LifeBook 2015

I have set a goal this year to complete Life Book 2015.  I have completed every lesson except one and need to be able to spend as much time as I want in my room, but I just can't right now. Once the Bar Mitzvah is over, I will have time.  My space needs to be reorganized too because it seems I'm always looking for something!

Here are a few of the Life Book lessons. I am really enjoying it!

I'm back

I'm back! I can't believe I stepped away from here for so long. I think I was feeling the pressure to update and post pics which was stopping me from doing anything. I have been crazy busy. I know I've said it consistently, but life with kids just keeps you constantly moving.

Jake's Bar Mitzvah is coming up fast. I haven't had much time to create lately, but this is the tallit and kippah he picked out. I love the coloring and the pattern. He made a great choice!

Jewelry clay

Since I'm addicted to creating tiles out of polymer clay, I find myself in the polymer clay aisle regularly! The other day, I discovered jewelry clay so of course I bought it. I also found some blank heart pendants with the ice resin products. I bought them too!

Before I got into mixed media, I had my own custom jewelry line. I created endlessly and my pieces were unique. I sold in lots of shows and independent boutiques in the Chicago area. I loved every single piece I made and had a hard time parting with each one!

So..... this jewelry clay caught my eye. Today I finally played around with it.

It's curing right now. I can't wait to put it on a chain and wear it!!!

Hamsa

I had the BEST time this past weekend at the Create Mixed Media Art Retreat in Lisle. I took two classes from Laurie Mika and they were amazing! I taught myself how to make polymer clay canes 20 years ago when I was in college, but this was something way different. I am hooked! I decided to make a Hamsa on Friday and then on Sunday I made the most fantastic little crown. Both classes went by in the blink of an eye.

DLP

I have fallen behind in my DLP. I am trying to catch up, but I keep getting sidetracked! Here are a few recent pages in no particular order. LOTS of doodling and colors. Yum-O!

Even though the eyes are not even/equal, I still really like how this face turned out!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I have been in love with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint since the day I discovered it and have been dying to try it! I watched videos YouTube and read her website but just couldn't jump in and buy everything. So, yesterday I drove to The Studio Art School in McHenry, IL for a class. It took me 1.5 hrs to get there but it was totally worth it!

We have this old dining set from Wickes Furniture that I have always hated. At one point, it was our kitchen table. But as of today, it is splashed with paint and is even uglier! I was going to throw it away but then decided to paint it and put it in the basement where it could actually be used.  Yesterday, I brought one of the chairs with me to use in my Annie Sloan experiment.

This is the chair. Ugly right? I was skeptical about not needing to strip and/or sand the chair before painting. The varnish is really thick making the surface slick. Would the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint really adhere?

I decided to do an under color first. I was going for a distressed look so the first two layers I painted in graphite. The first layer moved around A LOT . However, the second layer really covered and gripped. I instantly liked it better!

Once the graphite paint was dry, I painted over it in provence and wiped off some of the paint in some areas.  I really liked how the black kind of showed through the blue. It gave a great effect. I'm loving the chair even more!

Once the provence was dry, I took a piece of sand paper and distressed it even more in some areas. I actually sanded these spots back down to the original yellow wood. Then, I applied sizing to the areas I knew I wanted to apply gold leaf. As the sizing was drying, I started to wax the chair. I used a combo of clear and dark wax because I knew I wanted it to look distressed with dark in the textured areas.

I left some of the wax in place so I could apply the gold leaf. So fun! I also waxed over the leaf to age it a little.

Here is my first completed chair and I LOVE it!!! I can't wait to finish the set. Each chair is going to be a different color and the table is (hopefully) going to make a great statement.

I was here from 10am-3:30pm. I bought everything I need to finish this dining set and I hope to finish it this week. I am an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint convert. I can't wait to paint more furniture and picture frames!  It really was simple to use and the fact that there isn't any stripping/sanding is amazing! I will post pics of the set when it's all done. Thank you Lucy! I had a great time and you were fantastic.

Round 2

Tried another background using acrylic open paints. I like the blendability of these paints. I also bought some heavy body acrylic paint from Utrecht and some new brushes. It is just too beautiful outside to keep myself holed up inside.

A quick journal page from the brown bag journal. I really like using the brown paper as a base. Utrecht gesso is definitely my new favorite gesso out there! Here I played around with some new paints and techniques.