A Work in Progress

 Just giving you a little peek at some work in progress. I finally got back to acrylic pour canvas painting! I've not had any inspiration until now to return to this technique. I'm having trouble getting cells. When I do get them, they are tiny. Maybe I use too much paint on the actual canvas...

Anyway, this is just to show you my new art goals, which are:
    ...to try/return to new techniques
    ...to spend less time on Pinterest and more time creating
    ...to use up my over-abundant stash of craft supplies, canvases, wood and leather kits, and paper
    ...and to continue to fight procrastination, hoarding, thrift store visits and disorganization

Wish me luck. My whole creative life has been built on the things I wish to fight against. For example, I like to create shadow boxes. Besides making them to contain memories (son's wedding, grandkids, etc), I love to make me a spooky Halloween shadow box I can display in October. I also like to create Christmas shadow boxes (same reason). A big plus, they sell well!! LOL

Right now, in my basement, I have over a dozen shadow boxes stashed away, waiting for me to upcycle into fabulous shadow box room decor for the holidays. I also have two giant Rubbermaid tubs filled with Halloween decorations and figurines. Christmas shadow box stuff has its own two tubs . I really need to pick up where I left off regarding shadow boxes...

That's Nine Altogether - Thrift/Dollar Store Upcycle #7

 

One of my all-time favorite Halloween movies is Hocus Pocus. Starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as three witches released from a curse and looking to drink the life essence of young children, this Disney classic has plenty of humor and comic moves to give it a PG rating. It was good enough to get a sequel, new in 2022.

Above, Bette Midler tries to impress upon her sisters how necessary it is to suck the lives out of children so that they don't "cease to exist". I gave new life to this free clipart by coloring her hair and skin, as well as some black trim and Halloween stickers. 

Below I used up my 3D bird stickers to create another canvas. This one reads, "Take time to laugh, for it is the music of the soul".

A Study in Contrast

 Today is a Zen day, and I think I spent it well. My artwork is a Zen Doodle of contrasts. As I started to draw the uncolored part of the sunflower, my Muse was whispering, "what if you colored it?" I couldn't imagine coloring all the tiny details of my doodle, but I could partner the ink drawing with a more realistic rendering of a sunflower.

So now I have a study in contrasts, color vs. black in white, as well as detailed vs. silhouette. My cousin, Tamara, author of     , suggested that I start collecting some of my art journal pages and create a coloring book. I'm going to explore that option but wait until this art journal is complete. I have just three pages left on which to draw!! That went fast! LOL 

Wall Decor Gone Wild

 My stack of thrift store upcycled wall decor is getting higher with every passing day. Featured above is my newest canvas, one my mom would have appreciated. She was a Star Trek fan of every movie, TV series and offshoots. She went to conventions and cruises where she got to meet, dine with and get autographs with all numerous celebrities from each venue.

I found a clipart of Mr. Spock from the original TV series and colored it. I added the ST insignia onto his shirt. I love his quote, "Are you a Vulcan or a Vulcan't! 

I've got to say that the time invested in scraping and sanding the Dollar Store wooden wall decor is well worth the effort. I plan on selling these at the next craft fair on my calendar... 

Here's another canvas below. I used one of my Zen Doodles to create it. I added a few paper flowers and adhesive pearls for dimension.

Can't Have Too Many Shoes - Dollar Store DIY/Upcycle #5

 

I found a huge dresser drawer filled with stickers! These beauties are felt stickers, and I used a strip of designer paper from a previous project for the quote. The paper is one I've had for years and I thought it went perfectly with the shoe theme. After all, shoes are as much about style as clothing.

I remember wearing heels like these when I was younger. I had a lovely pair of "platform" heels that were lined in black velvet. They had clear plastic straps over the toes, with a black silk flower on each. The straps around my ankles were black satin. I called them my hooker shoes! LOL

Comment if you remember wearing platforms, hot pants, bell bottoms (now called flares) and jackets with fringe (purses, too). What a blast from the past!

