10 Minute Art - well, maybe 20.

I started a new project this evening, but I have to let it dry for a few hours.  What to do, what to do.

So, while watching the Real Housewives of Miami (which looked a lot like Saturday Night Boxing) I cut the paper, that I had made with acrylic paint and alcohol a few months ago, into thin strips.  I wove them into a little square and put them in a frame.  What could be easier than that?  and it's even kind of cute.  I think I'll do another one sort of the same, but different and hang them in my bathroom.   What do you think?  Not exactly fine art - but it kept me busy.

It's kind of hard to tell in the photo, but the paper strips are silver with splotches all over from the alcohol's reaction with the acrylic paint.  The frame is 8X8.

Lola's Garden

My very good friend, Candi, lost her little chihuahua, Lola, over a year ago.  As anyone who has ever lost a pet can imagine, it was very devastating for Candi. As part of the healing process, she put a different photo of Lola on Facebook every day for a year.

Candi also built a little memorial garden for Lola outside of her bedroom window.  The garden is very pretty with lots of flowers and vines planted around a small stone patio area with a bench.  The memorial garden is next to a very plain wall underneath the bedroom window, so she decided to brighten it up a little with paint. The space that she wanted to paint was approximately 6 feet tall and about 15 feet wide.  Her niece, Taylor, and I were recruited to assist in this art project.  Taylor worked on the grass at the bottom of the wall, while Candi and I began painting vines.  She started her vines on the right and I started mine on the left.  We crossed in the middle and continued on to the other side, so that we had a nice mix of our different vine-painting styles.

We didn't get the early start that we should have, so we were interrupted in the afternoon by a downpour.  This is where we left it

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Candi lives in the Virgin Islands most of the time, so we will have to pick this up where we left off, when she gets back to Florida.  I look forward to seeing the finished product. The plan is to make the vine thicker, then add lots of flowers on the vine and coming up from the grass.  I think it's on its way to being very pretty and a wonderful memorial to Lola's sweet little spirit.

Citra Solv - The Cleanser with a Secret Side

In the September/October 2012 issue of Somerset Studio magazine they had an article on creating art with Citra Solv.  Citra Solv is a cleanser and degreaser with a strong orange scent.  Someone discovered that if you pour the formula on old National Geographic magazines, the ink melts.  It's an interesting process because you have absolutely no way of knowing how each photo is going to react.

The process is so popular that the Citra Solv site, along with touting the products cleansing abilities, includes a gallery of Citra Solve artwork and a few tutorials.

I few things to know: 

• You usually have to go to a natural food store to find it (or buy it online)
• You will notice that they carry a Citra Solv cleanser in a spray bottle.  You will be tempted to buy it, thinking that the spray will be easier to apply - DON'T DO IT!  I did just that, only to find out that the Citra Solv in the spray bottle is not the same product and will not alter the photos as all.  I saturated an entire magazine for nothing. 
• You must buy the Citra Solve Cleaner & Degreaser Natural Concentrate Valencia Orange
  It comes in a clear bottle with a screw-on top.
• New National Geographic magazines do not work.  I tried, of course, just to make sure, then ended up purchasing some old National Geographics from the early 80's on ebay.  It has something to do with the type of ink that they used to use.  I tried other magazines too (even though I was told that they wouldn't work) and they did not change a bit.
• This is a messy process.  I put a plastic garbage bag over my table, then layered a bunch of paper towels under the magazine, as I brushed the Citra Solv onto the pages.  After you finish "painting" the pages, close the book, and press down.  Black ink will immediately start squishing out of the sides.  It's really messy - but really cool!
• Mine took about 30 minutes to change drastically.  You can open up the book and check out the pages every once in a while to see what's going on.

And here they are -

 

 

 

 

 

Watch the video for all of the step-by-step instructions, then give it a shot!

What's the Deal with my Google Ads?

Sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out things. I signed up with Google Ads. I had envisioned some helpful, interesting links to sites on crafts, arts, DIY, upcycling, etc. But No..............all of my ads are for drug treatment centers. Then it finally hit me a few minutes ago - the name of my blog is Procrastination REHAB!   Rehab as in rehabilitation, as in rehabilitation centers. It's all so clear to me now.

If any of you need (or know someone that needs) drug or alcohol treatment, maybe these links will help. However, I do need to figure out how to get Google Ads to gear my ads toward the topic of my blog.

Until then, I'm going to try to add all of the links to good sites/blogs that I discover on the side of the page.

Gelli Prints - So Cool!

I found the coolest thing on Youtube.  I watched the video, then immediately had to order one of the plates.  It's a thick gel plate that comes in different sizes.  I got the 8X10.  I'll describe the process, but you really need to watch the video.

I placed the gelli plate on a piece of waxed paper. I just used inexpensive, acrylic craft paints and regular copy paper. I squeezed a little paint onto the geletin plate, then spread it around with a rubber brayer. I have cut some rings out of copy paper, then laid them randomly on top of the paint, then placed a clean sheet of paper on top and rubbed across the whole thing with my hand.

When I pulled the paper up, the paint had transferred and left the ring design. I let the paint dry (it dries very fast), then did it again with a different color and some different paper shapes on top.

I also pressed a stencil into the paint of some of them.  On the one to the left, I used a honeycomb stencil.  You can use all kinds of things to create different images.  

These papers would be great to use in collages or to make cards.  I plan to use them, instead of purchased decorative papers, for a the background on a series of greeting cards. (of course, as we know, I plan to do a lot of things)

Locker Hooking Continued (a short 3 months later)

Talk about some MAJOR procrastination - it's been 3 1/2 months since my last post. Even though I haven't been posting on my blog, I actually have been creating here and there.

My last post was about locker-hooking. I did finish a little hotpad.

It's really easy to do and you can make some really nice home decor things. I'd like to make a long table runner.

I bought a book on the craft. It has really nice pictures and good instructions. Hook, Loop 'n' Lock: Create Fun and Easy Locker Hooked Projects
There are so many pretty batiked fabrics that you can get now. It works great because it's easy to rip into strips, looks the same on both sides, and pulls through the mesh easily.

So give it a try if it looks like fun to you. I would love to see pictures of things that other people make. See ya!!!