artsie-fartsie Katie

Mom's City

2012-01-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

(All paintings and images are copyright protected property of Katie,
pending trademark: katiescapes)

Night owls and burp cloths

2011-07-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Throughout the years, some of my most treasured gifts have been the sweet handmade items from my friends. I am definitely not a sentimental person, so you have to know that my friends are very talented in their skilled areas- talented enough to make me want to keep their crafts-hahaha. I have a couple friends that had babies last February, and I really wanted to do something unique and special for them. Here is what I did:

I have about 5 yards of this cool Micheal Miller Night owl fabric. It is my absolute favorite fabric of all time! When I purchased the fabric, I had planned to some something awesome with it...and then I never did. But when I found out that one of my dear friends was due to have a baby girl, it gave me the desire to make her a special handmade present... and use my favorite fabric! I set out to make some cute burp cloths and a stuffed owl, of my own design. It started with cloth diapers and many fun printed fabrics.

I accidentally bought the wrong kind of cloth diapers. Instead of the thick middle ones, I bought the single ply diapers and didn't realise it until I was tossing them into the washer to prewash them. So my original plan didn't work. Instead, I folded the diapers in half, sewed the fabric to the diaper inside out, trimmed off the extra, turned them right side out, and stitched around the edges.

They all turned out so cute! I was very impressed with myself. Know this- I am not a sewer! I don't sew, so this was a tremendous feat for me to accomplish!Next came the stuffed owl. It was a perfect solution to use some of my beloved owl fabric. I looked online at several pictures of different homemade stuffed owls, but none of them were quite like what I wanted to do. So, I made myself a pattern for the different parts, using Michael's Coke 24 pack box. and started my next sewing experiment.I wanted my owl to be a baby toy, not just a stuffed animal. So I added different textures and interactive parts.My first owl's backside!And the front! I had planned for the wings to be long enough to close over the owl's belly, but once I stuffed everything, they wouldn't reach anymore- oh well. The beak flips up, one wing crinkles and the other wing squeaks. The legs are elastic and stretch, and the baby can pull the ribbons on the wings and button eyes.Each owl was Jack tested and Katie approved! (don't worry, he didn't chew on them because they are presents). But Jack liked them so much, he did not want to let go. I think I'll make him one too.The pink owl was the first and has a toy foot and an owl foot. The fabric feet were so dang hard to make, that I ended up just doing toys for the other owls' feet. (the last Green owl still needs his button eyes- I ran out of large buttons).So here they are- My handmade baby gifts for my wonderful friends! The complete projects were very time consuming, so they mean even more to me! The pink owl and burp cloth set go to my friend Chantelle in Utah, who is having a girl, the green owl and her set went to Alison who also had a girl, and the last, unfinished set will go to a mom from Calvin's school, who is also due this month and having a boy. I hope they are adored and used. I was really nervous to give these, but Alison loved hers, so I am not as nervous anymore. For those of you who are receiving one of these, just know that I am not even an amateur sewer, so if the burg rags fall apart after the first wash- I apologize! I used industrial thread for the owls, to ensure their longevity. So hopefully they will last as long as baby plays with them! I had a lot of fun making these, but it won't become habit. I learned that handmade gifts cost much more than just buying a baby gift at the store-hahaha. And it was such hard work to perfectly sew! Again, I hope they are loved, like I have loved handmade gifts I have received!

Well, it's about freakin time!

2011-01-25T20:10:00.001-08:00

It has been over a year since I posted on here, or done any crafts for that matter! But, I wanted to share all of my diaper cake making secrets with you all out there......

I've been wanting to make one of these for ages, so when I had the opportunity to throw my best friend a baby shower recently, I knew it was my chance! Mine was nothing exciting or fancy, but I thought it was super cute with it's animal toy theme. I was at a lost as to how to make a diaper cake, so I looked here for help. My cake ended up using about 100 diapers, not the 60 they said. I stuffed mine with a box of nursing pads, a large bottle of baby body wash, and a soft plastic wrapped thing of baby wipes. It took about an hour, mostly because you have to rubber band each diaper and then tie them into rows.

You crafty people with pregnant friends should try one of these! It was fun to make and fun to give!

PS- I've really been in a painting mood lately, so watch for another painting post soon!

My Corners of the world (may 2009 and Nov 2009)

2009-12-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

(Posted Novmber 2009)

In August I started my Fall city painting, to go with the original "My Little Corner Of the World" painting. I didn't make it very far with the painting because were got so busy as Fall came, and then I covered it with Halloween fabric for October.But I was determined to finish, once Halloween was over. So I started working on it for a few hours most nights.Up close detailsLast night I finally finished it!Here's the pair, up on my living room wall! I love them together!!! I'm not sure If I will paint a winter and spring, mostly because I have run out of wall space-hahah! But I love my Summer and Fall cities!! They are perfectly paired, but I do love the red trees and pumpkin patch on the new one. Each of these paintings took me about 25-30 hours to paint! What do you think of my pair?

