#470

I have some great news! This week, I sold my first ever piece of art! It was a commission for a friend, and she was more than generous in her offer for my skills. I can’t show you the piece I sold, but I will show you what I bought.

My partner and I always agreed that any money I earn doing art should be invested into art supplies, and I certainly lived up to that. In hopes of future commissions, I bought a large pack of artist quality pencils, which will assist in furthering my art skills.

I put off buying expensive supplies, as I wanted to be sufficient enough to feel I’ve earned them. Selling the piece of art was my first set of proof to myself that I earned a level up in my supplies. I am still getting used to the high pigment and easy blending of the pencils, but it is certainly a nice change.

Along with the pencils, I recieved a free mandala colouring book. I usually wouldn’t use high quality pencils for colouring, but this book has thick, textured drawing paper, which was ideal to try my new pencils on while I was thinking of things to draw.

I also picked up some Canson drawing paper, for special pieces of art I want to do, a colourless blending stick, to go with the pencils, a potluck paper pack, two needle felting kits, and a grass growing kit for my cats. 

This journey towards being an artist that sells art been exciting, scary, happy and exhausting, but I am eager to keep going, even if I take it slowly. Art is my passion, I’m going to do it regardless of whether it takes me places.

I art, therefore, I am.

#419

Today, I went out… Yay!
I went to an art and craft shop… Yay!
I bought a battery powered engraving machine and some watercolour paper… Yay!
I saw people who weren’t my family!… OMG!

I know you may not believe it, but it’s true. I also forgot to get batteries for the engraver, so I can’t talk about that yet.
As for the watercolour paper, I decided to paint a picture for my part in return for buying me a game called Overwatch. The painting is of one of the characters that he likes to play, Tracer. I haven’t quite finished, as we were playing the actual game for a bit. My favourite characters are Mei and Mercy, but as the game is new, I couldn’t find many pictures of them. Tracer is on the box, so she was easier to find references for. I will have to take screenshots for further fanart.
The art and craft shop is really cool, as it stocks so many different things. I went back and forth down the aisles for a while until I needed to sit down desperately. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to get to, as there isn’t a convenient bus going there, despite being quite a short car ride. Maybe I should save up next time, as I didn’t have a lot of money to spend this time, and I know I won’t be able to go back soon.
At least I have a couple of days to recover my body from the trip, and have plenty of watercolour and engraving to practice. I just keep forgetting to film it, and every time I put the camera on, I can’t think of what to do!
Stay awesome, Flock’em.

#379

First mail from my post Christmas online shopping spree arrived today.
First was the Wink of Stella. It’s pretty cool. Just like using iridescent medium, but easier than getting paints and brushes out. It also seems more sparkily than shimmery under the light.
The other thing I received was a small dots embossing folder. I’ve seen this used a lot in card making videos, and seems as basic necessity in the craft room, along with the Wink of Stella brush pen.
Most of the things I bought were useful things I was missing from my collection. I have some superfine white embossing powder for sentiments, heart and star dies and also some fine liner pens, on their way.
Along with my embossing folder, the company, Create-a-Memory4u, sent me a little calendar, and a diy paper tole deer as a gift, which was lovely.

#366

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christ-mas.
I went shopping with the intention to get some nice baubles to decorate, but I saw the teeny bobbles and had to buy a bunch. They’ll probably be quicker and easier to decorate, anyway. I found a couple that were clear that are designed to hold pictures, so I can put my cats photos in them. I was going to get some glass ones, but they were already broken, and I doubt they’d have survived the bus trip home with me if they weren’t.
I also picked up cute Santa stickers, some curling ribbon and wrapping paper.
In the newsagents, I found some gorgeous magenta glitter glue that I have had my eye on, as well as a cheap travel watercolour set. I don’t usually travel with or without my paints, but sometimes I need something small without much setup when all my work areas are as messy as they are. I really need to take some time off crafting to clean before the hoarders TV crew turn up.
Lastly, I got some small bottles, with coloured sand and sequins, and enough double sided adhesive to get me through to winter.
So, if you don’t hear from me, I’ll be under the pile of beads and baubles.

