Comfort Cottage

April Calendar Challenge

It is a gorgeous, warm, sunny day here in Pennsylvania, and I have the perfect thing to share with you today.  I have been seeing all sorts of lovely handmade calendars popping up all over blogland, and I have found the source.  There is a very talented lady at The Kathryn Wheel who hosts a monthly challenge: Calendar 366.  You may have heard of her: Kate Crane.   Her captivating art journal work has been featured in Stampington and Company's fabulous publication, Art Journaling, by Somerset Studio.  This is my calendar for the month of April.

 

 

I used a square punch and Kay & Co. papers.  I can't remember the manufacturer of the the stamp line for the swirls, but the butterfly is from Inkadinkadoo.  All of the images are vintage free stuff I found on the web.  The background was done with Delta Ceramcoat paints and a natural sponge.  If you would like to learn more about the calendar challenge, you can find it here.  Kate's wonderful work has been featured in the Winter 2012 issue of Art Journaling by Somerset Studio, as well as many other publications.  You can find links to all of the participants for this month's challenge here.

 

 

The last item to share with you, I promised about two weeks ago, but unfortunately, the subject, my niece's 12 week old Bernese mountain dog, would not sit still long enough for me to get a photograph!  On Sunday, we had a family gathering at my sister's house and Moses, the newest addition to the family, finally cooperated.

 

 

Is he not the most adorable puppy on the planet? (Have you ever seen a puppy that wasn't adorable?)  This guy is already twenty-seven pounds, and he's gaining an average of about six pounds per week.  Hugging him is like hugging a bear cub!  I LOVE big dogs!

It's time for me to get back to work.  I should have another drawing to share with you in a day or so.  Enjoy the lovely spring weather we are having!

 

Until next time,

 

Feloons

This one was inspired by my sister's cat, Gus. He's a huge orange tabby that looks like a balloon with four paws. I just couldn't help myself :)

 

Feloons

18 x 24

Mixed media on 140lb Cold Pressed Paper

Materials: DaVinci watercolors, Caran D'Ache Neocolor IIs, Portfolio Oil Pastels; Decoart Americana Acrylics, Speedball Super-Pigmented Black Ink, Bic Wite-Out Correction Pen, Watercolor brushes round, size 8 and flat size 10, liner size 2, bubble wrap, hand-carved rubber stamps

 

Until next time,

 

Making My Mark

Today I'm sharing my first piece of art for Week 2 of Traci Bautista's online workshop, Doodles Unleashed.  This week we're working BIG.  The idea is to explore making marks with different water media and stamps.  The finished piece will be cut apart later in the workshop, and used for other art.  I worked it on Strathmore 400 series 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper.  I photographed my process in order to give you a closer look at how my work evolves.

I'll begin with the scene of the crime:

 

For this project, I'll be using two brushes:  a one-inch flat, and a size 8 round.  I worked at my easel so the paint could roll freely down the paper.  Watercolor paper has two sides to it-a smooth side, and a more textured side.  To enhance and speed the dripping, I used the smooth side.  I kept a spray bottle filled with water handy in case the drips didn't roll far enough down the page. 

 

 

Using my flat brush, I loosely painted lines and squiggles.  I mostly use DaVinci Tube Watercolors.  They are a professional grade product, which means that they have a very high concentration of pigment and very little filler.

 

 

Next, I added thinner lines with the round brush and some affirmation words.  I used a limited color palette.  It's important not to mix colors with their complements (Complementary colors are those that are positioned opposite one another on the color wheel).  If you do, you'll get mud!

This project gave me the chance to use my own hand-carved rubber stamps.

 

 

A few were derived from Dover images, but most are my own hand-drawn designs.  I chose two of my own designs to use for my painting.

 

At this point, I switched to using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons.  I experimented with getting a good coating of color onto the stamp.  I found that the strongest images were produced when I swiped the stamp with a damp flat brush, and then rubbed the crayon over the stamp until there was a generous coating of color on it. 

