Mixed Media Artist

Learn how to make an awesome cowl like this along with the lovely lady I learned it from, Essence of Me ! YouTube video tutorial

Over a year ago, the black and white challenge was sweeping Facebook.  It's since gone the way of dinosaurs and celery, but I recently came across the pieces I shared and thought I'd share them here too. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale Copyright 2019 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale Copyright 2019 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved.

Today I want to introduce you to the second book that caught my eye for summer projects with the kids or the grandkids... Magical Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons by Lenka Vodicka-Paredes and Asia Currie.  These ladies are awesome, and if you fall in love with their work, you'll be thrilled to know that there is another book simply called Forest Fairy Crafts  that you can snag as well. All the fairies, gnomes, and critters are made from felt, so the cutting and sewing part is super-simple.  It's the details that make the difference, and there are copious instructions given for how to make these delightful folk come to life.  The beginning section covers all the materials and techniques, and the first part of the project section suggests that you construct practice pieces: a fairy girl, fairy boy, fairy baby, and a basic gnome.  Of course if you're like me, you'll want to just skip ahead right into the projects!  Go ahead...the instructions are ...

There are two books coming out this month that I believe are perfect for not only your own amusement, but also for doing projects with children or grandchildren!  I am very excited about both of them.  I haven't yet been able to get my grands hooked on fabric art (they do like to draw and paint though), but I can see myself just casually working on a cute little project when I'm with them, and letting nature take its course!  The first one is up today, and I'll hit the second tomorrow. The Big Book of Pretty + Playful Applique by Carol Armstrong looks like a must-have to me.  It has ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO of Carol's gorgeous, realistic designs.  There are four full projects included to help you practice doing these appliques, but I don't care so much about that as I do about the incredible number and quality of the applique patterns.  Just look at the lists below and you'll see what I mean.  Click on the pictures to get a larger image that you...

Water Sprite Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Following in the tradition of En Pointe ,  Fire on High  and  Tempest , this piece was done using the wet into dry technique with  alcohol ink .  I used some discreet dots of ink near the top, and swirled them around a bit near the bottom before allowing them to dry completely.  Then, using 91% rubbing alcohol in a  squeeze bottle , I dripped the solvent onto one small area at a time, manipulating the running inks by blowing through a straw.  You can use a hair dryer (set on cool), canned air, or a  heat gun  (at a distance) instead, but the straw will give you those really interesting spots.  This is because of spittle!  It takes longer to dry than the alcohol, so the little dots end up having concentrated color.  If you don't like the dots, choose a different air source, because it's pretty much impossible not to spit on your piece!  :-D Originals and prints of Cyndi's wor...

In July, this fun book came out that shows you how to take all your different fabrics and get them to play nicely together!  If you're like me, you've got cottons, wools, silks, upholstery fabrics, sheers, and more in your stash. Click to see an enlargement In The Art of Mixing Textiles in Quilts , Lynn Schmitt will show you to blend them together like a pro, including how to add great dimension to your projects by using different materials together.  There are 14 specific pieced and appliqued projects included in case you want some ideas to get you going! This post contains affiliate links: Amazon

En Pointe Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Just like Fire on High and Tempest , this piece was done using the wet into dry technique with  alcohol ink . Drip your  alcohol ink  colors onto a dry background and let them dry, or at least mostly dry.  Using 91% rubbing alcohol in a  squeeze bottle , add the solvent to one small area at a time, manipulating the running inks with a blower.  You can use a hair dryer (set on cool), canned air, a  heat gun  (at a distance), or even just a straw. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

When you work with  alcohol inks  using a wet-in-wet technique, you've got less control than with any other method.  At least it seems that way to me!  Put 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution   into a   squeeze bottle , and wet your paper thoroughly.  Drip inks onto the page, and allow them to spread for a bit.  Tilt and tip the page to allow the inks to run and blend.  Add more alcohol or solution, and more inks as needed.  Keep it wet and loose until it's blended to your satisfaction.  You could also use either a hair dryer, canned air, a straw, or a  heat gun  to move the inks around.  Be careful to use colors that mix well when using this method, or you could end up with a muddy mess. Once the piece is dry, you can reactivate areas that need more work, or you can add small details like the dots that you see near the center.  All that takes is a small brush or cotton swab, dampene...

Lazarus Rising Cyndi Lavin, 2018 This piece was painted using the same method as Fire on High , dripping  alcohol inks  onto a dry background and working on a small section at a time.  Visit the link to Fire on High for more precise instructions! Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Tempest Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Prints for sale A piece like this uses a combination of wet and "dry" techniques.  Of course,  alcohol inks   are wet by nature, but it's possible to add smaller details with a damp brush and the most concentrated inks late in the process. For Tempest , I started with a fairly heavy application of inks with a brush. After allowing them to dry, I used a  squeeze bottle  with rubbing alcohol to drip a small section at a time, blowing it with a  heat gun .  You can use a hair drying instead.  You can also experiment with using either 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution  in your bottle.  In some sections, I let the inks spread a bit before blowing; in others, I began blowing right away.  Variety! The final steps after if was dry was to adjust the color with a barely damp brush.  If you drip out a drop or two of ink onto a plastic palette and let it evaporate, you can reactivate th...

