A Note From The Queen

ART LIQUIDATION SALE!!!

2011-12-06T09:25:00.001-06:00

I need to free up some space in my house, no reasonable offer refused!! If I still have it, you can buy it!!! Just send me an email at jgiffordii@wi.rr.com and we can talk.

Just a few new pieces.

2011-09-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

that time again

2011-09-02T22:39:00.003-05:00

It's time to start getting geared up for the Open House. This year it is on Friday December 2nd. I've got a few projects started already and lots more ideas to come. I can't wait!!! Although there is some stress involved its very motivating!!! Watch for pics to come!

New Images

2011-09-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

Lost Coast Design has some new stamps out, you should check them out.

Hello from the studio

2011-09-01T14:10:00.003-05:00

I working on a couple things in my studio and something hit me that I wanted to share with you. Especially those of you that are scrapbookers and rubber stampers. Now I'm not sure if this is something that can be used in ALL instances, but certainly in many.

I buy tape runners, and refills and am always ever so frustrated when I run out in mid project. Because this has happened more than once I've had to resort to other things, glue sticks, Aileens Tack It and other things.

However, the least expensive, most cost effective and certainly the most adhesive is Matte Medium. I of course use it on my canvases, but have also started using it on ATC's, 4x4's, and anything else that requires me to stick things together.

Yes, it's a wet medium, but nothing a heat gun in between applications can't solve. It dries clear and you can put several coats of it on everything for doing layers and sealing things.

I have now totally alleviated the frustration of running out of tape refills and the mess of glue in a bottle. The other thing that is reassuring is that when I send out my artwork, or sell it I'm not fearful that it's going to come apart after it's reached it's new home.

You can usually pick up a bottle of medium for $6-$8 or more depending on the brand and size you choose to get, however, it'll last you a while.

Anyways, just something I thought I should share with you all.

This is Who I Am

2011-08-28T21:59:00.002-05:00

This is a personal piece I did just to help get me back into the swing of collaging canvases again. It's called This is Who I Am. The paint brush is obvious, I am an artist, the Cross in front and center shows that God is the center of who I am. The 4 is for my 4 children, and the words in yellow that you cannot make out say "till death do us part" for my husband/marriage. The crown, well, thats self explanatory, I am the Queen after all!

Kewlness

2011-08-28T21:54:00.002-05:00

What is this you ask??? Its my easel!! It's the part where the canvas rests. I love how it looks, how it changes with each canvas I do. A little piece of every canvas I do is saved in there forever. No way I'm ever gonna try to clean that all off, it's posterity!

All Images from Lost Coast Design!

2011-08-24T19:33:00.003-05:00

First Canvas of the Summer

2011-08-23T01:04:00.001-05:00

Images by Lisa's Altered Art.

Still a work in progress, but at least it's progress!!

more stamping.

2011-03-03T11:01:00.001-06:00

These fabulous birds are from Lost Coast Designs.

playing in the studio

2011-03-01T10:10:00.002-06:00

Images from Lisa's Altered Art

playing in the studio

2011-03-01T10:04:00.002-06:00

all images are from Lost Coast Designs

Fun-ness

2011-02-15T21:04:00.002-06:00

This was a page in a journal I had done and tore the page out because I decided to change the direction the journal was going in. It just seemed to fun and colorful not to play with. So I added some images from Lisa's Altered Art and turned it into new art.

Happy To Be Me

2011-02-15T21:00:00.001-06:00

An 8x8 canvas done with Lisa's Altered Art images.

ATC's and Art Journals

2011-02-14T09:22:00.003-06:00

As I was playing around this morning with my new Journal, I happened to have an ATC laying on the counter next to me. I thought now why couldn't I incorporate that ATC into my page. So I did!!! I don't know about all of you but I have hundreds of ATC's I've made in binders just sitting there taking up space. I may have to delve into them and see what others would lend themselves well to my art journal.

Prayer Art Journal Project

2011-02-13T21:49:00.002-06:00

As of late I've been struggling with trying to get into the groove of creating. I go to my studio and find myself tinkering around with things that just aren't pulling together well at all.

I've been revisiting things that I've gotten away from since moving to canvas to help me break through this. One of the things that I haven't done in a long time is any work in my art journal.

Another thing that I'm very passionate about is my relationship with God. When I create I am always sure to thank Him for my talent, cause I know I didn't get here on my own. I also know that this is not all there is. He has more in store for me.

I have decided that one of the ways I can incorporate both of my passions is to start a Prayer Art Journal. I'm excited for this endeavor and cannot wait to see what happens, both in the art realm and the spiritual realm.

I just may share with you all. :)

You can call this one cute

2011-01-08T18:30:00.003-06:00

I normally have a fit if someone uses the word cute to describe my artwork, but this one I couldn't help but call cute.

In my head

2011-01-08T18:28:00.002-06:00

I've had the image of this woman in my head for a while finally was able to get her out. It's a small piece, just an 8x8. I hope to make her larger someday, but for now I'm happy to have her where she is.

