Diane's Arty Antics

Mixed Media Monday - Art

2010-09-27T08:49:00.003+10:00

This week I chose "art" as the challenge on Mixed Media Monday. There are so many different artists that I love but Vincent Van Gogh would have to be very high on my list of favourites. I love his art, so decided to paint a little tribute to him this week. It is painted on to a stretched canvas 14x18 inches or 35 x 45 cms. Peeping through are three of his more famous paintings, and I also added some of the lyrics of the Don McLean song, Starry Starry Night, since the song kept playing in my head while I was painting (that seems to be happening to me a lot lately). It was basically created with acrylic paints, modelling paste for texture and stencils, rubber stamps etc. for some visual texture and depth as well.

Mixed Media Monday - Buttons

2010-09-20T08:42:00.002+10:00

I chose buttons off the top of my head for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge. I decided I felt like continuing to play with polymer clay - so the idea of my little jack in the box (or should I say jacqueline in the box) was born. Her head and arms are made from polymer clay and her facial features are painted with acrylic paints. Her little dress is fabric and lightly stuffed. Apart from the obvious buttons on her dress, I used tiny buttons to attach the arms like a lot of vintage dolls and bears and also used a flower button and tiny button for the embellishment on the box.

I have been wanting to......

2010-09-13T08:24:00.004+10:00

I chose "I have been wanting to...." as the theme for Mixed Media Monday this week to give people the little push they might need to try something they have been wanting to try for some time, but haven't. I have been wanting to try a steam punk pendant for ages, so this was my opportunity to actually do it. The pendant looks a lot bigger than it actually is, because the bust isn't all that big. It is made from gold, silver and copper metallic polymer clay, and is also dusted with some mica powders to give it a lovely metallic look. I used some watch parts and other bits and pieces to finish it off.

Mixed Media Monday - Warm It Up

2010-09-06T09:30:00.003+10:00

I usually love working with warm colours, much more so than with cool colours. That's why I was happy to have "warm it up" as a challenge on Mixed Media Monday this week. But then my muse worked out the door and didn't return - probably in protest that my studio is still not set up and everything is in boxes. So left to my own devices I was struggling. The song "It's too darn hot", sung by Ella Fitzgerald of course, kept running through my mind - so maybe my muse was sending tiny hints from afar, but I needed more help than that! This piece was done on a canvas board using computer generated lyrics and image, oil pastels and acrylic paint, tissue for texture and some chipboard - oh and a paint pen for those dots.

Mixed Media Monday - Cool It Down

2010-08-30T09:54:00.003+10:00

After I chose this challenge for Mixed Media Monday I wondered why. Cool colours are not something I work with easily - I tend to gravitate to warm colours much more in my art. Then I remembered this gorgeous blue bottle that my daughter commandeered from her boyfriend for me. I think it had chilli wine in it. So the idea for an art doll developed. I used a silvery blue fabric paper (I'm not sure what it is called), some laces, a pair of feathery wings, an old plastic doll's head and a few other bits and pieces to create her.

Mixed Media Monday - Seeing Red

2010-08-23T09:40:00.002+10:00

It was great having the luxury of Beth hosting over at Mixed Media Monday this week - it took the pressure off me having to produce a sample piece :-) So I took advantage of the opportunity and did a journal page about becoming an empty nester this week. My three children are all depicted by the birds flying the nest - but I do actually know where they've gone, LOL! This was done in a water colour journal using mainly water colour paints and Pitt brush markers.

Mixed Media Monday - Embellish It

2010-08-16T08:59:00.003+10:00

I have to admit to a little self indulgence when I chose the theme for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge. I wanted an opportunity to use some of the beautiful laces painted by my daughter Danni - they are just so beautiful. My piece is worked on a sweet little 15x15 cm or 6x6 in canvas with different fabrics and silks. The image is an image transfer onto fabric and it looks better in real life - it didn't photograph all that well. Then of course the gorgeous laces give it a rich, delicious finishing touch - well, actually, they are what makes the piece! The good news is that Danni has given me some of the dyes - so I'm going to have a go at dyeing some myself one day soon :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Memories

2010-08-09T11:14:00.002+10:00

This week I chose "memories" for the challenge on Mixed Media Monday and I had the song from Cats in the back of my mind. When I googled the lyrics to use in my collage, I was suprised to see that the song is called "Memory", when I always thought it was "Memories"! Oops! Oh well. My collage consists of computer generated images of the moon and Grizabella as well as the lyrics and sheet music of the song. I used lots of tissue paper for texture and the colouring was done with water soluble crayons (without the use of water).

Mixed Media Monday - Past Loves

2010-08-02T09:34:00.005+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday I have chosen the theme "past loves" to give everyone the chance to revisit something they have enjoyed doing in the past. I only use stamps in my art for backgrounds etc., these days, but I used to love to stamp, especially in an Oriental style. So that's what I did for this challenge. I really love the lush Yuzen papers and all the gorgeous embellishments, so I covered the box with the paper and added LOTS of embellishments. It was nice to revisit these - but I won't be staying long :-) Sorry my photos aren't very straight.

Mixed Media Monday - A few of my favourite things

2010-07-26T09:17:00.002+10:00

I often joke that I'm an "art tart" because I love some many different mediums, techniques and styles, so it wasn't difficult to find a few favourite things for this week's challenge. I chose a stretched canvas, vintage papers, texture, tissue paper, a chipboard house and key and water soluble oil pastels as my favourites for this piece. The texture was achieved by spreading texture paste over the canvas, so that everything on top had some texture. I rubber stamped on the tissue paper so that it had a pattern but still let the texture shine through. The piece is 25x20 cm or 10x8 in.

Mixed Media Monday - Play Things

2010-07-19T10:47:00.003+10:00

I've chosen "play things" as the challenge prompt on Mixed Media Monday this week. My play thing is the gorgeous little vintage bisque dollhouse doll from my stash that was dug up from a doll factory in Germany. She was made around the early 1900's. The piece is made from a cigar box, and the inserts were cut from balsa wood, which I painted. I also used different papers, lace and German scrap, a little shell, a minature bottle filled with beads, a minature wooden spool which I wound with gold metallic thread, and a rusty old vintage key.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Blue

2010-07-12T09:21:00.002+10:00

Here we are at my fourth and final "wedding saying" themes on Mixed Media Monday - something blue. When I was thinking about what I could do for this challenge, two things kept coming into my mind - the blue bird of happiness and Neil Diamond's song - "Song Sung Blue". So I decided to use them both as my inspiration for this piece. The painting is done on a stretched canvas 20x25 cm or 8x10 in approximately. It is done in acrylics and some charcoal, and the words were printed from my computer and then glazed with acrylics.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Borrowed

2010-07-05T08:18:00.002+10:00

It's "something borrowed" this week on Mixed Media Monday but I still wanted to play with my new Pan Pastels. I decided to "borrow" the quote from my favourite Quietfire rubber stamp, which I made bigger on the computer then printed it out and separated the words. The rest of the piece is done on pastel paper in my pan pastels and charcoal. The piece is mounted onto a stretched canvas, which was painted with acrylic paint and is approximately 20x25 cm or 8x10 in. I really LOVE working with the pan pastels!

