Project ReStyle #13

Last week, I didn't feel like coming up with a ReStyle. But this week, I had the perfect canvas, so to speak. A sturdy cylindrical box which used to hold green tea. Some paint, grunging up and embellishments later, I have a love container to hold pens, pencils and other writing tools. (I am having fun playing with my photos in Gimp!)

La semaine dernière, je n'avais pas le tête à faire un ReStyle. Mais cette semaine, j'avais le canvas idéal, si on veut. Une boite cylindrique solide qui contenait du thé vert auparavant. Une peu de peinture, un peu de "salissage" et des embellissements, j'ai maintenant un beau contenant pour des crayons, stylos et autres outils d'écritue. (Je m'amuse avec mes photos dans Gimp!)

 

Project ReStyle #7

Something different for this week's ReStyle. My mother had this little test tube holder but didn't really like the silver colour. And the labels needed to be taken off the tubes. So I soaked the tubes in hot water. The labels came off easily. I sanded the holder which is made of wood. A couple of layers of gesso, a couple of layers of white acrylic and some doodling with a fine brush and black acrylic. I didn't have fresh flowers on hand so I coloured a few paper ones for the photo. Much cuter now!

Quelque chose de différent cette semaine pour mon ReStyle. Ma mère avait ce support à éprouvettes mais n'aimait pas sa couleur argenté. Et les étiquettes devaient être enlevées des éprouvettes. Alors j'ai fait trempé les éprouvettes dans de l'eau chaude. Les étiquettes se sont enlevées facilement. J'ai sablé le support qui est en bois. Quelques couches de gesso, quelques couches d'acrylique blanche et du gribouillage avec un pinceau fin et de l'acrylique noire. Je n'avais pas de fleurs fraîches sous la main alors j'en ai colorié quelques-unes en papier pour la photo. Bien plus joli maintenant!

 

Altered slide mailer - Porte-lame de microscope altéré

 I haven't altered a slide mailer in almost 2 years. And this was the first big one I did. I bought mine from ArtChixStudio a few years ago but they don't have them anymore. I started by covering all the flat surfaces with vintage Italian book pages and then sprayed over with my pink and brown glimmer mists. I decorated the cover with printed fabric, baker's twine, lace and a ribbon flower.

Je n'avais pas altéré de porte-lame de microscope depuis presque 2 ans. Et celui-ci était mon premier plus grand. J'ai acheté les miens chez ArtChixStudio il y a quelques années mais ils n'en ont plus. J'ai commencé par couvrir toutes les surfaces planes avec de vieilles pages d'un livre italien puis j'ai vaporisé par-dessus avec mes glimmer mists rose et brun. J'ai décoré la couverture avec du tissu imprimé, du fil de pâtissier, de la dentelle et une fleur en ruban.

  Then I decorated the slide windows with collage images from ArtChixStudio and Crafty Individuals as well as words cut from a vintage French book. On the inside cover, I added more printed fabric.

Ensuite j'ai décoré les fenêtres de lamelles avec des images à collage de ArtChixStudio et Crafty Individuals ainsi que des mots coupés dans un vieux livre français. À l'intérieur de la couverture, j'ai ajouté encore du tissu imprimé.

I also wrapped some fibers around the crease for a nicer finish. And finally, the slides were glued in place with a bit of Glossy Accent (and a clear circle sticker was added on top of the last slide.)

J'ai aussi enroulé des fibres autour du pli pour une finition plus jolie. Et finalement, les lamelles ont été collées en place avec un peu de Glossy Accent (et un cercle autocollant clair a été ajouté sur la dernière lamelle.)

Altered birdhouse - Maison d'oiseau altérée

When my mom showed me a couple of little wooden birdhouses, I knew I wanted to alter them in a shabby chic way. I started by covering every outer surface with gesso. Then I brushed a bit of ochre and brown acrylic paint. When that was dry, I glued pieces of jute and lace to the roof. I used paper roses that I coloured myself and one of those "mushroom" birds to decorate. This birdhouse turned out exactly how I had envisioned it. 

