Christmas Greetings straight from your heART!!

Making a list, checking it twice... for whatever the reasons, my Christmas Card list seems to be getting smaller & smaller each year... that realization does sadden me a bit... as long as my list still exists, no matter how many names are left, I will continue to be inspired to make my cards... Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't!! 

Today's Show and Tell puts a "little twist" on a simple looking traditional card in the shape of a Christmas Tree... it fits into an ordinary business sized envelope... when opened, it becomes a free standing 3-sided Christmas Tree. Besides it's simplicity, each panel gives you ample room to showcase your talents and personalize in any way you choose... each one as unique as it's creator!!

My examples were created on 140lb. watercolor paper... of course, I'm sure you recognize my trademark "Janoodles" using Jacquard Dyes and Ink. I started out with 2 tree shapes that I decorated on only 1 side... Below, I have created a simple diagram that I hope can be easily followed...  (I'll explain the unfinished side more as we proceed)

Basic Tree Shape - make 2 for each card

*  Photos below represent each step

* Tree shapes glued together per instructions above

                            1                                   2                                 3

View 1 -  After gluing together, the 3rd side will give you a blank canvas  
to personalize your cards in any way you choose...

        Views 2 & 3 - I decided to Janoodle a similar design with a simple holiday greeting

Here is an example of a tree card created using a Gelli Plate and acrylic paint... no matter what your favorite medium may be, the variations you can achieve with this simple design will be endless... as always, the main objective is to have FUN!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Until next time...

Happy Holiday ARTing!! 

Let the Holiday Season begin!!

"Time flies when you're having fun!"... or so they say!! Realizing my lack of posts for the past few months, let's just assume they are right and I've just been having way too much fun (a little fantasy can't hurt)... anyway, I still can't believe that it's already December and 2017 is just around the corner!!

Ready or not, the Holiday Season is upon us... let's get back in the swing of things with a little Show & Tell to kick it all off!

I love gourds of all shapes and sizes, they are a perfect natural form & canvas for creating unique works of art... for our purposes today, I chose the smallest variety available... Tennessee Spinners. These wonderful little gourds can be used to create very imaginative Christmas Ornaments with very few supplies needed! My favorite medium to use is black archival ink... I love the contrast of the design with the natural color of the gourd. Many artists use acrylic paint to achieve their desired results while others use wood burning tools... experiment with your favorite supplies and most important, remember to have fun!!    

Pictured below: Tennessee Spinners - small bottle shaped gourds - average size is about 2 inches tall and approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (give or take a smidge) - I have a local farmgal that grows mine but I have seen them for sale on ebay, just make sure they are "cleaned" and ready to use... (trust me, you don't want to deal with the moldy, crusty layers from the drying process)

Tennessee Spinners - natural color

Pictured below are a few non-holiday specific ornaments to hang year 'round but also look great on a Christmas tree... the only medium used is black archival ink, using the natural color of the gourd for contrast... they are finished by spraying a few coats of clear gloss acrylic. (Note: the wire is attached by drilling a tiny hole across the neck of the spinner)

Pictured below are classic designed Christmas "Snowman" Ornaments... acrylic paint in a variety of bright colors with fuzzy pipe cleaners, ribbon, craft wire & bell accents... they're sure to put anyone into the Holiday Spirit!!

Move over Frosty... Gourdy the Snowman is in town!!

Thank you for stopping by... 

I'm planning to get back to my usual routine with more 

Holiday projects to share... Please check back!

Until next time... Blessings to you all !!

Cotton Candy and a slice of "Humble Pie"!

End of Summer means "Fair Time" in Northeast Washington... I usually try to be supportive & join in whenever there are community events, especially if ART is the focus... I have been in charge of the judging for the Kids Fine Arts Exhibit for several years. I was part of the Adult Judging for a few years before switching over to the Kid's Art, of course at that time I was not eligible to enter any work myself. After the switch I really didn't give it a serious thought since one of my closest friends & biggest ART supporters served as the judge, there was no doubt in my mind that she would recognize my work.  This year, I went ahead as a surprise to her and confidently entered a piece that she had never seen... in the end, it turned out the surprise was on me!  

