paper circles and buttons...oh my

Well I have you guessing and I bet you still don't know what I am talking about.

I thought of this after receiving a wonderful ornament swap from my friend Cathy over at TolenTreasures blog. Cathy is a very talented lady and can tackle almost any task. She makes beautiful penny rug runners and  ornaments and I thought well why not make some out of paper. Although there is no sewing at all involved but I thought how cute would these look tied to a Christmas gift or a few on a simple country Christmas card. This is just how I made mine and I wanted to share how easy and fun they are, and, a good way to use up those scraps you hate to throw out.

What you need, scraps of paper, ink pad but not necessary, scissors, a fine tip black marker, I used paper buttons because I have a die I use in my Cuttlebug but you could use real buttons or some other embellishment, a hole punch if tying to a gift and some string.

I used containers to make my circles and traced around them on my scrap pieces of paper and cut out. 

 If you want to ink your edges of the circles do so now, I forgot to take a pic but you know how to do that then take the scissors, open them up and run the inside of them on the edges of your circles to distress the paper but not tear it. I like how it almost gives the look of fabric to the paper..do this to all your circles.

 Now take your fine tip Sharpie black marker and do a faux blanket stitch all round the circle. I came in just a bit from the edge so it looks like it has been sewn. Do this to all circles.

 Next, glue small circle to large the add your button. So fun and easy and don't they look so cute. Some of the buttons I put off to the side a bit on the inner circle to make it look a little more handmade and not so perfect.

 Then I decided to make a few tags and added To and From on the back, I will punch a hole and add a bit of bakers twine and add to my gifts. As mentioned above you could make these a bit smaller and make a lovely card. Don't limit yourself to Christmas, make any occasion with different types of card stock. I will add that the heavier card stock I like the best especially when distressing with the scissors. 

Have fun and hope you enjoyed this little paper penny tutorial. Fast easy and oh so cute.

TTFN ♥♥♥

A quick and easy ornament

Well I finally got the pictures taken and a few minutes to show you how to make these cute and easy ornaments.

What you will need is some snowflakes, I got mine at Dollar Tree (yeah Canada now has Dollar Trees), these came 10 in a pack and they have glitter on them but there are several varieties to choose from.

You will need scissors, a circle punch, mine is 1", hot glue gun, vintage or even small images from past Christmas cards, a strip of 12 x1 inch paper strip and a small square for the back of the rosette you will be making from the strip. 

 Take the 12x1 inch strip of paper ink the edges  and  then score it every 1/4 inch, then accordion fold it to the end. Attach the ends together making sure your valley folds and peak folds line up the glue in place. 

 Now press the circle down and push it in to form a rosette like shown below, you actually need 3 hands at this point but don't get discouraged it is well worth it in the end.

 The side you want face up on your snowflake lay face down for now. Get your square piece of paper and hot glue gun. Made sure you work on a surface that you won't damage with hot glue, a non stick mat or whatever you are using. Squirt some glue down into the hole then quickly take that square piece and place it over the hole. This will help keep the rosette together. I usually have my hand on the rosette but this was all done so I could take the picture to show you how it looks on the back side.

 Flip over and now you have a rosette. Vintage looking isn't it...now for the fun part.

 Add some hot glue to the piece of square paper on the back, stick to the center of the snowflake. Add your image to the top and any more little embellishments you like. These images are found around the net copyright free. Make sure your hanger is at the top before gluing everything in place.

I have done a few of these with little children's faces from Magic Moonlight site and some from FlickR etc. Use your children's faces, pictures from old photos, old postcards, past Christmas cards with tiny images. Add to packages or hang on the tree. Ornament exchanges, swaps etc. So easy and even the kids could help. How easy and frugal and they look so nice. 

Good craft show sellers as well, believe me they sold!!!

Enjoy.

  And this 8x10 canvas I taught a class at my community library on Thursday night during the 12 weeks of Christmas craft nights. It was inspired by the talented mixed media artist Christy Thomlinson and we had a blast. The girls really enjoyed this and we used, paints, stencilling, text pages, scraps of Christmas papers, water colour crayons and fonts from the computer. Each girl used different papers and loved using sequin waste for the first time and were amazed at how easy and effective this was. I even gave them an extra canvas to take home and make another on. It was a small class and we had a blast. A good time was had by us all. 

