Pop-Art Puppy Portrait

I can finally post this!

A good friend of mine recently lost her dog, so I decided to bust out the acrylics and paint a portrait of him.  I know how important he was to her.

I primed the canvas, started sketching, and then busted out the paints.
It ended up having a pop-art sort of feel once it was completely done.
I'm pretty happy with how he turned out.

Just starting out...

Still in progress...

A little more detail...

Mr. Neville is done!

Now I need to start another painting.....

A.A.

It's been forever since I've posted!

Hey friends,

I know it's been a long time since I've posted on this blog, but I have barely had any time this year for anything!  However, now that it's summer break and I'm finally getting my energy (and sanity!) back, I finally have a bit of time to do things I enjoy doing.

And, the first thing I've created this summer is actually a gift for a family member.  The only thing I wish is that I had been able to find a similar frame that was slightly bigger because I feel so bad that the image is so small!

If you want to create something similar, here's what you need:
-Wooden frame
-Wood burner
-Pencil & eraser (for sketching)
-A quote
-Possibly a map....
-Scrapbooking markers/pens
-Photograph

Here's what you need to do:
1. Sketch out your frame.  Because the person I was making this was moving away, I added locations into the mix.  I also added a quote that really fit.
2. Sand any uneven corners down.
3. Carefully burn your sketches & quotes.  I had to stop a few times because I find that my wrist often hurts after a certain period of time.
4. Colour in anything you wish to colour
5. Pop the picture in!

Here's how it looked closer to the beginning

It's getting there...

So close!

Et voila!  The final product

This makes a great keepsake and I guarantee the person who receives this gift will love it!
It's so easy to personalize. You could do something similar for a birthday, best friend, wedding, retirement, anything really!

And don't worry friends, I've already got the next creation done for my next Blog post!

Happy crafting!

A.A.

Spring has Sprung!

So this is a few weeks late...Oops!  I had intended on getting this up on Easter weekend....And it is a short post this time....Sorry!

I included this acrylic on canvas painting in my boyfriend's Easter basket this year.
He loved it!  In fact, he loved it so much he wants me to do 2 more.....

We shall see......Maybe once work life slows down a bit....

So here it is!

The original sketch

The work in progress

The final product

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring weather!  Let's hope it lasts this time!

A.A.

Bear Logo

I decided to make a nice little gift for my Principal who has just switched schools.  So I thought of something that would make him think of our school.  I decided on a little project that was logo based.

Originally I was going to do the entire project in wood burning.  But, after a while I decided it needed the colour added to it, so the final product below is a combination of wood burning and paint.  I think I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  All I used for this project was: Wood, wood burner, green, yellow, white, and black acrylic paint, and varnish.

The pictures below capture the project during various stages of the process.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Saturday!

A.A.

I can finally post a picture :)

Well I can finally post a picture of a Christmas gift I made.
It was part of my boyfriend's gift this year.
I know he likes dragons, so I decided to get ambitious and sketch out the head of a medieval dragon.

Because I've never drawn a dragon, I decided to Youtube a 5 minute time-lapse video of someone sketching a dragon head.  I used the video for reference as I went along.  I used a variety of H and B sketching pencils as well as several tortillons (smudge sticks).  I did end up spraying it with a fixative to prevent it from smudging.  I would never use hairspray because overtime that would just yellow the picture, and I want it to be preserved well.  I have since matted and framed it (black mat, white frame).

And here is the final result (which both he & his family LOVED!)!
In fact, he's already hung it up in his room.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

A.A.

A little Christmas post...

I decided I wanted to put together some type of ornament for my boyfriend for our first Christmas together.

So I started looking for ideas.  I found an idea I really liked on Pinterest.  The only problem was, it was created from fabric.  So...I went looking at Michaels for fabric mittens, but had no luck.  So I thought, why not make them out of wood and I can just paint them up.  Luckily my Dad is very talented with his wood work.  So, I drew out the mittens and Dad cut them out so they looked like this:

Then, I took my paint and got to work:

And then I added the text:

All I needed to do was add some yarn and place them on his tree!

Needless to say both my boyfriend and his family absolutely loved the ornaments!

A.A.

New little creation idea I got from Pinterest

I saw this canvas idea on Pinterest and thought it was the cutest thing ever (you can see the original canvas at: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/42/3b/0f/423b0fd9f4b05a12471a07eb2fbc95f4.jpg).  Plus, my boyfriend was saying he needed more artwork in his room.  So, this provided me with the perfect excuse to make it (as if I needed one anyway...).  The only thing different from the original I saw on Pinterest was, I took some of the sayings off (I couldn't fit them all!) and changed the paper choice.

It's a really easy project to make, it just takes hours to make, and here's what you need to make it:

-Canvas
-Modge Podge
-Cricut
-Scrapbook paper
-Paint
-Paper cutter
-Paint brush (optional)

First, I borrowed my best friend's Cricut (THANK YOU MEL!), popped in my black scrapbook paper and punched in the letters I needed.....I realized I was short a couple of letters and just did the best I could to sketch them out and cut them out with scissors.  Here's hoping you can't tell which ones I made myself....

Next, take your paper cutter and chop your chosen patterned scrapbook paper into blocks and arrange on your canvas (glue these down with Modge Podge once you're content with the look and feel).

After that has dried, it's now time to glue down your cute little sentences.  You can once again use your Modge Podge (I go through so much of this stuff!).  After it's dried for a bit, start coating your entire canvas with a coat of Modge Podge.  I sort of went between a thick paint brush and just smudging it on with my finger.  If you use a paint brush, you need to make sure the bristles don't come out and get stuck onto your masterpiece.

Once it was all dried, I took my black paint, painted the heart in the "Beat of my Heart" sentence and the star in "Twinkle in my Eye" sentence.

Lastly, after the paint had dried, I coated the canvas in several more coats.  You really want to seal it in.

Anddddd now it's ready to display!  And yes, it has been proudly on display in my boyfriend's bedroom for a couple of months now.  And yes, he did love it.

The final product!

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

A.A.