Sharing the Love of Christmas Trees

Life gets to busy, and this year I slowed it down with some holiday crafting. Shortly after Thanksgiving my daughter and I added a table in the kitchen so we could craft all through the holiday season.  I picked up some inspiration to make a Christmas Trees, which has developed into a full blown passion.  The best part of having a craft table in the kitchen is I can stop and work on a tree in between making cookies, addressing Christmas Cards, etc.

Red Bird Christmas

Snow Angel Christmas

    Silver & Snow

  Sparkle of Christmas

                                                                    

These are ornaments or table decorations, starting on the table: 1) Burlap Sparkle 2) Seuss Christmas

3) Shimmers of Green 4) Feathers of Pink 5) Little Sparkle 

Southern Charm

Hope you are enjoying every moment of the holiday season with the people you love. Time to work on my gingerbread trees and bake some more cookies.  Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday.

With Artistic Flair
Susan

Christmas Tree Tutorial

CHRISTMAS TREE TUTORIAL

This will be my first tutorial for 2011, and this project is so easy I know you'll want to make your own Christmas Tree.  Supplies you will need:  Poster board, hot glue gun, Mod Podge, acrylic paints, lace, trims, beads, flowers.  I have accumulated a variety of trims over the years.  When shopping I find its best to create a small goodie bag of trim, don't forget to check out both the wedding section as well as the children's bead section, you will save money this way.  

Step 1:  Make your cone with your poster board. Tape, staple or hot glue it together.  Next you will paint your base any color you like using acrylic paints, I selected to paint my gold.

Step 2:  Add your base layer of fabric, trim, or lace.  I purchased this lace just recently at a garage sale and used it as my base layer.   Layer your lace on to the poster board with Mod Podge and allow to dry completely.  I let mine dry over night before going on to the next step.  

Step 3:  Begin with the wide trim at the top and wrap it down the tree, I then added the beaded trim . Next a small strand of pearls, and lastly the large beads.  These large beads were in the children's section, I just cut them off the strand and hot glued those babies on.  

Step 4:  To create my tree topper I selected flowers from the bridal section, hot glued them into the hole at the top of my cone.  

TA DA, the completed Christmas Tree

This tree stands about 19 inches tall but you can make yours any size you'd like using different colors,  trims, beads, pearls, etc.  


Please send me pictures of the ones you make and leave a comment.
xxx
Susan

Custom Cards

I just love making cards, and these are just some of the latest.

Have a wonderful week.

xxx susan

Time Flys When You Are Playing

Where has the time gone, in my last post I was preparing for Petal Pushers Grand Opening which was a huge success.  My friend and store owner Glenna and Suzan the floral designer put on a great party supported by their family, friends and the community.   You find will my aprons, christmas ornaments, birdhouses, cards and 1 lantern for sale in the store.

 holiday hostess aprons

 my cards are in the box on the table

 holiday hostess aprons and my decorated/lettered birdhouse

decorative / lettered birdhouse in an arrangement

yes, that's my lantern hanging in the front of the store.  

My life is busy and I'm loving every minute of it!! 

 Next on my list to prepare for is the Boone County Artist Showcase. 

Your Creative Friend

Susan

News and Updates

It is my great pleasure to announce you will be able to purchase my cards, ornaments and aprons at Petal Pushers in Crescent Springs, KY.  If you live in the area please stop by for the Grand Opening, it would be great to see you.

  

I have been working on a new lantern idea, a simple design using my calligraphy, canvas, free motion stitching, FW ink, etc. My next step is to purchase the light fixture to see if I need to add any additional holes for light to shine through.    

Painting and lettering on the canvas.

Place holes in the canvas

Added fabric to wooden ring

Sewing bead to the bottom

Adding flowers

Added beads, rhinestones

Still needed to find a really large bead for the twine to go through

That's it, please leave a comment and have a wonderful day.

Susan

I was inspired to make this piece shortly after 9/11 for a calligraphy class I was taking at the time.  I
remember those who lost their lives, the families that survived this tragedy, and those who continue to fight for our freedom every day.  I love my country.