Mixed Media Monday - Something New

2010-06-28T08:29:00.002+10:00

On Mixed Media Monday this week I chose the theme "something new" to follow on from last week. My piece is done on a stretched canvas which is about 20x40 cm (8x16 ins). The new part for me is the pan pastels that I used to colour the face and hands, plus this is a very different style of collage for me. Apart from the pan pastels and pastel paper, I used tissue paper, acrylic paint, printed paper and plain, some ribbon and different pieces of German scrap and a some artificial flowers. This piece was inspired by a couple of pieces done by Deirdra Doan in the latest issue of Somerset Studios, and by the artist Gustav Klimt, who also inspired Deirdra's pieces - during his "gold" period he liked to use gold leaf.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Old

2010-06-21T09:47:00.004+10:00

It's my turn to host a challenge again on Mixed Media Monday, and since it's my birthday today, I have chosen "something old" as the challenge :-) For this piece I used the back of a stretched canvas and glued some canvas around the sides to cover the staples etc., to make a neater surface to work on. After I painted the canvas with acrylic paint I added some gold star tissue paper with encaustic medium. I love how the wax made the tissue transparent - much more so than gel medium. I used a Victorian scrap butterfly for the wings and the stars and bird are chipboard painted with gold metallic paint. The something old is the adorable little bisque doll - she was dug up from the ruins of a doll factory in Germany, and is over 100 years old. I was amazed when I was going through my doll stash to find her - she looks just like my gorgeous little granddaughter, Lucy! So I think this piece will be going to hang on Lucy's wall.

Mixed Media Monday - Vintage Ads/Labels

2010-06-14T09:25:00.002+10:00

Rosie is generously hosting yet another challenge on Mixed Media Monday. This time she has challenged us to use vintage ads or labels in our art. I'm hoping a label printed onto it's vintage tin will count :-) It was a golden opportunity to make another fun Dada style doll. My daughters tell me she's a little scary, but I still love her, grin! Apart from the vintage tin, I used parts from an old plastic doll, a gorgeous little light that my daughter grabbed for me when her boyfriend was fixing her car and silver charm hands. The "arms" were modelled out of a resin clay and painted to resemble the cherries on the tin. Just a bit of a fun play this week :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Floral Tributes

2010-06-07T09:33:00.002+10:00

When I was pondering Rosie's challenge of "floral tributes" on Mixed Media Monday this week, my mind kept going to my mother and her love of yellow roses. When she passed away, it was not the season for roses so they weren't part of the wreaths arranged for the funeral. I really felt terrible that I wasn't able to give her yellow roses one last time. I found a florist who could rustle up a few and made a tiny arrangement with them. Although they were overshadowed by all the large wreaths, I was content to know they were there. This is a shrine I made from a nicho - the photo of my beautiful mother was taken on my wedding day. I have used lots of symbolism on this piece to represent happy memories. The book page represents how, when I wanted a biscuit, I would wait until my mother was reading, because she always said yes then, grin! Some sewing pattern paper because she was a wonderful seamstress, and of course the yellow roses. The charms represent, among other things, the pride I felt when she learned to drive in her 50's, the way she went in to bat for me with my father to allow me to have a kitten, and the camera reminds me of how much she hated to have her photo taken and the funny faces she pulled when she tried to look "natural". Thanks for the challenge, Rosie - and the happy time I had creating my very personal piece!

Mixed Media Monday - Personal Symbols and Myths

2010-05-31T09:11:00.003+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back as our guest host with another very imaginative challenge - personal myths and symbols. Wings appear in my art all the time, whether it's birds, butterflies or winged people! Like a lot of artists, for me wings symbolise freedom. That's my aim with my art, to try to loosen up, lighten up and be a lot "freer" with what I do. This pendant was made with a gold tone tray, into which I put a tiny collage, featuring a vintage child. The bird is a gorgeous little gold charm attached with some wire wrapping. Another fun challenge, thanks Beth!

Mixed Media Monday - Marie Antoinette

2010-05-24T09:12:00.003+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday the wonderful Rosie is guest hosting again and has issued a lovely challenge - Marie Antoinette. I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go with this challenge, but as I looked at images of her, I decided I wanted to work in fabric. I had a gorgeous old cigar box that I wanted to alter, so this was my golden opportunity. I used some big wooden beads that I've had in my stash for more then 20 years (yes I never thrown anything out - and this is why) so I attached them to the box and then painted it all blue. I printed the image on fabric and layered it with fabric, silks and laces. The whole thing was finished off with some beaded fringing, braid and an antique style butterfly brooch!

Mixed Media Monday - Child's Play

2010-05-17T09:45:00.002+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back with a really fun challenge. She wants to take us back to our childhood and the joy and freedom we had while being creative. One of the things that I loved best was making dolls from dolly pegs and pipe cleaners, so that is the direction I decided to take. These days I have lots more art supplies to play with than back then, when I would have used a dolly peg, a pipe cleaner, some scrap fabric and some pencils for the face. Of course, I used a dolly peg - but these days you can get them with little stands so they stand unaided - and although I wouldn't usually use a pipe cleaner for the arms, I did this time for old times sake :-) I wanted to experiment with my resin clay to make the face and head and I dug out some dolls hair that I had left from another project. I used silver charms for the hands and finished her off with German scrap wings and crown. What fun this was - mixing the old (me as a child) with the new (what I love doing now).

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T09:35:00.003+10:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day, yesterday. A lovely relaxing day with my daughters and in the afternoon a visit from my son and his wife and of course, my beautiful little Lucy. Look what she gave me - my first ever "Nanna" mother's day card! How special is that!

Mixed Media Monday - Wedded Bliss

2010-05-10T08:53:00.003+10:00

The very talented Rosie is hosting Mixed Media Monday this week and has issued the challenge of "wedded bliss". This was the perfect opportunity for me to do the comical piece I'd had in the back of my mind for a long time. I wanted to use the ridiculous advice for housewives published in a magazine in 1955 - you can see it here if you are interested. I chose some of funnier pieces to use in my piece, which I printed out along with the image of the 1950's woman. The background is done with layers of acrylic paint. I was having a good old giggle about this advice and then I realised - this was my mother's life! Although to be honest, I'm not sure how closely she would have followed these rules, grin! Thank goodness things were a little more liberated by the time I was married - and it's even more so now for my daughters!

Mixed Media Monday - Mothers

2010-05-03T07:36:00.002+10:00

Over at Mixed Media Monda y this week Cindy has issued us with the challenge "mothers", which is well timed with Mother's Day next Sunday here in Oz and in lots of other parts of the world. I decided to make a box in honour of my daughter-in-law's first Mother's Day. You can see a pic of her and my absolutely gorgeous first grandchild, Lucy on the box. The box is covered with vintage papers of all sorts which were then further distressed with gesso and distress inks. I also used computer generated words and image, and "sunk" it all under a few coats of acrylic wax medium. A beautiful flower motif and some lace around the lid finished the box off. I don't know what it is with me and show tunes at the moment, but the words to the Stephen Sondheim song kept running through my head when I was thinking about this project, so they had to be a part of it. I hope my lovely daughter-in-law enjoys this small gift in honour of her first Mother's Day.

Mixed Media Monday - I Feel Pretty

2010-04-26T07:50:00.004+10:00

After the success of "hello Dolly" on Mixed Media Monday I decided to choose another show tune this week - "I feel pretty". Then spent almost two weeks wondering why - I couldn't get inspired by the challenge in the least. I finally decided to make another piece of jewellery. I must say I enjoyed the process in the end. The pendant was difficult to photograph because of the silicone coating over the collage because it was really reflecting the light, but you get the idea. The silicone has a lovely crackle to it, that also doesn't show up too well in the photos.

