Monday, June 20, 2011

Art, in the Style of Julie Nutting

Caution:  This post contains shameless promotion of my new favorite book.  Proceed at your own risk.

So, after waiting (impatiently) for my copy of Julie Nutting's book, Collage Couture, to come in the mail, it finally got here last Wednesday!  I have had an absolute ball looking through the book and designing paper fashions!

If you don't yet know about Collage Couture, well you are missing out!  Not only is the book beautiful to simply look at, it also contains excellent tutorials on painting backgrounds onto canvas and other substrates, and of course the best part of the book, drawing and designing lovely girls and their fashions!  Julie presents the material in an fun way, encouraging us girls to don our tiaras and connect with that little girl that may have been forgotten amidst the busyness of the everyday.  And if that wasn't enough, she even includes some of the most fun gift ideas I've ever seen!  I couldn't stop flipping to the gift section of the book and brainstorming all of the ways I could bless the ladies in my life with a gift, Julie Nutting-style.  I may be knee-deep in patterned papers for a very long time.

And now, for the reveal, (drum-roll, please) I give you my interpretation of Collage Couture girls...

Jenny:  She likes to make up stories using characters she meets on the street. 

Elle:  She hates playing the piano in front of others...but she's very good.

So there you have it, friends!  Run, don't walk to get your copy of Collage Couture!  (And no, Julie did not pay me to write this...I really do love this book that much!)

Oh, and if you're needing a little extra inspiration, I highly recommend watching old episodes of Project Runway on Hulu.com, and feel good about the fact that you don't have to hem anything!

Happy creating!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Art Trading: "Owl"

And another attempt at mastering tiny art is almost finished.  And yes, I'm running behind...AGAIN!  I must confess that this time it was mainly because I realized that owls really aren't my thing.  They're a bit artistically intimidating to me, and I'm STILL struggling with the second one.  I absolutely HAVE to get them in the mail tomorrow!!  So for now, I will post what I have, and just know I will be FRANTIC in trying to fix the second one before I mail.  Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and if you have NO idea what this tiny art is that I'm referring to, check out my (also tiny) explanation here.

Owl #1...not too scary, right??

Owl #2:  WHAT WAS I THINKING!!  (being reworked ASAP)

And there you have it, friends!  Art and fear...all right out there where you can see it!! :)