Halloween Candlesticks Tutorial

My monthly Girls' Night In was rapidly approaching and I realized I hadn't figured out a cute Halloween Project yet!  We get together each month and have dinner together, catch up, do something creative and bask in each other's company.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, most of these women are not overly creative, so I always try to find something that takes less than two hours and isn't "over the top" difficult.

Hmmmmm . . . what to do, what to do?  A trip to the "Old Time Pottery" Store in our area for inspiration!  I came across these sweet wine goblets that were about 8 inches tall and had ridges that were perfect little pumpkin shapes!  Note the price.  They were dusty and dirty but with a little soap and water, I knew I could turn these little babies into a cute pair of candlesticks for less than 10 bucks!

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To make these little babies, I gathered the following supplies:

2 Glass Goblets (Red Wine Size is perfect)
Mod Podge (I prefer the matte finish)
A nice flat, inexpensive paint brush
orange tissue paper (any kind will do, but I prefer art tissue because the color bleeds a bit
Black paper pumpkin face shapes (hand drawn)
Black Zig Marker
Glossy Accents
Raffia
Ric Rac
Stickles (I used black diamond)

First I cut the tissue in narrow strips that measure about an inch longer than the point at the bottom of the goblet to the top of the goblet.  Coat the outside of the goblet with Mod Podge (I do a several inch section at a time).

Begin laying the tissue paper on the glass in strips and coat each strip with a thin coat of Mod Podge as shown below:

Continue to apply strips of tissue, overlapping each piece slightly until the entire goblet is covered in orange tissue.  Cover the second goblet and set them both aside to let them dry.  Don't attempt to trim them until they are completely dry!

While waiting for the goblets to dry, use a Zig pen or any other waterproof market and draw some simple Jack-O'-Lantern shapes on a piece of white paper.  Make sure they are the proper size and dimension to fit on the tissue area of your goblet.

Once the goblets are dry, use scissors to trim along the top edge of the glass:

Run a bead of glossy accents around the upper rim of the glass - I prefer Glossy Accents to craft glues because it dries so quickly.

Attach Ric Rac to top of glass:

Carefully cut out Jack-O'Lantern face pieces, cutting inside the black so no white shows.  Paint Mod Podge onto goblet and arrange face pieces.  Cover face pieces with another layer of Mod Podge.

Your goblets should now look like this:

Using green raffia, take a few shredded pieces and tie a bow around the stem of the goblet as shown on the right.

To finish off your candlesticks, add a bit of dimension and sparkle by filling in the face pieces using Stickles Black Diamond.  Allow them to dry completely.

Now you have an adorable pair of Halloween candlesticks!  I set up my studio to get ready for Girls' Night and my friends loved the project!  Too Cute!

NEST

I LOVE my friends.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by the most amazing women on the planet.  Each one of them bring something so special to my life and I can't imagine my world without a single one of them.  I have a lot of artsy friends and tend to hang out with creative people, but one very special circle in particular is a local group of professional women.  We all met and became friends through our children.  That was our common link, but we remain friends because of our love, respect and understanding of each other.  Once each month, we get together for a 'Girls' Night In" where we have dinner together and spend a couple of hours playing in my studio.  These women love the art!  They have told me how relaxing it is for them in their hectic lives.  They've used words like "therapeutic" when describing our evening together and the most amazing part to me is that each of them bring their own style to every project.  They are quick to remind me when I forget to schedule our monthly get together and they get excited when we head into the studio for the "reveal" when they find out what we're making that night.

 I thought I would share this month's project.  I try to theme each get-together and since each of us have a child who is a senior in high school, we all have chicks leaving the nest . . .

I have an obsession with birds in my art . . .

I can't get enough of these Tim Holtz Die Cuts.

I love the tattered, shabby look and always try to add vintage sheet music and old book paper into my mixed media art.

Lovely Sus!  She actually is extremely artistic and trained professionally in oil painting.

Sweetheart Cathy!  Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator and amazing mother!

Our cheerleader of the group, Denise, who is a photographer!

Awesome Deb, High School guidance counselor!

Smiling Shirley, amazing golfer and all-around athlete!

Hilarious Rita! Our French Canadian beauty who keeps the conversation lively!

Crazy Berit, attorney at law!

Berit's interpretation of the project - so beautiful!

I loved this project . . . and did I mention, I LOVE MY FRIENDS???

Good Morning Sunshine!

Just wanted to say Good Morning!  This was the view out my back porch this morning . . . doesn't get any better than this!  I am loving my iPhone4 Camera (when I remember to turn HDR on) but I especially love my new Instagram App that my friend Roben-Marie told me about!  My photos have never looked better.

A good friend of mine (who happens to be a priest) gave a great homily one Sunday.  He talked about how we have to find the "WOW" moments each day.  If we look around and pause to see everything through different eyes, then we will find our "WOW".  This was my "WOW" today.  Tell me about yours!

Be Still . . .

