Ceramics for the Family + a Canvas piece

While we were in Kentucky, we had the fortunate event of being about 4 1/2 hours from my Mom’s side of the family – this enabled Nick and I to get to know them better and see them more, which meant paint stuff for them! Originally I had painted a mug for one of my Uncle’s back in 2006  for Christmas:
So, because my other Uncle, Mike, loves fishing and bass and he kept taking Chris’ every time he visited, I decided to paint his own. Now, painting from 2006 to 2009 there is a notable difference in the 3 years considering skill and different art techniques. So, Chris, you have an original, but Mike has a more advanced painting. Both still made with love though!
Anyways, enough chatter… here is the one I painted for Mike:

It is a travel ceramic mug, but apparently it does not travel with him at all, but stays on a shelf. Oh well, I guess it’s safer that way!

(Disclosure: these were original paintings I found online of the 2 bass mugs. The first I painted was from a t-shirt design, and the other was from an artist, that I do not remember his name, but I remember getting the picture idea off of a blog post by some man named Micheal Davis who had posted the painting. I usually Google pictures for designs to sketch. )

Here is a tiny nativity set I painted for Mom. It is still ceramic, but I used acrylics instead of under glaze paints and no firing it in the kiln.
She already had a beautiful set she painted for herself when us 3 kids were much younger; but of course, I am usually slow to making her stuff when it comes to art, I don’t know why, she should have first dibs.. so this was small and travel size and perfect for a plane ride for gifting.
This is one I did for us. It is now glued into an iron wrought frame/key hanger which I can up load that and other painted projects later:

Here is another tile I painted for my Grandma (one that was close to us when we lived in KY). I wished I painted one like this for myself too. I loved the colors and birds, but for now I just keep the pattern :D


That’s all for now! I have painted so much stuff for friends and family (and displays while I worked at the ceramic studio) that I wish I took pictures of them all. I really need to get back into it too, I need to keep up my skills :)
Here’s a non-ceramic related piece I painted for a friend and their baby about 2 years ago now (wow, Zoe is growing fast!)

More artwork to come later!

Pictures From My Sister

I just wanted to share some beautiful colored flower photos that my sister took. Perfect for some Spring inspiration!

You can find her art work and photos over at http://adrastia217.deviantart.com/ (if you click on gallery and on the left side is all the different categories) 

 

These are all photos from our home state, South Florida. She has planted a bunch of these pretty flowers and now is growing an orange tree. Here she captured a bee (I think?)

The things that make me miss home… including the stormy beach days:


And then for the really unexpected expectancy (for the Northerns that think Florida only has summers) here is a frost from this past winter (or last?)

So, it does still get cold too :D

Painting I did in August of 2010

I still have to paint on 2 birds and 1 dragonfly, fix some skinny branches and seal it. Other than that, it is hanging up on my wall. It is floor to ceiling in length, about 7 feet total. Each canvas is 22" x 28"
I started by horizontally painting on the blue in the background, with a light ombre effect and the details left are the streaks. After that I drew on the tree between all of the 3 canvases and then added the skinnier branches and flowers. I also silver and gold leafed a few for some more dimension. :)

The colors are not as yellowed as this appears in real life.

If you look for it, you can see the metal leafing on the flowers:

I was a pretty simple painting. Between drying time and painting, it took about 2 days. Again, the colors are better in real life. This wall is up against all of the windows so there is not adequate lighting for this thing on camera.
With the flash you have a better idea.

Perfect painting for Spring!

Is that an onion??

Yes, I am afraid so…

Okay, let me explain. I bought a lot of onions from Sam’s and a handful of them sprouted really well. I planted two in an outside flower pot (one of which I found a cute black and white bunny eating). Another one is in a flower pot inside (not planted, just for show) and then there is this one.

It’s spring time. I wanted to bring in a bulbed flower inside. I was not willing to pay for them though just yet. A) Just got a job so waiting for a paycheck and B) when you live in an apartment, with inadequate lighting and space, plants do not thrive so well (at least for me, and I do also tend to forget about them if they are in the window because I don’t see them…)

So, this is what I can do for now, and you know what, I am okay with that. I added tiny pink flowers to make it look cooler too – and more spring like.