Thanks for dropping by....... and what can one do with paper circles and paper buttons?....

Stay tuned for our next Christmas quick tutorial. 

♥♥♥

Paper rears it's head

I didn't say ugly either. I have really missed playing with paper and this time of year I especially love creating cards and tags to top presents and to add to little things I send out.

Today after helping at the retirement home luncheon, I thought it would be nice to start a few things. I am sending out painted ornaments to the girls on our Friendly Palette group. We exchange ornaments yearly and we are building up quite a collection of each others little works of art. It's fun seeing what we come up with each year.

I decided on making some tags to go along with mine and I still need to add a bit of ribbon but these I thought were really cute. I got some stickers from the dollar store that were kind of Primitive and rustic looking. I did the spray ink on my work mat and smooshed around the ink on the tags, added a circle of paint here and there and inked the edges of the tags and they were done. Cute and quick. I hope the girls like them. 

  And I made a couple of cards for some recipients, these are 3D cards,  you add  dimensional tape to raise parts of the image. I used gold glitter and some gold corners. I got the blank tag cards from Michael's, I really like the look of these. Good thing I bought 2 packages. These Santa's were purchased locally from Ecstasy Crafts which is just down the road, a much too convenient store but it has quality and European designs which you can't find just anywhere.

Well it has been a full day.

I must start my shopping this week and get that last order done before my customer calls in a panic. I need someone to cut the wood length for me and if I can nab him before he goes to work tomorrow afternoon we are good to go. 

Take care and just wanted to let you know I have made a Facebook page for Harmony Road Studio so you can follow my arty doins  there as well.

TTFN ♥♥♥

New snowie ornaments

Hey there everyone. I am still doing some crafty things but not for shows. I am making a few little gifties for peeps I like to give a little something to. Since my Styrofoam head snowies all sold I decided to make a few more but I used a larger ball and I added a hat. The ball is covered in air dry clay, hat and nose is also clay then painted and embellishments attached. They look so cute on the tree. Now I need to get a couple little boxes from the dollar store and add a little tag and a cute little gift is made. They will be nice to hang all winter long and not just for Christmas. I decided I need to make these next year and will likely get at them  sometime in the New Year. I have one more order to complete and I need to get my Friendly Palette girls their ornies out for our annual ornament swap. They made it to their envelopes today, now just to finish up another item to put inside. Lots to do and still shopping to be done....where does the time fly???

Til next time...Fa la la la la.....

♥♥♥

A custom order

I painted this for a custom order I got at one of my craft shows. I did it in a couple of days, usually it takes me only a few hours but I am trying to give my back and shoulders a break so just a bit at a time and it seems  to be improving. This is a Terrye French design. The young lady that ordered it wanted something for her Mom for Christmas and she likes owls. I knew immediately what to do. I am just waiting to hear back from her to see if she wants a saying or a word at the top then I will seal this and add the hanger to it.  One more order to complete, then a Christmas gift to paint, can't show that one and some holiday goodies. Oh what fun it is to play.......

Thanks for dropping by

♥♥♥

Craft show season and I am done

Stick a fork in me and I am done....I finished up my last show yesterday and it was not as successful as the last 2.  Everyone felt the pinch as well. All the vendors looked like deer in headlights waiting for the day to end. There was a lot of traffic and many lookers but not many buyers. Seems if someone wanted something in particular they could find it but the purses were clammed up real tight. Oh well not a good ending to the season but I was quite happy with the other 2 and my wonderful MIL sold some items for  me in the retirement home and so the Christmas shopping begins. 

I stayed in my PJ's all day and layed around this morning ,but, after lunch I got up and started to clean up the studio. I put books away, paints that I no longer needed and tidied up. You can actually see my table now. 

I have 2 small orders to complete and a gift to paint then I can put it all away for a while. 

I also have another workshop in December at the library and that should be fun. Before anyone saw the project  I had ,4 signed up. The sample has been there a couple weeks now so I need to call to see how many are in the class to do up my kits for them. Should be fun, the last class was wonderful.

