ATCs and other art

Hello Everyone!

I've been busy on the art front. A little bit of drawing. A little bit of wire work. A little bit of sewing. I've also been painting but the paper mache box didn't get its picture taken for this post. I forgot about it till just now.

I have wings for angel dotees drying over on the painting table that will be attached to the dozen or so dotee bodies in the sewing box waiting to come to 'life'.

All of the stuff below was created since the last post. 

Enjoy!

Elephant Fingerprint Drawing 

ATC

markers and stamp pad ink on cardstock

My thumbprint.

Greetings  Earthlings

ATC

markers on cardstock

This was SUPPOSED to be a drawing of a little boy with his soccer medal, but it didn't quite work out looking anything like that little boy! So, a change of title was in order!

Marcella

ATC

markers on cardstock

Yolks in Bloom

ATC

markers on cardstock

Evelyn's Fish Picture

8x8 mixed media canvas

You all saw the goldfish in the last post. I finished this about 15 minutes before I gave it to Evelyn for her birthday on the 31st of July. There are a few things attached to that canvas. The canvas itself is a heavy chipboard box, 8x8x1.5 inches. It started life as a print of some abstract flowers. A home decor item. I put dictionary pages all over the flowers and painted them gold. That really doesn't matter though cause you can't see that anyway. I covered the whole front with a thin layer of joint compound/spackling compound, some blue glitter glue,  and a bit of blue acrylic paint. Before the joint compound dried I stuck different novelty yarns on and a layer of painted paper that had been crumpled to resemble rocks. There is palm tree bark, polished stones, gorilla glue and ironed easter grass on there too. The last layer at the bottom is another layer of painted paper, crumpled and painted with more acrylic paint.

Evelyn was absolutely thrilled with the gift!

I'll be entering this one in the county fair. That happens next week.

I sewed a couple of books.

Miniature ABC  Book

2x1.5 inches

you all saw the pages of this book in a previous post some time back. The entire English alphabet, 0-9 in numbers and a few basic shapes make up the contents of this book. Orchard paper with the characters rendered in markers.

The covers are part of an old Scrabble gameboard with orchard paper glued atop and markers used to make the design. Sewn in coptic stitch.

Butterfly Rub-On Book

This one is a bit plain if you ask me. I might add some drawing to this one. The dimensions are approx. 3.5x5 inches. It has day planner pages. I had a whole 2008 refill calendar and used it for the 8 signatures sewn into this little book. The lines go the 'wrong' way, but it's a notebook for scratching lists and what have you...shouldn't matter which way the pages go? That's my thinking at any rate.

ATCs were made as well. Wish I could show you all a phenomenal drawing on an ATC but I didn't do any masterpieces unfortunately! You all get to see the good with the bad. If I made it, you see it!

The Bartender

ATC

pencil on cardstock

I have a new project in the works. This is the first drawing for a calendar. I'm doing this in conjunction with my friend, Cory. Will be some time before the calendar is finished. The days are blank cause we haven't given ourselves a deadline. We don't know what year we are making the calendar for. Will it happen in 2012 or 2013? Your guess is as good as ours.

Then I went a tad nuts with semi precious stone beads and stainless steel wire yesterday.

These things could be suncatchers hung in a window, tree ornaments for Christmas, pendants or perhaps hung from a rear view mirror? I'm really not sure what to call them. None of them are more than 5 inches long. 

amythyst and some sort of green stone

For size comparison: the cup hook is a half inch.

