Dreams and Inky Fingers...

Happy Friday :)

I was thinking all night about doing something different today, and couldn't make up my mind, so I stuck with an 'Alice' theme.  I also decided to use some of my materials that I've never really used before, so it's been a bit of an experiment really. 

 Experiments are good though because they allow you to learn what works or not.  

You might be pleased to hear that I didn't make an ATC today either, (although I AM itching to make one later) today I worked on one of the larger canvases instead.  The same size as the 'Wonderland' one.  I'll measure it next time and let you know the exacts.

Anyway,  here are a few of the shots...

Here is a little close up.  I thought I'd put this one in to show the different elements and methods that I use.  The butterfly is the last of my rub-on supply (must treat myself to more).  The paint is acrylic.  I paint the face, then put the tissue layer on top.  The pencil crayons don't work so well onto acrylic.  I've also written some thoughts about following your dreams.  Oh, and I got some new glitter paints too.

here's the face close up (still wet), the yellow stains are made with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Stain.  I'm not really 100% sure how you use these (must watch a tutorial), but I had a go.

Not a great photo, but you can really see the layers of the picture.  I also used a Black Distress Ink around the edges and smudged with my fingers (hence the inky finger).

Some of my materials that I used today. I did use the butterfly stamp on it somewhere, but can't see it anymore. - too many layers.

Dreams will be going up in the Etsy shop, I've designed the shop banner today, now I just need to write the listings and we are good to go.

Well I need to go and get an ATC fix now, and possibly a little cheeky glass of wine, so I'll see you all tomorrow.  Happy Friday.

Rachelle x

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Three little lovelies...

3 Little Lovelies

Just a little post for you, not quite sure where the time has gone today, but it has gone fast. 

 I made these three little ATC's this morning whilst my little princess was having a nap.  They were really quick to do, about an hour for all three.  It worked out really well for time, I did each one at the same time.  What I mean is, I did each stage, on each card at the same time.  Does that make sense?  Hope so.

I also went for a more funky colour scheme, I used pink for hair on one of them, purple on another, and even a leopard print tissue for the third ones hair.  I'm really pleased with the finished look (well, that is apart from the one with the larger face, something not quite right about her).

take a closer look...

Maybe her eyes are too small, can't work it out, but something's a little off.

Love the pink hair

This is my favorite one. (can you see my red glittery nail in the corner?)

I may venture into something a little larger tomorrow - I'm sure you would like to see something other than ATC's.  I'll get my thinking cap on tonight.

I'm also thinking of making a You Tube tutorial (would love to be able to offer these as classes), I need to do some research first though, and get a camera of course.

See you tomorrow - Friday already :)

Rachelle x

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Busy, busy...

Busy, busy, busy.  

Our TV was taken to the repair shop last night, for who knows how long.  This is actually a good thing (for me at least) because it means I can do some art, and that's just what I spent three glorious hours doing last night. 

 I made another three ATC's (my obsession continues). 

 The one above is called 'Love Me'.

Here's the next,

Not decided what to call this one yet, suggestions are always welcome. :)

'Call Me'

(the telephone is a rub-on)

So, these were last nights little piece of heaven.  All mixed media, (collage, paint, pencil crayons and a coat of gloss medium)

And these were done yesterday, including the little 'wings' one that I put on the blog.

'Wings'

'Soul Queen'

Told you I'd been busy, I'm actually amazed how many I did.  The good news is that soon, one of these little lovelies may be yours, watch this space...

Rachelle x

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Wings...

Wings...

I was going to enter a little challenge today,  you had to make something with wings.  

So I eventually made a little ATC with a fairy on it.  I used some painted leaf skeletons for the wings - look closely and you can just about see them.  I really like the skeletons, but maybe a darker background would have worked better, to show them off a bit.  Oh well, learning through doing is never a bad thing in art.

You can see them a bit better in this close up.  I also used a different colour way, pinks, purples and blues.  I chose them to match the 'dress'. Cute :)

So I just got back from the other blog where you submit the artwork, and realised the challenge is for stampers :(  That'll teach me to read instructions properly.  never mind, all is not wasted, she will go to my Mum for a little treat.  Mum wanted the little mini canvas fairies, but they are going on Etsy, but I'm sure she'll be happy with this.

