The Process

I thought I would show you the process of one of my paintings. I never paint directly on the board or canvas.
This is a very quick sketch, done in the car in probably about 30-45 seconds.

I had this extra piece of wood lying around. I drew my image with pencil first, and then traced it with a black sharpie.

I did a few layers of blue, turquoise, and a dark glittery blue in the background,as well as her skin tone base.

I used a stencil in the background and free handed the letters.

Next was her face. On top of the acrylic paint I used colored pencils and chalk.

I collaged the wings on and added some glitter, and then painted the baby.

Last was the black border and then I decided to add the white stripes.

It measures about 24" x 12".

I don't have the talent to just "paint without a plan". My mind works like a coloring book. I draw my image, and then fill it in.

I hope you enjoyed looking at how my painting brain works!

xo,

Chrissie

Slowing Down (and summer reads)

My Mom took the kids and I on a weekend get-away to the West coast beaches this weekend.

I love to watch the kids at the beach. It forces me to slow down. There is nothing to clean. I can't cook. There is no art on the beach. No television or ipods. Just the sea, the sand, and us.

Jax was listening for the ocean in a shell!;)

Ava likes to pour water in and out of various buckets. Add a shovel, a barbie doll, and some shells, and she's occupied for a good two hours!

We are beach people. My grandparents took us to the beach every single summer growing up.

My husband is an avid surfer and loves the water.

We have raised our kids to love the beach.

And still...

every year I make my first swim out to the ocean with a little fear and trepidation.

I don't know exactly what I'm afraid of. Sharks maybe? Or being pulled under...

But as soon as I get out there, I remember what my older brother taught me as a little girl.

When the waves are big, swim under them. As soon as I do that a couple of times, I'm okay.

I'm instantly filled with some peace. I'm a mermaid again.

We are blessed to be going to the beach for the whole month of July. We will be back and forth to home a few times for some dance classes and doctor's appointments, but I'm going to take this month to try to slow down a little. Don't worry, I still bring my sewing machine and paint with me. I usually work on things at night while my littles are sleeping, so I'll still be posting pretty regularly. I've got a couple of new tutorials to share with you as well. But there will also be lots of doing nothing.

Now, I need your help. Any summer reads you can recommend? I need some good books to bring with me...

Happy Tuesday (and it's my 34th!!) How in the world did that happen?:)

xo,

Chrissie

Birthday Sale

There must be something in the air. I think it's Birthday week in blogland!
To celebrate my 34th (this Tuesday, the 30th), I'm having a birthday week sale in my etsy shop.
Buy any two prints, get one free. The offer starts today and will end Wed. July 1st. My original pieces have also been reduced.

and also...

Go here to enter this give-away.

I loooooooove her art and I want to win! But if I don't win, maybe you will:)
Happy Friday friends!

Tutorial on Self-empowered necklaces for girls

I'm teaching an art camp this week for girls, focusing on building and maintaining self-esteem through the visual arts.
I thought I'd share this quick tutorial with you in case you were in need of a summer project. It could definitely be done with boys too.

1. Paint a piece of paper. We stuck to four basic colors just to keep it simple.

2. After it dries, mark the top of the back of the paper with 1 " markings. Mark the bottom with .5" markings. Connect the two to make long triangles.

3. Cut all the triangles out and lay them in a pile.

4. Take wooden discs and decorate the front. The girls all wanted to use my punchers, and I was surprized they liked the fleur de lis so much! Also, the glitter glue was a big hit.

5. While they dried, we talked about the things we really liked about ourselves. I had the girls write 5 things about themselves that they liked on the back of the pendant. I hot-glued the little jewelry rings on the back for them.
6. Finally, we took those paper triangles and made beads out of them. Start by wrapping the wider part of the triangle around the rope or string. When you get to the end, put a drop of glue on it and finish wrapping.

7. We put the pendant in the middle, and alternated with the hand-made paper beads and glittery pony beads. They were very proud of them!

Mrs. Truth

Mrs. Truth arrived today.

She has a unique feature. Can you see what it is?

You can tell she's related to Bluebird, because they have the same eyes...

Her message?

She was seeking the truth.

I wonder what stories she has written with those legs...