Morning Mist Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Here is another watercolor-look technique you can try with alcohol inks .    First, choose the colors you want to use, and mix up a small batch of each in a  squeeze bottle .  You can use either 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution   to make a very dilute mixture of each color you plan to use.  Apply the inks, one color at a time to your paper, and use either a hair dryer, or a  heat gun  to move them around.  Adding the next color will reactivate the dried inks, so be careful about your placement and direction of blowing.  The little dots were adding later with a cotton swab. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that enti...

Alcohol inks  can be used in a similar way to watercolors, where they are dripped and manipulated on a wet substrate.  In this case, it would be wet with either 91% rubbing alcohol or a blending solution .  But there is a variation on this method that I want to show you, because you can get just a bit more control over what happens with just a slight change in technique! Put your rubbing alcohol into a  squeeze bottle  and use it to make a design line on your page.  Right next to this line, but not quite touching, add lines and/or drops of alcohol inks.  Then use a straw, a hair dryer, or a  heat gun  to sharply blow the inks up into the rubbing alcohol line.  Manipulate them as desired and let them dry slightly.  Add more lines and more ink as desired, working either in from the other edge of the paper, or continuing along the edge of the inks already added. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contai...

I had been wondering how people got multiple rings to form with  alcohol inks .  Simply plopping an additional drop of ink into an already formed ring was not doing the trick, and more often was resulting in the original ring dissolving!  YouTube to the rescue :-) It takes some practice, but it's really not difficult.  You'll want to work in one small area at a time, and when you begin, keep your starting puddles somewhere between the size of a quarter and a half dollar coin.  Follow these simple steps: 1. Put a drop or two of ink into a small puddle of 91% alcohol.  Use a  squeeze bottle  for your plain alcohol to control the amount. 2. Use a hair drier or a  heat gun  to blow around the outside of the puddle, pointing it towards the center. Move the air quickly so that the ink doesn't dry in one spot.  Try for multiple rings, and try not to let the moving alcohol lap over the edges of your puddle. 3. If you don't get as...

Artful Alphabets by Joanne Sharpe Joanne Sharpe has done it again!  In her first book (shown below), Joanne taught the basics of creating hand lettered alphabets that didn't take years of calligraphy practice to master.  In her newest (shown above), she shares 55 new ideas and fonts that you can try, tweak, and make your own! If you don't own the first book, don't let that stop you from getting Artful Alphabets .  The basics are covered again.  Joanne's style is light and whimsical, but you can easily morph the imagery being used to suit your own style.  Personally, I have always disliked my own handwriting, and I really appreciate Joanne's admonition to embrace it and see what comes out!  The biggest adjustment I've had to make is to remember that I am *drawing* my letters, not simply writing them! The Art of Whimsical Lettering by Joanne Sharpe This post contains affiliate links

Last week, I showed you the first of several techniques that I've been using to experiment with alcohol inks.  Here are some of the other pieces that I made using this wet into dry method . To recap, you drip your  alcohol ink  colors onto a dry background.  They can sit there and dry, or you can begin working with them while they're still wet.  Using 91% rubbing alcohol in a  squeeze bottle , you add the solvent to one small area at a time, manipulating the running inks with a blower.  You can use a hair dryer (set on cool), canned air, a  heat gun  (at a distance), or even just a straw. One of the things I most like about this method is the airy, wispy, ethereal look that you can get. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed ou...

Fire on High Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Since I am pathologically organized, I just had to set aside time to systematically try out all of the different methods of painting the alcohol ink that I'd seen.  My favorite video tutorials are all linked up in my Alcohol ink Pinterest board, so take a look if you want even more.  Also, don't forget Cathy Taylor's excellent book , which I've reviewed here.   I'll be showing you my results over the next few weeks. For the first go, I decided to try the technique where you drip your alcohol ink colors onto a dry background.  Using 91% rubbing alcohol in a squeeze bottle , I added the solvent to one small area at a time, manipulating the running inks with a blower.  You can use a hair dryer (set on cool), canned air, a heat gun (at a distance), or even just a straw. Even now that I've worked through about a dozen different techniques, this continues to be one of my favorites.  You can control about 30% of t...

Just like for every other topic that interests me, I've been collecting tutorials and glorious examples of mixed media and collage work into a Pinterest board.  It is titled (surprisingly!) Mixed media + collage   :-)   The work is mostly, but not entirely, paper based.  Really, I've included everything that catches my eye that isn't pure fabric!  There are already plenty of boards there for fabric, including Art quilts, Quilting tutorials, Hand embroidery, Crazy quilt details, Fabrics transformed, Fabric + fiber art, Crochet, and more more more!

Hunter's Moon Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Alcohol ink and India ink In the process of fooling around with alcohol inks , I started looking for other substrates that would work besides the ever-present Yupo paper, freezer paper, and glossy photo paper (I know there are many more!), and I came up with glossy book or magazine pages.  Since most glossy magazines have gone to thinner paper these days, books seemed like the best bet. Venice Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Sure enough, I tore out a few pages from a coffee table book that I'd been planning to use  forever  to do  something , anything!  The inks worked really well.  Obviously, the patterns and colors underneath show through to some extent, so you never quite know what you're gonna get.  But isn't that the case with alcohol inks anyway? :-) Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be re...

You can never have too much inspiration.  I think the only downside for me is that very occasionally I just don't know which of my idea strings to tug on next, but that is something I put into the box of good problems to have.  As long as it doesn't make me freeze up!  If you missed it, I've also got a Pinterest board simply entitled Photo inspirations , with macros, cityscapes, landscapes, and seascapes.