I did write and put this book together about a year ago or so but I never got it published. I did look into some self publishers (or as a radio show personality says, "vanity press") but it was still very expensive so I am thinking I will just print them myself on demand and maybe sell a few. I also have another children's book that is published and I sent one to Mary Freeman and she blogged it today. So sweet of her.
Enjoy the BEE book!
I am really liking Cone Flowers now. I still love Poppies but these flowers are so fun to paint. I still love watercolor--I love how the paint disperses on the paper. Sometimes at night I have to go into the closet art studio and disperse some paint. This painting is 81/2 x 11. I think I will paint pink ones next.
This is a watercolor wash background for the pedals and a much too watery script stamp in the background. Probably, the lettering could have been left off of this one but I think I just wanted to put the little dew drop on the leaf with a little faux crystal. Do you see it? It's not good with the scan and I tried to fix it a bit but that didn't help. I am also not that crazy about Tagore---what does this quote mean anyway??? Rhetorical question--
I have done this technique before but when I was at Random Arts I got a sheet showing how to do this and it joggled my memory. It's so easy and fun. It's just a stamp spritzed with water after color is added. Even painting the flowers without the stamp cannot get this effect so---I do love it. I used a very small black Pilot G-Tec pen for the outline. I think cutting your own stamps would make it an original but this one is a Hero Arts stamp I believe. This one is 51/2 x 5. Just a snippet!
I went to the Riverside Arts Market which is a wonderful arts market every Saturday right here in our neighborhood. There are all sorts of art and great food--I had a French Quarter Beignet and all I can say is---YUM!!! Nothing beats fried dough with powdered sugar! Actually I have thought of setting up shop there but I chickened out. There is now a long waiting list. The early bird gets the worm. Anyway, I bought this darling hat from Kathryn Page,
I made these while up in Greenville while my daughter was bathing, feeding and putting the baby down. I had nothing but a few scraps and her Big Bernie--hers is great but I love my little Bernie. She does just fine---except she doesn't have that great foot that sews on buttons. Oh well--can't have everything. Or maybe I can---maybe I just don't have that foot---hummmmm...how many feet do we need???!! I found out that what I really need is a walking foot. Ok--that's the next purchase. I also went back and embellished with a black Pitt pen--which may or may not have been a good thing. It was pretty cute without the black too. 
Here are two more stitch flowers. I used a watercolor wash background, cut the flower shapes and pasted them on then stitched around the flowers. This is very fun! These are about 6 x 9. I am getting better at changing out my thread in a flash. That's important! On the top image I think I will write a little flower quote or something in calligraphy---I did leave some room for it. Hi! Just wanted to thank everyone for signing up so far and I am so looking forward to the class getting started. I am only an email or blogpost away so if you need any help at all or need any questions answered please don't hesitate to contact me. I love helping people learn to write with beautiful letters so--don't be a stranger!!! :)
This is a hand carved heart stamp that I carved many years ago that surprisingly I found on the backside of a hand carved leaf. Obviously I didn't care much for the heart--not perfect, you see---but now--not perfect is---perfect! Enjoy your Sunday.
I still enjoy putting acrylic paint on canvas in the layer style of the Layer love class that I took---and actually I still have one more class to do. I decided to try and use the unopened Chart pack vinyl letters from deep in the stash and since they are somewhat adhesive on the back they stuck on in order to stencil around them. So, these Chart Pack letters have some potential. I don't know what I would ever do with these layered pieces but for now they are fun to make. It's always therapeutic layering paint onto a canvas. This one is 12 x 12. Maybe one day I will venture out and try to use some other colors rather than Quin Nickel Azo gold colors---and the blues and greens. I guess they are my comfort colors. Have a great day. I am going to watch "the Memorial Service".
I think I have gone crazy with iMovie. For all you PC users--iMovie is the movie editing software that comes with the Mac. I learned this really well when I was editing my online class which starts July 22nd.
That was a shameless plug, I know.
It is so fun to make little movies. This is just some fun calligraphy lettering in an old half used watercolor spiral notebook. The images were stamps with water washes added. I used a pointed nib for the lettering and the paper was actually too rough for the nib but no matter--it was all just practice. My one goal in my art life is to be a lettering artist first--mixed media artist next then fine artist (hee hee, it's ok to laugh at that last one!)
I think it is fun to go out into my red shed and spray paint with my stencils. I then gather all my pages and tear them up evenly (as possible) and see what I've got. And--you get what you get. Sometimes it is magic and sometimes it's mush but the challenge to me is to see if I can put some lettering on it. I guess I was in a Blackletter mood for this book. I wasn't practiced up on the Blackletter but I won't go there and critique the letterforms. I also found a few spaces for some Italic and monoline lettering. It was fun to do and it took me most of yesterday to edit it. I love editing though--it's fun for me. I love Enya so I decided to use "Carribean Blue". It's amazing how the music will set the mood-- Music is powerful isn't it? (Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it isn't.)
I did sew the book but not with Bernie. I tried it and the needle pulled completely out since I had used cloth tape for bookbinding for the spine. That stuff is super adhesive so of course the needle came out---duh!
Bernie, the official portrait.
I made another stencil book yesterday with the intention of sewing it on the machine. The background above is a left over scrap of the book. Well, I think I pushed my little Bernie to a point she wouldn't go---but what I did was rather stupid come to think of it but it didn't hurt her. She is a tough little thing. This top image was ---well, just sewn on to see what it would look like. I had written the quote the other day on a scrap. Looks ok.... I wouldn't frame it or anything but it's kinda interesting. It might look like it was just stuck on there with no cohesiveness or integration. So here is my new motto---"just because I can stitch it on doesn't mean that I should! "
Here are the scraps left from the Random Rag book from yesterday. It's small and here are just a few of the pages.
This is my favorite one. I think that I will save all my calligraphy scraps and even make some more to sew in books. 
...some little acrylic flowers in the pocket...not sewn shut this time...
