Planning for Easter: Reinvented.

Easter!    But no bunnies, chicks, eggs, or pastels. Can you do it? And why on earth would you want to?

         I want to get to the point of Easter back to Jesus.  What do bunnies, chicks and pastels have to do with Jesus? Or the cross? Spring, new life, I get it. But I wanted something a bit more radical; I needed something a bit more radical.

Easter colors: red, white, and gold. Red for blood, white for the resurrection, and gold for Heaven and royalty. Because Easter is about the truest love, I like to use wedding decorations too.

   Ok, so I still allow butterflies for the new life theme. I'd like other suggestions on Easter motifs. I also use flowers and roses.

Passover really is the beginning of Easter. So for the first week before Easter I put red decorations above my door frames. Can you guess why?


Here's a link to my Pinterest collection for Easter Ideas:Here

Dabbling in Polymer Clay Creatures!

Armatures for polymer clay creatures.

I'm new to armatures for polymer clay, and so I'm going to list resources that help me.  I've been using steel wire covered with crumpled aluminum foil to help bulk out the form, and therefore use less polymer clay. But I want more tips on making anatomically correct armatures for animals.

http://www.squidoo.com/armatures 
http://joshuamosley.com/tutorials/claymationArmature/armature.html 
http://evasion.imag.fr/Membres/Franck.Hetroy/Projects/Skeleton/gallery.html

 Here's the concept of one of my creatures, and the final little dude. My sister bought a smaller similar creature for $20. I dyed the feathers too.

Fantasy Papercraft in Shadowbox

 Layered up paper-crafts!

      Fun little 3-d projects with character, and a nice way to add dimension to watercolors, like this one. Watercolor, and India ink with a nib pen-one of my favorite combinations.
   The box is about 5"x8" tall. and 2.5"inches deep.

   

Acrylic Gel Medium and How to Use It.

What is acrylic gel medium?

            It's easy to fall in love with acrylic gel when you play with it's versatility.
            Acrylic gel is basically acrylic paint, without any pigment. It starts as a white goo that dries clear and shrinks a bit as the water evaporates from it, just like Elmer's glue.
           Artists use this to stretch out their paint, and add a luminosity to it, like adding more oil in oil painting. It can also be used as a varnish, and a "glue" for almost anything you can stick on it, like glass beads. Gel is also used for transfers, when print out are transferred to another surface using the gel. 

          There are a few kinds of gel, gloss, matte, and string. Gloss gel gives a great depth, and makes the surface very shiny. While you do have a problem with glare, I find it the best for enhancing colors. Matte gel does not have a shiny surface, and is easier to view in different angles. it can also make the surface look whiter because of the diffuse way it reflects light. String gel is like melted cheese, it make long strings instead of puddling up or making drops.