Flowers In The Winter...

Even guys like receiving bouquets of flowers...especially handmade, paper carnation bouquets! :)

When my husband returned from working on the East coast for 2 months, I greeted him with flowers at the train station. I'm thinking to do a little demo at my next jewelry/art party. In the meantime, you can check out this tutorial at Folding Trees.



"Flowers are the sweetest thing that God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into." - Henry Beecher

Oh, that sweet smell of oil and turpentine!

I came home the other day, and as soon as I walked in the door the smells took me back to my senior year of college, art building, 2nd floor, corner room with the big windows (all open, of course) overlooking the grassy front yard where the Sculpture students were setting up their newest projects, where you have to weave through the maze of easels and wet paintings and talk loudly over the sound of the vents and music playing just to be heard...oh, how I miss the Oil Painting Room (I'm giving it a proper name because it's that special - and this is my blog so I can write what I want).

But yes, many hours were spent in the Oil Painting Room - learning to use the staple gun and saw to build a canvas, mixing oils, learning to how to block the colors, trying to master Monet and Picasso (or even get just a little close). I look fondly back at that room, where I would stay until 3am before a project was due, thinking I could fool the teacher into thinking I finished my project on time (I was only kidding myself though...oils take a very long time to dry and you can't paint the next layer on top until the layer underneath has at least partially dried). It was a challenging class but so much fun.

Now I can take my own time. My parents gave me a very nice easel for my birthday last month...and so, after 6 years off, I am getting back to my real love in art - oils. When I came home the other day, the smell of oil paints in the living room made me smile with all the memories and I couldn't wait to add the next layer onto my painting. I just hope the smells make my husband smile too! ;)

Community Art

A good friend invited me to Chicago's Folk & Roots Festival last weekend and I was pleasantly surprised:

1. Great music (especially Red Baraat...I ended up paying to see them again the next night and then buying their CD)

2. The artsy booths set up (bought another summery dress that I don't need...but it's so bright and happy!)

3. The community mural that was being created on the street by Nuestra Musica Chicago. It was just too cool, not to partake....

Oh, and 4. The good company! :)

Recycled Handmade Beads

I have been wanting to try making paper beads for a couple of years, and since I was home at a decent hour today and it is Earth Day, I decided that this is the perfect opportunity! Below are the steps to make your own beads. They are pretty simple to make, but BEWARE - can be very time consuming! The whole process from making the beads to creating a necklace took about 3.5 hours. However, it's so much fun to create designs on the beads and see the finished product that it is well worth your labor. :)

Step 1: Cut 1" by 7" strips of paper from a brown paper grocery bag.

Step 2: Fold the edges in to the desired width for your bead. (Note: I recommend gluing the edges down to make it easier and less frustrating to roll the paper).

Step 3: Wrap paper around a knitting needle, paint brush, or any thin, sturdy object. Lay it on the table to roll bead as tight as possible. Put glue on the last 1/2" of the paper strip and finish rolling. Hold for 30-60 seconds to let glue set (I used Elmer's glue) and slide paintbrush or needle out from bead

Step 5: Use a permanent marker to color in the end of the beads and to create designs.

Step 6 (Optional): I painted a layer of Modpodge over the beads to help protect them and make them more sturdy.

Step 7: Make a necklace or bracelet! Go to my Etsy site to see the finished product!