Design Contest Entry

I wanted to share my process. 

I started brainstorming - 

-reading elevates, reading uplifts, reading transforms, reading lets your soar to new worlds, adventures, I thought about "Reading Rainbow" and it's theme song - butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high, take a look, it's in a book... 

and all these thoughts led me to a connection between books and butterflies and then the idea was born!

I started with these graphics and printed them and then painstakingly cut them out.

Then I watercolor painted what would become the butterfly.

   Then I cut out each butterfly.

Then I went in search of book pages.  After researching, I came across the Library of Congress and books that were in "public domain".  A public domain book is one that is not covered by intellectual property rights or copyright, usually because the rights have expired. Once a book enters public domain, it can be reprinted and distributed without the need to get permission from the original author.

Of course, I carefully chose the book and page I wanted to use.  

A Christmas Carol - where Scrooge learns he hasn't missed Christmas

Alice in Wonderland - where Alice speaks to the Caterpillar

Robinson Crusoe

Little Women

Peter Pan - where Wendy learns to fly

Pride and Prejudice - where Mr. Darcy says My affections and wishes are unchanged...

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - where Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas

I painted the body - by painting and then folding what I painted in half.  Then I watercolor painted the sky, creating clouds by removing paint with a crumpled napkin.

I cut out the book pages and taped them to the butterfly outlines.

Then I scanned everything and started putting it together digitally.  I added black around the edges of the wings, with white dots.  I added the words "Reading Uplifts".

This was my entry - the contest was for the Wichita Public Library to design a new library card in the adult category.  

I learned there were 29 adult entries.  The selection committee narrowed it down to three options.  I was sad because I really put my heart into this contest and fell in love with my design.

Have you ever entered a contest?  I love design contests!  I can't wait for the next one!

Mosaic Pumpkin - A New Hobby

 While scrolling through Instagram, I got a random reel of someone creating an amazing piece of art - a mosaic.  I went to her page and was even more impressed.  The artist I found is @sharrafrank on Instagram - check out her studio and her work below - so amazing.  (Sharra - if you're reading this - can we become best friends?!) 

Her page led me to start researching mosaics and learning new terminology and watching YouTube videos.  I think this is the way my personality type likes to learn (shoutout INTJs) - discovering a new topic and then doing in-depth research and then putting my research into practice.  

I bought the tools needed.  Wheeled Nippers and tweezers.   https://amzn.to/3X3xyRX

I bought Apoxie Clay https://amzn.to/3wZcpxHI(to stick the tile down) and sanded grout  https://amzn.to/3Rv3tYb.

I found a couple of Halloween wood forms at Michaels  - also known as "substrates".  I bought some beads.

I shopped at Goodwill and an antique store for vintage plates and jewelry.  

Then I sat at the table one day and started cutting up plates.  It wasn't easy.  But it was really cool to start piecing it together.  

I stained the substrate (the pumpkin shape) and mixed the clay and added it to the bottom and then put the pieces back in.  Mosaic pieces are called tesserae.

I joined a "Facebook community" for beginners and learned there are different colors of grout and there's an app called Groutr that helps you visualize what different grouts will look like.  So I tested different colors and settled on Brown Velvet (last one).  Which do you like best?

Then I grouted and cleaned it up.  Then I added hardware to the back.  

I am extremely proud of this mosaic piece.  I decided to list it in my Etsy shop as this is a really expensive hobby!

Leave a comment below - let me know if you have ever done a mosaic piece before.  Or if you learned anything new from reading my blog!

Easy Butterfly Craft

At this point in the summer, you may be running out of craft ideas - this is perfect for people who have standard craft supplies sitting around, but need a fun idea.  

For this project you'll need:

-washable markers

-coffee filters

-pipe cleaners

-spray water bottle

-pony beads (optional)

 

 Using washable (regular Crayola) markers, draw designs on 2 coffee filters.  I tried leaving white space and not leaving white space and both turned out great, so either works.

Then place them on top of a paper towel or plastic bag (to protect a surface below) and mist them with a water bottle.  It's fun to see the colors bleed and your design change.

Then you let them dry.

Then accordion (or fan) fold each, in about 1/2 inch folds.

 

 Then unfold, stack the accordion folds on top of each other.  Then take a pipe cleaner, folded in half and twist to secure the coffee filters.  Leave straight pieces at the top for the antennae.  

Finally, add pony beads at the top and curl the pipe cleaner to secure them.

It goes perfectly with my other art projects on display!

 

Join Amazon Prime - Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime - Start Free Trial Now