It's a brand new year already!

Hope your New Year is filled with creative joy! 

I am excited to say that I am filling my year with creative joys. 

One being The Documented Life Project for the second year. 

I loved it last year! This year proves to be even more rewarding as last. Today is the first day and already there are 4 videos to watch with some great techniques. This is a free and fun time! I think you should join if you haven't already. 

The second being Life Book.

I have wanted to do Life Book for two years and have not been able too. This year I am doing it! So excited because there are so many great Artists lined up. I follow many of their blogs. 

I also have to thank my lovely Husband for giving me a new computer so I can blog more! Yay! Happy New Year! 

Love,

Chandra

Creative Spark!

Thanks to Kristen from Twinkle Twinkle  I am inspired with a creative spark to make art, jewelry and whatever comes to mind, in color. She is hosting "Summer of Color Artists Choice 2013" every week she has a poll on color combos and we all vote then make something creative with the colors. This is the first week.

 The colors are-

Citron Green & Turquoise.

I decided to make an art piece.

I started with a gelli print I had made last month in my shop. It had some of the colors as you can see.

I added this Dylusions spray in citron green and used this beautiful Lumiere sparkly dark turquoise.

 Shelf liner from the kitchen is great for texture.

I also used a circle punchinella with the spray.

I got paint all over my fingers looks like mermaid skin.

I used these supplies. I love the Lumiere metallic to make a turquoise to paint this paper for the blind it has such neat texture bumps. 

I cut this paper up into circles and funny swirly shapes.

This was my watercolor paper I used underneath the others to avoid paint on my desk. It turned out neat so I used it as the background paper.

I then glued all the shapes down. I drew a woman and flowers on the circles as well as a bird wheel, waves, and a little boarder.

I randomly drew some cards from my Wayne Dyer inner wisdom deck and these lovely sayings came to me. I have had some things in my life that appeared to be problems but I realized they were my negative thoughts. These quotes really drove it home to me. Above her head it says-

" I work on my problems, and release them." 

In the swirl it says-

"Anything that bothers you is only a problem within only you can experience it and only you can correct it." 

I had more words but I wasn't sure where to put them so I laid them down all over the place trying to find the right composition.

They landed on the gelli print-

" I trust the perfection of the universe."

Send out love and harmony, put your mind and body in a peaceful place, and then allow the universe to work in the perfect way it knows how."

Finally it came together I outlined the words and added the word TRUST to the bottom as a reminder that whatever is happening in my life I can trust it has a lesson and meaning. My thoughts about it might not be true and so I should question those and try to stay positive. Art does heal! :)

This is so fun I can't wait to see what next weeks color is, my guess is it might be watermelon and tangerine? These sound like wonderful colors. 

Have a great day!

Love,

Chandra

I love your comments :) thanks for leaving them!

Ready for the New Year!

I am so ready for the New Year 2013! This year is going to be awesome! I feel it in my bones. As you can tell I have changed the look of my blog. The background is tan and I have made a banner above of me teaching, my jewelry, art and collage from the past year. This is just the beginning. I plan on many more changes for this year.

My Business is changing. I am looking into creating a wonderful space in The Cozy Craft Corner for Artists. A community of Artists with similar goals. It will be a membership shop. Where you join and have many perks to the membership. Perks are; your own space in the shop to sell your goods, one class teaching a month, you get to be part of an amazing group of Artists, have a community of creativity, get to work in the shop! You get your art out there and join in a creative community. I am still working on this and fine tuning it. So keep an eye out for more details in January 2013.


I took Kelly Rae's business class and have learned so much, met many new friends and felt a movement in energy towards future goals. I learned that I love mixed media art and have been doing it I just didn't know what it was called. I have started a mixed media group on meetup. To learn more about it, and meet other artists. I couldn't find anything in Sacramento about mixed media. So I am creating it! This already has so much interest I am excited to see how it turns out. I have various mixed media classesat the shop already Artist Trading Cards, Journals, Collage and this month we are going to do a collage for what we want in this coming year, like a treasure map or vision board. It has many names but all the same effects. You gather pictures from magazines and create your future. If you visualize what you want it will come. manifestation is a powerful tool! This is one of the ways my shop came about.

Here is my piece I worked on in the meetup!

I also have my jewelry classes on meetup under wire wrap jewlery. The jewelry classes are earrings, bracelets, pendants and rings.
I might throw in a few beaded bracelets and necklaces. I know I have had many comments on this necklace that is beaded and woven in a graduated color scheme.

