mixed media

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Heart Journal for Heart Day ~ Pay it Forward February

{Have you ever heard about a situation and it just breaks your heart and you feel like you HAVE TO do something about it?A few months back I met a lady, Lovely Reckley, and she told me how she goes to four different schools in Abaco and feeds 85+ children that would have otherwise had no lunch. For some of these kids, this is the only meal of the day.Lovely even takes food to some of them when school is out.That really broke my heart. I mean, I know there are kids all over the world that are starving, but when I realized there were children right under my nose it killed me. I kept wondering what I could do. I thought about offering to help cook, but cooking for so many mouths really overwhelmed me. Then I realized what a COMMITMENT this awesome woman had made to these children…..EVERYDAY!!!At Christmas, instead of giving gifts I gave a donation to her organization (and to our Humane Society) instead of buying things that people really didn’t need.But it kept tugging at my heart. So, I decided for the month of February I would post several heart themed items to my blog. They would be for sale, and I would give 25% of the cost of the item to Lovely, to help with her costs.I may post an item everyday or I may post several items a week…..I am really not sure, but 25% will go to “Feed the Children” in Abaco, Bahamas.I CANNOT imagine going without food, or only having one meal a day that I had to rely on someone else to bring to me, and these children shouldn’t have to deal with this either, so please help!}

Happy Heart Day!!!
I wanted something really fitting for today, and in my mind I came up with that!
I made a journal that I am calling a Heart Journal, which to me, describes any journal because you are filling it with messages and creations from your heart.


The journal is five and a half inches wide by seven and a half inches tall.
The front and back cover are made from a light weight chipboard, which has been collaged with paper, paint, burlap, buttons, cotton fabrics, and stitching.


The spine, which the pages are sewn to is a piece of cotton cloth with butterflies on it, and ric rac.  The pages inside are 90 pound watercolor paper, and there are ten of them.  So you can write, glue, sketch or paint to your hearts delight.


The inside cover reminds you to giggle.


Enjoy life, enjoy friends.


There are a few *extra* pages that are smaller than the main ten pages.  One is a mailing tag, one a piece of scrapbooking paper, and one a smaller piece of watercolor paper.  All of these are stitched into the spine with the rest of the pages.


The smaller pages are perfect for items like ticket stubs, receipts, any other little piece of memorabilia, or an inspirational quote.


The back inside cover is painted and has a numerical stamp.  You can finish decorating this or leave it as is.


Sorry for all the pictures, but I want you to see all the details!  Just a few more of the front cover……


The mini burlap and fabric sandwich adds a bit of texture.


This mixed media Heart Journal is $36, and 25% of that goes to Feed the Children Abaco.  I will have it up in my Etsy store……. {HERE} ………later tonight.
Thanks for stopping by!
Spread some love this week, and everyday!
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Happy Paint Party Friday!!

I cant believe it is Paint Party Friday again!
I have had so much fun this week in my online classes, learning new techniques, having artist breakthroughs and enjoying a wonderful community of artists.
I mentioned in another Paint Party Friday post that I was working on some mixed media pieces.  I had done a  series of mixed media pieces a few years back and really enjoyed the process of them.  Then, a little while ago, I came across Christy Tomlinson’s e-class called She Art and thought I would join it to learn some new techniques and get back into the mixed media groove.
Here is one of my completed pieces from this class.
I just love the mixed media process.  It stops me from worrying about what the final product will look like because there is to telling how it will turn out.
The message on the front says “she loved everyday”, then on the side I painted “you are here for joy and delight of your soul”.  I just love that saying…..joy & delight…..who cant say those words without smiling?  And if that is your focus…..JOY & DELIGHT…..you have to love every minute of everyday.
I didn’t even plan the letters on her face, “God’s child”, they just happened to be on the page of the old book that I cut from, and I didn’t notice until I had glued her face onto the canvas.  It is just awesome how mixed media’s just work themselves out.  My little inner critic didn’t even bother me while I was working on this piece, he sat quietly on the side and left me alone while I enjoyed the entire process.

