Cards and Stationery

I'm telling you! I can't be left alone for very long!!

For the last few days I have been having so much fun making Unique, handmade, one of a kind Cards and Stationery!!

YES! Stationery! Does anyone remember what that is???

Well...I know there are a few of us who still like to write a real letter every now and then so why not make it special :)

People do tend to send cards more often, so I've made more of those. Only one set of Stationery for now. 

We will see how it goes.

The cards are unique in that they are made from up-cycled envelopes. I have HUNDREDS because I use them in my Journals.....and well.....there's that "problem" I have of throwing things away I "might" use sometime....so I came up with this idea and I LOVE it!! 

Right now I'm making sets of 3 cards with mailing envelopes and have them for sale in my Etsy Shop

And each inside is totally unique just like the outside!

I love the pockets because you can add notes, cards, etc. of your own!

having too much fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you will check these out in my shop :)  ................Suzi

Two days off.....sorta

So....I've been off work (real job) for two days and planned to spend LOTS of time in the Studio..... Well, It didn't happen, BUT I did manage to get some things done.

First I spent one day making fun and different Paper Tape to use in Collage. I'm really enjoying exploring what all I can do with Paper Tape. I'm hoping to do another online workshop on Making Paper Tape "Advanced" and using it in Collage..........but for now.....

I'm just playing in one of my journals. Enjoyed seeing where this was going to go and love what came out. 

One of my "funky" birds but a reminder that if God takes care of the birds of the air, what on earth do we think He will do for us! (Matthew 6)

Now.........back to work. sigh. But I'll return :)

Suzi

Busy in the Studio

Just wanted to share some things with you I have going on right now. Busy busy and I like it that way!

#1: Working on a new painting "I am the keeper of my Soul". This is just a small section of it.

This is inspired by a book I'm reading called "Soul Keeping" by John Ortberg.

I am really loving this book and an introduction to the works of a great theologian by the name of Dallas Willard.

#2: Fabric cover for a journal order I have. This is fun and will probably do more fabric covers. The good Lord knows I have PLENTY of fabric!!

#3: Paper Tapes for the "Soul" piece and in general. I get carried away when I start making Paper Tape and have difficulty finding a place to stop. Kinda like the weaving experience.

If you are interested in learning to make paper tape check out my online workshop and if you are of a mind, I'll be teaching it at Art & Soul in Kansas City next spring! 

I also teach it in my "In Studio" workshop here in my studio as we journey toward making a journal.

Lots of options folks!!!

So that's what I'm up to. 

Have an art filled Saturday!!

Suzi

A LITTLE SUNDAY AFTERNOON PLAY

If you have seen my You Tube Videos where I paint a sheet of paper using the marks on my work surface then you know what you are looking at.....IF NOT....Check out my Painting Paper videos on You Tube.

So this afternoon I found myself getting out ALL the media! Paint, Pastels, watercolor crayon, watercolor pencils and whatever else was laying around!

This was about half way through the process and looking a lot like a Pizza there on the left!!

But I worked on it and am very happy with the outcome! 

I just played with this one using a lot of different media and techniques. Pastel Painting, regular painting, drawing and the most fun was mixing some new paints from paint I received in "The Gift"! There were some nice Windsor Newton Acrylics in there and colors not on my palette......at least they WEREN'T on my palette! ARE NOW!! Wow did I ever get some GREAT colors!!!

This was relaxing, challenging and most of all FUN!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzi

A Little Weaving

I love to weave and take spurts of doing it. It's something I generally do when I just need that movement of back and forth, in and out, repetition. Generally I do strips of weavings....really fun and simple...no real "thought"

HOWEVER, watching my friend Kato Charles do some awesome weavings of images, I decided "Why Not"! So off I went......

 

So here I am in progress with this project and the finished piece below. Gotta tell you...this is addictive!! As I was weaving back and forth and in and out, I was also thinking "Okay, I need to put this here" and "Whoops, I can't do that....gotta go this way" and "Where did that stitch come from??"

"Just one more weave and I'll put it down......I promise......in just a minute......"

Memories of the West

Wax paper, fabric and Pastel Painting.

Had no idea WHERE I was going with this but seem to have reverted back to a wonderful trip my husband and I took out west last fall. 12 States, 6000 miles, 18 days. We just 'went' ..... nothing in mind....It was a healing time for us.

But I DO love the way this turned out.

For info on any of the above....Wax paper, fabric and/or pastel painting check out my Vids on You Tube.

PASTEL PAINTING (OR THAT'S WHAT I CALL IT)

WAX PAPER....IMAGINE THAT!

TISSUE LAYERING WITH FABRIC

That will get you started! There are several others you can watch too that have to do with this process.

Enjoy!!

And have a BLESSED Sunday :)

The Gift (or Christmas in May)

One of my artist friends died a couple of months ago. His name was Bob and he was 91 years young.
He wasn't anyone you would know....didn't sell his art or network it or anything....he just loved to paint.
He and his wife lived next door to us for several years and our docks were just a few feet apart.
From time to time he and I would "talk" art and he would show me something he had done. He was really quite good. They moved away several years back and we lost track.
After he passed from this earth his family came to us. His wish was for his ashes to be put in the lake and did we know where they could do it!
I wouldn't have dreamed of it being anywhere else but off our dock which was next to their old one.
So, the day came on May 16th,  and they gathered and a son read from the scriptures and the children threw his urn designed to dissolve, into the lake. Tears were shed as we watched the bubbles from the dissolving urn rise to the surface....we remembered times with him....they left....and time went on.

Today a knock came at my back door and there was one of Bob's sons with a sack FULL of Bob's art supplies. They thought I "might" like to have them.

Can you say "Christmas in May"???

But most important................

A painting by Bob himself.

Treasures....Blessings......priceless....

The sort of stuff you write in a journal..............

Have a Blessed day my friends.....life is full of joy if you look for it.....

Suzi

What to do with those pretty painted petals...

Recently I was featured Artist at Blue Moon Art Gallery in Hot Springs, Ar. and friends of mine brought these wonderful "painted" daisy's!! Just beautiful and so appropriate for the occasion. 

Of course....as all living things do...they started to die.

I couldn't stand to just throw them away so decided to put my new "Tissue Layering" experiments to use and WHA-LA!! 

Look at this WONDERFUL sheet of paper I created using the petals from the flowers and preserving them forever!! 

To see how I tissue layer check out my video on You Tube

Art & Soul Retreat Workshop

I've been preparing to teach at the

Art & Soul Retreat Workshops in Portland, Or. in April of this year.

Just around the corner!! 

One of my classes is on "Painting Papers for Whatever" and I have a few images of the kinds of things we'll be doing to share with you.

Would love to have any and all that can make it!

Looking forward to it :)

Making "Skins"

I love fellow artists who share the things they have tried and especially when it is one as well know as Beverly Burrows!! This woman is an artist extraordinaire! Bev taught workshops for many years and has her art in collections all over the world!! I'm proud to call her my friend. Check out her work by clicking here. 

So the other day we are exchanging ideas and she told me about this one I am sharing with you today. I call these transfers but she calls them "skins" and that is more what they are.

There are ALL kinds of ways you can do this and I have been in the studio playing with different ways, but here is one I want to share with you:

Using watercolor crayon, draw your image on either freezer paper (shiny side) or wax paper. Works on both

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Next: paint over image with any color acrylic. Let dry completely.

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Add another layer of acrylic (I'm doing 3 here...experiment with different layers) Let dry

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Now this is just something I did to give some stability (and just cause I wanna') I laid down the 3rd layer and while wet I laid gauze or cheese cloth in the wet paint.