Mixed Media Monday - Look What I Found

2010-04-19T08:50:00.003+10:00

I chose "look what I found" as the theme on Mixed Media Monday this week because I thought it would be a fun and really open theme for people to participate in. Then I set to work using some of my favourite "found" items as an example piece. I have to admit that I didn't find the gorgeous aged tin I used - my daughter bought it for me in a little antiques shop, but it is just perfect. I used some papers and a chipboard bingo card for the backgrounds and worked out from there, adding a silver toned frame and key that I "aged". The embellishments are a vintage lace motif and buttons, some little flowers and a little "dream" button that I also aged. The bisque doll is another one from my collection of dolls from a bombed out factory in Germany - she is complete, if a little rusted :-) I have a bit of a crush on them at the moment! The tin is approximately 7 cm or 3 in square when closed.

Mixed Media Monday - Hello Dolly

2010-04-12T09:07:00.003+10:00

I must admit I had fun doing this piece! My son gave me the book "Who's Your Dada?" by Linda and Opie O'Brien for Christmas. Since then I've been searching for interesting found objects to make some of the Dada style dolls. I finally decided I had enough in my stash to make my first piece, and this is it. The body of the doll is a beautifully aged and rusted vintage cigarette tin. Likewise one of her arms is a lovely aged vintage key, while the other one is a plastic arm attached with a screw. The legs are made from small wooden reels, which I aged, and I also aged the little wooden clogs which came from a doll. The head is from a vintage bisque doll, dug up from an old doll factory which was bombed out in Germany. The word on the "buckle" says "spirit". She stands about 20 cm or 8 in tall.

Mixed Media Monday - Eggs

2010-04-02T13:29:00.003+11:00

After a terrible week - I'm finally back on the computer and hoping to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible. Our computer crashed on Monday morning when we went to switch it on.....grrrrr!!!! We ended up having to buy a new computer - not sure if we will be able to retrieve anything from the old one yet - and of course, I wasn't up to date with my backing up. Ah well......I only have myself to blame for all the stuff I've lost!

This week on Mixed Media Monday the theme was going to be "eggs". I've decided to put the challenge up now (five days late) and have it run next week as well - so everyone has a chance to catch up.

My piece is an art doll of sorts. It's body is a little stretched canvas (10 x 7cm or 4x2.75in approx.), which I covered with vintage papers. It's wings are made from feathery angel wings that I painted, the legs are twisted wire, and the head is computer generated. The whole piece stands approximately 18cms or just over 7 inches tall. The egg is a quail egg the my daughter gave me.

Mixed Media Monday = Vintage Children

2010-03-22T08:06:00.002+11:00

This week over on Mixed Media Monday Cindy is guest hosting again. Her challenge theme is "vintage children". I chose one of my favourite vintage children images and worked from there. I used an old photo frame, removed the glass and filled out the inner sides a bit so it is more like a shallow shadow box. I covered the backing with some fabric and vintage laces etc. The flower in the corner of the image is one that I crocheted myself for this piece. The embellishments are some vintage buttons, a gorgeous old and rusted vintage key and a beautiful bisque doll that is around 100 years old, dug out from a bombed doll factory in Thuringia, Germany. (You'll probably see a few more of these appearing in my art once the lot I won on Ebay arrives, grin!) The piece measures around 20x15 cm or approx. 8x6 in.

Mixed Media Monday - Party Animals

2010-03-15T09:18:00.003+11:00

Kris is guest hosting on Mixed Media Monday again - I so love having all of these wonderful guests to keep MMM so interesting and vibrant! Kris has chosen the challenge prompt of "party animals" - I can see this is going to be a fun week. My piece is done on a canvas board again, 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5x7 in. The background is done with acrylic paints and the rest is basically computer generated images and letters, some brads for embellishment and some charcoal pencil to finish it off. I always love the opportunity for a little nonesense :-)

Mixed Media Monday - It's Not All Black and White

2010-03-08T09:26:00.002+11:00

I always love the striking effects of simply black and white - and I also love it with a touch of colour. So that's what I chose as the challenge for Mixed Media Monday this week. My piece is done on a 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5x7 in canvas board which was covered with vintage papers and sheet music which was then dry brushed with gesso to give it an even more aged appearance. The little cardboard frame was coated with modelling paste and texturised, then painted with off white and white paints. It was all finished off with a computer generated image (don't you love that bow?) some rubons, card stock and a group of ribbon roses. Once again, it's not photographed terribly straight - I need to try to get better at that!

Mixed Media Monday - Enchanted

2010-03-01T07:49:00.003+11:00

This week at Mixed Media Monday we have yet another new guest host - Lori! All of the guests hosts help to make MMM such a fun place to play. Lori gave us the challenge prompt of "enchanted". Firstly, I must say I'm sorry my piece is so crooked in the pic - but you'll get the idea. It seems like ages since I've done a painting, so I anxious to do one this week. My piece is done on a stretched canvas 8x12 in or 20.3x25.4 cm and painted with Golden fluid acrylic paints with the addition of tissue paper, some computer generated images and some Victorian scrap butterflies. The dangling butterfly is made from some el cheapo jewellery that I purchased from Ebay. It was all silvery and glitzy, so I gave it an aged appearance with some paints.

Mixed Media Monday - Giggles/Laughter

2010-02-22T07:26:00.002+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Kristin has given us the challenge prompt of giggles/laughter. As soon as I saw this little girl in some junk mail I knew she would be perfect for the challenge! The piece is done on a canvas panel 12.7 x 17.8 cms or 5 x 7 ins. Basically it is lots of collage elements, gesso and oil pastels with a few embellishments to finish it off.

Mixed Media Monday - Mardi Gras

2010-02-15T08:48:00.004+11:00

When I knew Cindy had chosen the theme "Mardi Gras" for this week's challenge on Mixed Media Monday I bought a Tibetan silver mask charm. Then I had the dilemna of what to do with it. I thought originally I'd make a piece of jewellery with it, but then went off the idea. Instead I decided to have a bit of fun with a peg doll - I used to spend hours as a child playing with my peg dolls. So she is simply made from a wooden dolly peg and one of the stands you can get for them now. Her legs and stand were painted with acrylic paint and her dress is made from muslin that I painted with acrylic paints and inks. I painted some butterfly lace motifs for her wings and added some feathers to her mask and voila - my mardi gras fairly. Haven't come up with name for her yet - any ideas?

Mixed Media Monday - Romance

2010-02-08T06:53:00.002+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Cindy is issuing a challenge of "romance" in honour of Valentine's Day. It just so happened that I was working on a little workshop I'm taking and my first piece was heart shaped with a lock and key (the key to my heart) - perfect. I followed fairly close to the piece made in the workshop for my first time - there will time to play and be experimental after I learn the basics. The heart is made from a resin clay - a new medium for me, and I really loved working with it. If you're interested in learning about the workshop, click here. I wanted to make some art jewellery this year, and this has been a fun way to begin.

Mixed Media Monday - What was she thinking?

2010-02-01T08:18:00.002+11:00

I chose the theme "what was she/he thinking" for the challenge prompt on Mixed Media Monday this week to see what all the clever participants could come up with. My piece is done on a 5x7 inch or 12.7x17.8 cm canvas board. I used pieces of vintage papers, some computer generated images and a few other collage elements to make the collage, was then covered in wax. I love the way was mellows everything beneath it.

