A PARTY WITH PRIZES, A PLEASURE, AND A PAINTING...

Don't you just love a good party? Well, Karen of My Desert Cottage is having one and all the land of blog is invited! She will be hosting WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE II on June 19th, 2010. This is an opportunity to show off your creative space whether it be a TV tray, card table, kitchen table, converted closet, or full blown studio.

Jo Packham of Where Women Create will be offering these great prizes:

* The first prize is a feature in Where Women Create Magazine! Jo will have the tough job of handpicking the winner.

* There will be six random selections among the party goers for the following prizes:
2 - 1 year subscriptions to Where Women Create Magazine!
2 Sets of Jo's books - Where Women Create and The Book of Inspiration
2 WWC Charm Bracelets

For full details and how to sign up to participate, please visit Karen at this link. Trust me, you will not want to miss this party it was THE event of the blog season last year. It is a great place to meet new friends and be inspired by all the creatives here in the land of blog.

I had the pleasure of meeting a new blogger, via email, this week and she has decided to start her own blog and I'd love to introduce her to you. Marylin of Cordelia's World just got her new blog underway and I would love it if you would give her a warm welcome to the neighborhood. She also has a wonderful shop, The Colonial Hitching Post, where she sells a whole host of items from greeting cards, collectibles, collage works, books, and more, so pay a visit to her store, you might just find something you have been looking for.

It is also my pleasure to tell you about a new blog shop that has opened up, Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered launched her new blog shop this past weekend! Lisa's art is amazing, you might remember that she taught me to make this in Artist Class: If it has not been snapped up there is the most amazing fabric collage featuring a tiny bird for sale over there, so go see! Congrats and best of wishes to both Marylin and Lisa on their new endeavors.

Here at the Quill I am still enmeshed in trying to settle into the new studio space. I dusted off my pencils and paint brushes yesterday and started a little sketching and decorative painting BUT, (and it is a big one), I am not a happy camper with the ensuing results - I AM RUSTY! Yes'em I am, rusty as an old bucket set out in the rain too long, as the old sayin' 'round here goes. Diane, in case you are reading this, it is NOT like ridin' a bike, it does not come back so easy as all that.Use it or lose it comes to mind, well, I think I must be losing not only my painting skills but my mind as well with this little painterly project. It may just disappear altogether. I will at least finish the bird and the nest and then decide before I go much further and waste any more time on it. To be continued...(sorry about the yucky photos, the lighting in the new space is awful!!! working on that though)Did you notice that I gave you a lot of little linky things to click on today? Well, that is so I can divert the attention away from my lack of things to blog about here at the moment. Tomorrow I will try and finish the new free tutorial so I have something fun to share by the weekend, fingers still crossed that it gets done by then. Well, I am off to either finish this painting or to paint over it. Have a bliss filled day!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

A COUPLE OF CLASSY PROJECTS...

"Walk the earth, stepping beauty into everything that you do."

-Nina Bagley-

(Quote used with authors permission)

One thing I love about the art community is the generosity of the sharing of ideas, techniques, and sometimes even their inspiring words. I encountered three such artist this week and I wanted to share them with you.

With spring in full swing and May just around the corner the thought of the old tradition of the May Basket was the inspiration for Mary of Mary's Meanderings to share a free May Basket Tutorial.(Photo property of Mary's Meanderings used with permission)

The May Basket tradition has roots that go back the early European settlers of the American continent. In some parts of the United States, May Baskets were and still are made. These baskets are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someones door step. The basket giver would ring the bell and run away. The person receiving the basket would try to catch the fleeing giver. If they caught the person, a kiss would be exchanged.

(Photo property of Mary's Meanderings used with permission)

Mary's beautiful baskets would make lovely party favors!

I know you are going to get tired of me gushing about Artist Class - Art Tutorials but I cannot help myself after having done the first class project yesterday. The first artist to share her tutorial is Lisa McIlvain of Tarnished & Tattered. Her project is a Tattered Mother's Day Collage.I used Lisa's technique to create a collage, personalizing the theme, to hang in my studio as an inspiration piece. I love that I not only learned a new technique but that this project really challenged me to step away from precise placement and to let loose and have fun!