Items that sold were my gourds of course, signs, yesterday small items like tree ornaments, a hot mat, which I just finished doing up for this last show, and soap. My painted soaps were flying off the table and I had about 15 or so of them and came home with only a few. Funny how things fly, no one was really interested in them at the other 2 but this show, the low cost items were going.

I also had a wonderful surprise at my show. My very talented paint friend Marie came by and surprised me. On Face book I put the address where I was going to be and she and her man drove 3 hours to come see me. Marie and a few of us painting buddies met online years ago and we branched off and formed our own Yahoo group and kept in touch and we all met face to face a couple of times. I was so shocked I couldnt' speak and when I did I wanted to ball my eyes out. It was a lovely visit and I cannot thank her enough for such a thoughtful gesture. It is still putting a smile on my face. 

Take care all and stay tuned for some holiday fun here at the studio. I wanted to do a holiday blog hop with a few other fellow bloggers but being the time of year it gets busy and it wasn't a good time for them. So stay tuned closer to December and I will share some quick and easy ideas for your holiday season.

TTFN, ♥♥♥

Cyndi Combs snowman design ornaments

 My friend Marie's design painted on a cork hot mat

 Renee Mullins design on a hot mat

Show report

Hi everyone, another show done and it was a big success. The Quinte Christian High School put on a really good event this year, this is my 3rd year already and this was the best so far. I only have a few photos to show you but I was very pleased with all I did, I sold a lot of items, painted gourds, cupboard doors, canvases, tree ornaments, a little ginger tea pot, framed paintings with snowmen, and lots more. I have one more show to do next weekend. I will be busy so you won't see me on here probably for a good week or so. I have so much to do and so little time to do it in. Henry insisted he went to see what I was up to....I had no choice but to take him along. He got a little sad when all his snow family started leaving with these strange people and to see them all being wrapped in tissue and into bags shocked the poor fella. Oh well Henry doesn't know it yet but he will be seeing more gourdy folk on the table this week. Take care all, it was a great show and I have much to do.

Thanks for stopping by.

♥♥♥

Just a few more painted pieces

So I am down to the last day and half before my next show. I did get a few more things done but I really wanted to do more but time seems to be just whizzing by. Not sure what is up with that but anyways I can't control time and I will be fine, I just like to have lots of stock.

Here are a couple more items I want to show you and then I will be off for a few days. Friday starts my next show and all day Saturday so by Sunday I will be beat.\

This is a 9x12 canvas I did a Deb Malewski design on. I did the border with a flurry of snowflakes and had as much fun doing that as I did the design. I just love to paint freely and slip slap the paint.

  This is a cupboard door I got from my local Habitat for Humanity store. I painted a vintage Santa with toys designed by Katrina Roncin. I miss her designing, she was a great folk artist. I wonder whatever happened to her.???

 And meet my painting mascot, Henry. Henry was born in the garden about 2 years ago now. He was premature and didn't grow very large. Last year I started to paint him but he got put aside because he has a rather knobby belly. So this year I pulled Henry out again, added a face, buttons, his hat is too large and his scarf is mismatched for the colour of his coat and hat. Henry doesn't mind, he keeps me going and tells me when to take a break. He is a little worried here tho because there seems to be a lot of noses hanging around....not sure what that means....he is worried.

 And tonight Henry decided to leap into my container of water which looks dreadful and told me to stop. I have been at it since early this morning so he wanted to see that I took care of myself. Henry wasn't hurt at all in this photo, he just leapt right in but landed on some paintbrushes that were still in the water. That little devil Henry......

 And now 2 more Gourdy Folk with noses, so Henry can be assured those noses are being used.

Thanks for dropping by and will report back after my next show. 

Take care and thank you for all your lovely comments and support.

♥♥♥

Very busy of late

Hello everyone,

First of all I would like to thank those of you that have left me comments on FB and on here as well during the recent loss of my father. As sad as I am I am relieved that he no longer suffers from the devastating disease of dementia. Such a terrible condition to those affected and loved ones. I think of him daily and  have  many fond memories of him. I love you Dad ♥.

 I have not blogged in quite some time but since returning from out west I have been so busy. Craft show season is upon me and I am going to be teaching another class at my local library in December. I forgot to take a picture of what we will be doing but it is going to be a lot of fun. A mixed media canvas, a paper tree with layers of different Christmas paper, Stickles glitter glue, stencilling, paint and a whole lot of fun. 

