gratitude stones

When it comes to entertaining, I love having something that my guests can take away. Since I love all things handmade, my little gifts are always creative. This year I made what I am calling "gratitude stones". They are flat painted stones with a quote about gratitude. 

While I wish I could have hand lettered all of the stones, we have a huge Thanksgiving feast to prepare this week so I took a short cut and printed out my gratitude quotes.

Next, using Mod Podge I glued the quotes to the stones.

Then I painted them.

And added a few small embellishments.

These colorful little stones will be in a bowl as part of my Thanksgiving table setting. Guests can grab a stone to take home with them and be a great reminder to embrace gratitude every day!

simple treasures

simple treasures

a family rock garden

After finishing our backyard renovation, we have been working on all kinds of little projects outside, things that will make our garden and yard a little more colorful and creative. My favorite project has been creating a family rock garden- we have a couple of spots with really rocky soil and a colorful rock garden was the perfect solution! 

Painting rocks is nothing new or original but it is truly one of my favorite simple projects for anyone, any age! So over the last month we have been collecting and painting rocks as a family.

We thought it would be fun to incorporate all of our different styles and things that are important and special to us as family- like writing down memories and moments, our favorite quotes, song lyrics or things we like to say around the house, shapes and symbols, doodles and drawings and all kinds of colorful designs.

We've created lots of rocks and have challenged ourselves to continue to create more as the months go by. We even plan on inviting guests and family to paint a rock when they come over to add to the collection. The idea is to have a big rock garden full of color, creativity and memories that can be collected over time. 

Tip- Finish painted rocks with a clear coat of polyurethane to keep paint safe from the elements.

rock magnets

bugs for lucy

Becoming a mom has been the most wonderful addition to my life as an artist. It's hard to believe that 

I spent my entire pregnancy worried that once Lucy was born, somehow I would lose my creativity and inspiration 

for making art (you can read about it HERE). None of my worries came true, in fact the opposite happened. 

With Lucy's arrival I have become more productive, inspired and creative than I ever could have imagined. 

Being an mom, who is also an artist has provided me with endless opportunities 

to approach creativity in so many different ways. 

My latest creative venture is drawing and creating bugs for my little Lu. Ever since she saw a lady bug land on my 

shirt she has been obsessed with all things bugs. She talks (babbles) about the bugs that she has seen outside 

and is always asking (babbling) to go looking for bugs. So I've been hard at work creating little bugs 

for her to look at and play with around the house.

The bug sketches have evolved into painted rocks that now live in a "lady bug garden" in the yard. This little spot 

is the perfect place to play and explore bugs when we can't find real bugs. 

 

Using my passion for creativity to make little treasures has become one of my favorite ways to show Lucy

that I love her and that I will always find ways to support and foster her interests- even if her interests have six legs!

lucy rocks from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

valentine stones

Stones are one of my favorite surfaces to paint and alter. The best part is that I live across the street from a beach covered in stones- which means they are a free supply! This year I thought they would make a perfect alternative to traditional paper valentines. 

I decided to make a whole bunch of simple and pretty little valentine stones (for the residents in the extended care facility where my grandmother lives).I typically like to paint stones but since I was making a lot, I kept it simple with collage.

1. I started by painting plain white paper with watercolors- I wanted to create a very light wash of color. You could also use colorful or pattern paper!  2. Next I cut out A LOT of little heats- the fast way- folding the paper in half and cutting. 3. Then I doodled a little border on each heart. 4. Last, I added a word.

Using Mod Podge I added the hearts to the surface of colorful painted stones.

I let the stones dry and just like that I have some simple little valentines! A perfect expression of love and something that could be kept year round.

They are a great kid friendly project and really fun to personalize!

I couldn't resist creating a large version but instead of keeping it simple I spent a little time doodling all over my heart and then collaged it to the stone. This one is going to my studio as a doorstop