Mixed Media Artist

I love this!

Even though this video was uploaded in 2007, I found that it still has the clearest presentation and the most detail of any I've seen.  Thank you, SamoaJoe ! I made an animated gif featuing the doors of Orvieto Italy, but when I recently upgraded my computer, guess what was one the few things NOT to survive...?  That's right!  So don't click on the image below, because NOTHING will happen!! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Dinosaur Cake Pops   Enjoy this fun birthday party idea--dinosaur cake pops!   Finding Inspiration in the Psalms   Cherie uses the Psalms for inspiration in three new prints. Real Food Fast !  When you find yourself too distracted to make art, try making chocolate whiskey fudge instead!   Saturday May 4 is National Scrapbooking Day  Here are some easy scrapbook ideas. Digital layout templates allow anyone to do beautiful scrapbook layouts; or scraplift the design to do a paper one. 6 Mother’s Day Gifts Ideas for Kids to Make   Here are 6 fun and easy crafts your kids can make to give as Mother's Day crafts.   ACreativeDream   June's made an awful lot of mail art of late... come see!   Crafting on the Go Solutions   Are you trying to figure out a way to keep your crafting handy at all times? The Crafty Princess shares her recently discovered solution for this.  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty w...

Rebecca in Maine, who writes What's Going On? , is the winner of our  Raw Art Journaling   giveaway!  Congratulations, Rebecca!

There's a very helpful three part online class that you might want to consider taking, especially because it's free!  Frederick Chipkin , teaching for CraftArtEdu , has put together tutorials to help you set up your Photoshop program and tweak it especially for textile design!  Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Mixed-Media Master Class with Sherrill Kahn: 50+ Surface-Design Techniques for Fabric & Paper by Sherrill Kahn Simply Precious Pop-Ups: Easy-to-Make and Beautiful 3D Greeting Cards (Pop-Up Cards) by Kiyoshi Kikuchi Acrylic Solutions: Exploring Mixed Media Layer by Layer by Chris Cozen and Julie Prichard Expressive Portraits: Watercolor and Mixed Media Techniques by Jean Pederson Inspired to Design: Seven Steps to Successful Art Quilts by Elizabeth Barton Beautiful Building Block Quilts: Create Improvisational Quilts from One Block by Lisa Walton Art Quilt Portfolio: People & Portraits: Profiles of Major Artists, Galleries of Inspiring Works by Martha Sielman Cutting-Edge Art Quilts by Mary W. Kerr Acrylics Unleashed by Glyn Macey 13 Art Techniques Children Should Know by Angela Wenzel Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals  

Hazardous?  You mean just because there's an active volcano that's spewing noxious fumes?

This is why I haven't gotten as much done as quickly as usual...introducing my new grandbaby Julianna.  I had a glorious two weeks at my son and daughter-in-law's place helping out with Julianna, her older sister Katherine, and making sure we were all fed  :-) My baby with his baby Ok, Katherine and I managed to do a couple of art projects together! Photos Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

The courage of our first responders, volunteers, and fellow runners puts the spotlight clearly on the cowardice of the thugs.  So proud of all the ordinary folks who ran into the fray along with the trained first responders to provide help.

Sewing the Seasons   If you are looking to expand your craft book library, check out this wonderful sewing book that is full of projects and even several seasonal recipes.   The Survey Says   The Crafty Princess is thinking of reviving her jewelry kits, maybe even starting up a bead club, and she's really appreciate some input. 10 Crafts for Teenagers   Crafts for teenagers range from wearables and accessories to bedroom decor. Need a little handmade inspiration to get started?   ACreativeDream   June's been creating a bunch of paper bracelets!   Beading Arts   Cyndi attempts to get her "Mental Gears" in order in this stringing project!   Blue Birds and the Bible   Cherie combines blue birdies and Bible quotes in a series of prints.   May is the Month to Preserve Precious Family Memories  May is National Scrapbooking month. Why not get ready by firing up your scanner and digging out the old photos you haven't d...

Deb, who writes Learning to Just Breathe , has won a copy of  Doodle Stitching - Embroidery and Beyond .  Congratulations, Deb!       .

  A Caverna Guy Laramee's works are like nothing you've ever seen before.  He carves landscapes out of books, playing on his deeply held suspicions that our "accumulation" of knowledge and our changing ways of accessing it through new technologies may turn out to be more of an "erosion."  I love his pieces...they resonate down deep within me, whether or not I totally understand his beliefs.  Please visit his site and see what other wonders Guy has created!    The Great Wall Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Quinn McDonald defines Raw Art Journaling as  a journal of nothing but your work, full of meaning to you, but not necessarily perfect.  If you've tried to keep an art journal before and failed, this book might be a good stepping stone for you.  It really is aimed mostly at people who don't already journal, or who have not had success with it. Do you want to give it another try?  Quinn talks to you about clearing out the critic, which holds so many of us back from enjoying our journals.  She also spends some time on how to get past the blank page.  One chapter is all about journaling with words instead of art, allowing that to be your springboard.  Quinn covers found poetry, single word journaling, and one sentence journaling, all of which I think could be especially helpful if you've never journaled successfully before. Another chapter looks at turning words into artwork.  This is probably my favorite chapter, even though the "artwork" is...

Doesn't it look like the wave is about to eat him?

