Saturday's clip art: Dramatic Dancers

Thank goodness the weekend is here! I'll be hitting some more antique stores this weekend, and hopefully a few art galleries. Before I leave though, I wanted to send you into the weekend with some fancy dancers! This is a BIG full page size piece of clip art. Enjoy, and happy Saturday!
On tap for this coming week: two new product reviews, and join me as I make my own bird bath from repurposed items.

Thrifty artist money saving tip for leather crafters & today's clip art freebie!

Happy Friday! We've been hosting a small dog this week, and it has been a loooong week. We had hoped she would be fine with our cats, but it was hate at first bark. The cats were interested in befriending her, but she only wanted to chase them. So, tomorrow, she goes home, and things will be back to normal.
I wanted to share a tip with anyone who works with, or would like to work with leather to make jewelry, accessories, wallets, etc. I am a big fan of thrift store shopping and upcycling. My fluffy felted flowers are all made from repurposed felted sweaters. I also like to use leather for making jewelry and hair accessories though. My favorite treasure hunting tip for this is to check out the skirt, pants, and coat sections at my local thrift stores. Vintage 80's leather skirts are my favorite. I also got a fabulous pair of metallic silver leather pants on Ebay recently. You can get a lot of projects out of a cost of $3.99! If I find a leather purse that has seen better days, I may also use it for scrap. So, check out your local thrift store, and see what goodies you can find this week!
Finally, here is today's clip art....an old aged page from a Shakespeare tragedy.
Have a fabulous weekend!

Antique gold pointing hand clip art

Today's freebie is an odd looking golden pointing hand. Hope it comes in handy for your creating endeavors! ( ;

Crackle Black Bird clip art

Just doing a late night, drive-by clip art posting before heading to bed. Here is a bird silhouette that I made, cut out, painted black, and crackle finished. I played a bit with it in Photoshop, but my program is acting glitchy tonight. Tweet Tweet! (that's "bird" for "See ya tomorrow!")

Wooden House Plaque Tutorial

Our new home is a Key West "orange" kind of home, yet this 2 story house is done in a someone modern Victorian style. We have a wrap around porch, with white columns, and may of the houses in our neighborhood have lovely medallions on the front. We didn't, so I ordered one on Ebay. We had boring black house numbers stuck on with some kind of putty, and I wanted a more regal house number plaque. They were expensive at the local hardware stores, so I decided to custom make our own. Our front door is a darker terracotta orange, so I made it to match that. I got my plaque at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon. It was about $8. I got the wood applique (that came in a set of 2) at Lowes. They were $11, so the single one was $6.50. The numbers are painted aluminum, which I then spray painted with an exterior cream colored paint. I painted the plaque with exterior house paint from Home Depot. I chose one that was a primer and a paint in one. I used a permanent, waterproof glue (there are many choices out there) to adhere the wood applique, and hammered the nails into the numbers to secure them. I actually took a bit of paint and painted the tops of the nails the same color as the numbers, so they would blend in. I am posting the pics in order of the steps. It's pretty simple, and shows what order I did things in.

My antique shopping treasures...

Here are the spoils from my girl's day out antiquing trip from last Saturday. We had it planned in advance and were so excited when the day finally arrived. I made treat bags filled with snacks and bottles of water, as I knew we would need the extra energy. I had to include some chocolate, of course! I plan to refinish the piano bench and add a padded fabric top. It will become a window seat for the cats, most likely. I also have plans to paint and "shabby up" the other pieces. I got some great old cookbooks for a grand total of $5, and one has awesome pages that would look great framed. The old glass mason jar is from Italy, and even though it is antique, it will become my "homemade refrigerator pickles" jar. I have been having the hardest time finding a glass container large enough to make them in. I have my new project pics ready to post tomorrow, along with a new piece of clip art. My eyes are starting to roll back into my head though, so I think it is time to head to bed. Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you tomorrow....

New Free Clip Art: old optical glasses store sign & a handmade painted texture paper

I promised two new clip art pieces today, since I slacked over the weekend...so here they are! One is an old optical store sign that would hang out front for passers by to see. The second is a piece of hand textured & painted paper that I made using acrylics. You can play around with it in Photoshop and come up with all kinds of different ideas. Try changing the color, increasing or decreasing the contrasts, cut shapes from it, etc. Have fun, and happy creating! I will be back tonight with some pics of my recent project, and my antique shopping finds from the weekend!

Who knew?

Who knew that antique shopping could be so tiring? I had so much fun today, though, that it was worth the energy loss. ( : I got some really cool finds at great prices, including a huge antique printer's drawer. My friends and I left for our trip at 11 this morning, and didn't get back until after 4. Two of the places didn't have any, or had a lack of good air conditioning, so maybe I lost some weight while shopping. Between the 6 of us, we packed the vehicles chock full of goodies. I don't have a clip art to share tonight, but I will make up for it at the beginning of the week with some extras! Enjoy part 2 of your weekend!

