work in progress - complete!

 Almost done!  Added the bird, the hearts, the words and some small doodles in the lower left corner.

My next step was to add some beeswax!  I hadn't used beeswax prior to doing this last week.  I liked the way it made her face look a little more like part of a painting rather than a separate piece of paper I glued down to the canvas.  If I were to do it over again, I probably would have purchased a melting pot from Ranger Ind. and a natural bristle brush of some sort instead of a quilting iron since it seemed like forever to put the little pellets of wax down & then wait for the wax to melt using such a small iron rather than brushing it on.  Oh well :)  After applying the wax, I went over it with my heat tool.  That seemed to smooth things out a tiny bit. 

done!

The kid didn't want me to put beeswax on it.  I guess it sounded like a weird idea.  It was indeed strange.    She's still wanting this piece for her room, so I guess it didn't put her off that much :)

Question for you:
What have you been working on lately? I'd love to see or hear about what you've done or made.  Please share a link to something you made recently, be it at your blog, Etsy shop, Flickr, Facebook or wherever.

day 10 of 30 days of creativity

Few are the giants of the soul who actually feel that the human race is their family circle
-Freya Stark

art journal page: masking tape, acrylic paint, pens & scrapbook paper. 

day 9 of 30 days of creativity

Spotted this on the way to the Y with my kid this morning.  I had one of those moments where I wondered if this had always been there since we go to the Y every Saturday morning.   Fun & quirky.  When we left,  I had to take a picture.  I just played around on PicMonkey to get this funky background. 

day 8 of 30 days of creativity...a day late

art journal page

Day 8 a day late.  Art journal page with acrylic paint, pen & washi tape.

day 6 of 30 days of creativity

Played with some lettering.  Used a Pigma Micron pen for the words and Pitt brush pens to add some color.

day 5 of 30 days of creativity

drew picture

traced picture onto tracing paper

cut off a portion of the Mastercarve Artist Carving Block

scribbled over the back of the tracing paper with the drawing on the side facing the block

carved the stamp

the original house sketch, the imprint & the stamp

I had planned to leave the window dark but I like being able to draw in window details, curtains & such.  A bit more fun that way.

Work in progress Tuesday

Haven't had as much time with her this week.  I painted her hair brown and added a bit of glitter to her eyes.  You can click on the picture to see it larger & will see the impact of the glitter on her eyes.

day 3 of 30 days of creativity

day 3

Super quick artist trading card made with two kinds of tape, a fortune & a heart made from a bit of glossy card stock with alcohol ink.  I pretty much grabbed random things from my desk and put them together.  Taking a picture end editing it took more time than figuring out where to put everything and doing it.

I'm finding the 30 days of creativity to be an interesting project in that so far my projects for it have mostly been things I've started and finished on the same day.  The only project that had been partially created prior was the  alcohol ink on glossy paper that became the heart on today's ATC.  After a day of making other things today, it occurred to me that I'm accustomed to making things in spurts, like the works in progress I've been posting about over the past few weeks.  Today I started several backgrounds for art journal pages and a canvas (hopefully for the long haired girl I posted a while back), added on to the canvas in progress, and started working on my circle journal for book club.  I'm going to see what it's like to continue to with both daily completion and ongoing work on continuing projects.  I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes and how it impacts my creative process.

Here's the link to @createstuff on Twitter (the organizer of 30 days of creativity): https://twitter.com/#!/createstuff  It's not too late to join!

work in progress continued

dress & legs, etc. drawn in colored pencil

acrylic paint started, in need of a neck ;-)

She has a neck!  Painted over face with a mix of titan buff and glazing medium.  Painted her eyes.  Will probably bring her rosy cheeks back.  

 

works in progress

 

Just popping in to share some work in progress.  

These are based on what I've learned & played with from Suzi Blu's Mixed Media Girls (the book of the current cycle for the Creating Outside of the Book book club).  I haven't copied her designs, I've played with the ideas and tried to focus on some basics.  I've pretty much thought of drawing as something that's just not my thing & that I'm not all that good at it.  Seeing the other gals from my book club bringing in absolutely amazing pieces of art they drew and painted in classes with Suzi Blu, I figured I'd give the book a try but wouldn't put much hope into it.  I have to say that I'm truly surprised by my results.  We don't have symmetry or any sort of perfection but that's okay with me.  I'm just happy that my girls don't look like a poorly done Picasso imitation.  You know what I mean?

Hello again!

Yes, it's me!  I really am here.  I've been thinking about my little blog often & have come to the realization that it's time to make some changes here.  While I really enjoy all of the things I post about, I've decided it's time to make the focus of this blog my "random creative moments" rather than the cool things going into The Whimsical Muse.  So, I'm starting a new blog for The Whimsical Muse, aptly titled The Whimsical Muse.  I will post my first welcome over there in the morning & have some fun things planed over there.  

I also have all kinds of fun things to share here.  I went to Cloth Paper Scissors CREATE Art Retreat in May in Costa Mesa.  I've been making some "critters" inspired by an article in Cloth Paper Scissors by...Diana Trout, I believe.  I'm continuing to participate in the Outside the Box book club & do related projects.  And more!

Anyway, I will be back soon & look forward to having blogs for both my shop & my mixed media creations.  Please join me here, if you're interested and/or my other blog.

Pam

Jewelry mode

I've been in jewelry making mode. It's new for me but I'm really enjoying making pretty necklaces & whatnot. Most recently, I made a bracelet & a necklace. This time, they are for me as it seems that most of what I make goes to someone else. I made them with antiqued copper & Swarovski "Elements" (crystals & pearls).

holiday sale day 3

Hello!

