musings and inspirations in art, fashion, craft, decor, creative business and creative living by artist Traci Bautista
be inspired...live a beautiful life...
2010 has brought me much happiness, many blessings, celebrations with family & friends and LOVE. I was going to do a Top 10 in 2010 but after going through all my photos there were more than ten defining moments this year. My year was filled with travel every month, trips to hawaii, visits from family, new explorations in art and great times with my loved ones. here's my year in photos...
it's been a little over a year since my little "munchkin" Freedom passed...you will forever be in my heart...missing you so...xoxo
i hope you have fond memories of 2010! wishing you and yours a prosperous and beautiful 2011!
one LAST giveway for 2010...this time from the awesome folks at iLoveTo Create! TODAY they are giving away three BIG bottles of Collage Pauge and a custom hand painted plate by yours truly! visit here to enter!
Since the iLoveTo Create giveaway is only open to USA peeps, I've decided to GIVEAWAY a CREATIVE DOODLES online workshop to ONE lucky winner! Just leave a comment below sharing ONE goal you have for 2011. Leave your comment by midnight PT, December 31 to be eligible. I'll announce the winner New Year's day...Good luck!!
Also...don't forget to check out my new year-long BLOG project...artJOURNALING daily! all the fun starts January 2011! visit here for the details..
introducing...artJOURNALING daily!! a fun, interactive YEAR-long project starting in January 2011 to share creative jumpstarts with you 3-5 times a week here on my blog. i'll post simple creative prompts to get you creating something artful everyday in your journal or sketchbook. visit here for more info.
{above R-L: artists Irina from Russia and Palvi from Finland}
a new series on my blog, the ARTIST SPOTLIGHT will feature inspirational artwork and interviews from artists worldwide. also at times i will share the amazing artwork of my students from my online workshops and events.
this post includes fantastic artwork from my creative DOODLES online workshop. it always amazes me what is created by students in my classes...especially in online workshops where the lessons and content are delivered through pages of colorful PDF workbooks and videos. i think taking a self-paced e-course allows students to explore their own style without distractions while they are in their own studio with their own supplies..they can just PLAY and create.
everyday I am grateful that I get to share my LOVE and passion of art with artists from all over the world. My creativity UNLEASHED collective website has fostered worldwide friendships of artists who give support unconditionally and share stories, ideas but most of inspire creativity and share their ART!
i'm in love with all the layers and vibrant colors that each artist displayed in their work. this workshop was a 5-week e-course with daily drawing and doodling exercises. from simple beginnings of drawing shapes to layering collage, monoprints, digital images incorporating paint, markers, crayons, and oil pastels. each artist used the creative jumpstarts to develop their own style.
more student artwork photos from my creative DOODLES workshop...
join in the artistic fun in my creativity UNLEASHED collective! you'll find new FREE projects, loads of inspriation and fun posts coming in 2011...
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p.s. my WINTER online workshop 3-month session starts January 3! there are eight e-courses to choose from, including creative DOODLES. more info here. also, i'll be posting info on my next LIVE online workshop...FASHIONista...which starts January 17, 2011...stay tuned!!
{a row of christmas trees at Christmas in the Park}
a little peek into my wonderful Christmas holiday....Christmas Eve day was full of last minute holiday shopping and gift wrapping then a YUMMY delicious HOMEMADE prime rib dinner and Decoy wine at my cousin's house. I made the au jus..thanks for the recipe mama! :)
an iChat session with my family and nieces {with special guest Princess Tiana..lol} made me feel like I was at home in Hawaii with them.
can't forget the box full of SPRINKLES cupcakes {my FAVE}...then on Christmas day we enjoyed a LOVELY champagne brunch at the Fairmont Hotel with a DELISH dessert table full of French macaroons, petit fours, white chocolate lollipops, red velvet and bread pudding. soooo YUMMM!
after brunch we strolled through downtown Christmas in the Park in the rain. I especially enjoyed all the colorful trees sponsored by different groups and organizations decorated with handmade ornaments made with all kinds of recycled goodies.
Also loved the "Downtown Doors" art project which featured art from high school kids.
It was a wonderful weekend with the ones I LOVE...just how the holidays should be! <3
It's the day after Christmas and I hope you all enjoyed your holiday with loved ones, holiday service, great food and lots of presents. It was my first Christmas home in the past seven years and I had a wonderful day with Tyler and visiting family. I actually took a couple days off..NO COMPUTER! So back to finishing up the final week in my {24} HOLIDAY inspirations series.
I thought it would be fun to share mine & Tyler's creative Xmas tree project in photos. what can you do with a creative vision, a simple sketch without measurements and three big cardboard boxes?
build a cardboard christmas tree?!?
