Happy Earth Day!
Tomorrow is Earth Day so I thought it'd be fun to share my favorite recycled background with you:
Mmm...Starburst! I collect Starburst candy wrappers in all of their glorious colors! For this fun, recycled background, I glued wrappers to our Eco Shape Houses (made out of recycled materials).
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Next, paint on a coat of gesso. I tried to leave some of the wrapper visible...such great colors!
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Next, scribble on some watercolor crayon and blend it with a damp paintbrush. And voila, a beautiful recycled background! I especially love the texture that the candy wrappers give to this background.
New Art Challenge: Have you made something artistic with recycled materials lately?
Please share your recycled art with us! Post photos online (to your blog, website, etc with a comment and link to this post) or post them to the wall of our Facebook Fan Page OR email them to Gillian and she will post them for you. Maximum 3 entries per person. Deadline is May 2. Winners (as picked by my kitties) will receive goodie bags with our Eco Shrines, Windows and Doors.
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Our current art swap is Altered Eco Embellishments so I thought I'd make some to go with my recycled houses above. Here's what I did: First, I painted on a coat of gesso onto our Trees, Birds and Butterflies (all made out of recycled materials).
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Next, I looked up some inspiring quotes and wrote them on the embellishments.
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Then I scribbled on some watercolor crayon (right tree) and blended it in with a damp paintbrush (left tree).
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And here they are...my Altered Eco Embellishments: Trees, Birds and Butterflies!
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And here they are sewn onto my recycled houses. So pretty, eh? Come join the fun and play in our Altered Eco Embellishments Art Swap! You might even get one of these. : )
Deadline to get them in the mail to us is May 9th so order your embellishments today and start playing. So much fun!
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Happy Easter!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter with your family this weekend! Recently, I hosted an Easter Art Challenge. We had 6 participants (including this gorgeous Easter decoration by Gerri Herbst). All 6 participants will receive a free digital download just for playing. Yay! : )
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Happy International Charm Day!
Mark your calendars: April 28th is International Charm Day!
Bruno has been helping me make some special, little charms to honor this special day! Stay tuned for next week, I'll be adding some to our orders as special gifts next Thursday! In addition, you'll have an opportunity to win some as well!
You will also want to check out the Charm Day blog to find out who's participating - you'll have lots of chances to win gorgeous, handmade charms!
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Happy 40th Birthday to Me!
I'm turning 40 next week! To celebrate, I've designed some fun products devoted to some of my favorite things and I'm wrapping up some special gifts for you too. : )
This is an altered book page that I did recently. Notice the background....why it's Starburst wrappers of course! lol. And see the mermaid on the left....oh, she's just a little sneak peek for what's coming next Thursday! Woohoo!
See you next Thursday with charms, gifts and glorious new goodies!
Oh Helga! Thank you so much for the digital download for my Easter Challenge entry. I was surprised to find it in my inbox this afternoon.
Hope you have a fabulous Easter and I wish you a most fabulous 40th birthday.
Posted by: Mary Wilkins | April 21, 2011 at 02:09 PM
How beautiful your work is!! I am so thrilled to have received your email with my free download today! That is so awesome, and I will LOVE it!!
Thanks again! ArtChix are AWESOME!!
xxDaniella
Posted by: Daniella | April 21, 2011 at 03:48 PM
Great stuff and such great effects with the wrappers and the card !!
Posted by: Sid | April 22, 2011 at 01:21 AM
Love the candy wrapper backgrounds and do you think one of your sweet kitty kats could be a "model" for a charm or two on their collar:) My cats don´t wear collars elsewise I´d do a few fotos of them but they told me,,,hey, this is not
project runway,,,so I had no chance of getting them to put on a collar much less a charm. Maybe Bruno would play dressups for a one day foto shoot:)
Posted by: Cynthia Schelzig | April 22, 2011 at 01:38 AM
Early Happy Birthday wishes! Starting a new decade means you can celebrate your special day for longer than normal. :) It's funny you should mention Starburst; I hadn't thought about that candy in years and then I heard a story on the radio just this morning about a girl whose mother made her prom dress out of Starburst wrappers. I don't know where they live (somewhere in the U.S., I'm assuming). I hope they post pictures somewhere on the web!
Posted by: Miss Iowa | April 22, 2011 at 10:33 AM
I have a Starburst eater so I am going to go home and get me some wrappers!
Posted by: Kristin Townsend | April 22, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Early Birthday greetings..traditionally, you're just entering the most creative segment of your life story...I can't wait to see the results!
Posted by: katie west | April 22, 2011 at 02:05 PM
LOVE this!!! And Happy, Happy Birthday ... may it be a bright, bold, sweet, and extra-beautiful year!!!
Posted by: Paula Farrington | April 24, 2011 at 03:08 PM
Helga - love your Starburst creations! I sent you a link to the prom dress article before I read Miss Iowa's comments - maybe you can link to it next week?
I made some recycled envelopes and posted them to my blog for the recycling challenge.
Happy Birthday!
Cindy :)
Posted by: Cindy McMath | April 25, 2011 at 04:55 PM
Helga - I just wanted to say Thank you so much for the goodies I got in the mail for the Honorable mention in the Sweetheart ATC swap. Every part of the swap was so much fun. You made my day when I was in the top ten, and seeing my cards on your site, plus getting Honorable mention and besides that all the great cards I received in return. It was my first time entering an online trade and it was a great experience.
BARB
Posted by: Barbara Dankertson | April 25, 2011 at 05:32 PM
Great cards. These are really inspiring. Great work!
Posted by: Birthday Wishes | April 26, 2011 at 10:08 PM