My In-Laws

2011-01-08T18:25:00.003-06:00

This is what I gave my MIL for Christmas this year. It's a picture taken when they were newly married and lived in Alaska. I just love the picture. She loved the art, it made her cry. I think she liked it :)

a new adventure

2010-11-02T17:44:00.002-05:00

I have lots of friends who knit and man, I really really like knitted socks. So I decided what the heck and am teaching myself to knit. It's not pretty right now, but hopefully I'll get better at it.

been playing

2010-10-29T19:05:00.006-05:00

Getting ready for a show in December. Just a small open house show, but it's fun and it's a great show, I can't wait. If you're in SE Wis give me a shout and I'll letcha know the details!

The Dip

2010-10-21T21:21:00.003-05:00

A few Sunday's ago our Pastor did a 2 part series called "The Dip". I was about all the trials and tribulations that one goes through in life. How there are always going to be "dips" in our life and how we respond to them determines how our "dip" effects our life.

That sermon series inspired this piece of art. It's hard to see but there is a faint cross up at the top of the canvas. The reason it is faint is because usually when we're on the upswings of our lives we tend to forget God is there and we still need to praise Him and be obedient.

At the bottom of the canvas is a large pair of hands, which symbolizes how when we do go into those "dips" in life God is there and He's holding us. The "dips" are the times we usually cry out to God the most.

If only we'd be consistent and praise Him fully in the highs and in the lows of our lives.

A Studio Day

2010-10-21T21:18:00.003-05:00

I got to spend the day in my studio today. So much fun! I really miss the days of spending endless hours down there. Maybe once I begin my winter hibernation I'll have more time.

These are some works in progress.

Sold Out

2010-09-22T18:42:00.002-05:00

Well, I've done it now. I have a winter show coming up Dec 3rd. I've been brainstorming with a friend on ways that I could make more sales. Lets be honest, selling a 200.00 canvas isn't something thats going to happen in droves.

So I have made prints of some pieces and taken portions of the print and put them in mats and sleeves. They will be for sale for much less than the original. I just never wanted to do this because I felt that it diminished the original. I guess the almighty dollar speaks too loudly sometimes. *sigh*

Crimes against women

2010-08-25T08:19:00.003-05:00

This piece is meant to disturb you, if it doesn't I'd be concerned. It represents crimes against women and how they must feel about it. Shame, Anger, Pain and Guilt. It's a simple piece but in my mind it speaks volumes.

Don't worry, I'm working on some happier art too, just they take longer to finish than the pieces that come from within my soul and emotion.

whimsical and creepy

2010-08-25T08:15:00.002-05:00

Not sure I'm naming this piece whimsical and creepy, but that's the aire it has I guess. The child and the fun flowers represents innocence and how when we're children we're oblivious to the evils of the world. The dark blue creeping in is representative of the evils of the world creeping in and corrupting the innocence.

Anger

2010-08-10T21:26:00.003-05:00

Therapy can be a very powerful tool as an artist. I have not normally been an artist that has lots of deep meanings to her pieces. Mostly I just do what I think looks and feels right. However, my therapist has encouraged me to tap into my emotions to create. Right now we're working on anger, and what anger is and how it looks and feels. This is my artistic definition of anger, Not necessarily something you put on your fireplace mantel I guess but very powerful imagery none the less.

Scraped Paint canvas

2010-07-25T20:06:00.002-05:00

I played with these 4x4 canvas boards a while ago then just decided I should finally do something with them. I've mounted them on a larger canvas board, framed them with some mat board I had cut to size. It just didn't seem like that was enough, so I found some 2x2 adorable little canvas's and did basically the same thing to them. I'm going to have the whole thing matted and framed as soon as Michaels has another one of those framing sales.

I Am Free

2010-07-12T19:50:00.002-05:00

sorry bout the picture quality, but you gotta love the convenience of a camera phone.

This is proof that you can make art just about anywhere. I went to a music festival this past weekend and they had this awesome space set up just for making art. They had paints, magazines, glue, and masonite boards.

Art and Music, does it get much better than that? Well, okay, throw in some chocolate and you've got darn near perfection!

a new fun abstract piece

2010-05-31T01:03:00.001-05:00

Starving Artist Sale on Etsy

2010-02-14T10:00:00.001-06:00

All my work on Etsy is now 30% off.

For Sale

2010-02-12T10:02:00.003-06:00

In organizing my studio, I'm stumbling across things that I just don't use anymore. One of these being my beloved Twinkling H20's *sigh*. I love these things and when I was stamping and making cards I used them all the time, although judging by whats left in each pot you'd never know it. However, they don't really transfer over to working on canvas terribly effectively. So my growth in the realm of art could be your gain. I have 168 of these (give or take 1 or 2, I'm only human LOL) and I will be willing to part with them all for a mere $100.00 plus shipping. Pay pal only. First come, first serve.

