valentine's day cards - done!

wow. i had a lot of fun in the studio. i was watching donna downey's inspiration wednesdays and whipping out cards like crazy. all set for valentine's day. yee haw.

valentine's day cardmaking play

i am having so much fun down in the studio lately. working in alternative media can really juice up the creativity.

here is a mock up of my valentines day card for this year. i have in mind a few changes. mostly, i'd like to add a photograph behind the heart and ribbon.

stay tuned for the final draft.

What are your creative intentions?

Have you decided what you would like the creative aspect 2012 to look like yet? I mine will going to fit into a single word. (What is with all this one-word resolution stuff?!)

I have a list of creative goals a mile long and the only thing these items have in common are create and joy.

My broadest goal is to pursue (acrylic) painting in a big way. I am beginning this with a study of color following Leslie Masters teachings. She has a terrific workbook that my mother (an oil painter) has found helpful. The book, How to Paint a Rainbow, encompasses watercolor, acrylic and oils.

Her approach is to begin with a limited palette until you are comfortable mixing your only mostly pure colors. So far, so good. I am just getting into the mixing portion of the program. More to come.

creating with beeswax

This weekend I learned how to make beeswax candles. We melted the wax and poured it into beautiful German molds. This pine cone was my favorite. I hope there are more of these gorgeous candles in my future. 

crate & barrel goes handmade

there are so many cute and wonderful ornaments in the new crate & barrel holiday calendar. i loved them all and can see much inspiration for ornaments to make.

button owl ornaments

check out these embroidered ornaments. thank goodness i just got my sewing machine back.

are these little guys the cutest! i am off to look for a pattern on ravelry. let me know if you know of one!

felted bird ornament

I don't felt very much, but these would be cute table decor.

caramel peanut bark

 The cute woodgrain packaging for this bark is making me want to do this for gifts just so i can create the packaging!

flatware stockings

Since there is nowhere to hang stockings here, this might be a cute way to incorporate them. These are actually stockings for flatware. I am thinking of creating a silver, magenta and cream theme for christmas this year, so i might need to get creative with the colors!