Category Archives: art supplies

Bic Markers Giveaway Winner!

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Congratulations, Sandra Strait!  You won a set of Bic Mark-It Permanent markers!  Please contact me with your mailing address so I can send them off to you.

Thanks to all who entered.  I enjoyed reading your comments with your favorite colors, marker tips, and your feedback on my giveaways.

Speaking of giveaways, stay tuned – I’ll be announcing another giveaway later this week.  Back to back – woo hoo!

Warm and colorful regards,
Melody

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Bic Markers Giveaway!

markers

It’s time for a giveaway, and this month I’m giving away a set of Bic Mark-It marker pens!

Markers are always good to have around the house for labeling boxes, addressing shipping envelopes, and so on. And if you’re an artsy or craftsy person, this set will be even more appealing.  It has 36 colors to choose from. Nice!  I decided to purchase a set for myself, and also bought a set for this giveaway since I love my readers.  :]

The package says they’re fine tip markers, but they can definitely mark with a thicker line if you hold the pen a bit more to the side.  Here are some of the product details for these markers:

  • Ultra comfy rubber grip for comfort and control
  • Fade resistant, acid free, vivid ink
  • Fine bullet nib, line width 1.1mm used for art and craft activities, labeling, classifying
  • Permanent alcohol-based ink, low-odor, quick-drying, plastic barrel
  • The range features: Original color collection, Paradise pastel collection, Earthly expressions collection

How To Enter
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To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this blog post with at least one of the following:

1. Your favorite color
2. A tip you may have for using markers in art/crafts, or around your home
3. Share which giveaways you’ve been most excited about here on my blog (gift cards, books, art/craft supplies, etc.)

The winner will be drawn at random, and will be announced this coming Tuesday, April 30th – so enter today!

Warm regards,
Melody

 

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Sketching at a Nursery

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Do you ever head to your local nursery to ogle the plants and drink in the amazing colors and textures, or is it just me?  I love to check out the plants and stop to smell the roses when I visit nurseries and gardens.  I find such places very inspiring artistically.

So, when I visited a nursery a few weeks ago, I took along some basic art supplies and made myself at home.  Not only did I take my iPhone to snap photos, I brought some sketching supplies: my art journal, micron pens, and watercolor pencils.  I passed on using water on site, and opted to blend the colors at home later in the day.

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There I was, plunked down next to some potted protea plants.  I was out of the walkway, so I took the liberty of spreading out my colored pencils for easier color selection.  I loved the colors and texture in the protea plant, and took some time to both sketch and color.

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I’m definitely not a natural when it comes to sketching and drawing, but I really enjoyed playing. Sketching requires slowing down.  Really looking.  Being in the moment.  And since all those requirements are positive, I consider the process a success and a worthwhile way to spend my time, regardless of how the resulting image turns out.  In this case, I think it turned out well.

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After I blended the color at home with water and a brush I added a bit of  silver metallic ink (gel pen) to really emphasize the silver/gray coloration near the tip of the protea bud.

Folks can be curious when they see something out of the ordinary, like someone sitting on the ground sketching a protea plant, but I don’t let that stop me.  So what if I look silly or get dirty?  I’m not shy when it comes to creating and going after what I want, and I hope you aren’t either.  If you love plants and nature as much as I do, I encourage you to get out there, get dirty, and enjoy the process!  Whether you’re sketching or taking photos, taking time to create out in nature is always worthwhile…

Warm regards,
Melody

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Celebrating Spring with a Gift for the Birdies…

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Spring is officially here, and I decided I’d celebrate by leaving some nest-making supplies out for the birds!

