With Valentine’s Day less than two weeks away, I thought I would share some of my work that is just perfect for the holiday. Peruse, enjoy, and share with your loved ones.
I couldn’t be more in love with this print. I actually created in as a Christmas gift for a family member, and it turned out so well that I decided to add it to my shop. You can add any text to the photo that you would like. Adding personalized anniversary dates, love quotes, or song lyrics make this the perfect V-day gift.
Kissing penguins… need I say more!
And, finally, the international symbol for love: a heart carved in a tree.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all are able to spend this time with the person you love.
Here are a few of my newest pictures. I have been feeling a little vintage lately, and these nostalgic road-trip pics are the result.
Enjoy!
After much, much, much tribulation, I finally have my own website up and running. I am no web designer, which is the main cause of the tribulation, but in attempt to save some money, I decided to design the thing myself.
Here’s the main screenshot:
Simple, to the point, and definitely effective. I was looking for a better way to increase my online presence, and I wanted one basic place where all things Squidart could be found. In the future I would love to learn more about web design and expand the site. I would also love to make enough money to hire a designer! But for now, I am loving my little llama friend and his website.
Recently, when I should have been working on some new photos or school work, I dove head first into a new decor project. This wall art idea has been stirring in my head for quite some time now, and I finally got my act together enough to start it.
Over a year ago, I purchased some large vinyl decals that I have never put to good use. I fell in love with these decals, drooled over them for a month, finally bought them, and let them sit unopened. I was ashamed of myself.
Here’s a pic of the decal. It is just the cream part, and the wall is painted red behind it. Well, this is what I wanted to do, but I can’t paint my little rental house. I needed a plan B.
I decided to find wood panels that are 2 feet by 2 feet, paint them, and adhere the decal. As I started the project, I realized that I was not crazy about the decals after all. They were the wrong color and looked really plasticy, but I still loved the design. I altered my plan a bit and used the decals as a stencil.
Materials:
3 2′ x 2′ wood panels (Lowe’s – about $4.00 each)
1 Pint of paint for the background color (I used a dark brown)
1 Pint of paint for the stencil color (I used an off-white)
1+ Brushes or sponges
3 Sawtooth picture hangers
The Process:
Get yourself some wooden panels (the little white dog is optional). The size and number of panels will depend on your decal/stencil.
I then painted all three panels a dark brown color. It took me three coats to get a nice, even brown color, but if you are not using a dark color, you should only need one or two coats. I just used standard wall paint, nothing fancy. Below you can see the painted panel and the decal that I will use.
Once your panel is completely dry (wait at least a day,) you can put on the decal or tape down a stencil. I did not press my decal down all of the way to the edges. I made sure it was secure and bubble-free right around the image, but I wanted to be able to t peel it off easily, so I did not press down the edges firmly. You can see some of the bubble I left.
Then comes the paint! Again, I applied a few coats until it was even and streak-free.
I let it dry most of the way before I tried peeling off the decal. I was not sure how this part was going to go. Luckily, the white paint did not peel off with the decal. There were a few problems, though. As you can see below, the edges are not very smooth. How did I fix it? I took a brown sharpie and outlined the edges. A little ghetto, I know, but it worked.
Here’s the final panel, and as soon as all three are done and hung up, I will post some of those pics.
Happy Crafting!
This fall Laurie Kearney of Gossamer Collective, a gallery in Seattle, came to me asking if I would like to take part in her Miniature Art Extravaganza. The exhibit features all types of artwork, but the work must not exceed 4×4x4 inches.
Of course I jumped at the chance! This has been my first gallery show, and it has been such a wonderful experience. Honestly, I can’t even believe it. A curator wanted my work in her show. It is validating, and exciting, and scary all at the same time.
I spent the better part of October preparing for the show. Printing the pictures was the easy part. 4 inches by 4 inches, no problem. Framing the pieces turned out to be a whole different ordeal indeed!
After much trial and error, I was able to devise a clip frame for that size. Much thanks goes out to a fellow artist, Erin Tyner, who pointed me in the right direction, a wonderful engineer husband, and a trusty drill press.
Here are some pics of the final product:
And here is one from the show:
Check out more of the artwork featured at the Stylus Salon show on Ghost Gallery’s Flickr page.
If you happen to be in Seattle, take a swing by one of the three venues involved in the Miniature Art Extravaganza: Stylus Salon, Gossamer Collective, and Solo Bar. Then come back and tell me all about it; it is just killing me that I can’t be there!
Working on some new styles and prints. Lovin’ the lomo look…
Muvico - 6x6 inch Lomography Photo
Take a look at what my husband and I woke up to last Saturday morning.
Manatees! We have a beautiful canal at the end of our backyard, and as Ron looked out our backdoor he saw this massive lump of something in the water. Ron, dog, and I ran out the door, and we couldn’t have been more excited to realize that we had manatees.
You can't see the manatees, but this is the canal.
We (minus dog) jumped in the canoe and went to make friends! It was a momma with her baby, just hanging out. At first the momma drifted away from us, but as we sat in the canoe in the middle of the canal, the baby came to investigate.
Baby manatee!
Just imagine how big the momma was!
She swam right up to the canoe, stuck her nose out of the water, and let me pet her! It was fantastic. She then swam under the boat. We were lucky she didn’t tip us over. Momma drifted over shortly after. She wasn’t much into us, but she swam under the canoe a few times. One flick of her fin would have sent us flying!
Don't tip us!
Such a wonderful morning. Sometimes I remember just how lucky I am to live where I live.
After our wonderful weekend in St. Augustine, I came home with a slew of new photographs. Here are a few that are now listed in my etsy shop. Enjoy!
Beach Reeds
A Windy Day
Beach Flare
A Friendly Gathering
Welcome Home
Knowing that I needed a vacation more than ever, my husband convinced me to take off last Friday. How could I argue with a weekend away from work, away from the house, away from everything?
Anyways, I had the perfect excuse. My birthday is only a few weeks from now, and I was promised a weekend in St. Augustine doing whatever I wanted.
Our early Friday morning departure plan was a total bust. With the packing, changing the car’s oil, a last-minute load of laundry, a quick fight, and trying to find someone to watch our dog, we didn’t even leave town until 6:00pm! Planning just don’t work around here!
But as soon as we started driving, there was nothing but peace and happiness. St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest established city in the United States, so charm just covers the whole town, along with a nice dose of tourist trap fun.
Here are some of the pics:
We ate at the top of one of these.
Careful, it's an enemy fort.
The fort's courtyard.
Inside view of the fort.
This museum looked like a castle, just beautiful!
Courtyard of a museum.
I've never seen so many hard-working horses!
I love driving on the beach.
Some filthy birds.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled on such a cheap way to get some pretty great jewelry. It’s so easy! I feel ridiculous for not thinking of it sooner.
Go to JoAnn’s, Michael’s, or any other craft store, and buy a pre-made necklace chain and an awesome big pendant.
The craft stores sell a lot of pre-made necklace chains now. In the past, you could really only find all of the parts to make your own jewelry, like spools of chain, beads, and clasps. Now, it is really easy to find necklace cords with the clasps already attached and pendants that are ready to hang.
You can buy the chain and pendant for about $5 to $8!
Here’s a pendant for only $3 from JoAnn’s:
And a cord with clasp for 2 bucks! (Many of these cords also have ribbon mixed in with the cord material, adorable!)
Put them together, and you got a fantastic $5 necklace!
Happy Shopping!
