Mixed Media Artist

Love you all!  I'm taking the week off, and I'll see you bright and early in 2013!! Image: The Meta Picture

Mixed Media Revolution: Creative Ideas for Reusing Your Art by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson Exploring Watercolor: Creative Exercises and Techniques for Painting With Watermedia by Elizabeth Groves Advanced Adobe Photoshop CS6 Revealed (Adobe Cs6) by Chris Botello Simply Solids: A Twist on the Traditional Use of Solid Fabrics (Annies Quilting) by Annie's Embroidered Memories: 375 Embroidery Designs 2 Alphabets 13 Basic Stitches For Crazy Quilts, Clothing, Accessories ... by Brian Haggard 15 minutes of Play -- Improvisational Quilts: Made-Fabric Piecing Traditional Blocks Scrap Challenges by Victoria Findlay Wolfe Doodle Quilting: Over 120 Continuous-Line Machine-Quilting Designs by Cheryl Malkowski Mark Hearld: Workbook by Mark Hearld Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Knitting Patterns for Beginners Are you just getting started with knitting? Check out this round-up of easy knitting patterns for beginners over at CraftFoxes.   My Family's Homemade Ornament Exchange Cherie shows off some of the homemade ornaments her family has made in their exchange.    Beading Arts The parties aren't over yet! Here's how to put together a festive hair ornament! ACreativeDream One of my favorite treats, candied ginger dipped in chocolate. It's easy to make, and a great holiday gift! Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy takes a look at the wave of hand-made toy drives going on right now and considers the needs of her own community as well.   How to Create a Cheery Folk Art Angel Ornament Make several of these jute ribbon angels to represent friends or family members. You can even let the kids draw on the faces themselves; just be sure to date their art!     Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , ...

Painted nerd shirts Song lyric plates Antiqued mercury glass Painted nerd shirts Rag rug Autumn leaf bowl Personalized mugs Owl granny squares Recipes in a jar Scissor holder Junk mail snowflakes Skull snowflakes Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Sheep coasters Duct tape coffee cup sleeve Sheep coasters T-shirt blanket Zippered hand-warmers T-shirt rag rugs - part one T-shirt rag rugs - part two Beeswax flower candles Painted shoes Wind-up paper butterflies Peacock tutu Photo wall clock Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Hot chocolate spoons Once more, I need some last minute ideas, so I turned to my folder where I've been collecting them all year!  Here you go...most are fast, all are wonderful! Striped glycerin soaps Kitty ears hat Gold and silver felt coasters Hot chocolate spoons Log cabin napkins Lavender and brown sugar scrub Embroidered felt bookmarkers Recycled sweater mittens Embroidery hoop wall pocket Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  How to Make Bread Dough Clay Holly Leaf Christmas Ornaments Bread dough clay is fun for kids of all ages. What a great project for a wintry snow day!   Modern Quilt Pattern Remember Lindsay's Equalizer Quilt? It's a modern look that makes a perfect quilt for men, and it's now a free pattern. Beading Arts Cyndi has three bead kits to give away, thanks to The Bead Shop!   Wedding Cake Ideas Even if you're not planning a wedding, check out this post on wedding cake ideas at CraftFoxes. From ombre to cake tattoos, this list is inspiring. ACreativeDream Ornaments, ornaments, ornaments! Fifteen of them in 15 days... and plenty of them you can get finished in time for THIS Christmas!   CD Scrapbook Ornaments Cherie makes ornaments out of old CDs and scrapbooking supplies.   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to fold an origami gift box, make a recycled t-shi...

  Beaded prism ornament Star and candle ornament Beaded prism ornament Googly eyed ornament Embroidery hoop ornament 15 Felt and fabric ornaments Glass and crayon ornaments Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Children's mosaic ornaments Ornaments for the Christmas tree make fabulous gifts too!  Here are some beautiful, whimsical, and striking ornament links that I've been saving. Children's mosaic ornaments Cookie cutter felt ornaments Bread clay ornaments Hot air balloon ornament Stamped salt dough ornaments The rest...tomorrow! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

I have had soooo many fits and starts with this new quilt.  I was hoping to finish it up before the end of the year, but I'm afraid that is just not to be.  Or at least, getting it written up is not to be...we'll see about the stitching part :-) Anyway, I had no completely clear idea of what to do with the blocks once I painted them, so I just forged ahead.  Which turned out to be a bad idea! Bad idea #1 - Keep the blocks attached and add embroidery on the lines.  Oh yuck, I really didn't like the way this looked at all, but I almost stuck with it because I HATED to have to pull all that stitching out.  But I did... Bad idea #2 - Cut the blocks apart and begin to add beads.  After beading three blocks, I decided that I just hate the way they look.  However, I can always cut the beading off later, so I decided to leave them as is for now and make that decision later.  Maybe I'll decide that the rest of the blocks need beads, an...

