While I was on a roll with book making… I just kept on a going.
I have soft, Easter colors like pink…
Ocean and mermaid tones….
And soft grays (with more pink!).
But these are not all, I still have a stack on my desk. I think I will transform one into a travel journal for myself.
Remember my months long obsession with acrylic paint pouring? I still LOVE it, but put the supplies aside for the winter, because I needed to reclaim the garage I'd been working in. During my dream state of making one canvas after another, I also painted on some tags. These were used to make a couple of books.
And since I love playing with wallpaper too, I covered the interior of one of them.
These are going to be on my vendor table at Once Upon an Easter. I am bringing SO MUCH STUFF, that I know I will never sell it all, so I should be listing some stuff to sell in my Boutique when I get home and settled.
Between getting ready for Once Upon An Easter and prepping the kits to send to Georgia, I’ve taken some breaks to work on the watercolor journals for the class at the cottage on Saturday, April 20th.
Each is a small, watercolor notebook with 140lb paper. I have enveloped them in a deconstructed pour paint canvas, then embellished them and added a ribbon tie.
On the inside of the back cover, I’ve added a pocket.
The pockets are designed to hold the watercolor tips and tricks page that I made.
It gives steps on how to paint the little bluebird that I will hand draw on the front page of each notebook.
You also will receive a pack of watercolor pens to keep so you can practice in your new book.
Once painted, the bird will be ready to pop into a little frame that can be foofed up with a selection of vintage jewels, ribbons, and lace.
I have had a lot of interest in the classes (Karen Hillman will be doing two pretty lessons that day too).
But- it is Easter weekend.
Not the best date to plan an event, huh? Well, my buddy happens to be visiting at that time and we are happy to have the day to play together, hoping a few people could join us.
And luckily, a handful of Peeps are able to attend.
But many have said it is an action packed family time or Easter dinner prep day.
At first I was only offering the classes and luncheon as a package deal. But since people are so busy, I thought I’d modify that to say that if you would like to come in the morning and stay for lunch to do Karen’s two projects, or come for lunch and stay for my afternoon project that would be an option.
You could play with pretties for just half a day, then still have time to get that cake baked and those eggs dyed.
If you are interested:
Morning session with lunch is $60
Afternoon session with lunch is $60
No time to relax over a meal? A session alone is $50
(But don’t think you will leave hungry, I’ll pack up some treats to go for you!)
Email me at:
Karlanathan@sbcglobal.net
Well, it’s almost Spring, and in the meantime, while waiting for flowers to bloom and save me from the horrors of winter, I’ve surrounded myself with flowers indoors.
Besides a tiny bit of online shopping for the quilt and shams in previous posts, most of my “rosy-up the house” make overs have been switcheroos from one area to another. Or digging things from cabinets to bring out and reuse.
These roses are some that I painted years ago, and the tiny framed pieces had been on a shelf in another room.
There is a new piece here. My BFF, Beth, gifted me with a folding mirror for Christmas. It has a gorgeous picture on the front, and I’ve sat it up on the cabinet top, nestled behind some greenery.
This cabinet top got shuffled around and I added some projects made in classes over the years. They are sat in front of a watercolor I’d done ages upon ages ago, but will never be tired of.
There are always happy memories tied up in the decor when I can incorporate pieces from past art events!
Ps- These are all paintings that I have done myself. The watercolor marker tricks I will be sharing at A Song of Spring are meant for art journaling, or smaller projects. But the techniques behind them are universal. Learning the basics for cute doodles can be the start to learning how to paint something to hang over your mantel.
details for the class are here:
https://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2019/03/a-song-of-spring-sign-ups-are-open.html
Registration is open for our Springtime class at the cottage, with Karen Hillman and myself.
I will be showing you how to use watercolor markers to create sweet, little images in your art journals or to frame. And speaking of framing, everyone gets a small frame to embellish and pop your finished painting into.
Also included is a set of watercolor paint markers, a watercolor notebook to practice your techniques, and I will draw a little bluebird for each guest to use as a guideline. (Or you can ‘wing it’ and draw your own.)
My talented friend, Karen, will be making “Felicity the Flower Fairy” with us. Everything pictured is provided, (including the darling, bisque dolly) you will need only your glue, tools, and any personal bits you would like to add.
Karen will also walk us through sugaring violets and mint leaves to enhance your holiday baking. You will need to bring a food safe paint brush and will go home with a prettily wrapped, vintage plate to hold your scrumptious flowers.
Date:
Saturday, April 20
Place:
Karla’s Cottage- Lawrence, KS
Cost:
$115
Includes:
Lunch, beverages, goodies
Karen’s kit for making Felicia the Flower Fairy
Fresh cut violets and mint leaves, and the ingredients to transform them
A set of watercolor markers, a hand done drawing, a watercolor notebook, frame and embellishments, and an instructional chart
I hope we will see you there! The class size is limited to the amount of antique dolls Karen has on hand. Anyone who has contacted me already will be given first priority, in the order that I heard from them.
Please email me at:
karlanathan@sbcglobal.net
to join in on the fun we will be having Easter weekend in the studio!
as before, return guests, (Peeps) get a ten percent discount)
My sister, Bobbie Sue just celebrated her 50th anniversary with her husband and their darling daughters threw them a party, that truly surprised them.
Their last name is Valentine, and my silly sis LOVES goofy photo ops. So, I painted these cut outs for them to pose in as the King and Queen of Hearts.
