Paper woven with LOVE

Such interesting items can be created when the mood, setting and inspiration is just right.  The more natural the ingredients are, the more inspired I am.  This little crafty artwork consists of wood and paper.  There is a bit of wire and a few nails, but the basis is “natural”.  God has given us so much to work with, seems a shame to let it go to waste.  Do you have abilities or talents God has given you?  Do you use them to glorify Him?  What happens to our talents when we don't use them?  I almost let mine slip through my fingers, or I don't know maybe it did slip through my fingers and that is why I am struggling with it so.  Don't let that happen to you.  Realize what you have been given and use it while you have it.  I still keep trying and this is my latest attempt.

You can see through the woven paper, so the wall you hang it on will be the background color behind the woven heart.  The buttons are wood with an acrylic wash of the colors, lilac, green and orange.  Then white polka dots applied with a paint pen.

You may want to recreate it yourself.  Try it, put your own personality into it, use whatever word you would like.  Try putting a butterfly or a peace sign in the middle instead of a heart.  You can do it, it’s simple, here’s how.

You will need:  Check out the products in my store here.
Paper rush
Stretcher strip frame
Natural hemp
Wood buttons
Craft wire
Nails
Glue

Here’s the steps in creating this piece:
Put your stretcher strips together to make the frame.  Put a little glue at the joints.  Paint the front side of the frame with the color you desire using acrylic paint watered down to just tint the wood.

Once dry,  attach strips of paper rush from the top to the bottom of the frame on the backside with nails.
Then attach the strips of paper rush to the back side of the frame on one side with a nail, then weave in and out of the strips that run from the top to the bottom on the frame, then attach to the opposite side with a nail.  Do this until you get the fill you desire.  You might like less than I have in the piece or more.  It’s up to you.

Turn the frame over to see the front side, be careful of the nails.  Use the acrylic colors of your choice watered down, so you will only get a tint of the color and apply to the woven paper rush.

Choose your shape and use wire to apply it to the woven paper rush, wrapping it around the paper rush strips as you go to help it keep it’s shape.  I chose something easy for this first time, a heart.

When you are happy with your shape, use natural hemp to macrame’ using the wire as you inside cord.

Apply paint to your shape, which is the natural hemp.  Keep the paint watered down just to tint the shape outline.
 
Once the shape is complete, use more of the natural hemp to weave in and out of the paper rush inside the shape you have chosen.

To make your word, begin twisting natural hemp around craft wire, clamping the end of the wire over the hemp.  Once you have enough twisted onto the wire to shape your word, clamp the end.
Shape your word and attach to the woven paper rush with small pieces of wire.  If you desire you can also paint your word with the same acrylic colors and watered down technique as you used on the frame, the paper rush and the hemp.

Clip off the excess nail tips on the front of the frame with a wire cutter.

Paint buttons with your choice of acrylic colors watered down.

Using a strong glue, dab a small dot on top of the nails, lay buttons onto the glue spots.
Once dry, you can put little white polka dots on the buttons if you like with a paint pen.

When everything is dry apply a hanger to the back of the frame and you have a wonderful gift or a new piece to hang in your own home.

See what all you can do with this artsy craft.  I’d love to see what you do.

Here are some different views of this piece.  If you don’t like the open air look with out anything behind your weaving, you could put fabric, cardboard or even colored matte board behind it.  Use your imagination.


             

                   

Hope you enjoy making this.  Happy artsy crafting!

Free Art or Craft or whatever it is!

So I have a little bit of a difficult time deciding what the results of my ideas actually are.  What would you consider this particular piece to be?  Is it art or is it actually a craft?  Do you think it would fall into the collage’ category?

I’ll tell you a thing or two about it so you can answer the question and possibly win it, that is if you think you might like to have it.

This is a wood frame made from stretcher strips.  Stretcher strips are normally used to stretch canvas on to paint a picture.  You can buy these canvas’ already made.  But of course being “a bit different” I like them so much, I use them for frames.  You can get them in so many sizes, precut.  What I love most though is the way the natural wood shows through when I paint them.

