Colored Shroomies!

I painted some of the caps on my 'shroomie lino-cut prints with watercolors, then paired my four favorites together. I'm going to get these matted and framed; I think they would look nice all in a single row. I'm trying to figure out how I can use these prints I'm making as collage elements. Any ideas?

LOVE=CREATURES

Wow, it's been almost a week since I've last posted! It's been crazy at work (this is the last "official" week of summer in the Hamptons after all), but that's no good excuse.

So anyway, while I'm busy trying to catch up on some of my own projects, take a look at some of these amazing softies that Dawn (A.K.A. Look What I Can Do on Flickr) creates. Her series of softies, entitled LOVE=CREATURES, just completely blows my mind. I am totally enchanted by the shapes of her animals, the fabrics she uses, and especially those EYES! I used to make my own softies; a small series of owls, but after a while I kind of gave up on them. I'm not particularly great at sewing, although I wish I was. Maybe one day I'll have the time to hone my skills a little more. However, I don't think I'll ever be able to match the awesomeness of these conjoined rabbits, who by the way are named "Granger" and "Northrop". No, I don't know which one is which.

4000 Animal, Fish and Bird Motifs

I am a motif junkie. Wikipedia defines a motif as "a repeated idea, pattern, image, or theme". Sometimes all it takes for me to come up with a whole new project is just a plain old little black-and-white image, like the images in this book: "4000 Animal, Fish and Bird Motifs". What a great find for any artist or crafter! There are so many great motif books out there, but this one truly takes the cake.

The pictures of the animals in the book are categorized by the different ages from whence they originated: Mycenaean (like the fish I have pictured), Stone age, Chinese, Japanese, Medieval, Art Deco, and many others. I am particularly fond of the Mesopotamia Sumerian pages.

The images in the book are not copyright-free, but who needs to copy? Just getting a new perspective on how another artist interprets the form of a fish or a rabbit or any other animal, is good enough.

Shroomies

Another print I made; this time a mushroom. I have to say, that I love these pink Speedy Stamp blocks from Speedball . They carve like butter, and it is so easy to transfer your drawing from paper to the block. You can even draw right onto the block and then "erase" if you need to with a Q-Tip soaked in nail polish remover. Carving these blocks is so satisfying, and seeing the end result is even more so. Shown here are the actual carved block and also the finished print. I'm really happy with how these came out, and I'm thinking about matting a series of three of them, all with their caps colored in a different color.

All Kinds of Skullery

Skulls are all the rage these days, even when it's not Halloween. Noah, over at Skull-A-Day, has been creating a unique skull image every single day. I'm not sure how long he plans on doing it (maybe a year?). Shown here are his latest; a paper skull and a rice skull. The paper skulls' jaw moves and is controlled by a tab in the back. If you visit his site, there is a PDF template so that you can make your own. This is just too cool. It's one of those ideas that really gets those creative juices going. Rock on Noah!

Punky Barn Swallow Tag

OK, OK! This is the last tag, I promise... At least, the last one I'm entering into CRAFT's competition. This one is definitely me. I have a feeling that I have started something that I may not be able to stop...

Sandra Evertson

Sandra Evertson just invited me to come and visit her new blog, and wow, am I flattered. Sandra is the author of one of my favorite books, "Fanciful Paper Projects." She is also an amazing paper/fibers artist and I am thrilled to add her blog to my list of favorite links. Thanks Sandra!

Cherry Blossom Tag: Entry #2

OK, here's the next (and last?) tag. It's made from patterned card stock, blossoms cut from patterned paper, glitter-glue and black cherry red ribbon. I am kind of mad at myself for entering the other one first; I ended up liking this one so much more...Either way, it would be so great to win this thing. But if not, I still enjoyed making these little guys.

Veggie Tag: Entry #1

Here is my first entry for the Tag Contest over at Craft Magazine. I started off with patterned card stock (which I coated with a nice green acrylic wash) for the tag itself and then I added some vintage veggie images (copyright-free!). I glued some seed beads around the edges (took a long time) and then added a red ribbon. I think I did pretty well. I'm working on another one and if they allow multiple entries I will submit that one as well.

Tag, I'm it!

These days a lot of crafters are making there own tags; for their businesses, for gifts, etc... I've never made my own tags before, but I think now would be a good time to start. CRAFT Magazine is having a contest for crafty tag-makers. The six finalists will be featured in their next issue. I love little challenges like this; their inspiring, motivating and overall just fun. I'm going to start working on my tags today. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Dirty Wow Wow

I came across this book while I was at work yesterday and it really made me smile. You know when you were a kid how you had that favorite stuffed animal/blankie that you just couldn't let go of? That is what this book is all about. The book is basically set up so that on one page there is a picture of the favorite inanimate object (great pictures by the way), and on the facing page a little blurb about who owned it and what it meant to them. The pictures are great, and the stories are very endearing. It's a quick read; I read it from cover to cover within a half an hour.