Fall Class Projects

We created two fantastic wreaths for fall classes.

The first is a beautiful burlap wreath with "pin-ups" to change out from season to season.  The Halloween pin-up is a large black bat and there will be a fall pin-up as well (still in the works).

This welcome turkey wreath for Thanksgiving is my personal favorite.  Isn't he adorable?

These are the fall pumpkin toppers that can be changed out with the Halloween toppers I showed in a previous post.  So cute that you can even add photos of loved ones.

And here's our autumn minibook.  It's a darling flip book filled with lots of textures and colors of the season (display stand not included in class but they are available for sale) which could be used for photos or even special fall recipes.  I think it would also be perfect to add notes from all family members of what they are grateful for during the Thanksgiving season.

Still more classes to share tomorrow!

More Halloween Projects

This project was very difficult to photograph.  Last spring we made these pretty wooden pedestals with glass and china plates and had birdhouse "accessories" to place on top.  For Halloween we created a witch's hat and pumpkin treat holder for the accessories.  

pumpkin treat bowl shown on pedestal

closeup of treat holder

witch's hat - lots of glitter and  sparkle

closeup of hat with scary spider

There are also two darling two-page layouts to choose from.

"Hoo Wants Candy" by Tracy

"Happy Haunting" by Elaine

Tomorrow I'll share our fall classes!

Halloween Class Projects

Here are more of our Halloween class projects at the LBH.  Click on the link to find out more about each class.

"Spooky" Pumpkin Toppers and Pumpkins

"Beware" Halloween Banner (designed by me)

"Candy Corn Family"

"Candy Countdown"  Calendar

"Too Cute to Spook" Minibook

We will start teaching these on Oct. 1 so be sure to reserve your spot in a class!

Art Quilts

I created these two non-traditional small art quilts for the fall lineup of classes at the LBH.  They are each approximately 9"x11" on a canvas foundation.  They are displayed back-to-back on a neat wooden display stand, but are two totally separate hangings.  The idea is that you could change them out for each season or holiday.  Both quilts are very textural, combining fabrics and papers with many different types of embellishments. And for non-sewers, there is very little sewing!

The first quilt is Halloween-themed. Just love that spider and web!

And this one is for fall with a variety of leaves and even a real acorn.

Sorry for the not-so-perfect photos!  If you're local and interested in these classes, call The Little Blue House at 817-431-7930 to sign up while there are still spaces available.

Happy Birthday to us!

Happy First Birthday/Anniversary to The Little Blue House!  One year ago today we opened the doors to our little "home away from home."  It's been a fantastic year,  filled with lots of creating, meeting new friends and reconnecting with "old" friends, teaching new and fun techniques and, most of all, having a blast the entire time!

We are celebrating today and tomorrow in tandem with our "Fallidays Open House" revealing our new Halloween and Fall class  projects.  We LBH gals have been in a frenzied creating mode this past week getting ready for this fun event. We spent many hours yesterday moving furniture and displays and bringing in lots of gorgeous new products to give the store a totally new look - it was all worthwhile when we saw our customers' reactions today!  Here's a peek at part of the Halloween display.

We introduced the next three "installments" of our very popular blocks and base and tag sets.  Customers create the footed base and the "naked" blocks and then can choose any of the tag sets to add to the blocks.  The blocks are double-sided so two sets can be hung at one time.  We have been doing these since we opened and now are on our second year's round of seasonal sets.   There seems to be a never-ending desire for more new sets!

Halloween 2011

Fall 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

I'll be sharing more new projects in the next few days. Happy fall y'all!

"Summer" ATC Swap

The Blue House Art Group met last week and we swapped ATCs with a summer theme.  Several months ago we did a spring ATC swap so we now have two of the four seasons to display.

This was the ATC I made for everyone.  The first thing that comes to my mind for summer is swimming at the beach and I love vintage photos, so I used an image from the 1920's.  The background was done with the "wrinkle-free distress technique" where you swipe Distress ink on a craft sheet, spritz with water and then drag your paper through until it is nicely covered.  I used two different blues to simulate water and sky.  I added a summer definition stamp in the upper right corner before adding a wisp of cheesecloth and a strip of sandpaper.  Then I adhered the image, outlined it with Stickles and glued on a few tiny shells.

