Give Santa a Hand - Make Your Own Gifts!

I don't really know how old Santa Claus is but he looks like the same old jolly fella every year, never aging beyond the look of a centurion, despite the fact that he works 24/7 all year 'round. Managing a team of knee high employees and a number of antlered animals all working towards one special occasion - Christmas day!  Imagine being that guy, having to trust your pets without wings to fly you around while you deliver countless gifts to everyone around the world. Phew!

Let's save our Santa by choosing to make a few of our own gifts for family and friends! 

This Friday, December 1st, will be the first of my two holiday classes. As seen in the picture above, we will be making a charming keepsake - a Christmas tree made from buttons on top of a picture frame ready for display. The class begins at 6pm, costs $35 and includes all materials.

The second class will be on Saturday, December 2nd. In this class, we'll create wonderful wreaths like the red one above that you see peeking from under the button project or the white one below......or how about a gorgeous green wreath perfect to dress your door or tweak your tabletop! The class begins at 1pm, costs $35 and includes all materials.

Both classes will be held at Raquel Amaral's Gallery in 

Concord, CA - 1856 Colfax St., Suite 6.

Message me here or through my facebook page for registration information. 

Let's give Santa a little break this year. Join me for some fun, some friendship, and festive art!

Let's Make Something Together! Upcoming Holiday Craft Classes

The holidays are a perfect time to gather friends and family and get crafty! Handmade gifts are often the most cherished as nothing says love quite like 
"I made this just for you!".

I have a couple of upcoming classes that I will be teaching here in my hometown of Concord, California. Both are super fun to make with lovely results!

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The first project will be on Friday, December 1st beginning at 6pm. We will create a charming Christmas tree made from buttons. We'll center the button tree on a picture frame for easy display - it'll be the center of attention during your holiday gatherings!

One of the cool things about this craft is that any holiday is open game for button art. In February, our class made beautiful framed button hearts. We loved the project so much that we're trying our hand at the Christmas tree design.

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The second project will be on Saturday, December 2nd, beginning at 1pm. In this class, we'll make a gorgeous wreath using tulle fabric and embellishments. So many options here to make a unique door decor!

White tulle wreath - with removable poinsettia's - perfect for using at other occasions

Here are further class details:

WHERE:  Raquel Amaral Art Gallery – 1856 Colfax Street, 

                  Suite 6, Concord

COST:      $35 and includes all materials

PAYMENT DETAILS: advance payment is required to hold your place. Email me at kimlawson2000@gmail.com and I will send you a Paypal invoice.

                  

Let's make something together, make new friends, and start the holiday season with something beautiful made just by you!

See more of my artwork by clicking on the Etsy and Society6 tabs here. 

Bottled Art

At a local craft store, I found a package of itsy bitsy glass bottles and couldn't resist buying them. I went wild thinking of how these little vessels could be filled with all sorts of treasures. 

In our recent craft class we had fun filling the bottles with beads, pearls, layers of glitter, sand, and bits of shiny confetti. Once filled, we glued the lids on tight then tied pretty ribbons around the tops so that they could be slipped over our heads and worn as necklaces. 

We also wrapped wire around some of the lids creating loops to attach chain for a more classy necklace look. Here's how to wrap the wire:

Materials

• Wire
• Round nosed pliers
• Jump rings
• Chain
• Clasp (optional)

About 2 inches from the end of the wire, wrap the wire around the pliers to create a loop. Wind the short end of the wire around the loop a few times and cut off any excess. Place the loop on one side of the bottle and wind the long end of the wire around the bottle top a couple of times. Use the pliers to make the second loop on the other side of the bottle. Wrap the bottle top one more time to secure the second loop ending with a final wrap around the that loop to anchor it. Cut off the excess wire. 

Add jump rings onto the loops. Measure the chain for the length at which you want the necklace to hang. For a longer necklace, say 20 inches or more, you can simply attach the chain ends to the jump rings and slip the necklace over your head to wear it. For shorter jewelry, measure two pieces of chain equal in length, attach one end of each of the chains to the jump rings and the other end of the chains to a clasp. Instant style!

More ideas for your bottle craft: 

• wrap wire with a few beads around the entire bottle
• add a bit of sand in the bottle and place a small love note inside
• fill the bottle with colored water and a few pearls or sand and shells
• add charms to dangle from the wire loops
• make a mini terrarium by adding a little sand and tiny plastic plants
• dap glue to the top and sides of the lid and roll it in glitter (once dried, dab a bit more glue to the glitter to seal it)
• put a small label on the outside of the bottle - "fairy dust", "love potion", "wishes", etc
• fill with feathers, shells, or sea glass
• glue a silk flower to the lid top

Of course, you don't have to wear the bottles as jewelry. These tiny art pieces look pretty lined up in a window, as decoration in a natural plant terrarium, or nestled in book where you've cut out a hole in the pages. 

Have fun with this craft - don't keep your ideas "bottled up"!

A Whole New Light On Lampshades

Some time ago, I bought a dozen small paper lampshades at a local reuse/recycle shop. So many ideas floated through my head as to how to decorate them! 

I knew this would be a perfect project for my art class students to toy with so I set out various items to spark the imagination and we got busy. With buttons, paints, ribbons, faux flowers, and more, we got to work. Time flies when you're having fun and in a couple of hours we celebrated our creativity!