Let all dry completely

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 When dry peel off the paper

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  And THERE it is!! Your "skin"

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 This was the image left on the freezer paper, and being one that DOES NOT waste.....I Mod Podged a couple of layers of tissue paper to this, let dry and peeled off, transferring the rest of the image to the tissue. Check out my videos on You Tube about tissue transfer

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Thanks for stopping by and THANK YOU Beverly for lending your expertise!!

Later, Suzi

I Love a Challenge!

If you subscribe to my You Tube Channel you know that I have been playing around with transfers. Started out as tissue transfers and then I decided to start experimenting with fabric/cloth.

So.....one of my subscribers kinda challenged me to use sheer fabric with this process so I did and LOVE what came out of it!

Here are the steps. Give it a try......FUN!!

First I pick out my fabric. This is a sheer fabric which you really can't tell here but you will be able to tell as we go.

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Next I paint my image on freezer paper (shiny side up) with acrylic paint. Let dry thoroughly.

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Lay down layer of Mod Podge over dried image

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Lay fabric over image while Mod Podge is wet

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Put layer of Mod Podge mixed with a little acrylic medium or acrylic varnish. This prevents the piece from being brittle. 

Let dry completely

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Peel fabric off of freezer paper when completely dry

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And there it is!!! Beautiful!!

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Close up

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Another Student update

These beautiful papers from one of my students who has taken all of my workshops so not sure what these are a result of but I'm thinking "It's Okay to Play" because we do a lot of painting various kinds of papers in that workshop.

NONE THE LESS......these are scrumptious!! And she is not done with them yet.

Lujean loves to use deli paper so that is what you see here.

a word from me worth exactly what you pay for it! (my husbands favorite saying) :

 I love deli paper too, but as most of you know, I like to take what I have on hand and use it to the fullest, so what I have found is that if I varnish two sheets of tissue paper together with either Gel Medium or Varnish, I get the same weight, texture and durability as deli paper. Just FYI.

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Good job my friend and Thanks for sharing :)

click here for workshop info

Promo VIdeo for Art & Soul

Hello All!!!

Just want to share this little Promo Video I did to introduce myself and what we will be doing at the 3 workshops I will be teaching at Art & Soul Retreat Workshops in Portland, Or. in April 2014!

I am SO EXCITED and happy to have the opportunity to teach there and so hope to see some of you.

Even if you can't go, check it out...it's short :)

Thanks!!!

Painted Papers kinda day

Just finished up painting this piece of paper.

Didn't make a video...I paint papers all the time so can't video every single one, but can share it here with you :)

I LOVE the way this one turned out!

This was my work surface where most of my painted papers start but I usually have to do a lot more. This one just painted itself and could almost be framed as is!! Hmmmmm.

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SO.....it is an absolutely GORGEOUS day here in Hot Springs, Ar.!! 70 degrees!! Haven't seen that in a while! I took advantage of the sunshine and hung all my painted papers outside to photograph!! Beautiful huh?! Almost like stained glass.

I use these papers for journal pages so if you have one of my journals you probably have some of these in there.

Be sure to check out my videos at

www.youtube.com/user/suzimade

Student update

Just love seeing what my students are doing "since" the workshop!!

Back in November Alice came and spent 2 days with me in my Studio and made a wonderful journal!

We had a great time and she has been going strong ever since!

Below is a journal she has since made for her grandson!

I LOVE IT!!!

What absolute fun!!! And the Button is a glass button made by her husband, Mike, who is a glass artist.

BUT....that's not all....

Alice is a Zentangle Artist who teaches workshops and makes these AWESOME beads!!!

Are these not spectacular??? 

I consider myself so blessed to have so many wonderful artists come into my Studio and learn from me when they have such gifts in their own right!!

Thanks for letting me share Alice!! 

You are the Bomb!!!

Online workshop "Journal Making Journey"

One of my students sent some photos of what she is doing and wanted to share! 

Front cover of her journal made from canvas

Painted Paper pages ready for the inside

Paper tapes!!

Good job Janice!! Can't wait to see the finished product