And for those of you who asked, the birds are flying into my Etsy shop.

Thanks for indulging me with my bird stories...it's so much fun!

x0,

Chrissie

Bluebird

I found this very strange bluebird in my tree today.


She's very unique, isn't she?

Upon closer inspections I noticed her pretty blue eyes,

Her very strong heart,

And these words imprinted on her body:

Hearts mend.

Wings heal.

Life moves on.

I have a feeling her friends and family will be joining her soon...;)

Big Dreams

I have big dreams with and for my art and words. I also have a big family, which is my main priority. I feel so blessed that I am able to stay at home with my children and watch them grow and learn and prosper on a daily basis.

I will admit that sometimes I get a little carried away with my art, and I just want to be by myself and create. But given that my children's needs are much more important, there is many a day that my creating is limited to one or two 10 minute intervals in a day.

Sometimes I will set a goal for myself, and when it is not accomplished, I am disappointed in myself. I have to remind myself that God is in control, and if that goal was not accomplished, than He is telling me that I am not ready for it.

I am certain that God would not put these big dreams in my heart if they were not meant to be, so when my goals are not realized, I try to accept that the time is not right.

"When disappointment or rejection knocks you down, get back up and go again. We give up too easily on our dreams. We need to understand that just as God supernaturally opens doors, sometimes God supernaturally closes doors. And when God closes a door, it's always because He has something better in store."

-Joel Osteen

"Dwell on things that are pure, things that are wholesome, things that are of a good report."

Phillipians 4:8

Snippets and a Meme

Here are some snippets from our weekend:

new markers for the kids...

lots of coffee...

our cheerleader who has learned to wink...

our new basketball star...

a new mosaic that I started...

lots of swimming...

a new favorite snack...

Celebrating Father's Day with our favorite Daddy...


and missing my Dad terribly... It's my second year without him, and I'm remembering all the good ones...

A very nice weekend all in all:)

*******************************************************************************************************

And on another note~

Adrienne and A Little of a Lot both tagged me to play this meme:

Here's how it works:

* List Six Silly Things That Make You Happy

* Mention and link to the person who tagged you

* Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along

1. Watching my almost 5 year old read and write constantly. I love finding his notes all over the house.

2. Mango slushies from Sonic.

3. Bagels with cream cheese, sliced avacadoe, and mandarin oranges. (is that wierd?)

4. Fabric scraps

5. chocolate covered gummi bears

6. Portable DVD players in the car that make our car trips very quiet... (is that bad?);)

Ok, I'm tagging Cristi, Sara, The Un-organized Mom, Lori, Pocket Full of Posies, and Helen.

Blessings,

Chrissie

Mini Fabric Collages and a little Daddy's Day gift

Because my time has been limited this week, I switched from the larger fabric collages to these mini-ones. They measure 5" x 6". I'm having a lot of fun with them.

There is something about the combination of yellow and purple that I just love. I'll be listing these and some more this weekend in my shop.

I had grand plans this week of getting my kids all dressed up and taking them to a cool park nearby to shoot some black and whites. But it didn't happen...so I came up with these images taken over the last month or so, edited them in http://www.picnik.com/, and added the words.

It was a quick and easy Father's Day gift that any Daddy would love.

I'm going to take the time for myself next week to take a 3 hour class learning how to REALLY use my camera. I've had the Canon Rebel XTi for over a year now, and I still feel like I've got so much more to learn. I know it's a really popular camera. Do any of you use it?

Have a very Happy Friday:)

Inspiration

One of the main reasons I love blogging so much is because of the inspiration it provides me.

I came across these images last night from this blog:

Aren't they beautiful?

They inspired me to go back to this project. Remember it now? I went back and filled some of the backgrounds in with some cool papers. I covered an empty thread spool with paper too.

I went through my mixed-media stash and found the broken ceramic wing, the old, dirty bottle, the teeny tiny "G", and a key.

I'm not done, but that just leaves me room for more fun! I want to make a couple of things out of polymer clay: a cupcake, a cup of coffee, a mushroom.

I love being inspired. Thanks Julie!

Oh, and I have much much more to show you. Hopefully tomorrow!

xo

Chrissie