Photo of the Week

In my opinion, I live near some of the most glorious mountains in the world!  How lucky I am!

I was driving home one afternoon and happened to notice the low clouds that rested on the snowy mountain tops, the clear blue sky above them and how beautiful they looked with the sun shining on them.  I knew I had to get a picture, but I was already tired out from a shopping trip with my son and didn't have my camera with me.  I thought I would just have to catch them another day.  So we went home and got a snack.  A while later, I was feeling my energy coming back so I grabbed my camera and my son and jumped in the car to find a good spot to take photos before the sun set, which happens quickly in the winter.

I have to say that this was one of the most fun and spontaneous things I have done in a while and it felt so good!  Having migraines limits my ability to be spontaneous.  I always have to be thinking ahead to make sure I'm not doing anything that will cause a headache.  So this was a special time for me and my son. 

P.S. I just found out that I won a dress from a Shabby Apple giveaway over at The Bungalow ! That just made my day! I've never ever won anything before! It turns out that you can actually win stuff from give-aways on blogs- hooray!

Hometown Landscape

 This painting is based on a picture my sister took of a local pond in the small town I grew up in ( thanks Lindsey!)  Yes, it is definitely in the desert and most of the time, things are pretty brown, but there are clear blue skies, sun, and good memories.  

It was super fun to paint in watercolor and I can't wait to do another version in oils!

Photo of the Week

It's been a while since I've posted a photo of the week.  I've been stuck with my husband's little point and shoot camera since my good one broke last year.  Now I have a new one so I'm bringing back the photo of the week with this little shot I took on a walk in our nearby park.

It can be challenging to find good subjects for photos in the dead of winter, but I managed to find a few small weeds that make for some nice close-ups.  You can always find some kind of beauty if you look hard enough :)

Tropical Watercolor Cards

I have something new in my Etsy Shop.... cards!  These were made using stencils, watercolors, and patterned packing tape.  Pretty easy to make and super fun.

The tropical theme of these cards makes me want to head to California or Hawaii!  Yep, I'll just keep on dreaming.

I'm liking all of them, but I have to say.....the palm tree is my favorite :)

Check out these Tropical Watercolor Cards on Etsy!

Pressed Flower Magnets

Yes, this is another post about lid magnets.  I keep coming up with more ideas for them and they make such nice gifts.  I just can't stop making them!

This time I glued some pressed flowers to paper and laminated them.  Most of them turned out, but a few of them were too thick and got stuck in my laminating machine.  But, I still ended up with five good ones and I'm thinking about selling them in my Etsy Shop.  What do you think?  Would anyone buy these?

Paper Hearts on Clips

Hey everyone!  I've made a few more decorations for Valentine's day!

I've had these photo clips hanging out in my decorations box, unused and unloved for many years.  I re-discovered them as I put away the Christmas stuff and instantly new what I wanted to use them for....  paper hearts!

I think I'll be saving these hearts for years to come- they just make me happy!

Landscape Sketches

 I'm breaking out some old artwork from the archives for today's post.  I've been working on getting all my stuff scanned and it is a lot of work, but it's fun looking back at old assignments from my college days.

I drew both of these landscapes at BYU for a drawing class.  They remind of the freedom I had then  to go out and draw or paint outdoors on my own.   Those were happy times!

Buttferfly Lid Magnets

I've been experimenting with more designs for lid magnets. The possibilities are endless!  Since I had taken down my wall butterflies, I decided to use them on the lids.  I like these lids so much better than my originals.

In case you missed my previous lid magnets, just click the link to see my tutorial to get started on making your own.  I use lids from frozen juice cans, which I would usually throw away.  Now I save every last one of them!

Thrifty Framing

 When it comes to art, frames really matter.  They can change the whole look of a painting.  The whole problem with that is that frames are ex-pensive! yikes! If I bought all new frames, I could not begin to frame all of my paintings.  Thank goodness for thrift stores!  They really are the best place to get picture frames.  Some of them ( ok most of them)  need a little work, but it's worth it.

All of these frames came from thrift stores and they work great.

My little Monet study here looks pretty good in this gold frame, even if I do say so myself :)

 The frame for my first highschool watercolor painting had got painted white to match the artwork.  It's now hanging in my ocean themed bathroom!

And my little orange flower watercolor looks perfect in this square frame I found at the D.I. 

L.O.V.E Sign Tutorial

Since I've taken down my holiday decorations, my house is feeling pretty empty- does anyone else have that problem?!

To fix the problem I decided to get an early start on some Valentine's decorations.  That's a first!  I rarely decorate for Valentine's Day with anything more than some paper hearts in the window.

Since I'm still collecting frozen juice can lids,  I took some inspiration from my Lid Magnets, and made a lid L.O.V.E sign!  I just knew those lids had some more potential... and they did!

Here's the tutorial.....

Materials:
clean metal frozen juice can lids (4)
a hammer and a nail
scrapbook paper
letter stencils or stickers
modge podge
tacky glue
fishing line
ribbon

Step 1:  Place a lid facing down on a hard surface and hammer a small nail into the edge to make a small hole.  Hammer another small hole strait across from the first.

Step 2:  Repeat step 1 for 2  more lids.  Only hammer on hole for the 4th lid.

Step 3: Using a variety of patterned papers, cut out four small circles the size of the inside of the lids.

Step 4:  Place lettering for the letters L.O.V.E.  You can use stickers if you have them, but if not... stenciling works just fine!

Step 5:  Coat your lettered circles with modge podge and let dry.  Make sure not to let them stick to the newspaper while drying!  Note:  this step isn't exactly necessary, but I find it's nice to give them a coat of something to make the paper more water proof and durable.

Step 6:  Line up the lettered circles with the top of the letter next to one of the holes in the lid, and glue them to the lids with some tacky glue. 

Step 7:  Once again, this step is just for my personal preferences.  I stacked the lids together while the glue dried because the paper tends to curl up when I put glue on it.

Step 8:  Thread some fishing line through the top hole on the "L" lid.  Tie it together to make a small loop.

Step  9:  Tie fishing line through the bottom of the "L" lid and through the top of  the "O" lid and tie together to connect the lids.  Tie the remaining lids together to make a long chain reading L.O.V.E.

Step 10: Cut small strips of ribbon and tie them onto the fishing line at the top of the lid chain and in the spaces between the lids.

Hang it your sign up on your wall, door, or wherever and you're done!

Dripping Fruit

I'm trying out a new technique with my watercolors- dripping! It's so much fun!  I'm still pretty new to watercolors and I still haven't found my "style".  Maybe this will be it.  I like it a lot!

I just put this one up for sale in my Etsy shop - take a look.