.....altered book studio.....: May 2016

Novato Library Arts

My local library has regular workshops in artsy crafty things. this past week it was polymer clay. i made these striped beads.

I also made a cool "cane" with multiple colors of clay stacked and rolled, and cut and rolled and so on.

I made these cute beads with the slices of cane.

I also attended the bi weekly coloring club. kind of boring - just people coloring with no discussion or instruction. but a nice mellow hour or so.

they had a dozen books from which to choose images. and a pile of pencils and markers.

I kept in the same colour palette and did three at the same time.

at another workshop they did jewelry making. i brought some stuff from home and combined with supplies from the library. the copper above is a woven wire ribbon that can be stretched. very cool.

made a couple of pairs of earrings.

and this lariat style necklace with chunky beads.

Happy Easter 2016!

Here are some cute vintage-y cards i made with a group of gals from work. printed off vintage Easter postcards from the interweb then added paper, ribbons and doo dads.

they came out so cute!

At our March play date we all worked on various projects. I wanted to create a vintage doll with a cage skirt, it is WAY harder than it looks people! just really fussy and hard to get right. i suppose with practice it would be easier. my black wire also shed like crazy. once the skirt was done i plopped on the porcelain doll head with some plaster stuffed inside.

Next i made a bodice out of air dry clay. then i added some vintage lace ribbon to make a ruffle. used some thin wire to gather it up.

Next i added an assortment of beads and baubles to the wire skirt.

a couple of bows to finish her off. need to take a picture of her from the front i guess!

As is our custom - there were terrific little swaps - a glass light catcher mobile, some cards, napkins and little doo dads.

and a yummy lunch prepared by Z.

turkey chili with toppings.

and the sweetest little cheescake and a chocolate easter egg.

Since we do show and tell K showed off the paintings she did at a worksop at Femmage taught by Carrie Clayden.

they are so pretty!

Z got started on a copper crown for the santos doll K made for her.

all that wrapping!

February Play Date - Wire and Tissue Paper and Resin

our little art group collects images on our pinterest page, so that we can decide what our monthly project should be. I just loved the idea of this necklace i found online at Andrea Ockey Parr's blog.

She posted a great tutorial on how to do it!

We gathered all our supplies - ice resin being the key ingredient here.

We used various types of craft wire - 20-22 gauge. you basically make oblong lollypops and twist the wire around.

then cut out tissue paper - the heavier kind with the glossy finish works best, but anything will do.

cut out circles to fit on your wire. cut outside the circle - not inside!

thenmis up some ice resin. i just used gloved fingers to apply mine to the tissue. then placed itface down on top of the wire. the resin just made it stick.

I had some extra resin so i applied it to these natural paper butterflies. used shiny freezer paper as a backing. they don't stick to it!

i did a batch of pretty pastels as well.

Interestingly, the play date was supposed to be at my place. but two people could not make it, so majority rules - i brought all the food to K's house. an Asian feast courtesy of trader joe.

Here is the end result of my resin-wire and tissue paper lollypops! i added them onto some chunky wire along with some colourful beads. it is not something i would actually wear, but looks great draped over my mirror at home.

with my neutral circles and butterflies i made a mobile.

came out really cute. i attached them to a old wooden hanger with black wire.

another shot of my necklace.

and this is the creation that M made with her pieces. Wowsa!

January Play Date - Water Colour Cards

Here is a very long overdue post (the first of many). I've been taking pictures of everything artsy i do, but haven't found time to upload to the blog. so here goes! Back in January we had a play date focusing on watercolors. we all made valentine themes cards.

my friend Z made these delightful cards for her grandkids and hubby,

we went out for lunch in charming downtown vacaville, but had this delicious cherry cheesecake back at K's house. Just like my mom used to make!

I tried a few different techniques combining watercolours and stamping.

K worked on this fabulous piece.

N made these - so sweet.

I did some birds (of course).

and some dragonflies.

oh - before the play date we hung out at M's bead store. I was shown how to make this - then i made the second myself.

Decoupage Hangers

We had a mini crafty play date (on a school night!) to decorate wooden hangers with napkins using Mod Podge decoupage glue.

We started by sanding regular wooden coat hangers with a bit of sanding squares (used for dry walling). then added a thin coat of gesso as a base.

My gal pals and I have been hoarding decorative napkins for years - so this was a perfect project to use some up. god forbid we use the napkins for like, a meal or something crazy.

This was quite simple - first separate the layers of the napkin. usually there are three. Save the blanks to rubber stamp on. they can be used in collage - the napkin part virtually disappears when you glue it on paper

Then glue on the napkins using mod podge. the hardest part of this craft, is to be careful and let it dry on one side, then work on another hanger. when sticky, napkins like to stick to fingers and mess up your work!