Inspiring Wearable Art jewelry Finds on Etsy

'Inspiring Art Jewelry' by BluKatDesign

Inspiring wearable art jewelry finds on Etsy

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

A Great Art Quote...

               This is one of my favorite art quotes! Feel free to pass my artwork along!
                                       If you have a favorite quote, please share it here: )

5 Awesome Examples of Upcycling

According to Wikipedia, Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

        Here are five example of awesome upcycling or repurposing materials into colorful art:

            Gorgeous hanging lamp made from plastic bottles by THISgallery on Etsy.

Repurposed clothespins made into cool wall art  found one the best blogs for upcycling:  The Blue Velvet Chair

                      Repurposed shoe sculptures by Gwen Murphy found on Artstormer

Upcycled  unique necklaces made from bobby pins by BluKatDesign on Etsy.

Upcycled plastic bottle cap wall art.  How to make your own here: DIY Plastic Bottle Cap Mossaic


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How to Easily Create Texture in Acrylic Paintings

How to Easily Create Texture in Acrylic Paintings.
Being a jeweler I am always thinking of textures to add to my paintings for more of a 3-D effect and interest. All you need is a lot of Gesso or an acid free "glue" like Collage Pouge found at craft stores in the decoupage section to glue various things like bubble wrap, string, hole punch paper, plastic bags, fabric, etc.

First, you want to glue your texture with the Collage Pouge or other acid free glue;  some people just use Gesso for this step but glue is much easier for string because you can just dunk the string in the glue.

Another way (a cheaper alternative to stuff you buy in the art store)  to add texture is to mix some Collage Pouge into some spackle until it is the consistency of frosting, then you can create an endless amount of textures with your hands, fork, stamps etc. Let this dry then add at least a couple coats of Gesso; letting it dry between coats.

Then you can add color! I chose a medium tone for this. After this is dry,  I did a wash of a darker blue and dabbed off the excess color to give more depth. After this was dry,  I used my finger to highlight areas with a lighter shade and then last,  I used a silver metallic powder for even more highlights.

For more tips and ideas for texture check out this website AristTerms.com http://www.artistterms.com/texturegallery.htm

DIY Simple Textured Wall Art with String!

DIY Simple Textured Wall Art with String!  

 

 This is a simple project, easy enough for kids.  All you need is a canvas, string, some sort of acid free glue, ( I used Collage Pauge decoupage glue I got at Joann's) Gesso and acrylic paint. Tools: large paint brush & scissors.

I  first thinned the Collage Pauge with a little water  in a container to make it drippy enough so it would run off the string, then dunked about a yard of string at a time into the Pauge, squished out the excess and then added the string to my canvas. Oh yes, it is good to wear some rubber gloves because this stuff is hard to get off of the hands!

When dry add 1-2 coats of Gesso. Let this dry.

 Then add color!

                    Simple wall art to brighten our dark corner of our new townhouse

Like this idea? Comments welcomed!

Cool Cats

I have been so busy with the new house and new puppy for the past few months I wanted to post some cool cat finds and of course, a pic of Tuffy the BluKat (above) who is also having a time adjusting to all of the changes!  Below: I found these cute photos on Pinterest from unknown sources.

 

                Here is the coolest cat sculpture from Cool Stuff Art Gallery on Etsy

 

A  gorgeous print from RMB Art Studio on Etsy   

 A cool wire sculpture from Life On Wire  on Etsy