MMM: Enchanted

"Cinderella"

8 x 10 Canvas

I really enjoyed this week's Mixed Media Monday prompt, Enchanted. I am fan of fairy tales (so much history there) and this challenge allowed me to play with the story of Cinderella and the subject of vanity. In the original tale by Charles Perrault, the sisters were not at all "ugly" - and if I remember correctly, the mother was not a "Step" but rather a jealous wife - but they were in fact cold of heart. The quote by Karl Kraus is a favorite of mine and seems to address Cinderella's plight perfectly: "There are women who are not beautiful but only look that way."

This piece was done on an 8 x 10 canvas and covered in sewing tissue for texture. I used several neutral colors of acrylic on top of that and then a home decor stencil to create the background pattern. When dry, I aged it with an outline of copper glitter (haphazardly placed) and a bit of charcoal. The figures were from a decorative scrapbook paper which were cut out and colored with chalk, pencil, pen, glitter and Swarovski crystals. The Cinderella figure remains simple with just a blush of color at the cheek. Finally, I punched out circles from ledger paper and added them below the figures to ground them.

Thank you for your time! To see more Enchanted pieces, please check out http://www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/  Kristin xo

Practice Kindness

"Always leave a story better than you found it."

-- Mrs. Humphrey Ward 

The Artistic Mother

I can't wait to read Shona Cole's new book, The Artistic Mother! I have had the opportunity to "meet" her through OWOH, and have long been an admirer of her many published works in Somerset Studio. She is offering the chance to win a copy of her book by helping her spread the word. If interested, please visit her blog at http://www.shonastudio.blogspot.com/. If you can't wait, check out your local bookstore or go online to http://www.amazon.com/. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I will! xo

Lucky Me!

Altered Tin from Lynn Stevens

I was so excited to get a gift from OWOH in the mail! This beautiful altered tin was sent from Lynn Stevens of Trash To Treasure Art  - I am so happy to have a bit of her talent in my studio - going to find a place for it right now!  Thank you Lynn for sharing your work with me! To see more of her stunning creations, please log on to http://www.trashtotreasureart.blogspot.com/.

1949 Esquire Magazine

October 1949 Esquire Hardcover

What a find! My dad and I take Kendra to our local library every couple of weeks for a play date. She loves to check out books and videos (she has her own card - how cute is that?) and spend time with Grandpa, while I get to hunt for vintage texts and children's books to use for my art projects.

Well, although I usually have success (always walk away with something - this one was a dollar!) yesterday I hit the mother load with this vintage Esquire hardcover. It is full of ads for men's suits, hats, cigarettes and articles. My favorite is pictured below, in which the author tries to change the tradition of the man's role in childbirth.

I have included a few pictures to share with you and scanned the bottom picture of the Esquire pinup of the month so that you may use it for your art. Please feel free to use any of them, but the one on the bottom was specifically scanned so that you would have the best possible image.

I love the idea of sharing these pieces on my blog, and am starting to do more of it. As always, there is NO PRESSURE to link or show and tell, although I am completely interested in seeing what you have done if you have the desire. Until next time, have fun . . . xo

MMM: Giggles / Laughter

"Giggles"

16 x 20 Oval Canvas

I am honored to be the guest host for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge! Participating in MMM is the very reason I started a blog last year and since that time, I am proud to say that I have not missed a prompt. Meeting and being inspired by such talented artists on a weekly basis has become such an important part of my creative life and I am forever grateful for that. Thank you for allowing me to present this week's theme: Giggles / Laughter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did . . .

This collage was made as a Mother's day gift for my Mom who is, of course, Kendra's biggest fan. The picture was taken of baby girl in her second year, and features vintage and decorative papers including wallpaper, ledgers, nursery rhymes and characters in addition to other meaningful empheria. It was painted and "aged" with acrylic and includes over stamping and white gel pen. True to form, there is a single Swarovski crystal at the ear.

I used original vintage papers on this piece and thought it would be interesting to ask what you prefer when doing your work - originals or copies? I will take stock of your responses and let you know the results in next week's post. . .

Thank you for looking! To see all the pieces on Giggles / Laughter (I know I can't wait!), please check out http://www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/.

