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 ...

What a week, but these paper mache hearts are taking shape ...

I suppose I have always been one to have a 'schedule'. My part time work requires me to follow a timetable and even at home, I have certain times and certain days for different activities. Everything fits neatly in its box and everything has its allocated time. It gives me guidance and I know what is going to happen next. I like it when things are predictable ...

However, life is not so easy to contain into schedules or timetables and last week was a perfect example. It was like a 'perfect storm' - all male members of the household just happened to fall ill at the same time. There were pick ups from school, attempts to enforce rest, doctors appointments and medication administered. In all of this was the difficulty in watching precious people in pain as they battled their sickness. Pre-planned schedules and timetables went out the window while nursing duties were undertaken. That is life and that is motherhood and despite the difficulties and the weariness, particularly in these moments, it is indeed a precious gift. I am happy to say that all are well on the mend and are feeling considerably better.

It also meant that my creative time was very limited last week, however, I did get these hearts started. The base layers have been administered and are busy drying. They will have a white top coat applied, some sparkle and some encouraging words added. They will then become part of the surprise packages for my next 'Snail Mail Surprise Challenge'. More details will be released soon about this.

In the meantime, I hope that you stay well. I have been enjoying some beautiful, sunny days and a breath of warmer weather which is so uplifting (and will hopefully get rid of all the sicky germs!)

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 ...

Chocolate Brown and Light Blue

Since December last year, I have been a mother. My husband and I went through years of preparation and seminars as we journeyed through the adoption process. We learnt about how traumatic experiences effect the brain, how we can best manage children from traumatised backgrounds and generally prepared our living space for little people. Even though we both knew that eventually we would meet our children, nothing essentially prepares you for motherhood like having two little ones with you.

I must say, we are extremely blessed, not only to have two beautiful boys join our family, but have two beautiful boys that have slotted into life here and with us so well. It is definitely a credit to all involved in the process..

...However, as any parent knows, it is not all smooth sailing. There are days where dealing with tantrums and tears proves to be a challenge. They are the days when the children are all snuggled in bed that my husband and I relish breaking open some chocolate. Somehow the tasty, sweet treat makes a lot of the woes of the day seem much better. As I type this, I am smiling as yesterday was just 'one of those days'. As I snuggled into the recliner after all the cleaning up was finished, my husband broke off a little extra chocolate and stated that 'you probably need this after your day today'. Ah... he knows me well.

To me, the colour of chocolate evokes calmness, strength, stillness and peace. My newest colour scheme involves a range of chocolate brown hues teamed with a splash of light blue to lighten up the richness of the brown.

As you can see, I have already have used this colour combination for a range of pendants and earrings and I am about half way through a production line of cards. I have some ideas of using a teddy bear motif for one of my canvasses, a dog motif for another and a curly, short haired girl for my princess canvas. I can't wait to put all of these ideas into fruition. I would love to hear about your ideas, either by commenting on this blogpost, on the Facebook page or via email.

To see more items using this colour scheme, please click here.

~ Jen.

A New Mixed Media Pendant Range

Everyone needs to go through change and this process is not easy. Today, after having long hair for ten or so years, I decided to visit the hairdresser and go short instead. It wasn't an easy decision. I scrolled through many suggestions that I found on the Internet. I then had to think about whether I liked these styles, my lack of time to style hair and whether it would suit me.Then, there was the fear that if I went with the short hair and I didn't like it, it would take a long time for it to grow back to a longer length.

Change can instill a bit of fear, however change can also be a time for celebration. It can be a time of letting go of the past and provides the opportunity to be open to new possibilities. Luckily for me, I am already embracing the change in hairstyle. I am enjoying these ease of styling and the lack of weight.

That being said, I am very thankful for thick hair to be able to have a choice whether to grow it long or have it cut and styled shorter. I am very well aware that some people, unfortunately, don't have that choice. Change that is out of our control can be especially distressing. Change unlocks so many emotions...

