JoDee Luna's Blog, page 24

How to Make a Vintage Masquerade Mask

Soft and feminine yet brazen and bold; Hardly descriptors seeming to go together, except when you’re making a vintage, mixed media masquerade mask.

I’d envisioned a vintage mask for weeks. In fact, the concept captivated me because I love all things vintage—aged colors of yellow ochre and burnt sienna with a splash of aqua green; ink stamping and amber stones set in an antique heart. I could see the mask developing in my imagination. (For sale on my Etsy Store).

I started the project by gathering supplies and spreading them across the tables in my art room: a mask, acrylic paints, Golden Gel Medium, tea stained lace, butterflies, roses, hearts, ribbons, feathers, and some jewelry pieces.

Then I let my imagination run wild, while snapping photos to share with blog readers. So here are the steps to making a vintage, mixed media masquerade mask. Enjoy!

Step one: clip the ribbons out of the way and paint the mask Unbleached Titanium acrylic paint (Artist’s Loft)
Step two: use your fingers and/or a sponge to apply yellow ochre (Academy Acrylic)

Fade the yellow ochre out so you can add other colors such as aqua green and light portrait pink (Basics)

Stamp the mask with Ranger Distress Ink by Tim Holtz: broken china, fired brick, and walnut stain. The stamps are from Hero Arts and Stampendous.

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Use a different color ink and stamp pattern with each color on the mask to create a vintage look

Cut a piece of lace and use Golden Regular Gel (Matte) to glue the lace down and to cover the lace so you can Distress Ink later to create an aged look

Cut a heart out of plaster cloth, dip the heart into water, and rub the heart onto the mask.

Stamp words on transparent or light paper and attach with Golden Gel Medium. Apply Distress Ink to the lace and heart and around the edges. Finally, cover with a glitter nail polish to add a magical sparkle.

Add paper butterflies, feathers, and jewelry embellishments.

Explore a variety of photo shoot situations as another creative outlet.

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Use lace or a light tablecloth , or hold the mask up outside so you can use foliage as a backdrop.

Creating a vintage masquerade mask is a delightful way to spend a day. Each mask becomes a unique expression, depending upon the message and embellishments you use. Add to this, the enjoyment of taking photos of your mask. When you’re out shopping in art stores or garage sales, be on the lookout for embellishments for your masks. I collect odds and ends to add to my masks and other mixed media pieces. I’d love to see photos of your vintage masks. You can email me at jodeeluna22@gmail.com.

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New Year’s Resolutions

Rose Parade, New Year’s Resolution, 2013 here I go!

I love this time of year! The hustle and bustle of Christmas has passed and a fresh start stretches out before me. I sit cuddled up on the coach watching the Rose Parade and thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions.

This year my list is sliced into only a few ambitions and desires:

To listen, more intently, to those subtle whispers of God’s heart and will, and then to do what I think would please Him
To give more time and money to the poor
To finish my next book
To recapture the writing, art, and exercise habits I’ve lost due to a home move and job change
To further explore and expand my creativity business

I believe a life worth living resembles a meandering river with deep pools of reflection and refreshment, yet tributaries flowing to the sea of humanity. God blesses us and we, in turn, give away to others.

This is my desire for 2013…to receive abundantly and give freely. I’d love to read your New Year’s Resolutions so post a link below.

 

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Creative Gifts for Any Occasion

Here are some of the creative Christmas gifts my family and I received that I thought blog visitors might want to tuck away as a possible gift idea for any time of the year. One special treat was having my daughters spent some extra time with me. We went to see a movie together and then talked for hours. My daughter’s boyfriend, Chad, made me this framed cork board to hang in the desk area of our kitchen.

Other interesting gifts from Chad were these bath bombs purchased at Lush. I placed them on the counter so their scent could freshen up the bathroom.

Here’s a great idea for a gift, a dream journal. This one was from my son, Josiah, and his fiance, Monique. They bought this in Ankara, Turkey during their recent trip.

They also gave me this lovely change purse made in Turkey.

How about a unique scarf? Another great gift from Monique for Elya and Andy.

I love these handmade earrings my daughter, Elya, purchased on Etsy. She’d decided to support other artists this holiday season. The earrings are beautiful and her support of other artists admirable. I’ll add a link as soon as I find out who the artist is.

My stepson and his wife, Jason and Laura, framed wedding photos for my husband and I. What a wonderful gift you could give someone for any occasion.

My Dad got a stretch monkey and gift card in the family gift exchange.

As fantastic as all of these gifts were, my favorite gifts this Christmas were definitely the times spent with my precious family. Nothing can compare with these wonderful moments together.

 

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When Change is in the Air

Have you ever grown discontented and didn’t know why?

You couldn’t quite put your finger on the reason your mood darkened or you suddenly felt constrained, uncomfortable, itchy for something. I sure have.