Quand ma mère m'a montré ses deux petites maisons d'oiseau en bois, je savais que je voulais les altérer de façon "shabby chic." J'ai commencé par couvrir toutes les surfaces externes avec du gesso. Puis, j'ai brossé un peu de peinture acrylique ocre et brune. Quand cette étape fut sèche, j'ai collé des morceaux de jute et de dentelle sur le toit. J'ai pris des roses en papier que j'ai coloriées moi-même et un de ces oiseaux "champignon" pour décorer. Cette maison d'oiseau est exactement comme je l'avais visualisée.

They said forever - Ils ont dit pour toujours

I'm sorry if this published unfinished or twice in the feeds. I accidentally published before I was done.
Je suis désolée si ce message a été publié incomplet ou en double dans les "feeds." Je l'ai accidentellement publié avant d'avoir terminé. 

I have a box full of microscope slides and I recently got a sheet of collage images that are the right size to use with them. So I decided to make a pendant/ornament with some of those supplies. I don't own a soldering tool so the edges aren't as neat as they could be. I'm looking for a better alternative. I was thinking maybe a Melting Pot with UTEE. If you have any ideas/suggestions, please let me know.

J'ai une boite pleine de lamelles pour microscope et j'ai récemment acheté une feuille d'images à collage qui sont de la bonne grandeur pour utiliser avec les lamelles. Alors j'ai décidé de faire un pendentif/ornement avec une partie de ce matériel. Je n'ai pas d'outil de soudure alors le tour n'est pas aussi bien fini qu'il pourrait l'être. Je cherche une meilleure alternative. J'avais pensé à utiliser le Melting Pot avec du UTEE. Si vous avez des idées/suggestions, laissez-moi savoir.

The background image is from Crafty Individuals. The photo is of my grandparents, at their wedding. The text was cut out of a vintage book.
L'image de fond est de Crafty Individuals. La photo est celle de mes grands-parents à leur marriage. Le texte provient d'un vieux livre.

Believe - a giveaway

Alrighty... in the spirit of decluttering, I'm offering this altered CD as a giveaway prize. All you need to do for a chance to win this one of a kind piece of art (and maybe something else thrown in for good measure) is leave a comment on this post. You have until Sunday May 18th, 8PM for a chance to win.

Good luck!

Altered photo and a mandala

Ok. So it had to be expected. We're supposed to get yet another snow storm starting tonight and going well into the weekend. I'm trying not to complain. Really, I'm trying.

So on to something else then. The image you see to the left (I feel like a tour guide or something) was done using some of the techniques from the book I bought this week. I chose a blurry photograph from my trip to the UK back in 2001 (which wasn't all that hard since more than half the pics came out blurry... the joys of pre-digital photography!) I sanded the edges and liked the colour that came out of that so I continued sanding the building in the foreground. Then I used a piercing tool to scratch lines all around the clouds. And then I sanded and scratched some more and finally added a bit of watercolour in the sky and on the horizon. Voilà! I really like the final result. Really!

Next, my very first mandala made with Outlines stamps. My mom has been doing mandalas for a while now. I love the way they come out but until last night, I wasn't tempted to try my hand at them. You can't see it much in this picture but parts of it are 3D, raised with dimensional foam squares. Now, I haven't decided what I'll do with my mandala meaning, will I do a second one and attach them back to back so it can hang from the ceiling? Or do I want to frame it as is? I'm not sure. But I do love the way it came out. The image was heat embossed and coloured with various markers and Glaze pens.



And finally, here is the OWOH prize I received from Vallen over at Queenly Things. This is beautiful! And I might just have to find the perfect hat to attach that beautiful "S" pin she sent me too!

An update on my 21 days challenge. So far, I've taken the time to meditate every night even if it's just 5 minutes. The first 3 days were hard: I kept fidgeting, trying to find the perfect position, my cat coming in to get some attention, etc. But now, it's already a bit easier. I'm keeping a journal for this but it's mostly journaling and the quotes provided by Rhonna so not much to see visually.