I'm really into making these ATC's now, my new guilty pleasure.

Oh and look what I saw when I drove up the street today...

Kids (I love it really)

Rachelle x

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ATC or not? That is the question...

This is my 'Ruby Slippers' birthday cake from yesterday.  How fabulous is that?  I told you I loved all things Oz and I wasn't joking.

So today, I thought about making some more of the little ATC's, that I am now loving.  

I've been using a playing card as the base, the only problem is, my cards are poker size and I'm not sure that makes them the 'correct' size to be a true ATC.  Feel free to leave a comment if you know the answer.  :)  

Despite this little puzzle going on in my mind, I made two more.  They still need a trim to neaten them up, but this is good because it means that you can still see the tissue paper layer that I keep going on about.

take a look...

Called this one 'Thinker'

I painted the face in acrylics then used my pencils on top.  I've also collaged the hair.

'Dreamer'

She's made in the same way, but I emphasised the eyes a little more, and used colors like purple and turquiose.  (they don't always show so great on the photo)

You can see the tissue layer here.  I love making these little mini masterpieces.

So now I'm off to educate myself on the 'how to do' ATC's properly.  

After all, if you're going to do something, you might as well do it well.

Rachelle x

P.S If any of you would like to do a little swap, drop me a line :)

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ATC swap...

Just a little quickie today...

I didn't have too much time today, but wanted to get these ATC's done for a little swap that I've set up with one of my Twitter friends.  We had decided to send two cards, so I made two in the two different styles that I like to do.  As usual, I used my beloved method of collage, pencil crayons etc, but I also did a little acrylic painting too.  I could do this all day, everyday if I could (and Mr P allowed it) but I'll have to stick at my proper job for now.

Enough of my waffle, here are the little beauties...

This is the painted one, it's been a while since I used this method, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Here's my little China Girl.

You'd think that making ATC's wouldn't take so long because of their size, but they actually take as long as a small canvas.  Quality takes time, that's my motto. :)

So I'm off now till Monday as it's my birthday tomorrow.  Yes, the big 40 has finally come knocking on my door.

Let life begin.

Rachelle x

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Red Shoes...

Don't you just LOVE ruby slippers.

Hello again, I'm sorry it's been a while, but life sometimes has a habit of getting a little complicated, and mine did.  Hopefully things will start running a little more smoothly again now. (fingers crossed)

I worked it out, and it's been five days since I did anything creative, that's far too long.  So I have now decided that no matter what else is happening, I'm not going to leave it more than 48 hours without being even the tiniest bit creative.  I know it might sound a little cliche to some of you, when you hear people  say that 'art is good for the soul', but I really feel that it's good for me.

Enough of the chit chat, here is today's little escapade :)  And yes, it's back to the Oz theme again.  no apologies, I LOVE all things oz. (true addict).

This is my little Dorothy sketch.  I cut her head off before doing the collage part, not sure if I've said this before, but I always do that.  That way, I can change the angle around and play about with it a little.

I used some fiber tip felt pens, think they are Faber Castell ones, to do the face.  Even though i used the pale flesh tone, it looked awful - too pink, so I layered a piece of silk handmade paper over the top, I think it looks fine now.

This is the background.  I used acrylic paints with the brayer (roller), then scratched into the road with my chopstick. (an essential for any art kit)

You can see that I did a little bit of writing, you can't really see it in the finished piece... Oh well

close up.

So that's what I've been up to today.

In other news, my 'Madame Butterfly' and 'Wonderland' portraits arrived back from their visit to San Diego, USA.  I can't tell you anything about it yet, but it's going to be very exciting (for me at least), watch this space.

Bye for now

Rachelle x

Welcome home girls.

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Mermaids

It's quite unusual for me to blog on a Sunday, but here I am with a new canvas that I made this morning.  I fancied making a mermaid this time.  It's something that I have been doodling for a while now in my journal, but the sketches keep coming out wrong.  I'm a big fan of mermaids and fairies, I suppose magical beings in general really, so it's a theme that I'm going to run with for a while I think.  

