I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was very relaxing. I took a very low key approach. Cooked only the basics, bought premade desserts, ate apple pie for breakfast that morning and omitted the tablecloth. It was the first Thanksgiving I've ever prepared that I didn't want to scream at anyone who dared step foot into the kitchen and take a nap from sheer exhaustion around 11 AM. It was absolutely lovely.
My only mistake was underestimating the allure of the pies. I should have purchased at least 2 more. (I do so love left-over pie for breakfast the next morning! Alas, this year, I was thwarted in that little pleasure.) We did miss my poor father who missed his flight that morning due to very unfortunate circumstances involving naughty cats, (I won't go into the dismal details) but we did the best we could to enjoy ourselves whilst pretending he was present. That evening, we skyped with him (my very first time!) and that lifted our spirits immensely. Despite all of the family members missing, it was a good day.
The rest of the weekend was a blur of activity. We went miniature golfing which was all of my kids' first time. We discovered that Dani (10 year old) and Todd (old man) have true talent and we are now enrolling both of them in golf lessons. I couldn't believe that Dani could hit the ball in a straight line and Todd got so many hole-in-ones that I lost count. My personal strategy was to ricochet the ball off of various surfaces in hopes that eventually it would hit the mark. Sometimes I was quite successful. Quinn (3 year old) and Zoey (8 year old) were masters at ditching the golf club and kicking the ball toward the hole soccer-style. We all kind-of had our own little techniques that were more or less effective. It was quite fun for the first 10 holes. After that, most of the group lost interest and balls somehow ended up in lakes and on top of mountains and in random spots like that.
The rest of the weekend, I spent creating up a frenzy. I finished 4 new pieces and am almost done with another. I'm experimenting with my style, trying to define it further, and I believe that one of the keys to that is creating piece after piece. I'm trying to let loose a bit and really put myself into my art. Trying not to fret so much and just go with the flow. I'm having an absolute blast. A blast, I tell you. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but after all that teasing, I thought I'd share a piece I made a few months ago with DecoArt textures.
This is my first (and probably last) very graphic piece. In order to fit the 4 fleur-de-lis I had to adjust the stencil and do all sorts of measuring. (HINT: In order to adjust a stencil that is too big for your project or whatever, simply mask off the parts that you don't want by placing masking tape over them. Don't forget to place tape on both sides of the stencil so you don't have any sticky spots.) Because I'm not a very good measurer (there's a reason why I stay away from carpentry!) I am dissatisfied with the layout. I wish the fleur-de-lis were closer to the center. I feel like there is a big gap that takes away from the composition. Oh well. I learned.
I do however, love each of the fleur-de-lis and the background texture created by DecoArt molding paste.
The fleur-de-lis below was created by loosely mixing Americana Splendid Gold paint with DecoArt Texture glass.
This one was made with DecoArt Gold Craft Twinkles (kind-of like Ranger Stickles).
This is DecoArt Texture Fierro in gold.
Finally, this white one was made with DecoArt Glistening Snow-Tex. (Not just for creating snowy effects!)
I plan on photographing my newest projects by the end of the week. I can't wait to show them to you!
xoxo
Bethany
My only mistake was underestimating the allure of the pies. I should have purchased at least 2 more. (I do so love left-over pie for breakfast the next morning! Alas, this year, I was thwarted in that little pleasure.) We did miss my poor father who missed his flight that morning due to very unfortunate circumstances involving naughty cats, (I won't go into the dismal details) but we did the best we could to enjoy ourselves whilst pretending he was present. That evening, we skyped with him (my very first time!) and that lifted our spirits immensely. Despite all of the family members missing, it was a good day.
The rest of the weekend was a blur of activity. We went miniature golfing which was all of my kids' first time. We discovered that Dani (10 year old) and Todd (old man) have true talent and we are now enrolling both of them in golf lessons. I couldn't believe that Dani could hit the ball in a straight line and Todd got so many hole-in-ones that I lost count. My personal strategy was to ricochet the ball off of various surfaces in hopes that eventually it would hit the mark. Sometimes I was quite successful. Quinn (3 year old) and Zoey (8 year old) were masters at ditching the golf club and kicking the ball toward the hole soccer-style. We all kind-of had our own little techniques that were more or less effective. It was quite fun for the first 10 holes. After that, most of the group lost interest and balls somehow ended up in lakes and on top of mountains and in random spots like that.
The rest of the weekend, I spent creating up a frenzy. I finished 4 new pieces and am almost done with another. I'm experimenting with my style, trying to define it further, and I believe that one of the keys to that is creating piece after piece. I'm trying to let loose a bit and really put myself into my art. Trying not to fret so much and just go with the flow. I'm having an absolute blast. A blast, I tell you. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but after all that teasing, I thought I'd share a piece I made a few months ago with DecoArt textures.
This is my first (and probably last) very graphic piece. In order to fit the 4 fleur-de-lis I had to adjust the stencil and do all sorts of measuring. (HINT: In order to adjust a stencil that is too big for your project or whatever, simply mask off the parts that you don't want by placing masking tape over them. Don't forget to place tape on both sides of the stencil so you don't have any sticky spots.) Because I'm not a very good measurer (there's a reason why I stay away from carpentry!) I am dissatisfied with the layout. I wish the fleur-de-lis were closer to the center. I feel like there is a big gap that takes away from the composition. Oh well. I learned.
I do however, love each of the fleur-de-lis and the background texture created by DecoArt molding paste.
The fleur-de-lis below was created by loosely mixing Americana Splendid Gold paint with DecoArt Texture glass.
This one was made with DecoArt Gold Craft Twinkles (kind-of like Ranger Stickles).
This is DecoArt Texture Fierro in gold.
Finally, this white one was made with DecoArt Glistening Snow-Tex. (Not just for creating snowy effects!)
I plan on photographing my newest projects by the end of the week. I can't wait to show them to you!
xoxo
Bethany
2 comments:
Sounds like you had an amazing Thanksgiving (minus Dad missing!)... loveeeeeeeee the canvas! You always inspire me!! :):):):):):):):):):):)
Fabulous Fabulous! and you know what, just to reference the last post, I can totally see your style, although the piece is brown and different from your other work. Of course your style can shine through in different projects and mediums...of course!!! Bravo!
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