Let me be perfectly candid... I must confess, my "artist" ego did get the best of me! I had entered my piece in the "Senior" division, knowing fully that she always judges in full support of everyone's efforts to encourage their participation... I was confident that a Blue Ribbon was inevitable!! When our various judging duties were over for the day, I met up with her and she never commented on her surprise at seeing my entry. I thought she must be playing along and making me wait until the next day when the fair opened to see for myself... but patience is not my strongest virtue, I asked her if she enjoyed my surprise but she simply gave me a blank look... she didn't even recognize my work (the names aren't shown until after the judging)... that, in itself, was hard for me to believe... I described the piece and after a moment her face changed to a look of recognition, "did it have a blob of pink in the center?"...   I instantly knew things didn't go as I had planned!! In the end, I'm not sure which one of us regretted my surprise entry the most... I definitely wished that I hadn't put my friend in a position that made her now feel so badly!! 

The next day I joined all of the other fair goers on opening day to see the exhibits... making my way to the "ART Barn", I immediately noticed my entry with its bright Red Ribbon and quickly read the judge's comments... it took me a moment to put my ego in check, but I soon felt very proud of my friend... I agree wholeheartedly with her critique of my work, it took her objective eye for me to actually see beyond my own self-centered view!  (Of course, I can't let her know, I have to milk "my bruised ego" a little bit longer, just for fun!!)

Pictured below: My "Red Ribbon" fair entry. 11X14, Jacquard Dyes w/ink 

"Dancing Under the Sea"

   

 Thanks for stopping by, Until next time...

Blessings to One and All!!

 

Light as a feather artwork suitable for hanging!

Just a quicky Show & Tell for today... As I've mentioned in previous posts, for several years I have volunteered each summer at our local Historical Center. Every season we hold an annual art exhibit and marketing contest with a theme that is relevant to our local Native American culture, this year the theme was "feathers". The winning artwork is used as a marketing tool for our next season's advertising & merchandising. I always participate, just for the fun of it... as a board member, I am exempt from the competition & prize money.

Below is a photo of my interpretation of the theme (the components are mounted to provide some dimension to the piece)... the piece is 11X14 and framed to 16X20... I call it, "Medicine Fans"

"Medicine Fans"

Well, thanks for popping in...

Until next time, Happy ARTing!

When in doubt, reach for your favorites!!

What do you do on a hot summers day? I, for one, do not do well in the heat (triple digits all week) so an indoors activity (aka: ART ) is my first choice!! When in doubt, I pull out the "old tried & true"... Jacquard Dyes are my "go to" medium of choice... I love the vibrant colors, the way they flow & saturate the paper leaving behind a welcoming surface for my favorite pen... I never tire of working with them!    

I really enjoy making postcards, the size seems just right... not too small & not too big... the plus being, when you're finished you can slap a postage stamp on it and share a bit of yourself along the way by sending a little greeting to someone that you've been thinking of! 

Pictured below are some postie "blanks" waiting to be Janoodled... 

 

Pictured below are the finished postcards awaiting their postal journeys... I originally planned to write different versus on each, but for some reason I felt what I had to say could just bear repeating... 

My "ART" is not what I do, it's who I am!

 I'm very glad you stopped by to see what's new... 

Until next time,  Happy ARTing!!

One brushstroke at a time!

Good news everyone... I am not going to "beat the dead horse" with any more excuses of an absentee muse in my world... It's time to move on!!  

 Below you will find a few recent projects... just for fun!!

First of all... 

 Happy Summertime to All...  

Hope you are enjoying fun filled adventures that are sure to make many wonderful memories?!