 

Don't know where this week went.  My commitment to blog at least three times per week went right out the window!  I am crushed that I couldn't spend more time creating and tried to figure out why.  I went over the past week's activities . . . house renovations, my son's college tours and applications, mountains of laundry, helping my daughter get set up in her new condo, groceries, bill paying, doctor's appointment . . . whew . . . oh yes, now I remember why I didn't have time to paint or blog!

I thought to myself, I haven't been "still" all week.  I can't create in this chaos.  So I pulled out some pictures of a painting I did for a friend when she needed this reminder a few months back.

This painting brought me peace.  It reminded me to take some time to be quiet and just {BE}.  The world is crashing down around us and we really need to find time and space away from it all.  Time for ourselves, and space to sit and have a brief {RESPITE}.

I could get lost in this painting.  So today, I promise myself that I have done {ENOUGH} for the week and today I will regroup and rest.  No phone calls, no email, no errands, no chores.  Today I will just {BE STILL}.

 Mixed Media artwork created using fluid acrylics, inks, watercolors, oil pastels and 3-D elements on canvas board

Always Remember . . .

I struggled for words to express my feelings this day, the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  There is nothing I can say that could be more comforting than this song.  Remember always.  Have hope.  Have faith.  Forgive.

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

A Cross Through a Window . . .

After several days in the bustling city of Florence, we decided to head out into the Tuscan countryside and do a little sight-seeing.  Besides, my 17 year old son had seen enough Renaissance Art to last two lifetimes and I had to bribe him with a little field trip.  But first, one more shot of Florence . . .

Other than the Uffizzi Tower growing out of the top of my head--not a bad family shot!  My daughter was in classes that day and had to stay behind in the city but she was loving her study abroad program too much to miss us!

The famous and picturesque Ponte Vecchio bridge and River Arno . . .

. . . and the lovely Duomo one last time from across the River.  Did I mention I LOVE the Duomo (hehe)???

Oh, I could just stay here for months.  But as promised, a little trip to the countryside and our first stop was the darling fortress town of San Gimignano . . .  It was a quaint little town that could be walked in 30 minutes, full of charm and a little touristy but sometimes you need a little of the kitschy with the culture, no?

I wandered around all morning with my camera looking for good snapshots of things I could paint when I returned to the States.  The architecture was lovely, but I was looking for a pop of color amidst all the stone buildings and walkways. As I turned a corner into a lovely little piazza, I snapped this shot . . .

 Interesting wall of windows.  Hmmm, I can always paint the truck out of the pic, but a little boring.  I decided to zoom in a little and maybe focus on a couple of windows.  I love the idea of an open window.  To me it represents possibilities.  You know, "when God closes a door, he always opens a window."  An open window is also a metaphor for a glimpse into one's house, or soul.  Yes, I believe I will paint an open window.  So, I zoomed in . . .

A bit better, but still I am not feeling the whole "window" effect.  Besides, when I paint this, my focal point will be the lovely red flowers in the window box so I'll need a better shot of those . . .

















Holy Cow!  When I zoomed in, I couldn't believe what I saw in the window directly above the door.

Look inside.  There it is, the possibility that God is giving me--the window He left open.  In my search for art, I found something much more important.  It was a gift, a truth.  I need look no further than into the window to my soul where I will find Him waiting there for me.  Serendipity at its finest!

Sigh . . . Labor Day Already {or} What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Where did it go?  Summer was just here . . . it seems like we were just celebrating Memorial Day and now it's September and Labor Day Weekend is over and the kids are all heading back to school and {sigh} we will be looking at Christmas before we can blink again.

So just like my son, I will write about "What I Did On My Summer Vacation."

Well, {deep breath}. . .  I visited 9 countries and 27 cities.  I sailed the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Seas.  I cruised through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorous Straits.  I saw Art and Ancient ruins.  I walked in mythological places where pagan gods were worshiped and I visited Cathedrals and Basilicas and Chapels and Mosques.  I stood in places where miracles occurred and also succumbed to a few tourist traps.  I accidentally ended up on a nudist beach in Greece with my teenagers (YIKES)!!!  I took the trip of a lifetime and quickly ticked off item after item on my bucket list.

Even now as I revisit these places in my mind and in my photographs, I realize that there is no way to ever capture those moments again and to try and describe it is a futile effort.

But did I say that there was ART everywhere?  I mean EVERYWHERE!  So as I work on my goal to blog regularly, I will try to share a little art from my journeys and hopefully it will inspire others.  Did I say there was ART everywhere?????

So I'll leave you tonight with a few breathtaking shots of Firenze (or Florence, as us Americans call it) 

My first views of the Duomo--it literally took my breath away. . .

My first real Italian espresso!

Did I say ART is everywhere?  Street artists creating masterpieces - and then at night, they are sadly washed away, forever gone . . .

And what trip to Italy is complete without gelato?????

Just reading this post makes me long to be back there . . . some day, if you can, you must see this magical city!