just sad that there is not any more major reasons to get together as a huge family for awhile. I see my grandparents and my aunts and uncles now and then but everyone including myself is so busy during the rest of the year it is hard to see everyone as a group except on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Anyways...I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! The husband and I went back and forth between our families for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Luckily our parents do not live far from each other so it wasn't bad at all!

Both the husband and I ate our way through Christmas so starting tomorrow (or the next day!) we are eating healthy! That means no more Christmas cookies!



I have also taken a break these past few days from art but tomorrow I am going to get back into the swing of things and start making some spring collages to put in my etsy store. I am already excited for warm weather!

Well have a good one and I hope to post some new art tomorrow!

Happy Holidays!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Packing Tape Transfer Technique

Here is a fun technique that anyone can try! What I did was make a photocopy of a picture I had taken (the one shown here was architecture I took in Florence, Italy.) Then you simply get a piece of packing tape and place over the photocopy (tape over the picture side.)

Next you submerge the taped paper in a bowl of lukewarm water. Begin rubbing the paper off and presto! Your image is on the tape! You can then glue it using matte medium to create cards and collages.

Here is a great link showing this step by step:

HGTV Packing Tape Transfer Tutorial

I just love doing these transfers! You can even make copies of your own artwork and replicate them in collages...the possibilities are endless!


What is your favorite collage technique?

Christmas Ornaments

Christmas is nearly upon us! I don't know about you but this year I am all about the handmade gift! I am getting sick of how Christmas is becoming all about buying people "stuff" that has no meaning whatsoever.

Recently I went to Michael's craft/art store and purchased these lovely little ornaments to decorate.




I painted the ornaments first with acrylic paint and then collaged images I cut out from my hand-painted papers. Next I added some details with payne's gray and white colored paint. I am going to try to finish some more today- I still need to loop a pretty ribbon through the top so I can hang them.

Little red bird



This one was inspired by some of Henri Matisse's paper cut- outs:


Another little red bird


What are you making this holiday season?

Creative Color Wheels

Here is a fun little project to do with kids of all ages! Create a unique color wheel using only the primary colors (red, blue and yellow). This project will help students learn to mix colors. Mixing your own paint colors produces more realistic colors than if you were to use paint directly from the tube.

If you would like to see the lesson plan for this project you can go to my art education website Canvas Door and click on Color Mixing. It is a pdf file and you can download it if you would like!

I do this project with my introduction to art students (grades 9-12) and they all seem to love it! They get really creative with some of their color wheels! Here are some of my students' examples.