"Starry Nite" Janoodle Envie - Shimmer background doesn't show up

 Janoodle "Puzzle" -  created for an AFA Swap   

 

"Living Canvas" - clumsy me, I dropped a bottle of dye

As usual, thanks for stopping by...

Blessings to you all!!

 

Oh where, oh where can my little "muse" be... ?

If I were an author I'd be describing my recent frustration as "writer's block"... but instead, as an artist with an "awol" muse, I seem to be experiencing what I'll simply refer to as "artblock"! To be honest, I can't remember a time when I have ever been so "uncreative" since giving up the old "9 to 5" many years ago! It seems that lately every time I attempt to escape into my work space for an art inspired endeavor, my attention and energy gets diverted elsewhere and it's beginning to take it's toll on my normally sweet & amiable attitude!! I pray for the sake of all those around me, that these distractions are short lived and all things in my art-universe return  to normal sooner than later!! Until then, I choose to just believe that, this too will soon pass!!

I did become intrigued with a swap on AFA that one of my favorite hosts organized, "Junker Jane" style dolls... it seemed like fun and I couldn't resist giving it a try even though it would entail "sewing" which is definitely not one of my strong points! If you are not familiar with "Junker Jane", there are many examples to see on the internet. These unique dolls are what might be called "creepy & cute" all at the same time! I soon discovered that my attempts at creating dollies in this style were falling way short of the quality & vision that I had hoped to achieve... after more failures than I care to count, I only managed to create 2 dollies that I would dare make claim to and in all good conscience I knew that they are not what my fellow artists deserved to receive in return... so I did what I very rarely do, I withdrew from the swap! 

Well, you can't hit a home run every time at bat, but if you don't step up to the plate, you'll never know!! 

Below are pics of my two surviving dollies... (not sure where they will end up but for better or for worse they deserve to at least be seen!!)

 Thanks for stopping by, until next time...

Blessings to you all & HAPPY ARTING!!

 

Give a hand to someone who may need it !!

Just a short little Show & Tell to let everyone know that I am alive and well... whew, I'll bet some of you did have your doubts?! However... my muse has been MIA this month... I've sent out the hounds, hopefully she will get tired or hungry or cold and return home soon...(I have left the door unlocked & all of the windows open)!!

Below is a pic of some "Janoodle" Hands to symbolically wave goodbye to May and hello to June!! I got inspired to try my hand at creating these from a swap on AFA... I've been doing soooo many different shapes lately that a rectangle seems to have lost it's appeal to me (for now anyway, I can be a bit fickle!!)

 "With This Ring"                    "Live Long & Prosper"

 Thanks for your continued interest in my work... 

you are truely appreciated!!

Until next time... Blessings to you All!! 

F is for Feather or Fish... definitely, for FUN!!

Just a little quickie Show & Tell for today... My favorite "take home" inspiration from SeARTle was a template for creating a "feather"... several of us did join an impromptu 6:6 feather swap while there, it was a fun challenge having the pressure to create on the spot and in the end it was a great beginning for a continuing collection! (My feathers were included in the pics on the last post)

Upon my return home, I promptly got to work creating feathers to fulfill some promised trades. Below is a pic of some feathers that I have come up with so far, there is definitely more on the horizon... hopefully I can convince some other artists to trade with me... I've become obsessed, I want more!!

Janoodle Style Feathers

One of the projects that I created to take along in hopes of trading were my "Funky Fingerlings"... I fashioned them after a PIF Swap on AFA called "Funky Fish"... the difference being the size, my fingerlings are much smaller at only about five inches in length. They were well received but no one else had the template ahead of time... I was thrilled to extend "fish credit" and await my fish when their muse inspires them!

Below are a few fingerlings that I'm sending out to honor additional trades!

"Funky Fingerlings"

Thanks for dropping in to take a peek...

Until next time... Keep on ARTing!!

Great People + Great ART = Great FUN!!

Whoa, whatever happened to April? It seems that it has come & gone without this absent blogger giving it even the slightest bit of acknowledgement... I thought about coming on to post an exciting tale of intrigue & mayhem to explain where I've been, but I guess that a big fat lie would not turn "two wrongs into a right"... In actuality, life just got in the way!

