Monday, December 31, 2012

Tote Addiction

I swear I am not a tote bag addict.  I am not one of those people who gets giddy with excitement when she receives a free tote bag with purchase.  But I truly love the tote bag my sister made me for Christmas.


My sister has become a tote bag making addict.  She can't seem to stop.  She has made countless tote bags for friends and relatives.  She says that it takes her about 11 hours to make each bag, sewn from a piece of canvas on which she paints layer after layer.  And the fabrics that she uses for the liners are fabulous!

Those of us whom she loves benefit from her addiction.  Here are the tote bags that she made for my daughter and my BFF.



Thanks, sister, for my wonderful Christmas present.  And let me know if I need to stage a tote bag intervention.

- christina

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Out of the Mouths of Babes

An art teacher at one of my elementary schools asked her students why art was important. . .






-christina

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Monday, December 3, 2012

Thanksgiving Fun

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was lucky enough to go to Florida to visit my BFF.  The weather was beautiful and she lives on a lovely lake.  It was such a nice break from the cold, winter winds of the midwest.

My BFF and I enjoy many of the same arts and crafts so we tend to work each other up into a frenzy of creativity.  This visit was probably the worst - or best - ever.  We completed 2 really exciting projects, as well as eating, drinking, and shopping.

The first project was from a blog post by Alisa Burke.  We made marbleized paper using leftover spray paint. We sprayed the paint into a bucket of water and laid watercolor paper on top of it.  The paint stuck to the paper and created a marbleized effect. I love the way these turned out.  As you can see we had lots of spray paint colors to choose from.


The next project was by Paul Bozzo.  We made tiles using joint compound, stamps and objects, and 3 layers of paint.  All the directions can be found on YouTube by searching BozzoArt but also check out  Paul's blog here.
Stamps pressed into joint
compound spread on a MDF tile.

The final product after 3 layers of paint
(yellow, red, then phthalo green)
Each of the 3 colors is added individually and then wiped off.  The bottom tiles in the photo are my daughter's, the middle ones were made by my BFF, and the top ones are mine.  Interestingly, we each ended up with a different prominent color.  The tiles are more impressive in real life than in the photograph.  I definitely want to do this project again but first I have to gather a collection of objects to stamp with.  My BFF had everything from plastic easter eggs to computer parts.  She is so clever!

I hope you had a fun and creative Thanksgiving as well.  Now it's time to start creating Christmas gifts. :)
-christina