My spiral bound journal is full. I finished it today. I already had another one started which is smaller and I kept it for more messy pages but now I'll just fill it with whatever I feel like putting in there. And when that one is full, we'll see which of my many blank journals I'll pick.

Well, that's it for tonight. I have some more ATCs to make for a swap.

Of collages, paintings and a prize in the mail

As promised, here are my latest paper spool collages. I made these last Friday while spending an evening of fun and crafts with two of my favourite people in the world: my mom and Catherine. I also worked on another little project which I won't show until it has arrived to its final destination.

My hands are feeling a lot better. I don't know if it's arthritis or carpal tunnel and as long as it doesn't bother me too much, I don't want to know. Now, no lectures please.

Anyway, yesterday, I finally decided to take some Tylenols and it helped relieve the pain so I was able to create. Of course I did my Daily Art Card which is the following picture, but I also finished an art journal page and two paintings. I'll show them later this week.

I've always considered myself an artist. There was a time when I thought I was only a painter but now I know I'm much more than that. I guess that if I have to label myself it would be Multimedia Artist and Recycle Crafter. Ye like? I like! But I had forgotten how much I love to just paint. So I've prepared a few backgrounds to work on when the mood strikes. It was fun to work on something other than a canvas. My plan is to do enough of these types of paintings to eventually sell them.

And finally, I received my first OWOH prize today! What joy to find a parcel addressed to me coming from Hawaii! And when I opened it, I was presented with this beautiful doll made by Lilla... look at her. Isn't she pretty? She shimmers in the light.


Right now, she's hanging on my fake wreath which is still on my bedroom door (and might stay there all year long to display various hanging goodies I receive and/or make.)

Now, I'll go paint some more me thinks. No blogging tomorrow as I'm having dinner with my parents and watching LOST with mom. Have a good Thursday!

One World One Heart Giveaway

Comments are now closed. Thanks for participating.

Okay! Here it is! My giveaway for the One World One Heart Event in Bloglandia!

Here's how it works. To be eligible for this giveaway, you must leave a comment on THIS POST (not any other) and have an ACTIVE blog. If you don't have one yet, it's easy to start one so go ahead and dive into blogging! And remember to visit the OWOH blog for all the other giveaways. There's is lots of beautiful stuff being offered out there so go look.


The prize: an altered slide mailer! This is the main prize as I plan to add little bits to the package but I don't know what yet (probably one of my paper spool collages of course!)

So again, for a chance to win, leave a comment on THIS POST and have an active blog. The winner will be picked on February 14th and announced on an UPDATED version of this post AND a new post.

Good luck and thanks for participating!

Edit on Feb 11th: There will be three winners for my giveaway. I'm in the process of making two more slide mailers (colours and images will vary) and will try to post pictures before the weekend.
Also, regular blogging will return after OWOH. I need more time to create for myself!

Edit on Feb 5th: Those who comment and don't have a blog listed on their Blogger profile, please make sure that you leave a link to an ACTIVE blog since this is an event to meet other bloggers. I started visiting the blogs listed and will continue to do so even after the event. This is NOT a giveaway just for "giving's sake." If you've already commented without leaving a way for me to see your blog, please email me a link at sophietousignant[at]videotron[dot]ca. Thank you.

Art Cards and a tag

Yesterday was definitely a fun experience. I met my brother for brunch before we set off on our little photographic adventure. We spent a total of 3 hours walking the Biodome and taking pictures. I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet so you'll have to be patient if you want to see them. There were a lot of people there, mostly families with young kids but everyone was polite. There was no pushing or shoving. Everyone was there to have fun and enjoy the view of wild animals. My favourites are always the small monkeys. I dream of one day having my very own little monkey! (Hey! Who said dreams can't come true? Not me!)



Anyway, not much else to say. I have a bit of a cold but nothing major. Just a bit stuffed up so I'm drinking plenty of fluids, eating fruits and veggies and getting some rest. Today, so far, I've only been outside to go grocery shopping (it's cold!) and I baked muffins. I tried a recipe my coworker gave me and it smells yummy. I still have plenty of Vegetarian Spread left for the beginning of the week and I plan on doing something with barley... Found a simple recipe I'll try after I finish writing this post. I'm really enjoying cooking and baking for myself even if I don't have the best kitchen. This is the 3rd Sunday in a row that I do it and I'm not giving up! So many recipes I want to try... so much potential for yummy discoveries...

