Dollar Tree Magic for a Summer Wedding

Imagine a wedding venue where the desserts are 2-bite Bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Bakery and there are 300 of them!! The tiny bites of bliss required some kind of tiered arrangements on which to offer them, So off to my local Dollar Store I went.  My haul included 10 each of three sizes of plates/platters and 4 packages of champagne glasses.

I used both hot glue and E6000 to adhere my "pieces" together and voila! I have ten 3-tiered serving pieces for the wedding venue (drops the mike). 

Challenges I am Entering:
  Moving along with the Times - Clean & Simple
Krafty Chicks - Clean & Simple

Unicorn Challenges - Not a Square

New-to-Me Technique - Hammering Flowers

  

Today I wandered around the neighborhood, looking for inspiration. I can always find it in nature, sure enough I was admiring all the bright colors blooming in neighbors' yards. Asking for permission first, I gathered up a few glowers and/or petals and brought them home to try something new (to me) - hammered flowers.

I decided to use a T-shirt, and prepared it by soaking it in a mixture of milk and Epsom salts. I used a hybrid version of a binder for improving the colors and staying powers of the flowers' imprint. Most Pinterest posts said using soy milk or ash for tie-dyeing but I had none.  

I placed my shirt on a king-sized cutting board I inherited from my mom, then covered my soon-to-be canvas with parchment paper since I had no wax paper. Next came the hammer, and I had a good, intense workout pounding the flowers into my shirt. 

After allowing the flowers to dry a bit, I removed them to admire my new artwork. Hmmm! Maybe haphazard was the wrong way to place the blooms. And the red left a brownish dye color. And the leaves didn't leave their mark much. And some of the prints were unrecognizable. And maybe I should have practiced on watercolor paper first...

Anyway, I learned a new technique and am going to practice what I preach and try this technique on watercolor paper (arranging the blooms artfully). A little progress every day adds up...

Challenges I am Entering:

  Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

  Creative Inspiration - ANything Goes

My Kind of Town...

Frank Sinatra sang it well in the 1964 movie "Robin and the Seven Hoods". The song, "My Kind of Town, Chicago is", was nominated for the Academy Awards that year, but lost out to "Chim Chim Cheree" by Dick Van Dyke.  That song and a new-to-me painting technique inspired me to create my canvas today. It features the Chicago city skyline and a sky exploding with fireworks.

I started with a white canvas, using a free clipart of the Chicago skyline to cover the bottom before painting the top of my canvas black. Using metallic acrylic paints (copper, gold, silver, green & blue), I created a "stamp" out of a cardboard paper roll, snipping its end with scissors and fanning it out before dipping it into various paints and pressing onto the canvas (this is the new-to-me technique).  As I worked from top to bottom, I rolled smaller versions of my "stamp" so the fireworks looked smaller as they neared the cityscape.

I really think it turned out well. I'm going to seal it with gloss vanish before hanging it up in my house. 

Happy 4th of July, everyone! And Happy Birthday, Wendy!

Challenges I am Entering:

Little Red Wagon - Light It Up

DL Art -  July

Halloween & Other Occasions - celebrate your Country

The Four Seasons - July

Leaping into Inspiration

I was out walking Honey, my little terrier, and as I passed the house of a good friend and neighbor, I saw a rusty, older-than-dirt garden deco in the tiny patch of garden where the lamppost resides. He was one ugly toad, but he still managed a big smile. The "before" photo is below.

The photo above features the happy little frog after giving him a makeover. I sanded most of his surface and put on a layer of white gesso. The I pulled out my acrylics and gave him a healthy new look. I even painted the back of Mr. Happy (my name for him) so it would retard the rust. Then I sealed front and back with Gloss varnish and he now looks like he's leaping for joy. Below, he's pretending to be happy but I could tell he wanted a little help...

 Challenges I am Entering:

Time for a Little Poetry

Some people are going to remember the summer of 2024 as The Summer of the 17-year Cicada Invasion" . Others will call it the Cicada Family Reunion. Most will call it The Summer the Trees Screamed. 

It was a true invasion, with people covering young trees and their ears and sweeping their sidewalks. Cicadas are all about singing for a mate, and their "songs" can make conversation outdoors a tad impossible. Some days it was hard to walk without stepping on a few dozen with every house I passed. They are also poor flyers, bouncing off of windshields and people as their 2-inch bodies move around.

But Nature has a way of inspiring artists to create, whether it be a blossoming tree, a butterfly hovering, or an ugly little bug. So I created not one, but two Haiku poems to commemorate this summer:

Fat are the birds now,

enjoying all-you-can eat

Cicada Buffet.

Can't see the sidewalk

beyond the cicada shells

crackling under foot.

Whimsical Muse at Work

I love finding metal artwork at the thrift stores. I don't really care about the color scheme...I just want to bring it home and paint it myself! The decor above is 3'x3' and was painted black, olive and red?! That had to change, so it came home with me that day.

I spent a couple days sanding then giving it a nice clean base coat. Then I took out my brushes and acrylics and started with the sunflowers. I eventually added other colors and started filling in backgrounds. It reminds me of the Disney animated movie "Alice in Wonderland". After sealing it with pouring gloss varnish, I hung it on the back wall of my deck. My deck is slowing coming to life, with fake potted plants in the corners, new cushions for the chairs, a newly-painted metal table and other artwork. I just need a day where the temperature is under 90 degrees so I can sit and relax and sip my iced tea and read a cozy mystery...

Challenges I am Entering:

Through the Purple Haze - Anything Goes

My Time to Craft - Summer Florals

Ellibelle's Corner -(I Spy w/my Little Eye) Something Blooming Lovely

Sisterhood of Crafters - In the Garden

A Birthday Gift for My Daughter

 

My daughter is all about positive mantras and self-love (in a good way)> He birthday is coming up next month. AS a matter of fact, she was born on the 4th of July. She's into crystals, Ghibli anime and spreading kindness like confetti.

I chose to create a canvas for her. She likes mushrooms, hedgehogs, and all things dogs. An occasional frog will catch her eye. So I stalked Pinterest for some ideas and found a cute pin that included both a  frog and mushrooms. I drew my own take on the pin, using colors I thought she would like. 

I painted over one of my older canvases due to a shortage of canvases in my house! I have done a LOT of decluttering, but have not got rid of any canvases, so they're either leaving of their own accord, or I've been painting more than I realized! I used acrylic paints on a stretched canvas. I think she'll like it...

I just ordered something from EBay to add to my gifts for her, a little something she has expressed a desire for. And I plan to take her to her favorite restaurant to celebrate. How blessed am I that I am able to give her these gifts! That's about all for now. I'm working on a large metal wall hanging that will go out on my back deck, in addition to adding to my craft fair inventory for this Fall. Hope you'll come back to see the results!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Through the Purple Haze -  Anything Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything w/an animal Goes

Critter Crazy - Anything w/a critter Goes