This is a sampling of the ATCs made by the other members of the group.  I think I missed a few when I took the picture, but you can see there was a great variety of subjects for the summer theme.  That's what I love about swaps - seeing everyone's interpretations of the theme and the techniques used to create the ATC.  Everyone did a fabulous job!

Art Journal Page

It's crunch time at the LBH as we are designing and creating Halloween and fall class projects for the upcoming Open House next weekend.  We are busy, busy, busy! And you should see my wreck of an art room!

Since I won't be able to share any current projects this week, I'm posting an art journal page I did several weeks ago.  It took days to do as I kept going back and covering up or adding more. I just couldn't get anything I liked. I'm still on the fence about this one, but finally decided to be done with it and move on.

Can you believe that it started out like this?  I glued down pieces of paper ephemera and then used craft acrylic paints (green and blue) and Claudine Hellmuth's Studio  paint (pink).  Gessoed over lightly with a credit card and painted the heart.  "Stamped" with paint and bubble wrap in places. There are many layers over this as I struggled with this page.

10th Anniversary of 9-11

In loving memory

of all those who lost their lives for freedom

May we never forget!

Front Porch Kit Tutorial

Remember this card I shared a few days ago that I created for the Front Porch Kit gallery?

Want to learn more about the techniques I used for the embossed background and the grungy gears?

Check out my tutorial, complete with step-out photos, that I posted yesterday on the Front Porch Kit blog HERE.  Hope you enjoy it!

Last but not Least

I'm finally getting around to posting my last projects from the "Time To..." Front Porch Kit. 

For this mini cupcake stand, I used one of Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts which is a thick, durable paperboard surface for altering. It's much sturdier than chipboard and can be painted, decoupaged, inked, misted and stamped.  I first painted it with white paint and then decoupaged the gorgeous floral paper from the kit on the top and base.  The scalloped edges were covered with tiny circles punched from the book pages in the kit.  They were already this marvelous antique shade. I glued buttons to the four corners.

The "stem" was painted a bright yellow-green and then I wrapped the sheer ribbon around and tied a bow.

I also created a tiny cupcake for display.  The cupcake paper liner is a large circle cut from aqua paper and then folded multiple times.  I formed a "cake" from a strip of chipboard stapled into a circle and then glued on one half of a small plastic Easter egg for the cupcake top.  

The first layer of frosting is a strip of white rick rack glued to the top of the paper liner.  Then I spritzed cheesecloth (also in the kit) with a pink glimmer mist and, when dry, glued it randomly to the plastic egg, covering completely and retaining the folds.  The whipped cream/frosting topping is a strip of white cardstock misted lightly with water and then scrunched and pleated.  This was all topped off with a tiny candle I had in my stash and a generous touch of Stickles.

Here are the two displayed together.

If you haven't ordered your Front Porch Kit yet, we still have a few available.  Check out the website or order directly from The Little Blue House.  And be sure to visit the gallery to see all the fantastic projects made by the Design Team!

Randomness

Warning - this post is filled with random stuff that I've been meaning to post.

First off, the new gallery for the "Time to..." Front Porch Kit is now up and running.  Click on over to see all the fabulous projects made by the Design Team.

I also wanted to share that my online group (An Affair With Art) is featured in the October issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts Magazine!  The two-page article highlights many of our past art projects along with our "Artful Gatherings" - an annual retreat which about a third of our members attend from around the country.   I've only seen a scan from a member who subscribes but the magazine should be arriving in stores soon.  If you happen to see it, I am in the first photo on the left side (middle of the table). 

Next, I am disappointed to have to announce that the "Black Velvet Halloween Art Retreat" has been canceled due to some teacher health issues. I was so looking forward to teaching my Halloween banner...

And, finally, our Back to School classes are now available at The Little Blue House.  Check the blog for complete details on all the classes.  I designed a general-themed layout (yes, they talked me into doing another scrapbook layout!) and an accordion school days book that has a page for each year with space for a photo.  It would make a great keepsake as well as decor for your student's graduation party!

"Me and You" Layout 

"School Days" Accordion Book