inspiration avenue challenge: alphabet

this week's challenge over at Inspiration Avenue is Alphabet....which gave me a chance to use this idea I found on Pinterest. i was supposed to be a Valentine's gift for my husband, but I am no good at surprises, so he's already seen it...thinks it is cute. 

i used an old tee shirt as the fabric. it surprisingly took a long time to add the words. i used a black sharpie marker or most the words and brown for our names. i used a standard plastic stencil for the words. i am very into the minimalist, typography, neutral look lately, and this is perfect for what i'm feeling. also, that's a pretty sweet painting behind the pillow, which i will talk about later. 

humble beginnings:the magpie

this piece began as a bargain piece; a coffee relief picture. i took the coffee piece out to use the frame (the coffee may come up again later, who knows?). 

the nest is a leftover decoration from my wedding. i lightly sprayed it with silver spray paint and glitter. 

this piece is inspired by the magpie, a bird that collects shiny and fun things for its nest. i added some buttons (for eggs), a feather, tiny clock, a pin, a gear and a key on the inside.

the frame has a used paintbrush head (new favorite thing?) and a silver $1 Michael's key with a handwritten Home.

on the inside and the back, i used some of Tim's Tissue Tape to cover the blank areas, it fits into the color scheme pretty nicely.  

this piece has been in the mental works for a while, coming from an old sketch. it's so nice to see your ideas come to life. here is the original frame and sketch:

obligatory configuration box: Margaritte

last year for our anniversary my husband got me a bunch of art stuff (remember that?) and i finally got around to using the Tim Holtz configuration box. i decided to follow the directions on the video online. i use Tim's tissue tape and the Lost & Found paper stack. 

the objects added are a few doll parts (post on that to come!), antique spool of thread, an old button and watch parts. the key is one of those fabulous $1 Michael's finds. 

i stamped the outside with some more $1 Michael's stamps and it was done. i like the girly cute feel that it has. 

however, i don't think i'd work the configuration boxes again. i love the way you can change up the arrangement of the boxes however you want, but they're awkwardly deep for what i do. and i also enjoy the original and spontaneous setups i can get from using old drawers and shelves and found pieces of wood. 

not to knock Tim's boxes, they are excellent, but i wouldn't make it my only medium. a configuration box every now and then is a nice addition to the collection.

some jewelry

i really love this one. it's an old paintbrush on a chain. the inspiration for this comes from my Sequence piece. and i have a ton of old paintbrushes, so i can make a lot of them!

this is a Pinterest inspiration. it's pretty basic. i placed some old clock pieces together and attached it to a fake pearl necklace.

junky finds

this weekend we helped clear out some stuff from my husband's parents' house which means....yay free junk! i really needed some more old dolls to tear apart, and i found 6. along with that, some old clock faces, cameras, blocks, watches and a nice old book. can't wait to have time to play.....

On the Wings of Industry

for this piece, i started with a 5"x7" piece of wood covered with a piece of paper from one of Tim's paper stacks. then i started to put stuff together. i went through a lot of bad stuff before i finally got to the little metal man torso. i found that in a parking lot on campus, it seems to be part of an unwanted trophy. i put that inside of a metal cup from the Dollar Tree's wedding favors section.

i keep finding these butterfly wings in thrift shops, and i keep getting them because they work so well for a bunch of things! and coincidentally they match up with where the man's arms should be. the key is from Michael's (finally got there on a good day and snagged a ton of these for $1 each). the nuts are from that trip to my parents' farm and the definition is from my tattered dictionary. the skull is another Dollar Tree item, from a pack of Halloween skeletons.

i added some clock wire wrapping, haven't done that in a while, and it is finished! On the Wings of Industry.

In the Middle Tennessee area?

March 5th, 12th, & 19th 

7pm-9pm

then you should come to my encaustic workshop at the Murfreesboro Art League! You can find their blog here. The image above is one of my student's work from a previous workshop, created by encaustic painting and string collage.


Join us in creating some amazing, original layered artwork using encaustic paints and medium! This is a 3 week workshop taking place each Monday from 7pm to 9pm. All materials are included, but you are welcome to bring any 3D elements, ephemera, etc. that you would like to include in your work, as well as any kind of surface. 


Surfaces will be provided (8"x8" Masonite board) but you can work on any surface that is durable enough to hold the wax (such as any kind of wood, shelving, canvas, or get creative!). 


If you choose to bring your own images for TRANSFERS, you will need Laser jet, NOT Inkjet copies (the toner from the Laser jet is what transfers). Any images you bring for collage or transfer will not be returned, so be sure you have copies. 


Since this is a 3 week workshop, we will be building on our skills each week. 

Week 1: Melting wax, safety, heat guns, dripping, collage. 

Week 2: Image transfers and 3D collage 

Week 3: Combine it all! Create your encaustic masterpiece! We will also talk about mounting and long-term care. 

Members to MAL are FREE! Non-Members: $5 per night, so $15 total. But, you should just join! Free workshops all year, a gallery to display your art and opportunities to sell your work! Membership rates: Regular - $45
Senior (65+) - $35
Family (living at same address –teens & up) $50
Student - $25 Sign up ASAP to reserve your seat!