Feast for the Eyes

2010-01-28T10:14:00.002-06:00

Sometimes while waiting for a piece to dry so I can move onto the next step, I sit at my computer and hunt for inspiration. One of the ways I've found that gives lots of examples without lots of website hopping is just going to google images and doing a search for Mixed Media Art. All kinds of little thumbnails are there for the browsing. See something you just must see up close, click the thumbnail and it'll take you there.

gonna give it a whirl

2010-01-11T07:59:00.002-06:00

I listened to a podcast the other day that said we should have a list of 5 things we WILL do every day, not ALL day, but EVERY day. These 5 things must be something we enjoy doing, if they were things we didn't enjoy, well, of course we'd most likely fail at it. Which is why you will not see exercise, dieting, laundry, or housework of any kind on my list LOL

I don't know what those 5 things are just yet for me, but I DO know that art is one of them. The best thing about that is, it can encompass so much! I don't have to go down and complete a canvas every day, however, if I have the time and want to, I can. I am going to open it up to say that I have to spend time in my studio every day, even if that means cleaning it, or looking at my art books.

So in an effort to start my day off right, I went down and took 20 min to make this ATC. I used only things that were on my desktop, which usually isn't very challenging to do because my desk top is usually a cluttered mess of left overs from projects done before.

So as my week rolls on, I'm going to try to come up with my other 4 things, but in the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy that I have 1. I encourage you all to do the same.

Kasey K Photography

2010-01-08T08:10:00.009-06:00

I know that when you come to my blog you are expecting to see my work. However, as an artist, and being part of the artist community, I believe that it is our job to support one another and help promote each other. Therefore, when I see something that I feel is outstanding, I share it with all of you here so that you too, may be inspired by what inspires me.

First off, I may be a bit bias, because this beautiful, talented young lady is also my favorite niece named Kasey. However, that aside, it doesn't detract from the fact that she has a brilliant eye for photography. She's just recently embarked on a very exhilarating, albeit, scary adventure of stepping out on her own to fulfill her dreams of her own photography business. She's a graduate from MIAD and worked as a photographer, and still does some free lance for VIP.

Kasey has such an amazing personality and special "quirkiness" to her that shines through in her photo sessions. Her creative ability to foresee what props will work well and what lighting is best, amazes me. She sees things through her camera lens in a way that many of us will never see. She has such a passion for what she does and it's quite evident in the pictures she takes. The whole world is a photo to her and I am enjoying watching her grow and her business grow. Kasey has stepped out to do what most of us only dream of doing, being brave enough to do what we love the most and making a living at it. Kasey, you're my hero, and I'm so proud of you.

Below is some examples of her brilliant work, some of them are just shots she took on a whim while on vacation with her mom, others are photo sessions with clients. If you'd like to see more, or even better yet, you'd like her to capture some of your memories for you, here is her website: Kasey K Photo.

love fairy tag

2009-11-28T10:16:00.000-06:00

just a small 3x5 laminate tag. I'll string some ribbon through the top.

sisters 4x4

2009-11-28T10:15:00.004-06:00

I'm doing a small show next weekend and so I'm trying to work on some smaller pieces, this is one of them.

Wish Fairy

2009-11-28T10:14:00.001-06:00

I really think this turned out sharp. It's on a 5x5 piece of canvas board and then framed.

fairy on a hill

2009-11-28T10:08:00.003-06:00

Ok i have played with this post for a month of sunday's now and for the life of me I have NO IDEA why blogger keeps turning that pic. I really like how this piece turned out though so I wanted to share it, you'll just have to tip your head when you look at it LOL It's on an 8x8 canvas.

If anyone knows how to fix this let me know.

Coming & Going

2009-11-28T10:06:00.000-06:00

Here's my finished pieces.

a work in progress

2009-11-06T08:11:00.002-06:00

This is a new adventure for me. I'm really having fun with seeing where it takes me. I've had this paper mache body form sitting in my studio for about 2 years. I have another assemblage type thing that I'm working on as well and I actually pulled it out to see if I could make it work with that when this idea struck me. So I cut it in 2 and attached each side to a 12x12 gallery wrapped canvas and have gone from there. I think they make a fairly large enough statement themselves so I'm not planning on adding alot of color to them, but will add some to give them a bit more dimension and depth. Lots of fun textures going on though, torn pages, tissue paper and cheese clothe. I can't wait to see where these end up.

Free hand painting

2009-10-20T12:20:00.002-05:00

Free hand is so not my thing!! I just really feel that I'm not very good at it. However on occasion it just calls for it and if it's simple enough I can usual do a fair job of it. I've no clue where this idea even came from, it just did. Not sure if you can tell but the gold paint has oodles of texture to it!! I'm not really sure how this piece should hang, I guess it would be all up to whom ever buys it.

The Good Ol Days

2009-10-20T12:17:00.004-05:00

This is done on a 12x12 gallery wrapped canvas. I love the look of old houses and this one is no exception. Lots of texture in this one too. I did something kinda fun with this, I painted it yellow, then added the blue on the bottom. Once the blue was dry I got out my sandpaper to bring back out some of the yellow, great depth and character.

Beaded Poured Paint

2009-10-20T12:14:00.002-05:00

Some more fun with poured paint. I loved this one cause I used the air brush paints and added some gel medium to it. It's super textured and brightly colored. There's a few other closer up pics on my Etsy shop if you'd like to see them, click the link on the right hand side of the page.