Create with Love.
Susan

Diamond in the Rough

This piece has led me on a journey of self discovery. I had a mision, and a plan for the canvas when I purchased it and started painting immediately.  Everything stopped as soon as I asked myself the simple question of "What do I do now?"  My answer was to hang it on the wall, and wait for some insight.  While flipping through my son's street art book, I found myself intrigued with a spray paint drip technique used on many different surfaces. This sent me into my studio to explore and play with this technique on my piece.  I loved the results created from the running paint. 

(Added the running, dripping technique)

Now I had to think about what quote I would use,  not just any quote.  Ultimately I was moved to express what I truly wanted to receive as an artist from my own community and the world.  The words flowed out of me, revealing the desire to be treated with the same positive and affirming praise I had seen other artists receive.

(Lettering my quote)

It is my belief that we all  desire to be accepted and embraced by our peers.  It is an added bonus when our artwork is purchased.  Not all of us are embraced this way by the world because we are seen as accomplished or threatening.  

(The yellow and orange in this piece represents the light inside ourselves trying to shine)

 Criticism can be devastating, and I struggle anytime I'm on the receiving end. Nevertheless, my desire to create was not diminished and I found myself back in my studio creating with an even stronger resolve to grow.

(Adding center lettering and gold to complete my piece)

I know this piece is far from perfect, however it is perfectly me, and to think any other way would be counter productive.  Art is an expression of ones heart, therefore, there is no right or wrong.  Creating art is my meditation. It can be my best friend, my teacher, or an expression of love.  It's my hope that this piece will be thought provoking. I'll close with something to ponder. Would praise and encouragement bring out the jewel that is the diamond in the rough?

Your Creative Friend
Susan

Bag it Abstract

Just playing around in my studio as usual,  my inspiration was stirred today by the music I was playing.


The first piece is a bag that I just had to paint, then letter and sew for my notes to the universe. This piece needs some embellishment, a tag, and whatever else I think of before I added my notes.

This second piece is an abstract in which only the background was done. At the time I completely lost my inspiration and direction.  It's been hanging on my wall for several months, awaiting my inner courage to arise and conquer the fear, while slaying away the negative thoughts.  Today, I was empowered to be free and open to new possilblities deep within myself.  Yes, I know it's a little dramatic, but what fun to have such lofty ideas floating around in my mind.  I will say that I was inspiring to reach beyond my fear of messing it up.

It's time to get back to work. Don't worry, I'll show you the completed piece.

Your Creative Friend
Susan

The Creative Connection

Well, I'm sure most of you have read "Where Women Create" and maybe even "Where Women Cook"!!  This September it's time for "The Creative Connection," 3 days of jam pack information that will motive, educate and inspire each individual that attends.  It goes without saying, I would love to attend this conference!!!!!!  In BLOGHER HANDMADE, women will learn about: social media, building community, growing your reach, using technology, creative bloggers, craft + money, and craft, passion, and sustainability.

I'm send out good vibes to the universe in hopes that I will win the 2 tickets, so I can take my little sister, who is an amazing doll maker.  We have never attended an event like this one, and probably never will due to the distance and cost, so dear Fairy Godmother spinkle some magic fairy dust in our direction.

If you have been on the fence about going,  do it, just go.  If I could I would have purchased my ticket as soon as registration was open.

DREAM BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

your creative friend
Susan

Decorative Bali Lantern Workshop

Decorative Bali Lantern Workshop

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of teaching how to make a Decorative Bali Lantern which is fashioned after the Balinese lanterns made for celebrations.  The twist is in the material used to make the lantern.  My student, Kristen graduated from college with an art degree, and is now teaching art to high school students.  So this was a time for Kristen to explore and be inspired and possibly teach this to her students in the future.  After talking about products, materials and doing some demonstrations, it was time for Kristen to work.  In this workshop, I gave Kristen the option to make a large or small lantern.

 demonstration with a smile

Kristen working on her background

Kristen lettering her panels 

Kristen's lantern panels

One happy student!  Love It!!

Here are a couple of lanterns I recently completed.  This quote is all mine!!!

It's also fun to make triangle shape lanterns

This is the lantern that was published in Somerset Studio Magazine

In closing, I would like to thank my dear teacher Lisa Engelbrecht for the inspirational video.

Your Creative Friend

Susan