Mixed Media Monday - The Games People Play

2010-01-25T08:05:00.002+11:00

We have had so many wonderful guest hosts over at Mixed Media Monday that I haven't had to host a challenge for ages. However, this week it's my turn again. I chose "the games people play" and then had no idea what I'd do for it, LOL. I also wanted to get all messy with paint and mediums, but in the end I ended up collaging more than anything. This is an 8x8 inch or 20x20cm (approx) size canvas that I turned over and used the back of, to get a nice little niche to work with. Then it was basically a matter of collaging lots of images of different games, adding gesso and paint, lots of real game pieces, a red heart overlaid with a gold toned metal heart and attached with a game spinner. The king and queen's crowns are actually gold too, but they dind't photograph very well because of the niche.

Mixed Media Monday - Wings

2010-01-18T09:25:00.002+11:00

This week the theme on Mixed Media Monday is wings, chosen by our new gues host, Kelly! I decided that my mp3 player needed a little pouch, so this was the perfect opportunity to make one. The image is printed onto printer fabric and softly coloured with Prisma pencils. This is then mounted onto a piece of silk. The next layer was fun - it is a piece of "crash" fabric that I painted with acrylic paints and then "tortured" with my heat gun. All of this was sewn onto a little padded pouch that I made and then I added a lace fragment, a gorgeous lacy flower motif that my daughter gave me, and a butterfly motif.

Mixed Media Monday - Something New

2010-01-11T09:24:00.005+11:00

This week Barbara is guest hosting on Mixed Media Monday, and chose "something new" to challenge us with. This could not have been more opportune for me, with the arrival of my first grandchild, Lucy, last Tuesday! (See the post below this one). So, of course, Lucy and being a grandmother is new for me. But the real "something new" is scrapbooking - that is something I always said I'd NEVER do, but I really wanted to do something to commemorate the arrival of Lucy - I hope her parents like it! It's made in a wooden book cut into the shape of wings.

I'm a Grandmother!!!!!!

2010-01-07T09:41:00.002+11:00

I am so thrilled! I have my first grandchild, Lucy! This beautiful little girl came to join our family on 5th January, at 6.34 pm. She weighed 2.77 kgs or 6.17 pounds. She is a tiny little bundle of gorgeousness - perfect in every way. Both she and her mother Bridget are doing well. However I think it will take my son, Allan, a little while to come down from the clouds! Then again, I guess I'm up there with him, grin!

Mixed Media Monday - Leftovers

2010-01-04T09:15:00.003+11:00

Beth is hosting on Mixed Media Monday yet again (thankyou) , and has come up with another inspired idea for a challenge - "leftovers". I had so much fun with this! The doll's body is made from an empty stubby beer bottle that I enjoyed on Christmas day :-) I covered the bottle with some deli paper sprayed with color mist sprays that I had left over from another project. The piece over that is cheese cloth dyed in coffee, also a left over. Her necklace is made from the bottle cap from the same bottle and the collage was made with left over elements, apart from the gorgeous little gold bird charm. Her wings were cut from a soft drink can and embossed, then painted gold. Her buckle was made from the ring pull from the can, and the ribbon arrived wrapped around something I purchased online. The doll's head is from a plastic doll - with all the hair removed and then painted to look similar to a porcelaine doll and her hat is made from the same cheese cloth as the over dress. I named the doll "Second Hand Rose", for obvious reasons.

Mixed Media Monday - Least Favourite Colour

2009-12-28T07:44:00.003+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is challenging us to use our least favourite colour in some way. While I don't really have a colour that I dislike, pink is something outside my comfort zone. I was therefore very suprised when I was digging through my stash to find just how much pink I actually have accumulated. Nothing in my painting supplies, though :-) This piece is done on a stretched canvas 8x10 inches or 20x25 cms, and is mostly fabric with a little textured paper and lots of embellishments. The square in the top left hand corner is Lutradur which I burnt out using a wood burning tool and the woman image was printed onto Lutradur as well. I have decided that when it comes to fabric art, pink is not going to be my least favourite colour.

Mixed Media Monday - Frosty

2009-12-21T08:00:00.003+11:00

Diana is guest host on Mixed Media Monday this week, and she has chosen the prompt of "frosty" for her challenge. I didn't want to go with the obvious, Frosty the Snowman, even though he is adorable. Our Christmases are very hot here in Australia, so I try very hard to avoid snowy images in anything to do with Christmas. Anni peaked my interest in Dotee dolls a little while back and I've been wanting to try my hand at one ever since. So I went with frosty colours for my doll - white and silver. Because it's almost Christmas, I made my doll around one of my favourite old Christmas movies - It's a Wonderful Life - and the quote "everytime a bell rings, an angel gets it's wings". The body of the doll is a white cotton fabric over laid with a couple of layers of silver lace topped with a star taken from one of my Christmas cards. The wings are gold German scrap wings that I painted silver and she has a little "pearl" necklace. Her face was printed onto Lutradur and hand stitched on with silver thread. Her hair is wool sliver which I needle felted onto her head. Her crown was die cut from silver card and has some silver jewels on it. Her "tail" is made from silver beads and a silver bell and her hanger is white ribbon with a bead attached to that. I have named my Dotee doll "Dottie", the nickname we called my mother, so this is also a tribute to her :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Just Hanging Out

2009-12-14T07:39:00.002+11:00

This week the very talented Heather is hosting on Mixed Media Monday, and her prompt is "just hanging out". Since most of my art hangs, I thought that would be nice and easy. Then I thought about how the emphasis is on "hanging" so I decided to make a wall hanging. I know my photo is a little crooked, but it does hang straight, grin! I'm still experimenting with "new to me" things and I'm having a ball. I'll explain each layer for those who are interested. The back layer is the heavy weight Fast 2 Fuse, which I painted with acrylic paints and stamped with a foam stamp and some lovely micaceous gold paint (by Artelier). Then the red layer is mulberry paper. On top of that the layer was made with Lutradur, which I painted with acrylic paint, "laced" with the heat gun and then added some gold foil. The image of the angel was printed onto Lutradur then edged with the gold paint. I love the effect of the printed Lutradur because it is a little translucent and the other layers peep through in a very subtle way. This was mounted onto a "wool paper". The hanger was made with a skewer and some wooden beads painted in the same gold paint. The swirls are chipboard painted gold. Then I just used some ribbon, a tassel and some beads (the gold ones painted) and a button to finish it off.

Mixed Media Monday - On the wings of love

2009-12-07T07:17:00.004+11:00

On Mixed Media Monday this week Rosie has given us this fun challenge - on the wings of love. So many possibilities, and so little time! This is what I ended up with. The house is cut from a heavey weight Fast 2 Fuse and hand painted with four different water colours and distressed around the edges with distress ink. The laces were tea dyed, and the wooden number 2 was coloured with distress ink. The birds are chipboard, which I covered with fabrics. The house is about 23 cms or 9 inches tall. Such a fun challenge, thanks Rosie!

Mixed Media Monday - Bedtime Stories

2009-11-30T08:29:00.003+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday the wonderful Beth is back with "bedtime stories" as a prompt for us all. I'm not entirely sure that Peter Pan is a "bedtime" story, but I so wanted to do a Tinkerbell piece for my first grandchild who is due in the new year :-) This is a 6x12 inch or 15x30 cm canvas and I painted the background with acrylic paint. I have then overlaid pieces of torn tissue paper with gold stars on it. I used a computer generated Tinkerbell image. The star is chipboard, painted gold and the word is from a ticket with the work printed on it.

