Don’t follow anything. Break the rules and do your own thing.
With my art I have discovered that every day is different. Some days I feel inspired to paint, others I craft, and then again, the crafts change as I see an opportunity.
I suck down a lot of Altoids due to allergies, so I end up with a lot of empty tins. They are too cool to throw away. Sometimes I recycle them, but lately I have had the idea to make travel shrines out of them.
This is an example of one. I used scrapbook papers, borders, polymer clay mosaic tiles, words, and a picture of Mary. I’m not even Catholic, but I like the classical pictures of her and what she stands for. This shrine is for sale in my etsy shop. (Link in sidebar.)
I love it when creativity takes me on detours. I often have the notion I should paint, or work on my art journal, but I see something and I see possibilities with the items around my house.
I go where inspiration leads me. I made a video about how to make these Altoids mini shrines. You can check it out HERE.
They are very easy to make. Basically all you need is paper and glue. If you have any stray ribbons or mini silk flowers, they would work too.
It doesn’t have to be a religious shrine. It could be a nature shrine, an inspirational shrine with a picture of someone who inspires you. It could be used as a small gift box. The sky is as wide as your imagination!
I have a 50% off sale on one of my e-courses: ART AS ORACLE. It’s a way to tap into your intuitive answers through art. It’s a lot of fun also. You can read all about it HERE.
The sale ends on November 3, so only two days left.
I also have lots of things for sale in my two etsy shops. Christmas is coming. Are you looking forward to it? I enjoy all the lights the most.
Have a creative rest of the week.
xo
Maria
Paper shrines are easy to make. I use them in art journal spreads, and if the paper is sturdy enough, they can stand up and be used as a table shrine.
The above shrine was made with heavy-duty watercolor paper. I added the doors and altered the paper. Lots of gold! It doesn’t show well in the picture. As an icon I used a picture from a guide book of the Louvre. He’s some Egyptian scribe. It doesn’t have to be a religious icon. Whatever you want to celebrate. You can make a shrine with your goals or passions / dreams, or an ode to Nature.
The possibilities are endless.
Here is another shrine I made from card stock. Won;t make the art journal spread bulky when added.
I used a digital picture of Mary in this one, added a frame and gold paint. As bling I used some gilded and colorful border segments.
I made a video of the process and you can watch it HERE.
Have fun making your own shrine. 🙂
Creating is living well…
Maria
I have a giveaway on my blog today. It’s Day 29 of the 30 day blogging challenge and I have made it through so far. I’m celebrating by giving away this FUN ink blot art journal I made from a manila folder and some ink blot art. I made it today and figured it would be fun to give away. It’s definitely a one-of-a-kind journal!
Here are some pictures and the video on how I made the journal. You can enter the giveaway or you can make your own journal. 🙂
An idea for you how the pages look. I added a bunch of blank card stock pages as well to fill out the journal. Here is the video how-to.
The winner was Jean Marmo. Congratulations!!! 🙂
Today I went to a celebration of life service for a friend. The church was packed, standing room only, and I was amazed at how many lives Susan touched with her sunny presence.
I was wondering how many would turn up at my memorial service. Probably not that many… It goes to show, live life to its fullest every day. Another friend sang a song as a tribute, but I’m not sure if you can see it. The song is: I hope you dance.
So, it was a sad day, but grief/sadness opens up the heart and we are never the same.
Susan is dancing now for sure.
xo
Maria
I was pondering how to make some fabric paper from the stack of dry paint wipes I had collected while making art journal pages.
I knew I had to find a way to stiffen them, make them as solid as possible. I decided to do an experiment. I used Mod Podge for one wipe and Liquitex matte medium for the other.
I made a video of this process for you. After the video was done I realized the sky’s the limit when it comes to making versatile custom fabric / paper.
Surely one-of-a-kind! I even stiffened a paper towel rag to see how it would turn out. Check out the video and see for yourself. I hope it gives you some good ideas. 🙂
xo
Maria
You know all about fabric paints and how to use them, and the dyes in powders, but have you tried fabric painting with acrylic paints and inks that you normally use for art?
I have been painting scraps of fabrics that I use for my bracelet cuffs (video at the end.) I use craft paints, acrylic artist paints, Dylusion inks, and Adirondack inks. All the material is water fast but you have to wash everything by hand in cold water and dry the fabric flat.
I always use cotton fabric since it’s the most absorbent.
Here are some pictures.
Some examples of craft paints and inks.
I dripped some of the craft paints straight from the bottle onto the fabric.
I scrunched up the fabric into a tiny ball. If you don’t like paint on your hands, wear plastic gloves. As you can see, the paint spread all over.
I added some Adirondack inks. I used the colors copper and currant. I held the bottles about 20 inches above the fabric and gently dripped the ink to get some splashes, not just globs of ink. As you can see I mix and match the materials.
I used Dylusion ink sprays on this fabric. As you can see it diffuses gently. Be careful not to spray the ink where you don’t want it (including your hands.) It’s very hard to get off, and you can never remove it from the painted surface. The spray comes in yummy colors though.
I used a couple of colors of Adirondack inks on top of the Dylusion spray. Pretty dramatic effect in my opinion.
Here I squeezed some craft paint straight from the bottle on top of some light green corduroy fabric.
I rolled up the fabric into a tight log and this is how it came out when I unrolled it.
The paint bled through and saturated the other side of the fabric so I can now choose which side I like the best when I use it.
You can write on the dry fabric with permanent markers to make it even more interesting. 🙂
You can make very diluted acrylic artist paints in spray bottles and use that too.
From the spray bottles on some muslin.
I finished that with some drips of Adirondack inks.
The fabrics dry pretty stiff. You can iron them flat between newspaper or other protective paper.
You can add other fabric and fusible web to make them even more solid.
It is a FUN way to create your own fabric. I love to make things out of it, like fabric bracelet cuffs.
Check out this YouTube video if you want to see how I made a cuff.