  Crafty Princess Diaries Enter to win a free copy of the new e-book by Margot Potter, "The Fine Art of Shameless Self-Promotion."   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Make these sweet bread dough clay candy cane ornaments with the kids. Holiday Gift Guide for Arts and Crafts Lovers What to buy for the crafter in your life? Here are our current favorites!   Beading Arts Cyndi is featuring quick and easy jewelry projects all month long for your holiday gift-giving, including this special bracelet...sooo pretty and sooo fast! Laura Thykeson's Uniques A Wonderful life - well lived! Plus some arty eye candy!   Modern Quilt for Music Lovers Lindsay shows off her Turntable Quilt, a modern crib-size quilt that's unlike anything you've seen.   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to make recycled cup glitter votive holders.   Very Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Cherie makes a simple ribbon bookmark with charms.   ACreati...

Are you a hopeless procrastinator (like me)?  Here are some fantastic wreath projects that you'll have plenty of time to whip up for yourself or someone else...I promise you they are all worth the time! Thread spool wreath Origami wreath Birch wood wreath Vintage-style velvet button wreath Crocheted wreath Sheet music star wreath Burlap wreath Mini rosemary wreath Plastic ornament wreath Butcher paper wreath Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Make Mine Mini reader challenge Deadline: 01/04/13       Art Quilting Studio Deadline: 01/15/13       Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Barbara, who writes Rocky Cross Studio , is the winner of the fabulous Push Print .  Congratulations!!

My lava fabric that I told you about last week arrived from Spoonflower, and I ironed it out and began to paint it just as soon as I could find a couple of uninterrupted hours.  1. I was really pleased with the way it turned out.  I ordered a good quality cotton print on a fat quarter, and it was exactly what I was looking for. 2. My first step in adding color was to choose some acrylic paints and water them down a lot.  It was very helpful to have a nice wide margin of fabric around the blocks so that I could test colors. 3. I added thin washes of the colors and built up some layers to make them fade into each other.  I let the paints dry and then heat set them with an iron. 4. While I had the iron out, I added a very lightweight fusible interfacing to the back.  Later, when I cut the blocks apart, this will keep them from unraveling. 5. I used Inktense pencils to add more definition and color to the texture of the lav...

  Beading Arts Have you seen Maruti beads? They're gorgeous, and they make it really easy to make a one-of-a-kind necklace! Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a Holiday Goodness Giveaway full of books, Westcott scissors and holiday Duck Tape, a tutorial on how to fold two directional accordion fold book, a wine aroma wheel and a video on image transferring and embroidery stitches.   Crafty Princess Diaries A shawlette is the perfect accessory when there is a little chill in the air. DIY Bridesmaid Gifts CraftFoxes shares a round-up of elegant and unique bridesmaid gifts you can make yourself.   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Make your Christmas tree sparkle with sequin faceted ornaments.   Felt Ornament Houses Cherie makes cute house ornaments out of felt and beads.   L Thykeson's Uniques A Wonderful life enjoyed...   iPad Sleeve Sewing Pattern Make a quick ...

Did you know that the Mixed Media Artist blog   is available for your Kindle ?  Unfortunately, it's not free (Amazon sets the price), but it's only 99¢ a month.  Is technology great, or what? My other two blogs are now there as well: Beading Arts Real Food Fast! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Bamboo scarf I don't get very excited when I walk into a booth at a show which is filled with scarves.  But that's because I'd never seen Julie Simpson's work before. I pretty much wanted one of each, but it was really hard to even make my way up to the racks...they were completely surrounded by women who were running loving fingers over them, trying them on, cooing over them. Yes, cooing!! Look at these examples and tell me you wouldn't coo too :-)   Cotton shawl Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Crochet Saved My Life: The Mental and Physical Health Benefits of Crochet by Kathryn Vercillo One Zentangle A Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing for Relaxation, Inspiration, and Fun (One A Day) by Rebecca Krahula Photo Craft: Creative Mixed Media and Digital Approaches to Transforming Your Photographs by Susan Tuttle and Christy Hydeck Free-Form Embroidery with Judith Baker Montano: Transforming Traditional Stitches into Fiber Art by Judith Montano Adobe CS6 Design Tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign Illustrated (Adobe Cs6 By Course Technology) by Chris Botello and Ann Fisher All My Thanks and Love to Quilts: Art Quilts Created by Keiko Goke by Keiko Goke Solids, Stripes, Circles, and Squares: 16 Modern Patchwork Quilt Patterns (That Patchwork Place) by Pippa Eccles Armbrester Design, Create, and Quilt: How to Design a Quilt, with Lessons, Techniques, and Patterns by Rose Hughes Journal It!: Perspectives in Creative Journaling by Jenny Doh S...