Other party-ers had some fun with them too.
After measuring my largest suitcase, I cut plastic, corrugated poster board to fit the bag and primed them before painting the royalty with holes cut out for faces. Then, I flipped them over and painted the other side for double the fun.
The fairy and gypsy were done with lots of glitter and metallic paints for a sparkly effect.
The entire evening was a sparkling night of fun! My nieces rented a limo to pick their folks up at their farmhouse, and we all piled in for the ride "out to dinner". But instead of dinner, we went to greet the room full of family and friends ready to jump up and yell, "SURPRISE!!!"
It was all pretty cute, and the kids pulled it off with an amazing skill of twisting the truth around so no one guessed what was coming.
Personally, I was quite impressed with my own ability to spin tales. I possess a super power that until now, has lain dormant. Wow, I am a very, very good liar!!!!! I even had them pull up the online menu of the restaurant we were pretending to go to. And faked plans to visit old friends so I could sneak out and deliver the painted photo op boards.
The twisted untruth about meeting up with old friends, ended up turning around and becoming the real truth, and I got to visit some high school buddies I hadn't seen in years. That was the icing on the cake for this wonderful, but too quick trip to Indiana.
Well, not all of the icing. There was some delectable cake too.
And cousin time, that included seeing a long lost stepsister.
And of course, I never get enough sister time.
Yes, it was a beautiful weekend, and I was thrilled to be a part of the celebration of this love. These two are truly the King and Queen of Hearts.
While in North Carolina, we visited my husband's mom. She had some artwork I'd done years ago, framed and hung on her walls.
This is a painting of the house she grew up in.
And this is the home her husband grew up in.
A watercolor iris.
And a butt.
My pal, Shanna, has a group of friends most Thursdays for mosaic projects. I usually bring something else to work on, since I'm not a glass artist, but this time, I did take her up on an offer to dip into the piles of cut glass she had for me to use.
I thought that a mosaic frame would look nice on this beach painting.
Shanna also helps with grouting, and there were a couple of other projects that needed finished that day. This is Margie's table to donate to a fundraiser.
And a mirror that she did. I called it Boho Gothic.
Thanks, Shan!
While Karen, Regina, and Randy were here from Florida, we got together at the Cottage for some flow painting. I showed them how to make an ocean scene.
And we made some book covers.
They all got messy with me, and we poured paints in the garage.
This is a "swipe" technique. The colors go on over black paint, then more black paint is drizzled over it, and swiped across to make a pretty design. The paint needs to dry for a while, when it is done, I'll assemble the books, and show you how it turned out.
Here is Guncle Randy's other painting.
WOW.
I love it.
I wonder if he will notice if it isn't in the box I am mailing to him when the paint dries….
I'd planned a lunch for us and was happy to have a chance to use the fall tablecloth that I found at the flea market we all shopped at.
We had beef pot pie with puff pastry, salad, and rosemary garlic bread fresh from the oven.
With "paint pour" cupcakes for dessert.
But that wasn't it for the day…
Karen started her morning at 4am, dove hunting at the camp we had been visiting.
She brought them along to clean and gifted us with a whole flock.
It is not something I've ever done before, but intriguing. There is definitely a bonus to a meal that you have hand crafted, whether from garden to table or from field to fork.
And well worth it, those doves were tender and delicious! We soaked them in salt water for 24 hours, before marinating in Italian dressing.
While the dove breasts soaked up the flavors, we took a Labor Day spin out on the lake.
After boating, I wrapped the breasts in bacon, and my husband slow cooked them on the grill. We served it with a cauliflower mash, asparagus, fresh made bread, and a salad featuring tomatoes just picked from the garden.
Thanks, for being such a great shot, Karen! And for sharing your bounty!
Sugarwings wanted some gifts to give to her birthday party attendees, and I wanted to make something special for a gathering I am attending this week, so we saved the drippings from our last day of painting to make some necklaces.
This is how it starts.
Ugly, huh?
She laid a piece of parchment paper under her work area to catch drips, then spread the paint with a spatula so it would be thin enough to use in a pendant tray.
The name for this is ugly too. These are called "skins".
Bleck!
But once you start looking up close, you find some lovely, little areas that are ideal for jewels.
A generous dusting of glitter went over the wet paint, then we let it dry a week.
The next step is isolate the pretty areas and place 1" glass nuggets over them.
They are glued to the paint covered parchment, cut out after the glue dries, then the parchment paper is peeled off the back and the domes are glued into pendant trays.
I use a decent sized dollop of glue, press the dome into the tray tightly, then clean off the excess glue that oozes out.
This one had a surprise heart show up.
After drying, I slide them onto a leather cord and tie slip knots onto it to make the length adjustable.
I've also tried just dipping the bottom of the glass into the paint, but I don't think it is as solid of a hold as gluing the paint skin to the nugget then gluing that to the tray. Plus you get more control over the paint this way, you can pick and chose where you want to glue the glass down.
Sugarwings also made this painting to give as a grand prize to the scavenger hunt winner. I was proud of her work, she knew exactly what she wanted to pour and how to do it. This is done with the end of a water bottle! We cut off the curved bottom of the bottle and placed it in the center of the canvas. Then, she slowly and carefully poured one color after another onto the bottle piece, and let the paint flow across the canvas to create petals of a flower.
This kiddo is growing up. She is attending Jr High, taking martial arts, and has a whole new sense of self confidence to go along with her joyful, zest for life. I'm impressed with her as well as her paintings.