Sunny, Daisy Flower Mixed Media Canvas

We all need some motivation and encouragement, right? This sunny, daisy flower mixed media canvas was created with this in mind.

I love flowers. I love the range of vibrant colours that they burst forth with. I love how a group of them can't help but look cheery and happy. Combine these happy flowers with tones of yellow and green and a tone of happiness is set!

I also believe that we are all created by God for a purpose and that there is a need to stop life from clouding or diminishing this at times. The words that I wrote on the canvas are meant to remind us of our value, to be strong and to proudly do what is required.

Paint is a wonderful medium to work with. I enjoy working with it so much as it offers such freedom in creativity. I love blending colours together and adding textures. I have been inspired by other mixed media artists, of late, and have experimented with new techniques. I have even started an art journal to make the most of trying out these new ideas. In this canvas, I have used bunches of thread as a way to create some extra dimension. I have also used torn magazine pieces as the centre of the flowers.

This canvas is currently available, although I am having a bit of a hiccup listing it in the new shop that I hope to open soon online. 

(Feel free to contact me for more details about this canvas, if you have any questions though).

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

New inspiration, new techniques and new mixed media canvases

I find that there are times when artistic ideas and creative inspiration is dry. The next idea for the next product is just not there. Often it is combined with busyness in life and frustration with the inability to sit down, relax and let the creative juices flow.

At this point in time, I am feeling quite the opposite ... not that life is not busy (helping to run a household with a husband, a dog and two bouncy boys produces a busy, more like hectic pace of life!), rather, I am enjoying the artistic processes of the items that I am currently making and am relishing seeing them arrive at completion.

Paper mache has become a love of mine. Yes, it is messy and gooey and takes a long time to complete, due to the time taken to dry each layer, however, I am enjoying getting my hands sticky and am inspired at what can be created using this medium. I just need to remember that this art does take time and if I want to produce items, I have to add layers daily to keep the process going.

I have also enjoyed taking time to research artistic techniques and have enjoyed viewing fellow artists' work, in discovering how they create their art works. I have enjoyed reading a book, that I borrowed from our public library titled 'Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop' (by Serena Barton), that explores a range of mixed media techniques. I have then enjoyed trying out some of these techniques in new designs, to see if they work for me or in adapting them to suit my artistic style.

Included in this, is my latest range of tiny canvases. I have created a few sets of these daisy flowered works, however, with this current set, I wanted to try out a looser daisy drawing style and I wanted to add words to describe daisies around the centre of the flower. I also developed a heart design, with similar, loosely drawn hearts with words to do with love and friendship around the main heart. What do you think of these additions?

These canvases are currently available in store. To view them and other products, please click here.

Thank you for joining me. I hope that you are currently feeling creative and inspired in whatever you are doing.

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

A Caravan and the Journey of Life

Since meeting my husband, I've seen many new places ...

My husband is originally form the Eastern states of Australia. He moved numerous times in his childhood and it was the nature of his family to travel long distances for holidays and to visit family. My family were very different. Most of our family lived in the same state as ours and we pretty well stayed in South Australia for holidays or visited family within South Australia.

It is quite funny that now that my brother and myself are adults, we both travel a fair bit. My brother, has acquired a job that requires him to travel to various places around Australia and overseas and he is rarely in the one spot. As for me, though my work does not require me to travel, my husband, my boys and myself travel quite a few kilometres to visit family and love exploring new places in Australia and overseas. I, personally, enjoy seeing new sights, new people, new cultures, but also enjoy being back home.

I often relate to life being an adventure - one amazing journey. A journey where we meet new people - people that enrich our lives, pull us up back on our feet, people that change our lives. A journey where events are celebrated and milestones reached. A journey that feels a bit like a roller coaster - with moments of exhilaration and moments that drag us through low valleys of difficulties. 

No matter who we are, we all experience the rise and the fall of life on our journey. These times give us wisdom and a new outlook. It gives an understanding that we all have times when we trudge through dark times and valleys. It gives a realisation that we are needed to support each other, especially through these difficult moments.

I wanted to create a new canvas design that has a 'travelling along life's way' feel, hence the caravan motif. Once again, this canvas uses upcycled materials - old book pages as a base for the background and the caravan and lace for the curtains. It displays an encouraging quote, to remind us to enjoy all the moments of our lives. Of course, each canvas is uniquely and individually crafted where you receive an original product, not a reproduction.With the caravan motif, this canvas would be ideal for travellers, but would also be suitable for a nursery, encouraging the little one to enjoy life's journey.

