Tangled Doodle Tree Abstract Acrylic Painting

If you have visited this blog before, then you know I love trees, and painting nature. I had bought some paint pens, and I love them for the tangled pieces. Landscapes is one of my favorite things to paint. As I continue to improve technique, I also continue to improve my drawing skills. I decided to tangle the tree in this painting. This was the first time using my paint pens. It is a mixed media piece because I used pencil, acrylic paints, the paint pens and glitter paint too. This is a beautiful and unique abstract painting. You can purchase this painting, and any of my other pieces, in my Etsy store.

I will be starting to work on my next project this evening.  Plus I am working on an adorable puppy, kitten, dog or cat blanket bed.  I can not wait to finish it.

Drawing Before I Paint Snow Leapord with Flowers

I have been a bit stressed out lately. Two sisters coming from out of state, the same week. My husband's job is have some changes done to it, and I don't like uncertainty. I wanted to look for a new place of employment, but for now that is on hold. To top it all off, my husband and son are supposed to visit NY for Thanksgiving, and I don't know if we will be able to spare the money for tickets.

 So, I paint to destress. I actually missed a few projects in here, but I will get to them. I bought some paint pens, last week. I thought they would be easier to make the tangle patterns with. They are, but some are medium tip and some small tip. Get the small tip, trust me. Another little tidbit I discovered, the word Zentangle is a copyright trademark word, which means you can not use it. I had to go back to my Etsy listings and remove all the Zentangle words. I had no idea it was protected.

 Anyway I never draw out my pieces before I paint them. I just paint them freehand. But, I found creating the tangles was incredibly difficult with a paintbrush, the details are just too small. Unless you are painting a huge tangle, like my mailbox I posted about earlier. So, I wanted to practice drawing flowers. The perfect rose, or what I want the perfect rose to look like still eludes me. So, when I sat down to draw flowers, I came across the most beautiful Snow Leopard with blue eyes. I simply had to draw it. Then I painted it using, traditional paint brushes with acrylic paints, and the paint pens. You can see both below. I really think I am getting quite good at this now. I still have lots of room to learn and grow. This is definitely one of my favorites. I did a bunch of resin jewelry, which I still have to share here on the blog, finished a baby cocoon or two, that still have to be shared, and started a new puppy crochet bed. If you want to see all the things I have been up to, rather than waiting, you can always visit my Etsy store. A lot of my gemstone jewelry is being retired, and not relisted. Some of it already has.

Pinterest Food Challenge Pizza Muffins

Just to throw off all my readers I have decided to throw in some food to this blog. LOL, food can be crafty. Right? I am in a blogging group on Etsy. One of my fellow bloggers has started doing a Pinterest food challenge, and I decided to join in.  All that means is that I pick something off my food board on Pinterest, and I make it.  I have a ton of recipes on there, lol.   It is technically week three, but I missed the first two. Anyway to see what she made, hop over to her blog. My pictures got out of order, and I missed a step, but hey it is not easy to remember to take pictures while you prepare food.

 These are pizza muffins, and I have to tell you right off the bat my kids absolutely loved them. They were quite easy to make, a little awkward and messy, but not real hard. You need refrigerator pizza dough, pizza sauce, mozz cheese, and any other toppings you may like. I used pepperoni. First roll out your dough on a cutting board, or other clean surface. Spread on your pizza sauce. Because you have to roll this, I used mozz sticks that we cut into sections. Place them across the sauce and dough. We actually put the pepperoni down first then set the cheese on top of that. Then you roll it into a log. This was the trickiest part of the whole thing. Once you have it rolled, cut it into sections. Because, it is so hot here in FL I don't run the oven, so ours went into a smaller cupcake tin that holds only six muffins and into the toaster oven it went. Cook according to the package, and then a few minutes more because they are muffins. They don't look beautiful, lol but they were good. My husband and I were unsatisfied and hungry still. So, next time I will be sure to double the recipe so there is plenty for all four of us. Happy Eating!

 This would be great for a party for kids.

Zentangle Painted Mail Box

Every year my daughter, and I , repaint our mailbox. By a year it really needs it. The hardest part is always deciding what to paint on the mailbox. This year, because I am in a Facebook tangle group, I decided to draw a tangled flower on my side. You can see the results below. Caitlin decided to paint a butterfly and flower on her side. Again, you can see it below. It is always hot this time of year. So, we start out strong and soon we are trying to rush to finish, lol. If you paint too early in the morning everything is covered in dew. Someday we will laugh about this.

Alexandrite One of My Favorite Birth Stones

June has two birth stones, both of which are personal favorites of mine. I will start with the Alexandrite, named after Czar Alexander from Russia. It is a color change gemstone, going from green to red depending on lighting. India also has Alexandrite, but Russia is the most valuable source. To get a 100% color change is extremely rare. Most color change gemstones, only change a percentage amount. Some are called only color shift, because the change is such a small amount. I had two Alexandrites, on I sold, and one I kept. The one I kept I placed in a ring, and wore it every day for years. One year, unbeknownst to me it had fallen out of my ring, and I could find it nowhere. I was heart broken. If you can not afford Alexandrite, there are synthetic stones that are very nice. You can get a large synthetic with excellent color and color change for a small price compared to genuine Alexandrite.

 The picture shown below, is not Alexandrite. It is color shift Green Labradorite, some call it Andesine, but it has not been tested to be Andesine, but it was sold to me as Andesine. Anyway it is a color shift gemstone, and you should be able to see that in the image. It is set in a sterling silver ring. This ring is available in my store until July 5, 2014, and then it will be retired and no linger listed in my store. So, if you want a lovely color change/shift gemstone this one is affordable, but don't delay it will end soon. I offer a free layaway service.

Painted Magnolia Leaves a Cat and a Peacock Zentangle Abstract Art

I decided to try something different, and paint on some of my Magnolia tree leaves. Magnolia leaves are big and a beautiful lush green color. I did notice, though, even though I sealed them before painting they are still drying out and getting a dark brown hue to them. I will have to watch this carefully. I will not be painting any more leaves until I am certain they will hold up over time. These two are listed in my Etsy store, but may be removed. The first is a cat silhouette outlined in gold sitting under the moon and the stars. I love this one. The second is a Peacock that I Zentangled or tangled the body of the peacock. I wanted to do the feathers on the tail as well, but it was just too small. I use a script liner paint brush, not brush pens like others, so it is extremely difficult. But, I love the challenge of doing it with a brush.


 I have finished another naptime buddy for baby, and will share that soon. Started a new bag that can be a beach bag, market bag, or even a diaper bag. Be sure to check back for that too.

New Baby Infant Boy Cocoon Golf Theme Brown and Green with Hat

I finally finished the infant baby boy cocoon, in a Golf theme. These are not hard to make, but they are kind of time consuming to put together, and I just have to force myself to do it. The color of this is Mocha Latte and Hunter Green. I have mentioned before that I am pom pom illiterate, so the hat actually looks like it has a golf ball up there. This would make an adorable photo prop for a baby boy born around Father's Day. Plus cocoons are warm and baby feels extremely safe inside. Check out this cocoon, and all my baby cocoons in my Etsy store.