Here's the little doodle sketch that I started with.  I did it in my journal, I usually do that, think it's the need for security (if it's no good, it doesn't matter in the journal), surely I should be over that phase now. Oh, and I was having a few problems with the left eye too, that's another thing that keeps happening.

I don't bother drawing the hair anymore, I 'choose' the style as I add the collage.

This is the canvas.  I used a brayer to blend some acrylic paints, then scratched into the surface whilst it was still wet, with my trusty chopstick.  Once it had dried, I decided it looked 'too blue', so I wiped some dark turquoise over the top to give it some depth.  I also added some strips of the silk paper (that I use alot).

Then I made my little mermaid, much in the same way as usual, the only difference today was that I added some glitter glue to her tail.

My Magical Mermaid close up.

I'm not so sure that I'm entirely happy with her, nor the composition of the finished piece, but I'll use her as a starting point for the rest of my mermaids still to come.  Maybe next time I'll do one on those mini canvases.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Rachelle x

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Butterflies number 2

Here she is...

This is the second canvas that I started yesterday but never got the chance to finish.  I set the image out a similar way, but chose a different colour way to work with.  She also has a slightly darker skin tone than the first one.

Cute close up.

She just needs a little protective coat of gloss medium, then she's good to go.

Happy Saturday

Rachelle x

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Butterflies...

It's Friday, the weekend is here... and the sun is still shining (for now at least).

I've been busy this morning, working on two canvases, and I've managed to finish one of them so I thought I'd show you.

I went about this on a little differently, what I mean is, I painted the background first, rather than my usual way of 'collaging in the gaps'.  I used acrylic paints, which I blobbed onto the canvas in a random fashion, then used a brayer (print roller) to spread the paint out.  I chose summer colours, as I wanted a midsummer look to the finished piece.  

Whilst the paint was still wet, I used the end of a chopstick to write text into the paint, oh yes, and a stamp of a butterfly.  The stamp was really good because it removed some of the paint to leave the butterfly pattern. (just remember to wash the stamp really quickly afterwards).

So this is the canvas background.

You can see that the paints are actually really bright here.  Look how the butterfly stamp removed the paint. :)

Next, I drew my design idea into my art journal and cut the pieces out so that I could decide where to arrange them on the canvas.  The reason that I did it this way is that the pencil didn't show up on the acrylic.

I used my collection of papers to start to collage the image.

I used the same butterfly stamp on some silk paper and printed paper.  I also added some extra colour with my pencils.  Then, as usual, I covered the whole image with a layer of tissue paper.

Here she is...

'Butterflies'

I don't know about you, but each time that I do a canvas, I like it more than the last one... 

I'm going to find it difficult to sell them alright, but sell them I will.  I mentioned earlier that I was working on two canvases today... the other will be added tonight.

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely day.

Rachelle x

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Honor

First of all, let me just start by saying a big 'thank you' to those of you who sent me kind wishes yesterday.  All went ok at the hospital, I'm home now, just feeling a bit battered and bruised.

I've finally finished the third little portrait in that series of three that I started last week.  This one is another ATC size box canvas and her name is Honor.

Here's the process... (following my usual steps)

I made a collaged background in complimentary colours to match the other two pieces.  The only difference this time, is that I drew her face onto paper first and stuck it on the canvas, rather than draw it on the canvas itself.  the reason that I did this, is because I'm not so sure how much I like the canvas texture that shows through at the end.  You can see the difference if you look closely in a later piccy.

The tissue layer (same as usual) I also used up my last set of run-on butterfly wings.  An excuse to go shopping :)

A little face close up - do you see what I mean about the smoother look from doing it on paper rather than the canvas?  Oh and I used my pencil crayons again.

All finished.

Here they are all together, please excuse the photography ( I take my shots on my iPhone)

How cute do they look all together?

LOVE THEM

Lovely.

Now what shall I do next?  

I'll have to put my thinking cap on... (perhaps I should get round to finishing the set up of the Etsy shop then I can put these little lovelies up for sale)

Don't forget to say hello on Facebook, I'm giving away a mini canvas (like these) to my 100th 'Like' on my Art Eye Candy page.

Rachelle x

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