To Zen Doodle is to Let Your Creativity Flow

 My garden was my inspiration for today's project. Or rather, fighting off the bunnies for my tomatoes and strawberries was my inspiration I should say. I put screen sup around the strawberries, and threw bird-netting over the framework in my garden, but they still seem to get in and cheat me out of all the work I did to get my veggies and fruit to grow. Does anybody have a useful tip for keeping them out?

Meanwhile, I drew a warren of bunnies and let the Zen flow from my fingers onto the page. The quote is one of my favorites, "I love bunnies short and tall, but I love chocolate ones best of all". Do you see the "one that got away? (Hint: top left)

I didn't realize how fast and furiously strawberry plants spread. I devoted a third of my backyard garden to the fruit, but I had to put a "fence" in between the strawberries and tomato plants as the fruit has taken over half my garden! It's hard enough to keep the plants alive as we're experiencing a drought in northern Illinois. Add to that those pesky bunnies and I'm at my wit's end.

BTW, I decided to give my trailer the name "Wit's End". That way residents will know where to come when get to my place. They'll be "at wit's end". LOL

Faith - Dollar Store DIY/Upcycle #4

 

Today I upcycled another Dollar Store wooden sign. This time I used a stamp from Crafters' Companion for the sentiment. The cardinal is a 3D stamp (isn't he beautiful?). The paper is once again a grab from my paper stacks. I swear, unless I need a specific paper, I won't have to buy another sheet until the year 2035. LOL

I admit it. I am a paperholic. If I say I'm on my way to a paper-crafting, intervention, I'm really on the way to buy more paper. And that has to stop! My sister and her hubby are coming in to stay with me in September, and that basement (where my craft supplies are located) must be cleaned out and organized before they take step one into my house.

I will say that a lot of paper came from clearance racks, thrift stores and 50% off sales, and I haven't bought a single piece since before COVID. But then I inherited my mom's stash of papers when she passed. I had bought a shelf (on clearance) from Michaels craft store to keep everything in one place, but I later discovered that I had only put the 12x12 papers in it. I recently found a couple drawers full of cardstock in all the colors of the rainbow, so the pressure's on. Of course, I could go back to making cards and scrapbooking, but I'm having so much fun painting and upcycling and creating wall decor and patio decor...and those projects often clean out more space that using paper and tape!!!

Making Zen Doodling a Part of Each Day

 I've spent a couple weekends at my trailer near Starved Rock, an Illinois State Park. When my nephew and his family join me, we always have a campfire. And what goes better with a campfire than marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate; in other words, S'Mores!

I was inspired to doodle a campfire, along with the necessary marshmallows on sticks. It's a sweet, sticky piece of heaven you put in your mouth. I wish I still had my guitar. I could play and we could sing some songs to end our evenings!

Of course, you don't need a campfire to make S'Mores. Just place graham crackers on the bottom of a cake pan, cover with chocolate bar pieces and top with marshmallows. Place in a toaster broiler until the marshmallows start to brown. Pull the pan out and you have an instant campfire gourmet dessert, right in your kitchen!

Beach - Dollar Store DIY/Upcycle #3

Since I bought a bag of 15 Dollar Store signs at a thrift store for $5, I decided to create a post each time I finish one. Today's project uses designer paper, stickers and buttons. All my upcycled boxes have a 3D element on them. I pulled everything from my leftovers stash. The letters spelling BEACH were part of a scrapbooking goodie from a crop weekend and the flip flops are buttons. 

