Linocuts

A few days ago I received some linocut supplies in the mail from MisterArt. For those of you who don't know what linocuts are, they are basically images that are carved out of slabs of linoleum which are then inked and "stamped" onto paper. The process of making a linocut isn't that difficult; however, once you make an error while carving, that's it. You either have to work around it or just can it. So, without further ado, here are two lincouts that I made this evening

(a bunny and a piping plover):

Shelby Fischer

The collage/assemblage works of Shelby Fischer are simply amazing. This is the kind of artist that I strive to be.

Cloud of Birds sews up some awesome little pillow softies which are so unique. The faces on these things just blow me away. I believe this one is a mermaid of some kind. Take a look at her site; she's got tons more.

Etsy seller SweetBerryBird makes some really cool rings, my favorites being this Frog ring and her vintage Pink-Peach Flower ring. The prices are right too, at $8-$12 a ring. I love surfing Etsy, but I have to be careful to keep my debit card out of site while I'm doing it, or I would become a very poor woman very quickly.

Here I've done the kaleidescope effect on one of the pictures of my cherry blossom shoes.

Pink and Proud

Some new shoes! Pink is not usually my favorite color, especially hot pink, but the heck with it. I am an artist and I really shouldn't be playing favorites with colors. These shoes were plain ol' beige leather before I got to them. I used a bright pink tissue paper and cut cherry blossoms out of patterned paper for the details. Cutting those suckers out took quite a long time, although I do think precision cutting is a very cathartic way to pass the time. All-in-all, these shoes are now my favorites out of all the ones I've made so far, pink or not.

Here are the papers I used. Hot pink metallic tissue paper and cherry blossom patterned paper from Paper Source.

Creations By Denise

My very talented Aunt Denise recently started a shop on Etsy selling her own hand-made jewellery. Right now she's specializing in fused glass and chain maille designs. Here are a couple of her fused glass pendants. I actually bought the rainbow one today, and I can't wait to wear it. I love how that little thread of silver swirls through the heart of the pendant. It's very original and I anticipate getting a lot of compliments on it! ;) The purple one is beautiful too. You can visit Denise's shop here.

More Vases

Here are two more vases. The toile one was hard to do, because I really wanted the little peasant figures to stand out, but at the same time I had to use 2 layers of tissue paper so I had to layer them just right so that the figures lined up correctly. Wow that was a long sentence. But you get my drift.

Vases

Here are a couple of vases that I've decoupaged as examples for the class that I teach. They were both made with tissue paper, decoupage medium, and sealer, as well as some various extra adornments such as beads and those flat-sided marbles that I'm so crazy about. Doesn't the green one remind you of a gourd?