Freedom

This is a project I recently completed entitled Freedom because I felt so free while painting it!

Acrylic paints, ink, white Signo pen, lock washers, machine stitching, and ribbon were used.  The substrate is a 12" x 16" canvas, rotary cut with a decorative blade, and mounted on 1/8" thick birch board.  At least, I think it's birch but I need to ask my DH because I can't remember.  He helped me select it.

I finally figured out how to remove the background!  This is much better than my previous attempts but I need to perfect it.

Tootles All,

D~~~~

I Won!

Leslie McNeil is a blogger from Great Falls, Montana. Not long ago, I discovered her blog, and I have been following her ever since!  Leslie recently had a give away on her blog, and I won a very cool pin/brooch!

It arrived in this Dayspring Greeting
card (cool piano), and there's a
wonderful Max Lucado quote
on the front.  I love him! 

My photo is not the best so in 

case you can't read it, it says:  

There are things only you can do, 

and you are alive to do them. 

In the great orchestra we call life,

you have an instrument and a song

and you owe it to God to 

play them both sublimely.

The pin is 3" x 3", and as you 

can see below, it's very cute!  

The colors are very much ME!

I love it and look forward to wearing it! 

The pin is attached so that it can 

be worn in this direction.

 Perfect!

I suppose it can be worn other ways 

but I like the way Leslie attached it,

and I will wear it that way.

Here is the link to Leslie's blog: 

 MarveLes Art Studios.

If you like this pin as much as I do, 

you will love her blog!

Thank you so much Leslie, 

and many blessings to you!

Tootles For Now,

D~~~~

New Project Materials

I'm starting an art quilt for the "What If?" Reader Challenge in Quilting Arts Magazine.

I'll start with canvas, burlap, 

and these colorful dotted fabrics.

Oh and these painted dryer sheets.

Of course, that's the plan right now but materials

and ideas can be altered at any time.

Yes, it's been known to happen.

Does it ever happen to you?

Tootles My Creative Friends,

D~~~~

Leap Day and Art

In this Leap Year, it's Leap Day!

Billy Blue sits in the garden wondering if 

this will be the day he finally leaps

out of it.  I don't think so Billy.

Yes, Spring is near, and I've resorted

to watching the Weather Channel

just so I can see snow.

Heavy sigh...

Two projects that I'm working on:

I need to update my daily art journal

This project is almost complete but

I've been sidetracked with other things.

Tootles For Now My Art Friends,

D~~~~

Daily Journal~1st Half of February

Here are some photos of my daily art journal page from the first half of February.

I love the colors!

They are very me.

And here's the girls hanging out in the studio with me.
Daisy loves laying in the sun.
 She's just across the room here.

Sally almost always has to be right next to me!
She's just below my chair here.

Tootles,
D~~~~

Daily Art Journaling

I decided to keep a daily art journal this year after reading Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's article in the premiere issue of Cloth Paper Scissors' PAGES magazine. I'm using an 11x17 mixed media journal, and I used two pages in it for January.

On my first January page, I tried out some recently purchased Smooch Spritzes. They come in cute little glass bottles the same size as a tube of mascara but a little taller. 

The first January page is below.

I do NOT like the colors at all! 

The Spritzing was cool though. 

I'm not a big orange/gold fan most of the time so the colors are not me, and I didn't add anything else. I merely did a spritz and go! I couldn't wait to get off that page either. I kept telling myself to make the next page better.

Here's the second January page,
and I like it much better!
Acrylic paints and various markers were used.

And here's the start of the first February page.
I like it a LOT better!
I'm bordering on love!
More acrylic paints.

Below is a close up of one area.

I love using drywall tape to create texture.

(It's the yellow grid lines.)

Each month has a theme too as you may have noticed. January's theme was "Meaning," and February's theme is the obvious one~~Love. The purpose of it is to make me pay attention! I want to observe the theme in my life (and anywhere else it pops up) during that month, and especially in the little things. These observances will be noted in journal entries. 

The themes are meant to be fun and not stressful! This is all about having an enjoyable experience so I do not want to try to find something relating to my theme every single day. That could create pressure and take the joy out of it~~my journal, my rules. Why not?   

Big Blog Hugs to You All,

D~~~~

Journal Play

I made a few marks in my 9"x6" journal while I was working on another page.

This is the way it looked.

I decided to doodle over it, and here is the result.

It sure was fun!

I used Copic markers, Zig Brushables and Scroll, acrylic 

paint, and my very favorite, white Uniball Signo pen.

Happy Doodles,

D~~~~