Mermaid baby - gift box and memory book

 Hallo,
   Posting a sweet little project this am using a Sweet Pea Stamps image by Ching Chou Kuik.
  I just love this little mermaid and her baby and decided to make them into a gift box and memory book.
  I took a chipboard  book with 8 pages and covered it with pretty papers in purple and green and then covered the box in some of the same papers to match.
  Then I colored up the image 3 times the same way for the box, book and a matching card for gifting.
   I decorated with some seashells and some sweet little bead circles to accent their pretty faces. I just love making up boxes like these for babys and weddings - all they have to do is add their own pictures and they have a memory book with its own keepsake box to match. Such fun!!!
  Well the weekend was a busy one for me - both my kiddos headed back to college after spring break and I wont see my daughter now till the end of June - she leaves the day after school is out for 6 weeks in Germany for a 'study-abroad' program. She is taking both German and Spanish as minors (possibly for majors) so it is a great opportunity for her. Both my kids were born in Germany when we were stationed there with the military, and my daughter spoke  German as well as she spoke English before we came back - but she was only 3, and a big talker :) so it should come back to her a bit easier.
  Saturday I had a art/craft fair at our local Arts and Design society which is always a lot of fun not only being able to market my treasures for a reasonable table fee but to hang out with the artsy crowd for the day too :)!!
  Yesterday I was a bit lazy and hung around the house and in the craft room - caught up on a few phone calls while I was puttering around trying to get my craft room back in some working order after spring break :).
  Well - I am off to run an errand or 2 this am and then a bit of craft time before I have to go to work tonight. I have 4 shifts to work and then I have a week off - and I have plans to spend than week almost totally in my craft room and studio :) SOOOO looking forward to it!!!!
   Have a great day!!!
      Tera

Dragonfairy

Hallo,
  Showing you a sweet project today with one of my many favorite images from Sweet Pea Stamps.
The image is called 'Endless Love' by Teresa Sherman.
  I colored the image with prismacolor pencils and cut it out with a Spellbinders die.
  The next layer is a piece of encaustic art with blue and silver wax and I mounted it all to a piece of matt board and decorated it with silver faux pearls and silver stickers.
  I used a bit of red ribbon I used to hang the picture with to match the red heart.
  All for today as I am off to work again tonight.
     Take Care
        Tera

Back pain tangles

 
 
 
 

 Hallo,
    Well I know its a strange title for my post today but I have been layed up the last few days with a sore back - I have been fighting my back for about a month and it just hurt but I pushed on through, last week I finally went to the clinic and the Doc gave me a muscle relaxer which I hadn't used too much because it makes me so sleepy/groggy/foggy.
Then over the weekend I worked 4  12 hour night shifts in a row (and not taking the muscle relaxer so I wouldn't be foggy at work) and by Wednesday am when I got off work I was really hurting - took the full dose of the muscle relaxer (I usually only take half cause it works just as well without quite as much fog) and slept most of the day away, was up for a few hours and at 'normal' bedtime took another dose and slept all night.(hoping to feel better on Thursday...).
   I got up Thursday am and was still hurting/stiff/sore but planed to take the dogs for a walk and do my stretches and see what I could get done for the day - bent over to pick something up and couldnot stand back up - ended up laying down on the floor and slowly working through my set of stretches and was able to get up and get around - well this was Thursday so I spent a lot of time around the house either sleeping or sitting on the couch with the heating pad on my back throughout Thursday and Friday (called in sick to work Friday night) and am happy to say that today I am moving a fair amount better.
   So while I was sitting on the couch I pulled out my zentangle and my colored pencils - I colored up some images from Sweet Pea Stamps that I will show you when I get them made into their projects and then I did these 3 tangles. I will make copies of these and put some color on them and make them up into projects too but thought I would show you how they look right now.
  Often with my tangles I will hold onto the original and make copies of it to play with - adding color and such - mainly because I have some many ideas how to color each one that making copies allows me to play more :).
  All for today - have several projects that need doing around the house - crafty stuff for today (sadly I have a good excuse to delay the house work for another day or so....)
   Take Care
     Tera

Transfer fun

 Hallo,
   Had some time to play over at my encaustic studio today and showing you some pics of the beginnings of a fun project!!
  I started with  some good heavy weight cardstock (5 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches)with a nice smooth finish and a whole pile of pictures printed off onto regular copy paper.
  I used the Chartpak solvent marker to transfer the pictures. You put the picture face down on the cardstock and color over it with the solvent marker - coating it really well.
  In the first picture the right hand image is the copy and the left is how it looks after the transfer.
   I learned about this technique when I took a class with my local CLL (Center for Lifelong Learning) and the instructor was a talented local artist - Linda Kernick - we had a lot of fun playing with acrylic paints, spray paints, textures and special techniques.
   The next bunch of pics shows 8 panels that I did with the transfers and then edged the edges with tea dye and walnut inks. And the last 2 pictures are group shots of the panels after I glued them to encaustic boards - 6 by 6 inches (I used gel medium).
  The next step is to cover with several layers of clear wax medium and then I plan to add some thin transparent layers of colors and well - who knows, we will see when I get that far :)
  All for today - time to finish off a zentangle project I started yesterday.
     Take Care
         Tera

Acrylic and encaustics

Hallo,
  Well I feel like the 3 days I had off wasn't near enough to catch up after working 5 of 6  12 hour night shifts last week (and my one day off I stayed up all day after work until that night) - one of these days I will learn.....am fixing to lay down for my pre-night shift nap here as soon as I am done typing so that should help a bit :)
  A bit more catching up - the first 3 pics are of a piece I finished off in an acrylics class with CLL that focused on textures and special techniques  - I have a couple more from that class that aren't finished yet....
               I started this piece by painting the random colors all over the canvus, then added some texture with some gesso, then the birds were done with a stencil and gesso. Then I started playing with a bit of zentangle with a paint brush and black paint on the background. Lastly I used a fine sharpie to tangle the birds (the gesso does gunk up the tip of the fine sharpie so you need to clean it a lot as you go).
  Actually I say it is done but I am thinking I will be adding it to an encaustic piece I have been thinking of.....
  Speaking of encaustic - the last 2 pics are of my studio space rented from a friend at a building of her and her hubbys that will have studio space in the one room and a gallery in the other big room. I just moved my stuff in this last week and had a bit of time to play there this weekend.....
   All for today - hope to be back here Wednesday or Thursday - working tonight and tomorrow....and speaking of that, it is defiantly NAP Time!!!
   Take Care
         Tera

Catching up

 Hallo,
   Well I am starting to catch up a bit - a ways more to go but a start anyhow. I got talked into an extra shift last week and am only just getting my stuff back in gear from that because it made it so that I worked 5 of 6 days - all 12 hour night shifts and well....hate to say it...but that kinda stuff isn't as easy to do as it used to be....
  Showing you some pictures  today of projects from the 3D box and card class that I am teaching with our local CLL (Center for LifeLong Learning - all volunteer, local classes)
  The first 2 pics are from a Technique Junkie pattern for a lantern.
  Next is a basket that is an Accu cut die topped with a Accu cut ribbon die (designed by my friend Vicki Chrisman)
  Next is a purse die from Papertrey Ink that we glittered up.
And the last 2 are an easel die, also from Papertrey Ink, which is just too cute - I will be using that one more!!!
   All for today - headed over to my studio (boy that is fun to say :) - I am renting some studio space to use for encaustics and have just moved stuff in and today will have some time to play - should have some pics for you tomorrow.
   Take Care