Today's images are of my Daily Art Card I made last night which is mostly doodling and my 3rd card for the Deck of Me Challenge. Visit my Flickr for more info.

Before I forget, Violette tagged me. I'm supposed to say 5 odd things about myself so quickly here they are:

1. I once spent a whole summer eating almost only dairy products.
2. I love the smell of skunk (not on me though.)
3. I used to be a goth girl.
4. I don't like ketchup, which leads me to
5. I eat my shepherds pie with mustard. Lots of mustard.

I'm not tagging anyone but if you feel like playing, please do so! Off to cook barley...

Edited at 5:45 pm to add: The barley recipe is delish! It's Barley Pilaf and it's a great alternative to rice... I just goggled "barley pilaf" and there seems to be tons of different recipes for it. Follow my lead and try something new! Oh, and you can view my Biodome pics here. Have a peaceful evening!

For your viewing pleasure

It's been a strange day...

It started quietly enough as I took my sweet time getting out of bed, stretching, being lazy and warm under the blankets. Lately, I'm making a habit of drinking a tall glass of water first thing in the morning before eating breakfast. I do so while writing my morning pages. So that's what I was doing when I saw some movement outside my window on the electrical cable that runs right next to my window. I looked up and there was a Red-Tailed Hawk! Not even 6 feet from where I was sitting! I was in awe. I looked at it the whole time that it stayed there (not even a minute.) It was beautiful. Judging by the colour, I think it was a young one though.

At work, kids were acting weird. I don't know if there's a snowstorm coming or what but they were wild.

After the lunch period, I came back home for my lunch. I made myself a yummy sandwich with the Vegetarian spread I made Sunday and added Tuna to it. So tasty! Diesel, of course, hearing me open the can of tuna (same kind of can as her food) came running and wouldn't leave me alone so I dropped a little bit of tuna in her bowl. Believe it or not, she didn't want to eat it because there was lemon juice in it! She's so finicky! And even tonight when I mixed her regular food in it, she still wouldn't eat it! So I threw it away (I hate doing that but if she's not going to eat it at her regular meal time, I'm sure she'll never eat it) and gave put her regular food in a new clean bowl.

After dinner, I had an appointment to give blood. I'm O negative so I try to give whenever I feel well enough to do so. The last two times I wanted to give I couldn't: one time my iron level was so low the nurse kept asking me if I was feeling okay and the second time my heartbeat was way too fast. So before going, I made sure I wasn't stressed, I had eaten plenty to iron-filled foods this week and I kept telling myself "my blood pressure is perfect, my heartbeat is perfect, my iron level is perfect..." until I got there. Guess what? My temperature was slightly too elevated! Good thing they give you a second chance for that so I sat down and tried to "cool down" for fifteen minutes, removing my vest and then went back in. It was right on the limit so I was able to donate! Yay!


Now this may sound weird to some people but here goes anyway. I love to donate blood. Yes, it is a bit painful, mostly when the needle goes in, but I feel so good doing this, knowing that I will be able to save lives and at the same time, I see it as a way to cleanse myself... When you give blood, your body then has to make new blood which is clean and pure. I don't know how else to explain it.

The nurses who took care of me were all smiling, making jokes and making the experience even more enjoyable. The volunteers (this was in a private school so students were there to help) were all very polite and one girl kept coming back to chat with me, clearly enjoying meeting all the people and admiring that so many were donating. She was sweet and made me laugh quite a bit.

I spent the rest of the evening in front of the computer, relaxing, visiting blogs, etc. The images you're seeing in this post are my Daily Art Cards for the 15th, 16th and today. The last image is a page from my journal. I particularly like the second image, the "clean slate" one. It came out exactly how I had envisioned it. Inspired by Keri Smith's collages. I like the messiness of it. For more info and details on these pieces, go to my Flickr page here.

