Loofah Soap is Wonderful!

Not sure exactly where the idea came from, but on impulse I picked up a loofah from the store, took it home, rinsed it off and cut it up.

I placed some that are half moon and others a whole slice of the bar, and then poured soap around them.

So far everyone that has tried it has liked it! I have it in my bathroom and its sold three bars by itself! Being the owner of Syrup Creek Sundries has been a fun ride that's for sure! I love that there is nearly an unlimited combination of soaps and lotions that can be made. Sometimes I feel like I am making potions or something! No eye of newt to be found (unless I read something about its healing properties) in any of these products. ✌

I found an article that outlines the benefits of using a loofah as an exfoliating element. "Through skin exfoliation you help your skin rejuvenate and allow a newer skin layer to come out. It also helps in retaining the softness of your skin." I find my skin is soooooooo soft when using this bar!! I use it just about everywhere too, elbows (because I am not getting any younger) feet and hands, ankles, and knees. 

I have a few different scents for sale currently in the shop, stop by and check it out!

The Bridesmaid Dress

I have been asked to be a bridesmaid in my boyfriends sisters wedding! I am totally excited by this, while at the same time, worried. I guess that just about anywhere a person gets a dress it would need to be ordered and shipped, so it can take some time to receive the dress.

Well, that just isn't good enough for me. No way. I need to at least see the dress more than three days before the wedding.

I feel like all of the sewing I have done up to this point was all in preparation for this dress. Tiffany blue is the color that the bride wishes us to wear. So, I took my hour lunch one day and went to the fabric store and what do ya know, I found the fabric!

The really sad thing about the fabric is that it looks like a different color each time I take a picture of it! The image with the red background and lighter is once I actually took it outside into the sun. This is the best picture that I have so far of the color. 

This is the dress with the sweetheart neckline and halter top. I do no think that I will be using that top..

Here is an example of one variation of waistband. 

Here is one made with tulle.

And there is what the sweetheart looks like exposed. Not sure what direction I will be taking, but at least I know that Ive got what I need, and that no matter what I will be wearing something the right color and that resembles a dress.

hehehehee.

Halloween Dress... 4 Months Later

I havent been doing much sewing lately... But right around halloween I felt that I needed a really cool dress to wear to work. And so I made this!

I love the way that it came out! LOVE LOVE LOVE! I had so many compliments on the way that it came out I wish that I could just wear it a couple times a week. That would be AWESOME! 

The wig was purchased and so was the hat - but the hat was really plain so I added a few feathers!

More ATC Love

He he he. Can't seem to get enough!

ATC Obcession!

I love making and trading ATC! Just keep forgetting to take pictures before I send them!

Jacquard Fun!

Some of the best tie dye that I've made was done using Procion MX dye. I have decided to try using the Sodium Alginate SH and the Synthaprol.

                

Sodium Alginate is a thickener made somehow from kelp or sea weed. This is not what you would want to put in food but it seems to me as if there is some kind of thickener used in ice cream that it like this stuff. I dissolved it in warm water much like someone would with gravy mix or jello. I just kept stiring until it started to thicken up and I put it in the fridge to cool down. I left it in there for about an hour or so. Then, I dumped Procion dyes into the mixture. One I made Jet Black and the other was Fuschia.

I tie dyed a few shirts tonight. And folded them differently from eachother because I wanted to see what this "stained glass" effect was that I had read about somewhere. So, with the stained glass you dye it how you normally would but when you are done with the colors, you take this thickened mixture and paint it onto the outside of your shirt. 

I did that with a few of the shirts tonight. Actually, 5 of the four! haha. Hopefully it looks super cool and not just completely black. I added more thickener than needed but I think that next time I will have to add more. I want it to be thicker than it was.
The shirts are in the washer right now. I plan to wear one a day to work this week, starting with my favorite one! Once the laundry is out of the washer I can report on how I feel the Synthaprol preformed.

Prismacolor Softcore Colored Pencils

In December I became a lucky owner of the complete set of 150 Prismacolor Colored Pencils. They are amazing. ABSOLUTELY amazing! I couldnt have imagined ever being able to afford them so when people asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I answered, MONEY! I saved it up, matched funds from my account and got the set.
I GOT THE SET!

Ive always made due with dollar store pencils but these are so much nicer. It just feels like they glide onto the paper. Above, I have a close-up from picture that I drew onto Strathmore 400 Series Artagain in Coal Black. I chose colors that would show up best on the black, of course, but they are quite opaque. The color just glides onto the paper from the pencil. FREAKING AMAZING!

My boyfriend (who is one of the best guys you'll ever meet) gave me the Color Me Your Way books for Christmas! I love love love them so much. Coloring is a great way to release stress from the day. I listen to some t.v. show in the background and color away for hours. They are totally detailed and there are even hidden images! My Awesome Pencils work great in these books too. I think it might have something to do with HOW MANY COLORS I have to choose from in the set. Hahaha.

I have played around with the different ways there are of blending these pencils. I have tried the Colorless Blending Pencil from Prismacolor, the Colorless Blending Marker from Prismacolor, and Sansodor from Winsor and Newton. In my opinion they all worked but I liked the effect produced by the oil painting solvent - Sansodor.

There will be more tests to come. I have the Blender and Burnisher from Derwent and will have to conduct an experiment, placing them head to head to see how they all preform!

Super Easy DIY Magnets Using Recycled Magazines!

Making some cool art for your fridge can be really easy and fun! First, you will need to find some magazines that you can cut images from. These small pictures can be just about anything, for one of mine I used a of scan from a planet and it came out looking so cool! So use your imagination!

 I went to the dollar store for glass "beads" that are flat on one side... I dont know what these are called exactly, but some people use them for doing mosaic work. I think that clear work the best but feel free to go crazy and use colored!
Because I paint I already had gloss medium and that is what I use as the glue to adhere the picture to the bead and then the magnet to the back of it all. Simplicity is the best!
Also, you will need coin magnets. I have found them a few places, but just about any arts and crafts store will have them for sale.

I cut out the pictures that I think will look cool, bigger than I think I might need and then trim for their individual pieces of glass. I do this because the pieces of glass tend to be a bit irregular. One thing that you can do is have a piece of the glass handy and slide it over images you might think will look cool. You can get an idea of what your finished product will look like with little muss or fuss. So, I glue the images face down to the flat side of the "bead" and let them dry. The coolest part is flipping them over and seeing the really cool magnifying effect that is caused by the curved glass. Whatever I put underthere is made to look larger than life. That is why it can be fun to be creative and try different kinds of images. 
Once the gloss medium is dry I put another dollop on the wrong side of the image and gently place the magnet into the puddle. I like to have a bit squish out from around the sides just because I think it will hold better.


Once these are dry they are ready to be used as art on your fridge, locker or desk at work.

This is a highly gratifying project because it is fast, easy and most of all AFFORDABLE!

Inktense On Fabric!

I tried a few different ways of using Inktense on fabric. After reading on the internet that this was possible I had to see for myself. It has taken me awhile and there is no excuse for that but my laziness after I get home from work. 

I found a scrap of white cotton fabric and hemmed the edges. Lucky for me I sew and paint so I had scraps in my bin! I drew onto the fabric (dry) with the pencils and used a paint brush to wet the fabric. One of the samples I painted fabric medium over the color while it was still wet. I then let these set for a day and a half. That was the hardest part! WAITING! 

I used my clothes iron to heat set two of the three samples. Next step was the wash. Threw them in with some other dark clothes that needed to be washed. I wasnt entirely sure how this would come out! I can be such a dummy sometimes, and I forgot to take a "before" picture... BUT I do have the other!!!!

Derwent Graphitone Water Soluble Colored Pencil

I have a thing for pencils. Yes I do. And if they're water soluble its even better! Graphitint pencils are water soluble tinted graphite. I have the line of Inktense pencils as well and use the graphitint for my more muted end of the color pallet. I chose just a few for my purposes and played around with them on Strathmore Mixed Media Cards, outlined with Micron pens and glazed with FW Acrylic Ink.  

Before water.  

After a hit from my bladder brush.

This is a closeup after I painted the acrylic ink over the top of my pencil drawing. I have the shimmering series, which are a kind of interference color, so they are translucent and shiny. In fact its hard to see that they're there until you see it from just the right angle. It looks amazing! Whats nice about the artists cards is that they come with envelopes so sending them out in the mail is a breeze. 

Flexible Modeling Paste

Cool new product time! If you haven't used modeling paste before - prepare to be amazed! Included in this blog post are pictures of what I was able to do with the paste, for a friend of mine. The product I chose to talk about today is Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste.

I started by blocking in my color and then placing the paste. I used a painting knife to place it, but it could be easily spread any number of ways. This stuff is amazing. Its flexibility allows for use on canvas. That just means that it will not crack off when or if the canvas ends up moving.

Because I am an oil painter working with acrylic can feel a little weird. There are all kinds of products that you can use to change the properties of acrylic paint. This one you can tint but I chose to just paint right over the top soon as it was dry. I think it came out pretty cool (so does my friend).

If your in the market, it is available from Quality Art in Garden City.

Prismacolor Soft Core Colored Pencils

I have been thinking about how to proclaim my love for Prismacolor colored pencils but its just hard to come up with the perfect way to say it. The colors go down onto the paper so nicely. Unlike other pencils you don't have to scrub them onto the paper to get vibrant colors.

Before even trying one I bought the whole set. I used money from my birthday and saved money out of a few paychecks to be able to buy it - but it was worth it to have all one hundred and fifty to myself.

Here is an example of something I drew onto Artigan paper. It has a nice texture and the colors look great against the background.

Liquin Impasto is AMAZING!

I cant go a day without finding something new and cool at Quality Art in Garden City.
Can I just say that I love working at an arts and crafts store but it can be hard sometimes to make it home with much of a paycheck! This large, magical tube, is a prime example of finding something cool...

Liquin and my new painting knife.

LIQUIN IMPASTO!



Not only does it speed up dry time with my oil paint, but it helps to retain the buttery consistency that we all love so much. If I am running low on a mixed color I can mix Liquin Impasto into the pile and WALA! I have more paint to work with. It slightly transparentizes the paint but by the final layer I have worked up enough color that it doesnt matter much.

I do not know how I can live without it now that I know it exists!

Copy of a master for mothers day.

I believe that painting works of the masters is a great way to get better at painting by being conscious of what they might have done to complete their painting. This is one that I gave to my boyfriends mother for mothers day. It hangs above her television in the living room.