Corrugated Cardboard Art: Christmas Garlands

I love making gifts at Christmas, if I can think of (or find) good ideas. This year's inspiration came from Jessica Sporn's fabulous Holiday Garland Tutorial. As soon as I watched her tutorial, I knew what I would make for gifts this year. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to order her lovely stencils and had to go ahead on the project without them.

I had so much fun making these garlands! They basically consist of a series of mixed media collages done on a corrugated cardboard substrate. The backgrounds are watercolor and/or fluid acrylic with stamping and other embellishments. I made my own very simple stencils and masks for the tree shapes this time, but would love to try out Jessica's beautiful stencils with some Christmas projects next year. Here are some photos of the individual collages as well as the finished garlands. I'm so excited with how they turned out. Thank you Jessica, for so generously sharing this great idea!

Hmmm... I did my own lettering on the first set of collages for my 'test garland' and decided not to do lettering on the rest. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to keep one of the garlands for myself! 

I ended up making four garlands (one for myself, of course) and one for each of my sisters. Making gifts like this is such a win-win situation. I get to do what I enjoy most while making something special and unique for the people I love. It sure beats rushing around in the stores, looking for gifts to buy. I hope you all had a chance to slow down and create during the busy holiday and that 2014 is a year full of time to paint and create!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. I always appreciate your comments.

Time Out for Christmas Cards

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas time is sending and receiving cards. I love it even more in this digital age when so much of our communication is online. This year I decided to make cards.

To make the cards, I first made some simple styrofoam stamps and then have been using a combination of collage and painted wash backgrounds for the cards. An old Christmas song book has been a wonderful source of cheerful messages and beautiful design elements.

My homemade cards are not perfect, which to me is part of the allure in these times of the mass produced, perfectly polished aesthetic.

Making cards gives me an excuse to do art during a busy time, and share a small piece of my creativity with those I love. My paint party Friday friends may wonder about the actual painting involved in making these cards -- and I'll admit I've missed connecting with you and wanted to check in. Plus, I did use watercolor for the backgrounds and acrylic for the stamping!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you're all finding a way to make art in the busy holiday season!