Personally I am so happy to be able to do what I love! Create Art! I love making ATCs and have a great group to trade with. I am creating more inspirational card decks, these are so fun! I am dabbling in mixed media art. I am making an art journal. I am signed up for a book group where we read The Artists Way and take a month to do each chapter. I am hoping to take Life Book

 I have not signed up yet, I will soon. I am teaching Dharma again, Prayers for World Peace and a Mala class. I am creating more jewelry and growing a business. How fun! I am really looking forward to this year and what it has to offer me and all those around me. I hope to do everything with ease, patience and love.

Happy New Year!

Chandra

Mixed Media Meet Up

 We had a wonderful time at our Mixed Media Meet up! I and two other women talked about how we came to make mixed media art, what supplies we have and how to use them. We each learned something from one another, traded supplies and enjoyed learning more about each other. This is exactly what I am looking to create at The Cozy Craft Corner. A group of people who support each other, create art and enjoy our time together. Here are some pictures I would like to share.

my supplies

my journal page that I used up the left over paint on

Here are some of the beginnings to our mixed media art projects we worked on in this meetup.

                                                

                                                                my painting

another page in my journal where I used the left over paint

my hand with paint on it

 Happy creating come and join us in our Mixed Media Meetup here!

Happy New Year!

Chandra

Berries and Leaves I made!

I decided it was time for a challenge! I am a member of Artisan Whimsy a creative bead chat. I am up for the challenge. I love berries and leaves. I have some beautiful beads that I thought looked like berries so I wired them together. I could not stop making berries! Here they are... 

This was my first attempt, I love the color of these beads!

It turned into an interesting necklace!

I love the heart on top of the bale and the cork screw wire.

It looks a lot like grapes instead of berries. What do you think? I like the bright colors.

My second attempt turned out crazy, abstract and weird. I thought I'd try something new, it turned out different for sure!

Those are supposed to be leaves but  I think they look more like wings.

 My favorite berry is Blackberries! So I decided I'd make some with my lovely garnets. They look yummy, don't you think? Maybe these look a little like grapes as well...

I was thinking about berries and birds came to mind. I had bought this metal bird loop a while back so I made little black berries dangling from below. 

I added green leaves and blue beads for the sky.

Now what do I enter into the challenge? 

Come check it out and see what other jewelry Artists have made.

Artisan Whimsy

Have a berry nice day!

Chandra

Beautiful beads turned into a mixed media necklace!

Beautiful beads I have gathered around this lovely pendant face by Beadfreaky on Etsy.

Here is what was in my bead tray! Garnets, yellow pearls, green and brown agate, a silver heart, buttons, glass beads, teardrop glass beads, silver seed beads, stars, sweet little silver beads. Wire and other fun things. I wanted to try creating whatever came to mind...

 I got to bending the wire and making the pendant. I wanted to try adding some material this yellow was just right. It looked like hair. The wire wanted to wrap around to look like orbiting planets so I added a few beads, spirals and screws.

 It all started coming together. I added the button and star wrapping the beads. Then this piece popped out at me and said, "Add me!     It reads Create & Be Inspired!    Perfect for this necklace. I had been wanting to try wrapping a pendant that connects on both sides. It worked! Stringing the garnets and silver seed beads was next. I added a few of the green and brown agate they are cut to sparkle!

Here is the finished product a mixed media necklace.

Have a great day!

Chandra

Wire Wrap Bracelet Tutorial

Make your very own wire wrap bracelet with this easy tutorial.

Supplies you will need:

Beautiful Beads

Wire 16 gage (I used aluminum in gold)

Wire 24 gage ( I use BeadSmith gold)

Round nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

WIre cutters

A file (I use an old metal file because it is easy to hold)

1st Step

Cut your 16 gage wire into two pieces for the frame. Depending on the size of the wrist anywhere from 7 to 12 inches. Remembering to measure extra for the swirls and waves.
Cut another two pieces for the clasp. 12 inches for the swirls.

2nd Step 

File down all the edges of the wire so they are smooth.

3rd Step

Making the clasp.

Take the wire you cut for the clasp and bend into a circle. Then using your round nose pliers, curl up the ends into a spiral. Start at the very end pinch the wire and roll in toward the circle. Do this on both sides. 

Then do the same as above for the other side of the clasp. Fold over this clasp's circle to make the hook. I didn't take enough pic's but here is a link to a tutorial of The Garden Gate Clasp, from Art Bead Scene Blog.

4th Step

Bend your frame into waves or spirals. This is where you can get creative. I just waved mine.

Then you wrap 24 gage wire on the end of the two frames. Starting on one side and going along to the other side. Place beads on the 24 gage wire and wrap around the frame wherever you like. 

5th Step

Put the two frame wires into the swirls of your clasp and bend over the top with your round nose pliers.

Connect the clasps on each end this way.

Your done!

Clasp to your wrist.

Enjoy!

Have a happy wire wrapping day!

Chandra