"owl" always love you....

everywhere i have been looking lately, i keep seeing owls. i was feeling so inspired- i finally decided i needed to have an owl of my own and used another one of my big erasers to make a stamp.

i had drawn a sample owl in my notebook, and then, moved that image onto my eraser...

and then, started carving.....i really like the carving part. i like trying to find my image and get it carved out so i can stamp that first image. i try to get it carved down enough so that when i try that first image- i should be pretty close to my finished stamp. my owl actually didn't need any additional carving.

 "owl" love this stamp forever....happy tuesday!

tag.....you are it!

i managed to sneak in some much needed studio time yesterday before the prom activities started. i had signed up to participate in a tag swap and needed to get my tags done.

i love saving the tags from clothing to use for this type of project. the kids clothes usually have the best tags, but, i have gotten some good ones from mine as well. i have a little stash of clothing tags that i dug through to find some base tags to use yesterday.

i loved the shape of this one with the cut corners.

this long skinny tag was perfect for my next tag....i used my gelli plate to produce the black and white back ground. i used washi tape and stamped tissue paper to create the background for this tag and then, used a scrap piece of paper with the hot pink flash as my pop of color that this black and white tag needed. and, finished it off with the perfect book words- "a new kind of tag."

i have to say though....this last tag i have been saving for some special inspiration because of the words on the back of this tag. i selectively painted out a few of the words to leave the sentiment that i was looking for: "translation: special techniques to apply inks, dyes, and details that means differences. it's all intentional, make everything original.

i made the background and then, added the heart. i stitched up the edges and added a little dash of black fabric. just a note because this was regular book paper i added another scrap of paper to the back where the fabric was to add support for the stitching- otherwise, with the repeated stitching it would have easily ripped through leaving my fabric unattached to my paper.

all about priorities- keep the focus and enjoy

i have been feeling stress out because my usual studio time normally falls on the weekends when things are a little calmer around this house. the work week is just that- work, school, sports, appts, etc....there seems to be endless things that are supposed to be accomplished in the work week.

however, the last month of weekends has been action packed especially with our daughter playing in a spring volleyball season and balancing her track schedule with this as well. so while we were at a track meet again last night, this morning when i was looking at the "familyswag" pic that our daughter took on snapchat to share- it reminded me that i need to take a deep breathe and enjoy the hectic crazy action packed time because soon enough....she will graduate and all too quickly behind her, our youngest son will be quick on her heels and also graduating.

i have to say though- my beloved husband does not understand that snapchats are for your "bad" self pics....you are not supposed to look normal and be smiling!

so here to maybe squeezing out just a couple minutes in the studio this weekend....although, saturday is prom- so definitely not that day!! happy friday!

owl doodle

#doodle #owl #pencildrawing

moleskin monday- collaged

i am playing along with the Documented Life Project and was working in my moleskin planner. Art to the 5thhttp://www.arttothe5th.com/ has been providing weekly prompts and challenges.

moleskin monday is a view of my other pages. i have been using the "tip-out" pages for the challenges and that has left other pages that are empty. the "tip-out" pages are the pages that have been added and are being held in place with washi tape. on the actual moleskin pages that are lined- i have been writing about how i feel or about what had happened this past week- documenting my life.

i am showing another page in my moleskin that i really like. the first pic is the full page.

i had gotten some great ephemera and used that in this page.

i loved this overpainted paper i used as well- that is the colorful piece with a little soft stamping on it.

received

i had received a package in the mail yesterday from a friend in california. she had sent me a goodie box as a thank you for a book cover i had made for her. check out the outside of the box....i loved the main focus of blue and the red "priority mail" coming through.

she had said that she was sending some goodies....some- the whole box was stuffed full of such wonderful paper goodness and a few fabric strips that were adorable!

i absolutely loved the chinese fortune that she put into the box- that was the sweetest thing! when i spied that on the top of the pile, i knew instantly that i would have to put that into my Documented Life moleskin for save keepings.

i was so inspired by this fortune, i have been meaning to thank someone else for a while now- and today is it- inspiration has come.....and i am going to make something for this very special person and get my unexpected gift into the mail.

One Little Word- Adventure

our word at one little word for april is "adventure" and i truly had a wonderful adventure painting this piece for april. my story reads "but unbeknown to the artist of confessing in the studio the painting was the adventure."

stop by OLW to see what the other artist's made for this month- and play along!!

one little word- sneak peek

today i am showing a sneak peek of my one little word project for this month- stop back tomorrow to see the whole page.

many layers and details in this page...love how i was able to pull it all together- hope you enjoy it as well.

painting and thoughts

i have been painting, but, doing more painting in my many art journals and not on canvas.

i decided that needed to get back to canvas....to paint larger. to work how i have been but not in a journal.

i started putting paint down. starting with a canvas that had already been used and had a painting already on it.

i started with colors i like and wanted to see on the canvas. i have had a pink passion lately- wanting to add it to almost everything. this is a peek at the painting in progress.

sometimes my progress takes so much time....i envy people that can just sit down and paint up a storm and be done. my process is slow and sometimes very wet- that takes time to dry appropriately. i normally have to paint on several projects at a time, so that things can dry in between time.

as i was working on this painting, i was thinking to myself that uncertainty was trying to creep in and take away my progress.

i simply kept listening to my little inner voice, kept painting, and i am liking this.....uncertainty can just keep walking.

happy thursday

#mom's tile #happythursday #alcoholinks

some mailart.....

i had a couple of people that i needed to send notes to and decided plain-jane notes just would not do. i went to the studio last night to whip up a couple somethings to send.....

 i actually started the mailart on a purple cardstock and used my gelli plate to do some printing. on the bottom mailart, i used one of my own handmade stamps for the circles.

new stock will lead to creativity

do you have a favorite place to order your paints and creative supplies from? where do you shop? i love getting my order from Cheap Joe's mainly because i love seeing the little warnings like above! who doesn't want artistic growth and more creativity?!

i had also ordered from Dick Blick's and had finally gotten myself some of the golden fluorescent paints and a carving set. did you catch my stamp i made the other night? i am soooo loving my carving set!!

 

 i couldn't take it and had to try a little of everything on a page to see how it looks and feels. loved everything i ordered from both places and have high hopes for some time later today and tomorrow in the studio......happy friday.

carving up a stamp

i have been so inspired by others making their own stamps that i ordered a Speedball carving set for myself. my order and carving set arrived yesterday (so excited!!)

so, last night i set off to give this a whirl and see how i do. i had purchased a couple of $1 big erasers at my local dollar store to carve up. i figured i would start on the cheap erasers to start until i was able to hone my skills a bit.

i sketched around my eraser so i know what size to make my design and then, drew within my rectangle.

once i was happy with my sketch, i colored on the back of my sketch and then, drew on my sketch to transfer the graphite onto my eraser. you can see the carving set i purchased. there were two sets available- i did buy the set with all of the carving sizes because it was a minimal amount more- so why not have all the sizes?

 you can see here how the image transferred onto my eraser. it is not the best, but, looking at my sketch and seeing the image on the eraser really was not too bad. i may have to see if there is a better method- or if you have a better way...please leave me a comment! i would love to know!

when i was done with my carving, i went and found my ink pad to see how i actually did. so excited to see it actually print onto paper!! i had a couple of small edges to take down just a bit more, but, for the most part, i was done with the carving and VERY happy with my first attempt.