I found this tutorial on Pinterest and if I get a chance to get a picture of what I did I will post it but it has been taken to the library as a sample. There are 4 people signed up already even without seeing what I did. 

The stocking was a huge hit with the girls I think they are waiting for more fun, at least I hope so. Woohoo, I find instructing a lot of fun and very rewarding. So nice to see others faces after they completed the project. Simple painting with a little how to and before you know masterpieces are complete. 

I recently had a craft show and I did quite well. I have 2 more and they are keeping me busy. Gourds are a hit again this year and some signs, ornaments and canvases as well. I was shocked at the lovely comments, peeps asking if I had a store, no I don't and don't intend on it but peeps were willing to take my little cards and many wanted to know if I could paint things for them in the future. Anyways a good show and my next one is this Friday and  Saturday. I have done  this show 2 years already and always a good crowd and well advertised. 

Just checking in and letting you know I am still around. I hope to be able to post a pic or two in the next few days of a few things I just finished up.

Take care and always love to hear from you.

TTFN, ♥♥♥

craft class complete and....

Some more painting to show you and craft items.

First of all last night was my night to teach the stocking class at my local community library.  The library planned a 12 weeks of Christmas program and so far it has been a huge success. 

Last night I did my wood stocking with painting and scrap paper and a few little embellishments. I showed you the stocking a few posts ago and here I will share a couple photos I took last night....everyone really enjoyed themselves and the stockings turned out wonderful. Each one was a bit different and I really enjoyed the looks on the ladies faces after they completed them. 

Some of the girls taking a break, admiring and finishing up. A good time was had by all.

 Happy faces and a look of accomplishment. Art is fun.

 A close up shot of one of the girls. We struggled with the paper for the heel and the toe but we finally got it the way she wanted it to look. 

And lots of things finally piling up. I had this done before I had to go out west. This is a Terrye French design, the pattern was purchased on the Painting with Friends site. It was a lot of fun and I knew I had these in my stash for a reason. Only took me a few years but when I saw this pattern it fill the bill.

 And working on my gourds. This year my gourds are a little larger to work with. This little fella has cut out stars and a battery operated tea lite inside. You can barely see the light but it is better in the evening. I added a bit of snow on his nose but I think he needs some on his hat as well.

 And here is Miss Snow Flake....isn't she darling. I found some scrap polar fleece in my stash then went to work on the colour theme for this one. I just love how she turned out. If she doesn't sell I will be planting her somewhere in my house over the holidays. Chances are if the gourds did well as they did last year, she may not be around long. I am also working on cat gourds and Grinch gourds.....stay tuned for more of my Gourdy Folk. 

 And a few weeks ago I found some beautiful sparkly snowflakes and I had no idea what I was going to do with them but I grabbed a package because soon Christmas things will be flying off the shelf. I must go get some more as I really like how these turned out. They were a total freak ornament. I had made a rosette for something and it was too big so I placed it on the snowflake and said wow I like this. then I found some sticker snowflakes and placed that in the center then placed a rinchie on top. As you can see one of them has a tiny bow for a splash of colour. They were so quick and easy to do. I have some vintage Santa's I will be making later this week. My first show is next weekend so I am really starting to get revved up. 

Thank you for looking and also thank you for your condolences on my Father's passing. I cannot thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, it is really helping me through these rough days but I plug away and I have many memories to cherish of my dear Dad.

Til next time.....♥♥♥

Been away

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, on October 13th my father passed away. I had to travel to Victoria BC to make arrangements for his cremation and " Celebration of Life" ceremony. My dad suffered from dementia but was well looked after by the wonderful staff at Glengarry Hospital. 

I will miss my dad dearly, I will remember many life lessons he taught me, many fond memories were made and remembered and I have no regrets. He was a beautiful, giving and loving man. A man that left an impression on you. I say that because he was my dad but I also heard it from many people who knew him.

I love you dad and you will be resting with mom now. 

As I grieve and pick up and move forward I will have him in my heart forever. 

Thank you all for your support on FB and privately, your words have really helped me through this difficult time.