Also, you can eat the tips of the onions. So the two outside are like my go to green large chives. OR, I guess I can use them like scallions too next time it is called in a recipe!

:D You do what you can when you can!

Homemade Laundry Detergent–4 Basic Ingredients

Yesterday I made my own laundry mix!
What?? You can do that???    Yup :)
I got the original recipe from www.TipNut.com  I used recipe #9 which is located on this page: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/
I tend to like powder mixes more because I think they last longer (I could be wrong). But, as you can see if you click the link there are plenty of liquid detergents you can make as well.
Here is the recipe (scroll down for more pictures too):

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #9

12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda [or Soda Ash apparently from a craft store – my note]
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

• Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
• Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Just to let you know, this recipe above ^ makes 36 Cs of detergent (244 loads). I cut mine down to make a total of 18 Cups detergent which is 6 C Borax, 4 C Baking Soda, 4 C Washing Soda, and 4 C grated Bar Soap. You should be able to find these items in the laundry isle at any grocery store or Wal-Mart, although I have read some people do have problems getting a hold of the washing soda. The bar soap I used was Ivory as is suggested in the tips found at the top of their page before the recipes:

“First Some Tips:

• For the bar soaps required in the recipes, you could try Fels-Naptha, Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps.
• Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles.
• Some people with really hard water or well water may have to adjust the recipes if the clothes look dingy.
• Although several of the recipes have the same ingredients, the measurements are different–some contain a higher soap to water ratio. Test and see which works best for your laundry needs.
• You can make huge pails of this at once, or smaller quantities. Also if you can get your hands on a few empty liquid laundry detergent bottles they work great for storing the detergent. Just make a big batch and pour in bottles, cap then use as needed–shake before use.
• Some of the recipes call for large amounts of water. Check with a local restaurant to see if they have any empty large pails from deep fryer oil–that’s how many restaurants buy the oil. See if you can have one or two of the pails after they’ve emptied it–just wash them out really well before using. They’re big, heavy plastic and very sturdy when stirring the soap and hot water.”

As you can see, I used an old ice cream container. I also had a scoop that measured out to the 1/8 C from a previous detergent as is suggested in the amount to go in the wash.

I also wrote in permanent marker (which does scratch off) of the different recipe proportions. The 18 C that I made is 144 loads. IF I did the math correctly, it came to be half a cent per load. So when they talk about this homemade mix being pennies worth per load, they really mean it!
Some people do not like powder. My mom even hates it. I find if you let it dissolve in the mixing water before you add any clothing it does just fine. My husband used to put it on top of the clothes already in the wash while the water was going…yeah…that’s a problem! :)
Another thing about the grated bar soap. When I grated mine it came out like a small mozzarella grated cheese consistency. I grated 4 bars, and I think I used about 2-2 1/2 bars and I was left over with maybe a little over 2 cups grated soap. You may only need 3 bars then to be safe for the 4 cups called for.

It did seem to do okay with dissolving, although I think I still want to make the soap smaller. I found a little bit of soap on ONE shirt, and that was my fault because I added just a little bit more on TOP of the clothes after they were in the wash – I didn’t fully trust the amount I stuck in to wash at first because this was my first load using the mix.
Also, make your container pretty too if you want and be proud of your own work!
SO… How Does it Clean??
Well, I think it passed the test! Underwear is clean, no smelly arm pit sleeves, and my whites are amazing (those ingredients are used for laundry boosting to begin with, so of course my whites should look great!)
There are a few things to remember too. Adjust your wash according to where you live. I think we have hard water here (just moved to this location so I don’t know exactly) but the recipe works for me.
Also note, the mix will not suds up like what you may be used to – that’s normal and it still cleans your clothes. It does not have a fragrance either. It is completely neutral. If you want a scent, people usually add a few drops of essential oils to a batch and mix very well. I do not know the appropriate amount to use though.
So, what do you think? Are my whites clean (well, as much as you can tell since a photo is not real life)?