I figure they’ve got plenty of twigs, mud, and pine needles at their disposal, but thought they might enjoy using some bunny fur to make their nest soft and cuddly.  I saved some of the fur from the last brushings we gave Cypress and Pinto, and amassed a few handfuls of fur.*

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White and brown fur from our male bunny, Pinto
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White fur from our female bunny, Cypress (sprinkled with a few of Pinto’s brown hairs)
Doesn’t it look comfy?
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I decided some yarn and thread bits might also be nice for the birdies to use, so I gathered some scrap pieces of the sari yarns I used on some of the necklaces I posted on Etsy and pulled them apart.  I also added some turquoise fibers from my stash.
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It makes me giddy to think of precious little nests lined with our bunnies’ fur and/or with these beautiful fibers.  I know I’ll never actually see the nests these offerings make it into, but I have a great imagination and love the image I’ve created in my mind’s eye.  :]
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I left my offerings near our home. There’s a pond across the way, where froggies croak at night (their ribbety chorus fills me with glee!), and I left the “warm and fuzzies” along the path by the pond where I’ve seen birds flit about, back a bit in the bushes.  I know they don’t need my offerings, but I still hope they’ll make use of them and enjoy them…
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Happy Spring, everyone!  What are you doing to celebrate the new season?
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Warm regards,
Melody
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New Assemblage Series: Then & Now

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I recently created a two-part assemblage series, and thought I’d share it with you.  These pieces are particularly significant to me for a few reasons.  One: they’re more personal than my previous assemblages. Two: measuring 12″ x 15″, they’re the largest assemblages I’ve made thus far and incorporated heavier objects.  I even used epoxy for the first time, so now I feel all official.  :]
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I really enjoyed creating this series, and look forward to creating many more assemblages in the future. This mental shift towards more significant assemblage work is evident when I shop at thrift stores, estate sales, and antique stores – I’m now looking out for more dimensional pieces than ever before!
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Rather than take you through the assembly of these two pieces step-by-step, I’ll give you some of the highlights :
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THEN – first in the series
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This assemblage includes the following items: a vintage photo of a young girl, a traditional wooden ruler, a square wooden ruler, a doily, a pair of scissors, a heart-shaped tart tin, vintage graph paper, red fibers, 3 large beads, 2 vintage rhinestones, gold joss paper, and a small silver frame.
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The picture above was taken with the glass lid up, to reduce glare.  The image below shows the lid down…
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then
NOW – second in the series
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This assemblage includes the following items: a vintage photo of a woman, a small glass container, a vintage bunny figurine, a small doily, three vintage pen nibs, a nasturtium seed packet, a projector light bulb, lace, ribbon, a vintage measuring spoon, a vintage book, a paintbrush, a foreign postage stamp, a clear lens, and a piece of vintage cloth measuring tape.
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Again, the picture above was taken with the glass lid up.  The image below shows the lid down…
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now
  • Both assemblages made use of pre-made wooden boxes with glass tops.  The boxes were purchased at Michaels, and the wood was left its natural color but was sealed with a clear varnish.
  • The inside of each box was collaged with vintage sewing patterns before the other elements were added.
  • Though each assemblage stands on its own the two were meant to work together, so some elements are used in both pieces – like photos, doilies, measuring elements (ruler and tape), the deep red color, and metallics.
I hope you enjoyed this peek at my newest assemblages.  What do you think?  Please post a comment with any questions or feedback.
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Warm regards,
Melody

 

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Estate Sales: The Thrill of the Hunt

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Do any of you frequent Estate Sales, or is it just me?  I’ve been to a handful or so in the last year, and I have to confess that I can’t get enough of them.  In fact, this may be a new addiction – uh oh!

For me part of the fun of an Estate Sale is the hunt.  Not knowing what I might find – peeking and peering around in search of things that I consider treasure.  Treasure, for me, includes vintage photos, buttons & notions, and linens.  I look for inexpensive crafting supplies for my at-risk art journaling students.  I’m now looking for more jewelry and findings that I can make necklaces with, and have also been known to pick up a vintage mini tart mold or two.
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Do I need any of this stuff?  No – these items are purely recreational, and are intended to appear in some of my creative projects.  That said, collecting and creating keep me out of trouble, and it’s a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment all things considered.*

Example: on a recent Saturday morning I visited two Estate Sales, and had a few hours of fun looking around.  My purchases for the day totaled $10, and I ended up getting four vintage photos (including one in a frame), one handkerchief, a knitted baby sock, two doilies, a thread spool holder, metallic thread, a vintage star cookie cutter, and two clipboards.  The next bit of fun is figuring out what I’ll make some of these items into. :]
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Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to shopping Estate Sales?  I’m curious about whether or not folks like to go on Friday when the sale first opens (for the best selection), or if they prefer to go on Saturday when prices are often half off.  I’d love to hear about your Estate Sale tips and tricks, and what you like to look for when shopping, so please post a comment if you can.
Happy Hunting!
Warm regards,
Melody
Also posted in antiques, crafts, inspiration, life in general, vintage | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

My New Etsy Store

Happy Wednesday!