Faces of Kellie

2009-10-20T10:25:00.003-05:00

Don't know if you recall, but some time ago I started a scrapbook of Kellie, my oldest daughter. In my day of silence in memory of all the lost children who were never given a chance to have a voice, I am celebrating my children. I need to finish this up so I can start with my next projects of my other children. I started this so long ago that I think I need to add some more recent pics to it.

Hold your children close and count them as blessings.

A fun Challenge!!!

2009-09-28T08:14:00.003-05:00

Come on Artists, lets "Support" the cause!!! There is a non-profit organization called Bra's for the Cause. They do an annual auction fundraiser of decorated bras. There is no cost to submit one, heck they'll even send you a free bra if you ask them too. I thought this would be a seriously fun project to do.

They just concluded the 2009 auction, so that would give us about a year to complete one. I'd love it if some of you artist joined me on this and shared your completed bra masterpieces here for everyone to see.

Etsy

2009-09-14T11:36:00.001-05:00

I've added a few things to my Etsy shop, most of them have been posted on this website, so if there was something you saw that tickled your fancy, head on over and pick it up!

charms

2009-08-14T14:35:00.003-05:00

These are 2 charms I made for a friend of mine. I really wanted to keep them for myself though LOL

pandemonium

2009-08-11T17:12:00.002-05:00

Nothing like playing with some poured paint when you're feeling stressed or bored. This is done on an 8x11 canvas board and most of the paints are air brush paints. They are so much fun!!! Super vibrant colors and very fluid so they move well for this kind of thing. Probably won't ever do anything with this, who knows, maybe I'll frame it and hang it in my studio :)

Etsy

2009-08-10T16:46:00.003-05:00

If you've never visted Etsy, you should! It's an awesome marketplace to buy only handmade items. Support artists from all over the world! I've even opened a shop, you can check out A Note From The Queen, too :)

Artist Postcard

2009-08-08T17:51:00.003-05:00

Thought it might be fun to have a Artist Postcard that just tells a little bit about me and also has my information on it. Besides, it gave me something to do today LOL

Fairy Dreams

2009-08-04T21:32:00.002-05:00

Finished this piece a bit ago, just hadn't gotten around to taking pics. It's on a 20x20 canvas, lots of texture, and way fun colors! Collage image is from Lisa's Altered Art.

It's for sale too, if you're interested, shoot me an email. 100% of the profits will go to my church, Lakeland Community Church.

Finished

2009-08-04T21:10:00.003-05:00

Wish there was a better way to photograph this. I'm so pleased with this whole thing that I'd really like to take it back home with me LOL

Domino Pendants

2009-06-08T19:17:00.001-05:00

Haven't done these in ages, but had a box of domino's sitting here so I figured I'd give them a whirl again.

For church

2009-05-25T23:18:00.002-05:00

I'm putting these 3 pieces up at my church. The door piece I did last year, but because of the space I'm putting it in, I felt it needed something bigger. So I made 2 companion pieces to it. I think it works, cept I'd love to find a small key hole to add to the one w/ the hinges, I'll keep my eyes peeled and if you know where I can find one, holler :)

This is just a close up of the keys so that you can see the words and such on the keys. Thanks Tim Holtz for making kewl art stuff!

Ink Blot bkgrds

2009-05-25T23:15:00.002-05:00

Was having issues tonight while i was in the studio, nothing wanted to work right, so I cut some loose canvas up and made some fun paint bkgrds. Think I might just cut these up and frame them as is, not sure yet though. We'll see what happens when I start cutting.

Spring-y and so not my usual thing!

2009-05-12T12:32:00.002-05:00

Ok just so everyone doesn't think I've fallen off the face of the earth and that I haven't been doing anything I'm going to share some canvas's that are in progress, starting with this one.

Used lots of stencils in this one, not sure where I'm going with it, but I forced myself to use happy springy pastel type colors. Who knows, maybe it'll look NOTHING like this when I'm done, but for now I'm just looking at it waiting for inspiration to strike!

Music Makes Me Happy

2009-05-12T12:28:00.002-05:00

Music is a very important part of my life, and the life of my family. You can't ever walk into our house if there are people home and not hear music coming from at least 1 place in the house. I've done this one using pages from a hymnal and lots of texture on the right side using thick gel medium. I actually traced the treble clef and then painted that, but the other notes are free handed, not too bad if I do say so myself, especially since that's not usually my strong suit. It's still not done, but a work in progress.

song of the cross

2009-05-12T12:25:00.002-05:00

I picked up and old Lutheran Hymnal at Goodwill a while back and although it's hard to tell from the glare, this cross is all done w/ torn pages from that hymnal. At the bottom, which is slightly obscured by the easel, is verses from a song about the Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again this is still a work in progress, just doesn't feel finished to me.

Everything intertwines with every thing else.