Let's start off with a little recap... in one of my last posts, I mentioned that I was preparing to go to an artist gathering in Seattle, Washington aptly named SeARTle 2016. I'm happy to report that I did indeed travel across the state last week-end to meet up with fellow "AFA" members and that I enjoyed myself completely! It was indeed a pleasure to meet so many talented artists that I had traded artwork with during these past 3 years as well as having the chance to  watch them in action as they worked in their own unique styles... I picked up some wonderfully creative tips that I definitely plan on trying out!! 

Almost immediately upon arrival, the trading began... at times it felt like the action became as frenzied as one would imagine the "trading floor" at the Stock Exchange on Wall Street to be like!! Artwork changing hands, right & left... deals being made for future trades and negotiations for "on the spot creations"... the only thing missing was a "closing bell" at the end of the day!!

I managed to score some wonderful works of art... (I didn't dare leave them lying around for fear that they would be swept away in all of the excitement!!) 

Below are pics of my "Treasured Trades", (all works are copyrighted by each individual artist...  not to be reproduced without permission!)

Feathers, Domi-Book, Fingerling, Hearts, ATC's & SeARTle Block Print

USK tip-in pages - approx. 3 3/4" X 5 3/4"

 

Thank you for stopping by, until next time...

Happy ARTing & Blessings to All!!

 

Hippity, Hoppity, Happy Easter!

"Springtime Flutter" - Jacquard Dyes w/Ink

Blessings for a 

Joyous Easter Season 

to You & Yours...

He Is Risen!!

Jump on the "Zine" wagon straight to Funsville!

 

I may have come late to the party but several months ago I came across something of interest that apparently was not a new idea at all... where had I been? This was just up my alley, it's hard to believe that I hadn't gotten in on the ground floor of the "ZINE" phenomenon... for those of you who are even farther behind than I am, here's what some main stream resources have to say...

Wikipedia 

• A zine (zeen; an abbreviation of fanzine or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts images reproduced via photocopier.

  
Even Merriam Webster Dictionary came on board: Zine

• a small magazine that is written by people who are not professional writers and that usually has stories about a particular subject
• a non-commercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter

  The Urban Dictionary chimed in with...

•   "Zine" is short for fanzine. For all intensive purposes, a zine is a cheaply-made, cheaply-priced publication, often in black and white, which is mass-produced via photocopier.

• Most zines revolve around a music scene of some sort, but others are dedicated to artwork, poetry, cartoons, editorials and short stories.

So, I guess it's official... Zines are simply a creative, self expressive and fun way to share just about anything of interest to anyone who'll take the time to read it!!

For the past few months I have been working on my first Zine... every time I got started, I allowed myself to get side tracked... not sure why, but I just couldn't get it done! Recently, my interest was rekindled by a fellow artist at AFA who completed her first zine and has made it available for trading. So, I jumped in and persevered until I had once and for all finished my own zine in hopes of trading with her! 

Janoodle Art-Zine

Below is a pic of the finished layout of my zine... (I decided on a single page, 8 panel style zine)... It is now ready to print on the color paper of your choice... (* take note that the top & bottom rows are going in different directions, this is necessary for all of the pages to be correct when folded in half)

Zine Layout - 8 Hand Drawn Panels

Below is a template to show how to fold and cut your 

printed page to create your finished booklet

Zine Template - easy to follow guidelines

Below pics show steps of folding after cutting the opening to 

create a finished booklet... give it a try, 

it actually is quite easy once you see it in person!

 Hope you will jump in and try your hand at a "Zine"...

you just might have fun!

Until next time, Blessings to one & all!!

Gearing up for ART & Fun... what's not to like?

