blossom...

So Christmas 2011 is over.  It started off a little rough - wallowing in a pity party.  Got woken up by my friends and actually had a  pretty nice holiday after all.  Worked on this canvas off and on for a few days, every time I'd walk by her I'd add a little bit.

Blossom is my first 100% freehand, and I used Prisma markers and Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons.  (Will I go to art hell if I say I like the Prisma markers better than the Copics???) (spanks again My Schnauz for a fantastic gift!!)

So anyway... here's Blossom.  She's available in Etsy - if you're interested there is a button off to the right here somewhere ------->. 

for a friend...

i was commissioned for a Christmas gift - my questions yielded the following:  'for my mom'; 'celtic symbol'; 'celtic colors'. 

which led me to google, to look up symbols and colors.  I found lots of greens and gold - so that's what I went with.  the background is completely collaged with 2,932,491 different papers, then used dryer sheets were soul glued on top.  the entire thing was inked and sealed, and then i used some rub-ons and paint, and sealed again.  then came the fun part of the symbol.  i found one that stood for motherhood - so ... PERFECT!!!!! 

i printed it out a couple of times, not sure how i was going to transfer the image onto the canvas.  i thought of using a template or just cutting out the pieces and putting them back together like a jigsaw puzzle.  i attempted the symbol as a template on a test canvas, and BOY HOWDY am i glad i didn't do that on the collaged canvas, because it was a HOT mess.  so i cut out all the pieces, inked them with distress inks, painted them with rock candy distress crackle, and edged them with tarnished brass crackle paint.  (i am nothing if not a tim junkie)

when they were all dry (yes, i touched them constantly) i soul glued them down, went over a few areas with some gold perfect pearl powder...painted the edges and sealed the entire thing.  DONE.

i hope the recipient loves it as much as i loved making it... and i didn't even get stressed out!!!! maybe i'm ... reforming.  ;-)  bwhahahahaha i crack myself up. 

phunky chix...

or as Mel likes to call them, "wellie wearing walk to the ends of the earth with you girlfriend" chix.  LOL 

Playing with different ideas, but this birdie always comes home to roost with her long legs, happy love-filled song and fancy tail feathers.

But now?  She has WELLIES. 

The first 2 are black and white (duh - I guess you can SEE that for yourself) and my last is in color - but she's not quite done, so her wellies are just a teaser...  I'm tossing around prints, cards... all kinds of ideas. 

dooooooodle.

I love to doodle - it's official.  I sit there in front of the tv and doodle and doodle and doodle... my problem comes in trying to decide when to STOP. 

This one I did in pen - just pen.  Love my Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen...

Ahhhh.... the sweet smell of...a dryer sheet.

FYI.  When you mod podge a used dryer sheet over a collaged canvas, and hit it with your heat gun?

Your studio smells like warm, clean laundry.  It also creates a REALLY cool texture. 

cool...

sometimes it's just fun to play with stuff that I normally wouldn't think to 'mix' together.  This is a heart that I did with a homemade stencil and spackle.  Then I painted it with red acrylic, waited impatiently while it dried... topped it with Rock Candy Crackle by Ranger... again waited impatiently... (do you see the fingerprints??) then hit it with a finger dipped in Bronze Perfect Pearls... rubbed it in and wiped off the excess.  Gives it a real cool sheen - and gives the crackle a lot of dimension. 

it only took me 11 months...

11 months isn't bad, right?  I struggled with an issue I was having while working on stretched canvases.  I loved using stamps and rubons, but had trouble getting the effect I wanted because the canvases were so 'giving'. 

I never claimed to be the brightest tack in the shed, (haha), but last week an idea formed, and I brought it to hubby hoping he could see my vision and make what I needed. 

Simple really... just a board the same height as the canvas, that just fits in the opening... voila... now I can stamp and rubon to my heart's content. 

All of you that work with canvases like this are probably laughing at me right now, and thinking "DUH, Sandi...", but that's ok.  If just ONE person out there didn't think of this - then my job here is done.  :-)