Take care and if I disappear for a while you will understand where I will be.

♥♥♥

Flying paint and lacking mojo.

Hello friends.

You probably thought I was lost in space....no actually I am planted on my chair in the kitchen studio trying to get my mojo going but it is really lagging lately. 

Here are some things I have ready for my shows.

This is a wood salad bowl. painted by me of course, this is a Cyndi Combs design. A wonderful designer and painter and very easy and quick patterns to do which I like this time of year.

 This is for the Retirement home. I help my MIL and her friend serve lunch once a week and I asked them if they would like me to do a little prize thing after Thanksgiving. We didn't serve a meal this past week because here in Canada we celebrate it earlier in the US. Our Thanksgiving was earlier this year for some reason. So this will be draw a name kind of thing in the next few weeks as peeps will be starting to decorate for Christmas. this is a Monika Brint design which I added music paper wings just for something different.

I think I will add some Stickles to the Joy, it needs a bit of bling.

Here are some paint stick ornaments, you can find the tutorial here at Today's Fabulous Finds.

This idea I got from Pinterest but I did my faces a little different. Cover a styrofoam ball with air dry clay the marshmallow type, oh and I pushed a wire loop hanger through first then cover. Let dry. I then added white acrylic paint so I could paint the facial features on there. Added air dry clay noses and add ribbon to hang. These were so much fun, easy and the only hard part is waiting for the clay to dry. I hope I sell a few of these, if not, I will hang them on my tree.

And last but not least is the Tyendinaga Library 12 weeks of Christmas project I will be doing in a couple of weeks. This is a wood 1/4 inch plywood stocking cut out by me. Painted and distressed and added some scrappiness to it and I even rusted the jingle bells.

Well that is it. I had started this post earlier today but was cut short due to many phone calls and trying to find out more about my Dad's condition. 

Take care all and I will return in about a week.

Going to be away

Hello friends. 

Well it has been quite a time with illness and loved ones struggling with health.

I am going to be away next week for a few days visiting my father in British Columbia. He has been deteriorating and we had some alarming news earlier today but tonight the report is quite different. I will be going out to see for myself how he is doing, a much needed trip anyways since I have not been to see him in almost 2 years. 

Take care all, hug the ones you love, tell them you love them and make fond memories together.

♥♥♥

And drum roll please

Rosie in an action shot showing you the names in the bowl. Remember you had 3 chances to win and I did go and check blogs to see if my button was posted.....

 Here I am anxiously waiting to open to see who won........and the winner is....

 Tee from The Altered Paper....

Tee has been informed via email, CONGRATULATIONS.

I will be adding a little pile along with the Boo canvas for you to use in your art and crafting. 

Thank you all for entering. 

I have been keeping very busy, today I was out cutting wood stockings for my craft night at the library. I had to turn down a show today because I had already paid for one the same weekend. Too bad because it was one that was being held by the library, there was a cancellation and they called me. Oh well this happens now and again and so many shows this time of year. 

Take care all and I will give you a little update soon to show you what I have been working on.

TTFN ♥♥♥

Weenie Giveaway Deadline is

fast approaching. Don't forget to leave me a comment, and post my button on your blog for an extra chance to win, if you are not already a follower then become one and you will get a third chance to win. 

Click here for details and the prize. I will be including much more than this canvas so what you see isn't necessarily what you will get. I will be packing up some goods for you to use in your art. 

Time is flying by and much more to paint. 

TTFN and I will be announcing the winner on Thurs. Oct.4th. 

♥♥♥

Just a little note

I forgot I had a "no copy" code on my blog so if you were trying to copy the code for my giveaway you can now do so. Thank you for reminding me, you know who you are. Come sign up.....

♥♥♥

A Little Weenie Giveaway

Hi friends

well I have been busy painting for my shows and now and again I get itchy fingers to do a mini mixed media. This latest one is done in the theme for Hallow e'en and I am going to give it away to one lucky winner.

This is a 5x7 canvas board and is an original OOAK piece by me. Who knows maybe one day I will be famous (NOT) and you will have one of my treasured originals.

All you have to do is post a comment. If you are already a  follower or  become one, let me know in your post and you will be eligible for a 2nd chance to win. And if you also post my little button on your blog and tell others about my draw you will get your name thrown in for a 3rd chance to win.

