After a few long weeks with many 10+ days glued to a computer screen I realized I had to take a break this weekend, for my eyes, sanity, creativity, and also for my patient, lovely husband.  I needed to do something creative to recharge my batteries so I can feel inspired again this week!  My project to unwind and recharge?  I started to decorate an ornate wooden mirror that my mother in law gave us.

We painted it a funky pale gray blue which is kind of a shock for the baroque carved character of the frame, and then I started adding subtle enhancements using wacky acrylic colors.

I forgot how incredibly soothing it is to work on a project for fun, to work with my hands, and not worry much about the finished product.  However, it is starting to look rather whimsical and delightful.  I shall post a final photo when I finish!  Am going to sneak back to it right now… time to add some orange perhaps!?

More fun with security envelopes!  Check out this new collage of bursting petal shapes. The texture is quite fun where the petals start to overlay each other.

Another fun project using security envelopes!  Last week we posted the “tax star,” and today we are posting the “security bird.”  Enjoy a playful collage of birds using the ornate pattern from security envelopes.  I’m not sure if I can toss these envelopes in the recycle bin any more.  I am having too much fun re-purposing them.

What else can I make with this paper? Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

What better way to thank my accountant/bookkeeper than making a star out of tax document security envelopes?  We handed all of our information off on Friday and I was about to dump the envelopes into the recycling bin when I noticed how cool the security patterns are.  And now I’m crafting with them.  Here is the first item: the security star!

Squares of envelope pattern:

Folding the pieces:

Then linking them together:

To create this festive star!

What do you think?

A new painting to share.  I have been playing with different techniques to mask things.  For this painting I cut up many little petal shapes in masking tape and then kept layering them on as I was painting.  The ultimate effect was a fun surprise when I peeled all of the tape petals off.

Valentines Day is such a great excuse to make things. Here is a little weekend eye candy for everyone.

Not sure if the recipient of the paper heart is very excited about it?

This heart was created using a very easy-to-follow online tutorial for origami hearts.

A recent watercolor that looks like a whimsical forest.  And we finally created our own J Sherman Studio watermark to use on images like this!