MOG Mother of the Groom Reception Dancing Tennis Shoes

These tennis shoes are soon to be on their way to the Mother of the Groom for a September wedding in the state of Lousiana and they were a commissioned item request. Ellie said she works hard and plays twice as hard and would I, could I , create some over the top; just short of "tacky", reception tennis shoes so she could really enjoy her sons big day. My first thought was "painted" but along the way something happened which always seems to be the case of late. The colors for the wedding,,,,mustard yellow, poppy red and robin egg blue and she had no fabric swatches for me to go by. I emailed some photo colors to Ellie and she was good with what I provided. When I started to paint I was just not a bit happy with what was happening; therefore the switch to material. The tongue and the very top front of the sneaker is gold lame which wasn't the easiest of fabrics to work with and me a REAL novice in this area. On the gold lame front are MOG done in rhinestones and on both sides of each shoe there are silver charms which read "to love and cherish". I loved working with the silver material and it worked up nice and easy. I found a great glue which worked great so therefore I used it for everything that needed to be attached, so it would STAY attached. Finding some small flowers and ribbon the color of the wedding took some hunting but I am hoping that what I used will be close enough to blend. She still has not purchased her dress so maybe once she has the shoes she will have something concrete to work with. I had to make my own pattern pieces and they didn't work from one shoe to another so each shoe piece had to be done seperately. The rhinestones that I used are in a mustardy gold, blue and clear. The shoes are done and now all I have to do is add tissue paper to the poof bows, wrap carefully and send them on their way... to dance their way to Ellie in LA. My fingers are crossed that she will like the transformation and that she will enjoy herself and dance the night away....... The photos are pretty self explanatory..... from conception to completion. And Oh, the only painting I did was done on the rubber sole portion using a heavy body Silver Metallic Paint and then a coat of Opal Dust. Ellie has to be one of the kindest, sweetest ladies I have met on the internet and a we have had a lot of laughs as these tennis shoes were discussed. She has not seen them, and won't until she receives them and opens the box...

Thank You

I have no way to reach one of my blog "friends" by the name of Belle so I am posting this directly to my blog ..... Thank you so VERY much for all of your kind affirmations on my many endeavors and I am delighted that there are those who come back more than once to see what I have been "up to". Comments such as yours mean so much. So thanks....and to You who has brought joy....
one of my cheery, colorful sunflowers and to all else who comes in friendship to my blog.... Enjoy.
Hugs,
Diana

Dandelion

Sometimes one has to make time for things that in just one "poof" can be taken away and only memory remains and the details, the uniqueness, is gone. Such is life. Grab the moment, enjoy the beauty, and appreciate others for "being". When I sat down this AM at my computer and looked out the window as I typed watching the grasses move with the brrze, the squirrel running along the fence below was this single dandelion..... The other day there was another one, and I didn't take the NOW time to grab my camera and walk a few feet to snap a photo or two and as a result the next day .... no trace of the white dandelion.......... So enjoy these photos. Click on the closeup of the dandelion.....

White Flower

I like the challenge of taking, or not taking a good photo. Capturing what I see and having it turn out to share with others. To enjoy looking at or painting, making into a card, etc. Art comes in all forms and is either liked or not liked by the viewer. I find beauty in all that is around me but many see with a blind eye. Sad. I love the waxiness of this flower, the thickness and yet the transparency as you can see the stalk of another behind the petal. The pale, pale green lines in the petals, and the shades of white that almost have a pink tinge here and there.

Black and White Tag Swap

I just finished a black and white tag swap that was kinda neat. The picture of the man and women on the left was a cabinet photo I found at a local antique store and I just loved the primness of them both. The photo at the top is a UK cigarette metal tin that I found at our local Goodwill store. I photocopied the tin and then cut to make a 3 D standup for the photos. The hunt is nearly as much fun as finding something that will be unique, one of a kind and somewhat different. My tags will be on their way to their destination Friday. Such fun.

Rafting down the River

This weekend I am "hoping" it will be rafting down the Deschutes. We tie about 4 rafts together, take a lunch and launch off about 1/4 mile from where my daugher lives and to get to the bridge which is about 5 miles from the launch site. It will take us about 3 glorious, relaxing hours. Less if the current is strong and more if it is gentle. This is one of my favorite things to do .... ahhhhh.
It is wonderful to be able to have summer and winter sports all within a few miles of us. Who could ask for anything more? Next week I will hopefully have a river raft photo to post.

Worry Bracelet

A couple of weeks ago I attended an art festival. There was a gentleman there who created a number of different items made with porcelain. He called these his worry beads. I fell in love with them. Each one of the beads that I purchased is different.

