Creatively Made Home for the Holidays

I'm thinking of taking this new e-course of Jeanne Oliver's. I took the original Creatively Made Home e-course and it was wonderful. What fun it was to go inside the homes of all those talented ladies. Jeanne is having a giveaway now through Monday with the opportunity to win free admission to the all new Creatively Made Home for the Holidays e-course. You can check out the details by clicking here.

Make it Happen

My head is always full of ideas. It seems as though I'm never at a loss for great ideas. Implementing those ideas is what I have a problem with. I don't know why. I suppose it's the procrastinator in me. I'm a great one for putting things off until tomorrow (or next week, next month, etc...) But great ideas are only good if you actually make them happen. Guess I need to work on that part.

Last week I started Mary Ann Moss's new e-course called SEWN (see previous post). 

We worked on creating patterns, which we will later turn into fabulous creations! It's rather fun - kind of like doodling. Here are a few I created using my ipad and the Procreate app:

Making Journals

I made this journal out of an old book. The cover wasn't very attractive, so I altered it with a stencil, paint, and some glaze. I like how it turned out and look forward to filling it up with my thoughts and sketches.

xo

jeanne

Letting Go

Lately I've been taking some e-courses in an attempt to get my creative juices flowing again. Jeanne Oliver's most recent class called, The Journey of Letting Go - Creating Beauty From Ashes, is the one I have immersed myself in lately. We've been making a variety of journals (the one shown here is a canvas covered saddle stitched journal) which is great for me because it seems as though the only "art" I've managed to do lately is journaling.

I love working with textures and various mediums, although sometimes I have to push myself to try using things that are not in my typical arsenal of tools and courses like this remind me to do that. It's good to leave our comfort-zone once in a while and discover new things, although going "outside the box' is usually a scary thing for me to do.

xo

jeanne

Letting Go

- Image by Jeanne Oliver - 

My head is filled with anticipation because this coming week I will be starting Jeanne Oliver's new art e-course entitled, "The Journey of Letting Go - Creating Beauty From Ashes." I'm not 100% sure what all it will entail, but I've taken all of Jeanne's e-courses and each one was worth every penny. If you think the class sounds intriguing, you can read more about it here or watch a video about it here. I hope you can join us in this four week adventure!

Hey Doll!

One last post on Christmas crafting before taking a break to celebrate Christmas with my family. These Matryoshka Doll ornaments are another result of taking Christy Tomlinson's 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas e-course. I got so many good ideas and inspiration from taking this course both this year and last year, that I highly recommend taking the course if she offers a third round next year.

I love the color combination of red and turquoise. It's a contemporary spin on the more traditional red and green Christmas color palette. I bought a bunch of gift bags, tissue and tags from Target in the red and turquoise theme, so it seems to be really big this year. So I decided to paint my Matryoshka Doll ornaments in these colors. Have you been able to guess what I used as the base for these little cuties?

It's a light bulb! What a great way to up-cycle your burned out bulbs! Maybe next year Christy will teach us how to make something out of those curly CFL light bulbs :)

Paper Clay Ornaments

Another one of Christy Tomlinson's projects from her 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas e-course is making ornaments using clay. I remember doing this when I was a young girl, so making these brought back some wonderful memories.

There are all sorts of clays you can use. For these particular ornaments I used Paper Clay, which is in my opinion the easiest to work. Once I cut out the shapes using cookie cutters, I pressed words, images and textures into the ornaments using rubber stamps, paper lace doilies, and natural elements like evergreen needles.

After the ornaments air dry completely, I decided to add some color. I did a few test runs on some of the ornaments using different mediums and techniques before coming up the one I used here.

These were all colored with layers of Tim Holz Distress Inks applied with a sponge applicator. The sponge applicator is key because unlike a brush the sponge keeps the ink on the surface of the ornament and not in the stamped design sections.

Then to add more detailed color to the flowers, etc. I used a Q-Tip and the Distress Inks to those specific areas. I sprayed the ornaments with a light layer of sealer and once dried I brushed on some Mod Podge. The Distress Inks are water soluble which is why I sprayed the sealer before applying the Mod Podge.

And a few ornaments I just left plain without any color just because I like the way they looked that way.

Crafting While Decorating

I've been slowly decorating my home for Christmas and crafting at the same time. I make something and then display it and then go make something else. It's kind of an unorthodox way to decorate, but that seems to be the way I end up doing it every year.

I'm taking Christy Tomlinson's 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas e-course. She has a whole new line-up of projects from last year's e-course of the same name. I loved that class and this one is just as fun.

This wreath project was taught by Jaime Soucy and it is made entirely of coffee filters! Of course I've  altered the filters with bright red polka dots (I adore polka dots!). I hung it on the door of my kitchen cabinet using one of those hooks (I got mine for $2.99 at HomeGoods) made for hanging a towel or potholder. It's made specifically to fit over your cabinet door or drawer, so it was perfect for hanging a wreath. In addition to the bronze, they also are available in white, chrome and stainless to match your kitchen