Stations of the Cross Card

My faith is very important to me so I wanted to do a religious Easter card. The inspiration for this card came while I was reading the Stations of the Cross. Everyone recites- We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed The World, at each Station before the mediation and prayer. This recitation seemed like a perfect fit for the Crucifix on Cricut's New Testament cartridge. I wanted the Crucifix to be the focal point of the card and therefore kept the embellishments to a minimum.

This project uses Frantage to decorate the halo and bottom of the card. I used basic Frantage- heating embossing powder and embedding Diamond Dust in the heated embossing powder.

Direction for Stations of the Cross Card:

Sheer dark purple ribbon
Got Flowers? Fabric Fancies- Opal
Black Ink Decorative Papers- white and tan print handmade paper
Cricut New Testament cartridge
Paper Studio Tattered and Worn paper pack- brown paper
White, cream, gold, dark brown and tan card stock
Recollections self adhesive gold beads
Roman gold embossing powder
Twinklets Diamond Dust
Versa mark ink pad
Small foam dots
Zots, Regular and 3D
Heat Gun


1.  Print an Easter greeting on the inside of the card using a card program and the half-fold option.  Print  We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed The World on plain white paper with Microsoft Word using the Nyala font at 12 pts.

2.  Using the Cricut New Testament cartridge, cut the Crucifix at 5 inches out of the brown paper from the Tattered and Worn paper stack. Press shift and cut the next layer of the Crucifix out of dark brown card stock. Press layer and Crucifix to cut Jesus out of cream card stock. Press layer, shift and Crucifix to cut Jesus' clothes out of white card stock. Press layer 2 and Crucifix to cut the halo out of gold card stock. Assemble the Crucifix. Place a small self adhesive gold bead to the nail holes on Jesus' hands and feet.

3.  Attach small foam dots to the back of the Crucifix. Center the Crucifix on a 4 x 6 inch piece of the handmade paper and press in place. Cut a piece of tan card stock approximately 1/4 inch larger than the handmade paper (on all sides) and use Zots to attach the handmade paper to the card stock.

4.  Apply the Versa mark ink to the halo and the lower right and left corners of the handmade paper. Sprinkle Roman Gold embossing powder over the ink and shake off the excess. Use a small paintbrush, if necessary, to remove any stray flecks of embossing powder from the image. Using the lowest temperature of the heat gun, heat the embossing powder until it starts to melt and then sprinkle the Diamond Dust on the melted embossing powder. Heat until the embossing powder is melted and the Diamond Dust is set.

5.  Attach 3D Zots to the back of the tan card stock, center on the front of the card and press into place. Use Zots to attach five flowers at the base of the Crucifix. Place a self adhesive gold bead in the center of each flower.

6.  Cut a piece of sheer purple ribbon approximately 1/2 inch longer than the width of the card. Loosely twist the ribbon and use Zots to attach it to the top of the card.

7.  Cut the prayer so that a small border of white surrounds the prayer. Cut a piece of brown card stock slightly larger than the prayer and glue the prayer to the card stock.  Center the prayer over the Crucifix and glue in place.

Decoupage Makeover

After the last post I began looking around my studio for more ways to display my favorite paintings via decoupage.  The candidates for this makeover were my watercolor paint box, the Jet Max craft carousel and the light switch cover.

I use a Jet Max craft carousel to store my frequently used art supplies. Like all Jet Max products the craft carousel is white so that it matches the other pieces in the line. The craft carousel is divided into six segments which means that I could display six of my favorite paintings. I chose paintings from Van Gogh (of course), Monet, Degas and Berthe Morisot and decoupaged them to the craft carousel and then painted the dividers for each segment and tiers in light blue. I really like the transformation. The carousel could display your favorite photos instead of prints. Just be sure to use a toner based copy and not the original photo for the project.