 

 

After stamping, I used Derwent watercolor pencils to enhance the images.  I kept a small cup of water close, and dipped the pencils directly into the water as I worked.

 

 

It's time to step back and assess my progress!

 

 

Now, it's time to pull it all together.  I used Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels and Caran D'ache Neocolor II crayons to add in blocks of color and accents.

 

 

 

 

After I shot this photo, I noticed the curious effect of the light filtering through the blinds.  I think that it would be interesting when printed out and incorporated into a collage.

 

 

My Neocolor IIs are my favorite art supplies!

 

 

I decided to use my alphabet stencils at the end so I could choose small parts of them and place them where they would be visible.  I sprayed watered down watercolor paint over them.  I love the look of splattered paint.  I had a Neocolor II crayon in my hand, so I tried dipping it in the water and flinging it over the paper.  It worked great!  A word of caution if you have bad aim:  cover the wall behind your easel.  Fortunately, I painted my walls with scrubbable paint.  Dark blue splatters were not what I had in mind when I decorated the room!

 

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this time in my studio.  Let me know what you think of the post.  If the response is positive, I'll plan more posts like it in the future.  Happy painting!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fit For A Bird

I often thumb through past issues of Stampington and Company's publications.  They never fail to inspire me.  While looking at the August/September 2010 issue of Stampers Sampler magazine, I came across their Tempting Template.  They publish a new one in every issue.  The templates are a wonderful jumping off point for the imagination.  In this issue, the template happened to be a birdhouse.  What could be more fun than designing posh homes for our feathered friends?  Here are a few of the latest in bird real estate:

 

 

 

Listed in the same neighborhood:

 

 

On the more affluent side of town:

 

 

The fairy that lives next door is kind of pushy...

 

 

There's a bidding war on this one.  The canary who wants it has bird seed to burn.

 

If you know a bird who's in the market for new digs, spread the word :)

 

Until next time,

 

Happy Pink Valentine's Day!

What could be better?  It's Pink Saturday and almost Valentine's Day!  I've been very busy making all kinds of goodies to share with you.  It's about time we had some other color besides white around here.  So far, we've survived two blizzards and a total of 48 inches of snow within a week!  Click here to see blizzard #2.

 

 

Before we celebrate the day of love, I'd like to introduce you to Shirl at Wings of Eagles.  I visited her last week and I was transported to a world of beauty, classic literature, lovely vignettes and interesting history.  I know you'll enjoy visiting her and I'm sure she would love to hear from you.

I'd like to thank Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday.  Please stop by to see her today.

In honor of the occasion, I've set the table for you.  Come on in and enjoy a steaming  cup of coffee and a cupcake...or two...or, oh just eat them all, before I do!

 

 

It's really interesting to discover the things that men associate with love:

 

This is a note from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his wife,  Constanze, penned on April 16, 1789.

"Darling wife, I have a number of requests to make to you: -

1st,  I beg you will not be melancholy.

2nd, That you will take care of yourself, and not expose yourself to the spring breezes.

3rd, That you will not go out to walk alone - indeed, it would be better not to walk at all.

4th, That you will feel entirely assured of my love."

 

 

I'll leave you to ponder that little gem.

 

Here's a card I made.   Obviously, this guy's idea of love is a little different than Wolfgang's!

The next two cards I made are on the lighter side.

This guy definitely has a unique way to express his love:

 

"I can neither eat nor sleep for thinking of you my dearest love, I never touch even pudding."  (Horatio Nelson, admiral, to Lady Emma Hamilton, January 29th, 1800)

 

 

I think Admiral Nelson has been at sea way too long!  His lack of appetite for pudding may have more to do with seasickness than anything else.

In between making cards, I spent some time at the sewing machine.  I designed these little door pillows after finding this cute set of fabrics at Joann.

 

A few more Valentines:

I hope you've enjoyed this little romp through the garden of love.  I can't wait to see what all of you have to share.   God bless you until next time!