Cinnamon Pink

DIY Chalk Paint Techniques from A Vintage Green

Image from Upcycling My Very Ordinary Life

I haven't tried the DIY Chalk Paint Technique yet. To gather more information, I did a search and found the blog: A Vintage Green. Joy's post, Many Ways with Chalk Paint offers fifteeen links to bloggers who have experimented with DIY Chalk Paint.

I love what Deborah, host of Upcycling My Very Ordinary Life, did with her table (shown above). She even added an image after painting the table.

Check these links out. Lots of good ideas to explore. Now, I'm on the hunt for some old furniture. 

Squeeze More Art into Your Life

Are the day-to-day demands of life keeping you from making more art? Here’s how you can squeeze more art into your life by thinking in Minutes instead of Hours.

First, you need to prop your home with toys (i.e., art supplies) so that you’ll be prepared when you encounter some free minutes in your day.  

These toys could include pens, markers, clay, assorted papers, glue, old magazines & catalogs, small notebooks, rubber stamps & ink pads, scissors and fabric scraps.

•  Put some small notebooks in every room of your house, e.g., kitchen, by your nightstand, office, patio, great room – wherever you spend most of your time. Think of these notebooks as mini sketch pads or repositories for artful ideas.

• Purchase a couple of packages of air-dry clay. Take a few spare minutes, in your day, to play with the clay. You’re not going for a full-fledged sculpture. You just want to juice up your creativity.

• Gather any nearby paper scraps (decorative type, magazine pages, junk mail) and begin gluing a background for your next collage piece. I find this task to be very relaxing for me, especially when I'm working with small paper scraps.

• Grab some old business cards and doodle on the back of ten of these cards. Use pens or markers.

• Choose a quotation and create a quick sketch to illustrate the main idea behind the quote.

• Dig through your old rubber stamps, especially those that you haven’t used in a long time. Combine different stamps and inks to create a quick collage.

During the next few weeks, as you work on your art, add some more ideas to this list.

Citra Solv Success

Over the weekend I was again experimenting with Citra Solv transfers. And I'm happy to report that I achieved Citra Solv Success.

Here's what happened. I went back to Office Max and made copies of my images from a few different copy machines. A blogger suggested that one should take a Citra Solv-saturated cotton ball, put it in a sandwich bag and take it to the store. (I forgot the blogger's name so if you're reading this, please let me know so that I can properly credit you.)

You can then test your copies right there at the store. If the ink smears when you rub the copy, then that is the machine you should use. My results indicated that the Xerox machine was the one that would work. When I tried the transfers at home, instant success. See below.

As you work with Citra Solv, you'll learn how much solution to apply. Not too little - Not too much - just in between. I am thrilled that I have conquered the Citra Solv medium.

 

 

Experimenting with Citra Solv

Well, I've been experimenting with Citra Solv - and this is the first medium that has really frustrated me.

Below, is Experiment One. I made copies at an Office Max  in North Carolina. When attempting to transfer, I rubbed the paper very hard with a spoon. Only after ironing the page did the transfer begin to appear on the fabric. The lettering is very, very light. I apologize for the photos. I did try to enhance them so that you could see the end results. On to Experiment II......

 In Experiment Two, I used copies that I made at Office Depo in Virginia. This time, I spread much more Citra Solv on the muslin. The lettering began to show up on the fabric. However, again,when I ironed the transfer, the words appeared darker. The photos don't look that different on the screen, but Experiment Two is much darker.

So, I don't know if it's my copies, the muslin - or maybe the amount of Citra Solv that I am applying which is causing me problems. I think I need a visit from the Great Citra Solv Fairy. Regardless, I hope my mishaps have saved you some steps when you work with Citra Solv. I will keep experimenting.....

On the bright side, I did create some great doll heads from a mold that I made with polymer clay.

French Flower Bucket

I finally finished my French Flower Bucket today. I began the project a few months ago but never got back to completing it due to other art endeavors and ideas. Do you do this too? I think my Project List is too long.

I started with a silver metal bucket which I painted a robin's egg blue. I then pasted a vintage pharmacy label and a small heart frame on the bucket. For protection, I added a coat of varnish.

Now, all I need to do is stop by the Florist for a bouquet of flowers.

After ATCs, Inchies, What is Next?

Today, I met with a small group of women and showed them how to make Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). They were new to ATCs. We had a great time. The ATC which I made is below. Not my usual colors!!! Kind of dark, right? But it felt good to do a little experimenting outside of the pink world.

But later, the session had me wondering......After ATCs, tags, inchies, 4" x 4", 3" x 3" and so on, what is next in the world of Mixed Media?   

Have a Creative Day, Darlene

Reworking Your Art

I'm continuing to draw daily as part of my 2008 goals. Today, I worked on a watercolor painting. I learned a lot from the painting - like how to improve my paintings in the future.

 I used to be very critical of my art. (Well, I must admit that sometimes I still am critical.) But I'm also developing a new positive attitude. If the painting, or mixed-media piece, doesn't work out the first time, I will redo the exact same project a second time. I'm always amazed at the improvement that I see in my second attempt. I might even repeat the process a third time for even greater results.

 Many of you may naturally follow similar steps. Personally, I found that this process helps me to be kinder and gentler on myself instead of tearing down my work.

 Have a creative day!