How To...

Thanks so much for all the bunny love! He will be an Easter decoration that we will have for a long time!:)

I wanted to show you one of my recent paintings. This series is definitely one of my most popular custom orders. This one was done on a 16 x 20 canvas.

It is hand-painted mixed-media. You'll see some paper on there...

As always, lots of polka dots...

Scalloped borders...

Here's a view of the side.

I thought I'd do a little something different this week. I'm going to show you some of the prints in this series. I'm going to sell them this week for half price, including shipping, for $7.50. If you want one leave me a comment and I will list it for you in my Etsy shop.
The prints are 8 x 10" and ready to pop in a frame.

When you leave me a comment just tell me the one you want and please give me 24 hours to list it in my etsy shop. It will be reserved for you:) I'm going to run this deal until Friday.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. There is a lot of beautiful and inspiring things going out in blog land right now!

***Oh, I almost forgot to remind you about my giveaway. I'll be picking a name on Friday, so make sure you enter!!:)

Mosaic Bunny-$5 challenge

The Decorating Voice is hosting a Spring Fling today. Go over there and check out all the beautiful decorating ideas when you are done here!:)

Meet Mr. Bunny, aptly named by Ashton the 4 year old. I caught him out in the yard trying to eat our flowers!Here he is, trying to get away!

I caught him on the mailbox...

And we fed him some carrots to get him to stay!:)

Ever since I saw Lindsay post about the $5 challenge, I have been busting this guy out. I'm not gonna lie, it was a challenge! Not financially, but time-wise. I worked on it 20-30 minutes everyday for about 2 weeks.

I bought the paper mache bunny form for $2 at a garage sale, and I bought the black glass beads that I used for his eyes from Dollar Tree. The stained glass and grout I already had, and I used Weld-bond glue to adhere all the tiny stained glass pieces. Technically, I only really spent about $3, because everything else I had on hand.

Here is a wrap-up of the two week process:

I was going to do a full on tutorial for you guys, but I don't know if anyone would really want one. It is super time intensive. But here are a few tips if you ever decide you want to mosaic on paper-mache (there are tons of cute paper mache forms out right now, Michaels has a whole aisle of them):

• Make sure you seal the paper mache really well. I used two coats.
  


• Don't use tile, because it is too heavy. Stained glass works well.
  


• Take your time. Move your piece around a lot so everything looks even.
  


• When grouting, use a "dry" grout. Meaning don't mix a lot of water into the grout.

If you have any how-to questions, just ask. I'll be glad to answer.

Also head on over to Living with Lindsay and check out what all the other cheapskates, I mean frugal, creative women are doing!:)

Barb from Grits and Glamour is Hosting a Bunnies on Stick Party. Go check it out as well!

Happy Sunday

Have a blessed Sunday

xo

Chrissie

A tutorial, a giveaway, and some needed feedback

Number 1 on my agenda today:
Remember this dress? I showed you how to make one. I thought I'd show you how I made a super-cute bow to go with it.

Number 2 on my agenda:

A giveaway! This is my 50th blog post and I just happened to make an extra cupcake bow. Do you want to win it?

There are two ways to win:

Either leave me a comment telling me you're already a follower, or become a follower and leave me a comment letting me know.

Okay, number three on my agenda. I need some feedback/advice. I'd like to list some of these combo's in my etsy shop. A custom made dress or t-shirt with a matching bow. It could be a cupcake, a butterfly, a heart, a number (for birthdays)...it could be anything you wanted.

Do you think they would sell? After all, I have told you EXACTLY how to make them. You could make them yourself, right? But maybe some of you don't want to make them and would rather buy a set from my etsy shop?:)

Be honest, but be kind. I am trying to boost my etsy sales and I'd like to offer some new items.

All right, start commenting, and maybe the winner will get an extra surprize too...
xo,

Chrissie

Some Eye Candy

Happy Tuesday everyone! The weather here is gorgeous and I've got all my doors and windows open enjoying the fresh air!

Last night I painted rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. We had them leftover from a homeschool project last year when I painted animals on the rocks with the kids. I saw them in the garage yesterday and then after the kids went to bed I couldn't stop. Fun!

I think I'll put a coat of varnish on the top and call them worry rocks. You know the ones you put in your pocket and rub when you need a little extra comfort? Or place them in plant containers as a little decoration. I bet one would look really good in my new little house...:)

I also wanted to show you my new earrings. I did a trade with Cristi and she sent me these AND another beautiful pair. She makes really beautiful jewelry. You can see her blog here.

Hope you enjoyed my rock, err, eye candy.

See you soon!

Spray Paint Party

I got this baby at a garage sale last weekend for 75 cents. I think I squealed when I saw it!

I cleaned off all the cobwebs, took out the slats, and gave it a good wipe-down.

Out came the white spray paint.

And she's done!

Now the really fun part-filling her with teeny tiny pieces of art. This is the very first piece of art I bought off of ebay. It was before etsy...or at least before I had heard of etsy. It measures 2 1/2 inches high and 1 1/2 inches high. The back is dated January 2006 and it is by an artist named Sarah Smith. I tried to look up her website to link her to you but it no longer exists.

This is a Noodle and Lou heart with wings that I had to have. You can see some of my hearts with wings here or here...

And this is one of Jenn's famous french couple lulettes. They are so sweet and tiny!

And I told you here about how much the word "grace" means to me. I bought this from Jes and it is super duper teeny tiny!

I hung it in the kids hallway right next to our "Grace Rules". I can't wait to fill it up with tiny treasures.

I thought about filling in some of the block backgrounds with different scrapbooking papers. Maybe where we put some nature pieces like shells or pretty stones. What do you think?

Go to Thrifty Decor Chick to see what other people are spray-painting right now.

Happy Monday:)

xo,

Chrissie

Flashback Friday

I made this last summer, and I loved it so much I thought I would keep it. But I ended up selling it at one of my Fall art shows.

It was mixed-media. Hand-painted, baubles, beads, resin-filled bottle caps, scrapbooking papers, found items, etc...

I'd like to make a whole series of them. They are so much fun!

This is a 16 x 20 painting that I hand-embroidered with beads and emb. floss. I made one similar to it a couple of years ago, sold it, and then made this one to keep. I love it.

This sucker took a loooooong time. Sometimes I love to do all that detailed embroidery, when I need to slow down.

Here's another close-up.
And on another note...

Michelle Allen is having this fabulous giveaway. Isn't it fabulous? Go here to enter. Except I want to win! I love her stuff!

Have a great weekend everyone. Thanks for looking at my "Flashback Friday":)

xo

Chrissie