#348

I had no choice but to go to the doctors today to get a script. I wasn’t happy about leaving my cozy station that I had set up to do some Christmas themed embossing.
To take the sting out of sitting in a waiting room for two hours with screaming children and snotty women, I decided to buy some craft supplies. I’m not sure how much of a reward this was, as I had to spend my own money. Luckily I didn’t go too crazy.
I found some paper pirate chests that you fold and decorate yourself. I thought it would be nice to cover it with paper mache for texture and sturdiness. When I put it together, the lid was just a strange flap that you tuck in to close. I performed a little bit of paper surgery, and turned it into a proper lid. I can add a clasp or something later, if I decide to. There are six boxes in the pack, so I have some to play with.
I also got a bag of craft foam off cuts. This will be great for cutting out letters and shapes on my Big Shot, as well as freehand. Most of the pieces are adhesive already, but I have plenty of double sided sticker sheets left.
I picked up some supplies for card making, like rhinestones and number stickers as well.
I should get to bed. It’s been a very long day, and there isn’t enough money or craft stores to keep me sane without some beauty sleep.

#338

I’ve been using the epoxy domes that I received the other day.
I’ve found the best technique so far, is to put the sticker dome over the picture that I want, then use a bit of PVA or glossy accents to stick the image into a bottle cap that has been flattened with my big shot machine.
Most of the pictures that I’ve used for these are from catalogues. Images on advertised t-shirts seem to be the best.
Tonight, I’ve been colouring parts in a colouring book to cut out for them.
I’ll be able to glue two together, sandwiching a bale or keychain between the caps. Alternatively, I could glue or solder a badge backing onto them.
I went fabric shopping today. I bought a few remnants in different textures to practice sewing various materials. I found some red spotted plush fabric to make miniature bears with.
I also found a nice pattern for a top and picked up some rayon, but I didn’t get the zip and bias binding that I need, so I’ll have to get them later. That should give me time to wash and dry the fabrics between cleaning.
Looks like I’m making more mess than I’m cleaning at the moment.

#337

We got mail!
Today I received epoxy dome stickers, one inch, so they fit into bottle caps, and some crochet lace for a sewing project.
You can’t really see the stickers in the photo, but they’re nice. They are flexible, but give the illusion of resin. I’m having trouble getting resin, as I can’t find any nearby, and I need to pay extra to get it shipped from anywhere, as it is classed as dangerous. I tried using glossy accents to give some extra stick, just in case the base paint peeled off, and took everything with it.
One thing I had trouble with was air pockets around stickers, (or single pieces of glitter) and the epoxy sticker couldn’t bend into the space. To rectify this, I will try putting a layer of glossy accents and set the dome into it. This should fill those gaps and not leave a foggy glow around the shapes.
Investigation is needed on the matter.

#309

“I’m going to stay up tonight. There are things in this house that aren’t covered in glue and paper,” I declared to my partner, as he was going to bed. He looked at me with amusement and left the room. I had been reading the sports pages, strip by strip, as I covered random objects with paste and last weeks local newsprint.
The end. Based on a true story.

Today found myself in a shop with money and fifteen minutes to wait, so I looked for some things I needed to get, none of which I could find. So I discovered they have a newly created teeny tiny arts and craft section. They were rather cheap and mostly aimed at kids, with a small card making rack. I picked up a few things from here. I got some stencils that were aimed at kids, but they looked rather vague for some of the complex designs that were there, and it looked like it would be fun filling in the blanks. I got the girl set and boys set, so 12 sheets in all, ranging from hearts, fairies and butterflies to monsters, cars and skulls.
I bought some cheap brushes for glue and playing around. They aren’t too bad, nice and springy with no chance of real hair used (my one stipulation on brushes.)
They had pretty clear stamps, as you can see, with large acrylic blocks. These designs will be great to use on cards, especially to emboss.
I also picked up a couple new nail polishes for gem making.
I had the thought the other day to make a paper mache bangle. I was going to use a 600ml bottle, but I couldn’t find one. While looking for something else, I came across a masking tape roll, sitting right in front if me. I covered it in alfoil and added it to my paper layer rotation.
So many layers. So little time.

#305

The joy of being an artist – being able to cut up little pieces of paper, acceptable after the age of ten.
I went shopping today and picked up some glue. I don’t know when it got so expensive to get at the craft store. I found some cheap stuff in the general store, luckily. Otherwise, my paper mache would have to wait till I could justify expensive glue. I picked up some very cheap jewellery findings that were on sale, and bought a gem themed mould by Wilton. If found a lovely wooden box with laser cut designs in the lid, which I’m unsure what to do with, but it looked pretty and was cheap, so I’ll figure something out.
The picture actually shows a bunch of toilet paper that I cut up to try a new idea for filling moulds. With my water and PVA mixture, I chucked a few pieces of paper in the mould, then patted down with a tool. It worked a lot faster than when I use each layer individually. In the end, I got bored and put all the paper in the glue mixture, to make a paper clay type dough. It was still lumpy after a while of kneading and adding straight glue, but I pressed it into moulds anyway to see how it goes. Any remaining dough was put into the container and dampened to help break down the fibres for playing later.