I have been doing Morning Pages, off and on, for a few months now.  (You can read more about them here, at the Artist’s Way).  At first they weren’t working for me, but then I started doing some art journaling first, and then the written pages just started flowing.
This is one of my pages from this week.
The art pages are supposed to be a quick art piece done without thinking about it.  Just a way to let it all out…..all that garbage we keep as artists in our mind.
Be sure and check out what my artist friends are doing over at Paint Party Friday also!
Hope everyone has had a great week!
Remember to fill everyday with JOY & DELIGHT!

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Summertime Creations

Summertime is a favorite season for so many people.  It is when beaching and boating are most popular, and everyone works on their summer tans.
This month at Artbeads.com their theme is “Summertime”.  I am now a design partner with Artbeads.com so I was able to choose some items from the Charms, Glass Beads or Pendants categories to work with, review and blog about.
Being a lamp worker I was very happy to pick from the glass beads category.  I picked the 14mm Crystal Fish Bead in the Silver Shade; some Czech Glass Nautical Shells; a Picasso Square Bead Strand in cobalt, white and purple; and TOHO Round Seed Beads 8/0 in Lined Aqua Opal, Lined Dark Aqua and Lined Cobalt.  Glass has the right amount of sparkle and shine,  I was not disappointed in any of these products, and would like to order more for my *stash*!!
For a pendant I chose a Plated Pewter Elongated Heart Picture Pendant.
Then finally, I chose a few Sterling Silver Mermaid Charms to complete my summer pieces.
Here is the first piece I made…..
I filled the heart pendant with sea glass and shells, then sealed it all in with resin.  I also hung one of the mermaid charms in the front of this pendant.
I used 3 strands of the TOHO seed beads and mixed the Crystal Fish Beads with them.  I then continued the necklace with the Picasso Square Beads and the Glass Nautilus Shells beads.
On the other side I did some sterling silver wire work along with some of my lamp worked beads and a glass disc and sterling silver hook for a clasp.
I absolutely loved the nautilus shell beads and the square glass beads and will be ordering more of these.  The heart bezel pendant will also be in my next order.  I was making these myself from sterling silver, but these are so easy to work with and can keep my costs down.
Here is a close-up of the pendant…..
And another picture of the entire necklace…..
I also think the Crystal Fish Beads work so well with the seed beads and add just the right amount of sparkle.  Who doesn’t like *sparkle*!?
Of course no necklace is complete without a matching pair of earrings, so here is what I made using the seed beads and Sterling Silver Mermaid Charms. These mermaid charms are the perfect size for earrings.
From another angle…..
Still having beads left over from Artbeads.com and ideas popping into my head I came up with this abstract, art quilt which I am calling “Bahama Bubbles”.
After piecing and quilting this art quilt, I hand stitched the seed beads on to look like bubbles and then stitched on the Nautilus Shell Glass Beads, as if they were on the ocean floor.  Both the lined seed beads and the glass shell beads add just the right amount of quirky-ness to this piece which measures about 7″ x 11″.  Here is another picture of the quilt before I added the blue nautilus shell beads, and when the sun was out…….

So even if you are a quilter, or mixed media artist, remember to try out other objects on your artwork.  Even items that are normally considered for jewelry artists!  Think outside the box!
I hope these items inspire you to make something summery and get ready for the summer season!


The Artbeads.com products in this post were provided as a promotional gift by Artbeads.com, as part of their Design Partner & Blogging program.  I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion – good or bad.  My comments and opinions about these products are my honest, personal opinion and I have not been paid for any endorsement.


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Donations :)

This week has been busy so far…..wrapping up work that I am donating to various fundraisers.
The “early bird” quilt above, “mermaid garden” and “bird watcher”, below are going to an art show in Nassau (the big city of the Bahamas), called “Art for Haiti”
A group of artists have come together to have this show, and each artist is donating a portion of their sales to help Haiti after the devastating earthquakes.

