Year's End Gelli Plate Play

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends! I did!

Now that things have slowed down a bit, I got out my 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and several sheets of printmaking paper, plugged my mp3 player into my ears with my favorite music, and started rolling open acrylic paints onto the plate in various colors that I was drawn to today. I used some stencils, stamps, brush ends, my fingers, a candy baking cup, and whatever else was handy, without giving it much thought. I may go back and add more layers to some of them later, but for now they are what they are!

I could get four to a whole page, but some are upside down or sideways on the page, as I was turning the sheet around in a small space to print.

I think there are twenty-eight 5"x7" prints, plus two smaller ones, but here is what I did this morning while hubby was still sleeping.

Just playing: Three prints pulled from the same plate, plus a partial print, and a stamp...

The pink one left bottom is upside down...

These are all sideways and the top two are opposite the bottom two. I love the bottom left one!...

All sideways...

Four pulled from the same print...

Four of my faves from today!

I got this awesome desk cabinet from our niece and her family for Christmas, which has yet to be put together, but it will be great storage for my prints!

I also got this handmade "feed bag" from our niece. I love it! It had Sonic gift cards inside for the days when hubby and I go after cattle feed and also feed ourselves. So sweet! The Cracker Barrel gift card was from our nephew and family, one of my favorite places to eat!

And I got this awesome rolling sewing machine case from our brother-in-law. I'm trying to decide whether I want to use it for sewing or arting. Decisions! Decisions!

Aside from the presents and wonderful food, the love and togetherness we shared with family and friends, who we love very much, made it an awesome Christmas. I'm truly grateful that it was so good, because we never know which one of us will be missing when the next one rolls around.

This will be my last blog for 2014. It's been a good year. Hubby and I have been blessed in many ways, and I am thankful. Prayers that 2015 will be a good year for all of us, and may we be blessed with enough.

Murry Christmoose!

This next week will be really busy for me, as I'm sure it will be for all of you who celebrate Christmas, and I'm not sure if I'll have time to be online much, so I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all safe travels, an awesome holiday week with family and friends making new memories, and a bag full of goodies from Santa!

Merry Christmas to you and yours from Rabbit Hop!

First Christmas Gift

Look what I got from my Aunt Lela in with a Christmas card! My first gift this Christmas! I love it!

It's a handmade tea towel using drawn work, like my Granny used to do. I have a couple of scarves, and I had a set of pillow cases, which I completely wore out, that Granny made and gave me when I was young. I saved the drawn work off the pillow cases for a keepsake.

Here it is against a dark background, so you can see it better. I haven't learned to do this...yet, but I love it, and I will treasure it always.

My parents, aunts, and grandmothers were all talented at different things, and I have many beautiful handmade items from them that I treasure. Having them teach me different arts is also something that I will always treasure. I wish I  had children to leave them to, but maybe someone will get them after I'm gone that will treasure them as much as I do.

Christmas Cards and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

For many years I have made at least five cards, and for years that's all I mailed out. Now I'm up to 10 and sometimes 12, if time allows. Seven of them always go to the same loved ones, and the others vary from year to year. Each one has to be different in some way, because I get bored making them alike. This year I borrowed a couple of ideas from Pinterest for the figures, because I wanted to play with my new circle punch. Backgrounds are mine!

Those of you that get one every year may now know what they look like beforehand, BUT you don't know which one YOU'RE getting! lol

I played with my 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and my star and circle punches, plus a couple of buttons, and some ribbon, torn prints, and bubble wrap.They also have words on the front in gold gelli pen, which isn't showing up much here. I forgot to photo the inside verse. In fact, I almost forgot to photo the cards before I put them in the envelopes.

This little guy, also in the top photo, asked for some snow before being sealed up, so I gave him some. I try to pay attention to what my characters want at all times! :)

Not the best job in the world, but a lot of fun to make, and I always think I'm going to start on them way early, but I'm kind of a last minute person. Drives hubby, mama, and my friends crazy! They are all type A personalities, and I, well, I'm not. lol

Now, if I can just get them in the mail box before Christmas!

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy for me, as I'm sure they are for you, but I want to wish all of you who celebrate a very Merry CHRISTmas and the best of New Years! Safe travels and enjoy the holidays!

Also sharing on the Creative Every Day challenge, where you will find many wonderful creative artists and their work.

Sanguine Doodles

Doodling with a Sanguine Pitt pen in my 11"x 14" sketchbook while chatting with hubby and the brother-in-law on a Sunday morning. Seeing how many symbols I could come up with to use in paintings. Came up with a few and could have kept going...

Both pages-I did the right side first. The doodles got bigger on the left side...

Close up of the right side. I wish I had drawn them in a list view so I could have written what their meanings are to me. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to do another page, or 3, of them! FUN!!! :D

Gelli Arts Printing Play

I just bought the 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and am playing with it. I started out trying to design Christmas cards for this year, but they were all turning out dark and depressing, so I'm going to have to practice some more. Anyway, this is what I did today with acrylics, a brush, a feather, and cut out shapes...

One thing I learned today is to let them dry between layers, especially with open acrylics, or they will make mush. I will add more layers to them at some point, I'm sure, but playing today was good for my soul. It had been a few days since I did anything creative and I was having withdrawals. Feeling better now! :)

More Practice Sketches

A couple more practice sketches in the Feather Altered Book Journal.

Another imaginary friend using a black charcoal pencil on a book page with a slight acrylic paint smear...

Mother and child on a book page smeared lightly with acrylic paint, using a photo and a black marks all pencil, done very quickly...

I'm not having much creative time right now to finish works in progress. Life comes first...