Adoption Stories

Kendra and I were walking to the car the other day when she started talking about being a Mommy: "When I grow up, I'n gonna be a Mommy?" Yes, I replied. If you want to. Do you want to be a Mommy? "Yes: I'n gonna be a good Mommy an I'n gonna have a boy an a girl an . . . Mommy, my tummy is not broken?" Oh, no: your tummy is perfect! And you are going to have all the babies you want, don't worry. I love you, pumpkin-head. "I love you too, Mommy."

I'm Addicted!

More background papers for The Artistic Mother's Art Group

Project 1

Kendra getting into the act

Totally in love with creating my own background papers! I went right to work on some more, this time with my #1 helper by my side . . ..  If you are interested in trying this yourself, check out the wonderful tutorial on Shona Cole's blog.  If you would like to join The Artistic Mother's Art Group, click on the link to the right.

Kristin xo 

MMM: It's Not All B & W

Altered Clipboard

Detail of ribbon and crystal button

This week's Mixed Media Monday challenge was to create something in Black and White with a splash of color. I bought this clipboard at the dollar store a few days ago, and thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to alter it. . .

I resisted the urge to collage the board as I wanted to have a smooth surface to write on. With that in mind, I decided to use a monotone palette with paint and simple touches. After applying a few coats of Gesso, I used a Tim Holtz mask and painted over it with another few coats of black acrylic. I wanted a grunge look, so I tried not to clean or "pretty it up" after peeling off the mask. Instead, I scrubbed the board with sandpaper while the paint was still tacky and purposely rubbed a wet rag on top of the edges, scalloped bottom and polka dots. Finally, I added water-soluble oil pastels in both white and black to add to the messy look. It was sealed with a topcoat of matte gel and finished off with a charcoal ribbon (my splash of subtle color) and a Swarovski crystal.

Thank you for looking! To see more pieces on Black & White (with a splash of color), please log on to http://www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/.

Kristin xo

The Artistic Mother's Group

Background Papers in Progress

Project 1

Today marks the beginning of The Artistic Mothers Group: an online group of women who will be going through the dozen projects outlined in Shona Cole's new book, The Artistic Mother. We will have two weeks to complete each of the 12 tasks and will be posting our progress on a weekly basis. 

This week's challenge was to create background papers for our future projects. Those you see below are made from both computer paper and recycled materials and were treated with Gesso before being washed with acrylic and then enhanced with stamps and water-soluble oil pastels.

                           

Completed Background Papers

Detail of Blues

I am looking forward to my participation and encourage you to do the same. There is plenty of time if you would like to join in: simply add your name to the list by visiting our group leader's blog, Trudy of Artistic Creations. To see a tutorial of this project and find out where you can get a copy of the book, please visit Shona' s blog or click on the picture of her book on this sidebar. 

Kristin xo

Step-by-Step

"Mike & Nancy's Place"

6 x 12 Wood Panel Collage

Detail of Swarovski Crystal Button

Quote: "Feeling the drunkenness of existence"

This was done for my Uncle Mikey who just recently lost his wife of over 40 years. I admit that it is "girly," but it is meant to represent her and her love of their garden. Lavender was her favorite color - and always reminds me of her - and the central images of the statue and plaque were photographed in her garden on the day of her memorial. 

I love to see how others create their pieces, so I took step-by-step pictures of this one in case you are interested. . .

6 x 12 Wood Panel ($1.49 at Michaels)

Gesso front and back of pannel.

Collage of vintage music sheets, ledgers, wallpaper and meaningful text.

Trim edges and cover whole piece in watered down white paint for a uniform look.

Add central images which have been cropped and

color-enhanced in Photoshop

Melt crayon on surface for pops of color.

I learned this trick from Pam Garrison.

Add details with colored pencils, charcoal and glitter.

Finish edges with paint and adhere quote.

Complete backside with Lavender paint.
 Sprinkle with iridescent glitter while still wet.

Drill holes into wood and attach ribbon (distress at edges with finger) and Swarovski button.

Expect A Miracle

"We always underestimate the future."

-- Charles F. Kettering

Note: Expect A Miracle and Practice Kindness are wonderful little boxes of inspiration that are meant to be shared with others.

They were a gift from my Mother-in-love and are from Compendium, Inc.

 For more information, check out http://www.live-inspired.com/.

The Artistic Mother's Group

Shona Cole's New Book

Lucky me: I just returned from Barnes & Noble with Shona Cole's new book, The Artistic Mother. Between making meatballs for spaghetti (don't be impressed; this is my first attempt) and rounding up all the plastic dinosaurs outside (yes, I did make her help me - but when did she discover that dirt and dinosaurs are better than dolls?), I have stolen a few glances at my new (soon-to-be-favorite) source of inspiration. The book is laid out beautifully and encourages readers - busy Moms specifically - to find a ways to fit more creativity into their lives. 

The last half of the book outlines 12 projects to accomplish and Trudy Callan of Artistic Creations with Trudy has created a blogging group to go through them together. As she states, we will be "going through the projects in the new book together, blogging about it and linking to one another." I signed on to participate today and I would love it if you would do the same. It should be a fun project and a great opportunity to meet like-minded artists and Mothers.

If you would like to join in, please get the details from Trudy's blog at http://www.artisticcreationswithtrudy.blogspot.com/. 

Kristin xo