I've implemented some change in my line of mixed media jewellery and I am quite liking this change. Previously, I have adhered my mixed media art to buttons to create pendants and earrings. Due to a bit of inspiration when crafting with my sister-in-law, I decided to try framing small pieces of mixed media art in silver plated casings. To protect it, a glass dome is adhered on the front. This is the result...

Each of these pendants feature either a butterfly or small heart. I thought that the silver plated casing and glass dome not only add a bit of elegance, but will make them more robust. Each pendant comes with a ball chain. To see what is available in store, click here.

I would love to know what you think or which one is your favourite.

~Jen.

A bookmark for Mum - Mother's Day gift craft tutorial

If you are like me, special days seem to sneak up on me. I like to make handmade items, but sometimes I leave creating until the last minute. By then, I don't have enough time and a frantic trip to the shops is in order.

This little craft project is made up in no time and it uses a lot of materials that are found around the house. The bonus in all this, is that even though this gift looks lovely, it involves minimal cost. This project is simple enough that children could even make up their own version to give to Mum!

Materials:

• paper - I used an old book page, but any paper would suffice.
• paints - a main colour and white to lighten it. I also used some watered down black paint for highlighting
• scissors - normal scissors (I also used some fancy edging scissors, but this is optional)
• brush - nothing fancy - anything to get paint down (a cotton wool ball would do)
• something to mix paint on
• decoupage glue - watered down PVA glue could work (test first)
• scrap coloured paper to match your main colour - a used some pink and black in a picture on a magazine page.
• ruler
• pencil
• black permanent pen
• access to computer and printer (or use words out of a magazine) 
• cotton bud
• rub ons (optional)
• hole punch and ribbon (optional)

Measure and cut out a rectangle of paper, slightly smaller than the size of your desired bookmark (mine was 14cm x 5.5cm).

Mix up two shades of your chosen colour - one darker (or straight out of the tube) and one lighter (mixed with some white). I chose pink and a light pink. Mix each colour with a small amount of water to make the paint thinner (about the same consistency as milk). I did this to get a 'watercolour' type of effect. If you desire the paint to be thicker, skip mixing with water.

Paint the lighter colour all over the paper with the brush or cotton wool ball, leaving about a 0.5cm border around the edge (no need to be too precise). Let dry a little (a hairdryer would help this process) and then paint splodges of the darker colour on top. Let dry.

Whilst the paint is drying, fold the scrap of coloured paper in half and cut out half a 'heart' shape, beginning at the fold (see above photo). This allows for a perfectly symmetrical heart when opened up. Repeat this process until you have 3-5 hearts (odd number amounts look better).

Arrange the hearts on the paper and once you are pleased with the layout, adhere with decoupage glue. Paint decoupage glue on the top of the hearts. Let dry.

Draw in some little hearts around the glued down hearts with the permanent marker (I used a fine marker). I also added a wandering line of dots. Outline the glued down hearts.

Using a computer, I typed out the sentiment 'I love you Mum' and printed it out (I like using a basic typewriter font). Cut up the words and glue them down with the decoupage glue (paint over the top as well). If you don't have access to a computer, cut out words/letters from newspapers/magazines. I added some rub ons, but this is optional.

Water down a tiny bit of black paint and apply it around the edge of the paper. I used a cotton bud for this. I added a little bit more watery black paint in the corners. Draw around the edge of the words with the permanent marker.

Adhere the bookmark onto the cardboard with the decoupage glue and apply a thin layer over the top. Let dry. Trim around the edge with some scissors (I used some fancy edging scissors).

If so desired, add a hole down the bottom of the bookmark with the hole punch and tie through some ribbon. I used three different types of pink ribbon.

Your bookmark is now finished!
You could possibly laminate the bookmark before adding the hole and ribbon to give the bookmark a little more strength.

I hope that this provides you with an inexpensive but unique gift option. You could team this bookmark with a book that Mum has been wanting to purchase or a gift voucher from a bookstore for the ultimate Mother's Day gift.

