{A Gift} Frugal with Love

People love their homes in most cases. You know that old saying, Home Sweet Home. Well if it's one thing I've noticed, people really do love their homes. It's where we love and care for loved ones. Form memories and shape little lives. So what better gift than a painting of that very thing. And even better, it can be quite frugal.

For this painting I cut down some large white watercolor paper to fit the 4" x 6" frame I picked for a great price. Next I did a sketch in pencil and then taped it down to my art board. the tape serves two purposes. First it keeps the paper from curling, and second it creates a crisp white matt around the painting. Next was the longest part of the process, layers of colors combined with periods of waiting while section dried.

A lot of people the they "Can't Do" watercolors. Actually, with proper drying times between colors, and extra layers to give dimension... anyone can paint in watercolor! And, it's a very rewarding medium.

So the final step in creating this piece of art is to go back in adding extra details with a good quality art pen. Go easy, this should be done sparingly, as it's easy to add more if needed. However, once ink is down.. it's down. Only apply the ink after the paper and paint are completely dry.

Finely sign it and place it the frame.

The style I did for this one Primitive. You can see a lot of examples of prim paintings and decorating in Country Sampler Magazine, a favorite of mine.

Hugs,
Heather

{Handmade} Stencil Me Happy

Hi Friends,
A post on Facebook by Michaels Stores reminded me of a fun project I did a few years ago. It was a handmade stencil that was created from recycled materials. Below I share the steps and projects created using them.

Supplies:

• Gesso( if your painting on slick surfaces)
• scissors
• a folder
• pains, at least two colors
• paint brush

So I needed a little something on the walls of a bedroom. I was feeling a little funky and had snow flakes on the brain. So... a stencil made by way of old school snow flake cutting. And I cut my freestyle vase of flowers out of a folder. This was so it would be sturdy enough to use as a stencil. What do you think?

And below is a close up of the table I' painted for our living room. This table was created using the same process.



The table has actually been something my hubby and kids have argued with me about on and off. You see, I look at the table and see a possible new camera. They look at the table and see something I painted that they don't want to part with. I would agree, but the whole house is filled with painted "stuff" by me... so I don't see the big deal. What do you think?



Hugs and Creative Wishes,
Heather

How do I know my talent is a gift from God?

Well, I like so many other hard headed youth tested it. I removed God from every crevice I could. I sought to do things only that seemed thrilling or even better dangerous. I could go into detail but those details would only detract attention from point of this post. When I removed God, I removed the very core of my creative spirit. I was a shell of the artist I had been in my child hood and early teens. The “wiser” late teen Heather resorted to shock value and following others for creative vision, which were mediocre at best. I spent years without painting, feeling empty.

What changed? Well in baby steps I found my way back to my heavenly father… who as I look back is the only reason I lived through my stupid self destructive years. And the closer I came to him the more the ideas and paintings in my head started to flow. They flowed until I could no longer hold back the tide and I had to paint. Like trying to hold your breath under water, I had no other response but that of desperately getting the thoughts onto paper or canvas.

The closer I got to God the more the creativity rushed forward. From God placing me at a company I always said I wanted to work for when I was that obedient child of the past. To receiving a drawing mannequin a day after the word was uttered… “I need a mannequin”, from someone in another state with no knowledge of the need.

I can think of no better way to put it than how it is stated in Isaiah 58:11. “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

I sit in a home filled with art and the love of God and my family knowing without a doubt that my creative spirit is filled from only one fountain, the spring of eternal life and love that Jesus Christ offered to us all so long ago. A spring that is as fresh today as it was the day he rose, no matter what my choices were. Like the parent of toddler found with scissors and one of her mother’s pillow cases in tatters, he forgave me and wrapped me in love and blessed art in my soul.

Hugs,
Heather