One a Day in May - Day 21 - Flower basket card

I can't believe I've made it this far into my personal challenge to produce at least one piece a day in May.  There have been days, like today, that I feel too tired to do anything but have a bath and go to bed; but I made myself a promise (and then foolishly announced it to the world!) so here is today's challenge piece. 

Pressed flower assortment in birch bark 'basket' on gladiola leaf paper card.

As soon as I finish a few more cards for my space at the Artisan Centre, I'm going to start working on replenishing my Etsy shop.  One listing a day?  Maybe.

One a Day in May - Day 3

Remember what I said about knowing when to stop?  Compared to yesterday's understated elegance,  today's card is more overstated chaos.  And I have more flowers stuck to my fingers than I do to the card!  Which was part of the problem.  I kept tearing the pressed flowers but then parts of them stayed glued down so I had to cover them up with more flowers and ended up with a bit of a jumble. 

Pansies & viola on handmade corn husk paper

I also managed to cut and stamp the lavender soap I made the other night.

I'm going to try to get up earlier tomorrow morning and get into my studio before my day job uses up all my energy!

My Etsy Shop is Open!

After a 6 week 'Vacation,' my Etsy Shop, LizAnnasOnTheLake, is open for business.  I had some local card sales that depleted my stock and we just started a local Artisan Centre so I had some replenishing to do.

I'm going to try to be a little more creative with my backgrounds.  My little Nikon Coolpix takes pretty good pictures but it's hard to gauge the colour balance because each computer monitor is different.

I've tried adjusting the colour on my home computer to get it closer to the real thing but when I look at the same picture on my work computer, it is way too garish!  So for now, I'm not adjusting and I just hope that what you see is what I hope you see.

I've heard other people say that it's very hard to get a true purple.  They tend to look very blue which is especially problematic when so many of my pressed flowers are purple.

There have been some great posts on the Etsy forums about photographing pieces so I just keep trying to absorb as much as I can.  I really appreciate all the generous tips from fellow Etsians.  Any feedback is welcome!

Pressing Flowers in the Microwave

If your only experience with pressing flowers is using an old-fashioned press or phone books, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results you'll get by pressing in the microwave.

 Mothers need music, too:  Mixed media collage

But, before we start, here's my disclaimer:  I'm human therefore I'm fallible. You are human therefore you are fallible.  I do my best to ensure accuracy and completeness in my directions but I cannot guarantee results.  Please read my blog Terms of Use before proceeding.  If you're okay with all of this, then please continue!

Starting this month - free tutorials!

Teaching has always been one of my favourite ways of sharing my art so, starting this month, I will be offering free art and craft tutorials on my blog.

In no certain order, here are some of the planned projects.  Topics will be divided into separate tutorials for each technique, where applicable.

Natural Dyes from Your Yard and Garden 

Creating dyes and applying them to cloth and paper.

 Working with Concrete 

Stepping stones, bird baths, benches and  planters.  Making your mixes from scratch and producing beautiful art for your yard and garden.

Making Handmade Paper from Plants and Recycled Paper 

From choosing and processing your plant materials to methods for forming and drying your handmade papers.

Creating with Your Handmade Papers 

Make beautiful and functional pieces from your selection of handmade papers.

Textile and Paper Art  

Most of these techniques can be applied to textiles or paper.  Low water immersion dyeing, batik and other resist methods, devore', marbling, silk screen, block printing, nature printing.

Basic Soapmaking 

Make your own natural vegetable oil based cold process soap.

Beautiful Body Butter and Lip Balms

Use the basic formulas as the starting point for your own unique blends that address your own skin care concerns and preferences.

Pressing Flowers in a Microwave

'Follow' my blog for updates and schedules. And spread the word!  Everyone is welcome.