Art Jewelry Retreat Giveaway

I love a freebie.

I think everyone does.

So I am thrilled to announce that YOU have a chance for a free seat at this retreat.

Art Jewelry Retreat 2016.


I am teaching at this retreat and I will be showing you bits and teasers of what I am doing this week.

All you need to do to be eligible for a free seat is give your name and email here.

I will choose a winner on Saturday and the winner will be announced Sunday.

For more info, hop on over here to see what is coming....

Hope you sign up for your chance to win...

Thanks for stopping by....

The Keys to Loveliness

One of the things I collect is keys.

Vintage skeleton keys,

Old car keys, house keys, you name it.

To be more honest, I don't collect them.

I hoard them. 

 I buy them and love them and store them in little boxes, jars and tackle boxes.

Notice all those things are plurals.

So I decided I probably have enough keys to use a few in my designs.

I dressed some of them up with some polymer clay.

They will make fun little pandants.

Some will make fun big pendants.

To me, it is intriguing to take a common useful item and transform it in some way.

I love to give it a new life and purpose.

Thanks for stopping by....

                 Linking up with these great blogs.

Starting an Art Journal...

Last year I decided I wanted to start an art journal.

I traded on Etsy for a set of old medical encyclopedias.

They were exactly what I wanted for my journal.

I went through and tore out pages for tabs so I will be able to add lots of goodies.

I glued the other pages together where I wanted to to make the pages stronger.

I gessoed a few pages.

And then it sat.

Nothing.

So this summer I got it out.

I started to play with a few pages.

Are they great?

No.

But I love it.

Each page is a chance to play and experiment.

This is my first art journal so there will be lots of bad pages as I learn my style.

I am ok with that.

After these pages were photographed, I actually added more.

I think I like them better here.

Live and learn.

I have never really been a stencil person but I am trying it out in here.

I like the layering.

I used DecoArt Media Misters...

Man, are they awesome.

Such rich, saturated color in a spray.

I have been known to make my own spray alcohol inks but they are a lighter series of color.  

It can be good.

But so are these misters from DecoArt.

I have a feeling that this first journal is going to be a series of experiments.

I am ok with that.

If I am not liking the page, I can gesso over it and start again or just go to the next page and see how it goes.

Have you ever done an art journal?

I will show you pictures every now and then so you can see how it is going...

Thanks for stopping by...

                 Linking up with these great blogs.