(posted May 2009)

I bought a very large canvas a while back, with the idea of painting a whimsical cityscape upon it. I have figured out that I love my paintings much better if they come from what I see in my head/imagination, and not from trying a certain technique, mimicing some one's idea, or such. For now on all my artwork will be exactly what I have pictured in my mind...and nothing more. In deciding this, I have also found out that I have a very whimsical/juvenile sense of style, and it suits me perfectly!

So, after making some quick sketches, I pulled out my huge (48x36) canvas and got to work: All I wanted were funky, bright buildings, kind of like artwork you would see from New Orleans, but in my own style. I also knew I didn't want the ordinary, boring layout, so I painted my city to curve around the corner of the canvas, like a 1/4th of a circle. That way I could hang it horizontal or vertically!

This canvas is so big it covers my entire dining wall. I have to hang my paintings up while they dry or I'm not working on them because of the kids. Here it is about 1/3 done. It took a couple weeks because I only worked a couple hours each night.Today I finally finished! I absolutely LOVE it! Just the way I imagined it, except the sky...I might still change that a little. But the city is perfect. It is exactly where I would choose to live if I could-hahaha! This is your glimpse into "Katie Land." I named it appropriately,

"My Little Corner Of The World."Here are a couple close-ups of the detail:The boys and I have fun naming each building and picking out our favorites.I found that I prefer to hang it vertically because most of my other painting are horizontal. I like the way it fills the wall this way. And I love how busy it is, with all the colors and patterns- perfect. So, here it is- my little corner of the world...at least in my mind-hahaha!

Paintings of October 2007

2009-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

My funky fish:

I have many old canvases with layers and layers of old paintings on them. Sometimes it's hard to decide what to paint over an already very "textured" canvas. This time I decided to paint pretty, bright bands of tropical colors. It's very simple, but I love it!
This painting was for my mother-in-law's birthday. I painted this exact picture about 3 years earlier for my sister and loved it so much, I thought I'd do it again (just a little different).
Here's baby Calvin in front of the original painting I made for my sister, Janell. I think this new one looks as close as possible to the old one!

Funky Flowers: November 2007

2009-12-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

I love it!!! I looked for other pieces of art to inspire me, but just couldn't find anything that looked close to what was in my mind. (maybe it's because it's my picture and nobody Else's, huh?) Anyways, here it is

OK- so, I added a little more funk to it. You may not notice any major changes, but I do. I'm finished now:

Goofy Giraffes: Feb 2007

2009-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

I painted this for the boys. Acrylics on paper.

Windy, Rainy Day: November 2006

2009-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Oils and acrylics on canvas, painted with a palette knife. I love this painting! I love the thick texture and bold colors on the black. It is awesome!

My Sunny Trio: March 2009

2009-12-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

I painted these sunflowers for a ward auction, March of 2009. They did great, with many bidders! I was thrilled and proud!

They are acrylics on 10x10 canvases. I had such a blast painting them with all the extra brush splatters and such.

An Autumn Morning: December 2006

2009-12-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Not the best skills, but I love the colors! This was a practise painting I was painting by following instructions from an example painting. It came pout much differently than the original-haha!

Birds of Paradise: January 2008

2009-12-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

Michael gave me a bunch of, much needed, painting stuff for Christmas. I got huge tubes of oil paints, some new brushes, and new canvases. Everyday, during the week following Christmas, he would ask why I wasn't painting anything. I usually have so many ideas in my head that I just can't decide what to use (rare and valuable) new canvases for. I'm always so afraid of screwing up with oils because they don't dry fast and are hard to paint over. I finally decided to painting something I've been thinking about for a few years.....

When Calvin was a baby, my mom asked me to paint bright flowers for her living room. I really wanted to do this birds of paradise painting that was in my head, but knew I definitely didn't have the talent to pull it off. So I ended up painting her something I just wasn't too happy about, all the while with my birds of paradise picture still in my thoughts. Well, I finally took a chance and painted it over the past couple of weeks!

I started with pulling out all my paints and utensils, which completely covered our little table.