OWOH Winner!

OWOH Blog Candy

I was overwhelmed by the amount of interest and excitement the OWOH event had to offer this year! As a relatively new blogger - not yet 6 months - I jumped at the opportunity to meet like minded artists and friends in a way that I may never have without this international blog party. I am honored to have had 42 new followers in the last three weeks, and am grateful to have been able to follow and support numerous others. This event has changed the way I will blog in the future (I am now in the habit of checking out blogs with my morning coffee!) and I am forever grateful for that . . .

With that said, out of the 541 responses, I am happy to announce the ONE winner for the blog candy above.

Congratulations Chris from Maple Ridge Vintage!

Random Number Generator #202

(Timestamp: 2010-02-15 17:01:23 UTC)

I will contact you now and send out your "Stuff" as soon as I receive your information . . .

MMM: Mardi Gras

"Key To Understanding"

9 x 5 Altered Game Board

I've been so inspired with the assemblage pieces featured on Mixed Media Monday lately - including those created by our guest host (Cindy) and last week's Romance winner (Diane) - that I decided to take the colors of this week's prompt, Mardi Gras, and create something of an assemblage piece of my own.

I love the idea of creating something functional that allows me to showcase some beautiful vintage keys that were hiding in a drawer only this morning . . . I also glued (don't tell my husband!) a vintage bolt from the same stash to the top for balance.

The materials used are fabric (which has been distressed and inked), glitter, silk ribbon, a decorative button and, of course, Swarovski crystals. The backing is a piece of game board and the quote says, "It is the key to understanding."

Thank you for looking! To see more of this week's challenge, please check out all the talent on http://www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

Teacher gifts:

Decorated tags with Swarovski crystal bobby pins

Kendra modeling her new "sparkl-ee" bobby pin

Goodie bags for little friends

Class party

Happy Valentine's Day!

Altered Game Board

"Dream"

Altered Game Board

As a birthday gift for my favorite Aunt, I attempted to repeat a project that I learned a couple of years ago in a class taught by (the wonderful, kind and oh-so talented) Pam Garrison. The original piece was made from a game board (cut in half) and included a glass jar to be used as a bud vase. Although I did not have another vase small enough to attach to the new piece, I was able to find (okay, let go of!) a large crystal taken from an old chandelier that I had in my stash. I liked the way it gave weight to the piece, and knew that it would create an amazing prism effect when kissed by the sun. So, with my revised version in mind, I began to work on a piece that I knew would mean a lot to the recipient. The central photo is of Kendra and her cousin Grady - the birthday girl's grandson - on our first family trip (just the daughters, grandchildren and grandmas) to Disneyland. . . .

Game board cut in half and sanded

Altered photo, collage of vintage and new decorative papers

which were whitewashed and dotted with melted crayon.

Sides are detailed with paint and crystal is adhered with wire to bottom.

The piece is finished off with ribbon and trim.

Original inspiration from Pam Garrison.

Hangs on Kendra's bedroom door (and always has a fresh flower).

To see more of Pam Garrison's work, Please check out her blog: www.pamgarrison.typepad.com. She is truly an inspiration to me, and I know that you will love her work as much as I do.

MMM: Romance

"Mon Amour"

11 x 16 Canvas

Fabric Poodles

Side Detail

Just in time for Valentine's, this week Mixed Media Monday has prompted us to conjure up a little Romance . . .

I was intrigued with the awning and scallop shapes that I played with for last week's challenge, and wanted to explore them a little further this time around. You would never know that this started out as another painted canvas - that I actually painted it more than 3 times and "perfected" the awning with acrylic, charcoal and ink - before I covered it all up again with fabric! But, alas, that is what I felt it needed to be complete. I guess the fabric poodles really set the stage for what was to be a piece created almost entirely of fabric and acrylic. Other details include a distressed background of paint and black glitter (I like how it adds an asphalt feel), fabric trim to complete the bottom and sides, a feather and of course, Swarovski crystals. The vintage text in the heart reads, "Whisper to me, 'My Darling'."

To see more pieces on Romance, please check out all the talent on http://www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's with your loved ones and that you receive all that your heart's desire . . .

Kristin xo