A quicky

It started snowing today... after a week of mild weather. Even though I'm not a big fan of winter, I like every season to be what it's supposed to be.

Made muffins earlier tonight and now I'm getting ready to settle down in front of the television for a light movie and some art journaling maybe.

The picture is of my second shrine made for Violette's e-class. I had fun making it and really like how it turned out.

100th post means a giveaway

Yes! This is my 100th post. I started this blog a little less than a year ago and I managed to make it to post number 100. Woohoo! So, to celebrate I'm doing a giveaway! This is what you could win:

This is an altered canvas measuring 4" x 5". My latest creation. I really love how it came out and will probably be doing more of these in different sizes. But since this is a special occasion and I am learning to let go of my art, I'm giving this like creation away. Just comment on this post and I'll pick a winner on Friday evening. Good luck to everyone.

And Happy New Year!!!!!

A card and Nanowrimo update

So this is the card that I made for my mom's birthday last week. I used my new favourite techniques: painting, collage, drawing and oil pastels. Since this was a card and not something in a journal or to be framed, I attached a piece of vellum on top of it. I only had printed vellum so I found a piece that was not too obstructive. I really like how everything turned out. Mom loved the card. Now she has a one-of-a-kind collage card signed SoFy (that is how I sign my name on my art, be it visual art or literary works.




Speaking of literary works. In the past week, I had a hard time working on my novel for Nanowrimo. I know I wasn't the only one but still I felt a little sorry for myself AND for my characters. After all, I created them out of thin air. Their lives depend on me! I was getting behind even when I was writing. I wasn't adding enough to my daily word count. Well, this afternoon, I sat down to write. I think I hit a wall even before I could start. I had gone grocery shopping in the morning so that meant I had food. Okay, I had a little something to eat. But then, still nothing. I read the forums on Nano, looking for inspiration. I listened to different kinds of music. Nothing. I washed some dishes to clear my mind. I don't particularly love washing dishes but I find that once I'm doing it, my mind often wanders off and I stop thinking about the little annoying things. I guess it is a way to meditate for me. So after having cleaned some of those dishes (I kept some for tomorrow, just in case!) I sat down again to write. I put on the same music I've been listening to for the past week (a mix of songs that soothe my soul) and I started writing. I told myself that I would not look at anyone's blog until I reached at least 28000 words. And it worked. After that, my goal was today's word count of 30000. And I made it! Yes! I'm back on track! So in the past 24 hours, I wrote a total of 5500 words! Woot! I'm impressed with myself!

Now it's late but I'm not tired. By body has gotten used to the late nights of writing so I think that for now, I will reward myself with some art. The colours are calling my name!

A happier post...

Finally, my electronic woes are over. Everything is fixed or should be momentarily. I've been busy accompanying mom to appointments and going to feed my aunt's cats and bird. In fact, we're going to care for the poor little creatures again tomorrow. My aunt comes back Saturday night. She's been away all week. Unfortunately, it's not an easy task for us to go feed her cats since she's at the other end completely of Montreal and we usually get traffic in between. Fun.

Anyway, I created these little treasures this week. The inspiration came from something by Lisa Guerin in the Somerset Studio Nov/Dec 2006 issue. I have so many of these little paper spools and love working in such a small size.

The first one was my first attempt. The image and text are from a used book I had. You can see I put a piece of twine through the hole so I can use it as decoration or a tag.








All others have images from ArtChix, the text is from an old french dictionnary and everything else is from my goodie drawers. I have tons of stuff and am trying to use as much of it before buying even more!









These might eventually be used as brooches or decorations to hang on a tree (and not necessarily a christmas one at that!)









These are really fun to make. If anyone wants to try this and can't find the paper spools, contact me and I can send a few via mail.

Enjoy!

Mini Collages

Here are some of the mini collages I was working on last week. All the images I used are from ArtChix Studio and I used various rubons I had lying around. Just trying to use whatever I have in my stash. The smallest squares are 1"x1", the two medium ones are 1.5"x1.5" and the cat one is 2"x2". This was fun to do, trying to find images small enough and words too. Dictionaries are great for that!