31 December 2011

Miscellaneous art

And the last one for now...some miscellaneous art.
These first two are a clipboard I decorated for my daughter to use at school.

To make a decorated clipboard, choose scrapbooking paper you like that works.  This clipboard used four different papers.  For the back, I cut elements I liked from the papers and rearranged them to my liking.  Attach the paper using Mod Podge, smoothly out any bubbles.  I found that some bubbles remained but they flattened out after drying.  For the hearts and name, I used my trusty Cricut.
I then used a craft file to clean up the edges of the clipboard.  Then I painted the edges to give them a clean look.  Next, I painted the clip using acrylic paint and sealed it.  Finally, I attached coordinating ribbons to the hole in the clip by knotting it.  And there you have it!

Back

Front
 This is a cross-stitch I did back in 1999.
 I did this cross-stitch for my daughter's bathroom (rubber ducky and sea theme).
 This is a diaper cake I made for a baby shower.

To make a diaper cake, roll diapers and secure with rubber bands.  Arrange the bottom layer by surrounding an 8oz baby bottle with the diapers and secure with a ribbon.  I also included the bottle of soap in the bottom layer.
Arrange the second layer in the same manner using the top of the 8oz bottle as the center.  It's hard to see, but I secured the middle layer with a second, coordinating ribbon.
Arrange the top layer around a 4 oz bottle and secure with ribbon.  I topped the cake with a toy that I secured to the top of the 4 oz bottle with rubber bands.  Finally, I rolled up washcloths and stuck them in between diapers throughout the cake and attached another toy and pacifiers to the cake with rubber bands.
 These next four pictures are a piece titled "Balancing Act."  It was for a creative experiences class I took where we had to create "garbage art", using things that would be thrown away, etc.  It depicts a woman holding a baby, a stack of school books, bills, with a pot boiling on the stove in the background.  Her hobby, painting, is on the back burner of the stove.  The flower represents her love life.  Her hair is in curlers and she is still in her pink fuzzy slippers.



 This last one was a Halloween decoration.  I took an old book and cut ghosts from a page and folded them up so they look like they are coming from the book.  I actually got this idea from an article in Better Homes and Gardens.

Curtains!

Here are some curtains I've made throughout the house.  It is important to note that I did not use a pattern.  In fact, I do not actually know how to sew, really.  I was just "winging it" and hoping the results would be good enough to cover a window in the house.  All of these were also lined, except for the guest room curtain.
Bedroom curtain (two long pieces with short valance in the middle)

Guest room curtain (hung from an oar and tied back with rope on a cleat to go with the nautical theme)

Living room curtains

Valance in my daughter's room

And more artwork!

Here are some things I've painted around the house...
These first two were holders I painted that I hung my daughter's diaper stacker from.  Now, they hold her various beaded necklaces from parades and scarves.


 This next one is in my daughter's bathroom and holds her robes and hand towels (there are actually two with the same painting).
 And this last one is in the master bath for hanging my robe and bath caddy (again, there are actually two).
All of these were painted on decorative curtain holders that were left behind by the previous owners of the house we owned in Florida.  Re-purpose baby!

More artwork

Here are some other random acts of art that I've committed...

Pencil (Final product with colored pencil)

Pencil/colored pencil

Update and Mini Perfume Collection

So, it has been forever since I've been able to add anything new here.  That last semester was a killer, but I managed to maintain an A in every class!  Whew!  I am still planning on uploading my artwork, so stay tuned.  For now, I've decided to throw an idea out there.

I love mini bottles of perfumes and have always looked for a way to not only display the collection, but make it easily accessible.  Solution:  find an old typesetter's case at an antique store and mount it to the wall using little mounting brackets.  Mine is in my bathroom next to the vanity where I get ready in the morning.


And there you have it!  Stay tuned...I'll try to update not only my ideas like this, but the artwork, too!