Decorated Jet Max Craft Carousel

While I had the Mod Podge out I decided it was time to give the light switch cover a face lift. This project required a little planning to make it work. I needed a vertical print that would not lose it's integrity once the holes for the light switches were cut out. Finally the only print that seemed to work was Van Gogh's Road with Cypresses and Star. I printed the painting at 4x6 and checked the fit print to page option, with a laser printer. I printed the image two times. I cut out both copies of the print, setting the second copy aside for later use. I centered the switch plate cover over the print and traced the openings for the light switches onto the print and carefully cut them out. Next I placed the print over the switch plate cover to align the switch openings. This is when I discovered that my print was 1/8 inch to short on the top, bottom and left side, so I trimmed 1/8 inch from the corresponding sides of the second print. After gluing the print to the switch plate cover, I carefully matched the 1/8 inch strips to the print and applied decoupage.

Light Switch cover.

My watercolors came packaged in a nice wooden box. I really liked the box but not the cheap label that was glued to the top. When I tried to remove the label it left large chunks of paper and glue stuck to the lid. Sanding removed most of the residue but left the box stripped of it's finish. The perfect candidate for a makeover project!  For this project I painted the top of the box with light lavender acrylic paint. After the paint dried I applied a coat of Martha Stewart Living silver Metallic Glaze. After the glaze dried I sponged light aqua and purple metallic acrylic paint over the top of the box and then decoupaged Van Gogh's Women in the Field to lid.

Finished Paint Box.

Directions for Decoupage Makeover Projects:

Switch Plate Cover:

White Switch Plate Cover
Mod Podge Hard Coat
Foam Brush
Print or photo- toner based copy
Mod Podge sealant

1.  Remove the switch plate cover from the wall (if using an existing cover). Wash it and dry it.

2.  Print the picture of your choice with a laser printer, using the 4x6  fit print to the edge option, on white paper. Print the picture twice. Cut out both prints.

3.  Lay the switch plate cover over the print and trace the openings for the light switches on the print. Carefully cut out these openings.

4.  Apply Mod Podge to the back of the print. Center the print on the switch plate cover, aligning the openings for the light switches. Smooth out any air bubbles in the print and seal the edges. If the print does not completely cover the switch plate cover then trim the other print to cover these areas. Apply Mod Podge to the edges of the switch plate cover that are not covered by the print and align the print strips so that they match the print and press to seal.

5.  Apply two more coats of Mod Podge to the switch plate cover. After the second coat of Mod Podge dries spray the switch plate cover with sealant.


Decorated Jet Max Craft Carousel:

 Jet Max Craft Carousel
Foam brush
Mod Podge Hard Coat
Mod Podge Sealant
Light blue acrylic paint
Paintbrush, small round
Toner based copies of prints or photos (6)

1.  Paint the edges of the top and bottom tiers of the craft carousel with light blue paint using a small round paintbrush. Next paint the dividers between each of the six segments of the carousel and the top edges of each segment. Let it dry and apply a second coat of paint.

2.  Print six photos or prints with a laser printer using the wallet and fit print to edge option. Trim the prints.

3.  Apply Mod Podge to the back of the print. Center the print on the white area of segment. Smooth out any air bubbles and repeat with the other five prints.

4.   Apply three coats of Mod Podge to the prints, letting the prints dry before applying the next coat.

5.  Seal the prints with the spray sealant.


Decorated Paint Box:

Wooden box
Print or picture
Martha Stewart Living Metallic Glaze-Mercury color
Folk Art acrylic paints- light lavender, light aqua and metallic purple
Foam brush
Craft sponge
Mod Podge Hard Coat
Mod Podge Sealant

1.  Paint the lid of a wooden box with light lavender paint and let it dry. Paint over the lavender with the Martha Stewart mercury metallic glaze. Let it dry overnight- it takes about 12 hours for the paint to dry completely.

2.  Once the glaze is dry, sponge the light aqua paint randomly over the lid. Next sponge the metallic purple paint randomly over the lid, overlapping the aqua is some areas. Let the paint dry.

3.  Print the picture of your choice with a laser printer using the 5x7 and fit print to edge option. Cut the print out and apply Mod Podge to the back of the picture. Center the picture over the lid and press it in place, smoothly out any air bubbles with your fingertips. Apply Mod Podge over the entire lid and let it dry. Repeat this process two more times. After the third coat of Mod Podge is completely dry, spray the lid with the sealant and let it dry.

