MMM: Tis The Season

"Santa's Pooped"

16 x 20 gallery-wrapped canvas

I know, I know: a Santa image the day after Christmas!? Only to show what I imagine to be his face after a whole season of merry making has come to an end. "Santa's Pooped" is my entry for this month's Mixed Media Monday prompt, Tis The Season, and my way of depicting what I imagine most of us feel like today . . . 

This piece was created on a 16 x 20 gallery-wrapped canvas using pencil, acrylic paints and water-soluble wax pastels. I added two types of Golden products for depth, including Texture Paste for the beard and Crackle Paste for the trim on his hat. The image was extended to the sides of the canvas and charcoal was added to the surface for interest. Final touches included extra color under his eyes to represent fatigue and silver glass glitter for the pom-pom trim. 

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you the happiest of new years . . . now, go get some rest . . .

Kristin xo

Deck The Halls - Fini!

I saved my favorite part - the Christmas tree - for the last stop on the tour of our holiday home. This year, we decided to change things up a bit, and put our tree in the dining room. We're having Christmas dinner here, and I thought it would be fun to be able to see it while we ate. It also happens to be the only room in our house with a street-facing window, so we can now enjoy all that sparkles from both inside and out. 

I thought it would be interesting to show you a before and after, so I took this picture after the Dining Room had been stripped of it's usual accessories and the table was pushed to the side . . .

Before

After

Candyland colors in red, pink, turquoise and green

The 30' wreath rests on the opposite wall and a bench from the kitchen nook was placed below it

Sequined stockings hung by the window with care

(The initials are for Mommy, Daddy & Baby)

Presents piled up in a borrowed (from Kendra) Radio Flyer

Chandelier adorned with "gum drops" and (you guessed it) more crystals!

Thank you for your visit! It's been fun Decking The Halls with you this year, and I hope that today finds you filled with the warmth and beauty that is the Holiday Season. 

Wishing you much happiness and love, 

Kristin xo

Deck The Halls VI

Tinsel tree in Kendra's room

The tree as it rests on her side table

(The little angel is an advent calendar) 

Below is another family tree: this one lives in the kitchen nook and was picked and decorated exclusively by Kendra and her Daddy. 

(I lovingly refer to it as "the compromise." I did say lovingly . . .) 

Daddy surprised our future paleontologist with this special ornament

Pretty much says it all . . .

Thanks for visiting! Please join me for the next Deck The Halls post - I saved the best for last . . .

Kristin xo

Deck The Halls V

White feather tree in bedroom

Tiny glittered tree under glass

Decorative pillow featuring baby Kendra

Our little Christmas corner

Kristin xo

Still Art-ing (Result)!

"Be Fearless"

8 x 10 Canvas Panel

Wire accents & Swarovski crystals on wallpaper background

She's finished: I may not have my Christmas cards out yet, but hey, this is complete (and was much more fun to do!) . . . This little tightrope walker was inspired by the work we did in Willowing's class while at the same time (hopefully) being representative of me and the materials I like to work with . . .

"Be Fearless" was created on an 8 x 10 canvas panel covered in decorative wallpaper. I roughed it up a bit with sandpaper before adding water-soulble oil pastels, silver glitter and stamped stars (with gold ink) for depth. The figure of the girl was first created on cold pressed watercolor paper using acrylic, water-soluble crayons and glitter gel pens before being cut out and added to the background. The tightrope was made from a piece of wire which was tied to the canvas through punched holes and brads. I added both iridescent Swarovski beads to the wire and flatback crystals (in a deep purple) to the background. Final touches include a crown made from the scraps of the original painting and the words, "Be Fearless" stamped with gold ink (and enhanced with gold gel pen) on the bottom.