I paint the wood with a very watered down acrylic paint.  In fact sometimes I can’t tell I’m putting anything on the wood but water, so I’ll add a little more paint to it, but not much.  Then I keep layering it on til I get the look I want.  Some lighter colors cover up the wood grain when you try to get the color to show up.  I like to keep it thin so I can see the wood.  It’s just natural and beautiful to me.  If you'd like to try some stretcher strips for yourself, click the link below.

Fredrix Stretcher Strip 10 Inch Single Strip


Ok, so I found some screen wire one day while I was out shopping.  It’s not the kind of screen my grandmother had on her screen door, it’s softer and it doesn’t prick your finger.  I thought I could sure use it to play with some kind of craft.  I got it and have been dying to sew on it.  Painting on this screen wire was not something I thought I could do and the paint actually stay.  But it does.  So I used paper doilies and a butterfly cut out of paper as stencils and decorated the screen wire.

Behind the screen I put some painted paint sticks.  Now that is what you ordinarily use to stir large pails of paint.  But when I thought of several things I could do with them, I just ordered about 500 sticks and I am so enjoying using them.  I have made stars for decorations,  painted pictures on them, a friend of mine made the sticks look like snowmen, I made a calendar holder and used them to write scripture verses on.  I even cut some and put them in a sewing hoop.  I’ve been having a blast with them.  See for yourself just how economical and versatile they are, if you'd like to try some just click the link below.

Perfect Stix PAINT9 Birchwood Paint Paddle Stick, 9" Length (Pack of 100)


So that’s basically what this particular piece is made with, paint, stencils, stretcher strips and paint sticks.  What would you say it is?  Is it art or is it a craft?

Oh yeah, I did sew a button on it.  I won’t go into how much I love buttons, but I did sew on it after all.

If you have read all the way down to here, thanks!  It is amazing that I have kept your attention this long, but I just might have something for you, to make it worth your while.  I would like to give this piece away.  I like giving things away and I have to face the fact that, if I don’t give things away, my house gets kind of cluttered.  I don’t have a shop so this one is on me.

Just send me an email at southernskyartsandcrafts@gmail.com, put “giveaway” in the subject line and tell me what you think this is, art, craft or what?  On December 31, 2013 I’ll have my grand daughter pick a name for the winner.  I won’t even charge shipping.  That really irritates me when someone says it’s free and then you have to pay shipping and handling, then that’s not free.  But this is, Merry Christmas!
Oh and since I only have 49 people on my facebook business page, if you could go there and like my page I’d really appreciate it.  Just go to Southern Sky Art Studio.

The Rhythm of God’s Grace Art

Is your heart tuned in to the rhythm of God’s Grace?

Hmmmm…..

What does that mean?  Well, I can only give you what it means to me and you can agree or disagree and take it from there on your own.

Many years ago as I sat in the choir beside the pastor’s wife, we were chatting before service time.  She confided in me that she had a sin in her life that she could not seem to overcome.  She named the sin and asked that I keep her in my prayers.  Feeling compassion for her I also shared a sin in my life that I was just beginning to have a struggle with and I too named my sin, hoping that it would make her feel that she was not alone in her battles.  Instead, she turned to me and told me that I must no longer sing in the choir that I had open sin in my life and it would not glorify God if I was seen singing in the church choir and then seen out in public “committing my sin”.  It was early in my walk with God and I was really confused.

Thank you God for your Grace, the greatest gift given to us through the loss of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank you for helping me to learn that there is no one so much better than the other as to call themselves a judge over our lives to decide whether or not we are worthy to do this or that.  Perfection is not something obtainable here on this earth, when we walk through the door of death and live in heaven with you, then we will be as perfect, in the way you choose for us, as you allow us to be.  That’s as close as we will ever come.  And I thank You for that.

I know that Your Grace does not give us freedom to do whatever our human desires tempt us to do, but as we struggle from day to day with those temptations it’s a wonderful thing to know You’ve got us covered.

If you’d like to know how to build this wall decoration just click here to see the instructions.

In addition to those instructions, for this particular craft, I used Apple Barrel Lilac Mist acrylic paint, wood buttons, a wood button heart painted with Ceramcoat Tompte Red by Delta.  I also used a paper doily as a stencil with Apple Barrel White acrylic paint.

Let me know if you make this craft, share your pictures with me.  I’d love to see what you make.

Have a gracefully crafty day!