Thanks for stopping by.

 I would love to hear about a wonderful adventure you have been on or an amazing holiday. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the adventure!

~ Jen

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

The Making of a Princess

I had a little shopping splurge last shopping trip. It has been a little while since I have bought some new clothes. I managed to find a couple of new items that I can wear out or at work. I also found a few items that are going to be perfect for casual wear or to wear when I am being more active. When thinking about clothes, I tend to move towards shades of blue, green or brown as I know that these colours suit me. I felt particularly adventurous and ended up buying a fluro orange top - stepping a long way out of my colour wheel! I go through a similar process when I am creating my lovely 'princesses' as each of them are different.

I love creating each 'princess'. I love starting with bits of old book page, then cut and shape it to create a girl image. Before too long a new princess is created with her own style and personality. There are many things to think about. I thought that I would share some of this process with you ...

Firstly, I think of a theme which usually incorporates the background colours. I think about 'What emotions or qualities do these colours evoke in me?'. With my latest princess canvas, when I looked at the pastel pink and emerald green colour combination, I thought of 'kindness', 'welcoming' and 'gentleness'. 

I then sketch my princess in my Art book, keeping these qualities in mind. In this instance, I thought about 'What would a kind, welcoming, gentle girl wear? What would her hair be like?'. I also think of a suitable quote to match.

When I am finished developing my background on my canvas, I then begin 'creating' my princess. I cut out all aspects of her body, clothing and hair out of book pages and layer them on the canvas and adhere them. I then paint her all white. I then make the dimensional aspect to her clothing. In this instance, I created the pleated ruffle that would highlight the bottom of her dress.

 Before I do much more, I need to paint my princess. I think of a colour that compliments the background and use it for her dress, ensuring that it matches the fabric component of her dress. I then add the skin colour, ensuring that it compliments the colour chosen for her dress. At first I made my princess' skin colour too warm which clashed with the blue/green, cool colour of her dress and I had to alter it. I find it amazing that each of my princesses have their own colour wheel too!

I then add her hair colour and her rosy cheeks. I finish my princess off by adhering the fabric feature, drawing details and adding shadows/highlights. I then have my finished princess.

I painted this princess canvas on a slightly larger canvas, giving her a little more room. If you wish to view this canvas or anything else in shop, please click here.

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about what happens 'behind the scenes' at Tupsy Turvy Designs, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

'Not a Worry' and a Princess Canvas

Have I mentioned that left to my own devices, I worry and stress? It seems to be getting worse as I age. As a teacher, I worry and stress about certain children, their learning environment and what parents must think.

Now as a mum I worry about my boys. This was my latest... We planned a spur of the moment holiday to Melbourne for a couple of days. I started to worry about losing them in the crowds, their safety, their behaviour around others and in a confined space like a train or hotel room... but that is me. If truth be told, parenting is unpredictable and we all have trying moments. It turns out that everything went smoothly and the boys were very good considering the circumstances.

When I stress and worry, I love feeling the flood of relief that everything is OK. For me, personally, my faith helps me tremendously as I can give these cares and worries over and release them. When worries and stresses are taken over, it is not only relief, but peace resides.

One of my latest canvases has the words "Peace fills her heart and gives her strength". This sweet girl faces the world without cares and boldly marches on. A peace and relief fills her and her worries are banished. She looks carefree with her ruffled, party dress and her short, wispy hair embellished with a simple hairband.

Hold your head high, princess...

To see if this canvas is available and to view others, please click here.

Thanks for viewing

~ Jen.

Good friends and a princess canvas

As the saying goes "It takes all kinds of people to make up the world". I am a classic introvert - I enjoy time by myself to read or to craft. I am quite comfortable with being in a room all by myself and to tell you the truth, I know that this time recharges me and helps me to relax.

When it comes to the issue of friendship, I know that they are harder for me to develop and maintain due to my introvert nature. There have been some magical moments though, when I have met a truly wonderful person that I just seem to 'click' with. We seem to share the same interests, hobbies, beliefs and feel happy and relaxed in each others' company. I treasure these people. They seem to pull me away from my introvertness and revel in the joy with being with someone else.

