Start The Countdown!!!

Three week to Fine Arts Day!!! I don't have nearly enough volunteers, I'm short on classes, and I have to get lists out to teachers NEXT WEEK!!!! Wow. I thought I was ok, that I had started early enough. Boy was I wrong. The last few weeks are when all the work is done. But I'll definitely get it done. I'm excited. A little scared, but excited.

Books For Children Are Never For The Children

At least the good ones aren't. The Monster At The End Of This Book, The Paperbag Princess, Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Stinky Cheese Man....Need I go on? These books are all obviously "parent friendly". And I like that.

I have decided to delve into the world of children's literature. I may be rejected and ridiculed, but I'm going to do it! Besides, don't we all know we could do better than some of those "children's authors" out there?

I'll post more in depth as I progress, but won't be posting any pictures or anything. Legal reasons and what-not. Can't have some 14-year-old surfing the net find and "borrow" my ideas. You hear me 14-year-olds?!?!?! I was one of you once! I know what you're thinking!!! :D

A Head(er)

Today I slaved over a hot graphic tablet and churned out a header(possibly logo?) for my hubby's blog. Go here to check it out:http://rickyrod1385.squarespace.com/

Window Clings

So, the eggs you see below were used to create vinyl window clings. I've made two so far, and once the third is done, I'll post pics. I got the vinyl from JoAnn's. No one else had it. I'm kind of surprised.

Easter "Yeggs"!

Today, instead of doing housework, I made papercut versions of Czech Easter eggs. These are the eggs you see in pictures or magazines that are hand painted and make our American Easter eggs look like fingerpaintings in comparison. I've tried to paint any egg, but the curve proves to be difficult, and your lines have to be exact, or else they don't meet on the other side. It's a headache. So, I found a solution. Paper versions! It's flat, I don't have to work with a three dimensional surface, and if I mess up, I can throw it in the recycle bin and make a new one. Aren't paper crafts grand? Anywho, here are my three creations thusfar.

A TOAST!

To toast! I made these little guys a while back. I got the inspiration from another craft site mypapercrane.com. Heidi Kenny makes the CUTEST little guys. She's got everything. Check her out.

Scherenschnitte

Remember when you were little, and you folded a piece of paper a few times, cut out little squares or circles, opened it up and had a snowflake? Or the little chain of paper dolls? That is scherenschnitte, or paper cutting. I'm sure at the time our elementary school teachers didn't think we'd ever use those early lessons to create beautiful silhouettes, but some of us took those childhood memories and ran with it. I can remember sitting in some boring class in high school (don't even ask me which) and folding my paper until it looked like a slice of pizza. I then drew flames along the three edges, and cut. I opened it up and loved the way it looked. My teacher, on the other hand, did not like what I'd been doing, and sent me to the office. So much for supporting the arts :). Anyway, the point is, I never grew out of the desire to make snowflakes.

When I was 18, I made my first Jack-O-Lantern. Yes, 18! I didn't make a simple face with triangular features, I went all out. I found a profile picture of George W. Bush, printed it out, poked holes all along the lines and into the pumpkin, the connected the dots as I cut. He came out looking AWESOME! I was so proud of myself. Carving that pumpkin used the same skills as making those snowflakes. Now that I have two small kids, I don't take as much time to carve. We did Domo, a wolf howling at the moon, and Jack Skellington. Easy. But I can't wait to get back to the intricate stuff.

Back on topic. So, I've been falling in love with paper cutting all my life, and only now come to realize it's true potential. For Christmas I made a simple nativity and this tree:

Yesterday I got some inspiration, so I spent a good part of the day drawing and cutting a castle. I wanted it to have LOTS of detail, but since I'm still relatively new to the whole paper cutting scene, I didn't want to go too far. I think I may have. Remember, this is a beginner's piece. As I worked on it, I saw where I could have changed things.

Yesterday I got some inspiration, so I spent a good part of the day drawing and cutting a castle. I wanted it to have LOTS of detail, but since I'm still relatively new to the whole paper cutting scene, I didn't want to go too far. I think I may have. Remember, this is a beginner's piece. As I worked on it, I saw where I could have changed things.

This art form is used all over the world. Germans call it scherenschnitte, the Japanese call it kirie. There are some great blogs out there that give great instruction and ideas. You can also check out your local library. I got some great books.