I’ve just opened a shop on Etsy, and wanted to share the news so you can pop on over and take a peek via this link!  I listed my first 22 items, including 19 necklaces, vintage pen nibs, and 2 sets of photo note cards.  I hope you like my initial offerings!  Here are a few photos to whet your appetite:

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15a

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8b

4b

I hope you’re all having a great week!  Thank you in advance for checking out my Etsy shop. :]

Warm regards,
Melody

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An Artistic Upgrade: Paintbrush Holder

Hello there, dear readers!  Just a quick post to share a recent artistic upgrade in my world.  I love to find everyday things, inexpensive ones, that I can use in a different way.  In this case I found an old, glass flower frog and thought it might work well for my paintbrush collection.  I was right!

I used to have my paintbrushes in a white ceramic container that someone had given me.  It was certainly inexpensive and functional, and I used it for several years, but it was kind of clunky.

before

Before

after
After

This glass “frog” is much more streamlined, and looks much better in the upper right corner of my desk.  It needed a good scrub, but cleaned up nicely, is a great upgrade in both form and function.  Price?  One dollar.  Yippee!

Do you have any storage containers or tools around your home that function in an innovative way – doing something other than what they were originally intended to do?  Please share!

Warm regards,
Melody

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My Recent Art Journaling Classes for At-Risk Kids!

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As you know, I gather art supplies, gift cards, and monetary donations in order to provide at-risk public school children with art instruction and supplies.  This year’s donation drive went well, and I was thrilled to have enough supplies to teach three classrooms of students for the first time ever – this is one more classroom than last year/ever before.  Woo hoo!  Three cheers for all my donors!

I taught all three of my classrooms over the past two weeks, two in Ontario and one in Santa Ana, and it all went incredibly well.  The kids are always SO excited to get to learn about art and to actually do it, and they take to the art and writing involved in art journaling like little baby duckies to water!  They’re super excited when they each get their art supply kits, and are especially happy when they learn that they get to keep all the supplies and take them home at the end of the year.  It was a thrill for me to see all the kids so excited, happy, and engrossed in the activity.

Many of these kids don’t have anything like this in their lives, which makes it that much more important to them.  In fact, in one class, two girls sitting next to each other were overheard saying, “I’ve never had this many art supplies!” and “I think I might cry!”  (Happy tears, mind you.)  All the teachers I talked to were very thankful, too, saying they’d never be able to provide/buy the supplies they received.  In addition to the three classes I teach in, at least five more teachers received boxes of assorted supplies to share with their classes.

FUN STATS
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Here are some numbers for you, so you can get an idea of what all went on, and how many supplies were passed on to schools that desperately need them:

Number of people that donated supplies, gift cards, or funds between June 2012 and December 2012: 31
Number of boxes and bags of assorted supplies that went to the two schools: 20
Number of art supply kits provided, so each child would have their own set of supplies: 125
Number of individual pieces/items in each art supply kit: 60+
Total number of 4th grade classes I taught: 3
Number of children who’ve received the gift of art via my program this year: over 85

Awesome, right?  I’m so thankful that so many of you lent a hand and helped me provide for the kids.  I can’t do this alone, and am so pleased so many of you got involved!  :]

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A truck full of supplies – and this was only some of what I was able to take out to the schools!

Here are some photos from the three classrooms I taught.  I don’t show the faces of our budding artists for privacy/safety reasons, but I’m sure you’ll agree that the art speaks for itself.  These images are of their very first art journal pages and journal covers.

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I hope you’re as charmed by their artwork as I am!  I’ll be returning to both schools before the school year ends to have art journal shows for the children, and will be sure to share photos from both events here on my blog.

