Today I have little project over at Linnie Blooms!! Here is how I used Linnie Blooms Stencils and my watercolors to create this little fun piece for my mini clipboard!  It was so easy to use the stencils to make my drawing and then color it in!!

 I started sketching and tracing flowers with my Linnie Blooms Flutter and Bloom stencil and mask set.  (I started it in the evening, so sorry about the dark picture!)

I used my favorite watercolors to color the shapes -  Magenta Quinacridone  and Cobalt Turquoise by Windsor and Newton!

And my two favorite greens (Viridian and SAP Green) for the stem!  Then I doodled and stamped to finish off my watercolor piece!

I painted some turquoise chevron onto a piece of Crate Paper scrapbook paper for the background. When it was dry, I glued down the flower!! 

And here is my final piece!!  I attached it to my mini-clipboard and sat it up on the table next to my desk!!  I love it!  The stencils gave me great shapes and I didn't even have to worry about messing up my lines - Linnie stencils made them  for me!!   

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! I hope you have a wonderful summer week full of creativity and fun!!! 

 - Karen

Working hard - Summertime Style!

I always forget how busy summertime is when the girls are not in school.  My art time is seriously cut down and when I do have time, my girls are trying to 'help' me!  I love that they are loving art too but it really turns into artsy chaos with paint and glue!!

This is just a little piece that I made with half circle wooden piece.  It just turned out so simple and cute!!  I am in love!!

Next time the girls and I have an artsy afternoon, I will take pics of what our artsy chaos looks like around here!!  - Karen

Silly and Whimiscal Summer Evenings

Here is my project for the Linnie Blooms design team challenge project this month.  The challenge is to use Linnie Bloom Stencils/Masks and Canvas to show a favorite outdoor activity.  And one of my favorite parts of summer are the fun evenings that we spend outside with our kids and our friends.  I adore how the kids run around and ride bikes, play games and end up sitting on the driveway doodling with chalk and talking. 

 

  When I was overseas last fall, I found a stamp of dancing kids and fell in love with it!  It just portrays our summer evenings perfectly and these nights are definitely my favorite outdoor activity. So I made this canvas for the challenge, it is a little silly and a little whimsical!

 I started with Linnie Bloom Canvas Trees.  I used acrylic paint and 'spouncer' brushes to dab on the green paint.  I started with a lighter green.

Then I added some dabs of a little bit darker green.

I let the green dry and then added a yellow ocre and titan buff for the trunk and branches.

For the final layer I added dabs of a darker blue-green on top.

I took out a larger 10x13 canvas and painted around the edge with blue and white. 

As I was imagining the background, I just wanted to make a sunset.  So I took out some watercolor paper and my watercolors and tried to paint the colors of the evening.  While it was still damp I sprinkled on some salt for a fun texture effect.

Next, I worked on all the fun little bits that I wanted to add to the canvas.  I printed out the text on tissue paper, so that it would be almost transparent on the canvas.

I was also a little chicken and afraid to stamp right on the watercolor canvas.  So I stamped on the white tissue paper too.

 I added some fun scrapbook paper for bunting and glued the paper down to the canvas.

I put all the pieces together gluing them down with matte medium.

I used some leftover Linnie Blooms burlap for the bunting.  Seriously, don't throw out all your scraps, you never know when you are going to use it!  I added some doodles and shading to finish off the project!

So I hope you enjoy my summer evenings canvas.  I think we might just end up outside tonight!! 

- Karen

 One of my favorite ways to create texture is to paint fabric with gesso.  The fabric becomes stiff and also becomes a canvas that you can work with!  When I heard Andie's challenge was fabric over at the Eclectic Paperie, I was super excited because I just LOVE to gesso fabric and I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to try!

I started with white cotton fabric.  Squirt on the gesso and spread around a thin layer.  I use a credit card or room key card to make a super thin layer without brush strokes!

I also gesso'ed a couple of other fabrics just to play around - they will make fantastic canvases later on!

I hung them up to dry.

Then I took out my inspiration piece.  I found two of these Peony plates at Goodwill - awesome find!! But two plates, just didn't work for me on the wall.  So I thought I could create a little canvas to become the 3rd 'plate!'  I used a 6x6 canvas, that are not gesso'ed, to start with a cream color!

I found a piece of scrap paper to create a background and glued it down and covered it with clear gesso, so we could see the patterns.  When it was dry, I ended up mixing titan buff color paint and acrylic glazing to coat it with a transparent color!

When the gesso'ed fabric was dry, I painted the fabric with colors to match my plates. Once dry, the fabric easily tears into strips.

Using Helmar 450 adhesive and the fabric, I played around until I made ruffled circles that looked like flowers! I glued them down and placed unpainted yellow fabric in the middle! 

Then I cut out green leaves and I tried to match the leaf shapes to the ones on the plate. Even plain, they looked pretty.  I used more paint and my white gel pen to create the details to make them pop!

I doodled, found an amazing quote, "Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live" and finished off the project!

(And now I need to make something to go with my Russian Doll Canvas too....)

So now, go play with fabric!! I promise you, fabric is amazing to use with mixed media projects!! Come and join the EPlay challenge!!

-Karen

oh my goodness ... finally I can sit at my desk!!

I can hardly believe how little art I have accomplished in the last few weeks! Seriously, the end of the school year is SO busy for me that I actually had some dust accumulate on my desk ....  I was going crazy!!  But now, we are onto our somewhat lazy summer schedule.  There will actually be time for me to create ... when I am not running to the ice rink, gymnastics,  and the pool ... I think!!

Anyway, here is a little project that I made this week!  I think these little books would make cute little gifts!! Who doesn't need a little notebook or sketchbook in their wallet?

I love to keep a sketchbook in my purse, but sometimes they are so big and bulky, they annoy me! So,  I took a Linnie Blooms Mini File Folder and made a little sketchbook that fits in my wallet!

 I started out by measuring the paper I wanted for inside my sketchbook.  I chose plain paper and some fun scrapbook paper to make it more interesting in the middle!

I used a hole punch and some scissors to make the holes that I need to attach the paper to the middle.

Now, my new obsession ... image transfer!  I took scrapbook paper and copied a collage of it on my copier. 

I actually stamped a couple of stamps first onto the canvas. Then I 'painted' on gel medium onto both the canvas and the paper.  I put the paper, image side down onto the canvas and let it sit for about 20 seconds.  Then I licked my finger (gross, I know) and used it to gently work in circles on the back of the paper.  The back of the paper lifted off and the image stayed behind on the canvas shape.

Then I decorated the inside.  On the left side I put a little paper pocket, in case I need to keep something in there!  I also threaded yellow ribbon from 3 Girl JAM through the holes and paper to bind it all together.

  

On a couple of the printed pages, I put a light coating of gesso, so that I could add a little color to my sketches!

 

  I attached my much loved pencil to the ribbon and it is ready to go in my wallet!! Now, I can sketch what inspires me wherever I go! (Or I could make some for gifts .... who doesn't need a little notebook!?)

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! I hope you enjoyed my file folder sketchbook, make sure to visit Linnie Blooms to get your own canvas file folders!

Karen!