Since I returned from Hawaii a week before Christmas it didn't make sense to buy a fresh tree {btw, which I adore} and after having no luck finding a vintage foil tree, I decided I should just make my tree!
I had a stack of empty cardboard boxes sitting in my studio and thought what better material to create with? I brainstormed with my sweetie Tyler and he sketched out the idea and helped me cut out the cardboard.
What started as a simple sketch and vision morphed into layers of of folded, torn, twisted and sculptured cardboard as we put the pieces together. that's the beauty of the creative process that I teach in all my workshops...be FREE and open to PLAYING. a piece of art might start in one direction but let it flow naturally and don't worry..just have fun making it!
As we were building the tree, the initial three stacks of cardboard tied with hemp string didn't seem to look like a christmas tree more like a cake. so I added triangle strips of cardboard in between each layer which were secured with a hot glue gun....and the transformation begun! The cardboard tree without decoration was a little too minimalistic for me, so I added some of the painted cardboard I created with my handmade holiday stamps and draped my stitched leaf felt trim, colorful FABRIC garland, paper lollipops and wrapped the tree with white iridescent tinsel garland.
oh..and we had one store bought ornament..the skiing turquoise penguin!
we added hot pink LED lights..here's what the tree looks like with different lighting. {from left to right above..incandescent lights, just the pink LEDs, and in natural daylight}
hanging on the tree...a HANDMADE gift envelope for my nephew. {the envelope was made from a Trader Joe's grocery bag..I LOVE the snowman illustration...perfect all I had to do was cut and stitch!} so much better than store bought :)
<3...happy holidays!
p.s. don't forget to enter my Simplicity Rotary Cutter and Embosser HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY by midnight tonight!!
okay, so I know it's only a few more days before Christmas but here's another fun and simple project to create fabric garland. I'm sure you are busy getting ready for family visits, cooking, shopping and wrapping holiday gifts so keep this project in mind for next year or for an upcoming party! oh..you could also create gift tags using this technique...so many possibilites!
I used hand dyed fabric for this project but you can also use store bought fabric or paper. I dyed a variety of white cotton fabrics and trims with ILoveTo Create Custom Dye Kit. (which I will feature in another post after the new year)
cut dyed fabric into strips using Simplicity Deluxe Rotary Cutter and Embosser
Deluxe Rotary Cutter and Embosser video demo
adhere fabric strips to a piece of self adhesive Peltex. layout strips and place a piece of parchment paper over and iron.
turn over the fabric ironed Peltex and trace circles using the bottom and top of a paper cup.
cut out a variety of different sized circles.
trace and cut out circles of dyed fabrics, colored felt or paper.
use Aleene's Fabric Fusion to glue the pieces together
use a variety of fabrics, mix & match pieces to create colorful garland centerpieces. glue or stitch them together. {TIP: as an alternative stitch words, letters or pictures to felt to personalize the garland}
if using glue, adhere each piece spreading out the glue with a plastic scraper. adhere cut fabric strips to the center with Fabric Fusion glue
add the next circle layer by adhering it with glue
glue the last circle to finish off the garland centerpiece
continue to glue the circle centerpieces and adding strips of fabric to create garland...hang it on the tree, mantle or table.
PROJECT VARIATION: create fabric and paper lollipops by using the same technique but glue the centerpieces to folded pinwheels and a skewer between the layers.
{a little sneak peek of my HANDMADE Christmas tree}
stay tuned for my post tomorrow that shares how I made my tree this year.
Today's HOLIDAY giveaway is brought to you by one of my lovely sponsors Simplicity. It's open to US and Canadian residents only per their request. I'll be giving away one Deluxe Rotary Cutter and Embosser to a lucky winner! It's valued at $200 and perfect for the art quilter, mixed media artist, scrapbook artist and everyday crafter.
Answer this...what is your favorite Christmas or Hanukkah holiday craft or art project? Please leave a comment by midnight PST, Sunday, December 26, 2011. Winner will be announced on Monday, December 27...good luck!!
If you're anything like me, you'll be shopping or making gifts until Chritmas Eve. It never fails every year, I'm always making last minute gifts. Here are a few ideas for easy HANDMADE stocking stuffers for your dear creative ones using cardboard, brown grocery bags and painted recycled papers... use up all those painted papers and fabrics and create COLLAGE KITS! create a stitched label using free motion sewing on printed cardboard. Include laser prints of your artwork, black & white collage sheets and handpainted pieces. For more variations...add a page of art journaling jumpstarts, calendar pages, washi tape and Collage Pauge.
cut apart a brown grocery bag into a large rectangle, fold in half and stitch up the sides to create an envelope. embellish the top by stitching collage pieces and doodling with thread. The "COLLAGE KIT" cardboard is stitched to handpainted fabrics and felt then stitched to another piece of paper bag to create a wrap around the envelope. Use colored quilting pins or saftey pins to close the wrap.