Snowman Fingerprint Drawing

ATC

markers and stamp ink on cardstock

Not sure why, when I added the ATCs in one chunk, they are showing up nilly willy all over the post.

amythyst stone

the copper hook is about 1.25 inches for size comparison.

amythyst stone on the bottom 

that top stone is either a carneilan or red jasper, not sure

top stone is picture jasper, faceted stone

bottom one is a malachite (I think)

top stone is similar to a picture jasper but I'm uncertain what it is

the blue stone is a turquoise

purple one is an amythyst

all three of these stones are green 

I'm not sure what any of them are....maybe jade, malachite, and ???? I really don't know.

top stone is a clear quartz

bottom one is either carnelian or red jasper I think

top stone is a clear quartz

bottom one is turquoise

top stone is green, jade perhaps?

middle stone is amythyst as is the bottom one as well

this stone is a nice butter color....beautiful stone...I've no clue what the heck it is

top stone is a dark purple, not amythyst, but I don't know what it is

middle stone is green

bottom on shades of brown

amythyst stone

I sewed more dotees too.

Flapper dotee

she has embroidery thread hair, wooden beads for eyes, purple chain danglies and plastic sequins all over her body. She looks like a sad flapper with the print of the fabric on her face giving her a frown. I didn't notice that till after I took her picture.

Short  Squat Dotee

She's made from the same fleece as the Flapper. She has cotton string hair, wooden beads for eyes, purple chain for danglies, a jade donut bead and plastic sequins on her body. She's about 2.5 inches tall not counting her hair and dangiles in the measuring.

Walnut Basket Striped Dotee

He has cotton string hair, metal cap beads for eyes, metal bathtub chain for danglies and carved walnut shell basket on his tummy.

On Saturday I went to a yard sale where I found a boatload of felt for $2.  I went on an internet search to see what the heck I could make with those 100 or more sheets of all different colors of felt. I found a few things that I saved to My Favorites. After the search, I made some cat toys.

Catnip Mice

Felt, crewel embroidery thread, tiny rick rack and fiberfilling. 

I had some help in making these guys. Not the kind of help I would have liked! :)  When I was making the first one, the cats discovered I had catnip! They both ganged up on me as I sat on my bed with mice parts scattered about. I gave them their own pile of catnip on the floor to gang up on instead of me! I had to hide the mice from them after they were done. I made a yellow mouse also but I gave it to my sister for her kitties and didn't take a picture of it.

There are lots of ideas bouncing around in my head these days! 

I still have dotee bodies needing some attention to bring them to 'life'. 

There are lots more catnip mice to make!

I have an octopus that needs to be finished. I started that painting months ago!

There's the canvas on the easel that hasn't talked to me in months.

and

I really want to make some more paper mache and see what happens on that front!
I think an animal needs to be made.

Perhaps an elephant?

When anything happens on the art front, you all will see it!

Be good to one another! It matters!

Peace

831

A Bit of OLD ART transformed, some new art and an orphan

Hello Readers

I have Nickleback up loud in the back ground, working on a fish picture this morning. I have drying time to kill with the fish picture so I figured it was time to do an update.

All is well in my world. 

Very well!

:)

I was on an internet search the other day when sleep evaded me and I came across a little dice that was made from a one inch wooden block and six inchies glued to the outside of it. It was darn cute but a tad big for a dice in my opinion. I got the idea to make cubes out of some of those inchies I made back in 2009. 

So I gathered up the scotch tape, my wire kit and the box of inchies and went to work.

These are three different shots of the same pile of inchie cubes.

Some of the cubes have a theme...like the apples in the foreground, the mushrooms, cupcakes, the flowers on top of the pile...others don't have any theme at all....all random inchies like the one with the squirrel and the finger on it...no theme there! 

I'm thinking to make them into garlands with ten cubes strung out over about 8 feet in length. I'll have to experiment with the length and whatnot. It's just an idea at the moment. A garland with ten cubes has 60 original pieces of art on it! 6 inchies per cube....... still thinking on this idea.

The bale for the little paper cubes is made from a 6 inch length of copper wire and a seed bead. I looped the wire in half, threaded the seed bead onto the two free ends and left a loop in the top. I then wrapped the two wires below the seed bead, first one way around the other wire just under the seed bead, about 4 or 5 times, then the other wire gets wrapped the same the opposite direction wrapped around the little bundle made by the first wire being wrapped. Then I made little curly cues out of the tails on the copperwire so it would all stay inside the cube. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of a bale before it was inserted in the cube. Copper wire is salvaged from a small appliance of some sort or another.