Mixed Media Monday - Playing Cards

2009-11-23T06:28:00.002+11:00

It has been absolutely months since I did any paper craft, but this week was the perfect opportunity. Over at Mixed Media Monday the wonderful Anni has given us the challenge prompt of "playing cards". so what better excuse to search out one of my over sized playing cards. The card was distressed with gesso and distress inks. I used a computer generated image and words that I distressed with inks. The piece was then finished off with various pieces of gold German scrap. Thanks for the fun, Anni!

Mixed Media Monday - I am Woman

2009-11-16T07:55:00.002+11:00

This week I've chosen the theme "I am woman" as the callenge on Mixed Media Monday. Another chance to play with fabric, grin! This is done on a stretched canvas measuring approx. 8x10 inches or 20x25 cms, which was painted with acrylic paint. The next green layer is stitch and tear which was painted with acrylic paint and then over stamped with acrylic paint. The next layer is calico which was dry brushed and over stamped with a foam stamp. The image of the lady is an image transfer onto the calico fabric and frame around her was done with lutradur which was painted with acrylic ink and overstamped with a text stamp. The little button was made with painted "crash" material (I love this stuff) with a flower bead added. The other thing I used for the first time and love is mulberry bark which I painted and tortured - it's green piece behind the lady. Some painted lace and butterfly lace motifs finished it off. I had such fun experimenting.

Mixed Media Monday - Fashion

2009-11-09T09:02:00.002+11:00

With the Spring horse racing festival in full swing, and the Melbourne Cup last week, the talk in the media was all about fashion. That is why I chose "fashion" as the challenge prompt on Mixed Media Monday for this week. As I was pondering what I would do for the challenge, my mind turned back to 1965, and the fuss surrounding Jean Shrimpton, and what she wore to Flemington on Derby Day. It was a mini skirt - but even worse than that, Jean didn't wear any stockings, or hat and gloves! It made quite a headline back then. It's funny to look back on now, considering what some ladies wear these days. My piece is done on a canvas board 20.3 x 25 cm or 8 x 20 inches. I have used lots of collage elements and computer generated images (including Jean and a couple of other ladies present that day), along with gesso, oil pastels, rubons, a ticket and rose stickers which are meant to represent the beautiful rose gardens at Flemington.

Mixed Media Monday - Opposites Attract

2009-11-02T08:52:00.003+11:00

I chose a very open theme for Mixed Media Monday this week - opposites attract. I was thinking along the lines of black and white, but in the end opted for vintage creams and sepia with a splash of red for contrast. The piece is done on a canvas board 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5 x 7 inches. The background is made up of vintage papers and music sheet, and other collage elements, and then distressed with gesso and distress inks. Then I added lots of vintage laces, and the woman was printed onto a fabric sheet. Some tiny, tiny buttons and a flower motif were the finishing touches and the contrast needed for this challenge.

Mixed Media Monday - Marvellous Moustaches

2009-10-26T08:59:00.003+11:00

Over the last two weeks we have had some wonderful meaningful challenges on Mixed Media Monday so this week I decided to mix it up a little. A little bit of fun and nonsense - "marvellous moustaches"! My piece is done on canvas board again 12.7 x 17.8 cms or 5 x 7 inches. I've used lots of fun collage elements and computer generated images and coloured with oil pastels.

Mixed Media Monday - Mothers and Daughters

2009-10-19T09:15:00.003+11:00

This week I've chosen "mothers and daughters" as the theme for Mixed Media Monday. I thought it was time to put aside the oil pastels for a while, and decided on fabric art this week. The piece is done on a canvas board 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5 x 7 inches. The background is done with zap cloth and an assortment of laces painted with several acrylic paints. The picture was printed onto a cotton fabric sheet and I coloured it with prisma colour pencils. This was mounted onto a piece of stitch and tear, which was painted and stamped with a rubber stamp. Then I added some ribbon and a flower lace motif which I painted with acrylic paints and added a faux pearl brad as the finishing touch. Truly mixed media, this one!

Mixed Media Monday - Pink

2009-10-12T08:19:00.002+11:00

I chose "pink" as the challenge on Mixed Media Monday this week in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Although this is a cause near and dear to me, working with pink is completely outside my comfort zone, grin! Anyway, this is what I ended up with - a painted collage on a canvas board (again) 12.7x17.8 cms or 5.7 inches. It was created with the help of lots of collage elements underneath some gesso and blended oil pastels, a computer generated image, some ribbon, chipboard letters which I painted and a flower and brad.

Mixed Media Monday - Maps

2009-10-05T09:36:00.003+11:00

Beth is back on Mixed Media Monday with a new challenge for us - "maps". I have a bit of a crush on these collages with blended oil pastels at the moment, so I opted to do another one for this challenge. There are maps behind the man and woman, along with a compass, penny farthing bicycle etc. I fancy the couple are trying to find their way back together again :-) The piece is done on a 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5 x 7 inch canvas board.

Mixed Media Monday - Meaningful Music

2009-09-28T09:03:00.002+10:00

Yvonne is our new guest host over at Mixed Media Monday this week. She has issued us with a very interesting challenge - to take a piece of music that has meaning for us, and make a piece of art around that. I found this challenge particularly hard, because I love all sorts of music from classic to pop, from opera to country and everything in between. There were just too many possibilities! Then the words of the song sung by Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance, popped into my head. I think the lyrics are very meaningful, so I went with that. The piece is done on a canvas board 12.7 x 17.8 cm, or 5 x 7 inches. I used lots of computer generated collage elements, along with some vintage papers, including the sheet music. The piece is coloured with water soluble oil pastels (without water). The lyrics of the song, for anyone who isn't familar with it are:

I Hope You Dance lyrics

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

Dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance..
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

Mixed Media Monday - Metal/Metallics

2009-09-21T07:18:00.004+10:00

I'm hosting the challenge again this week on Mixed Media Monday, which is always fun! It gave me the opportunity to use another of these gorgeous Nichos that my son gave me for my birthday. This time I sponged the metal star with metallic psints (Luminere and Atel=lier), I added a computer generated image to the niche, along with a minature bottle with beads (including gold meallic), some cheese cloth (coffee dyed) and a string of pearls. I added a piece of metallic German scrap to the window as a finishing touch. This gorgeous little metallic Nicho stands about 18 cms or 7 inches tall.

Mixed Media Monday - Make Something Round - take 2

2009-09-17T17:21:00.003+10:00

Today my new camera arrived - yah! Now I don't have to rely on my wonderful daughter to take pics of my art for me. So I decided to take a photo of the small canvas I painted to go along with the other two. Now I have a set of three. This one is the smallest and is approx. 5 inches or 12.5 cms. All the information is the same as for the 20 inch canvas below - just on a smaller scale.

Mixed Media Monday - Create Something Round

2009-09-14T07:13:00.003+10:00

The very talented Anni is guest host on Mixed Media Monday again this week, and she has challenged us to make something round. This was the golden opportunity to paint this large round canvas which my daughter, Danni, bought for me. I had previously painted a medium sized round canvas for the "play" theme on MMM, and this one, and a smaller one (which I didn't photograph) are to hang with it, in descending sizes. This canvas is approximately 50 cms or 20 inches, and I used acrylic paints, computer generated images, texture paste and tissue paper. Lots of fun - thanks Anni!

Mixed Media Monday - Time of Day

2009-09-07T09:53:00.003+10:00

This week Beth is the guest host at Mixed Media Monday, and what a fun theme she chose - "time of day". I decided to try a new (to me) technique for this one, using water solluble oil pastels - without water. The peice is on canvas board, 8x10 inches or 20.3x26.4 cm, which was completely covered with collage elements, and then coloured with the oil pastels. What fun - thanks Beth!