CREATE NOTEBOOKS..cut your favorite found papers {I use construction paper, paper bags, white drawing paper, maps}, use a print of your artwork or create an original for the cover and a piece of textured cardstock for the back, fold cardstock 1/2 inch over the left edge and secure with a zigzag stitch. Make an envelope holder for the notebook out of a painted paper stitched to a paper bag and wrap with ribbon and a handmade tag.
MINI journals for the art journal lover...stitch painted fabric and paper onto a piece of grocery bag. cut a heart out of painted cardboard and attach to front of journal. cut long rectangle shapes out of recycyled paper and stack them on top of each other, fold in half and stitch a zigzag stitch down the center to create the journal. JOURNAL envelope: stitch the word "dream" onto paper bag, create a pocket by stitching more paper onto textured cardstock. Add your favorite pens, drawing tools or create stickers with my FREE HOLIDAY download.
FABRIC bags: I create mine from hand dyed fabrics. you can also used hand printed or store bought fabric. cut fabric to size to fit your gift. stitch a word, name or phrase on piece of fabric and stitch that to front of fabric bag. fold fabric for bag in half and free motion stitch the sides.
FOR the ART QUILTER or fabric LOVER...create handpainted/stamped fabric and doodle on dyed fabrics. create a customized fabric collage kit.
add in sewing needles, embroidery floss, silk fabrics, vintage buttons and a gift of an one of my online workshops!
who wouldn't LOVE custom note cards and stationery? create a package of NOTE CARDS. cut out two squares of brown paper bags, stitch a painting onto a one piece of paper bag. stitch the word "notes" or any saying onto another piece of bag and stitch on top of painting. close the sides of the bags with flower free motion stitches.
choose your FAVE colored textured cardstock. I HEART the paper embossed with circles and lines. cut cardstock into different sizes..cards, tags and postcards.
stitch words, doodle shapes and flowers with thread, stitch on blank pieces of brown bags {these blank spaces can be customized later}, cut out collage shapes and stitch or glue them onto the cardstock.
create GOODIE bags! these are great for candy, gift cards, holiday cards, photos or whatever you'd like to put inside.
create GIFT TAGS from printed recycled cardboard. stitch words and designs onto the front, punch a hole and lace with twine or hemp string. create a macrame hanging string. write message on back of the tags and attach to gifts!
all of these stocking stuffers are simple and take less than 15 minutes to stitch up. happy HANDMADE holiday..xoxo~treiC
a collection of my doodle handmade stamps. the designs are burned into self-adhesive craft foam with a Walnut Hollow Textile Tool. this is a technique from my book Collage Unleashed. mix paints on a plexiglas sheet with a soft rubber brayer
roll out even layers of mixed paint onto the stamp with a soft rubber brayer. turn stamp over onto paper or fabric and roll over the back of stamp with a clean brayer to transfer print.
print on a variety of papers and fabrics...
I LOVE to print on recycled Whole Foods market bags, storybook newsprint, binder paper, bright colored construction paper and handmade papers. print of circles on lime green handmade paper printed with purple paint.
experiment with layering shades of colors, overlapping the stamp design {TIP: let the paint layers dry before adding another color}
another one of my favorite surfaces is tissue paper. {TIP: when printing on tissue work fast because paint will dry and tear paper. Also, place painted stamp face up and lay tissue on top to tranfer the print.print on recycled cardboard, these are pieces of boxes that I printed on to create my christmas tree. these also make great gift tags and ornaments. embellish cardboard with Collage Pauge and German glass glitter. I transer Collage Pauge into a fine-tip applicator bottle.
doodle design over the printed cardboard with a fine-tip applicator bottle
sprinkle glitter onto the wet Collage Pauge and tap cardboard to spread. {TIP: place a paper plate under to catch excess glitter and reuse the glitter}
experiment with different colors and types of glitter circles covered with Crafty Chica ultra fine glitter.
cut leaf shapes out of glittered cardboard and colored felt. apply Fabric Fusion glue evenly to the back of cardboard with a plastic scraper {I use an old hotel room key}. adhere to felt shape
glue, stitch or string together the leaf pieces to create garland.
these are snippets of my holiday decorations and gift wrap...more to come!
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