2009-05-12T12:17:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a class at my church and it's all about finding out who I am, what I value and what are my gifts and talents and personality traits. In doing this, we were asked to write a creed, as I wrote it I found that everything in my creed connected and intertwined with each other. Love is important to me, and so is family, and I love my family, connection, community and fellowship are important to me, and these all connect, as does love also connect to these things. There were other things on my creed (which I will be posting on my spiritual blog, if you care to see it) that intertwined as well. In talking w/ my pastor about all this, this image came into my head to do this canvas. It USED to be called "circles" , but I screwed that one up and gessoed over it and started over. It is a large canvas, 24x48 and I don't know if it's done yet or not, may have to just sit on this one for a bit and see what happens.

Fun w/ alcohol inks

2009-04-14T21:50:00.001-05:00

This is an ATC I did w/ the new Brights AI's, such fun!!!

swaps

2009-03-30T12:45:00.002-05:00

Just a couple swaps I did.

Missing You

2009-03-30T08:28:00.002-05:00

Oh my goodness am I missing my studio time!!! Things are starting to slow down a bit and I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel!! I have so many ideas swimming around in my brain that I just cannot wait to get down on canvas!!! I do have a few swaps that I am sorely behind on, I do have some of them done, just have to get them scanned. I also have several canvas's in process just not anything ready to be posted. Hopefully something soon!!!

24x48 almost done

2009-02-10T20:09:00.001-06:00

Ok this is really turning out kewl!!!! I don't think it's done yet, I need to tweek some of the circles but I think I'm close.

Zendala

2009-02-10T10:46:00.002-06:00

I was browsing the Internet trying to find a site that would show my daughter what zentangles were. Came across a site that had what's called Zendala's, which is basically the same thing, just round. My daughter is very talented but said she couldn't do one of these. So I thought if I showed her I could do one, no matter how pathetic it looks LOL that maybe she'd give it a try. We found a you tube video showing someone doing one of these, it's basically a doodle, anyone can doodle.

another art form

2009-02-02T21:55:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to share some family pictures we had done this last weekend. We had so much fun doing these!! The photographer was so awesome, very fun and flexible, she had awesome ideas and let us give our own suggestions and ideas too. These are just a few of the ones she took, there are others, but I figured this was a good amount to share. Here's the website for the photographer if you wanna check her out!! KaseyK Photo

Technique Junkies

2009-01-28T16:54:00.003-06:00

For several years now I've subscribed to a wonderful newsletter called The Technique Junkies. Every other month I'd get a newsletter in my snail mail box, just chalk full of different new techniques or old techniques taken and tweaked a bit. This year because of my space issues I've opted to just get the online subscription instead of having a hard copy mailed to me, but it's the same newsletter either way.

This month Pat Huntoon, the owner and editor and creator (along with her "team") of this newsletter has taken to heart the fact that our economy is hurting and that having to buy supplies us stampers don't already have is a hard thing to do. All of the techniques are basic stamp, ink and paper type techniques, yet they're still just as wonderful as ones in past issues.

If you've never gotten one of these newsletters and are interested, if you go to The Technique Junkies Website, you can find out more information on it. Right now through the end of the month of February she's even running a special price for the hard copy for this year.

I'm not affiliated other than just a happy customer and I happen to think Pat is a wonderful, driven, talented, hard working person who deserves success!

Another batch of scrabble charms

2009-01-18T14:34:00.003-06:00

Just a recent batch of scrabble charms. Now it's time to focus on getting the necklace parts of them all made.

Good Old Days in progress

2009-01-12T21:35:00.003-06:00

Seems like it's been a long time since I worked on a collage piece like this, and I think I forgot how fun it could be. It's not finished yet, gotta add some more paint and maybe some more texture and things to it. But I just wanted to share it. :)

A Personal Piece

2009-01-12T21:29:00.002-06:00

This is certainly not saleworthy, and not something I ran around showing everyone. It was a highly emotional piece for me. Several months back I went through a bout of depression, what an awful, horrible thing to go through. I spent most of my days trying to keep the darkness from closing in on me. All day long I could feel it creeping in around the edges trying to consume me and take over. So thats what this depicts. It's highly textured, as I mixed my paint with ultra thick gel medium. I'm much better now, thanks to a daily "happy pill", (which I hope to get off of come May), but I'll keep this around just to remind me of how bad things could be.

ATC's for Swaps

2009-01-12T20:54:00.003-06:00

More Scrabble Charms

2008-12-31T08:33:00.006-06:00

I'm just having so much fun doing these things! I'm excited too cause Patty from Lisa's Altered Art is going to be sending me some images the perfect size for these! I really hope my beads come soon!

Winter in Wisconsin ATC

2008-12-30T20:16:00.002-06:00

Ok this doesn't seem like much, but it just cracks me up LOL Mind you, I've been up since 4:30am and it's pushing 8:30pm at the time of this post.

I'm on a list called Wisconsin Stampers, and it's open to stampers who live in Wisconsin or have some affiliation to Wisconsin. One of our ATC swaps this month is White/Snow. I took a piece of white cardstock, cut it to size and covered it in about 3 layers of white embossing power. I then layered it onto a piece of white cardstock. (the black is only there so it would scan)

If you live in Wisconsin, or you know anything about it, this is exactly what it looks like from about November to March, snow, snow and more snow!