Have fun experimenting!

Vase Craft

I do not have before photos nor the process how I did it, but it is very easy!

What you need (found at any craft store):

• A vase that you do not care to get paint in it
• Acrylic paint of whatever color choice
• Rhinestones (I used Swarovski rhinestones since I love crystals and these have the best sparkle)
• GOOP glass glue, or Super Glue (You can use hot glue but it will come off easy and it cools too quickly, so I do not recommend it) - I would also suggest you use a form of GOOP b/c if you make a mistake it is easier to fix what you did compared to the super glue (unless you're just that good!)

The first thing you want to do is drizzle paint on the inside of the vase. You hold the paint at the rim and let the paint run down to the bottom. Make sure your vase is DRY and cleaned off from dust, wax, oil, etc. or your paint will get messed up and streaky.

When you are drizzling the paint, you are creating a faux milk glass technique. This is not new to the crafter world; I have seen it done 2 ways. The way I did it, or you can spray paint the outside (which will allow you to still use the inside of the vase for water). 

Once you have drizzled the paint all around the rim, flip it upside down and let the excess paint drip out on to a newspaper or something. Let that drip for a few hours or so and flip it up right when it doesn't seem too liquidy. Try and let the piece sit over night before messing with it. The paint will cure probably in 24 hours, but I am not sure.

Next thing I did was create a diamond pattern on the outside and glued on the rhinestones. You can do many different designs, and I have more ideas in my head! Just let the rhinestones dry according to the instructions you should follow on your glue instructions. CAUTION - the glue does smell! Again, read the back for safety but do not be afraid of it. I also marked where I was to put the sparkles so I did not completely mess up. You can mark with a permanent marker or dry erase. With the permanent, once it's dry you can just scratch it off if you did not like where you placed it.

When gluing the rhinestones, if you have tweezers, use those to help! 

Once you are done add some pretty flowers and display! I used flowers I made instead of real ones b/c I do not think I should put water on the inside with my paint. If your vase is just that cool, try sticking in a smaller piece inside to hold the water if you really want to use real flowers. 

My Finch Pepe

Hello Blogosphere!
I got a new camera! I actually won it and it’s a Canon IXUS. It’s 12.1 Mega Pixels and right now it serves me well :)
I hopefully get to play with the camera at the park tomorrow. But for now I am going to post long awaited projects that I have done in the past several months (some are still in progress).
I am now in school again (thankfully!) and I should hopefully be start blogging more, at least just for the family to keep in touch to start with! Play Time!
~Jen
(PS, speaking of new things – my husband got me a new computer for Christmas for my start up of school this past January, and I love the newer technology. I have discovered on here about Windows Live Writer and it seems to make new blogging easy…so far so good!)

Here's something I revampt the other day.

Originally I had received this by winning a bridal shower game.  It's not that I didn't like the verse or look of it, it just wasn't something to go with my style or craft nook!

So, I did what any other self respecting crafter would do...make something new out of it!  I have scrapbook paper I bought just to make things look pretty.  I am so glad I bought it!  Here's the finished product:

I decided to leave the frame itself the same bronze-like color.  It's not too bad with the picture itself.  I found the tree somewhere on Google?  I will have to find it again.  The neat thing about the leaves is when I was cutting them out with a X-ACTO knife, they left their 'image' on the paper I was cutting from.  Meaning, I now have this neat looking paper with a design that looks best with white underneath it (pop-effect) and is ready to go for another project!  : )  Happy places!

Post Duex

Yay!
Okay, okay, all excitment aside...  I really am looking forward to posting in different categories!  Of course, most will involve a craft of some sort, cooking, or randomness I find online! Pictures will be taken and be ready to show off to the world what a little creativity can do.  Open suggestions are welcomed.  Can't wait to get all this organized!

First Posting!

We will see how quickly I get random views!  This is my first post and I'm not really sure all I am going to put on here?!  I think a little bit of everything : )