Mixed Media Canvas

I read once that the work you do should cause you to stretch, to move outside your comfort zone.  Assignments should force you to go beyond what is typical for you. 

the assignment: create a door sign for a little girl's 2nd birthday party

the brainstorm process:

idea #1: a simple graphic print out created in Photoshop and mounted on foam board

idea #2: a scrapbook layout

idea #3: a scrapbook-type layout done on a stretched canvas

idea #4: a mixed-media canvas

Brainstorm over.

I am enchanted with the whimsical style of artist Christy Tomlinson.  She has an amazing way of combining layers, texture, doodles, and elements to create beautiful happy pieces of art.

I drew inspiration from her to create this canvas:

 I began the process with a little sketch:

Then painted the background with watered down acrylics mixed with gel medium.

Used a paper towel to blot up some of the paint and create a bit of texture.  Stamped with bubble wrap to add a bit more texture.

Then it was just a matter of choices: papers, rub ons, punches, placement.  

This part was the most fun.

I muted some of the papers and rub-ons with a little dry brush of gesso.

Finished it off by wrapping the edges in some Smash washi tape:

 I think I found a new art love.  I'm hungry to buy some more canvases to work on another one.  I loved getting lost in the process of creating this. 

Linking this at:

and

Happy Monday!

What's making me happy today:

fresh warm air coming through open windows

creating art

this boy and his imagination

beautiful messes

beautiful tulips from a friend smiling wide for the sun

crochet blanket that's coming along

new art for the kitchen

What's making you happy today?

a little crochet headband

Just a quick little post to share this quick little headband:

The pattern can be found here.  This worked up so amazingly fast.  

I used a thinner weight wool and a size G hook.  I omitted the chain straps and instead did 5 rows of 7DC on each end.  Then I simply SC over a hair elastic to join the two ends together.  

I love the shell stitch and this was a super easy variation.  And joining the ends with an elastic couldn't be easier and provides just the right amount of give to fit various sizes.  

A {finally} finished blanket

Ahhh...the blanket.  

The little project that began so innocently with a few jumbo skeins of yarn on clearance at the craft store.   

Then the purchase of this book:

And then by some cosmic twist of fate, the stumbling upon of this CAL (and learning what a Crochet-A-Long even was).

I was, shall we say, hooked.  On a mission to complete my very first crochet blanket with the very first crochet granny squares I had ever made.  

Day by day I crocheted grannies (64 in all), spending many Sunday afternoons in a rocking chair playing catch up on that week's squares.  I loved working over the patterns, falling into a rhythm of predictability, and watching each little square take shape.  Weaving in the ends was a bit of a pain, but still therapeutic in its own right.

But then came the joining.  I did not like the joining.  At. All.  

 It was monotonous, boring, tedious, uninteresting, chore-like.  

I don't like when creating feels like work, and this definitely felt like work.

But I kept at it and as my blanket grew, I was able to snuggle up in it as I joined row after row (ok, there were only 8 rows, but it easily felt like 80).

And finally just after my 38th birthday it was finished.  

Shortly after, I felt myself longing for another crochet project.

So what does a crazy-can't-get-enough-crochet girl like me do?  Start another blanket, of course.

African Flower Hexagon {pattern}

But I'm no dummy.  I'm using this technique to join as I go and I'm trying my hardest to {remember to} work over my yarn ends so I don't have to weave them all in.

So far so good.

And with any luck, this one won't take me a year to complete!

Some Scrapbooking Catch-up

Sometimes I feel as though I am living in some time warp, where time travels faster than the speed of sound, or at least faster than I can keep up with it.  

        Source: flickr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I try to live each day, to fully live: finding the beauty, appreciating the little things, feeling grateful, slowing down, breathing in.  But it's hard--there's meal planning, house keeping, homework helping, errand running, party throwing, friend hosting, game watching, laundry folding, meeting attending--all those little daily things that tug at you from every direction.

Can you all relate?

I have been doing some fun crafty things and I'll try to get them all up over the next few days.

I'll start with the March kits from Scrapbook Heaven:

Stunning, right?

Here's what I have created with the Elite:

Serious Business: Once you conquered the monkey bars you couldn't keep from climbing them over and over again until your poor little hands were blistered.

love, love: all you need is love

Fancy

Bass Pro Shop: you guys had a blast exploring the Bass Pro Shop.  Such an amazing store!

thank you card

love your smile, love your spirit, love you more than you know

Love Notes

And with the Petite kit:

genuinely you: this photo is like a time machine--it gives a glimpse of what you'll look like in just a few years

you hold my heart: No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you.  After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside. 

happy days are here again: at the cranberry bog 

This last one is for my forum challenge for this month:

This month I challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and be inspired by someone else's scrapbooking style.  You could use their color scheme, adopt their design, borrow their techniques...totally up to you.  
I have been loving on Wilna Furstenberg lately--her white backgrounds, the softness of her colors, her use of elements.