Mixed Media Monday - Stitches

2009-08-30T18:08:00.003+10:00

I chose "stitches" as the theme for this week's challenge on Mixed Media Monday because I wanted to do something different, since it's my third time in a row as host. I like to mix it up a bit :-) This little "Stuffy" is about 8 inches tall (20 cms) and is made entirely from fabric, apart from her beaded necklace, the button in her flower and the metal butterfly pin that she is holding. Her face is drawn and coloured with Sharpie pens and her blush was done with a pastel pencil.

Allan and Bridget's Wedding

2009-08-23T21:06:00.002+10:00

Well, here I am home again exhausted, but happy, after the beautiful wedding of my son, Allan to his gorgeous wife Bridget. It was a lovely winter's day here in Canberra, Australia - we've had quite a bit of rain over the past week, but it behaved beautifully for the lovely wedding ceremony in the gardens down by Lake Burley Griffin. What a lovely, happy couple they are, and what a lovely day we all had celebrating their special day with them Now it's time for them to relax and have some fun up on the Gold Coast :0)

Mixed Media Monday - Together

2009-08-23T09:14:00.003+10:00

I chose "together" as the challenge on Mixed Media Monday this week in honour of my son's marriage to his lovely bride today :-) I made this fun piece using the bride and groom's faces, and computer generated images which were hand coloured. The background papers were painted with water colour paints on water colour paper. I also used a strip of scrapbook paper, a strip of German scrap and a couple of German scrap crowns to finish it off.

Mixed Media Monda - Stars

2009-08-17T09:18:00.004+10:00

It was so lovely to pick up a paint brush and do some art after a few weeks of not doing anything! When I was pondering the challenge of "stars" for Mixed Media Monday, I began thinking of the golden oldies in movies, and the real "stars". My daughter and I love movies from the 30's and 40's, and one of our favourite actresses is Bette Davis, so it was an easy choice for me. The quote I used is from one of our favourite Bette movies - Now Voyager - "why ask for the moon when we have the stars".
The painting is on a canvas approx. 30 x 40 cm or 12 x 16 inches and I used computer generated images, acrylic paint, modelling paste, cheese cloth, charcoal and oil pastels.

Mixed Media Monday - Play

2009-07-12T18:03:00.005+10:00

My theme over at Mixed Media Monday this week is "play". I am continuing to play with acrylic paints, and this week I used a round stretched canvas for the first time. It was so much fun to play around with this canvas!

Mixed Media Monday - Beads

2009-07-05T18:01:00.002+10:00

I'm hosting the challenge over at Mixed Media Monday this week, and I've chosen "beads" as the challenge prompt. It was the ideal opportunity to use one of the gorgeous Nicho's that my son gave me for my birthday. Since it's a fan shape I opted for an oriental theme. I coloured the nicho with alcohol inks and gold acrylic paint. I also got into my stash of lovely beads and oriental charms. The piece is finished off with some Japanese yuzen paper, a computer generated image and a coin in the niche.

Mixed Media Monday - Playful Dolls 2

2009-07-01T17:12:00.003+10:00

OK, I couldn't resist making another art doll - to keep my other one company :-) This one is only about 5 inches or 12.5 cm tall. Once again her head was a plastic dcll which I repainted and glazed to look like a porcelain doll. Her body is a glass bottle that I collaged with vintage papers. She was finished with the help of some lace, braid, beads etc. What fun!

Mixed Media Monday - Playful Dolls

2009-06-28T17:49:00.004+10:00

What fun I've had this week, with Diana's challenge on Mixed Media Monday - "playful dolls". I have been admiring the art dolls I have seen in books and around the place that have been altered to look like porcelain dolls. This was my perfect opportunity to have a play! I pulled all of the hair out of a plastic doll (drastic, I know) and re-painted the head and arms and glazed them to make them look like porcelain. The bodies of the dolls I admired were made with wooden bobbins but I had to improvise so I made my body with a cardboard tube wrapped with wadding to give it some shape. The base was made using a child's board book, covered with paper and braid. Then I had fun with the clothing, using lace, silk, hand painted lace, cheesecloth dyed with coffee, etc. I gave her lovely little feather wings which were distressed to add to the vintage look. She stands about 10 inches tall - and now I think she needs a little friend or two.

Mixed Media Monday - Tell Me a Story

2009-06-22T08:07:00.004+10:00

I'm hosting the challenge on Mixed Media Monday again this week, I need more volunteers before everyone gets thoroughly sick of me, grin! I chose the theme of "tell me a story" as the challenge and then created this canvas as an example. Maybe I should do it the other way around in future because I don't think this piece really tells a story, Instead makes some rather soap opera type suggestions and leaves it up to everyone's imagination. It was fun to do anyway! The canvas is 8 x 10 inches or 20 x 25 cms and is done with acrylics, tissue paper for texture, found text (from magazines) and images printed from my computer. I've also used foam stamps, stencils and sequin waste.

Mixed Media Monday - Numbers

2009-06-15T09:08:00.003+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Patty is back with the challenge prompt "numbers". I had a total disaster with my first piece for this theme, so I ended up with a quick little collage. The piece is done on a 4 x 4 inch (10 x 10 cm) canvas board.

Mixed Media Monday - Lace

2009-06-08T08:52:00.002+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Anni is challenging us with the prompt "lace". Well, that was all the excuse I needed to make my first art quilt, and of course, it had to be heavily encrusted with luscious laces and lace motifs. The image of the woman is an image transfer onto fabric. The quilt is approx. 20 x 25 cm or 8 x 10 inches. I now have to find something to hang it on. Thanks for the fun challenge, Anni!

Mixed Media Monday - Layers

2009-06-01T09:56:00.005+10:00

It's my turn to host a challenge on Mixed Media Monday again, and I have to admit to being a little self indulgent in chosing "layers" as the challenge. At the moment I'm really enjoying painting using lots of layers and this painting is no exception. I've used lots of paint glazes, tissue paper, modelling paste, paper doily, printed images etc. to create this 20x25 cm or 8x10 in canvas.

Mixed Media Monda - Feathered Friends

2009-05-25T07:45:00.003+10:00

A new Monday, a new challenge on Mixed Media Monday :-) This week Gillian is our guest host and she has chosen "feathered friends" as her challenge to us. This piece is done on a stretched canvas 13x19 cms, or 5x7 inches. The houses and bird are Collections chipboard covered with vintage book pages and further distressed with Distress Ink and have lots of different little elements added. The background is painted in acrylic paints - this part was fun, trying to get a faded and aged appearence. What fun challenge - thanks Gillian!

Mixed Media Monday - Altered People

2009-05-18T07:45:00.004+10:00

Rachel's first challenge with us on Mixed Media Monday is "altered people". I decided to make another little art doll. This time a used a Rummy-O game piece, a paper clay face that I painted, scrapbook paper, buttons, hand charms and some German Scrap for the wings and crown. She stands about 5 inches or 12.5 cms tall. It wasn't the easiest thing to get a pic of, unfortunately. Thanks for a fun challenge, Rachel!

Mixed Media Monday - Helping Hands

2009-05-12T17:54:00.002+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Janny has issued a fun challenge - "helping hands". This is a canvas I painted for the challenge - it's 5 x 7 inches or 12.5 x 18 cms. I used tissue paper, cheese cloth and modelling paste for texture. You can see part of a sign language chart peeping through, I thought that suited the theme quite well. Unfortunately, the copper metallic paint and the copper leaf doesn't show up in the scan, but the painting has a little bit of glitz in real life. Thanks for the fun challenge, Janny!

