Chalk Time

It was time to change the lobby board (where I work) for fall time. Years ago, I had an art teacher who taught me how to chalk. "Blend!" She said, as she switched on the radio and put on the coffee pot. Each time I pull out my tenth-grade chalks, I find the best way to make each picture real with the thought of hearing "Looks great, looks great! from my high school art teacher.

Pallet Work

My dad's a carpenter -- a huge plus! I asked Dad to put some pallet wood together so I could make a sign for my office wall. He cut the wood to the requested size, sanded it, and I did the rest. Thanks, Dad.

"Props!"

Just this past week I was asked to make some photo props for a campfire-themed event. The photo op set included tree stumps, fall leaves, and a campfire, but it was missing one thing -- s'mores! Away I went!

Grab a sharpie, and get that imagination rolling! Remember, these are props. Comedic props. The bold black lines don't need to be perfect. When you finish, cut them out and be sure to leave at least a 1/8" margin which helps with the cartoon effect.

Because you don't want the visuals moving when guests are holding them, tape the dowel rods as closely as possible to the paper. A straight edge works best and will help eliminate the bubbles as well.

No one wants splinters. Once you clip the dowel rods to size, sand the tips and they're ready for the photo shoot!

Marshmallows, graham crackers, milk chocolate, even a few flames -- where's the camera?

It's a wrap!

Thinking outside of the box is so much fun -- why would you stay in? Wrapping a gift recently, we didn't want to use paper. The recipient, my aunt, is so colorful and somewhat exotic. This thing needed something -- something -- uh, punchy! Off we went. My sister and I took a trip to the local fabric store and picked up a few things. Check it out.

 1) Material. Pick the right one. Ask yourself a few questions such as, "What's the recipient's style?" "What age group am I dealing with?" "What's the occasion?" All of these help to narrow your choice.

2) Add-ons. Next, we grabbed ribbon to keep the material together. Tape is unnecessary. Besides, we knew our aunt could reuse the material as she wished. NOTE: When folding the material, be neat. To avoid flapping corners, I folded them in diagonally. Don't worry about trimming all the threads. This keeps the gift looking organic, win-win! Apply the ribbon as you wish. I used a double bow then inserted a peacock feather to tie it all together.

3) Gift tag. Keep with the flow: if you're going natural, keep the idea throughout. Here, I used a thin brown ribbon threaded through the eyelet of an antiqued tag. Address it with your personal touch and...

...YOU'RE DONE! Give it a try; it's so much fun!

Sign Project

I work in an eclectic part of town. Recently, I made a friend -- the owner of an antique store located just a short walking distance from where I work. The store, a gem in our small town, is always filled with quaint knick-knacks and hard-to-find salvaged pieces. Though a few people drift in daily, this Curiosity and Antiques shop is well worth reminding people. The owner now has a booth in a craft store downtown and asked if I'd make a sign to set next to the booth to remind people of the shop in our precious little neighborhood. I agreed, and away I went!

Step one was to prep the area. I require inspiration, so -- a great scene through the window, flowers on the table, old wooden no.2 Dixon pencil and notepad on the table, music through the room, and most importantly warm coffee in my hand, did the job. It's always wise to draw out a plan, especially when you're working for someone else.

TWO HOURS (and a whole lot of eraser rubbings) LATER...the format was sketched out. Fearing the idea of running out of space, I started this project by sketching the top and bottom first.

Step two was to start painting! Let me first say that knowing my client, her tastes, and the theme of the shop, it was important for me to choose appropriate colors. I chose muted vintage colors with a strong influence of antique gold. It is also extremely important to choose appropriate fonts and balance them out on the board, as well as the colors. For example, this sign could not read well with strictly one color on top and another color on bottom. My friend is fun. Spontaneous. The color scheme and layout had to follow suit.

Step three required that I slow down on the caffeine (smile) as I needed a steady hand to avoid making a mistake. Remember, never fully load your brush. It is better to pick up more paint when necessary, than glop paint down the artwork...EEK.

Step four was a little less intense. The banner didn't require straight lines which gave me a bit of a break from "form." Not desiring the flags to have a "colored in" look, I used only a dab of paint to give them a sort of worn linen look, and crosshatched brush strokes.

Step five: FINAL STEP! This is always my favorite part of these projects. Anything goes! Grab a brush or marker and accent whatever you'd like! After some shadow, embellishing dots, and tips of gold, all that was left was to erase leftover pencil marks. The work was long, tasking, and required quite a bit of caffeine (which I didn't mind in the least, wink), but it was finished and the client was thrilled with the end product -- which made it all worthwhile!

sweet bird

 

There's no rule against mixing dots & lace -- get creative!

It's been awhile...

Ideas, ideas, ideas! They're tracing circles 'round my head and about to land on paper, finally. I've not stopped creating altogether, I've only slowed down a bit and haven't posted the work I've given away. Soon enough!