Blogger woes and winners of my giveaway!

Hurray!!!! I can sign in and post on my Blog! It's been 4 days and I haven't been able to sign in or post! Apparently, Blogger has been having some serious glitches! It's good to be back and I apologize for not being able to post the winners of my 500th post giveaway!

The winners are:

Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity and

Sharon of Livewire Jewelry

Congratulations to Kim and Sharon; I've already contacted them because I could not post here on Sunday. They will each receive their respective felted purse with a little surprise tucked inside.

I hope you all had a safe and reflective Memorial Weekend.

I'll be back during week with some journal page art.

Much love to all.........................Marilyn xxoo

500th Post Giveaways!

Well; I've reached my 500th Blog post and I want to live up to my promise of celebrating with a couple of giveaways. Hurray!

Here are pictures of two free-hand felted clutch purses I have been working on over the past few months and am offering them two winners. You will each get one of these purses with a little surprise tucked in each purse as an added gift.

All you have to do to participate is leave a comment, here, and let me know if you have a preference of which purse you prefer if you win.

The deadline for entering is Friday, May 27th and I will be announcing the winners on Sunday morning May 29th!

It's amazing how fast time is moving; maybe that's a sign of me getting older :) However, I think back to when I was first struggling to set up a Blog; getting frustrated at not knowing quite what I was doing and, in full, I still don't-lol!

But; one thing I do know, Blogging has led me to some really wonderful and meaningful connections and I've been inspired and learned so much from all of you!

Thank you for your friendships, support, and inspiration all these years and I look forward to 500 more posts sharing my art journey with you!

Best to all of you!!!!

Much love - Marilyn xxoo

Student Works

These are pictures of students' works from the Bodacious Bottoms workshop that Kerri and I held Sunday of this past weekend. The samples, here, are the Claybord pieces. Each student had a 6 x 6 piece of Claybord to work on. I just love what they did!

We began by sketching a grid into the Claybord with pencil and then scratching into areas with dental tools, screws, nails, Xacto knives, household things that can be used for texture - really a therapeutic process! We followed through with soft pastel application using Gesso and/or fluid matte medium to blend, then a layer of oil pastels, pan pastels for shadowing, stencils with molding paste, etc. We added some detail lines with Pitt pens, poster paints, etc.

After the Claybord project, I shared a background technique using deli paper.

Kerri shared two wonderful techniques using wooden fence posts to create a garden ornament and also a wonderful collage with a foam core base. I hope to get pictures of these over time to share here.

Did everyone have a good weekend? I hope so. How's your weather? We are now in a very rainy and cool period here again.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Sunshine thoughts for all.............................Marilyn xxoo

Another "Bodacious" sample

I took some time, today, to prepare more for the Bodacious Bottoms workshop that Kerri and I are offering this Sunday.

This is another sample I worked on this morning. I wanted to work, more, with the Claybord and I am loving it! It really can take a beating and I love scratching into it with various tools; it takes any medium beautifully! I will share more about this fun substrate after the workshop as I want to share student samples on my Blog.

I have just two more posts, to go, to reach my 500th post and then I can offer my giveaways to celebrate :)

The sun is still shining, here, and it's been a lovely week so I am thankful. More rain is expected this weekend and into the next week.

Wishing you a safe, joyful, and artful weekend!

Much love - Marilyn xxoo

"Bodacious Bottoms"

Kerri and I have a fun workshop planned for Sunday, May 15, 2011, here, in our local area.

The workshop is titled "Bodacious Bottoms" and each of us will share two background techniques using some interesting substrates.

This picture is a sample of one of my offerings that I will share on Claybord. It's a wonderfully fun substrate that can be scratched into using some unique and surprising tools. I will share the basic technique and each student can interpret the technique to their own liking. That is one of the reasons I love teaching workshops; sharing what I've learned and then seeing what everyone else does using their own creativity and talents.

We have sun today! Woohoo! Maybe that's why I wanted to share this particular piece with all of you. We've been in a terrible rainy, dark and damp pattern. To wake up, this morning, and see the sun...............................so hopeful isn't it?

I hope you are all experiencing sunshine and have a great weekend ahead. Happy Mother's Day to all who are mothers and/or nurturers. After all; you don't have to have children to be a nurturer. We take care of so many things, ourselves, all the people in our lives, pets, personal interests, etc.

Peace and love to all.................................Marilyn xxoo

More journal fun..........................

Here are some pics of some art I've created in my 8 x 8 journal. This spread ended up being the center of the journal where the waxed-linen threads show. I decided to make a couple of folds with extra watercolor paper and add some collaged papers and favorite stamped quotes inside them to tuck them into the threads. It makes for a fun "pop op".

Hope you and yours are all well and keeping safe.

Good thoughts for all of you!
PS I have just 4 more posts to go and then I'm planning on a giveaway to celebrate my 500th post!

Love much - Marilyn xxoo