Art Pennant Banner

I made this chipboard art banner early in the month of July. Yes, I know the pictures say March, but pay them no mind at all, they are wrong! That fool camera has a mind of its own and does just whatever the hell it wants to do the date! Anyway...it's made from chipboard food boxes (Cheez Its I do believe!) It has several layers on it. On top of the printed side of the chipboard is a layer of woven paper from a kids book in the middle. The on the outside have herringbone designs in that same paper on them. Then I painted green printers ink over the whole shebang. I didn't much like how that turned out so I put a layer of metallic green acrylic paint over it all and wiped most of that off with a damp paper towel before it got too dry. I really like how it shines! The line around the edge is metallic silver sharpie. The letters are made from fabric paper. Finally found something to do with the ton of it I have! I drew the letters and then cut them out. They have an edge of dimensional paint in black around them. There are green metal eyelets in the corners of the pennants. The danglies are stringed green sequin, plastic cording and satin ribbon. The pennants are six inches high and four inches wide at their widest.

This ugly thing is supposed to be down farther in the pictures but it ended up here so here it is. I've been sewing again. This is my third hot pot holder made from fabric scraps and old sweaters. I should not have used the variegated green crochet cotton for Mr. Kitty's eyes. This is a work in progress still. Those eyes need some irises and it needs a hanger still.

I always end up with an ugly one in the bunch! :) 

This is the fish for the fish picture I'm working on this morning. It is drawn on some  kind of canvas with markers. I really don't know what this canvas is originally for. I thought it was drywall tape but the fellow at the hardware store looked at me like I had lost my mind when I described it to him. He hadn't a clue what it might be for but he was certain the hardware store did not carry it. It's wonderful stuff! Comes on a roll 4 inches wide. It is stiff stuff, woven just like canvas with a coating quite similar to gesso. It takes paint, markers, ink....pretty much whatever you'd like to throw at it will work pretty well! I paid a quarter for the roll I have at a yard sale some years ago! 

I forgot to color in the black part of the fish's eye before I scanned. I see after the scan, the scales pretty much disappeared when I went over it all with the yellow sharpie. Need to put a little definition into the scales before it gets adhered to the canvas. 

I'll be drawing another fish quite similar to this one for the foreground of the canvas. Maybe two.This fish is about three inches long. The canvas I'm working on is an 8 inch square. I'll have to see how it looks with just two fish first. I make it all up as I go along.

I'm hoping Evelyn will let me borrow it back for a few days the middle of August so I can enter it in the county fair.

I'm thinking I should get my butt in gear and make a leather bound book to enter in the fair also but I'm still working on the design of that in my head. The muse just hasn't shocked me into action on that quite yet.

You all will get to see the finished fish canvas. I'm playing with spackling compound, palm tree bark, funky fibers and shiny plastic disks this morning on the fish canvas. I'll add some color and another layer of stuff tomorrow when it gets dry.

I don't believe I have ever put anything but fish on a canvas. Not sure why that is....

You were supposed to see these pot holders before that ugly cat.

Fleece, felt, old sweater. The purple material in the background used to be pajamas, the blue fleece around the edge was a shirt. The rest is felt I bought on clearance at Hobby Lobby for 12 cents a sheet.

Lue above, Terah below.

My daughters-in-law

After I made the pot holders, the burgandy colored sweater the background of the mat below is made of, yelled at me~! I had to do something with it! I cut it a lot bigger than a pot holder. Not so much on purpose, it just worked out that way. The kids are scraps of felt, fleece, sweater seams, silk and bit of embroidery. That sweater was made of wool and I accidentally put it through the dryer. It shrank like crazy! But it's so soft! And I just love the color of it! It worked beautifully in this hot mat.

Pot holders and the mat are all four layers, 3 of sweater material and  1 fleece, quilted together. The mat is blanket stitched around the edge with light green crochet cotton. The mat is a potential Christmas present. Not sure who just yet. 

