It's Still Life ...

Still Life edition of The Pulse

Hey there. How have you been? Can't believe summer is ending and school is starting up already. Life has been super casual with lots of work, play, staying up late reading & sleeping-in around here. I think The Dude and I will be in for a challenging few days, readjusting our clocks back to real time... but, we still have a week to play!

The Pulse - The State of the Art

Speaking of fun and games - Today Seth Apter is sharing the latest chapter of The Pulse (The State of the Art) over at The Altered Page today. If you are new to The Pulse, Seth describes it at "a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday."

Visit The Altered Page for responses to Seth's request for still life photos. My silly spin has been included in a post with some really creative collections. If you have a few minutes, click here to visit. If an image catches your eye, clicking an artist's name will send you to their website or blog for more yummy eye candy.

So, what have you been up to?

I've been slacking on the whole bloggity thing. Hope to get back on track soon, as lots of fun stuff (past & present) to share. Pop back soon for shop updates, new art & random announcements. Also, the perpetual studio destash continues - I will announce a new goodies-giveaway soon. 

Time to run. 

Best wishes for a wonder-filled and creative week!

It's Too Darn Hot ... this Musical Monday

borrowed from Eva Mazsdar Sherman on facebook

I haven't had a chance to Musical Monday with Xmas Dolly & gang in ages. And they're already on their 101st MM- phew! Looks like today is a freebie so I'm sharing this classic Erasure twist on Cole Porter's steamy tune:

Want to catch some more tunes to wake you up & get you wiggling? Pop over to Dolly's hop & get clicking

Island Time

by Dawn at PalmettoMama on Etsy

Illustration Friday - Lonely

charcoal on paper

“Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.” ― Henry Rollins

This weeks IF prompt is Lonely. Feeling inspired? Post your visual version online, visit http://illustrationfriday.com/ and submit your illustration. All sorts of styles & materials are welcome.

Or if you want to simply have a peek at a variety of interpretations, click the link above & poke around.  (While not highlighted the links are working - blogger is just messing with me on color today). 

Isn't it interesting how lonely means different things to different people?  There are a lot of strong (& well phrased) opinions on the topic. Looking around for a quotation today I came across famous folks who love it or hate it, some feel it in a crowd and some only when by themselves. It seems to be a dreaded emotion by many... but then others find it gives them the edge they need to be creative. 

What does "Lonely" mean to you?

We Have Winners

SpinYourWorld.Etsy.com

Hooweee - it has been a loooong day. What a fun way to end it, though - music on, cocktail in hand.... and I get to give away free stuff to three (yes, three) lucky winners! So, with help from Random.org - here we go....

CrazyLady from the blog ALMI ART

& 

Chrisy from the blog ArtDecadence aka SophismPress

will each take home 1 fun hand-painted-glow-in-the-dark keychain! Congrats, Ladies!

keychains from SpinYourWorld

And the winner of this vibrant hand-dyed drawstring backpack is.....

Raylee from ess-arr.blogspot.com

Congratulations, Raylee! I know you'll enjoy this super-cute colorful bag!

To the winners: Thanks for entering. I will contact you with instructions for claiming your prizes.

To today's sponsors (yes, three is more than one - see below for details*): Many thanks for sharing such    colorful creations!

To everyone who comment in the last few weeks & entered this great giveaway: Big thank yous & virtual chocolate chip cookies all around! Be sure to pop back next week for a new prize announcement.

                                         *So, how do we have 2 co-sponsors today?*

Last April Scott Stanley's Kickstarter project was featured here. Scott creates & had dyes silk flags, bags, hats and other fabric items. (You can find some of these in his Etsy shop, Spin Your World. & more at the shop's facebook page ) Included in the April blog post was a random drawing for one of his hand dyed drawstring backpacks.


Mixed media artist, Pat May (find her on Etsy at Whyte & on her blog The Whyte Paper)  won that giveaway! This generous lady not only made a donation to Scott's kickstarter campaign, she also decided to share her colorful prize with a new lucky winner,  making her  the co-sponsor for the random drawing today.

Art Should.....

Source: whiskeysoaked.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

(Also, I'm running a bit behind - will post the winners of SpinYourWorld's random drawing tonight)

DIY kids - stamped spoon plant markers

This spring several stamped-spoon tutorials were making the Pinterest rounds. I saved this one  for making silver spoon plant markers (from Christina at intimate weddings.com). It seemed like a good project for The Dude  - he does love banging on things. His Dad & Grampa both have green thumbs so plant markers seemed like a good Fathers Day project.

If you want to see this project "done right" click the link to Christina's tutorial in the last paragraph. We tend to wing it, so ours is the quick & dirty version.

First I picked up a couple of dozen stainless steel spoons from the thrift store. (Not as pretty as silver but much more affordable.)  We learned a couple of things - (1) the bigger spoons were easiest to flatten & (2)  spoons marked Oneida were the hardest to work with.

In her tutorial Christina pounded her silverware between boards for a flat even surface. Thor (I mean, The Dude) was having none of that. He wanted the noise! And of course he had to use the biggest hammer.

I'm assisting the master craftsman

For the text, use a letter punch. I think ours came from Harbor Freight. I originally bought it for stamping into leather. By the way, don't use a brass mallet if you do not want it getting dinged up. Fortunately, mine is a cheap-o one.

While not as pretty as the picture perfect pieces we've seen online, these definitely have character!

Next, color over the lettering with permanent marker. We only had a laundry pen, but it did the job and is waterproof.

Then wipe off. Again, we used what was on hand - in this case clorox wipes. 

The ink will stay in the grooves. At this point, I suppose you could treat with spray lacquer but we left them as is.

The kid had fun making these and they were well received by the dads (& our neighbor for her birthday). It is an easy project that I definitely recommend.

If you are looking for something new to try, I have many tutorials pinned on my boards. Find them at http://pinterest.com/artsnark/

And if you haven't entered the latest giveaway, leave a comment on my blog before 7/26 to get your name in the hat. 3 random winners will receive either a hand dyed drawstring backpack or a painted glow-in-the-dark key chain from Spin Your World on Etsy. Click Here for details & to see prizes