For quite some time I have wanted a piece to hang on my studio door. It needed to be something special, something personal, something inspirational, and something that announced that beauty and creativity lay just beyond the threshold. Lisa's tutorial brought about the desired results...For my image, I used a clipping I had saved from a magazine that depicts a group of women gathered in a room devoting themselves to the study of art, a reminder of the wonderful community of artistic women who share my passion. Each one holds a paint brush and pallet as they each paint their own unique interpretation of a still life set before them.My creative career began as a decorative painter. Painting was my bread and butter and allowed me to bring in an income and still be a stay at home wife and mother. I chose the theme of painting as a reminder of where I began. I embellished my collage with one of my ratty old paint brushed, a mini paint pallet, and a small square canvas.I thought my piece needed words as I always like to incorporate some sort of verbiage in my art. I looked at quotes. I searched through favorite books. I flipped thorough Scripture. Nothing seemed right, so, I gave up and went to visit some blog friends. That is where I found the beautiful caption that graces the top of my art work.

I visited Nina Bagley of Ornamental when I was arrested by these words in her post, "...walk the earth, stepping beauty into everything that they do." Nina was referring to the students she had just encountered in a class she recently taught. I could not get past that phrase knowing that this is the essence of what every artist hopes to do - walk the earth stepping beauty into everything they do.

I contacted Nina asking her permission to use her words and to make one little change from "they" to "you" to make the quote more personal and she graciously gave her permission. Nina's words, captioned at the top of this piece will now encourage me to step across the threshold of my studio, into this working place devoted to the study of art, and to the best of my God given ability to walk my artful journey stepping beauty into everything I set my hands to create.

Mary, Lisa, and Nina, ladies, you are each in a class of your own and I thank you for sharing your projects, your ideas, and even your words to enhance my artful journey!

Blessings,

Miss Sandy

P.S. A little side note on permissions - you should never use another person's idea, photo, or even their words without seeking permission first. If Nina had said no then I would have waited to find the right thing to use on my art piece. I think it is very important to respect the ideas of those who came up with them.

GARDEN PARTY IN FULL SWING...

"Take thy plastic spade,

It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours."

-William Mason, The English Garden, 1782-

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend. Ours pretty much looked like this...It was overcast with a light hazy drizzle almost all day but still a quite pleasant day to reflect on the significance of the celebration. This was our first ever holiday without being surrounded by any family and that gave me a whole new perspective on how those who do not have anyone to celebrate with must feel. I think that was my Easter gift this year, compassion, a new understanding and compassion, a lovely gift to receive.

I think it is always sad to see a celebration come to an end, but, with springs arrival, Garden Parties can begin! If you are looking for the artsy crafty type of party then check out Artist Class, which begins today and it is not too late to sign up. Be sure and use the discount code of: quillcottage to receive $10.00 off the class price.I played around with my Butterfly Garden Fairy Cupcake Pick, which is my tutorial for the class, last evening and came up with a paper cupcake to poke it in for my own pleasure, although a real cupcake would be much more yummy...I was a little bummed this morning when I went to take a photo of the cupcake, evidently the craft glue I used reacted with the Styrofoam ball and the cupcake part sunk a little. The pearl part was more rounded out than it is now but I guess it still looks OK. Styrofoam is so tricky to work with when gluing, oh well.

If you are looking for a few fun and fanciful ideas for entertaining at your next garden party then may I refer you to an older post HERE where I share some ideas for decorating your next party, like these...Oh, and don't forget that I am celebrating spring with a Give Away, you can SIGN UP AT THIS LINK. Here are the three prizes I am giving away...I started a new art piece this last week and thought I might give you a sneak peek of its beginnings...I also have my hands full of sweet little flowers to use in my next tutorial to share with you here...Today promises to be a very busy one both in and out of the studio, no parties for me! I hope you all have wonderful plans in store for your day and that you day is filled with joy!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

CUPCAKES, TAGS, AND WAX...

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."
-Proverb-

You might be wondering what cupcakes, tags, and wax have to do with one another and the answer is...nothing, except that this is what I have been up to creativity wise recently.