The sale for the day is now on! Thursday, December 9th only if you purchase anything at Random Creative Moments at http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadebypam you get 20% off. All day long on the price any & all items you purchase! Sale goes through midnight Pacific Standard Time on Thursday. I offer a lovely variety of items that I've created using alcohol ink in this shop. My items include pendants that I've made on dominoes, greeting cards and original abstract art. They are all one of a kind. My pendants have been referred to as "wearable art."

For this sale, all you need to do is go through the regular steps to purchase an item on Etsy, including paying with PayPal. I've already gone in & changed the prices. If you tell me you heard about it on my blog, I will include a little something special.

Have a great one!
Pam

holiday sale day 1

Today until midnight (or until I post the next sale), the holiday sale deal is:
25% off all paper goods including greeting cards, tags, stickers, & bookmarks in both of my shops
The Whimsical Muse and Random Creative Moments This doesn't apply to the shipping price. I am, however, happy to combine shipping on items purchased in each shop, so your shipping will probably end up being a little lower than listed.

There are two ways take advantage of this deal:
1) "commit to buy the item(s)," let me know you would like the "25% off paper goods deal" in the "notes to seller" or by contacting me using the Etsy convo system, pay for your purchase using PayPal (you can use a credit card this way!), I will refund the discount.
2) "commit to buy the item(s)," let me know you would like the "25% off paper goods deal" in the "notes to seller" or by contacting me by "convo" on Etsy. I will send you an invoice with the sale price.

If you have absolutely an questions, you can contact me by using the comment section here or by convo on Etsy.

Pam :)

Holiday sales this week!!!

There will be some great shop deals advertised here this week for my Etsy shops!
Here's the deal:
1. Check in every daily for special sales. Tuesdays sale will be posted by late-morning Pacific time. There will be different types of items on sale each day for that day only. Mailing list members will be notified in advance (if interested in getting onto my list, let me know) & just may get extra bonuses :). If you have purchased from me in the past & haven't yet used your 20% off one item coupon (for The Whimsical Muse shop only), you can still use it if the item you want is one of the special items of the day! Pretty cool, huh?
2. I will give you instructions each day for that specific day. For example, if I'm offering a "buy 3, get the 4th free" special, I will ask that you purchase the 3 items you want & then mention in the "notes to seller" or by convo the code of the day & the color, style, type of item you want as your 4th item.
3. This applies to my shops on Etsy The Whimsical Muse & Random Creative Moments
4. There are all kinds of cool things available in my shops! So many yummy colors of baker's twine, carnival tickets, ric rac at The Whimsical Muse...plus some lovely pendants and artwork at Random Creative Moments (etsy.com/shop/HandmadebyPam)

I'm shipping all items within 24 hours of payment until just before Christmas in order to do my best to assure that packages get to their destinations in a timely fashion. If you are interested in a shipping upgrade to Priority or Express, please send me a convo on Etsy. If I confirm that I'm able to do this, I can either set up a special order for you to include the shipping upgrade or after purchase, I would simply send you an invoice to reflect the increase in shipping & then get your order to the post office ASAP.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comment section or by Etsy convo.

Stay tuned!
Pam :)

Handbound book

As soon as I saw this scrapbook paper at Cool Scrapbook Stuff in Poway maybe 3-4 weeks ago, I knew that I had to make a book with it. Interesting because I wouldn't necessarily consider it "my style " but something about it called to me. Anyway, I had gotten this idea of making a book using scrapbook paper, random art type papers, & chipboard. This is, I believe, a combination of a concertina with a pamphlet stitched book. The "back" of the book is an accordion. I hand stitched the three pamphlets into the back. I covered the chipboard with the scrapbook paper & then adhered the front and back parts of the concertina to the inside of the chipboard. I want to give either long stitch or coptic stitch a try soon.

Little update & contest details!

First things first...The Whimsical Muse. I've been finding fun craft supply items here & there & thought it would be fun to share on Etsy. I decided to start up a little supply shop with quirky bits of this & fun bits of that like bakery twine, ric rac & whatnot (well, sorry, no listing for "whatnot" as yet). I do sell a few handmade items but they do tend toward the "handmade supply" end of things. I do have more items in stock that I will be listing soon.

I've been putting together a list of things that can be done with bakery twine in addition to wrapping it around a cake box. Here is where the contest comes in...1) you share 3 or more ideas of what can be done with bakery twine, 2) a winner will be picked randomly & 3) the prize is...you guessed it, 20 yards of bakery twine, in the color(s) of your choice from http://thewhimsicalmuse.etsy.com/ The deadline for entry is Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

Dusting off the ol' blog

Time to dust off my blog! Boy, it's sure been a while! There are all kinds of things going on in the world of My Random Creative Moments, including the addition of a new Etsy shop (The Whimsical Muse). Over the course of the next few days (well, probably week or so), I will be updating on the new shop, recent projects, fun random things, and a contest. Yes, I did say contest :) Stay tuned & check back soon! :)

Happy Birthday to me!!!

It's my birthday!!! In honor of my day (March 15), everything is on sale in my Etsy shop! http://HandmadebyPam.etsy.com
Come on by & take a look.

Holiday Hit List pics

Here's a quickie post with some pictures of my table from the craft fair where I sold on Sunday (North Park Craft Mafia's 2nd Annual Holiday Hit List).