How do you sketch?

Hello Art Community!

I hope everyone is having a good month.  I happen to l-o-v-e February!  Not particularly fond of Valentines Day, but I simply adore all the decorations and uses of pink and red.  This is the month I stock up on just about every Valentines inspired paper product, glitter, vintage doll head, and anything with hearts and wings that I can use all year round.  For some reason February is a entire month of treasure-troves and amazing finds for me.

My second favorite decorating season is Easter!  I just go bonkers at the cute bunny decorations!!  And the Peeps!?  How adorable are Peeps?!  I'm thinking of creating some type of artwork using Peeps.  :)

This month I have been sketching.  It's been a while since I just sat and sketched.  I found that when I stay away from sketchbooks and art journals...my drawings come natural.  When using a sketchbook or art journal I often feel pressured and find myself sitting and staring at the thick blank book.  I soon loose any desires to draw or doodle.  I purchased a pack of loose sketch paper.  The sheets are just a bit bigger that an actual blank piece of computer paper.  Just having one sheet of paper on my table and a pencil or pen, I was able to sit and draw for an hour or so completing a sketch.

Still obsessed with Marie Antoinette, I sketched out a whimsical version of Marie en Masquerade...complete with bird in her wig.  This is just my rough sketch.  I had to get my idea on paper...QUICK.  I'm deciding on what kind of surface I would like to have her on...wood panel or canvas.  Suggestions?  I'm definitely adding some of Valentines treasure-troves to the finished piece.

Let me know what you think...

Until next time!

Happy New Year...2013

J'adore Marie Antoinette

This month I had the pleasure of participating in a Marie Antoinette ATC swap at Free Vintage DigiStamps (see icon on the left-hand side).  The swap host, Pamela, had 2 "French-themed" ATC swaps to choose from...a Paris ATC swap and a Marie Antoinette ATC swap.  Being the huge Marie fan that I am, I couldn't resist!  This particular ATC swap was fun and challenging.  Fun because it's Marie Antoinette!  I mean, the lavish wings and beautiful clothing and jewelry...who could resist?  We had to create 6 different cards and in return we would receive 6 different cards from 6 different people.  How cool is that?!  I've sent my cards out and am eagerly waiting to receive my set.

Here is a photo of my my Marie Antoinette ATC cards.  I am planning to upload a photo of each card to my Flickr account by this weekend.  

What do you think of my cards?  My favorites are "Queen Bee" and "Let them eat Cake."  Let me know.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!!

Stay tuned for exciting new products and tutorials coming in 2013!!

Free Gift with Purchase in my ETSY Shop!!

Hope everyone is having a great long weekend!!

I'm having a special this week in my ETSY Shop:

Purchase and 2 rubber stamps and receive one

complimentary bottle of stamp cleaner!!

offer valid from: Monday September 3rd -- Friday September 07th

I have just received a new order of rubber stamps...including more of the popular mustache stamp.

This stamp is absolutely adorable and sold out as soon as I add it to the shop!!  I will post a project using this stamp tomorrow...

Until next time!

Art Dolls in Stock

Hello happy people!

I'm in a good mood...I just received my shipment of muslin dolls and wow...the creative possibilities!!  The minute I saw these cute little dolls I new they would look awesome painted, stamped on and even beaded.  They are the cutest ever!  I just added them to my ETSY shop.  I currently have them available in 2 sizes-- small and medium.  The large one is coming soon (or so they tell me).

Here's a pic of what they look like:

Can you imagine making a batch of ArtDolls?!  I know what I will be doing this weekend.  :)

I have them posted in my shop...click here to be taken directly to my ETSY shop.

Until next time...

Quirky ATC Theme Swap

The month of June's theme for ATC swapping on Willowing online art group was "Quirky" so pretty much anything went...birds with umbrellas, funky dolls with wings, even abstract art.  My swap partner was a lady named Sonia.  When I received her cards in the mail I was blown-away!  She hand painted two fun ladies with big loud colorful curly hair!  They are so adorable!

I took a mini-vacation to the beach last month and that trip inspired my ATC's.  I thought how fun would it be to see a glamorous octopus or even a mermaid in the ocean!  Of course, I saw neither but that didn't mean I couldn't bring them to life in a drawing.  Here are my ATC's I sent Sonia:

The first one was a drawing using a combination of Letraset water soluble markers, Primsacolor pencils (love them!), and Stickles Glitter glue...titled "Sassy Octopus."

Isn't she the cutest?!  I glittered her red lips and matching tube of lipstick.  After I took her picture and sent her in the mail I kept thinking she was missing something.  I should have added a mini pearl necklace or something!  Oh well, I'm still happy with the way she turned out.

My second ATC was a drawing using Prismacolor pencils (my ultimate fav!) along with Copic Spica Glitter Pens (very fun to work with), and Stickles glitter glue.  Hey, what can I say??  I like sparkly things!  This one is titled, "Bubbles."

I thought how quirky would it be to see a mermaid in the water with a bar of soap surrounded in bubbles?  For the bubbles I used Stickles glitter glue in a clear white glitter then after the glitter dried I went over it with the Copic Spica Glitter Pens.  The mermaids tail also shimmers with the different colors of Stickles glitter I added.

As in any ATC swap, etiquette states that you can not publicly post your ATC's online until your swap partner receives them.  Since my partner recently received them I can post them.

So leave me comments or send me an email and let me know what you think.

Until next time!