Decoupage Projects

When time permits, I love to browse through craft supply stores because I always discover new and interesting products. I also like being able to share these products with you. On my last excursion to Michaels I discovered Mod Podge Hard Coat and the Mod Podge silicone craft mat. This is a great idea! The mat protects work surfaces from paint, Mod Podge, glue and ink and simply wipes clean. The Mod Podge Hard Coat was designed for use on wood, glass, terra cotta and furniture. I used it on a glazed pottery vase with good results.

I love art, especially paintings by Van Gogh and the Impressionists, but there is only so much wall space to hang prints. In an effort to find ways creative ways to display my favorite prints, I have turned to other objects.  The vase I use as a paint brush holder was a good candidates for the makeover. The vase was a pottery piece that I had purchased from a street vendor in Washington, DC in the 1980's. It had originally held wooden spoons but eventually found its way into my studio as a brush holder. I really liked the shape and the quality of the piece but the colors were a bit outdated. On a recent trip to Home Depot I found Martha Stewart Metallic Paint Specialty Finish in Cast Bronze and decided to use it to paint the vase. The Martha Stewart paint went on smoothly and dried to a beautiful bronze finish.

Original vase with coating of gesso.

Finished Vase

 




Directions for Mod Podge Vase:

Pottery Vase
Laser or toner based prints-do not use original pictures or prints
Martha Stewart Living Metallic Paint-Cast Bronze-available at Home Depot
Foam craft brushes
Mod Podge Hard Coat sealant
Mod Podge Sealant Spray
Gesso



1.  Apply gesso to the vase. Completely cover the piece including the top rim. Let it dry. Repeat the process if you are covering a glazed piece of pottery. Once the piece is completely dry (I let mine cure overnight), apply a thin coat of metallic paint with a foam brush. Let it dry thoroughly. Do not use heat or a hair dryer to dry the piece or it will damage the paint. Once the vase is dry apply another coat of paint and let it dry. Again I let my piece dry overnight so the paint would harden.

2.  Position the print on the front of the vase. You may have to make small slits around the edges of the print where the vase curves so the print will be flat. Don't worry you won't see the slits after the Mod Podge is applied.  Apply Mod Podge to the back of the print and adhere to the vase. Apply one end of the print and smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles as you glue it down. If there is a small gap where the print won't lay flat against the vase, cut a small V in the picture and a matching square from the duplicate print. Apply Mod Podge to the square a place it over the V, smoothing it out so that it blends with the picture. Coat the entire vase with Mod Podge and let it dry. Coat the vase two more times. Once the Mod Podge is completely dry, spray the vase with the sealant.

Follow Your Dreams

For the past three days I have been complaining about the cold, rainy weather and wished that it would stop raining. This morning I am reminded of the quote, "Be careful what you wish for you just may get it." It finally stopped raining but the now rain has turned to snow and the snow is covering the ground once again. Oh well, C'est la vie!

I did take advantage of this miserable weather to work on a journal project. I love journaling because it allows me the freedom to experiment with my art. Lately I have been working with mixed-media in an effort to branch out from traditional painting. I decided to use my journal to explore mixed-media. Rather than using a traditional art journal, I am using my Medici Lion journal for my art work. This journal was originally intended for writers not artists and contains lined paper. the only draw back of using paper intended for writing is that the pages will tend to curl if the page gets wet. However the journal is refillable and both Barnes and Noble and Amazon sell sketch books that will fit the leather cover.

I often find journaling difficult. When I stare at the blank pages and wonder where to begin I often think of the quote by Vincent Van Gogh: "Just dash something down if you see a blank canvas staring at you with a certain imbecility. You do not know how paralyzing it is, that staring of a blank canvas which says to the painter: you don't know anything." I painted the pages with a thin coat of light blue acrylic paint and let it dry. Now I had blank blue pages staring at me. I wanted use following your dreams as the theme.

Follow Your Dreams journal entry.

Close up of page.

 

I had read in Sommerset Studio magazine about using modeling paste and stencils as a way of adding texture to art work and decided to incorporate it into my page. I layed the stencil on the pages and covered it with a thin layer of modeling paste. I used a palette (painting) knife to work the modeling paste into the open areas of the stencil and then smoothed the modeling paste across the top of the stencil, scraping off the excess. Think of icing a cake, the process is similar. Remove the stencil and let the modeling  paste dry overnight. Wash the stencil with soap and water immediately, other wise the modeling paste will dry on the stencil making it difficult to remove.