And then the Inchie-a-thon happened over at AFA. I made all of these for that the weekend before last.

Frog Inchies

markers on cardstock

Zentangle heart Inchies

markers on cardstock

Green Eyed Gray Kitties Inchies

markers on cardstock

whimsical flower inchies

markers on cardstock

These inchies made an appearance in this post earlier in the pictures of that pile of inchie cubes.

Kitty Inchies

markers on carstock

Dog Inchies

markers on cardstock

Apples Inchies

Markers on slick chipboard

The markers did not like this surface at all! They turned out alright but won't be using markers on this type of blank again. These make an appearance in the pile of inchie cubes also.

Bird Inchies

markers on cardstock

Cupcake Inchies

markers on cardstock

I still have dotee doll bodies that need to embellished. Three of them, I think. I'll sew more stuffies and what not in the near future. 

I have yet to do anything more with the snake cane. It's hanging on the back of the wooden rocking chair in the livingroom as pale as it was in the picture I showed you after I'd put the snake on. I'll get back to it soon enough. Might get it done in time for the fair too. Might. 

The orphan I was talking about in the title of this post is this critter:

My sister and her boyfriend brought him to me. Not sure where they found him. They were out for a drive....hard telling where all they went on their travels. They brought him to me though so I'm taking care of him till I can hand him off to my son and his boys to take care of. Little boys cannot do much harm to a little box turtle. My sons had a box turtle for a pet when they were little boys. 

My sister dubbed the little turtle, T.S. Elliott.

As you can see from the  photo of Elliott sitting on my hand, he is indeed a very smalll box turtle! I have never seen one of his variety this small! He's cute as a button and he loves tomatoes! 

After the Phillipsburg Fair they will turn him back out in the wild. There are turtle races at the Fair in Pburg. Elliott can be trained! He's a fast little turtle!

I do hope the world is treating you all well! 

I will post again soon! 

Peace, my friends!

831

Production From The Dotee Factory

Hello Again!

More Dotees for the masses to admire! (Or not.) 

I've sewed dotees for a few days in a row now. Still sewing them! I have two bodies ready for personality to be added. 

Black Blue Bow Dotee

Her body is made from a man's black duckcloth shirt. She has pretty blue ribbons for her danglies, eyelash yarn and cotton string for hair and wooden beads for eyes.

Blue Fleece Angel Dotee

She's my favorite of all dotees yet made!

Her body is made from a blue fleece pullover. She has gold/yellow eyelash yarn hair, wooden beads for eyes, goldtone chain for danglies, a fake cameo on her tummy and a gold wire halo on top of her head. Her wings are chipboard from a Cheez-its box covered with drapery material and painted with glitter glue to make them sparkly.

This fellow is made from a hairy red sweater. He has silver grommets and wooden beads for eyes. His danglies are stringed plastic pearls and his hair is eyelash yarn. He has a gold jingle bell on his tummy.

This is the little fellow of the bunch. He has brown eyelash yarn hair, a blue fabric bow, wooden beads for eyes, a pink quartz doodad sewed to his tummy and bathtub chain for his danglies. He's very little. 

This one has cotton fabric for her body. Someone sent me this fabric in an art trade. Her hair is cotton string, her eyes wooden beads, she has a fabric pinwheel bow on her tummy and her danglies are christmas garland.

Another pink fairy! Her wings are made same as the previous wings. Her body is silk with a length of pink ribbon sewn around her tummy and a pendant with yellow stones is also sewn there. She has embroidery thread for hair and pink lengths of chain for her danglies. Her eyes are little wooden wheels. She has no halo. She's a fairy, not an angel.

Brown Haired Purple Angel

She has the same wings as all other winged dotees in this post. I need to make more wings if I'm going to make more fairies or angels of the dotee variety. Her body is fleece from an old pair of pajamas. She has a polymer clay bead sewn to her tummy, her eyes are wooden beads,  her halo is gold wire, her hair is eyelash yarn and her danglies are fabric ribbon.

