Encaustic Painting

Here is the second art technique that I think would be fun to do with my photos.
Back in April, a friend and I went to The Woodlands Art Festival. It was so nice to get out of the house just us girls and do something that we are both very interested in! Thanks Tammy for going with me!!
While we were there I discovered a type of art that I had never seen before I am was instantly intrigued! I couldn’t get any of the artists to tell me all of their secrets (understandably, I guess) but I  had to know how they did it!
Let me back up. If you have not heard of Encaustic painting, it is basically painting with wax. The possibilities are endless and you can transfer images to the wax and layer paint and colors and objects all within the wax.I knew instantly that this is exactly what I want to do with my photography.
Here’s some examples:

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Aren't these beautiful?! I love art that has depth and dimension and texture to it! I have been doing some Googling on techniques and it definitely looks like something I would fall in love with doing. The only problem? It is not simple to get started in. I do not have any of the tools or the set up for it. I found some classes in Houston that I would just love to take one day. Maybe once the kids are in school…..

Chaos!

My craft room needs some serious help!! I have been putting off organizing it but I don't think I can take it any more! Partly cuz I share this room with my husband's beer brewing hobby and toddler crafts, it is always a disaster! Somethings gotta give, though.  After all, chaos in your environment creates chaos in your mind!

DIY Mirror

Check this stuff out!! I may be late at discovering this but I am working on a project (hopefully revealing soon) in which I need a mirror. Easier said than done. It needs to be a very funky size so the only way I was going to get one to fit would be to buy a larger one than I needed, but they were always in some large pretty frame that I didn’t want to pay for, so I did a little browsing through the craft store and came across this paint:

This is so awesome! All you have to do is spray it one the back of plain glass with several thin layers (the can suggests 5). I would not come as far as to say it looks like a normal mirror, but for a rustic project where you don’t necessarily need perfect reflection, I think this is a great fix. I tested it out on a small piece of glass. Here is me trying to take a picture of the reflectiveness for you.

It’s a bit dark and not a perfect finish but I am hoping it works good enough for the larger piece I need to do.

Megan Zavaleta Piece

I realized that last night I didn’t post a picture of the artwork we got in Fredericksburg. It was late (for me), sorry! Again, the pictures do not do it justice and do not come close to showing how much depth this piece really has. Nonetheless, I have to show it off!

Playroom Makeover… Part 3 Finger Painting and Trundle Bed

I started this post just about the paintings and then I realized I never mentioned the finished trundle bed and curtains. I made 2 very simple curtain panels out of that bird fabric I found and I LOVE them so much!!! Can’t really put my finger on why, but I do. I think they are very classy yet casual. The bed also turned out great! I got all of the bedding at Target and then made some throws out of left over fabric from the curtains. I also brought the little yellow table I painted in here, but now I am not too fond of the yellow so it may get refinished in the future.
Here is the finished product

So, anyways, back to to the paintings. They are hanging in the picture above. I love them but I think they need a little something more but I am not sure what it is yet. maybe frames?
Let me back up. I wanted to add some art above the trundle bed in here but since it is a play room after all, I figured who better to be the artists than the kids who play in here? So, we had a finger painting day. We don’t do this often (if at all) because Avery is just now getting to a point where she can handle a craft like this and Norah, well, she needs lots of help and direction. It was a blast though and their personalities really came out!! Avery wanted the paint to be put exactly where she wanted it and needed to be very precise (as much as an almost 3 year old can be anyways). She got really upset when I helped her splatter the paint lol! Norah, probably due to her age, just wanted to roll and smear all in it! she did a better job of really covering the canvas but didn’t have a real plan. She loved splattering and thought it was funny.
I was able to sit back and just let Avery paint so I got a few cute pictures but I really had to help Norah out. Luckily Jeff was home at this point and was able to take some pictures (don’t look at me and my pajamas! lol)

I am so thankful to have a room where we can do stuff like this!! Here’s some close-ups of the finished products.
Avery’s:

Norah’s:

I especially love the foot prints in Norah’s. Can you spot them? She took off running across hers and I actually kinda like it! lol
If I really want to get interpretive, Norah’s could be a field of flowers with a blue sky. There’s even foot prints in the grass! haha Ok, maybe a little bit of a stretch.
As I was cleaning up I wondered why I do these things to myself; I must be a glutton for punishment! But then I think back and can still remember days when I was little painting at my grandma’s house. Memories, that is why I do it! Who cares about the mess?!

Mother Goose Paintings

My sister is due to have her third daughter in early February. She has decided to do a Mother Goose theme in the nursery this time around and asked if I would create some painting for the wall. Of course, I would! Anything for my niece (and sister ). She gave me this swatch of fabric that she made some bedding stuff out of so I could copy the style and colors.

She also found some drawings she liked online of each story that she wanted me to copy. So I had the colors from the fabric and the settings from the online pictures to go by. I painted them on 12x12 wrapped canvases with acrylic paint. Of course, I don’t think the pictures do them justice but in some cases you actually can’t see some of the flaws in the pics lol.

I really hope that she likes them! They are supposed to be “cartoony” (is that a word??) and not painted perfectly within the lines, as you can see from the fabric. Here’s the stories she chose:

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Little Miss Muffet

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hey Diddle Diddle

Humpty Dumpty

Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

Rock-a-bye-baby

Mary Had A Little Lamb

There Once Was A Lady Who Lived In A Shoe