The Art of Well Being

Art has always been necessary for my survival and well-being.  I am very serious about the survival part.  For since childhood, I needed art as a way to escape from some of the harsh realities of life.  Making things with my hands kept my mind from dwelling on what scared me.  I was a very sensitive child, I was told, I could play alone for days and hours.  My solitude was not self-imposed but more of a reality of my circumstances.  Whenever I had the opportunity to share with others in any social situation I was at ease too.  I loved being creative and sought to share that with anyone who was interested.  throughout my postgraduate studies, I turned to my love of sewing to relax. Not only did I have a nice wardrobe to go to the University and to work, but I also designed and made my wedding dress for our wedding following graduation.  Art making whether With paints or threads continued to be my salvation through life's challenges.  My love of crafting branched out into some business, writing, and teaching opportunities. Over the years my hobbies evolved into my present profession, and I am very pleased.

Today I want to share my latest project that I created with the Gel Press® reusable gel printing plate, Stencil Girl stencils, and some acrylic paints by Deco Art®. My project is one of the many shared by the Gel Press® Design Team.  Links to other pages are below.

Materials used:  

6" x 6" Reusable gel plate by Gel Press®

6" x 6" StencilGirl Products Stencil S110 Stegmiller

8" Round canvas board

Coffee Filter

Acrylic craft paints by DecoArt®

Decou-Page™ by decoArt®

Rubber stamps and Ink

Variety of embellishments (EK Success™)

Trim (my stash)

Hot glue gun and glue (AdTech™)

To make this project I made several different prints using the materials mentioned.  I applied acrylic paints to the Gel plate and pulled prints.  I covered the Gel plate with the stencil, added some paint and laid the dried print over to pull another print.

I chose to use this print as my focal point.  

I added some green paint at the bottom.

I chose to use the round canvas board as it matched the coffee filter.  I used some of the same paint used in the print to paint the round canvas while leaving the centre white.

Once all the paint had dried I adhered the coffee filter print using Decou-Page™ medium, to the canvas.

I decorated the picture with some scrapbook dimensional embellishments using a hot glue gun by

 Ad Tech™.  

To finish off the piece I attached some jute string to make a hanger.  I covered the edges with more jute string and made a bow with the same string to add to the top.

To see what the other Designers of the Gel Press Team have made click on the following links:

Ann

 Cindi

Cynthia

Elena

Kathy

Keri

Kitti

Jen

Sandee

Teresa

Gel Press

**Below are links to similar products I used in the above project.  Note, if you purchase through these links I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive compensation.  Thank you for your support.

SaveSave

Ghosts, Goblins, Goodies and a Gel Press®

Hello.  Today I am sharing with you a sweet Halloween shadow box I designed for this month's Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop, in collaboration with Gel Press®.

Here is my project:

To make this project I used:

                                              Gel Press® reusable printing plate (available here)
                                              Re-purposed tissue paper
                                              Re-purposed cardboard sticker box (Dollarama)
                                              Masking tape
                                              DecoArt™ Gesso (black), Acrylic Craft paints, and DecouPage
                                              Ad tech™ Hot Glue Gun, and Glue sticks
                                              K&Company (EKSuccess) Halloween Embellishments
                                              Stickers (Dollar Tree)
                                              Cotton swabs (Dollarama)

I used the Gel Press® reusable gel printing plate to create the print I used in the background of the box.

To see how I made the project you can view the video by following this link:

                                                 (https://youtu.be/vs3UxIOD5_8)

Visit the Gel Press® blog here:
  http://www.gelpressblog.com to see other great projects made by the Design Team, including Me!


Thank you for stopping by, and please check out all the other wonderful projects made by the other participating Designers this month.

Roberta Birnbaum

Ann Strecko Koeman **You are here

Steph Ackerman 

Lynda Kanase  

Terry Ricioli

Susan M Brown

Maria Soto

Nadine Carlier

Tanya Ruffin

Sue Eldred

For even more ideas and links, check out the Gel Press Facebook page!  Enjoy!

**I am an Amazon Associate, and will receive monetary compensation for purchases made through the links on  this page.

Back to School and the Basics with a Gel Press® Blog Hop

**Sponsored Post**Today's How To is all about using packing tape, a Gel Press® reusable printing plate, and paint.  With these three things, I will show you how you can have fun making some cute embellishments and bookmarks.

                                                        Planner/Dashboard for Planner

                                            Recycle a piece of clear plastic from packaging.

                                  Pull a tape print, glue to plastic, punch holes, and decorate.

View this quick video to see the technique:

With all the kiddos heading back to school, Gel Press ® thought we should take you back to the basics!  Please visit each blog for an idea or technique that you may not have seen before!  Happy Hopping!