Mixed Media Monday - Inspirational Words

2009-05-03T17:30:00.005+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday, we have a new guest host, Michelle. Michelle has challenged us to use an inspriational word in our artwork. I've been doing so much acrylic work lately, I felt like a change of pace, and opted for a water colour painting. I think a lot of people associate "flight" words with their art - in that they aspire to "take flight" with their creativity. That's why I chose the word "soar" for my painting, which will hang over my desk. The piece is done on water colour paper, in water colour paints. The letters and stars are chipboard. I scanned the painting because they never photograph terribly well behind glass, and have also put up a picture to give you an idea of how it looks in the frame. The painting is approximately 13x18 cms or 5.5x7.5 inches. The frame is one I picked up in a charity shop for a couple of dollars.

Mixed Media Monday - On the Beach

2009-04-26T17:53:00.003+10:00

Rosie is the guest host this week on Mixed Media Monday and she has chosen "on the beach" as her challenge prompt. This follows on so nicely from "mermaids" last week, that I decided to do a companion painting for the mermaid piece. This time I decided to have a more positive story for my painting, since my "forbidden love" was a little sad. So here we have endless love between the man and woman, and their two little sailor boys. This is done on a 6 x 6 inch, or 15x15 cm canvas using collage elements, lots of layers of acrylic glazes and tissue paper, molding paste etc. for texture. Thanks for a fun challenge, Rosie!

Mixed Media Monday - Mermaids

2009-04-19T17:56:00.004+10:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Nat is back with a fun challenge for us - "mermaids". I opted for a collage painting for this theme, and this is what I came up with. It is a 6 x 6 inch (15 cm by 15 cm) canvas with LOTS of pieces of collage, colour glazes and different materials for texture (which doesn't show up that well in the scan), etc. This was such fun, I can't wait to do another painting!

Mixed Media Monday - Easter

2009-04-12T18:07:00.004+10:00

Life has been conspiring to keep me away from playing this week, so I'm going to show this little needle felted rabbit for this weeks challenge. I made him some time ago, and he is named Toby after a little blue mini lop rabbit that we owned at one time. Although the real Toby didn't have black, crooked whiskers, and his ear carriage was much better than this little fellow's :-) In fact he used to do quite well at the rabbit shows. I think this little guy would only be eligible for the pet section, LOL.

Mixed Media Monday - Stripes and/or Polka Dots

2009-04-06T07:32:00.002+10:00

I have been anxiously awaiting this challenge on Mixed Media Monday since Kim suggested it to me a little while ago. I had so many different ideas for this challenge - I have some gorgeous images of vintage women is spotty dresses or striped swimming costumes. But I kept coming back to wanting to do an art doll - and she won! So here she is - "Dotty". She is created with cardstock, fabric, ribbon, lace, buttons, computer generated images, scrapbook papers etc. Lots of fun - thanks for the challenge Kim!

Mixed Media Monday - Come Fly With Me!

2009-03-30T08:55:00.002+11:00

I'm not altogether happy with this painting, but I don't have time to do something else for Mixed Media Monday this week, so this is it. It is painted on a 5x7 in or 12.7x17.8 cm canvas board, using acrylics and stencils, rubber stamps etc. The birds were added using a gel medium image transfer. It's the first time I've tried this on canvas, and it worked perfectly :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Oriental

2009-03-23T08:48:00.006+11:00

This week over at Mixed Media Monday, the very talented Rosie returns with another challenge for us - Oriental. I opted for some ATC's this week, because life in my house has been a bit hectic. Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of art? It was also a great opportunity to use some of my absolutely beautiful Yuzen papers. Both of these ATC's will be available for trade on our Mixed Media Monday Yahoo group.

Mixed Media Monda - Spring Colours

2009-03-16T09:48:00.005+11:00

The wonderful Barbara is issuing her first challenge to us this week on Mixed Media Monday.
She has chosen "spring colours" as her theme - what fun. This is a water colour painting I did - hand drawn except for the background which is a rubber stamp coloured with water colours. The first photo shows it in the frame, and the second scan is to show the painting better, as it's hard to photograph things in the frame with glass. Thanks, Barbara - I enjoyed working with a "springy" theme, although we're enjoying a beautiful autumn here is Aus.

Mixed Media Monday - The Written Word

2009-03-08T17:58:00.004+11:00

It's my turn to host the challenge on Mixed Media Monday and I chose "the written word" as the prompt. I was so inspired by all the "time" pieces during the last challenge. A few people had "the time is now" type submissions, and thinking about that was what inspired this piece. I think Dr. Seuss summed it up perfectly with this rhyme "How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn! How did it get so late so soon?" I must admit I've been feeling that a lot lately, time is just flying by, with never enough time available to do everything I'd like to. So, I made this journal page based on that. The background is done with acrylic paints.

Mixed Media Monday - Time

2009-03-01T17:24:00.004+11:00

The very talented Heather is our guest host on Mixed Media Monday this week, and she has chosen a wonderful theme - "time"! This gave me the perfect opportunity to alter a clock. I've been wanting to do this ever since seeing the clock in Kelly Rae Roberts book, Taking Flight! The first photo shows the clock, and the second one is a scan of the painting, so you can see that a little clearer (the clock was difficult to photograph because of the glass). The painting was done in water colours on water colour paper - but I have added some acrylic paint and inks and stamps to the background. I was very worried that the clock wouldn't work after I took it apart, but so far, so good!

Mixed Media Monday - Heroes

2009-02-22T15:24:00.003+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday, Beth is our guest host, and she has chosen "heroes" as our challenge. With the terrible bush fires in Victoria two weeks ago, the real heroes of our times, the Aussie firies (firefighters) were the obvious choice for my piece. I wanted to pay tribute to these wonderful men and women who risk their lives to save others, property, bushland etc. Some of these firies lost their own properties, and in one tragic case his family, while out fighting the fires. I'd also like to honour the Canberra firefighter, David Balfour, who was repaying a debt of gratitude for the help we received during the Canberra fires, who was tragically killed by a burnt out tree which fell. Today is the National Day of Mourning, when we remember the 208 people lost in the fires, their families and friends and all those affected by the devastating fires. We are also remembering the wonderful work of the firies - our heroes, and the other emergency workers, volunteers etc. who were there to help.

My piece is done on a 5x7 inch or 12.7x17.8 cm canvas board. The background is painted in acrylic paints and the images are computer printed. The letters are chipboard.

Mixed Media Monday - Hearts and Wings

2009-02-16T08:39:00.003+11:00

This week I am thrilled to have the very talented Fannie as guest host on Mixed Media Monday
and she has chosen the theme "hearts and wings". This was the perfect opportunity for me to play with some painting faces again. This piece is done water colour paper and I used water colour pencils and a couple of other media to paint the picture. The first scan shows the painting on it's own, so you can see it well, and the second image shows it in the cute little frame I found at the Salvo's op shop for only $2. Of course, it didn't scan so well with the glass, but I wanted to show you how it will be displayed. Thanks Fannie for such a fun challenge!

Mixed Media Monday - Romance

2009-02-09T08:29:00.004+11:00

Rosie is the guest host over at Mixed Media Monday, and she has chosen the very fitting theme of "romance". I made this collage on a chipboard tryptich which is about 6 x 8 inches (or 15 x 20 cm approx.).