The burnt sienna colored wooden rectangular round beads were made by my Son in Law (Manzanita wood) and I felt worked perfectly with the worry bead. Some of the beads I have used are vintage and there are several different handmade lampwork beads made by a friend of mine in the state of Washington.

I use Tierra Cast spacers, clasps, and bead caps which are culinary grade pewter that is silver coated and the finest quality.

The eyes appear to have been pricked into the porcelain so they give a real 3 dimensional look to the piece. The faces could easily pass for Primitive Santas.; don't you think????

This bracelet was to be for me but it is just a tad too big so it will go on Etsy and I will make another for myself. This was my first one and I have many more "worry beads" to create into jewelry pieces. YEA....

BLACK IRIS

Exciting. What I had previously "thought" was a black iris was far from what I now have. It is so dark I didn't even know it was there until I walked close to the iris garden. I
was told I might have a black one in the mixture I was given and planted but had no idea it would be this black....it is scrumptious.... I wonder what it would take to paint this and do it justice. There are so many other colors showing in the darkest black areas especially red and of course the purple.

I hope you enjoy the picture.

Card Exchange

Paper is NOT one of my artistic fortes and so I struggle but I at least try. This card was for a swap on AFTCM yahoo group. The theme was butterflys and dragonflys. Since I don't have the equipment and stock that many paper artists have what I do is really juvenile to what I see coming forth from others. I added a button, a piece of sheer ribbon for closure, used an offset fold and then added a ribbon with hand made lampwork beads to match the button. (Blue) On the main butterfly I added some "Glamour Dust".... The paper already had the butterfly on it but I added the dragonflys with a small stamp that I had. Very simple.

Steampunk Necklace

I am working on a steampunk mixed media necklace.

This particular piece has a lip gloss sliding tin as the base. I then added different jewelry embellishments and was delighted the way the brass piece worked to come through the mask as if there are eyes...which was the dots on the brass piece that were prefectly placed.

Next is to "come up with" something for the inside of the Mardi Gras doll ... and of course work up the necklace portion.

Designing and making jewelry is so much fun...

Screen Painting

I had new french doors put in from our kitchen to the side porch and the mesh on the screen is so tiny, the first day my grandson went sailing through ... so I decided that I needed to do a bit of screen painting so that the screen would stand out more and no one would walk through it again. My choice, was a rose as I could readily do it freehand.

When painting a screen door:
1. Paint your design on the side you want the design to show.
I want to be able to see the design from inside and outside so now I need to paint another rose on the other side.
2. You do not want the paint to clog the screen holes so blow gently to remove paint....afterwards I use a dressmaking pin or needle to poke through any clogs I miss.
3. Make sure that your touch is very light when you are painting on screen.
4. I painted my screen at night so that I had the darkness as a backdrop so that I could "see" what I was doing. Worked GREAT. When I paint the outside I will again do it at night and turn off the inside lights so I have darkness.

SUCH fun...and it is a neat way to "see" the screen.

MERGER

I have decided to merge my mixed media blog on over to this blog for convenience sake, so watch for my new pieces and some of my older ones as I find time to reload. I may decide to use my other blog for my photography only.

Mixed media is a new venture for me and it has been an unbelievable journey as I uncover a lot of things about myself. It has helped me to get "out of the box" as well as helped my creative side to merge out a little. I have met and swapped with some extra-ordinary people whose talent has amazed and delighted me.

My computer is nearly ready to be picked up so soon I will be able to download some new art pieces / photos etc.

Computer Issues

I am having computer "issues" and as a result I have a loner and unable to download any photos .... I am hoping to have my own computer back by the end of the week so should be "back to normal" by next week. YEA.........

Faux Stained Glass (Gallery Glass)

I love working with Gallery Glass and the above are sunflowers which I did on the mylar type sheets, peeled off and adhered to my window. I had the design on my sliding doors from the kitchen to the porch so no one would accidentally walk into the glass but now that I have French doors installed I peeled the design off very carefully (after 5 years of it being on the door) and transferred it to my kitchen windown over my sink. It is so bright and cheerful, not to mention pretty that I had to find another place for it.

Gallery Glass is made by Plaid and is the only glass paint that I have ever tried to use. For me it provides the results I want for the glass surfaces that I use. I just purchased a one paned vintage window which I am going to use to do a piece to hang from my porch. I am anxious to find a design I like, get it leaded, painted and "up" to enjoy.

It takes a little bit of practice, a steady hand for leading, and a lot of little learned tricks to turn glass into some beautiful faux stained glass pieces but well worth the effort.

Raindrops on Iris

Don't you just love a summer shower?

This bud is just perfectly formed and the rain drops are the perfect addition for a picture perfect

"shot".