Deborah Velásquez

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Feeling Crafty with Glass Magnets

Finished Glass Magnets

Feeling the spirit of the season and I am making small holiday gifts.

Picked up 1/2 glass beads from the local craft store.

The same ones used in a vase for flowers.

These are not perfectly round and have natural markings in them. I am going for a more organic look.

If you would like clear and perfectly round half glass beads you can find resources on Etsy.

Pick the glass beads you are going to use for your project.

Put a dot of Mod Podge on the bead and place it on your choice of paper, scrap booking has a nice thickness to it. You can cut things out of books, magazines or just use a piece of your own art. I cut some stock from my cards and used scrap booking paper for my magnets.The Mod Podge goes on white but dries clear. As you place the glued bead on the paper it spreads to cover the back of the bead. Give the Mod Podge enough time to dry before the next step.

Next cut paper with your scissors close to the edge, twirl the bead as you hold it with your thumb and index finger as you cut.

Next place the magnet back (also found at your local craft store) with the Mod Podge.

A dot will do.

I used a to and from stamp on plain paper to personalize each gift.

Packaged and ready to go.

Do you make gifts for the holidays?

Please share if you do.

Thank you for stopping by.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Lots to Do

Happy Wednesday! Gave myself an extra long weekend. The holiday season is busy on many fronts. Making gifts for friends, family and teachers. Lots of work going out to shops that carry my work. Here is my car full of work to be delivered. As an artist, much time is spent alone creating but getting out to meet customers and shop owners alike is so fun. I love making those connections. I pick up lots information in those conversations. I am able to see what is trending, what customers are attracted to, and what sells. Many times I get request from shop owners for different color combinations I may not have thought of.

Their perspective is so valuable and much appreciated.

Started working with a new motif, created from a rubber block stamp. I have been looking at a lot of surface and pattern design for research in my Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design e-course. Module One has just come to a close with Module Two starting up at the end of January. I feel as if my brain is in pattern design mode. I have always been influenced by design from the Fifties through the Seventies. Simplicity of line just lights me up and so much from those periods has that look.

Some of my favorite designers from the past:

Vera, Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag, and Sonia Delaunay.

Who are some your favorite artists or designers, currently or from the past?

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Friday, December 9, 2011

Put The Kettle On

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Everyone has a word path. One word leads to another.

Word Paths, a Friday feature showcasing possibilities in written words, creative process and artistic pieces.

My goal is to present three to five words or three to five lines.

I may go to seven words or seven lines but probably not often, only if needed.

I plan to work the Word Paths out artistically and process them to share with you here.

You can go here, to my first post on this project and see how it all started.

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When you walk into a friend's home and they ask "shall I put the kettle on?" you now it is time for tea. Love the ritual, the break in the day, the pause as I like to say, that bit of chat. We should pause in our moments much more often. I am a coffee girl through and through but drinking tea became a habit when I lived in England. I still enjoy a cuppa, I keep PG tips in my house. I recently created a print which reads, "Coffee is always a good idea" and I dedicated a post to it here. I felt the need to honor tea and tea drinkers. So, here it is! This print is dedicated to my friends in the UK and to my friends from the UK that reside here in the US.

Here is my word path for today

Happy Weekend • Enjoy a Cuppa • Enjoy the Language of Words

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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Happy Birthday

My husband and two sons started the morning with breakfast and gifts in celebration of my birthday. Many thanks to them for making my day special. Love you! All my gifts were wrapped in paper with words printed on them, they know my love of words runs deep. I am thrilled to have The Help on DVD, the book was great and has become a favorite and now I can enjoy the movie. Adele at The Royal Albert Hall CD, just brilliant, she is so amazing. Listened to it all day while making art. We ended the evening with chocolate mousse cake. We will continue to celebrate through the weekend, I just love December!

Pulled these words from the word paper wrapping.

You're every line

You're every word

You're everything

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Pattern Love

At Home

Sharing some pattern loves of mine on pieces I have collected for inspiration. I am currently taking an e-course called The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design with Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls.

They are absolutely fantastic.

This class has been full of amazing information and incredible inspiration.

The main purpose of an art class or drawing class before technique is to teach you to see. You become more aware in a sense. Pattern design is the repetition an element or elements in a piece of work or product. We are surrounded by ornamentation and decoration as a visual language, whether on our wallpaper or on a piece of clothing in our closet. When you think about it, so much comes together in the end, we have product, textiles, graphics, materials, decoration and a mix of media.

Just as we do with color we walk through the landscape of pattern everyday,

from minimal to flamboyant, what a journey.

Collection includes mod vintage dresses, pillows,pillow shams, placemats and scarves.

At the Shops

On my Desk

Wooster and Prince notecards

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Small Stuff

Up to the usual with my stamps but on a small scale this time.

I needed to make cards for the holidays. I love this abstract tree that I used in my piece with Mr Owl. It is a motif that can be used many times over and in a variety of ways. I used chipboard stock and envelopes for materials. I am partial to anything that resembles butcher paper! At first I liked the simplicity of a single tree, but the more I looked at it seemed lonely and lost. I felt I should add something and that something happens to be a bird. I used a white rubber eraser to make the small bird stamp. In the photo it is sitting on the stack of cards to the right.
I ran out of carving block material, so I "borrowed" my sons eraser and it worked!

Trial run with the stamps. The addition of the bird works well, love it!

Handmade holiday card set ready to go, I made five per pack.

Please do not use anything without permission or without making note of the origin on on your blog or website.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Word Path • Hold Me....

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Everyone has a word path. One word leads to another.

Word Paths, a Friday feature showcasing possibilities in written words, creative process and artistic pieces.

My goal is to present three to five words or three to five lines.

I may go to seven words or seven lines but probably not often, only if needed.

I plan to work the Word Paths out artistically and process them to share with you here.

You can go here, to my first post on this project and see how it all started.

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My supplies for the day. My trusty palette, liquid frisket for knock out effect of type, my all time favorite gouache for the background wash and the throwaway brush for the frisket.

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I have a few versions to share as I progressed to my final pick.

I had fun with these, all pieces are done on watercolor paper. I used frisket in art school, but I haven't thought about it in years until I was inspired by fellow blogger Lynn Richards. She authors a blog called BlueSkies. In one of her Art Everyday Month pieces she used frisket. I like having options in working out my Word Paths artistically while maintaining my style.

This last version still has the frisket where all the letters appear to be brown. I liked this brown on black effect so I stopped before removing the frisket to photograph it. I like to mix brown and black in outfits I put together to wear maybe that is why it appeals to me! The frisket has been pulled off where the letters appear white. Random in design but effective I believe. This version inspires me to paint brown type on black for future projects.

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Here is my word path for today

Hold Me for All Time

I love the romance of these words. They feel like an old film. Time, ever elusive stands still for that second of that embrace, that hug, that snuggle, that welcome, that hold.

Happy Weekend • Hold onto Someone Tightly • Enjoy the Language of Words

Please do not use anything without permission or without making note of the origin on on your blog or website.