A Box for my Happy Art

.

 I have mentioned once or twice, 

that I am participating in an art swap 

hosted by my friend Sandra.

I received two sets of cards and realized

 that if I didn't find a home for them they 

would eventually end up at the bottom 

of a paper pile and that's no way

 to show respect to the Art.

I plan to display them on a wall when my 
craft room reorganization is finished 
but for now they need to be protected.

   So as I poured the last serving from a  box of cereal,

 I saw that the empty box just might be

 the perfect size for my cards. 

The cards are 5x7 and yes the box was just right.

These are copies of the cards I sent to Sandie in July.

I always make copies of my work before 

I send it off because I like to have a record of what I made

 and I also like to use copies my art in other ways.

Just the right thing to cover the box.

These are the cards I have received so far

 and the cereal box.

 

 They fit  !   . . .

 so I carefully took the box apart so it 

would lay flat and be easier to cover.

 I covered each panel separately so it 

would fold back up into a box easily.

 I this point I toyed with the idea to go to my 

sewing machine to add a few stitches.

But decided to just rebuild the box. 

I think there's enough going on with out sewing.

After the box was reassembled I went over the

 corners and edges with a black Sharpie.

 I used washi tape as a way to  reinforce the

 bottom and also to add an accent. The washi tape was

 folded over the bottom edge and that caused

 a cool mitered look on the bottom.

It was pure luck. 

If I had planned to do that it would have never worked out.

 A few edges needed more sharpie work.

See the woven paper up there in the top right corner of the photo?

I had to do something with the extra paper right?

I really am addicted to paper weaving.

I have been weaving everything in sight.

Anyway...

Here's the completed box with the cards tucked inside. 

There is plenty of room in there.

 Hopefully this swap continues for a 

long time so I can fill this box.

Sometimes the simplest projects 

can bring so much pleasure.

If you are looking for a great way to meet new friends

and play with new techniques, you might want to think about joining this group of artists.

Sandie has all the details on her blog and there is also a facebook group where we share our work each month.

We are having a lot of fun. 

Come play with us !

Marianne

 

Who loves Hexagons?

I am participating in a huge blog hop celebrating hexagons
 and today is my day to share.

Thanks to Madame Samm for continuing to 
come up with all these great ideas for the hops and

thanks to Debby our cheerleader, who has been so sweet with her reminder emails and her hard work getting all the links sorted out. 
I am sure it is not as easy as it looks.

So what did I do to honor the Hexagon?

I purchased these

thinking I would make a grandmother's flower garden quilt.

But after making three english paper pieced hexagons I knew in my heart a flower garden was not going to happen.

I decided I didn't like hexagons at all.
I know there are so many other ways to play with 
hexagons so I had to noodle out a new idea.

After a lot of thought I decided to start a quilt for
 my grand baby, due in a few months.   
I started by drawing a sketch and then a few pattern pieces.

Well instead of talking your ear off . . . I'll just show you a few pics.

I used hexagons as the background for this fused applique owl.

her eyes, upper wing, and tail feathers have hints of hexagons.

did you see her butterfly tattoo?

I allowed the hexagons to overlap the right side border. 

I used a zig-zag stitch to quilt in the ditch

If you look closely you'll see birds on the leaves of the tree.

A few details:

I used six wedges of fabric for each eye feather area and a wonky hexagon for each eye. I didn't want them to match exactly.
I also used  fabric pencils to shade a few areas. Her beak was too blah until I shaded it and made it stand out.

in progress

shading  done

hello !

 I wanted it to be super puffy
so I used two layers of batting

finished size - 30"x 50" ( when binding is added )

So back to the question

Who loves hexagons?
well . . .
even though they look pretty good as a sky background,

Not me.

and what about all those paper hexagons?

well 
I painted them

I'll be able to use these in my art journals. 
Nothing wasted.

Thanks for stopping by !

Have a Happy day !

Please visit these wonderful quilters who are sharing their projects with us today.

We Shall Sew  

  

Life@RuffHaven

Pieced Brain  

   

Den Syende Himmel 

   

Creatin’ in the Sticks 

   

Meadowbrook 

   

Sandra Kaye Designs  

   

Let’s Patch it Up 

   

Sew Many Yarns  

  

Around the Homestead 

Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much?

The whole list of participants is here on Debby's blog

Tuesday, Tea and a Butterfly Tattoo

 Good Morning Tuesday

Every Tuesday bloggers are gathering and linking with 

Elizabeth with whatever is in their cup.

The rules are simple.

Share a drink and share whatever else you want.

Tea is not required.

I have been working on a quilt as a part of a huge blog hop so 

I thought I would show you a sneak peek.

The Tea

Tazo  Sweet Cinnamon Spice

The Mug

nothing special
 old old old from Target 

The Art

you can read about it here

see the butterfly tattoo on her wing?

I need to add binding.

 I was going to bind it with blue but changed my mind.

 It needs to be black or a very dark brown. 

I hope your day is sunny and bright and the rest of the week as well.

Marianne

Tuesday, Tea and a Tiny Bird

Good Morning Tuesday.

 I am enjoying these Tuesday gatherings with Elizabeth and friends. 

You don't need to drink tea to join in and you don't need to be crafty either.

 Just a weekly catch up with friends. 

 This week I would like to show you the

 techniques I used to make this 5x7 art card.

The reason for this tutorial is because a few
people have commented on the vellum.

I did not use vellum anywhere on the card.

I made 4 of these for a monthly Happy Art Swap
 that my friend Sandie hosts.

You can find out more on her blog.
there is a link in my sidebar.

 In this tutorial I am not making the same card. 

This time I am making an envelope.

A bit different, except for the stitching. . . the techniques are the same.

I made the envelope for a mail art group I am a member of on facebook.
I am leaving the photos small but you can click on them to get a closer look.

The Art

The first step is to cut your paper into strips of varied widths.
and weave them together and adhere them to a heavy paper.
I also added a few extra bits and pieces
for added texture and color.
I am using 90lb. Strathmore Mixed Media paper.
I use Delta Water Soluble Varnish as both a glue and a top coat.
I like it because it's inexpensive and it dries quickly and will not get sticky in high humidity. Great for mail art.




Let the varnish dry for a few hours
or overnight.

Use Gesso to block out an area for an address or if you are making a card block out an area for your sentiment or quote.
 I also used the gesso as a base layer for my bird and the dots along the sides.

I lightly drew the bird with pencil. The gesso will cover the pencil lines.

I used the end of a foam
brush to make the dots

The good thing about having so many dogs is I always have something to do while gesso dries.

In this next series of photos I am using watercolor pencils to
add color to the bird, the branch and the bubbles

Use a little water and a brush to blend the colors.

I started out lightly and added more layers of color as needed.
You can add color while it's wet, but use a light touch.

next I added the bunting at the top.This is a fabric type scrapbook paper.
Perhaps this is what looks like vellum. . . but it is a sheer fabric.

The outlines and details were done with a micron pen and an ultra fine sharpie.
I did not stamp black dots on the envelope like I did
on the card  because I like the light airy look.

finished size - 7"x11"

All it needs now is an address,
a letter and a gift card inside and
  I will stitch the top closed and send it on it's way.
I am pretty sure the person I am sending it to has a seam ripper to open it.


Sorry for all the photos. I think they are pretty self explanatory. 
If you have questions you can ask them in the comments
and I will answer here in the comment section.

The Tea 

The tea is my standby Lipton.
yes with one packet of Splenda and 1 oz. skim milk.





The Mug is from
 Meadowlark Gardens in Northern VA.
I haven't been there this year.
I used to go there every weekend.
I don't like to venture out as much as I used to.
I am very content staying home with my dogs.

Thank you so much if you read the whole way to the end.

Have a Happy Tuesday !

Marianne

T stands for Tuesday is a new weekly blog link up party 

hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth

       

Update on DutchBoy. He is still with us. But I think it's time. The lifeguard is holding on. I am torn. I feel as though we are torturing this poor dog by not letting him go. I wish they could speak.