With that being said, time moves on and with that, friends move away. Part of me grieves as I lose that close contact - the spontaneous words of encouragement, the chance to debrief, the unexpected helping hand. On the other side, it makes the wonderful moments of meeting these beautiful people once again, so much more precious.

Recently, I got the absolute honour to create one of my 'princess' canvases for a wonderful friend who has since moved away. I enjoyed trying to make the princess figure look like her daughter. This canvas was created using bright yellow and blue/purple hues. I love working on these special creations.

I am happy to work on custom orders of canvases, if you have a particular quote or colour in mind. Simply send me an email and I can let you know of costs as some alterations may have extra costs due to work involved. To send me an email, please click.here.

Thanks for viewing!
~ Jen.

Lemon and Light Blue Princess Mixed Media Canvas

I look back to my high school years with dread. If I could erase and redo a part of my life, it would be those years. It was the desire to fit in and the fear that if I couldn't, then others would ridicule and ostracise me like they did with others. Friendships were fickle rather than a complete acceptance of the other person.

 I think that it is also the nature of that time of life - the contradiction of perceived individuality versus the need to be part of the accepted group. Mistakes of the past make one wiser and stronger, and when I meet a teenage girl who has no fear to be the young woman who she wants to be and boldly speaks what she believes (even when it is not what the 'crowd' thinks) I feel shame.

'True beauty' is not what is paraded on the outside, rather, it is the kindness, grace and love for others that cannot be contained and oozes out from within. I have been very blessed to have such women enter my life and with it, the refreshment of being accepted for who I am in their presence.

As years pass these valued friendships, my strengthening faith and the drive to learn from past mistakes has reminded me of the need to treat others with the same kindness and acceptance.

I am nearing the end of this colour combination - aqua blue/light blue and yellow. As mentioned before, this combination evokes happiness, therefore I wanted to create a canvas that depicts a carefree 'princess' and a quote that speaks of this lady's inner beauty and laughter. A lady figure that is inspired by the kind friends that have graced my later life...

She is beautiful in her own right, with her long, loose, wind swept hair and simple dress. Coupled with the quote, "Happiness bubbles over in her smiles and giggles", she is a lady that is positive and happy and I can imagine time spent with her would be filled with laughter, not at the expense of others, rather due to joy in time spent with each other.

~Jen.

A white flower on a stormy, grey background {mixed media}

I love storms - the ferociousness and power of them, but I dislike being in the midst of them. In fact, to be brutally honest, I am quite a 'scaredy cat' when thunder rolls and claps nearby. I think it all stems from learning about weather in my teens. I had (and still do) a fascination with storms, tornadoes and clouds and read all about them from books from the library. From then on, I developed a healthy respect of the power or storms and the knowledge of what exactly lightning is and what strong winds can do.

It didn't help things when we had a powerful storm rip through my home area one Summer. I have never heard wind so loud before and the violence of the wind ended up bending TV antennas and uprooting some trees. This was coupled with pelting rain.

I would not have thought about this colour combination if it weren't for a custom order that I filled a little while ago. I fell in love with the stormy grey hues with the touch of navy blue. I knew that I wanted to create a set of flowers on tiny canvasses and the colour that I chose for the flower... white.

The next decision was working out words to place on these canvasses. The first word that I thought of was 'hope'. No matter what 'storms' are thrown at us, hope shines through, similar to the stark, white flower brightly blooming on the stormy, grey background.

I also thought about the word 'beautiful' - the purity and simplicity of the colour white being simply 'beautiful'. Words of encouragement and strength.

If you would like to view these canvasses in store, click here.

~Jen.

A princess and a fire engine

Things have been a little busy lately, so much so that I haven't had a chance to share the last two canvases that I have made.

Firstly, one for the girls... 

This canvas displays a princess or ballerina figure, complete with a fluffy, red tulle dress and jewel necklace. The colour red reminds me of 'love' so I wanted a quote or message that reflects this sentiment, hence, the words 'Love shines through everything she does' have been added. I couldn't help but add a little row of hearts on the right hand side.

Now for the boys...

