Yummy Delivery

I love the UPS man! He brings me and my Little Man such yummy surprises.

Envelope Book

I love the way this envelope book and postcards I made for a 21 Secrets workshop turned out! This workshop was the 'Personal Acts of Kindness' one with Dale Anne Potter, which I mentioned in my last post. 

  The book was suppose to contain 7 envelopes for holding 7 postcards containing positive messages for yourself, but I decided to add more. I made 6 from various decorative papers and another 7 from paper I created myself using inexpensive, white paper, with a coat of gesso on both sides, stamped, inked and covered in light tissue paper. Also I bound the book differently as I liked the look of all the various colors showing through between the covers. I always have to add my personal twist to things!

The heart on the cover is grungeboard painted with metallic red paint.

Top view showing the envelopes and a close up of one of my favorites

The postcards, each with a positive word on the front. 

The backs have a special message written to me, by me.

Side view of the envelopes. Love all the colors!

21 Secrets

  Last week as I was reading Traci Bunkers blog  I noticed a link for 21 Secrets Art Journal Playground. Secrets?  A Playground?  Yes, I MUST check this out!


  As I read the workshops descriptions I got that buzzy, excited feeling. I knew I had to sign up. 21 online workshops, all with a different artist, all yummy sounding and all for one low price.  I signed up right away and started in on the workshops a few days ago. Nirvana!  I've been in serious fibromyalgia hell lately and this is just what I needed to keep me going, give me something to look forward to and to give me a sense of community which has seriously been lacking. It's tough to feel a sense of community when you can barely get out of bed, never mind get out of the house!


  If you are looking for a great set of workshops for a great price, on sale for $59 right now. YES! That's the price for all 21 Secrets, I highly recommend signing up for these.  You will love what they have to offer.  Photos of my first project, a mini album to house uplifting postcards you send to yourself, will be posted soon. I promise! Oh, the album and postcards are from the 'Personal Acts of Kindness' workshop by 21 Secrets instructor Dale Anne Potter. That workshop was the perfect, positive boost I needed right  now!


 

Therapy....

The bills are piling up. My pain is through the roof. Things are looking bleak. So what's the cure? BUY ART BOOKS!!! Yes, a little retail therapy in the form of art books or art supplies is always a wise cure. I don't understand the logic, but do know it always works. Happy, happy again!

Faces

This week I've been practicing drawing faces. My son and I watched Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's  All About Faces video, purchased from the Cloth, Paper, Scissors shop, earlier in the week and have been practicing our drawing ever since. I love sharing Art Time with my Little Man! His drawing of a purple haired gal is none other than yours truly. I'm thinking it just has to be my new profile pic on Facebook!

Creative Space....

As usual I am spending lots of time creating but no time blogging! No excuses. It is what it is. I've always said I'm a far better gardener than housekeeper. Obviously I'm a far better artist than blogger too.

New Lino Block Print

This image is based on a graveyard statue from the 1700's. I love prowling around old graveyards. The artwork on old stones is amazing!

Madonna Lino Block

The Madonna lino block. I refined it a bit more so the facial details show up better when printing. I've found the smalles V~gouge works best for cutting away what isn't needed. It takes a lot longer when using a small gouge, but there's less risk of cutting too deep and ruining the block!

Lino block images

The original image & the sketch I used to create my lino block. The hardest part of carving, for me at least, is remembering to carve away what you don't want to print! Since this is only the third time I've created a lino block I still need to really think about the process. Some day, with enough practice, I'm sure it will become second nature!

New block print....

I decided to do a bit of lino carving tonight. This Madonna~like image has been in my mind for a while now. The lino block needs a bit of refining, but had to print it just to see how it was coming along!

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