Thanks for looking! Now, onto those Christmas cards . . . xo

Deck The Halls IV

This little guy rests on the dining room table

Glitter and glass ornaments fill clear urns I had on hand

The dining room tablescape all aglow

Deck the halls with losta glitter . . . and tinsel and vintage-ish figurines and sparkly things and . . . and . . . fa-la la la la . . .xo

Deck The Halls III

Kendra's apron used as a decorative swag

Vintage aprons adorned with Swarovski crystals

and tied to the back of our Dining Room chairs

I decided to have fun with some of our aprons this year and place them around our Dining Room for the holidays. I took two of Kendra's child sized aprons and tied them to the drapes as decorative tie backs (I even put a candy cane ornament in the the pocket one of them) for the curtains, and draped some vintage aprons with Swarovski crystals to the chairs as little skirts. I stole the idea of using aprons as chair skirts from my Aunt, who always has the cutest ones displayed in her all-white kitchen nook. . .

Thanks for having a peek! More to come . . . xo

Still Art-ing!

WIP

I know I'm not alone in saying that finding time to create art can be a challenge this time of year, but I think it's important to do what we can (for our sanity if nothing else!) anyway. So, in the spirit of sharing, here's what I'm currently working on . . . I'll let you know how it turns out . . .

Kristin xo

Sparkly Things . . .

Swarovski crystal "Dog Tags"

Pale pink Swarovski crystal license plate frame

As many of you know, my obsession with sparkle runs deep: there is nothing that compares to the dance of light from a Swarovski crystal, and I have been working with them in various forms for years now. As I mentioned in our last award post, in addition to mixed media art, I also make crystal encrusted "Dog Tag" necklaces and license plate frames. A few people expressed an interest in seeing them (and since I just completed a few holiday orders), I thought that this - the celebration of another blog award - would be the perfect excuse to share them . . .

The "Dog Tag" necklaces are made in several different colors and hang low (on a 30 inch ball chain) so that they can be adjusted to various lengths. The sparkle is tremendous and because of this, they are so much fun to wear. The license plate frame is comprised of over 550 4 mm stones meticulously hand applied (yes, you read that right!) to each chrome-plated metal (read, heavy and substantial) frame. They take over 3 hours to make and are the ultimate in sparkle and shine, both day and night. If you are interested in making one yourself, let me know and I will give you all my suppliers / tips . . .

Now, on the the fun part! I am honored and excited to have been given the "My Blog has Attitude!" award from the sweet and talented Jan of Jan's Arty ATC Journey! Please pop over when you can - you'll be so happy that you did . . .

With this award, I am asked to share three things that you may not know about me, so here they are: 

1.  I don't own a hair dryer 

(well okay I do, but it's only used for art projects!) 

2.  I am a horrible driver.

3.  I am obsessed with coffee and drink waaaay to much of it.

I also get to celebrate a few blogs that I love. So without further adieu, here they are:

1.  Carin

2.  Jessica

3.  Kristy

Thanks for being here!

Kristin xo

    

Deck The Halls II

30' Handmade Christmas Wreath

Detail of Spode snowman and "moss" balls

Detail of vintage boot and glitter ornaments

Let's start with one of my favorite holiday pieces - our handmade 30 inch Christmas wreath. A few yeas ago I decided that I would forgo the traditional holiday decor that we had in favor of hot candy colors in turquoise, green and pink. I deemed it "Candyland Christmas" and made it as over the top as I could . . .

It began with a wreath that I saw in a holiday magazine. They showcased a craft store form that was enhanced using bits and pieces of old and/or broken ornaments in addition to new items bought for the occasion. I loved how bold and full it was and decided right away that I was going to tackle the project myself. . . So I purchased a large green faux wreath and began to fill, fill, fill it with old and new matte, shiny, broken and sentimental pieces from our collection. I bought glitter balls from the Martha Stewart collection, cheap miniature balls from the dollar store, used decorative "moss" balls that I had in a bowl on some counter somewhere (nothing was safe!) and, most importantly, was able to add sentimental ornaments from our childhood that now had a special place to be showcased. Close inspection uncovers everything from stuffed animals (the pig in the post below) to broken Spode china pieces that we purchased on our honeymoon. . .

It continues to be one of my favorites because there is so much to look at and so much to remember . .  .  including the memories of all the hot glue burns I received while making it . . .

Thanks for looking! Our next Deck The Halls post will cover decorative uses of aprons . . . stay tuned . . .

Kristin xo