Sweet spring ~

I don't know exactly when it happens.

One day you are shivering and looking for cozy throws

then slowly but surely

the temperature climbs to a wonderful level

and then you REALIZE something!

It feels like spring!!!

We've been having beautiful, mild weather

for the past few days here in Georgia.

It's such a nice change and always welcome.

Believe me, we cherish our delightful 70 degree weather.
Here in Georgia we relish each and every minute of it
because we will blink and

it will be boiling and 90 degrees before we know it!!!

Well, I think these beautiful days have inspired me.

I actually created a new piece of artwork!!!

It's been quite a while since I made an assemblage.

I had this precious little birds nest that

I'd purchased in a ziploc baggy

at an antique store.

I kept staring at it knowing it should be the feature

of a new nature assemblage.

Here's what I came up with!

Isn't it funny how something as simple as the weather

can inspire us to create?

You can find my new piece in

my etsy store if you'd like to take a peek!!!

I hope life is treating you good ~

As always, thank you so much for stopping by

to see what I'm up to around here!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Simple beauty ~

I couldn't stand it anymore....

it was time to make something!

Last week a gave you a peek at the beginnings of this new piece ~

so instead of more fluffing on the house, I chose to finish it!

While making art, I always have so many ideas but

it seems I end up with quite simple pieces.

Maybe I under-edit but I just want the elements that are there

to stand alone ~ to show their beauty.

I could add tons and tons more things to this piece

but the simplicity speaks volumes to me.

She's now listed in my Etsy shop too!!!
And she is now sold, thank you so much Melissa!

Thank you for visiting me sweet friends....

Have a wonderful Friday,

hugs and love,

Dawn

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

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

What time of day do you love to create?

~ Da Vinci study for you ~~

I have been a night owl as long as I can remember.

When I was in high school

I would stay up until 2:00 in the morning

finishing my homework so I would make good grades ~

obsessive, yes...but I did graduate with all A's!

My brothers are quite similar, loving to stay up late,

so I think it's just the way we are!

So believe it or not, my favorite time to get started in the studio

is about 4:00 in the afternoon!!!

Yes, it's absolutely crazy, I know that.

But my creative time seems to always want to happen

from about 4:00 pm till about 1:00 am!

I want to create, take pics (not the best time to take great photos too)

and then post on my blog.

I guess to each his own though ~

it just seems to be the way I roll :)

I had a few old frames that I added a cardboard backing to,

then glued on a bit of burlap, antique ledger paper and copies

of a few wonderful old images ~ accented by vintage watch faces!

These are both for my sweet DIL Emily ~ just to have in her home,

she picked out the photos herself.

These are very simple pieces but have a wonderful look.

This is the scrap of a very old baby quilt that I've been using lately.

And I do mean scrap too!

I would never cut an old quilt up if it didn't have gaping holes in it :)

Just look at the teeny stitches a wonderful woman made for a sweet new baby.

My joy is to create new items from these tattered old pieces.

This is a little experiment inspired by my dear friend Lisa ~

Just a couple of pieces of waxed paper, sewn together and what's packaged inside?

Dried petals and leaves....to preserve their beauty.

I aged it all just a little with an almost dry ink sponge and brown ink.

Here's a little "in progress" photo....

Lace is everywhere ~ I always lay pieces on top to see how I feel about them.

Can you tell that I love tons of lace and cruddy old stuff?

And here's the end result.

A new needle keep
(thank you Marie for buying my first one!)
just listed in my Etsy ~
using the antique baby quilt, a beautiful fragment of an embroidered hanky,

vintage lace and of course aged seam binding and old buttons!!

And you won't even believe this....

I was able to complete another piece as well!!!

A beautiful collage from an antique card ~ from 1905!

I used the actual card here because I just felt it needed to be in this collage.

Teal seam binding loopy fringe...antique lace...vintage sheet music.

A simple, sweet combination ~ in my Etsy store as well.

It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful I feel when I make something.

Whether or not anyone else likes it....

it. feels. wonderful.

Have a beautiful Wednesday my sweet friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

OK....don't faint ~

I actually made something!!!

In my studio!!! It's been waaaaay too long ~

I fell in love with an amazing antique moth print

that Karen of The Graphics Fairy

so graciously gifted her readers

and knew I would have to make something with it!

Here's my antique moth collage....

available in my shoppe too!

It feels so good to make something!!!



 I found a SWEET giveaway too!!!
Kristin of Faded Prairie is having a birthday celebration giveaway HERE ~

I hope you have a WONDERFUL Tuesday sweet friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn