Look what I found!!!

I was looking for some art supplies, I came across my very first watercolors that I did 10 years ago. These were done with cheap student grade watercolor paint and cheap watercolor paper. I couldn't believe where I've been and how much progress I've made in those 10 years. I remember when I first painted these how up tight I was about applying the wc to the paper.

I'm glad I had saved my early work because it's a reminder to me that with patience and practice, I can achieve anything I want to do.

Father's day card

My husband always waits to the last minute to send cards out, so I made him a card that he could send. My father-in-law is a diabetic and has an awful sweet tooth. Whenever you go to his house we always find open boxes of hostess cup cakes that he's not suppose to eat.



back view of card on left; front view of card on right.
When the card is open left side says "Cup Cakes" right side of card has good wishes.

Paper dogs

Remember when you were a kid and spent hours playing with paper dolls? I know I did! I've been experimenting with different ways to put my love of dogs and watercolors together. I thought wouldn't it be cool to have a 12" paper doll of dogs I would love to own? I figure making them was so much cheaper and there's no maintenance required.

I first started out with a sketch on tracing paper. Then I transferred the sketch to watercolor paper, making sure I separated the head from the body. Once that was done I used Derwent Aquatone watercolor pencils to lay in color and used a damp watercolor brush to blend the color in. When the paper was dry, I cut out the head and then the body. I played around with the placement of the head and once I got the right angle, I used my tiny whole punch and punched a whole and then added mini brads.

So this is my brand new dog George. I love the look of bull dogs...they're so ugly that they are really cute. I would love to own one,but after doing a lot of research on the breed, I discovered that they have too many health issues and living in the high desert would probably be too hot for them.

Now George keeps me company in my studio over seeing all my works in progress. A funny thing happened when my dog Sophie noticed George. Sophie thought George was real and kept on using her deep voice bark. Even after re-assuring Sophie that she was my favorite, she still wouldn't stop barking at poor George.

Then I decided to make a paper dog for my sister Linda. She lost her two Cocker Spaniels last year and has been dog-less. She would like to own a Pug,but plans to wait until her husband retires.

I named him Baxter.

manila folders books

I discovered the other day on you tube Jana of 2worlds. www.2worldswings.blogspot.com She has about 41 videos. After viewing her 3 part video on making a book using a manila folder, I decided to give it a try. It took me 3 books to figure out the mechanics of the book.

Rosemary's book was my last book that I got the look I was trying to achieve. I got to use rubber stamps,punches,ribbons,watercolor, oil pastels, and various complimentary scrap book pages that I've collected. Also I finally put my Cricut to good use. With my Cricut I was able to electronically cut the tag and the letter "R".

This book was made for my friend Mryna in Washington.

This book was made for my sister Linda. Her book was the first one I attempted.