This was a fun project once I got started.  This project would also work well on canvas.

Directions for Follow Your Dreams:

Scraps of colorful scrapbook paper-for balloons
Golden Modeling Paste
Pieces of hemp or string-for balloons and black card stock
Scraps of brown card stock- for balloon basket
Light blue and white acrylic paint
Huey's Masks Circle Mask
Hero Arts French Verse stamp
Brown ink pad
Tim Hotlz's Distress Ink- Shaded Lilac
Small craft sponge
Color Box cats eye ink pads-blue, purple, green and orange
Eiffel Tower die cut
Gold beads
Faber Castell green gelato
Smooch apple green
Painting knife

1.  Paint journal pages with a light coating of light blue acrylic paint. Set aside to dry.

2.  Arrange the Circle mask on the page and apply modeling paste. Work the modeling paste into the open areas of the mask and then smooth the paste over the mask until a thin layer of paste covers the mask. Lift the mask straight up. Repeat on the next page. Wash the mask immediately with soap and water. Let the pages dry overnight.

3.  Randomly stamp the two pages using the cats eye ink pads. Stamp over the raised circles created by the modeling paste.

4.  Apply the brown ink to the French Verse stamp and randomly stamp around the edges of both pages. Lay the Eiffel Tower die cut on the left side of the right page and cover with black water color, thinned to a watery consistency. Work the water color into the open areas of the die cut. While the Eiffel Tower dries, cut balloons out of the scrapbook paper. Cut one large and two small balloons. Cut one large and two small balloon baskets out of the brown card stock. Glue two small pieces of hemp to each balloon and glue the other end to the baskets.

5.  Apply small amounts of white paint to a small craft sponge. Randomly apply the paint to the top of the pages to form clouds. Arrange the balloons on the pages. One large and small balloon on the left page and one small balloon to the right of the Eiffel Tower (on the right page). Glue the balloons in place.

6.  Load a small paintbrush with water and paint across the top of the green Gelato to pick up the green paint on the brush. Paint the green Gelato under the base of the Eiffel Tower. When the paint dries add grass accents with the Smooch paint.

7.  Randomly apply the lilac distress ink to the clouds to give them depth.

8.  Type Follow Your Dreams in Microsoft Word, using the font of your choice, at approximately 36pts. Print the verse on parchment paper and cut out. Mat the verse with black card stock. Glue the verse to the bottom of the left page, below the balloons.

Owl Thank You Card

Owls are my favorite birds and I often use them in my projects. I couldn't resist using this cute little guy as the theme for my thank you card.  I chose a pink and green color scheme for the owl and then centered the rest of the card around those colors. Although this is a thank you card this design could be used for other occasions by simply changing the greeting on the tag.

Directions for Owl Thank you Card:

Cricut Noah's ABC's cartridge
White, cream, light sage green, light pink, olive green, black, kraft paper, tree patterned (La Bella Little Buds) card stock
Self adhesive pink pearls
Small googly eyes
Small self adhesive white pearls
Pink and white dotted ribbon
Darice Border embossing folders-vines and flowers
Spare Parts flowers
Martha Stewart rose leaf paper punch
Small corner rounder paper punch
Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder
Zots and foam dots


1.  Fold an 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of card stock in half to make a half fold card.

2.  Place the Darice Border embossing folder along the upper edge of the card and emboss. Place the embossing folder along the lower edge of the card and emboss.

3.  Using the Noah's ABC's cartridge cut the owl at 2 3/4 inches out of black card stock. Press the shift and owl keys to cut the owl's body out of the pink card stock.  Press the layer and owl keys to cut the owl's face out of cream card stock and then the layer, shift and owl keys to cut the top of the owl's head and wings out of the sage green card stock. Assemble the owl.

4.  Cut a piece of kraft paper colored card stock approximately 1/2 inch larger, on all sides, than the owl. Emboss the card stock using the Spots and Dots embossing folder. Use the corner rounder punch to round the ends of the kraft paper. Attach foam dots to the back of the owl and center the owl on the kraft paper.