Vintage Teen Dress Pattern

Today's clipart comes from a very old pattern that I purchased at a garage sale last last spring. I am kicking myself for not buying more! The lady used to sell vintage patterns on Ebay and was liquidating her stock. I have some more to share, and some are flapper dresses....so neat!
I am a thrift store addict, and would be even if I was filthy rich! I love finding a good deal, and today I happened upon a local thrift store in Stuart that is run by the Humane Society. I found a vintage wooden bread box to "restore" a half moon shaped wooden piece to used as a display piece over our front door, some leather pants to cut and use for accessories (hair and jewelry pieces) and a few other things. It was nice knowing I was helping a cause dear to my own heart. My rescued kitties would approve. Hope you all have a great weekend! I am going antiquing with some friends tomorrow and am excited to see what kind of treasures we will find!

Canvas Sale...

Just a heads up....I just received an email from Michael's, showing that their Artist Gallery Wrapped red and green label canvases will be 50% off from July 24- 30. That's a great deal, and perfect to stock up on your favorite canvases. I love getting my canvas from www.blick.com, but Michael's is good if you don't feel like paying shipping, or need some in a hurry. Just make sure to "eyeball" them well. I have gotten some home before, and the frame was not at 90 degree angles at the corners, making them irregular shaped.

I'd love to post the new pictures.....

I'd love to post the new pictures of my house number plaque tutorial, but SOMEBODY took my camera cable without telling me. Let me just say, it wasn't either of my cats, so that's pretty easy to figure out. I don't have another here, and the implicated individual will be gone until Sunday. Boo!
Today has been a random, time-sucking day, so I haven't gotten much done. I cleaned my hubby's office this morning, ran errands, and by the time I got home, hubby had come home in the middle of a huge storm. The check engine light was on in the car he had planned on driving on his trip, so I ran off to the mechanics while he packed. Somehow, between that, and making sure he had everything he needed for his trip (and a nap after all the commotion), I found myself looking at the clock, and seeing it was already 7pm....thus my late post today. Anywho....here's today's clip art! It is a Currier & Ives postcard from 1872. Have a happy Friday!

Hand written Benjamin Franklin Letter clip art

Here's a neat historical piece of clip art to use in your mixed media art. I can't make out all of the words, but maybe some of you can. I love using handwritten text in my pieces, and do so quite often.
Today's project was making a new house number plaque for out new home. We currently have the plain plastic black numbers, and with the Victorian style of our home, I felt it needed something a little more fancy. The total cost will be less than if I bought a premade plastic plaque like they sell at Home Depot and Lowes. I will post the pics and a tutorial tomorrow. Have a good night! I hope to see you again soon!

Dollar store deals!

I'll be adding a new clip art piece later today, but first, I wanted to share some Dollar store ideas. We just moved very close to a Dollar Tree store, and I am in there all the time! Yesterday, I found they had put out their new Halloween items (Yay! That means fall is on the way!) and I found this packet of black cat paper cut-outs. I already have ideas for a cute 3 piece, small canvas mixed media piece using these cats. Those of you who know me well, know that I adore cats, and one of mine happens to be black.
What else can you use from the dollar store? Toothbrushes for spattering paint, plastic plates as reusable paint palettes, craft foam sheets for making your own stamps, scissors, sandpaper for distressing your art pieces, coffee cups for holding your brushes, and tissue paper for wrapping your pieces for mailing or gift giving. I prefer the Dollar Tree, because EVERYTHING is a dollar....AND they have great chocolate. I am a self-proclaimed chocolate snob (usually, I prefer European brands), but the Dollar Tree has their own brand made by Landmark Confections, that is soooooo good!
On another note, here is a picture of my studio in our new home. I finally have my own room, with tiled floors, so I can spread out and make a big, creative mess. I am a complete clean freak when it comes to the rest of the house, but I am really good at making a mess when I am in my creating mode. Well, off to eat some breakfast and get on with the day! Stop back later for some clip art!

Folk Art Heart

I came across some fun finds at the local dollar store to use in some projects, and I will share those with you tomorrow. The dollar store is a fabulous place to find things to use in mixed media artwork.
For today though, as promised, is a new free clip art that you are free to have fun with! I hand painted this piece and have had it sitting around without a purpose for a while. Hope you enjoy it!

Adorable vintage grumpy piano girl postcard

Here is the first of my clip art freebies! I got this cute vintage postcard at a local antique shop and every time I look at it, I laugh! To save the pic for yourself, just right click and save it to your computer. Have fun with her! She would be great to use in scrapbooking or in a mixed media art piece.

Christmas in July Sale at Michaels

Here are some great coupons for Michael's Christmas in July Sale. It runs July 17 through July 23rd. You can get 25% off your entire purchase including regular and sale items (not including clearance, as usual). Make sure to read the exclusions. There are a few others you can print and use also! Happy shopping...now....go and MAKE something!