Have fun creating!

Grey and Red Mixed Media 'Heart' Pendant

I love making and creating special handmade items. Madeit has provided me with the opportunity to display and sell my items online and I have enjoyed the support that fellow handcrafters provide in such a community.

Starting today, handcrafters that are part of Madeit are putting their skills and knowledge together to support families going through a difficult time in their lives. Handmade items have been entered into a special showcase with proceeds of sales from these items donated to 'Heartfelt'.

Heartfelt is a volunteer organisation of professional photographers from all over Australia dedicated to giving the gift of photographic memories to families that have experienced stillbirths, premature births, or have children with serious and terminal illnesses.

Heartfelt is dedicated to providing this gift to families in a caring, compassionate manner. All services are provided free of charge. 

Tupsy Turvy Designs is happy to support this cause and the above pendant is one of the items available in this showcase. To find out more about the pendant, click here.

If you wish to view the other gorgeous items in the 'Heartfelt' fundraiser, click here.

Thankyou.

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

Getting back into the swing of designing, creating (and blogging about it) after some hectic life moments...

Inspiration can emerge from a variety of sources. I was reading through a craft book which showed a talented crafter that made paper mache and decoupage birds. I had an idea to create a heart decoration using paper mache and decoupage. This is the final result...

I wanted a shabby chic look and I also wanted a touch of fabric and lace. I can't wait to make similar hearts and I also have an idea for a more hollow heart decoration...

Thanks for viewing!

Friday Thoughts - A Hanging Heart

A lovely little heart that could be used to decorate a small, plain place or strung through a parcel ribbon to decorate a gift. A large amount of duplicates could be tied to a ribbon to make a simple bunting or they could be used to decorate a tree. So many ideas...

Materials:

• A cardboard tube
• Paint and painting tools
• Hole punch
• Jute twine
• Ribbon

Steps:

Cut the cardboard tube into 'slices'. I divided my cardboard tube into thirds, however, you may wish to make the 'slices' thinner. Mine ended up being approximately 2cm in width.

Gently press one edge of each cardboard tube between your thumb and forefinger to make the tube into a teardrop shape.

 On the opposite side of the point of the teardrop, gently press the tube into the centre to make the top part of the heart.

 Repeat for the other cardboard tube 'slices'.

 Paint the hearts. I place the wet hearts on baking paper so they don't stick. Allow to dry.

 My hole punch could slide on to the 'valley' of the top of the heart. I punched a hole in the centre. Punch a hole at the base of the heart. Measure around 30cms of twine and thread through the holes so that there is approximately 6cms out the bottom of the heart. Tie a knot in the twine above the heart. Gently pull the twine at the base of the heart to increase the heart shape at the top. Tie a knot in the twine at the base of the heart.

 Loop the twine at the top of the heart and knot. Measure a length of ribbon and tie a bow around the twine at the top of the heart. Other decorations could be added - beads, punched shapes, glitter ... or just keep it like this.

Ready to share some love...

Wonderful Wednesday - Hearts

Next week sees 'Valentine's Day' roll around. Traditionally, it's the day where people declare their love to the one they love. Personally, it is great to remind loved ones how precious they are every day. Therefore, my inspiration for the week is...hearts.

Felt hearts by 'Honey Cub'

These hearts are gorgeous! They remind me of lollies on sticks. Instead of flowers, why not give a bunch of hearts. I love these colourful hearts bunched together.

Multicoloured Heart Picture by 'William & May'

How sweet! I love the different sized and different coloured buttons, placed together to make this lovely picture. The amazing thing is that all of these buttons are stitched, not glued. A unique picture!

 Hand stitched felt mouse by 'Razzle Dazzle'

I am not a big fan of mice (the real things) however, these little mice are so gorgeous. It is obvious that lots of care and attention to detail have been given in these little creatures. He's giving you his heart!

I hope that this provides you with some inspiration!