I generally do not do much in the way of  Hallow e'en. I live in the country and we get, if we are lucky, 3 kids. We don't have children or grandchildren so it is not something I decorate for. I do like costumes and fun things related to it but it is not one event I plan for.

I will include some things along with this canvas but perhaps not Hallow e'en related but items you can use in your art. If you have seen my giveaways before you will know I like to give.

So sign up and get a chance to win.

I must slip away to get a button made so hang in and look for it along my sidebar.

Name will be chose on October 4th. I will not be doing a giveaway til probably again in December because I am busy getting things done for my shows.

Thank you everyone who follows and leaves me lovely comments.

Take care and good luck.

BOO!♥♥♥

I've been busy

Hello everyone, seems like ages since I posted.

As you all know I am getting ready for craft shows and so far I am in 2 but sometimes another one pops up, so, always good to have lots on hand. I have been working on canvases, ornaments and wall hangings. I will have some pics to follow here shortly.

Also I have been helping out once a week at the retirement home where my MIL lives and getting to know the folk over there, not to mention the hugs and kisses from the men. It is easy for them to remember one name and I am trying to remember over 20+. Each week there seems to be someone new but I am slowly getting to know them. There is always a good crowd that turn up.

I have also been doing more drawing and a few small mixed media canvases. These are for some very special peeps so won't mention who they are for so it is a surprise.

These new drawing are inspired by a blog I found called  PBS Art Studio.   I used Prisma colour pencil crayons to do my faces, watercolour for the hair, scrapbook paper for dresses and any other bits I find in my stashes. The thing about mixed media I love is just reach for something in your stash and see if it fits the feel of your project. 

This piece below is going to someone very special to me. I hope she likes it. These are mini canvas boards that can sit on a desk or bookshelf on a little easel. I love making stamps out of fun foam, dripping paint, using my texture paste and just having fun. Love her little crown and little friend that has come to visit. 

Cherish the moment.....

 this piece was totally inspired by the birdy paper in my stash and the colour blue. This little fairy has wings made of book page with inked edges and Glossy Accents then when that dried I added gold gel pen around the edges. Again texture paste, which I am still using from my original post I shared here.

There's always a song in the air, somewhere......

 This canvas was a totally blow myself away piece.....I was stunned at how it turned out. I found a blog and sorry I forgot at the moment where it is but it was from either the UK or Australia and the blogger showed how to make the flowers out of round circles cut from fun foam, paint on the circle then take a sylus or even  pen tip and draw  the swirls in the paint before stamping on your work, the area you drew in will not have any paint and makes a cute flower. I also made the leaves as well. I made an error using orange paint then when I was trying to rub it out I smeared it and liked it so I just added some more. Happy accidents I say happen for a reason sometimes. I still need some words on this, something about a garden or in deep thought. It will come to me....

 And this piece I just love and it is going to my cuz over in the UK. She is expecting her first child and I just wanted to do something fun. She is away in Venice right now with her man so I hope she doesn't come take a peek. I got a new paper pack and loved the tea stained papers in it so  I worked around them. I even stamped in white paint the 9 months starting at the top 9,8,7 and so on to the bottom but you can't see some of them because of paint or whatever is covering them up. It is very subtle. I will pop this in with a few little baby gifties and send off soon. I hope EJ likes it. Makes me smile and I have never been pregnant.

 And of course painting for shows continues.....these are dollar store frames I found. They had a burlap print on them but I tore them off, turned it over and the side I painted was nice and smooth. These are my favourite snowmen to paint, designs by Monika Brint.

 2 more with sandpaper star and corrugated paper heart attached

 And finally a John Sliney design I haven't painted in years. This is so quick and worked up nice on canvas. I used a different font for the Welcome and did some distressing to the letters.

 Today I did a canvas with a Monika Brint angel design that I started last year, well I base coated the background but never got beyond that, so ,I dug it out and completed it today so things are slowly accumulating but still a ways to go.

Thank you for stopping by and stay tuned to see my paint stick ornaments, they are so quick, easy and very economical do to. The best part for me was the paint sticks were FREE.

TTFN♥♥♥