My sweet prairie girl ~

She's finished!

The actual artwork measures 10" x 14" and is a multitude of layers.....

The beeswax forces you to be loose ~

which I have to admit, is quite hard for me.

I'm very structured in my artwork ~

everything in it's place, you know?

~ Double click on any of my pics to see more detail ~

I always love including some type of text, name, or quote in the artwork...

Why is that?

I don't have a clue!

I also love making something....then adding a foundation to it ~

you know, something more substantial to showcase the rest.

So even though this piece started on the back of an antique ledger cover,

I wanted to place it on the larger canvas to give it just a little

more importance.

Of course, you see I had to work in the wired-in-look too!

I just love the textural quality of the wire.

The tracing paper allows the image from underneath to show through after

the beeswax has been applied between each layer.

I've even added a few pressed fern fronds from my home too!

My prairie girl was printed straight onto a sheet of crinoline fabric!!!

Yes, I admit it, I crammed it straight into my printer...

sometimes you have to be BRAVE to be an artist!

Lisa sent me a few sheets of the crinoline and I had to experiment :)

That girl is brave with new techniques,

I'm a little more of a chicken!

My prairie girl is now listed in my Etsy shop ~

The moral of this post?

Don't be afraid to try new things,

you might just love it!!!

Have an amazing Tuesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Back in the saddle again...

~ Adorable pic found here ~

Remember THIS post when I told you about finding my pressed flower collection?

I love them all so much and have been wanting to use them in my artwork ~

If you don't feel like clicking to the other post....

I added a few new flowers to my lovely yellow pages flower press that day ~

Hydrangeas and a single gladiola bud.

Here is the before shot:

Well, I checked on them today and LOOK at them now!!

Just GORGEOUS!!!!

So much texture and still traces of pale color ~

These little treasures give me so much joy....

Here's the before photo of the gladiola....

Look at this wonderful beauty now ~

No, it's not as vivid at all...it's even changed colors but

now it has those muted tones that I love.

I love the veining...

I bought these wonderful 2" beveled glass squares a few years ago

at an estate sale. The man was a stained glass artist....

So, I thought, add a tiny clipping from an old ledger book and

one of the pressed hydrangeas ~

I've added the copper foil tape and now I just have to solder it

and add a hanger on the top....a snippet of seam binding and it would

be a perfect charm for a knob or handle ~

And don't fall out of your chair,

but I even worked on ANOTHER piece of artwork!

It's not quite finished either but you know I HAD

to get back into that wax pot!!!

She's not quite finished yet...

~ The Prairie Girl ~

It's good to get into that creative saddle again ~

Seems our muse comes and goes, doesn't it?

Throw in real life, laundry, cooking, etc.

and it's hard to grab those precious moments

to nurture our creative soul.

I hope you have a great Monday dear friends,

big hugs and much love,

Dawn

Birds....beeswax...and nests ~

I love this artist's work....

I found her illustrations in an old Victoria magazine ~

The artist is Isabelle de Borchgrave....

I've given this little bird to you before...

don't you think it would be precious embroidered onto something?

I finished my beeswax collage!

I'm so in love with using beeswax now ~

I still have a lot to learn but I love the old patina it gives the layers.

I added it to my Etsy shop too!

Look what my sons brought me over the weekend!

Two of the most gorgeous abandoned nests....

from two different sons!

They know me well ~

I think I need to come up with something to strap them to now!!

Have a beautiful Tuesday precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Chicken little breaks out!

I was determined to try this....

especially after hearing how much we all have in common!

I've put this off long enough ~

I purchased the Melting Pot at Michael's with a 50% off coupon, YAAAY!

Then I drove down the road and bought the beeswax at Hobby Lobby using their

40% off coupon.....this, my friends, is the way to buy new art supplies!

I printed out a precious little baby image on my printer ~

then printed this gorgeous image that was Lisa's gift in one of her tutorials.

I trimmed tracing paper to an 8 1/2" x 11" size so I could feed it through my printer.

Well, the ink stays pretty wet and I waited awhile for it to dry.....no dice.

Then I sprayed it with a fixative (for pastels, etc.) and it worked great!

Then it was time to load up the pot ~ the cool thing about this melting pot is that it's temperature controlled!

Plus they tell you not to go over 180 degrees for wax...I have to have directions :)

My artwork is usually so structured....very so-so.

But this is so LOOSE!

I have to tell you though, I LOVED IT!

I've been wanting so bad to loosen my style up just a little....

and this, my friends, FORCED me!

I slathered on beeswax, dipped the image inside using tweezers...then the best part of all,

using my heat gun to melt it all again and thin out all that I'd caked up!

Here's the result:

I can't believe it, I LOVE IT!!!

I've got to try more....

What do you think?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My precious granddaughter, Clara....just lovin' life!

Tellin' her mama the way it is!

Did I tell you this angel is a nature lover?

She's holding a little frog then let's him go on his merry way ~

Have a WONDERFUL Friday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn