New Year's Eve Cocktail Dress And A Watercolor Test Sketch

The upcoming new year has me in organizing mode.  Out with the old and in with the new.  I've been going through my art supplies and discovered some tubes of paint that are in bad shape.  Lids have cracked, tubes have split open, and paint has dried up.  Hmmm.... , I think it is time for an art supply shopping trip!! I'm in the mood to try something new.  Back in October I visited Art Supply Warehouse for one of their great tote bag full of freebies sales and this little Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Dot Try It Card was included.  If you want to try one, you can order it from their website for $5.99.  I finally got around to trying mine out today while I have a little piece and quiet on a Sunday.  Although I couldn't achieve a really deep color wash with these little dots, they did give me some idea of the colors and how they will lay down on the paper.  I really like the jadeite and amethyst colors.  I also had fun with the red fuchsite and sugilite because they've got some sparkle to them.  I always love a little sparkle! ✨

So here's my little watercolor test sheet and sketch of the perfect little cocktail dress for the New Year's Eve party you might be invited to.  The Maggy London Illusion Yoke Crepe Sheath is available at Nordstrom. 

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Have a Happy New Year!

Painting Tutorial For A DIY Christmas Holly Card

The holidays are the time for doing some fun crafts and handmade gifts.  This year I got the crazy notion to hand make my Christmas cards.  I must admit that I narrowed my list of recipients as I am short on time. If you don't have the time, you can just make these cards for a few special people.  That said, I did keep in mind that I would be making several of these so I kept it simple.

The first step is to clear a space and gather your supplies.  I already had a pack of blank cards and envelopes from Michael's Craft Store .  I'm not sure how long I've had my set, as I always try to keep some blank cards and envelopes and tags on hand for emergency gift giving!  I used an off-white set that has some speckles in the fiber of the paper, but you can use any kind you wish.

List of supplies I used:

• set of blank cards and envelopes
• pencil
• paint brushes size 5 and 0 ( I used Simply Simmons round brushes)
• acrylic paint: Apple Barrel White and Honeysuckle Pink
                        Delta Light Foliage Green
                        Craft Smart Holiday Red and Sea Mist Pearl
                        Folk Art Inca Gold
                        Martha Stewart Glitter Craft Paint in Cotton Candy
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens in #249, #242, #757

These are just the supplies I had on hand. You can use the colors you have.

I used my pencil to draw a simple holly shape on the front of my card.

I used my holiday red and light foliage green acrylic paint, leaving some of the paper untouched as the highlights.

I used a little of the Honeysuckle Pink on the bottom left side of the berries.  This is an optional step. It adds a little depth but won't make or break your painting if you leave it out.  Then I went in with a second coat of the green for the leaves. 

It's hard to see here but I added some strokes of the Sea Mist Pearl following the directions veins of a leaf would take on the holly leaves.  In person it adds a pretty and subtle shimmer.

I then added a little Cotton Candy Glitter right over the Honeysuckle Pink on the berries, below and to the left of the white highlight on the berries. This will add some sparkle for the holidays.

Now add a bit of white to the highlights on the berries and a few strokes on the leaves.  A little white goes a long way.

After all the paint is completely dry, I outlined my leaves with the Tombow dual brush pen in #249 using the larger brush side.  Keep the strokes light and playful.

I used the Tombow pen in #757 (a wine color) to outline the berries.

Using my smaller brush I painted some Inca Gold acrylic dots and stars scattered around the holly.

I then used the Tombow pen #242 to write my message on the inside of my card and followed up with some more gold dots and stars.

I hope this was helpful.

Happy Holly Days!✨

Wrapping Up Christmas Gift of A Coach Poppy Perfume Watercolor Print

Coach Poppy Perfume Art Print

I can't believe it is already December, but when the Christmas orders start rolling in, I guess I have to believe.  Then of course I felt compelled to take down the Thanksgiving decorations and put up our Christmas decorations and lights.  I always have a Christmas movie playing while we decorate.  And I try to bake something too, so the house will really smell like the holidays.  It was Chocolate chip cookies this time!  Yum!  Now here I am packing up a Christmas order for a costumer.  This is a print from my original watercolor painting of a Coach Poppy Perfume Bottle.  If you've got a fashionista on your shopping list there's lots to find in my Etsy Shop.  Happy Shopping everyone, I hope you have a stress free holiday.

Mini Easter Basket or Party Favor Craft

Hello Everyone!  I've posted this DIY craft before on my blog, but I thought it was a great time to repost since today is the First Day of Spring.  What a great time to think about making something cute for Easter.

So here is how to make a Mini Easter Basket:

I was going through my old magazines (I'm sort of a hoarder when it comes to magazines) and found instructions on how to make this adorable Paper Easter Basket in a Martha Stewart Living issue.  You can fill it with jelly beans and chocolate bunnies and station one at each place-setting on your Easter table. 

These remind me of the candy basket party favors I would get when I went to birthday parties as a little girl.  So I think they can be filled with little trinkets and candies and be used as cute party favors for any occasion.

What you'll need:

White Wilton Nut & Party Cups (2 inch diameter)
White crepe paper
Green crepe paper
floral wire
floral tape
felt or paper craft flower
white glue (Elmer's glue)
craft paint brush

I used a white Wilton Nut & Party Cup (sold in packs of 24 at a 2-inch diameter), but any white paper cup can be used if you cut it down to about 1 5/8 inch.

I wrapped the cup in white crepe paper, brushing the outside of the cup with glue.  I used an old craft paint brush.  I made sure the piece I used was 1 inch higher than the cup so I could tuck it inside.  Punch two small holes in the side of the cup directly across from each other.  Cut a piece of 20-gauge floral wire to desired length for the handle.  Fold back ends of wire, and loop through holes from the inside out.  Wrap the wire in floral tape.  (I've made these little baskets a couple of times since I took this photo, and I used green pipe cleaners instead of wrapping a florist wire for the handle.  It was easier and you can use a variety of colors.)

I then cut green crepe paper the same length as the white crepe paper and 1 inch taller than the cup.  Accordion-fold the green paper and using scissors, cut top of the paper to create "grass".  Unfold and wrap around cup, glueing it on.  The "grass" had a tendency to fold inward once I had wrapped it around the cup, but I just pulled it outward softly and it behaved itself after that.

There were instructions on how to make a crepe paper flower for the handle, but it just wasn't working for me.  I was running out of time so I just used a little felt flower from the pack of craft felt flowers that I found in the dollar bin at Target.  Good thing I bought those. You never know when you are going to need a felt flower!  And I am all about taking shortcuts.

Now you are ready to fill your little basket with goodies!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Queen Victoria Watercolor Sketch

I was so excited to watch the second season debut of the Masterpiece series Victoria on PBS this past Sunday.  It really brings history to life!  I'm intrigued by historical shows and books.  I always wonder how people conducted their daily lives in the past.  Of course one of my favorite things to see is the fashion from this Victorian era.  What a lot of research the costume designer, Rosalind Ebbut, must have done to come up with such exquisite designs.  

And to think that a monarch who reigned over an empire was so tiny. It is said Queen Victoria was only four feet eleven.  In this production of Victoria, the queen is portrayed beautifully by the petite Jenna Coleman, who I loved from the Doctor Who series.

Here is a watercolor sketch I did of Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria.  I added a little acrylic paint on top of the watercolor for some details.  Do you like my really expensive blue paper plate palette that I used for the acrylic paint?  I must admit that trying to clean up dried up acrylic paint off a palette drives me a little bonkers, so to avoid that frustration I just use something disposable.  

I am so looking forward to Sunday for the second episode in this lavish series!  I hear that some of Yorkshire's most famous stately homes such as Castle Howard and Bramham Park stand in for the royal residences of Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle.  I'll have to pay special attention to that next time.

Golden Globes 2018 Sketches

There were so many beautiful dresses at the Golden Globes.  All the ladies (and Gents) looked amazing, and it was wonderful to see such solidarity.  I couldn't narrow it down to one dress to sketch.  Here is a little peek at my quick sketches from the other night.

Penelope Cruz in an off-the-shoulder gown with lace details and a solid train by Ralph and Russo.  Oprah wore a custom-made Atelier Versace off the shoulder, fitted long sleeved black velvet gown with Swarovski crystal incrusted accents along the neckline.  I really liked the draped off the shoulder Christian Siriano gown with the added sassiness of capris pants that Christina Hendricks wore.  This look reminds me of classic Hollywood.  Have I seen Bette Davis or maybe Kim Novak wearing something similar?  And finally Gal Gadot in a very sleek Tom Ford evening dress with a tuxedo jacket.  Although, I don't think it would matter what Ms. Gadot wears, she would be equally gorgeous in a burlap sack!

Bravo ladies!