The last week-end of April, I will be attending "SeARTle", an art retreat and gathering of fellow artists from the website ATCsforAll in Seattle, Washington. This will be my maiden voyage into an event of this kind, I was tempted out of my "solo artist" comfort zone at the prospect of meeting several artists who's works and talents I have come to appreciate as well as admire since joining AFA. So, how could I possibly pass this opportunity up with it being so close to home? From reports of past events around the country, I am sure that a good time will be had by all!

With my decision to attend, I now need to work towards creating some "trade" inventory... I definitely want to walk away with a treasure trove of work from my fellow artists... the best souvenir of all! Soooo, production has begun... trading is much like selling... my motto: the more choices there are, the easier it is to hook them in!! (Selling 101, hehehe!) 

Today's Show and Tell is a look at a few projects that I have started to make for SeARTle. A couple of them I have created in the past but with a bit of "design tweaking" to make them new & unique to this event! 

Below: First up are my... Mini SeARTle Domi-Books... much like regular sized domino books, this version is created from miniature dominoes that I recently came across... they were just too cute to pass up!! 

Inside: Janoodle Style - Jacquard Dyes w/Ink 

Below: Next up... "Mini Muse" Dollies... in the past, I have created these little dollies in a variety of sizes but these are the smallest version yet, approximately 5 inches (hair included)... even though their message may be the same, each doll has it's own unique Janoodle design as well as stylin' with a variety of hair colors!

 

Below: Finally... "Tip-ins" for a Universal Sketchbook aka "USK"... if you're not familiar with these little books, they are a blank accordion style hard cover book to either create directly on it's pages or in this case, insert "tip-ins" that are created on separate pieces of paper & attached to the inside panels of the USK. I have recently become addicted to making these pages, mostly because of their size (3.5 X 5.75 inches)... not too small & not too big, just right for my attention span!! (Color is kinda weird in this pic, just couldn't do them justice!)

Assortment of USK's for trading

As usual, I do appreciate that you stopped by to take a peek...

Until next time, Happy ARTing!

Is it a postie, is it an envie... no, it's weirdy mail?!

Just a quickie Show & Tell for today... It's Weirdy Time February! If you follow my blog regularly, you already know that a couple times each year my Envie Addicts Unite! mail art group ventures off the normal path and sends out what we call "weirdy" mail to our monthly partners. For those of you who don't know, the challenge is to send out something "weirdy" (such as; an unusual shape or "naked" unwrapped item) to see if our local Postal Peeps will accept it & deliver it intact to it's destination! (If interested, you can check out my blog archives for February or October 2015 to see my past weirdy mailings!) 

Below are photos of the "weirdy" that I sent out to my partner in Texas... good news, it made it there safe & sound! 

I started with an empty Cranberry Juice jug, I cut off the bottom and filled the jug with some Valentine themed works of art that I created as well as a couple fun treats... after reattaching the bottom, I addressed & prepared the outside for mailing!

   

Inside Surprise - Hand Painted Tote, Bookmark, Heart Garland & Treats

Thanks for stopping by...

Happy Valentines Day to one & all!

A spoonful of "ART" helps the medicine go down!

There really aren't many things that can stand in the way of my desire to create artwork, unless of course it's an untimely, irritating, and thoroughly icky winter cold... several days of head pounding, post nasal dripping, nose stuffing, and cough inducing germs had me down for the count!! Good news, I'm finally on the mend and back in my muse groove!

Today's Show & Tell is all about Domino Books... several months ago, I participated in a swap on AFA and experienced domi-books for the first time. Recently, when the opportunity arose to join another swap, I jumped at the chance to join in the fun! 

Below are photos of my four domi-books: I decided to construct each one using the same techniques and materials... in the end, each one has it's own unique look and theme! The front panels on each domi-book were made using paper clay, the dominoes were painted with acrylic paint and sealed with a clear gloss acrylic spray, the inside accordion pages were created using Jacquard Dyes w/ink.

 Beware: Domi-Books can become addictive!   

 

Thanks for stopping by, until next time...  

Brighten your days with color!!