I have agreed to be a contributing artist in the April session of Artist Class, so, today I will be in studio all day finalizing my project before I begin the tutorial and photography. I'll be demonstrating how to make a Butterfly Garden Fairy Cupcake Pick like the sample below: The theme of this session of Artist Class is a Garden Party, below is a collage of projects put together by Mary (Green Paper), the hostess of the event:If you are interested in signing up for the class, which begins on April 5, the class fee for access to 12 unique projects, each individually designed by 12 artists, is $49.00 BUT if you use my discount code: quillcottage, you get $10.00 off the class fee making the price $39.00. To find out more about the class, artist, and projects, visit the highlighted link that reads: Artist Class above.

I will still be away from the computer most of the week but will respond to comments and emails as I am able. I still have few posts scheduled so posting will take place even if I am not around. I cannot thank you enough for all the moral support over the last few days. It has meant so much to me. I deeply feel the quote at the top of this post, in time and season, all things do get better. Thank you for being there.

I gave you a preview of a trio of tags I was working on in an earlier post. I was experimenting with printing on tissue paper. Not one of my better ideas. I did manage to salvage pieces of the printing but it was very delicate and hard to work with yet kind of forgiving in the application process. I loved how it felt thin like onion skin, which gives me an idea, I wonder if they still make onion skin paper? I'll have to check and see. Anyway, below are the trio of tags in their finished state.

I think I may have already shown you the first one, Bird House:This is my favorite of the three. The image is from an old book cover. I used one of the hand painted nut shell eggs as an embellishment in an acorn cap nest lined with moss.Friendship:This is such a sweet little image taken from an old photo. They were probably sisters, the very best kinds of friends. The mini paper flowers on this piece gave me fits!Show Me The Money:This tag was a tongue in cheek kind of design. The image is of an old check written in 1907 for $100.00. I used the "Benjamin" as a reference to the amount of the check. The dog image was on the corner of the check. I thought the money charm was a fun touch.As for what's on the worktable at the moment, besides my Artist Class project of a Butterfly Garden Fairy Cupcake Pick, are a set of bees waxed collage pieces. I am still playing with backgrounds, embellishments, and framing ideas. I like the springtime feel they have.

I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing that your heart is singing with the joy of spring."May brooks and trees and singing hills

Join in the chorus too,
And every gentle wind that blows,
Send happiness to you."
-Irish Blessing-

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

An Altered Tobacco Tin Tale...

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love , the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

~From the television show The Wonder Years~

Atop her desk among her most precious of things sat a little tobacco tin decorated with memories of the past. The tin itself was a teasing gift from her papa. One day he tossed it to her in jest in place of the usual piece of peppermint he kept hidden in his vest pocket. Not wanting him to get the last laugh, she made over the tin as if it were the best present she had ever received. Her papa ruffled her hair and said she may not only keep the tin but being such a good sport had earned her not one but two sweet treats. She smiled as she fingered the tin and remembered.She did not set out with intention to decorate the tin only to scuff off the rust so that anything she placed inside would not be soiled. In the removing of the rust, the surface was marred so she set out to pretty it up a bit with a pot of paint left over from the refurbishing of the old front gate.The tin then served as a keeper of girlhood fun. It once housed a set of silver jacks, a red bouncy ball, and a half stick of chalk for keeping score. Its contents changed from time to time as the girl grew. As girlhood faded quietly away and young womanhood approached a battered tobacco tin no longer seemed as attractive a companion as it had in the past.

