Orange Tulips

nfdp
I have a "thing" for orange tulips.  Especially masses of big ones crammed in clay pots like British garden queen Carol Kline pots them up. Naturally I never got around to planting any last fall so I've settled for some from the farm stand

 I was going to put them on my table in a big white pitcher but my mantle was looking a little bare.  It is a narrow mantle, too skinny for my pitcher so I took my old bottles out and put one tulip in each.

BTW - I think tulips are the hardest flower to paint.  I may have a go later this week at painting some just for the challenge of it.

Pssst....

nfdp  Pssst ... Valentines Day is coming up QUICK,  Time to start thinking all things hearts and love and such.
Check out some of my past heart projects HERE and HERE and some more HERE and HERE 

Hanging Hearts

 nfdp

I know, I know it is supposed to be "fresh air Friday".  Whatevs.  It is cold out there!  I will bundle up later and take the little dog for a walk.  Right now, it is all about hearts.
 Hanging recycled book pages hearts.  Really you can make these with whatever paper you want.  Go ahead and use up some of your pretty scrapbook papers.  I have a thing for old book pages so that is what I'm going with.  Plus it is free and who doesn't love free?!

Pretty simple.  Gather your paper, as many sheets as you like. Stack, fold, trace
 -( kindergarten stuff people! I teach K art, trust me)
Sew a line up the middle.  I suck at sewing so you REAL sewers out there - just snicker and look away from my stitches.

Originally I was going to water color the pages after I sewed them so I glued 2 sheets together to make them stiffer.  Changed my mind but this is an option.  I did add a little bead to the end and doodled a bit.  If I had a stack of these in 10th grade math there is no telling what I would of come up with.

 

How to make Easy Paint and Sharpie Eggs

nfdp-
 Here's the thing,  I know there are amazing eggs out there - beautifully decorated- painstakingly decorated eggs.  Stunning little works of art.  I have even made my share of fancy eggs.
These are not those.  Nope.  Not even close.
 These are the "use what you can find and make them fast,easy and simple" kind of eggs. 
This is how I made them:

First, I got out my little collection of  "Oops" paint.  Oops paint is the paint that is returned to the big box home improvement stores - I think I got each one of these for .50 cents!

Nothing perfect or fussy here.

They look pretty just like this, but I couldn't help myself.  Let them dry, added more color on top then dry again.  Doodle time after that!   I just love Sharpies.

BTW - I think eggs look super cute on bottles with bows!  These eggs are hard boiled - meant to be eaten, so the "easy, fast and simple" thing works - you could use blown eggs or wooden eggs from the craft store if you wanted to do more detailed intricate designs and save them from year to year.

For the Love of Paper -Make Some Art Today

This pretty much sums things up.  Make some art today - for the Love of Paper.  ( I crack myself up)

 I'm still busy painting away on more of my big series but when taking a break, I'm all about the sketchbook.  Seriously - OBSESSED.  I am loving drawing again - drawing for drawings sake.  Doodling, art journaling- whatever you want to call it, I am doing it.  You can peek into my sketchbook HERE and HERE.

This month I decided to put a twist on my sketchbook fun and make a little book of quotes.
Nothing fancy - in fact I want it to be the opposite of fancy.
 So I turned to my favorite free paper of ALL TIME - the trusty brown paper bag. I cut some pages, wet and dried them (no idea why - just seemed like something I should do) and made signatures, covers and searched for "coptic stitch" online for some help with book binding.  It is not perfect but I LOVE how it turned out.  Bitten by the handmade bookmaking bug now.

Next is filling in each of the pages - each day a different inspirational quote - art business or creativity related.  It is just for me to keep on my desk to take a gander at when I need a little boost.
Take a peek at some already done...

I love this quote. - You don't need fancy supplies - make some art with the stuff around you.
Why do you love paper?  Tell me in the comments


The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here
more paper lovers here:

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / 

White Sharpie Eggs

In my house, I have to put little signs on food so that all the teen boys that live here don't eat everything all at once.  Especially when it is needed for dinner.
Nothing worse than expecting to come home and make a meal only to find that a pile of boys ate up all the ingredients! 

My new white Sharpie was on the counter so I grabbed it to mark a bowl of hard boiled eggs. (you can get one of these Sharpies here)
  Then I got a little cheeky with a mustache egg.   I couldn't resist the whole bowl after that...

I love decorating eggs - my all time favorite way is onion skin dyeing.  You can see that tutorial HERE