Gel Press 

Ann   (Here)

Cindi 

Cyndi 

Elena 

Kathy

Keri 

Kitti 

Lea 

Sandee 

Teresa 

Mixed Media Art Quilt with Fabric Elements

Today I have an Art Quilt I made using a product called: Fabric Elements.My  project is part of a collaboration with other Designers belonging to the group: Designer Crafts Connection.

 ******ATTENTION*******ATTENTION******ATTENTION*******
There will be a giveaway. Readers may enter to win by posting a comment on  this blog (below) and the DCC blog (here) then entering via the Rafflecopter widget. on the DCC blog.

Fabric Elements™ "Inspiring the art of mixed media".  Is a product Designed by Rebekah Meier for Fabric Editions, Inc.  The mini Paper Quilt Kit stitch-N-Tear® Technique received the 2015 CHA Award.  The kit includes Osnaburg (fabric), Batting, Textured Foam Sheet, Stitch-N-Tear® sheet, Printed tissue paper, EZ-Steam™ II sheet, a Stencil, Lace, Beads, Sponge, and Easy -to-follow instructions.  Each Designer was given this product and asked to create whatever we wanted.  How fun is that?

In addition to the above-mentioned kit I used some Metallic and Acrylic craft paints from Testors.

I used some tiny drops of 3-IN-1 Glue from Beacon.
I also used black thread, my sewing machine, and some beads from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by.

DIY Pretty Paper Lunch Bags with Gel Press®

**Sponsored Post**
Go Back to School in STYLE!  Decorate your lunch bags in a fun and creative way.

 Hi, and welcome to a quick and easy how to.  Today I am sharing with my viewers and the viewers over at the Gel Press® blog, how I make colourful and wild prints on regular plain paper bags.  You may remember my experiment with coffee filters (see here), now I am still in the kitchen but with a different product.

Supplies:
Paper Lunch Bags
Gel Press® 5" x 7" reusable Gel Printing Plate
DecoArt Andy Skinner Tornado Stencil 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) ANDY106
DecoArt Americana® Neons Acrylic Paints (Torrid Orange, Electric Blue, Thermal Green, Scorching Yellow)
Brayer
1.5" inch chipboard circle (Mask)

The full instructions are all ready for you over on the Gel Press® blog (click here).

I would love to see what other kitchen products you can come up with to use with your own Gel Press®!

Thank you for stopping by, and Remember:  You can't use up Creativity.  The more you use it the more you have.

Dollar Store Deals, Videos, and DIY"S

Back to School requires a lot of preparations, including shopping.
DIY's on the deals I find during my shopping trips to Dollar stores, including Dollar Tree and Dollarama, are gaining popularity it seems.  The haul videos are being viewed more than the how to's?  I find that interesting.  I hope that my video posts not only entertain but inform my viewers.

I am glad that I am gaining more subscribers, and possible followers.  Must I be doing something right? LOL.

Please go check out my channel on YouTube: Annmakes.  You can view my crazy hauls in addition to some how to's and DIYs.  If you subscribe to my channel, you will be notified when I post a new video.  If you have any comments, and suggestions, please let me know.

"Creativity is Contagious.  Pass it on."

Knitting Loom Review

*The Leisure Arts® Oval Knitting Loom was given to me to try by the Leisure Arts® company.  Given that I am a lover of handmade, all things crafty, and just plain creative I was game.  Now, mind you I would not proclaim myself to be the world's greatest knitter or crocheter.  However, I do know the fundamental basics of both, and I have done many projects.  I also own other looms which I have either learned to like or not like so much!  I can honestly report that I do like the Oval Looms by Leisure Arts.  It is easier to knit on this model of a loom.  The oval shape for some reason is just simpler to hold and manipulate.  I cannot explain the ergonomics behind this, but I just know  I like it, I like it!

The Ultimate Oval Loom Kit(sku# 47833) comes with two looms, a stitching tool (pick), and a book.  It's a 48-page book, not a booklet by the way!  It is full of well written and explained instructions with many clear photographs, and includes links to videos on the company's sites.

I have to admit that my first attempt at creating a project on the larger oval loom was a fail.  In pictures, it looks beautiful.  In real life, though. Well, let's just say I have yet to find the giant with the enormous head that would wear my hat!  LOL.  Full disclosure:  I either knit too tightly or too loose,  95% of the projects I attempt usually require a start over and many gauge samples.

The oval loom is a breeze and a joy to use, once I mastered proper tension.  If you are like me and have weakness in your hands or wrists, this is the tool for you.  My hands tend to cramp up during long knitting sessions with regular needles.  Using the oval loom has helped me to enjoy my hobby for a longer time.

A work in progress.

                                                               Knitting is complete.

                                                   Gathering up the stitches to close the hat.
                                                         

                                                             All the stitches are secure.

                                                            Time to pull that opening close.

Thank you for visiting.  Please leave me a comment, and any questions below.  Remember: "Creativity is contagious.  Pass it on." (Albert Einstein  said that)