finished two new paintings!

I have started painting again recently for the first time in over six years. I can't believe it's been that long, but finally I feel like I am ready again to paint. It's a little scary - wondering what will come out, but exciting too... It feels like a fresh start, and i have so many new ideas. Now to find the time to actually work on them!
I started a couple of paintings several weeks ago and put them away to finish some sewing that i've been working on. Well, I had time this afternoon to work, and I think these two are both finished. I want to see them in the morning light, and hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of them tomorrow.

framing a child's artwork

After seeing so many of the little gems of artwork that came from art camp last week, I wanted to post about some easy and inexpensive ways of framing those pieces. I know that when I've finally finished a painting, there's this feeling that I get when I see it framed. It somehow feels more complete, even important. And i think that children need to know that what they have created is important.

I'm using two of the things that my son created at camp last week in these examples. The first is a charcoal drawing. What you'll notice with both of these projects is that i have had to do some major cropping before i start the framing process. Children tend to draw and paint in the middle of the page. No matter how large or small the paper is, they tend to leave a lot of white paper around the edges. Children also like to write their names BIG on the front of their paintings and drawings. You will notice that I have to crop Cole's name out of the first drawing.







I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up an 8x10 matte board that was already cut for a picture and a ready made frame. I placed the drawing in the middle of the matte opening and situated it just how I wanted it and then placed a small piece of tape on the top of the drawing to secure it to the matte. Then all I had to do was place the matted drawing inside the frame. One thing to be aware of with the easel backed ready made frames is that sometimes the easel can cause the frame to stand out from the wall when it is hung, but these are easily removed from the back of the frame, which will allow the frame to lay nicely against the wall.

The next framing project is of a watercolor cat also done by my son Cole at art camp.

I purchased some large 20"x25" charcoal paper from Hobby Lobby, located in the art supply section of the store. It comes in lots of great colors. I chose a bright blue... I also purchased a 12"x15" plain black ready made frame and used the picture from the frame to cut my fake matte from the charcoal paper. Here's how:

I took the picture insert (the one with girl and woman with matching striped hats!) and used it to cut a piece of the blue paper the same size as the inside of the frame.

I then cut the boarder off of the picture insert and used it to trace inside the blue paper, making sure that i am lining the picture up in the middle of the blue paper. This will be the template for my fake matte.

I then cut the inside of my fake matte out, and it is ready to place the painting inside.


Here's what the finished framed artwork looks like. (I had a hard time photographing this on the wall in the boys' room, so here it is on the den wall and then on the sofa with two other paintings i matted and framed to go with it.




I think they turned out pretty well, but the best compliment came from Cole. He did not want me to frame these... but when he saw them complete, he was excited to hang them on the wall! I purchased all the supplies I needed at Hobby Lobby, and all of the frames were half off this week, so I spent under $35 and framed four pieces of his artwork!

Happy framing!

art camp

paper mache bowl based on this project

project based on Wayne Thiebaud and inspired by this project

project based on Paul Klee's work


I spent the last week with eleven very fun and creative kids making art at my very first art camp. It was so much fun and as always inspiring to see what comes from the creative minds of kids. Above is just a small sampling of the projects we made. We painted and worked with clay. We made drawings from our imaginations and from a still life. We used oil pastels and charcoal. We got our hands very dirty with paper mache paste. And we just had a lot of fun! You can see many more pictures from our time together here on my flickr account. And I just want to say many thanks to Kathy at Art Projects For Kids for all of the great project ideas! My mind is reeling with ideas for future camps and workshops, so I'll keep you posted...

Fabric Cuffs

I love all the fabric cuffs that I have seen lately, so I decided I'd try my hand at them, and this is what I have come up with so far. The first one I made is the dark brown one, and I really love the button and the haphazard back and forth embroidery, but I'm not too pleased with the ribbon loop. I'm trying to figure this part out. i tried three different things on this one cuff and finally decided to stick with this. On the second cuff, I made a fabric loop, which I like the look of much better, but I will have to see how it holds up. I like the frayed edges of this one. I made both of these to fit my wrist, which is very small. So, I'd like to make a few more average sized cuffs to give as presents. i have some ideas for some new ones and will share as I have time to follow through on those ideas.

New and Improved Zipper Pouches

I have been making zipper pouches for the past couple of weeks, first out of necessity, and then because they were so much fun to make. I really think everyone needs a good zipper pouch! I finally had to retire my much beloved zipper pouch that I purchased in Viet Nam, and I was lost without it. I use it as my wallet and often hook it onto my belt loop when shopping with my kiddos so I'm hands free. So I was inspired when I purchased my new sewing machine (more on that later) to make myself a new zipper pouch. My first attempt was less than perfect, but it has sufficed in function. Since that first pouch, I have made several more, improving with each one. This latest pouch I really love because of the orange zipper and thread and little appliqued flowers. I found a great tutorial on machine sewing the lining to the zipper and had great success with it. My previous pouches have all had a hand sewn lining, which I think actually lent a nice feel to them, but I wanted to try out attaching the lining in this way, and I think it might be a little more sturdy.