I will however, be doing another ATC to throw in with this one, but it just cracked me up when I got the idea in my head.

More Scrabble Charms

2008-12-28T09:21:00.003-06:00

I haven't gotten these on cords yet, I'm waiting on some beads to come in the mail. Who knew finding glass beads with holes big enough to fit the cord through would be so hard to do. As always the scan doesn't do them justice, they're wonderful in RL, I'm really pleased at how they are coming together. And remember, I'm doing these for a church youth group fund raiser, so if there's something you see that you can't live with out please let me know.

Christmas 4x6 Postcard

2008-12-18T13:38:00.002-06:00

I'm on a yahoo list that is all about swapping altered post cards, so I was in the mood to work on some. I came up with this festive Christmas 4x6 done on watercolor paper. I used left over torn strips of magazines that I had from my Art Through Media canvas. Then stamped the newsy bird from Stampers Anonymous on watercolor paper and added it to it. Also stamped the holly from Stampers Anonymous all over it in Olive Green Staz-On. Gave the whole thing a good coating of matte medium for staying power.

Youth Group Fund Raiser

2008-12-16T11:10:00.005-06:00

Our church youth group wants to go to a Youth Convention this coming summer in Washington DC, so to help them raise some money for that trip I'm making some scrabble charm necklaces that I'm going to sell for $15.00 a piece. $10.00 of each necklace will go to the youth group. These are the first 3 I've done and I'm going to keep the Faith one for myself cause I like it so much. Not that I'm necessarily using my blog to sell these, but if you should happen to see one you just can't live with out as I get them posted holler and I'll be happy to sell it to you plus the cost of shipping :o) Click the photo for a larger view.

Artella Freebie--Enjoy!

2008-12-15T08:25:00.000-06:00

Download a FREE copy of the Artella eBook, Stunning and Simple Seasonal Salutations, an eBook featuring 10 beautiful handmade cards, complete with photos and descriptive "how-to" instructions, showcasing a variety of techniques such as rubber stamping, collage, and innovative paper and mixed media arts.Download your copy here!

Charm Swap

2008-12-09T21:45:00.002-06:00

On my Wisconsin Stampers list we're doing another charm swap. This is our 3rd one and it's getting hard to come up with new ideas. So I ordered these little silver charm frames from Artchix Studio. They have a hole at one end for the wire to go through. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with them but I played a little bit with a small image and some glossy accents but that didn't look right. I remembered I had some Embossing Enamels so I pulled those out. I heated them up on a metal spoon with my heat gun pointed under the spoon. I had the charm with the wire put through the hole laying on my craft sheet and then I'd pour the enamels into the charm frame. When they cooled, I ran my finger nail along the edges to peel away any stray enamel and then bent the wire into shape. Easy Peasy!!

Tim's Tags Meets Step Outside Your Box Saturdays

2008-12-07T21:01:00.003-06:00

Just a little FYI, this weeks Step Outside Your Box Saturday Challenge is based on Tim's Christmas Tags. Check it out!

Art Through Media 16x20 Canvas

2008-12-06T21:42:00.002-06:00

This is something I've wanted to give a try for some time now and just had the opportunity to do it the other night. I took a bunch of magazines and tore out pages that were black, white, or red. Then I tore those pages into strips and used gel medium to adhere them to my canvas in random order. I then took watered down red and black paint and let it drip down the canvas. I then cut letters/words out of magazines and if you look close it says Art Through Media on it. Not sure if it's done or not, but I like it.

Tim Tag,

2008-12-02T14:16:00.003-06:00

You either have to be brand new to paper arts, been in a coma, or lived on another planet not to know who Tim Holtz is and about his 12 Days of Christmas Tags. If this is truly the case, please take a look and see how he's out done himself once again. I did this tag using the alcohol ink on the craft sheet technique and what fun! I covered this in 1 layer of UTEE just to give it a shine and some texture. It was fun to play with.

Last of the Gentlemen 4x4's

2008-11-30T22:22:00.003-06:00

Silly me, I must've counted wrong or something when I made and mailed the 4x4's for this chunky book because I shorted the hostess one. So this one will be going to her so she can complete her book. Ironically, the image used here, is one that she sent me in a bag of "goodies", with my finished chunky book This was a fabulous swap and I truly enjoyed it and all the art work is beautifully done!

An ATC

2008-11-30T22:17:00.003-06:00

Just playing around a bit tonight. I worked on a canvas too, but thats not ready to be shown yet, so you'll just have to make due with this. LOL It's been a long time since I've used a stamp as a focal point on an atc, or much of anything else for that matter, so it was a nice change. I have found that I am starting to miss the simplicity of the stamping and ATC's and smaller mediums. So you may see more of this kind of thing from me in the near future.

I've also joined a new yahoo group called 4x6 Expressions, which is all about trading Mail Art postcards, so I'm excited about that. Any time anyone wants to trade mail art postcards, just holler! I love the idea of sending art through the mail w/o any type of packaging so that every one whose path it crosses gets to enjoy it!

