rusty relief painting

As many of you know I love 3-D and I keep coming up with new ways to use it- I am on a mission to use it in all kinds of different ways! This time around I used 3-D paint to create rusty relief paintings on canvas.

I used my stash of Scribbles 3-D Paint Pens.

And I doodled (of course) in white all over the surface of a canvas that I painted in a rust color (I was inspired by rusty metal for this project).

I filled the entire surface with my designs.

Once the 3-D paint was dry I painted over the top of my designs

and then wiped the paint away- just enough to pull the pigment from the top of the dried 3-D paint.

The result is a relief painting that has wonderful dimension and texture on the surface and because of the color, has the feeling of rusty metal.

the things I haven't shared

For those of you that missed my news a while ago- we are moving back to my small hometown on the Oregon Coast at the end of June (actually next week). You can read about it here. But what I haven't shared is that while this adventure is exciting, it hasn't been without struggles and challenges along the way. We have spent months- actually years preparing for this big change in our lives. And the build up, the waiting, the saving $$ and preparing has required TONS of discipline, patience and LOTS of baby steps. Something that I am all TOO familiar with when it some to making dreams happen!

I am here to tell you that while life may look beautiful and effortless in the blogosphere- all of the things that have taken place in my neck of the woods- the opportunities, the circumstances, the baby, the business and the changes have been slow (and often not so beautiful)! There have been tons of dead ends, lots of rejection (on the creative front), disappointment, personal and professional drama, even some heartbreak. I am here to tell you that following your heart, taking the road less traveled, quitting jobs, being an artist, embracing self employment, and leaving the things that are comfortable is not easy or romantic or whimsical- it is downright scary a lot of the time. But for us, we have decided that it is all worth it to be able to be able to embrace our passions and chase after the life that is calling to us.

Back when we made the decision to start a family, the time came for use to really do some soul searching about the people (and parents) we want to grow into and about the kind of life we want to create for our family. We knew we wanted to simplify, we knew we wanted to make our own rules and we knew we wanted a life dedicated to putting family first. And when we welcomed Lucy, the day came when we decided to take some risks and work hard to make our dreams a reality. And just like everything else that happens over here, this road to our goals has taken time, so much time and hard work.

What I haven't shared is that this transition- leaving California, our friends, our house and the life we worked so hard to create is terrifying and uncomfortable but in the most fabulous and exciting of ways! The time that it has taken for this dream to come true has felt like an eternity and what I have learned through it all is that change, goals or dreams don't always happen they way you planned, often they are scary, they don't always look beautiful and certainly don't happen overnight. But what I have also learned is that the reward is so much sweeter when there has been hard work, patience and dedication to the things that you believe in. And now as we take the leap, while I am scared, I am also SO encouraged and inspired to do whatever it takes to move towards our hopes and dreams!

fashion friday- graphic bangles

I am pretty much obsessed with bangle bracelets and wanted to create and my own graphic nbangles using one my favorite materials- shrink plastic (AKA shrinky dinks).

1. I started by cutting stripes from of the shrink plastic and doodled on the surface with permanent marker. 2. I covered the entire surface. 3. I created a variety of strips with different doodles.

4. Next I cut little triangles into each edge of the strips (could also punch a hole). 5. I baked the shrink plastic strips in the oven for about 30 seconds and then removed them. While they were still warm, I placed them over the top of a glass jar to get a slight bend as they hardened. 6.For a couple of the bracelets I added a chain.

7. For the rest of my bracelets I used stretchy cord tied through the triangles. 8. I filled the cord with colorful beads.

Simple, unique and graphic bangles!

soaking it up

more info on Balboa Park here

cardboard box art

Who says paintings need to be on canvas? Why not get creative and recycle things you already have on hand like cardboard cereal or food boxes. Painting on boxes is actually a great way to make art on a budget, create something that is light weight and easy to display.

1. I started with a few food boxes in different sizes. 2. Next I primed them with house paint. 3. Once the white paint was dry I layered on some messy swipes of colorful paint.

4. Once the paint was dry I used a Sharpie to draw on the surface 5. I repeated my drawings to create pattern. 6. I added little details with white pen.

I did the same thing on all three boxes!

8 months of lucy

lucy in her playpen from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.