Every Leaf a Miracle

I love leaves. When I'm on the phone doodling, I'm most likely doodling leaves. When I'm out on a walk, I can't help but gather interesting leaves along the way. Their shapes, colors and lines are always interesting. So it's not surprising that leaves make their appearance in my artwork quite frequently.

I recently made some stamps of, you guessed it. Leaves! Here are two examples of my stamps used in small paintings.

I also love poetry and like to incorporate it in my work. This lovely line from William Wordsworth, "With every leaf a miracle.." summed up my feelings about leaves perfectly.

Happy Paint Party Friday to my PPF friends. If you'd like to know more about this friendly challenge, here is the link: Paint Part Friday Thanks to Kristin and Eva for hosting this fun, friendly weekly challenge!

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!

A Crafty Interlude

I don't don't consider myself to be a crafty person, yet I love the idea of making things that can be useful. If I can repurpose some old, otherwise discarded items in the process, the more the better.

This idea was inspired by Jenny at Jennibelle studio, who makes marvelous handcrafted journals and other items. When I saw her post about turning a junk box into a beautiful new item, I was inspired to try it out myself.

I used paper scraps, including one with an inkjet image transfer, paint, and my own handmade stamps to decorate the papers. The papers were decoupaged on to the box. I then added some miscellaneous beads and buttons for a bit of embellishment.