Terrible grammar. Fabulous sentiment.

I told you awhile back that I was looking into making another quilt using the lava photos that I took in Hawai'i.  Well, I got sidetracked for a short while, because it turned out that the best plan I could come up with called for the blocks to be printed out by Spoonflower rather than being printed out on my inkjet printer.  So here's what was going on over the last few weeks! 1. I chose 16 different shots of lava and turned each into a line drawing.  You can refer to my tutorial on digital line art in order to print out your own line drawings for a quilt or other project. 2. I moved the blocks around many times on a Photoshop template I made until I liked the arrangement.  Then I made a higher resolution final pattern to upload to Spoonflower .  I set my final pattern to be 14" x 14" so that it would fit onto a fat quarter. 3. While I am waiting for the fabric to be printed and shipped to me, I've been messing around with colors on my Photo...

  ACreativeDream June's been making tiny glitter houses and is giving one away!    Beading Arts Cyndi has another delicious giveaway book: Shrink! Shrank! Shrunk!   Cherie Burbach's blog Cherie makes a small blue and green glass sculpture because she's obsessed and can't stop. Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy tries out one of the Crochet Dude's new ergonomic crochet hooks as she makes a shawl using some luscious yarn.   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Check out some winter and Christmas craft projects at The Artful Crafter.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Nothing like being so far behind in my work that it takes me all the way to Thanksgiving before I get around to sharing our Halloween costumes with you!  Our wonderful friend Deb invited us to a post-Halloween Masquerade with a Mayan/Steampunk theme.  Something to do with the world ending in December ;-)  We went for a steampunk aviator with her intrepid explorer of Mayan ruins.  That's our story, and we're stickin' to it! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Just in time for the holidays, either for yourself or for someone artsy that you love! I am giving away my copy of Push Print , the volume filled with cutting edge designs that will challenge the boundaries you have in your mind. You can read my review here , and sign up below to win this copy! ***Free Stuff Alert!!!***  If you'd like to win my copy of Push Print , just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice! Please make sure that your link will lead me to an email address , or else I won't be able to contact you.  No contact, no win, and I simply have to go on to the next person.  Deadline: November 28, 2012 Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

via Riptapparel

"I wish crochet had immediately solved all of my problems but of course it didn’t happen that way. What did happen was that crochet slowly became a positive replacement for some of my most destructive downtime." Do you think the title Crochet Saved My Life is absurd?  Kathryn Vercillo assures us that in a very real way, crochet played a crucial role in moving her through a period of deep depression. "Of course, crochet alone could never have taken me out of that desperate place. It is a craft, not a cure-­-all for serious illness. And yet I am also fairly certain that I could never have loosened myself from the grip of that depression without crochet. I was stuck in between that proverbial rock and a hard place and my crochet hook served as a crowbar to begin prying me out of that difficult space. I hardly knew that it was happening and yet that hook dug deep down into the core of my being and lifted me into a space where I could once again begin to breathe. In ...

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter   Crafters are easy to shop for.     LThykeson's Uniques Fall Projects in Mixed Media Lindsay Sews For holiday entertaining, whip up one of these aprons with built-in hot pads. Genius! Lindsay reviews the sewing pattern.   Old Solar Light? Use It in a Glass Sculpture Cherie uses an old solar light as part of a new glass sculpture for the garden.   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make a felt Thanksgiving "Be Thankful" banner.   ACreativeDream June is going back into her archives to get the holiday season started. Come see how to alter a book to make a photo frame. It's a great gift for those holidays rushing at us!   Beading Arts Cyndi is celebrating a month of books! The newest book up for grabs is "Simply Stylish Crystal Jewelry", so head on over and get in on all the great giveaways! CraftFoxes Looking for a new sweater knitting pattern? Here'...