Tag Archives: ColourArte

Turn an Altoid tin into a spooky mini album for Halloween

Turn an Altoid tin into a spooky mini album for Halloween

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Spooky things come in small packages. Take for example this Altoid tin that I altered into a Halloween mini album. Read the rest of this entry

Summer at the shore–an altered art miniature beach scene with bait and snack shack

Summer at the shore–an altered art miniature beach scene with bait and snack shack
Summer at the shore–an altered art miniature beach scene with bait and snack shack

Nothing defines summer more than a sunny day at the beach–the sound of waves hitting the sandy shore, wooden docks, children laughing and cold drinks.

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I captured an idyllic summer moment by making a miniature scene with realistic water and sand, a bait and snack shack and an old wooden dock that is actually made from paper. Read the rest of this entry

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So many adorable pictures of my kids sit unseen in boxes. Now that “my babies” are teens, I am trying to make more time to showcase some of those special snapshots in time.

Here is a mixed media tiled frame I made to showcase one especially colorful picture of my daughter on a visit to Disney World. While I used a different technique, I was first inspired by the work of the talented Lora Mahaffey. You can see my tutorial featured at the ColourArte blog

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Honoring a hometown hero

Honoring a hometown hero
Honoring a hometown hero

Prince was our hometown hero.

Most of us took a quiet pride in him in a typically reserved Minnesotan way. Writer James Lileks summed it up perfectly when he described his early encounter with Prince in this Star Tribune article. “Everyone knew it was Prince. Here’s the Minnesota thing: Everyone left him alone. There just seemed to be an understanding that you were not cool enough to go bother him. It wasn’t personal. It was just a fact. There’s Prince over here on the cool spectrum, and then there’s you, waaaay over there, and somewhere in the middle is Don Knotts.”

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I can’t help thinking how even though he was of the world’s greatest musicians and a revered rock star, Prince died all alone. I hope he knew–in spite of our reticent ways–just how much his hometown loved him.

I designed a stencil and subsequent altered tag as a small remembrance of him. I hope you check out my tutorial featured on the ColourArte Blog

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Celestial Pinwheels for spring’s evening breezes

Celestial Pinwheels for spring’s evening breezes

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It is almost magical: a warm spring evening, a light breeze and a starry sky. These celestial mixed media pinwheels remind me of this special time.

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Here is where you can see my tutorial on how to make pinwheels. 

These pinwheels kind of makes me want to skip out on all my work, make up some lemonade and go sit on my porch swing right now. Ah, but I have a lengthy blog post to write. Of course, I could just send you over to my tutorial

…and then…

…I could just…

 …play hooky…

 

 

Leaving the nest and letting them soar

Leaving the nest and letting them soar
Leaving the nest and letting them soar

 

For 18 or so years we keep our children safe–all the while strengthening their wings and slowly teaching them to fly. Finally the day draws near when they are ready to leave our nests and fly away on their own.

Suddenly, in the beat of a wing, the core focus of our lives is taken away from us. It is terribly tempting to tightly lock the door to the birdcage, keeping our vulnerable fledglings safe under within our care.

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Yet, a caged bird will not sing. We know we must let them fly away. There’s the saying that “if you love something, let it go free. If it loves you, it will come back.” Usually, our children come back. Yet we know deep that things will never really be the same. Our nests are forever changed.

I created this art, featured at Alpha Stamps, as testimony to the experience so many of my friends are going through–the bittersweet experience of seeing children leave for college or another adventure. The cage, which I made from paper mache, is lined with “bird advice” a mother might say to her children. Read the rest of this entry

A riot of spring colors–butterfly tag tutorial

A riot of spring colors–butterfly tag tutorial

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The promise of spring is here in the Northland with budding lilac trees and shoots of green forcing their way through the still frozen earth. After months of bleak winter landscape, the vibrant colors and textures of spring are truly a rebirth. My three-dimensional butterfly tag is meant to reflect the wonderful assault of color that spring brings. Please visit the tutorial on how to make this fun take at the ColourArte Blog.

 

Paper-Calliope-CA-tutorial-122330 Read the rest of this entry

Save money! Be unique! Have hella fun! Make your own embellishments

Save money! Be unique! Have hella fun! Make your own embellishments

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When I was in my twenties I would naively brag about how I was great at finding bargains–except I wouldn’t use the most refined language. My stepmother would gently correct me, telling me I shouldn’t say I was cheap, and instead describe myself as frugal. She was right, of course. Never for a single moment–even back in college when I sometimes wished I could just be a carefree party girl–have I “been cheap”. Read the rest of this entry

Meet my hipster great-grandparents

Meet my hipster great-grandparents
Meet my hipster great-grandparents

 

 

 

Check out the beard on my great-grandfather! Isn’t he quite the hipster. Too bad the rest of this photo is somewhat frightening. I don’t know if my great-grandparents, Sven and Caroline, were terribly stern, but they certainly appear so.

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I decided to have a little fun with my ancestors by creating mixed media frames and then sprinkling the photos with whimsical and brightly colored flowers.

To learn how I did this and to learn more about Sven, Caroline, and twin boys Arvid and Harold, please visit my tutorial at the ColourArte blog.

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Itty bitty teeny tiny–how to make miniature flower bulbs

Itty bitty teeny tiny–how to make miniature flower bulbs
Itty bitty teeny tiny–how to make miniature flower bulbs

 

 

 

For some of you Spring is in the air. Here in Minnesota, well, let’s just say, we don’t even dare hope for it until April. Creating these miniature dollhouse flower bulbs provide a fun reminder that eventually the snow will  may melt. The realistic miniatures have bulbs and shoots made from clay, and papery scales made from paint and gloss medium.

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To see a tutorial on how to make miniature flower bulbs for dollhouses, please visit the ColourArte blog.

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