“bird watcher”

“mermaid garden”
I also had to paint two buoys for Friends of the Environment’s upcoming “Reef Ball” which takes place this coming Saturday.  Check out their website…..they do great things for our beautiful island of Abaco.
On Saturday night when a guest makes a donation they will be able to pick from a variety of buoys that have been painted, or decorated, by local artists.
A little “thank you” from Friends of the Environment!
The first one I did was with a mermaid that wrapped right around the buoy, and a saying on it “if fishes were wishes, all dreams would come true”
It’s hard to see the whole buoy in pictures, unless I posted about 5 pictures!
I originally wanted to mosaic one of the buoys, but this was taking longer than I anticipated, so I will have to finish that later on and share it in another post.
These buoys wash up on the beaches here, in the Bahamas, so this is recycled art.
Plus I love to collect them, so my husband was very happy that two would finally be leaving!
Of course I had to do one with owls 🙂
Both sides have an owl on it….this is my favorite.
Then there was the fundraiser for “Pathfinders” which is a local scholarship charity here in Abaco.  
This is a mixed media, framed quilt.  The artwork started out as a traditional quilt, then i embellished it with paint, and framed it in a driftwood frame which is embellished with smaller driftwood pieces and sea glass.

And I said in a previous post that I would post a picture of my completed journal cover.  I finally got the binding on it, with a button for the closure.
I had alot of fun doing this and I am sure there will be more of these in my sewing future.
Will be sharing lots of new work with you over the next few weeks.
My imagination is in high gear and I am producing new goodies everyday.
Happy creating….until the next post!
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Sneak Peak at New Ideas

Yesterday was a busy day….painting, sewing, flameworking, beading…..scattered, but busy.  I had to find something to do while paint dried!  Eventually the puzzle pieces in the picture will become a piece of fun and funky artwork to hang in my booth for the Art for the Parks Show.
Are there other artists like me?……when you should be concentrating on a show there are other creative things calling your name, begging for you to work on them, when they have nothing to do with the upcoming show or order.
One of my new years resolutions was to learn how to knit.  I knew how to cast on, knit and pearl, so on Sunday my Mom showed me and a friend how to do the cable stitch.  It takes quite a bit of concentration, but I am pleased with my results.  Guess what?…..its going to be a scarf 🙂
I hope to post more snippets as they are created.
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….even my studio is a work in progress…..

I am a bit late in posting pictures of my studio, but the small town where we live, in Abaco, Bahamas, the hardware stores (and many other stores) close at noon on Saturday. So my husband and I spent our morning searching for items for the many do-it-yourself projects we have going on…….my studio is one of them……..

On the table in the middle I do everything from sewing to quilting to painting fabric to flameworking. And of course, Tesi the cat, has to inspect everything I am doing. Cat hair is just like batting right? She was very intrigued by all the pictures i was taking and managed to get in as many as possible.

Over to the side is an antique dresser where I store supplies for jewelry and some favorite vintage fabrics that are extra special. Next to this dresser is my grandmothers rocking chair .

In this corner is a neat little window seat where i can look out at the birds and browse thru some of my favourite books. On the wall on the right i hope to one day put shelves, for more storage, and a cork board with loads of inspiring pictures. The picture on the easel is a mixed media self portrait i did several years ago.

On the shelves on the back wall are my collection of Blythe dolls and a collection of vintage mason jars with different ribbons and trims in them. There is a website called http://www.ribbonjar.com/ that used to mail out a jar every month filled with ribbons and trims that all followed a certain theme. They haven’t done this in a while and i really miss it!

Another shot of my messy work table from the sewing side with an art quilt, in progress, at my Bernina. The wall behind the table has two closets for losts of storage.

Down a flight of stairs from that workroom is my quilting room where ‘daisy” lives….my long arm quilting machine…..everyone names their long arm machines don’t they? Also, down here are many bolts of fabric, batting, and quilts waiting to be quilted. Tesi, deserved one last shot since she can be quite the muse….actually she probably considers herself more of an instructor 🙂

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Finally Finished!!

over the weekend i was busy working on the mermaid that i had posted earlier last week. she is finally done…..a mixed media mermaid. i find it very challenging to STOP working on mixed media pieces because i keep wanting to add “stuff”. but i had an order calling my name that is going to be picked up this week so i had to get her done and move on.

so for the rest of the week i am busy with an order from Bahamas National Trust for their Gala Ball. they ordered 2 pillows, a lazy susan and 2 signs….all with matching themes for their silent auction. i will post pictures in a few days.