5.  Cut the tree patterned card stock approximately 3/4 inch (on all sides) larger than the embossed kraft paper. Attach foam dots to the back of the kraft paper, center on the patterned card stock and press into place.

6.  Cut a backing of sage green card stock approximately 1/4 inch larger, on all sides, than the tree patterned card stock. Apply Zots to the back of the patterned card stock and attach to the green mat that you just cut.

7.  Cut two small pieces of ribbon and glue on piece of ribbon diagonally over the top left and lower right hand corners of the mat. Tie a small bow and glue it to the ribbon in the lower right corner. Stick a pink pearl in each corner of the kraft paper. Stick four small pearls to the front of the owl. Glue googly eyes over the owl's eyes.

8.  Punch two leaves out of the olive green card stock using the rose leaf paper punch. Glue a pink flower to the center of the top embossed border. Glue the leaves under the edge of the flower.

9.  Print thank you on a sheet of cream card stock and cut out in an oval shape. Cut a small tag out of a scrap of the kraft paper and punch a hole in the top end of the tag. Glue the cream oval to the kraft paper tag. Thread a pieces of string or ribbon through the tag and attach the tag to the top of the card using a foam dot.

Marco Island, A Week In Paradise

Snow, snow, snow! It seems like it snows almost every other day and like everyone else, I'm so tired of this weather. Fortunately our friends invited us to spend some time with them on Marco Island, Florida to escape the winter weather. My husband and I bundled up in our wool sweaters and coats and headed for the airport, hopped on a plane and left the winter behind. Marco Island was warm (82 degrees) and beautiful. Every where I went I was inspired by the beauty of the island- sunsets, beach and the animals. I ended up taking over 200 photos, some of which I intend to turn into paintings. I decided to share some of my favorite photos.

The marina is inhabited by a flock of Pelicans. While my husband and his friend were cleaning the fish they caught I decided to take some pictures of the marina. I was amazed that this Pelican let me get close to him to take this picture. I was only 6 inches away when I snapped the picture. This guy is the bird in the front on the bottom picture.

The marina was also home to a beautiful Snowy Egret. He was a little more shy than the Pelicans so I had to zoom in to snap this photo.

While walking on the beach, I was able to get fairly close to this group of Royal Terns.

The sunsets on the beach were so beautiful.

Our week in paradise has ended and we flew back to freezing weather and snow (of course) but as I look at these pictures I feel optimistic that I can endure these last few weeks of winter.

Watercolor Ballet Dancer

Degas is one of my favorite impressionist artists. I love his paintings of Ballet Dancers. I was really happy to find of book of Degas Drawings of Dancers on Amazon. The book contains 41 pages of Degas' drawings-some are sketches or preparatory studies and some are finished drawings. Like many artists, I like to copy the works of the Masters in order to improve my drawing skills so this book was just what I was looking for. After helping my husband clear our driveway after the last snow bombardment (3 ft. this time)I shoveled a path to our mailbox so our mail carrier would have no trouble delivering my books. The book arrived on Saturday and by Saturday evening I had chosen my drawing-"Battements" on the Toes at the Barre. Since I usually draw animals the initial blocking in was a little awkward. I had no prior experience in drawing a person but found that once I got past the initial blocking in, the actual drawing got a lot easier.

 Brittany has found that one of the perks of having a mother who is an artist is that she never has to buy art work unless she wants a particular piece. Having just moved into a new apartment she has been asking for paintings and prints to decorate her walls. She knows that I am only to happy to oblige and that I usually have finished works laying around my studio that I can frame and send off to her. This painting reminds me of Brittany when she studied ballet so this one is destined to be sent to her.

Preparatory sketch.

Under painting in progress.

For this painting I used Masters Touch watercolors (available at Hobby Lobby) and Canson watercolor paper. I've tried other brands of watercolor paper including Strathmore but Canson is my favorite. I like the tooth of the paper, it tends to hold the color a little better than the other papers that I have tried. The Dancer's arms and legs were done with a preliminary wash of flesh; the dress is a wash of rose and white to make a light pink; the bow is rose plus the light pink mixture and the shoes are light pink mix and flesh to make a ballet pink. The dress is painted with a wash of light pink and blended out from the edges to the middle by loading a clean brush with water, then picking up the paint along the edges with the brush and painting toward the center.