We stationed the lampshades on tall wine glasses (sans wine!) and placed tealights and inside the glasses for a soft glow. How pretty these would be as table decorations at a wedding or other party. Sweet and simple with just the right amount of pizzazz!

I have a few bare lampshades left over and am anxious to hear how they tell me they would like to be "dressed". A favorite poem in a fancy script? A feathered shade? Paper punched designs? A beaded fringe? The possibilities are endless!

Holiday Art - Never Too Late Or Too Early To Create These Projects!

While the holiday season has just ended, I thought it would be nice to showcase the fall and winter projects that my clever art students created. Not only are they the wonderful results of artistic minds but serve as inspiration for projects you might like to try. 

The fall projects included wreath making using the rich, warm colors of seasonal leaves, acorns, gourds, and found objects. A pretty welcome to guests coming to the front door or when used as a tabletop centerpiece.

Lin's wreath in-progress

 We had big fun making Halloween dioramas out of hollow foam pumpkins!

Alicia and Nicole's fright-tastic pumpkins

Carol's witchy creation

Sandy's pretty pumpkin

Kim's sugar skull diorama and kitty card

We painted wood slices for home decor or table top display.

Gold lettered quote

Stenciled molding paste design

Nicole's handpainted fantasy

Stacked trays made from stovetop burner covers and wine glasses or candlesticks make lovely towers for serving holiday sweets and treats.

Rosa's intricate trays

9-year-old Sophia's showstopper

Nicole's handpainted designwork 

The Christmas season gave us lots of opportunities to make ornaments, wreaths, and gift items.

Mini winter hat ornaments made from yarn knotted over toilet paper rolls

Who knew empty wine bottles could look so good! We used ropes of glittery pipe cleaners and hot glued them around the bottles for a festive design.

Nicole, Sophia, and Rosa show their talents

A quick and easy ornament idea is to fill clear acrylic bulbs with anything!

Bulbs filled with snowflakes and greenery

Red Dollar Store bulbs on a wire wreath

Silver and gold bulbs and garland from the Dollar Store 

We made reversible garlands to hang during the fall and winter holidays.

Burlap leaves and tiny bags decorated with glitter paint and felt leaves and acorns

Turn the fall garland over to show the Christmas decor - the tiny bags perfect for hiding small treats in

A clear plastic bulb filled with foam dots and and a child's sock fashioned as a hat

Oh what fun we had! It's never too early to begin a winter project and present someone special with a handmade gift. Christmas is only 49 weeks away!

Line Dancing

Staff meetings, waiting rooms, airplane rides, talking on the phone - all perfect opportunities to doodle and play with line drawing. I love pressing my brain to create fun patterns, using my journal as my playbook. 

Some may call this Zentangle but I don't conform to any particular rules, just allowing my mind to envision pattens and willing my hand to follow through. 

One of my students stared at the blank pages of her journal saying that she didn't know where to start. I told her not to think about it too hard - just put the pen to paper and begin drawing random shapes. Once you get going with nothing particular in mind, magic happens! These shapes are then sectioned out, filled in with staight lines, circles, zig-zags, and other patterns resulting in wonderful designwork.

Alicia's doodle page

I've created several pages of patterns that I reference when doing new work. It's addictive!

Pinterest or searching the internet for doodle patterns are excellent places to get ideas from. 

Having several sizes of pen tips is a plus. This allows you to make very detailed patterns and designs. I like using Pigma micron pens because of the variety of pen tips, they are permanent ink (which is great if you want to watercolor over your images), and they last a long time. Look for these qualities in the pens you use.

 

 

Here are more of my students' artwork - 

Donna goes wild!

Donna's creation

Sandra's lines

Marla's mandala

Open your journal, let loose your mind, and see what exciting art comes flowing out!

Falling For Wreaths

The seasons are changing - Mother Nature is beginning to show herself by way of fiery colors and crisp cold nights.

It's time to sit by a warm fire and get that glue gun out! Even if you don't have a fireplace to sit near, you can still create a fabulous fall wreath to adorn your front door, use as a table centerpiece, or present it to the host of a Thanksgiving party!

To make this wreath, here's what you will need:

Materials

• Wreath frame - I used a 12 inch grapevine wreath but wreath frames made of  wire, straw, or styrofoam are fine to use, any size you like.
• Various fall-colored faux leaves, flowers, berries, small foam pumpkin, gourds, etc.
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Optional: decorative ribbon for hanging the wreath
• Tip: I found many of these items at the local dollar store - nice quality and assortment without breaking the bank!

Let's Make This

Adding the details

• If desired, glue or wrap a pretty ribbon to the back of the wreath for easy hanging
• Use the glue gun to adhere leaves and flowers around the front and sides of the wreath frame so that the frame is hidden.

Lin's wreath in progress

• Add the decorative pumpkins, gourds, and other items in several places around the wreath
• Tip: Lin used a wire wreath and wrapped orange mesh ribbon around the frame before gluing on flowers (both from a dollar store!). This gave it a nice colored background to start with and ease in gluing items to a solid backing.

There you have it! A lovely showpiece that will last for years and you can say "I made it myself!"