Not wanting to part with the tin that so reminded her of her papa, she decided to embellish it a bit to make it a more fit companion. Snitched bits of the paper mama was hanging in the dinning room and swipes of paste, as well as grandma's discarded broken broach covered up the nicked paint. A hair ribbon or two replaced the previous contents as the tin took its place on her dresser.One day she sat twiddling and twirling the tin and a host of fancy trims mama had placed in front of her to decide which would be stitched upon her traveling frock. She liked the brown velvet ribbon with the sheer ruffling the best. Seeing that mama was not looking, she snipped a slip of trim for her tobacco tin, stowing it out of sight.One year later she came swirling into the room with dainty ribbons fluttering from the stem of a tiny button of a rose. She held the rose up to catch its barely there fragrance, smiling, and remembering the one who slipped it into her palm as they danced. She and her friends giggled over the romantic gesture, one of them removed a pin from her headdress to tack the tiny token to the waistband of the young woman's costume.From her silk bag she removed her dance cards of the evening. There were four of them in total, all given to her by the same flirtatious young man who gave her the rose. With each one he signed and handed her, a teasing banter took place. He wanted the dance of grace for what was surely her unmerited favor in partnering with him.The dance of beauty would give unparalleled pleasure to his senses as he gazed upon her.The dance of charm would further cast its magical spell over the evening as her feet moved like poetry and her smile a song.The dance of elegance would round out the evening in a refined manner as her gracefulness and gentility would unfold itself in the last waltz. This was the dance in which the tiny rose materialized in the palm of her hand.Wanting to savor the treasures of the evening but keeping them from prying eyes, her gaze lit upon the old tobacco tin. What better way to honor the sweet memories of the two men who had so completely captured her heart than to combine them as adornment for her tiny treasure box.Emptying the tin of its tangle of forgotten trim and no longer worn hair ribbons, she lovingly tucked each dance card inside, closing the lid tightly against inquisitive glances but opening her heart to new possibilities. Tacking the trim and rose bud tied ribbon in place with her friends borrowed pin was a perfect adornment for her memory tin.Many years later she unearthed the tin from a box of old trinkets. Its once bright paper had faded with age, the ribbon crinkled and sagged, the rose bud was dried and no longer fragrant. The lid was stubborn and unyielding to give up its secret contents as her aged fingers worked at loosening it. A metallic pop issued forth as it gave way, a smile spread across her lips as a single button tumbled out into the palm of her hand.She ran her thumb around the edges as she sat remembering. This was a button from her papa's vest, the one he always wore. The one that held peppermint candy, a big shiny gold pocket watch, and an old tobacco tin. She remembered the day she got it, another gift given in jest and meaningfulness.It was the day her mysterious young man from the dance made his intentions known. It was the day he nervously stood before her papa to ask for her hand in marriage as she waited anxiously in the garden, pacing past mama tending her pansy's and hoping her face would shine as happily as their little flower faces did in the next few moments. It did.Papa and her young man both walked towards her with sober expressions and her heart sank until she noted the twinkle in her papa's eye and the twitching corners of her intendeds mouth. Her papa scooped her up in a big bear~like hug while mama fluttered nearby in excitement. As he released her the middle button on his vest popped right off.

With a hearty laugh he scooped it from the ground and placed it in her palm telling her it was her grown up treat from him to her. A treat not unlike the peppermints of the past, sweet remembrances, this button was to be a reminder of the pride and joy he took in having her as his daughter. He was so proud that he did indeed burst his buttons over that fact, not due to his spreading middle he joked. She offered to sew it back on for him but he refused. He held her hands in his and gently closed her fingers over the button telling her to keep it to remember her old papa by. As if she could ever forget.Someone someday would find these tiny treasures among her possessions and fail to see their significance. Her fingers played across each embellishment as she sat lost in thought. They would not know the sweet treats and tobacco tin that were hidden in a vest pocket, so freely shared.

They would not see grandmothers fresh lace collar always pinned with her cameo broach and the sweet smile that ever hung just above it. They would not remember the taste nor smell of the delights of food or conversation that were held in the papered walls of mama's dinning room. They would not remember the traveling frock that kept her warm on the way to an autumn dance where she met a special young man who became her life companion.They would not know the history of the ribbon and the rose. They would not remember the charm, beauty, elegance, or grace that each dance card and memory held. They would not know that each of these memories were buttoned up with love that lasted a lifetime. But she knew by heart the tale of the old tobacco tin...

I hope you enjoyed my version of Beth's Artist Class Tutorial of an altered tin. Beth is one of the contributing artists who provided not only step~by~step illustrated instructions and beautiful vintage wallpaper downloads, but also gorgeous images in a few themes to make the tins in a variety of ways and uses. Thanks Beth, for a sweet project that fired the imagination for my tobacco tin tale.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy