2013 Ice Resin Creative Team!....

Hey everyone, as promised I get to share some exciting news today.

I've been dyin to tell ya all week and today is finally here!

I made the Ice Resin Creative Team for 2012-2013!

Wow!!
I feel so honored to have been chosen to work with such amazing and creative people.

You can look forward to lots of great projects, art, jewelry, tutorials and more.

Check out the announcement on the Ice Resin blog...

http://iceresin.com/icequeen/2012/09/the-ice-resin-2012-2013-creative-team/

 

See you all tomorrow when I announce the rules for a really fun Halloween Charm Swap!

Have a great day!

A Halloween sort of Mood...

I'm so in the mood for Halloween.

I used to have a huge Halloween party every year. My friends and I spent months making decorations, props, and building a haunted house; making all the creepy foods and setting the atmosphere.

Then I started working for a big chain Halloween store and was so busy at that time of year I didn't get to do a thing for several years. It got so bad I didn't even want to take my kids trick or treating.  It almost...ALMOST ruined the holiday for me forever. 

But now I find myself in the mood for Halloween again, I miss the haunted house, I miss everyone coming over in their costumes, I just miss the whole feeling of it. 

So I've been revisiting some of my old Halloween creations like this ATC I made...

It was made by smearing modeling compound over an old cartoon collector card and then using a paintbrush to "draw" a design in the paste. After that I did lots of color washes to get that faded coloring and a final coat of thinned black paint which settled nicely into all the grooves. 

I really had so much fun with this piece, I think I'm going to work on some new stuff with this technique this weekend. 

Also this weekend please come back and visit as I have some Exciting news to share on Sat. 

and on Sun. I am going to share the details of a new Halloween Charm swap. 

I hope you will come back by!

Craft night! Yeah!...

 Lydia and I got to have a craft night last night. We got together and made silver spoon necklaces.

Lots of fun!

This pretty button collage necklace is hers and she did an absolutely amazing job of wire wrapping her beads (her first time ever!) (and I don't know how I didn't get a picture of her finished necklace, I could have sworn I did)

 

And of course the necklace I made would HAVE to be turquoise and silver. It features an image of my grandma Mary when she was about 18 years old. I plan to put Ice Resin in the center to protect the photo but I shared all I had left with my students at Create, so I really need some more.

I hope everyone is have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Hugs!



Crazy Busy!!!! New Art...

It's a whirlwind around here right now. 

With the Create Art Retreat in only 2 weeks! And an Ice Resin Design team application deadline the 15th, as well as some magazine deadlines, I'm  so busy I don't even know where to start. 

I thought I would share some art I got done this weekend...

 A mixed media assemblage piece. I used Ice Resin over a collage of antique ledger papers, antique photo, and ephemera inside a found rusty metal ring used as a bezel. I also used an old water key as a bezel for the leaves of the flower. I collaged and painted the inside of an antique candy tin that I removed the cover from.

 My next piece was some collage and paint work with a heart design. I used a glass heart shaped bead as a bezel and filled it with Ice Resin. The background of the heart was some antique German text that is so pretty. I love how you can see some of the blue color through the text in the heart when the light shines down. I really love that about Ice Resin.

And I got the chains and beading done on some of my soldered pendants.

I was also working on some displays for my vendor booth at Create. My friend Lydia came over and helped me bag little bits and pieces and art parts for mixed media. I was working on clipping them to the display to see how I wanted to do it.  Thanks Lydia for all your help! Hugs!

 Lydia and I got lots of collage packs tied up for class kits and for the vendor fair...

 I even went through my button stash and made up some button cards...

It's a lot of work but so worth it. Can't wait to see everyone at Create!

I hope you are all having a great week!

Introduction to Create Classes in Chicago 2012

Hey everyone! 

It's been such a busy time lately. I'm getting all my last minute things ready for Create Chicago in August.

I made some videos this weekend introducing my classes and answering a few questions about them. 

I've still got some spots left so I hope you can join us!

Also if anyone is looking for a hotel room to share give me a shout, I've got one booked.

So here are the videos...enjoy!

Sign up for these classes and more at www.createmixedmediaretreat.com

I "Heart" Art...

 I have been wanting to make one of these folding cloth hearts for a while. I finally got around to it this week. The hand stitching was very therapeutic.

For Holly over at MAMA.

 The inside.

 The outside tied together.

Patina Garden - New Artwork

 I've finally gotten something new finished. I had so much fun with this one. Perhaps inspired by spring and my love of all things rusty and patina blue/green. 

 I loved the little buttons the moment I saw them with their metal centers that were all covered in patina. Natural beauty right there. I picked them up at The Rusty Chair in Rogers AR and Julie (the owner) said that another lady had been looking through the buttons and was somewhat grossed out by the patina on those beauties, I know, there's no accounting for taste, lol. But at least they were there for me!

Julie also gathered 2 of those large rusty flower shaped thing-a-ma-jigs, she and I knew at first glance that they were for me! I mean how cool and unique!

The rest of the metal bits and pieces and nails are things I found with my metal detector. I LOVE that thing! So many artsy treasures just waiting to be found underground.

Have a great week everyone! Hugs!

A Handful of Pretty...Art

 A very small piece of art. Working on making things to put in my vendor booth at Create Mixed Media Art Retreat in Chicago in August.

A handful of pretty.

Practical yet pretty Art...

 I finally got some studio time yesterday. It's seems like it's been forever. But life has an aweful way of doing that to an artist. You look up from your day to day and it's been weeks since you got to make anything.  I think the title on this piece is appropriate since I do feel free as the wind when I'm creating. Nothing matters, I'm able to just be and do as whim strikes.

After I made this piece of art I looked over at that really old doorknob, so perfect with it's natural rust and patina, the exact color in my piece and I decided to make a bit of practical art. So this will be a great hanger for a purse or some scarves. I would say coat but then you wouldn't be able to see that wonderful knob! No since covering up perfection, lol.

 I found an old dress at a flea market that had yards of that amazing Swarovski crystal rhinestone trim. It's some amazing stuff, not like the cheap glass and metal trim you find now days, it's just gorgeous and sparkles like you wouldn't believe.

 I found an entire spool (well half a spool) of antique sequin trim at a yard sale last summer, silver and tarnished with age (like an old mirror). Completely fabulous stuff. There is a bit of it all around the edge.

 The caption is out of an old book.

The knob I found in an ancient barn that was full of junk, lots of it burried into the ground and had to be dug out. This is one of those pieces that you can't recreate. Mother nature did a fabulous job on it, no?

I've got another little piece to show you tomorrow so come back by and visit me.

Hugs!

Soldered Jewelry, a few new pieces...

$35
SOLD


 I finished this piece ("two hearts")

and started a few more...

I wish my camera was able to show you just how pretty these are in person. All the sparkle and the true colors of the ephemera don't show up well. All of these let light pass through which adds a lot of depth. Each necklace is handmade, soldered, patina solution is added to age each item and a small collage with antique and vintage ephemera and elements is encased in resin.

An Apron from a Skirt...

 Just wanted to show you my apron that I made this weekend. I started with a skirt from Old Navy that I got at a thrift store. I don't wear skirts (I'm more of a jeans and tshirt kind of a gal) but I just loved the ruffles at the bottom and the fabric was a light weight cotton.

 I decided an apron would be the best use for this skirt so I cut the liner out and used it for the straps and pockets. I also digitized my header image from my blog and embroidered it on the front over a tea dyed piece of muslin. The frame from my header is also from the Graphics Fairy and I'm sharing on her Brag Monday today.

 Then I sewed some fabric strip rosettes to the straps and the pockets...

I had a lot of fun transforming this piece of clothing. Now I have a great apron for use in my studio and during the classes I teach.

I also got more soldered necklaces done and I'll show those tomorrow.

Happy Monday!