And the Winners are......

2008-11-29T14:59:00.003-06:00

If you are listed here please email me your address at jgiffordii@wi.rr.com . Please do not feel offended if I don't automatically know who you are, I am on so many yahoo groups and other art groups that I know many people through the internet. I just want to make sure I get it to the right person. Congrats to all of you!

1. Dawn said...
Oh! Oh! I so want one! PleeeeaaasseeeeDawn R

2. Cheryl said...
Lisa, its a quite a while since i've had any of your art. Put me in for the drawing!!!Cheryl

3. debb said...
How cool is that! I'd love to be in! debb

4. Carolyn Miller said...
Me too, me too!! LOLCarolyn Miller

5. eclectic works said...
I would love to have one of your lovely works! :) Thank you for sharing your talents with us!Esmeralda

6. Sandie R said...
I'm with everyone else, pick me!! pick me!! so when you are rich and famous I'll have an original.

7. di said...
I love all of you art - and would be honored to have a piece of your stunning art. Diana B

8. Roberta said...
*signing up to win too!!* *S*

9. Anonymous said...
Ohh yeah add me.Im in.Love your workWendy Campbell

10. Anonymous said...
I'd love some fun mail!!! Something from you would certainly make my day.Elise H

11. Anonymous said...
Woo hoo , me me I want a Lisa original.Phyllis J.

12. Francine said...
I would be really pleased to have a piece of your Art Lisa...! And let me tell you this is a wonderful idea... an " Art Purge" I might get to do that too when we come back from the south!!!Take care ....!

13. Alyce said...
What a generous offer!!! I'd appreciate having another Lisa orignal piece of art.Alyce

14. angie's pink fuzzy said...
i'd love some of your art! i've been following your blog for awhile - fun!!

15. Sarah said...
What the heck...sign me up, too! I'll even send you a postage stamp!!!

16. Anonymous said...
Sign me up for an original piece of artwork.lisa crofts

17. Debi said...
I will take a piece of Lisa "art"!!! Love everything you do!Debi Wind

18. Good Mourning Glory said...
I'd be so pleased to receive one of your pieces!=)

19. Becky said...
Oh, my goodness, I admire your work, and would love a piece of it.

20. bancher said...
thanks for this offer, lisa! i'd love a little pick-me-up!jenny

21. kaseyk said...
Me too please, Me too!!! :)

22. cathsheard said...
Really? Wow, that would be *so* cool. Fingers crossed.

23. Michi, Orange County, CA said...
ME!!!! ME!!!! PICK ME!!!! Lisa!!!! I wanna be a winner of your beautiful art pieces!!!!!

24. Rustic Diva Designs and RP Gardens said...
I'd love one of your works of art Lisa! Consider me signed up!

25. Staci said...
Hi Lisa, thanks for doing this. You art is wonderful! Staci

26. Anonymous said...
Hi Lisa, Your artwork is an amazing inspiration to so many and you are so very generous to share it. I would be so honored to receive a "Queen Lisa" original !! Thanks so much and Happy Turkey Day! Ann Ullery, Holiday, FL

ATC Canvas's

2008-11-26T23:01:00.001-06:00

Last winter I picked up a pkg of adorable little 3.5x2.5 inch canvas's at Dick Blick. I finally decided I should play with them so here they are.

Lottery ATC's

2008-11-26T22:59:00.001-06:00

A few ATC's I did for some ATC lotteries on a few yahoo groups I belong to.

Time for an art purge!

2008-11-21T18:34:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting here looking at this box on my desk just overflowing with ATC's, 4x4's, skinny's, card fronts and other bits of this and that. Sadly they have no homes. So I thought what the heck, I'll have an art purge! I just keep drawing winners till I'm out of art to give. So sign up and tell your friends too!

More Inka Art

2008-11-09T13:59:00.003-06:00

Just a couple more things I'm going to send to Inka. I wish I could take credit for the gorgeous bkgrd on the leaf card, but I can't it was sent to me some time ago as a bkgrd swap and I've no clue who did it or what exactly it even is, I think it's pearl ex though, gorgeous stuff!!!

The other is on a 6x6 canvas that I'm sending I love polka dots!

And the Winner is..........

2008-11-08T08:59:00.001-06:00

" Kathryn the Teawife said...
Cutie pie card! Thanks for the chance to win some candy! Cuddles, Kathryn the teawife"

Congratulation Kathryn!!! Enjoy your new stamps!!!

Blog Candy from Inka Stamps AND a 40% off sale at Inka Stamps!

2008-11-01T07:17:00.004-05:00

To celebrate a Design Team Sale at Inka Stamps, members of the Design Team are having a Blog Candy Bonanza!!! Many of the Design Team members have Blog Candy give away's on their blogs, so be sure to go HERE to find the links to the other Design Team blogs so you can get your entries in for lots of goodies!!!