Mixed Media Monday - Fruit

2009-02-02T08:59:00.000+11:00

This week the very talented Hermine is guest host on Mixed Media Monday, and she has chosen the challenge prompt of "fruit". I had no idea where to start with this subject - it's not something that came easily to me. So while I was mulling over fruit, I thought of Carmen Miranda and her flamboyant hats, often adorned with fruit. So, Carmen it was - and since I couldn't find any good quotes from her, I used a phrase from one of her best known songs. The piece is done on a 4 x 4 inch or 10.2 x 10.2 cm square canvas board. The background is done with acrylic paints and the picture and words were computer generated.

Mixed Media Monday - Art That Represents Your Country

2009-01-25T17:57:00.010+11:00

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY TO ALL MY AUSSIE FRIENDS!

Meet "Happy Little Vegemite - the Keeper of the Buttons". How did Vegie (for short) come about, I hear you ask. The challenge issued by Redlan, who is the guest host over at Mixed Media Monday this week, was to make a piece of art that in some way represents your country. I was pondering all the different things that are very Australian, vegemite amongst them, when the jingle for their advertising kept running through my head. "We're happy little vegemites, as bright as bright can be. We all enjoy our vegemite for breakfast lunch and tea. Our mothers say we're growing stronger every single week, because we love our vegemite, we all enjoy our vegemite - it puts a rose in every cheek". So I was inspired to create a bright little Vegemite, with rosy cheeks, LOL. At first I thought of a captured fairy in a vegemite jar, but the idea of captured fairies seems rather sad to me. So I decided to use the jar for storing buttons, and gave Vegie the job of looking after them.

Vegie is completely needle felted, apart from her acetate wings and the ring of little roses in her hair. She is holding a flower shaped button. A little bit of nonsense for this week's challenge, but a fun change from all the painting I've been doing lately. It was a very opportune time for this challenge for me, because today (Monday, 26th January) is Australia Day.

Mixed Media Monday = Primary & Secondary Colours

2009-01-19T08:40:00.003+11:00

The new challenge on Mixed Media Monday is hosted by Beth, who has chosen "primary and secondary colours". I'm still practising my faces, so I painted this little canvas board, which is 4 x 4 inches or 10.2 x 10.2 cms. There are, of course both primary and secondary colours in the painting, so it fits the challenge. This little painting is now on it's way to a friend who is having a bit of a rough time at the moment.

Mixed Media Monday - Friendship

2009-01-12T08:48:00.003+11:00

Over on Mixed Media Monday I chose the theme of friendship for this week's challenge. I decided to give faces another try, and I also wanted to try painting over the top of my painted and layered backgrounds. This is the result. I'm looking forward to the time (if ever) when the faces become more second nature to me - the backgrounds are starting to become that way.

Mixed Media Monday - Moon/Lunar

2009-01-05T08:26:00.002+11:00

It's a little scary uploading the first face I've ever painted to my blog, but since it's something I'd like to do in 2009, I have to start somewhere. I took the opportunity and added the moon and stars in the background so that it would sit with the theme of moon/lunar on Mixed Media Monday this week (I'm so over committed at the moment, I need to kill as many birds with one stone as possible). The piece is done on a canvas board 5 x 7 inches (12.7 x 17.8 cm) is done mainly in acrylics, with a little pencil, wax crayon and charcoal thrown in.

Mixed Media Monday - What you loved doing

2008-12-29T08:26:00.004+11:00

Happy New Year, everyone! To round off year, I chose the theme "show us what you loved doing during 2008", for Mixed Media Monday. It was a hard choice for me, but I narrowed it down to two things - then the painted backgrounds finally won. This canvas board is 5 x 7 inches or12.7 x 17.8 cms. The background is done with lots of different layers of acrylic paint, with some paint pen and sharpie thrown in for good measure :-) The image was computer generated in grey scale, and then I coloured it with Caran D'arch Neocolors II crayons. The wings were printed onto acetate to give a transparent effect.

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-22T09:59:00.003+11:00

Wishing everyone a happy, peaceful and safe Christmas season. Make the most of the time you spend with your loved ones. I would say don't over indulge - but with all the goodies accumulating in my house I can't promise that I won't, LOL!

Mixed Media Monday - Gold

2008-12-15T08:29:00.002+11:00

With Christmas fast approaching I thought I would issue an easy challenge on Mixed Media Monday this week - gold. My piece is done on a 4 x 4 inch (10.2 x 10.2 cm) canvas board. The background is painted with acrylic paints. Then I have simply added a computer generated image and lots of lovely German Scrap from the wonderful Lisa at Collage Stuff! Simple and easy - I think we can all use a bit of simplicity this time of year :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Paper Dolls/Art Dolls

2008-12-08T10:11:00.002+11:00

Patty is our new guest host over at Mixed Media Monday this week and she has set such a fun challenge - paper dolls/art dolls. I really wanted to do a paper doll and will still do so if I can find this week. But in the meantime - I was really drawn to making a button doll - a Christmas Angel of sorts, grin! Thanks for the fun challenge, Patty!

Mixed Media Monday - Home Sweet Home

2008-11-30T18:01:00.002+11:00

The talented Marie is guest hosting on Mixed Media Monday this week, and she has chosen "home, sweet home" as the challenge prompt. Once again, I'm struggling for time so it's another ATC. You'll need to use your imagination a little, because my scanner hates anything that is at all 3-D, so the scan isn't the best. The background is done with a page from an old book, distressed with gesso and distress inks. The house is chipboard, covered with a piece of paper that I stamped and then distressed. I just cut a piece of chipboard for the post for the bird house to sit on. The bird is covered with some rusted paper, and I added a strip of grosgrain ribbon down the side.

Mixed Media Monday - The Eyes Have It

2008-11-23T17:55:00.003+11:00

Another new host over at Mixed Media Monday this week. Indy Bev is issuing us with the challenge "the eyes have it". I was toying with lots of ideas, but in the end my desperate need to increase my ATC stash won out, and I did this ATC for the challenge. I might just try to revisit the challenge later in the week, because I had lots of ideas for this one. Thanks Bev!

Mixed Media Monday - Ornamental Christmas - Take 2

2008-11-20T17:55:00.006+11:00

OK, OK, I know I said that if I got some needle felting supplies again, it would only to make flat things like ATC's etc. But then Gillian issued the "ornamental Christmas" challenge on Mixed Media Monday, and I just could help myself! These are three little pieces to hang on the Christmas tree. "Pumpkin" the little bear stands about 3 inches tall without his hat and Santa and Rudolph are similar sizes. Hmmm...these were too much fun - looks like I won't be sticking to my promise :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Ornamental Christmas

2008-11-16T18:11:00.002+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday Gillian has issued us with the challenge "Ornamental Christmas" - and would like us to create either pieces that would hang on the Christmas tree or elsewhere, or that would stand alone. My mind went in so many different directions and I made a few different pieces. This one I can show you now, but the other two pieces need to be photographed, so I'll upload them later in the week. This piece is a wall hanging, about 8 inches, or 20 cms tall. The music stamped on the dress is "Joy to the World".

Mixed Media Monday - The Human Body or Parts Thereof

2008-11-09T17:58:00.004+11:00

This week on Mixed Media Monday we have yet another talented guest host, Jennifer. Jennifer has chosen "the human body or parts thereof" for her challenge. I took the opportunity offered to play with some needle felting. I did some needle felting a few years back, mainly little bears and such, and then sold all of my supplies (groan). Now I've decided I want to play with it some more, and do some flat work as well - so I'm busily buying supplies again. This ATC was made by needle felting onto an ATC sized piece of felt. The face is paper clay, which I painted.