I was so nervous that I would somehow screw it up, or that it wouldn't turn out like the way I in visioned it. I also worried a lot that I would come into the kitchen and find that the boys had smeared OIL paints all over! I called them in and went through all the "no-no's" with them.I prepped the 24 by 48 canvas Michael gave me. And then I set up my easel in the least inconvenient spot.And then, I began! I started with a primitive sketch of the flowers in yellow acrylic paint. I know I probably don't use any kind of painting technique known to man, but my way works for me. I started filing in the types of colors I wanted....Then blocking in the colors with my palate knife. I love to use palate knifes because it is very easy to spread large amounts of paint without the hassle of having to clean a wide brush. When that was finished, I waited a few days then started smoothing the hard edges of the colors. I wanted all the colors to flow together without a lot of hard edges I really liked the idea of painting darker, brighter colors on the bottom half and pastel, lighter colors on the top half.
After a few more days, I came back to finish the flower petals. I wanted them to be longer and more whimsical than the real plant petals. And then I waited for it to dry again. If you notice the hair dryer hanging up , I used it occasionally to help encourage the drying process.

And the wait continued.... I wanted to petals to be completely dry before I finished the beak part of the flowers. I don't even know what else to call that part (the white parts). Well, I finally finished today....and of course my camera died while I was trying to take a decent picture of the painting!!!! So, I'm angrily posting this and the final picture will have to wait until I can fix the camera!!! It doesn't look very different from this photo, just polished up some.............

I bought new batteries for the camera today, and here they are......

It was very difficult finding picture angles that didn't show the wet paint shining with the flash, so they might not be the best photos. I love my new picture so much! It looks the way I wanted it too. I hope everyone thinks it is as pretty as I do?!!!!

Tiki hangout: January 2007

2009-12-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Painting process:One of my very favorite paintings I've made! Not the best pictures because of the glare, but still awesome!

paintings of Feb 2008

2009-12-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Tree painting: acrylics and oil on canvas

Jungle colors: oil on canvasI eventually got bored with this one and added to it:

Artist of the Day

2009-10-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Tyler Windholz My amazing photographer friend, Tyler, took this beautiful picture in Yellowstone in September. This photo was published in today's issue of USA Today (Monday October 19th 2009, on page 12A) Look for it!

I am a huge fan of Tyler's work because his photos are incredible! His ability to capture the beauty of nature is astounding. I love the color, movement, and creativeness of his work. Take a look at some of his other amazing pieces of work:

Halloween Copy Cat!

2009-10-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

I found this photo of these awesome Halloween pillows and knew I wanted to copy them in some way because they are so great. I can't sew well enough to even call myself a beginner sewer, so I knew making pillows was not an option.So I painted my own version of them. I had some old left over wood slabs from when we had slats made for the boys' bunk beds. They were perfect! These are the faces. I know they are not perfect, but I didn't make a stencil for the nose line. I'm not quite finished yet. Since the wood grain is a little visible under the paint, I decided to run with it, and sand around the edges to add a rustic touch. I will then add henges and screw them together to form a little screen.

Even though I'm a dirty, little copy cat, I am glad I found those pillows and stole the style. I just adore those faces! I think my screen will turn out great!

Crafts of Halloweens Past: ghoat makin' with the boys (sept 2008)

2009-10-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

We've been having a blast lately making Halloween crafts! Last week we took on Ghost making. I started by cutting 2 yards of gauzy, ghostlike fabric into squares. The boys and I bought cool ribbons, Styrofoam balls, and eyeballs, and then it was time for crafting!

The boys were in charge of connecting the heads and bodies. They would lay the ball down on the table, set the fabric square on top, then lift the ball up, which made perfect ghosts!
I was in charge of ribbons and hot gluing eyes on them. Here are a few of the final product!
We made a whole bag full, and the boys had such a good time! I think we will hang them outside on our balcony rail in October. I love fun, kid friendly crafts!

Crafts of Halloweens past: Halloween Napkin rings

2009-10-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

The challenge: make beautifully wicked Halloween napkin rings, using dollar store grey, plastic napkin rings, lots of ribbon, buttons, and hot glue! With a lot of wrapping, layering, and gluing, our pile of craft supplies eventually turned into wickedly awesome napkin rings! And they look amazing on our pumpkin Halloween napkins from the company store!

Witch Art!

2009-10-07T13:55:00.001-07:00

I found this piece while looking for famous witch pictures for my Witchy Woman night, coming up this weekend. It was painted by Marietta Apollonio, and I love it! This is my favorite witch painting ever! They are the 3 witches from Shakespeare's Tragedy, Macbeth. I just love how it puts me in the mood for Halloween!

Welcome

2009-10-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is my first post for my new art blog. If you have found me on the web, welcome. If you are already a friend and reader of my family blog, good to see you! I'm using this blog to keep track of my artwork and craft projects. I will post about anything artistic, crafty, or inspirational to me, as I strive to become a better artist, mom, wife, hostess, party planner, gift giver, crafter, and girl!