I am working * lol *

I really am! Here's the proof! * LOL * I thought I would share a little drawing that I am working on. Its John Wayne, of course. I Started this about 2-3 days ago and have worked on it a little each day. So far its only like 25% complete but its a start, right? I thought maybe I would share part of my drawing process, I already had this drawn out before I even thought of sharing the entire process with you..... But I can talk about the previous process. Basically, I just sketch out the entire drawing a little at a time until the entire piece is drawn out, to where it looks like a drawing, or at least you can tell what its supposed to be. I even draw in where the darkest spots should be for shading.



This is a bit of a close-up of the part that is complete... well sort of... its shaded and shows a lot more detail but I still need to add the darkest places and sort of straighten out and deepen the lines a little more.... I'm pretty happy with the way it is turning out so far. I will blog more and more each time I complete a part of the drawing and hopefully you can see the process a little better. But since I have been working hard the last few days on this, Im taking the weekend off. Its eerie and plain yucky here with all of the rain and snow, and coldness! So Monday, I will hop back on the bandwagon and get some more completed.
I just wanted to share that I am working.... even if it is slower than usual. ~A~

A random creation....

To the left is the beginning of a random piece.... I have been practicing yoga for a few weeks now and I guess this was the outcome of me enjoying it, or appreciating it. I thought the cat reaching as well was a cute addition and I enjoyed the black vs. white silhouette. I really wasnt too sure what I was going to do with this after I drew it out. So I just randomly started 'arting' around it. Here is the first product I created using it. I may redraw the main image and create some other pieces with it. The background was done with oil pastels. I used white acrylic and painted stars in random spaces. I used black ink and a great scroll stamp for the border around the entire image and drew out the word Believe in black. Its actually a rather large 9x12 piece, and Im really unsure of what to do with it... any suggestions would be great! Thanks for taking the time to take a look! ~a~

A bookmark for my sister....

My sister and I share a passion for reading... and when she was relaxing on our couch reading a book by her favorite auther James Patterson, and using a $1 bill as her bookmark, I had to do something for her * lol * I was so shocked that with all the books she has and all the reading she does she didnt have a bookmark, even one she bought to use. Sooo, I got my supplies out and started creating something for her :) For this bookmark I used oil pastels for the rose and background. I added some glitter gel to accent the rose in some areas, and also to add a sort of border around it for an embellishment. Finally I added the gold foil filigre stickers and the cool multicolor fibers. It is laminated to protect the oil pastels, since I was well aware she would be using the bookmark very often I didnt want it to smudge or ruin the pages in her books. I thought it turned out nicely and she was really happy to have it rather than $1 bill *lol*

They make my day!

I was so surprised this morning to receive such a lovely email from a fellow artist letting me know that my blog and artwork "Makes her Day!" --- Thanks Jodi! You are on my list as well =D



"The rules for the “You Make My Day” award are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.So to pass it on and keep the love going ~ here are 10 of the 100's of blogs that keep me inspired and bring a smile to my face. Check them out when you have a few minutes... perhaps there are some new friends to be made!

- Aileen

- Lori

- Jodi

- Sue

- Kelly

- Judy

- Patti

- Sandee

- Linda

- Sarah

A few new creations *from Altered Whimsey*

I have worked on a few new items and have them added to the shop. Feel free to check them out at http://alteredwhimsey.etsy.com/

I am very happy with the turn out of the items. I sort of just started the decorative box project on a whim of wanting to create SOMETHING yesterday and thats what the outcome was hee hee :) I really love the vintage image that I chose to use,its one of my very favorite images.... and I was very surprised at how everything fit together so well. I had a bit of a disaster when I first started the project as I was attempting to use vellum *ps never use vellum printouts and then glaze the finished product* That is just what I attempted to do, the image was a totally different one printed on vellum. I have had some good items come out of that technique but this one wasnt very good. The new gel medium I have for glazing actually made the vellum start disintegrating and the ink from the printout started smearing together and bleeding... it was a nightmare of a mess. I was basically back to square one by the end of that stunt *lol* So I learned a valuable lesson, but it must of happened for a reason because I came out with an even greater product when I was finished. =D

The other item that I have added is an altered domino necklace, I already posted about it here, but I thought I would share the new picture of it... I had my sister do the modeling for this item. I havent really created jewelry that much but I did want to show how it would look being worn and also the actual size and things. I think she did a great job for the photo and I really appreciate her help. Maybe in the future if I decide to create more *depending on the success of this one* she could model some more for me. But again thats in the future.

I do hope to start drawing or painting some more items soon... I have an idea swimming in my mind about a 3 part painting that I want to attempt... but I havent gotten the nerve up just yet. Soon though, Im sure! Stay tuned for more updates and news to come! Thanks for stopping bye! ~Andrea~

The beginning of an altered domino necklace...

I decided to do something fun with domino game pieces that I have here for Altered Whimsey. I enjoy recycling things into new treasures and this was a cool challenge. Believe it or not, this was a domino at one time. =D I hope that when I am finished it will be a snazzy necklace for the shop =D

I just wanted to share what I have put together so far. This is only the front. I used a graphics program to change the hue's in the image before printing it. I also painted the domino in a matching design along the sides and back, added sparkles, and a clear jewel as an embellishment that is permanently attached using E600. When I am finished this pendant will be sealed with a gel medium that is water resistant, and yellow proof. I hope to add the chain or necklace parts soon and once that is finished and the painting drying is complete I will take more pictures, and hopefully with a model as well =D Thanks for checking this out and stay tuned for more creations, and to see the final product. Also check out Altered Whimsey at http://alteredwhimsey.etsy.com or http://alteredwhimsey.weebly.com

Native American ATC's

Today I created some long overdue ATC's for the group Artistic-Creations. They are in a Native American theme. Just thought I would share, I enjoyed working on them :)

I believe the 'Encourage, Trust, Faith' ATC is my favorite of the two... I wanted to make one with alot of elements and another that was more simplified.

I'm still kickin!

It has been a long time for me to blog and its because I have alot of things going on in my life that have kept mefrom being able to get online and work on my blogging and arting like I would like. But I wanted to take the time tosay that I am ok and that things are so-so. I am working on art, that is soon to come, and I will share as soon as I get something completed lol, I have so much running through my mind and so many different projects going on thatits a little overwhelming! I wanted to share this picture that I stumbled across while searching for something on the net. Isnt this the coolest car?! I know some of you are like 'um no' but for me its really cool! I would love to be able to take mycar and just Paint art all over it! This lady in the car, was teacher of the year in Minneapolis in 2006, and I can definately see why!She is an Art teacher at Southwest High school and the car was painted by her senior students (with her permission of course)the entire car is covered in famous historic paintings! I just love the idea, and if I could without being called CRAZY, I woulddo something like this, but with my own creations on it. *LOL* Its inspiring to know that their are teachers out there that care, and that encourage their students to think out of the box and not to be afraid to do so!

Thumbs up to Southwest High School and Ms. Cecily Spano!