If you’re interested in donating supplies to help bring art, writing and positive self-expression to children in need, please contact me.  I accept donations year-round, and appreciate any supplies, gift cards or funds I can get since I have no budget, volunteer my time, and provide some of the supplies.  Thank you for your consideration. :]

Warm regards,
Melody

 

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DIY: Cork Pendants

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Corks are pretty awesome.  Not only can you stamp with them and make them into place card holders, you can make them into jewelry as well.  What’s that, you say?  Jewelry?  Yep!  I decided to try and make some pendants from wine corks, and am very pleased with the results.  I think this project is incredibly versatile, and I love the idea of up-cycling.

Plus, you can likely use little bits and pieces of your existing creative stash (provided you’re into arts and crafts) – small pieces of your favorite papers, ribbons, fabrics, and a few other goodies.  I only had to buy one thing (screw eyes), and bet you can make these pendants primarily from things you have on hand already, too.

Suggested Materials
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Corks – I used real corks from wine bottles (versus plastic/foam corks)
Paint, gesso, or acrylic ink
Paint brush
Ribbon
Fabric
Thin Decorative Paper
Wire
Beads
Sequins
Sequin Pins
Screw Eyes
Straight Pins
Cord, ribbon or chain to hang the pendants from

pendant_materials_before

Directions
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  1. Apply color to cork, if desired.  (I used black acrylic ink, purple acrylic ink, and white gesso)  Let dry. Wipe some color off with a dry paper towel when the cork is nearly dry if you’d like a slightly mottled surface.
  2. Select materials to embellish your cork with, and decide on how many “decorative bands” you’ll have.
  3. Cut materials to proper size.  Corks are 2″ long on average.  If you’ll have just one type of decorative material, cut the piece slightly narrower than the cork is – end to end.If you’ll have two different decorative bands, cut each piece to 1/3 the length of your cork.  If you’ll have three different bands, cut your strip to approximately 1/4″.  Each strip should be long enough to wrap around the cork twice, which is approximately 6″.
  4. Pin one end of your ribbon/paper/fabric down with sequin pins, wrap the remaining length around the cork, and secure the ends with more pins.  You can add sequins or beads onto this “closing pin” if you’d like to add a bit more pop.
  5. Embellish the bottom by affixing a bead or bauble with a straight pin.
  6. Attach a screw eye to the top.  This will allow you to hang the pendant from a chain or cord.

pinning_ribbon
Attaching the ribbon to the cork with pins

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Pinning the ribbon closed, with sequins added

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A bead and silver finding are attached to the bottom with a longer, silver straight pin

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After the screw eye is attached at the top, the pendant is strung with a ribbon hanger

VERY Versatile
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Not only can you use these pendants in different ways – by wearing them, hanging them from your car’s rear view mirror, or using them as ornaments, you can also make them in very different ways.

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MILAGROS & COLORFUL FIBERS
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In this variation I drilled a hole through the pre-painted cork, threaded it onto some cool fibers, tied some extra fiber pieces into a tassel at the bottom, and added wire and milagro charms as the cork’s embellishment.
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GOAL PENDANTS
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I made these two corks into Goal Setting & Reminder Pendants.  I’m a big believer in setting goals and taking action, and I thought that writing my goals and working it into a pendant would be a great way to stay focused on that goal.  Wearing the pendant is a reminder of what I’m working towards – a way to keep my aspirations close to my heart.  Literally.  :]
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To make these Goal Setting & Reminder Pendants you’ll just need to write your goals down, and attach your text layer to the cork when you pin down your ribbon/paper/fabric.  Just make the paper that you write on a bit shorter than the decorative/outermost layer that goes on top of it.
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PAPER & BEADS

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RIBBON & BEADS

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INFINITE POSSIBILITIES!
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There are so many ways to modify and customize this project.  I’m glad I have several more corks to work with!  Questions?  Comments?  I’d love to hear from you, dear readers…
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Oh, and by the way, I’ll be launching my Etsy shop soon and will be listing some Cork Pendants for sale. So, if you like these pendants, would like one of your own, and know that you won’t get around to making one for yourself, please keep an eye out for my shop’s launch announcement! :]
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Warm regards,
Melody
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Also posted in crafts, DIY | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments