"Art is my vehicle through life; may we share the ride together." Ron Wickersham

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

New! - Vintage Image Transfer Canvas Class




For my newest class, I created this beautiful keepsake canvas.  Using the back side of an artist canvas creates a shallow shadowbox to showcase one of your favorite photographs (vintage or otherwise) - I used a photo of my maternal grandmother at age 18.  You will learn how to transfer a photo to fabric and add bits of papers, fabrics, lace, ribbons and embellishments to fashion a lovely memory piece.








You will need to bring two laser copies of a 4"x6" photo. Any copy place can make this for you on one sheet (have them use regular paper, not photo paper). This technique will NOT work on an inkjet print from a home printer.  Think beyond vintage photos - wedding, baby, anniversary, graduation photos will all work. I designed this in a neutral palette so it will work for anything. If you have special mementos, bring them to incorporate into your collage.

Class is open for signups now. Please stop by the LBH or call 817-431-7930 to reserve your seat in any buffet!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Personalized Baby Board Book

I finally finished this little personalized board book for my grandbaby, Carl.  The idea came from Kimberly Petersen's post which I found here on Pinterest.

This took me far longer than I thought it would!  I had to find the photos, edit and enlarge and add text, then decoupage them all into the prepared book. I had bought two little 6" square board books years ago to alter and they worked perfectly. They had too many pages, so I just cut several out. Since the pages were glossy, I gessoed them all to give the pages some tooth for the decoupage glue to stick.

This is the cover. I was going to use duct tape for the binding but didn't want to buy a large roll for two (yes, I'm also doing one for my other little grandson) 6" strips! I found a strip of black plasticized webbing (from garage - have no idea what it's for) and this worked perfectly to glue over the spine.



Here's a peek inside the book. There is a page each for Daddy, Mommy, Grams, Pops, 3 aunts and 2 uncles, 1 cousin and both great-grandmothers.




I needed one more photo, so used our dog on the back cover.

I first tried using Photoshop Elements to create the pages, but after a few days of trial, error and lots of frustration, I simply opened a blank page in my word processing program (Pages, Mac) and dragged the photo into the page! How easy was that!  I resized it so the smallest dimension was 6" and added a text box. The text was typed in either black or white depending on the photo. Then I printed a copy on regular copy paper and cut it to fit the book page. I used Mod Podge to decoupage the photo to the book and then Mod Podged over each page to protect it from wear and tear.

I hope this will be a fun book for Carl to remember his extended family (maternal) and to put faces to names.  Drew's book is almost complete too - just need to add a few more photos.

Friday, April 12, 2013

New Card Keepers Class



Come join me at the Little Blue House for my newest Card Keepers Class, 

Tuesday April 23
10:00 am to noon
or 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

We will be making two cards and a fun tag - all using the new Tim Holtz Distress Paints! 
Learn about the special properties of these new paints and
 some of the fun techniques you can use with them.

One of the cards uses a Mother's Day stamp but you could easily
use this card for any occasion.

Call the LBH (817-431-7930) to sign up!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Garden Party

You Are Invited!



Garden Party
Specialty Workshop


This day will be “blooming” with wonderful techniques and sure to inspire you and “grow” your creativity! 

Come receive great Hands-On learning while creating some fabulous Blossoms and you will receive this Standing Framed Chalkboard too so you can showcase your flowers individually. 




 You will be creating with a variety of NEW Lotions & Potions from Ranger, Art Anthology, VerDay by TSS, and so much more!!!  You will also be treated to a refreshing lunch during our Garden Party. 


 


 

 When: Fri. April 19th 
or Sat. April 20th
Time: 10 am to 2:30pm
What to Bring: Scissors only
(everything else will be provided for you)
Cost: $60
Lunch Provided

Reservations are required and seating is limited. Stop by the LBH or give us a call at (817) 431-7930 to reserve your seat. 

We look forward to gardening with you and watching your creative skills grow!

Miss Tracy, Elaine, Susan, Lynette