Inka is also have a fabulous sale to celebrate the newest addition to the Design Team, Jen Crossley, Inka Stamps is offering a 40% off rebate for anyone who puts "Jen" in the message to seller box when they place their order. This excludes grab bags, items already on sale, and anything on the "found items" page.

I chose these 2 stamps, the adorable little clown, "Freckles" and one of my favorites, the "Sequence Waste" stamp. Inka made this fabulous card to show off these 2 stamps. To enter to win these 2 stamps, just leave me a comment and next Saturday, Nov 8th, I will draw a winner. Good Luck!!

Flowers and Polka Dots

2008-10-30T05:04:00.002-05:00

It's hard to tell on this pic, unless you click to get the larger view, but there are pink rings around the black polka dots. I think it's finished, but who knows what this afternoon will bring. It's fun and whimsical and I love it.

Audrey Canvas 18x18 in

2008-10-28T17:37:00.002-05:00

Ok I know I'm breaking some copyright laws here, but don't worry I have no intention of trying to sell this, I'm doing it all for myself. I'm a HUGE Audrey Hepburn fan! This is a photo that I cut out of a calendar that my husband got me for Christmas a few years ago. The thing is that the top of her head was cut off by the top of the calendar page. So after much thought I decided to give her a floral hat. These are all Prima - type flowers and actually stick out from the canvas. Not sure what else I'll do with it, but I'm really enjoying it so far. She was such a beautiful person.

24x48 canvas in progress

2008-10-28T17:34:00.003-05:00

This is something I'm working on, I do a little about every time I go down to the studio. This is only a small portion of it as this is 24x48 inch canvas, it's huge!! I need to work on making it flow a little better. I'll share it when it's done.

Wine Bottle Box

2008-10-28T17:23:00.004-05:00

A couple years ago I picked up this wine bottle box at Goodwill and never really did anything with it but move it from place to place. The other day I decided to pick it up and this time DO something with it. All the collage images are from Inka Stamps. I haven't done anything on the inside of this and I'm not sure if I will, but at least I've done something with it.

Inka House

2008-10-28T14:31:00.002-05:00

This little house is done on mat board. I attached the top to the bottom with wire, a fun little thing I first learned about when I took a class with Tim Holtz. All the collage images are from Inka Stamps. There's going to be some fun Inka surprises in the next couple days so be sure to check back soon!

Painting TO music

2008-10-20T21:40:00.002-05:00

I love watching Jonas Gerard paint to music and what a great thing to do!!! Tonight I pulled out the 24x48 canvas I had and turned up some power classic music and just let my paint brush dance to the music. It's turning out just awesome and it felt SOOOO good to do it! I haven't created much since all the things I did for the art fair so it feels really good to get back into the groove of painting. I'll share it when I'm done, in the mean time, enjoy Jonas.

Inka Stamps Samples

2008-10-14T09:25:00.003-05:00

I have been on hiatus from Inka Stamps Design Team for a few months while I prepared for the last Art Fair. However, now it's time to jump back in. These are a few things that I did this morning. I'm hoping to have some more time this afternoon to do a few more for Inka.

Oxford Impressions Samples

2008-10-12T15:30:00.002-05:00

I recently got a new plate of stamps from Oxford Impressions. Stamping, as you can tell by blog posts as of late, hasn't been what I've been doing lately. So it felt nice to ink up a few stamps for a change. It feels so foreign to me though. It's so hard to just use ink, stamps, and paper and not dig into my paints and canvas.

Art For Sale

2008-10-12T11:00:00.002-05:00

My plan for this winter is to open an Etsy Shop. I'm waiting for life to slow down momentarily so I have time to do just that. In the meantime, if there is anything you have seen posted on my blog that you are interested in purchasing, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can email me personally at jgiffordii@wi.rr.com.

Honey, I'm Home!

2008-09-22T10:42:00.003-05:00

We had a fabulous weekend at the Art Fair in Cedarburg! Didn't come home artworkless, but I made more than it cost me to get into the fair which is always my goal. So far I haven't been disappointed! I do it because I love it, not to make a living at it, which is probably a good thing LOL.

HUGE amounts of people, almost too many to people watch, it started to make me dizzy trying to see them all LOL My youngest daughter(14), stayed the wknd with me and was a great help and we had a good time!

I think I'm done for the year, however, if someone called me tomorrow to do one, I'd do it! I've got enough product built up now that I don't feel like I'd have to be in panic mode to get stuff done.

I'm taking a few pieces I have to a store in town that my g/f works at that she requested for her shop. I also think I'm going to finish up the tree piece below, "Beginnings" and take it into the Art Gallery downtown and see if he'd like to try selling that one for me. I may bring in the large Sections one into work and see if we can't sell it here. It'd match the back wall of the furniture store perfectly and people would see it right when they walked in. I'm also considering opening up an Etsy store, what the heck, it can't hurt, thats for sure!

This winter will be all about getting rid of the old and moving on to the new. I'll be purging all kinds of stamps that I no longer use, and don't foresee me using again, as well as lots of other odds and ends that I thought I just couldn't live with out! I'll keep you posted when that stuff happens.