Bishop's Key

I had fun making this cute little thing. I covered a 5" by 5" gallery wrapped canvas with clay, stamped into it and then dyed it with walnut ink to make it look like wood. I then added the panel covered in ledger paper. The name on the top says Bishop. The key is I believe a clock key. It is really old and rusty. Love it! I finished it off by adding a little wire hanger. I am going to be listing it on my new etsy site today if you would like to take a look.

Hey, did everyone see the etsy founder on Martha Stewart show today. It is always fun to see etsy in the news but this is great. If you have not visited http://etsy.com before, go and check it out. I love looking to see what other people across the globe are creating!!!!

My New Etsy Store!!!!

I have excited news! I am opening my very own http://www.alishafredrickson.etsy.com/ store. I am venturing out on my own after selling along side of my mother with http://www.twocooltexans.etsy store. I know that it might be difficult to start out with a clean sheet but I think I am up for the challenge. It will be good for me to be more consistent in my creative production anyway. I will still be listing on twocooltexans.

So be sure to go check out both stores for upcoming artwork and creativity!!!

Back again today!

I was a lucky girl today and got to fit in a little extra creative time. Both kiddos were at school today and my hubby called and said we were headed out to dinner with the neighbors. So I stole some extra time that would have been done doing something else. Yeah! I am glad because I want to switch gears tomorrow and work on some other things.

And thanks to all of the very lovely and friendly gals at the mixed media mondays group. You are all very talented and fun to share with. Lots of inspiration!!!!

Mixed media Mondays - School

So Mixed Media Monday's challenge was school. I was not sure what I wanted to do until I saw this picture of this little girl giving what I would say is "the what for" to this very patient looking dog. That is why I am calling this Obedience School. I created the background using lined school paper and paper that I painted using acrylics. This is a 5" by 5" gallery wrapped canvas. I have also wrapped it in black ribbon that has letters on it.

I hope everyone is enjoying beautiful weather like we are. We will see how long it decides to stick around!

I think I am ready for spring!

It is actually warm here in good ole' Texas today. It is like in the 80's. I can't believe it. And I think that it has put me in the mood for spring. I am ready to start taking more flower pictures and getting ready for our spring break trip.

We have decided to head to San Antonio again for Sea World. We had the BEST time a couple of years ago. We, of course, take the RV down loaded up with all of the crew ( kids and dogs ). I know the kids will enjoy it more just because they are older. I will make a confession, everytime we watch the orca whale show, I cry. There is just something about their size and their beauty that seems to get me all weepy. Sad, I know.

So, with my spring fever today I decided to do some flower pieces. I am sure there will be more in the near future until I decide to move on to something else. This piece is 5" by 5" gallery wrapped canvas. I have made a really light and airy flower transfer onto old ledger paper. I then distressed it with some slash marks and added texture. I will be listing this piece on etsy.

Wings

So for the most part, I don't have the attention span to work and practice to learn something for months. But, I have worked so hard on learning to do large transfers. I think that I might actually have it down. It has taken many, many wrongs and throw aways. This is a 12" by 12" gallery wrapped canvas. It has already found a home on my walls. I will be selling some soon at our etsy store but, I just have to celebrate with keeping the first one for myself.

Christmas Mustache!

Here is one of my latest layouts. I am a whole year behind and am going to try really, really hard to catch up. These pics were taken Christmas morning. I had purchased these cute little cups that froth milk. I made both kids hot chocolate and made them all frothie. Bailey was not overly interested seeing as how it was Christmas morning but, Alexis loved it. She was so cute I had to capture the moment. She did not even realize that her mustache was what we were laughing at. She just thought that the drink was the best she had ever had.

Well, I loved the piece I made yesterday so much that I decided to make another one. This one is the same style and technique. The only difference is that I used a gallery wrapped canvas for the base instead of a canvas board. This allowed me to wrap the clay around the canvas. I just love it. The threes were transfered onto an old hymnal page. The song on the page is A Spring Morning. It was perfect for this image of the two trees.
I just had one of those moments where your heart stops beating and you realize what could have happened. I came home after picking up both kids from school and running to the store to get something for dinner. When we walked in I heard the sound of my cat screaming. It was muffled but very loud considering I heard it over the kids talking and running around. It was not hard to find her. She was outside!!!!!!! Actually, she was at the back window looking in the house. She had to have sneaked out when I had the door open for the dogs earlier. She has NEVER ever gone outside with the door open before. She is of course, an only inside girl. And I must admit, I baby her quite a bit. Mostly because she really only loves me out of everyone and because of her terrible past.
We got her when she was only 8 weeks old. But when she was 6 weeks old, she was found bound by her back legs tied to the ceiling of a basement being used as bait for a dog fight. Terrible, I know. She is a happy girl for the most part. Sometimes her back legs don't work very well and give out when she runs. And unlike other cats, she cannot jump very high. She can jump on the bed to snuggle at night but can't jump on things that are high like countertops. I also have to have a very unusual set up with the cat box. Often times she thinks that she is in it but in reality her little back side is hanging out of the box. So you can imagine the mess and smell that I often deal with on a daily basis.
But besides all of the bad things, she is a really happy go lucky girl. She is tolerant of the kids and the dogs. So, my heart would be broken if she would have run off. I guess she knows to stay close to home. Thank you Lord for taking care of her when I was careless!

Mixed media Mondays - Texture

This is my offering for Mixed Media Mondays. The theme is texture which is always a fun thing to incorporate into artwork. So, I decided to do two of my all-time favorite things together, angels and clay. I have gotten to a point where I would like to frame some of the pieces tha I make but cannot find an appropriate frame. So, I decided to make my own. This is only the first one that I have done like this but, I would like to explore this a little more. I love how rich it looks. I am so glad that mom talked me into doing these challenges!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I have been so busy this week with Valentine's Day. I had 32 Valentines to make with two very helpful little helpers which ultimately ended up being more work. But it was a blast to do it with them. I also had two parties to attend and help out with. So, my creative work has been at a stand still for this week. At least so far.
I have also committed to do at least one scrapbook layout a week. I am ashamed to say that I have gotten a whole year behind. Now, scrapbooking is not my favorite thing to do but, everytime my kiddos pull those books out to look at, their eyes light up and they talk about each picture and the story follows. The books are such a treasure and I need to get myself in gear and catch up before it becomes hopeless. I will try to upload some for show and tell. Just a warning, they are likely to be cutsey.
So, I am off to make the hubby a card.

Mixed Media Mondays

Well, it is like 80 degrees here in Texas. Now, I love it here but, I am not crazy about the drastic weather changes. It is well known that you never put away your shorts or your sweaters because the weather will change that quickly. The past few weeks have been proof of that.

Here is my offering for the Mixed Media Monday Challenge which was Flourishes. This was easy for me to do just because I have been pretty stoked by flourishes lately. I designed and cut out this white one. This picture has been sitting on my table for a while. I really like her. Probably because of the long red hair.