Purple Butterfly Velvet

This one has a white fabric rose sewn to his tummy, he has black knubby yarn for danglies, wooden beads for eyes and eyelash yarn for hair.

Same pajamas as the one above make up this one's body. He has wooden beads for eyes, eyelash yarn for hair, black plastic beads for danglies and a hematite leaf sewn to his tummy.

I have one more dotee made, but it needs a hanger still. I have two more bodies cut out and sewn together. They need some personality added. There are still three more bodies cut, ready to be sewn together. I haven't burnt out on the dotees, yet. We shall see how long it lasts though. 

I don't stay with one thing for long.

Before the 31st of this month, I need to get a fish picture done! It's been requested for a birthday present. Better get cracking on it! 

I still have the snake cane and the star cane to finish. Not to mention the paper mache box that needs done. 

I was out in the artroom today looking for a couple of bags of beads I know were out there the last time I was out there. The spot they were in is empty. I know the culprit who took my beads! I will get my beads back! I need them for the dotees!

I took a look at my paper mache box while I was out there. It is ready for some more work to be done to it. I just need to figure out just what the devil more I am going to do with it. 

I need to finish something spectacular before the middle of August to enter in the County Fair this year. Might be the birthday fish, might be something totally different! I've no clue just yet! 

You all be good to one another. I'll be back in a day or two with another post of my creative endeavors. There are a couple of ATCs that need scanned, a couple of altered coffee sleeves to show you and I'm sure more dotees will be born by then as well!

As I said;

You all be good to one another! It does matter!

Peace, my friends!

831

Rest in Peace, Doob

Doob died this morning. :(

 She was 19 years old.

 She lived a good long life as queen of the house.

 I shall miss the old bag of bones dearly!  

This is the last photograph ever taken of Doob.

She's buried between the two big pine trees behind the burnt house.

She woke me at 5 a.m. for breakfast. 

I gave her a can of food.

She was eating when

I went back to bed.

I awoke at noon and

found her dead on the bathroom floor.

Chestin buried her for me.

l made dotee dolls again today. It's hotter than the hubs of hell in NW Kansas and staying in sounded like an excellent idea! I've been on a dotee kick for a couple days now.

Flower Angel Dotee

She's made from cashmere with cotton string hair. She has sequins for eyes and plastic stringed pearls for her dangly bits. The brooch on her tummy is an antique beaded brooch. I found it in my jar of odd things. I don't think they make beads this small these days. I've sewn the brooch to her tummy, leaving the pinback in place on the brooch. She also has a gold wire halo. Her wings are a very soft green color in reality. 

I took a break from sewing dotees last night and made six pairs of wings out of recycled chipboard food boxes, a bit of marker around the edges, some sparkly paint and/or glitter glue. They have three holes punched along one edge and they're sewn to the back of the dotee. No glue involved when making dotees.

Garden Fairy Dotee

She's made out of a very light tan colored jersey knit (very stretchy) with fuzzy yarn for dangly, wooden beads for eyes and gold thread for a tuft of hair. Her wings are the same soft green color as the angel's wings. The rubber grasshopper is sewn to her tummy.

I don't know what to call this thing.

Pitiful?

Pink Skirted Dotte

This one just went downhill from start to finish. She's made from a drapery sample, blue embroidery thread, wooden beads, a piece of pink lace, a bit of sparkly for dangly and a metal cone for a hat.

Surely someone can love the poor thing more than I?

Ponytail Dotee

He's made from that same striped material I used for the ugly owl dotee in the last post. He has blue wooden beads for eyes, gold thread for his dangly bits, a glass cube bead sewn to his tummy and cotton string for hair. He's quite little for a dotee.

I have a few things that need scanned which I've done in the last several days and I have a banner to take a picture of to show you all. 

Perhaps tomorrow will be the day we meet again? 

Be good to one another!

Peace

831