Orbital Flow ...thank you for the suggestion, Laura! Finally!  Yay!!  My quilt is finished.  All I need now is a name for it.  I tend to be a bit name-challenged, so if you've got any really good suggestions, please feel free to let me know :-) In order to solve the problem of flat, motionless (and disappearing) quilting stitches, I added a spiral to each using some variegated yellow to orange floss.  That really makes the moons pop, which is much more evident in real life than in my photos.  Not only the color helped, but having the quilting stitches closer together pushed the moons forward too. The edges were trimmed even, and I stitched around the entire piece with 2 strands of embroidery floss, using my usual blanket stitch. And here is the finished piece again.  The dimensions are 20.5 inches by 16 inches. Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five  Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. ...

Infinity Scarf Pattern   Add some yummy alpaca yarn around your neck with this free scarf pattern from Crafty Princess Diaries.  Mother's Day Craft Tutorials   It's not too early to think about what you'll create for Mom or Grandma. Mother's Day is May 12th!   Spring Weather Crafts for Kids   If you are looking for a fun spring craft to do with your family, browse through these projects.   ACreativeDream   June's issued a call for mail art! Come participate and join in on the fun!   Beading Arts   Cyndi examines different ways to make your stringing projects unique and special!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world   This week at Craftside there is a tutorial on how to make recycled washer drop earrings, an interview with Icelandic Handknit's author, Helene Magnusson, and a recipe for a hot apple pie cocktail.   He Leads Me   Cherie thinks about a favorite Bible passage for a new prin...

Even though Yarnia , the y arn shop, is located in Portland Oregon, I didn't find it while visiting my daughter who l ives there.  Bu t I'm certainly planning a visit to it next time we go!  Instead, my friend Eileen, from T he Artful Crafter was the one who first brought this brillian t shop to my attention.   Yarnia has an adorable vid eo on their homepage which walks you th rough the process in a most amusing way.  Please visit them online and see what you think! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Do you like needlework and wish that you knew more forms of it?  Do you like cute motifs and adorable patterns?  If so, you'll fall in love with Aimee Ray's new book,  Doodle Stitching - Embroidery and Beyond . This is actually Aimee's third book on the topic of doodle stitching, and this time she turns her attention to techniques beyond embroidery, venturing into applique, cross stitch, redwork, crewel, sashiko, stumpwork, cutwork, and shisha.  Sound like the book for you?  Well, read on... GIVEAWAY ALERT!!! If you'd like to win my copy of Doodle Stitching - Embroidery and Beyond , here's what you need to do... please read this carefully.  Leave me a comment here and include your email address.  If I don't see your email address, I won't be able to contact you.  No contact, no win, and I simply have to go on to the next person.  You are welcome to spell it out if you'd prefer, for example, cyndi at mazeltovjewelry dot com....

Doc Martens, maybe?

Since I've been mess ing around with having fabrics printed up by Spoonflower to use in my quilts, I took a little time to look around their site and read some tips posted on their blog.   One guest post that really caught my attention was by Caitlin Topham , explaining how to use a Sp oonflower fat quarter to create qu ilt lab el s for yourself.  You might be wondering why it's taki ng me so long this time around to get my latest quilt finished.  Well, I have a s urprise for you, and I'll let you in on it in a few weeks!  In the meantime, here are links to the first four parts of the Tree Texture Quilt tutorial, in case you missed anything: Part one Part two Part three Part four       Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

How to Make Baseball Charms   Follow these directions from Sherri and you can make charms you can use to make a necklace, key chain, or zipper pull.   How to Make Giant Red Remembrance Poppies for Memorial Day  What a smashing impression these giant red Memorial Day poppies will make. But don't forget to buy the little ones for purse or lapel to honor those who died in service of their country and to raise money for veterans in need.   Knitting Book Giveaway and Discount   Crafty Princess has a knitting book giveaway plus a publiher's discount for the month of April.   That Fun Coworker Who Makes You Laugh   Cherie thinks about the fun people she's worked with in this new print.   ACreativeDream   An art doll leads June to make a necklace, and the necklace leads to a bracelet...   Beading Arts   It's "Innovative Stringing Month" on Beading Arts, and Cyndi is looking for new inspiration from YOU!   Craftside-A ...

I became obsessed with Helen Friel's work when it was first introduced to me.  Watch this video of her boo k, Revolution, which follows the journe y of a drop of water.  Then try to tell me that you're not obsessed by her too! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals  

Amazing Alphabet reader challenge Deadline: 05/10/13 Art Journaling Deadline: 05/15/13    Haute Handbags Deadline: 05/15/13   Art Quilts Lowell Deadline: 06/01/13   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals  

One of my favorite places in Portland Oregon...Voodoo Doughnuts!

I picked a patterned fabric for the backing of my quilt.  Since I haven't yet done any of the quilting, I cut the backing piece big too.  After all the quilting is finished, I'll be able to even up the sides and cut them straight. My plan for the quilting is to stitch spirals.  Originally, I thought I might center the spiral on the panel, but I realized that the look was very unsettling, which was not my intent.  It seemed to imply that the moon might be moving towards the black hole in the center!  So I switched to a spiral that centered on the moon instead.  This pretty variegated pearl cotton was my first choice for the quilting.  Love it, but look what happened: Yup, you can barely see it.  I puzzled over what to do: stick with monochromatic, remove it and replace it with a contrasting color... OR, how about adding more spirals in more colors?  That's what I've decided to do, even though that's going to add a bit m...