10 Days of Creating.....

Well, here's what I've been working on...... Charms for my 'Art Charms' group's "Blue, White, and Silver" charm swap! These are made on cute little dominos. I drilled holes in the top - stamped a snorkeling kitty with 'stays on' ink (a great permanent ink) - used a couple of shades of light blue chalk inks for background water, backs, and around the sides and heat set the inks with my handy heat gun. They seemed a little plain so I added some charms to some, others I added beads to, and some I glued some button (with the backs cut off) sea stars and shells. Couldn't decide which I likes best and then realized I liked them all and it didn't matter that they all weren't the same -- except for those that signed up twice and might want to use them for earrings....you'll just have to be asymmetric!

I love how creative people are when they are sending off their charms in special little packages so I've really been making an effort to come up with different packaging ideas. This has been working out well since I've been going though all of my old magazines (I'm talking like 10 years worth--gads) and tearing the articles with techniques I want to try and then passing on the mags to my young, budding artist friend Maile next door. Little packages for trades are the perfect way to try out new techniques! Here's one I think was being used for a match book card. (ps: now that I have all these loose pages with great things to do someday, I'm putting them into plastic page protectors and then will put them in binders according to mediums -- oh I'll be so organized!!)

Used rubber stamps to decorate some extra large tags and folded them to make the little packets to hold my charms......

Aren't they cute? And last night I finished putting little ribbons on the tags and here they sit waiting for a padded envie to send off to Chris....

Isn't the mosaic table a nice background for photos? :)

Off to try more new techniques....or maybe an old one! 'Til tomorrow....

Aloha!

Well, I was right....the hardest thing about 'Create Every Day' isn't the creating.... it's the posting about what we create! For me anyway :) I know that isn't part of the challenge but something I wanted to challenge myself to do... I'll keep trying!

It's been over 10 days since I've posted but I haven't not been creating. Before I go on to what I've been up to I wanted to share with you the two tables that inspired my friend Brian to want to learn how to do mosaic tile and glass work....

I just love these tables. They are on our lanai at our condo in Kihei. The table tops make me smile when I see them since the tiles and glass pieces are special... A friend gave me some small pretty blue tiles left over from a tile job he did and the fish are from our kitchen backsplash in Redondo Beach, saved from a remodel. The little white tiles (the coral) are from leftovers my mom's house found in the back of a storage closet when I was cleaning out her house. Round glass and other tiles sent to me by an art friend. The little sea glass pebbles were collected by friend Mary from Lake Erie. When another friend was commenting on the bottom table after I posted it on facebook, I realized she had sent me the glass stars long ago. Don't you just love it when those things you've been saving forever happen to all come together and get up-cycled?!

btw.....I'm thinking I like the green grout best....think that's the little something extra our table needs Brian. Pretty sure I can seal the grout with some metallic paint right over the top...I'll let you know how it works.

Yeah!! The table is finished!

And it's about time isn't it!

Next step after gluing all the pieces down is to get the grout in all the groves and around the edge.

Looks like a muddy mess but it will be pretty -- not to worry!

After the grout sets up for a bit, you start taking off the extra with a wet sponge. It takes a few times to get it all off. Tomorrow I'll seal it and it's good to go.

Now off to other projects.......have about 40 charms that need making!

WooHoo - The table is glued!

Day 5 of Create Every Day.....

Finally finished getting the tiles on the table glued. I'll let it set over night and it will be ready to grout tomorrow--Yay! Here's a pic....

Okay, so it doesn't look so much different than the first day when we were planning out the design....but now it's glued down! And we started the grouting there on the bottom before Brian left so he'd know how to do it when he starts his project back home. I just love teaching people techniques so they can do art on their own.

That's all for tonight...Happy Arting!

Day 4....

Happy Day 4 of Create Every Day!

Don't have a photo of today's art again since it would still look the same so thought I would share this nice sunset from our lanai. Isn't it pretty? :)

My art for today was gluing down the tiles on the mosaic table top....man, the gluing takes a long time! Still not done so will be finishing up that tomorrow. Thought the designing was the most time consuming part of mosaics. Brian--come back and help me!!

'Til tomorrow!

No pic today....

Aloha Everyone--

Create Every Day....Day 3

Still working on the mosaic tile....just a quick bit of art today. Brian left this afternoon to head back to the mainland but got a quick lesson in how to grout tile on the mosaic table top we started. Only got a small portion grouted so I'll take pics tomorrow of the finished (I hope!) project. I've been wanting to do a mosaic on that table for the longest time. Thanks Brian for getting me started on this and for your input to the design--it was great being your art teacher again! (I was Brian's art teacher during Elementary and Jr. High School at Riviera Hall in Redondo Beach....another life time ago! And now he has a Doctorate in Math--even those left brainers need art!!)

'Til tommorrow--

Cris

Day 2...

Ahola! Day 2 of Create Every Day and I'm posting--woohoo! Like I said yesterday, the hardest part of 'Create Every Day' will be posting everyday and here I am posting at 11 tonight--still the second here in Hawaii :) Today has been busy busy.... Voting ... off to the North Shore to see the big waves ... stopped by the Sugar Museum on the way back ... started a mosaic table top (the art for the day!)--worked out a great design with friend Brian visiting from the mainland who wanted to learn how to do mosaics ... off to the West Side for a sunset Luau complete with Fire Dancers ... back home and glued down half the mosaic design so I can show Brian how to grout it tomorrow before he heads to the airport.

Brian showing his mom, Carolyn, how to cut the glass tiles.....

Brian and I working out a design....

Just about there.....

Come back tomorrow for the grouting!

Aloha, Cris

Create Every Day!

Aloha!

Peggy our fearless leader at the Art Charms group mentioned she wanted to create art everyday during the month of November. Several others of us decided to join her. This is my first offering -- still November 1 here...but well into tomorrow for most of you!

We have friends visiting from the mainland so things are a bit hectic. Went to one of our favorite snorkel spots, Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve this morning and saw quite a variety of sea life. So nice to see this area recovering. Lots and lots of fish and even the coral looked like it's coming back. Always when I'm snorkeling I have great visions of coming home and doing watercolors of the beautiful fish....never seems to happen. Didn't get to it until this evening when we were watching the DVD, "Riding Giants" to give our friends an idea of the waves we expect to see tomorrow at Ho'okipa. Should be 25 to 35 feet--woohoo! Wonder if I can paint a nice little watercolor of that for tomorrow's art :)

Until tomorrow....

(I think my biggest challenge for this month will be posting everyday--I'm such a bad blogger!)