My favorite type of vacation features a beach. Cozumel is one of my favorite destinations. Later this year, my sisters and I are going on a cruise in the Caribbean, and I plan on spending plenty of time on the beaches, soaking up the sun (properly covered with sunscreen), splashing in the waves and searching for shells.
 On the first anniversary of my hubby's passing, my daughter and I went to Cozumel and spread his ashes into the Caribbean Sea. It was sad and yet he loved it there. I don't think we'll go back any time soon.  The hotel we used to stay at changed owners and is not as well-maintained as it was previously. Add in the fact that we had always traveled with my girlfriend and her family, it was a lonely trip (she had passed away three months before my husband). But we'll always have the memories, all put together in a scrapbook.

It's Baby Shower Time!

 

When I got an invitation to a baby shower, I rifled through my boxes of already-made cards, and discovered that...there were no baby or baby shower cards in my stash!! Since the shower is on Sunday, I pulled out papers, stickers, ink, trim, etc., and proceeded to make the card you see here. 

She's expecting a boy, and had listed Target as one of the stores she registered with. Besides a package of pacifiers (we always called them foolers), I bought something she'll be able to use once the baby can sit - a grocery cart snuggie. It attaches to the seat of the cart, and wraps around the baby, so that he can sit up and mama won't have to worry about him falling sideways or forward and banging his face on the cart's handle. It was a very appreciated gift from someone when I was pregnant with my daughter.

My card was made using leftover paper from my stash, as well as leftover buttons, stickers, trim and bows. The gingham bunny is a patch. I'm also bringing a plate of devilled eggs, not for the guests, but just for her. She loves my recipe, which is simply finely-chopped hard-boiled egg yolks, Miracle Whip and mustard, with a dash of paprika on top just before serving. 

Challenges I am Entering:

Live*Love*Laugh with Me - Dollar Store DIY/Upcycle Project #2

Back to my thrift store find: the bag of Dollar Store wooden canvases. Today's artwork features designer paper, Copic markers and stickers. I adhered my paper with spray adhesive, sanding the edges to keep it inline with the frame's edges. It also gave my piece a nice white line to highlight said edges. 

I used same for the very old (haven't seen it in years!) bird sticker. I dug deep into my stickers bin and found a small sheet of leftover words from a previous project. I finished off my new wall decor by using a Copic marker to create the circle around the words.

A very simple yet nice project to hand up next to the one I did earlier this week. Just to show you what I mean by Dollar Store wooden canvases, here's a photo of a few of them that I had cleaned off...

 
 

A Happy Little Accident - Dollar Store DIY/Upcycle Project #1

 Okay, peeps, by now you know that I enjoy thrift shopping, or as I call it thrift therapy. (Believe me, when I see the prices at retail stores, I need true therapy!) So I scored a whole bag of Dollar Store wooden signs that all said "Happy Easter". There were 15 in the bag, and I got it for $5 - that's less than 50 cents apiece! See the photo below for what these signs looked like

I just pulled one out of the bag and took off the Easter print from the wooden "canvas" with water and a small scraper. Once clean, I set it aside because I often do more than one craft at a time. with that said, I was cleaning off my table where I had just painted. I dropped the palette paper with excess acrylic paint all over it, and it transferred onto the wooden canvas I had cleaned and sanded.

After taking a good look at the mess, I decided to create an abstract painting by painting white dots around the paint splotches. It became one of Bob Ross's "happy little accidents" that was salvageable. I added a die-cut sentiment and I have new wall decor to hang!

Before I completely cleaned up today, I cleaned and sanded five more of my Dollar Store wooden canvases (but I'm keeping them off the table for now!). Expect to see more wall decor this summer...

A Card for My Son

                        

 For Father's Day this month, I created a humorous card. I used 2 digital images from Scribbles Designs, Carl and Moustache. The background is a photo I took while in Cancun, Mexico, last year. I placed it onto a digi paper from Pixel scrapper A Janner from her Back to Nature Blog Train set. Unfortunately, both my dad and hubby are gone (but not forgotten) but my son is still alive and kicking, living in Florida with his family.

I created my card for the challenge over at Scribbles Designs. The theme is MOUSTACHES, and their challenges run from the 15th to the next month's 14th. See you there!