Previously I mentioned that the colour red reminds me of 'love', however, I wanted to create a canvas especially for boys. Therefore I had to think of something 'boy-like' that is red...and the first thing that came to mind was... a fire engine! It seemed to match perfectly with the colour scheme of red and grey. Do you happen to see the word 'fire'? I found this word on a t-shirt and had to let it subtly shine through the background.

These canvases add a splash of colour and creativity to a blank wall in a child's room and are easy to hang as they are complete with a little hook. Canvases can also be personalised with a child's name and birth date to create a memento of a special day.

Click here to view canvases that are currently in stock.

~ Jen

Showing some love

As shown previously, I have been working on a new colour combination: grey and red. I am absolutely loving this mix and I couldn't help but feature a 'heart' on my latest canvas (as red lends itself to a heart, right?).

I have used ribbon and pearl like beading to embellish the heart that is placed on a mixed media base. I try hard to use materials that are recycled, in this case, lace and book pages are used.

Whilst I was creating this I thought that this canvas could easily become a precious wedding memento - to give to a special couple marking their special day. I played around with various settings...

This canvas features the name of the couple and the wedding date. I also decided to add a wedding verse...

I also decided to add simply the word 'heart'...

I haven't adhered any words down yet. They will also have a border around the edge.

This canvas will soon be placed in the Tupsy Turvy Design madeit.com.au store with the opportunity to choose what lettering you want displayed.

I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the Making

Last week, I had a lot of fun experimenting with placing my art on buttons with the aim to turn them into pendants.

This week, I added the glossy top coat and added wire to add the finishing touches. I have been very pleased with the way that they turned out. Here are a few photos:

I am now awaiting some chains to place these pendants on.

Since I have loved working with the colour teal and had some teal paint leftover, I decided to make a mini canvas. Here is the result:

This mini canvas is constructed using various shades of teal with splashes of grey and navy blue. This canvas is made using various mixed media techniques including paint, paper, drawing and textural techniques.

This canvas is now available in store. To visit the store, click here.

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the Making

It has been a very busy week. It is that time of the term again where due dates for assessments are quickly looming. Hence, activity in the studio has been minimal...

...however, after a mammoth effort on Saturday, I was able to take some time off from work and unwind with some creativity...

I am so close to finishing this project! Last Monday I showed the tree image that I created on the canvas. This weekend, I adhered all the pieces and added paint and a quote. I did a bit of drawing and highlighting. Just a few more steps to go...

For completed cards and canvases, check out my Madeit store (click here).

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the Making

I simply love making my mixed media cards...however, I have been itching (for a little while now) to create a bigger canvas. I felt that it needed a tree...

This is a sneak peak at what has been created so far... The background is pretty well complete and consists of a blue and red based colour combination. I am now working on the tree, using a variety of recycyled materials. They are not necessary going to look like these original materials by the time I finish with them. After that stage is complete, it will be a matter of drawing in some details and adding my phrase.

Other completed mixed media products, including canvases and cards are in currently available in my store (click here)

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the Making

After a few sessions of making cards, I thought that I would concentrate on making another canvas...

I wanted this canvas to have a pink base, however, I didn't want it to be solely pink. I decided to add some light blue, a touch of orange, grey and a touch of pastel yellow to the palette. 

At first, I thought that the pink background was a bit too harsh, however, once all the other colours and layers were added, the colours all worked well together.

I decided to make this canvas with the monogram 'A' and used layering techniques that include paint, paper and textural materials. Despite using the same techniques and colours, each canvas is unique due to the process it undergoes. Currently available at my madeit.com.au store..

Did you spot the owl? Canvases can be made with or without the owl...

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the making

A couple of weeks ago, I made up a mini canvas for a very special showcase. I enjoyed using up-cycled t-shirt material and reclaimed material to create a decorative feature. I also enjoyed the chance to do some hand stitching. I had so much fun that I designed another mini canvas, this time,  one for the girls...

This canvas is made up of a large, red heart, that is hand stitched to a pink, floral fabric. It also contains three buttons, stitched up the top of the heart.

I have also been playing around with paper mache...

I had a bit of Christmas in mind when I made this. A paper base, covered in red and sealed, with black lettering spelling 'JOY'. It is decorated with three fabric flowers, with button embellishments, two made with satin, one with tulle. The flowers have rough, frayed seams to add to the rustic charm of the piece. A lacy bow is tied onto the handle.

What do you think?

Thanks for viewing!