Often this odd annoyance occurs well before change knocks on the heart’s door or peeks in through the window of our thoughts.

It’s as if God needs us to listen before the message arrives, so He wrinkles our starched shirts and we feel itchy, inwardly awkward, unhappy.

We search under layer after layer of emotional bedding in hopes of finding the tiny pea of our discontentment.

As the dissatisfaction intensifies, we begin searching outside of ourselves; looking for a scapegoat we can blame for the sourness in our souls: a neglectful partner, an annoying friend, a political decision.

I’ve experienced this reoccurring cycle more times than I can remember, let alone count, so you’d think I’d know the drill and stop to listen. Yet every time the rustling of change happens inside my soul, I search in all the wrong places among all the wrong people until my will has sufficiently exhausted itself.

Then the message comes:

A whisper of insight in the night
An awakened excitement for an art form
A serendipitous encounter with someone
A path or purpose I’d never considered before

Yes, destiny sweeps us along into the change God intended, and our soul settles until the next gale blows.

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First Commissioned Painting: Creating Yourself

“Life

isn’t

about

finding

yourself…

READ THE ENTIRE POST…

Quote by George Bernard Shaw

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A Recipe for Creativity

The rumbling inside bubbles; a brook of new beginnings beckons. Creativity’s call to contemplate and create.

Newness surges, rushes over obstacles I’ve allowed to stymie me, to close my art room door, when I’m on the wrong side.

So I wrestle with all of my realities, I’m too busy…need to go to the gym…fix up the house for guests…finish decorating for Christmas, finish my Christmas shopping. But determined, as I am to win, I finally pin the excuses to the floor. I answer creativity’s call and set up another table inside my art room. I plop assorted pieces of possibility on top, and then close the door to all of the things I have to do.

I wince when I look at the explosion of fabrics and buttons, garlands and berries, painted-wood pieces and incomplete ornaments. The clutter grates against my organized self.

Yet, from this mayhem, ideas pop: Place a fabric yo yo here and button there.

Before long, the trickle of ideas starts to flow into completed ornaments. The stream becomes a surge of inspiration rushing forward, sweeping me along, and the hours go buy, and the sun sets.

What is this magic that happens? I muse. When I take the time to open the art room door and enter. When I set out supplies and wait to see what happen.

Yes, God is faithful to show up for play. I sense His grace swirling in sweet streams of creation. I cup my hands and sip slowly.

Then, while splashing in these waters of delight, an idea flashes: I’ll set aside a time to teach friends, family, and their children/grandchildren to salt dough sculpture, just like Mom taught me and Sis so very long ago.

 

Yes, the recipe for creativity is really quite simple:

Take a little time
Clear a little space
Set up a few supplies

And lastly, watch the magic happen!

 

 

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The Magic of Christmas

The magic of Christmas is in the air, crisp pitter patter across crunchy snow captured in tiny white lights, sparkling messengers of hope peeking out of garlands and over tree branches.

I sit and sigh, knowing, once again, why I adore this holiday so. Mysteriously, Christmas stirs the part of my soul that always stays young, a child who never grows up. I’m sure she exists, at Christmas time! The knobby-kneed girl who gazes up at the Christmas tree in wonder.

This holiday transports me to a time long before those impressionable years of youth descended, a time when I believed…in the magic of Christmas…

in the realness of Santa…

in tiny wooden soldiers commanding toys while ballerinas swirl across wooden floors. Mystical moments when snowmen led parades of giggling girls and boys, and Rudolph’s cherry-red nose lit the path for Santa’s present-laden sleigh.

So when Christmas comes around, the anticipation of pretending builds in my chest until the magic bursts through, and pretending to be a grown up crumbles so the child inside can rush out and play.

My hubby and I drag containers out of rafters, hang sparkling lights across garlands, set up villages atop cabinets, and adorn every possibly surface with stuffed angels, bearded santas, and snow people with dancing eyes.

I imagine that I’m clutching the counter of Sophie’s Sweet Shop, eyes round, tongue licking lips.

And I know I’m not alone. The other night, I saw my sister get on her knees and gaze at tiny people cutting down Christmas trees in the miniature scene set under our Christmas tree.

Yes, I dare to believe in the magic of Christmas, even though my adult self knows, full well, about the baby in the manger, God’s gift to us, and angels belting out a heavenly proclamation: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward men.”

But then again, I think, perhaps it takes the heart of a child to believe.

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Home-crafted Christmas Gifts

Yesterday, I pulled a portable table into the middle of the living room so my daughter and I could create crafted Christmas gifts while Mom sewed curtains for my bedroom. The magical atmosphere encased us as we chatted away about creating wreaths and ornaments.

There’s something special about gathering creative eclectics in my family together for a day of crafting or making art. I might struggle to take the time to do artsy projects because I get caught up in life’s many demands, but when one or more of the artists in my family say, “Hey, let’s make something!” I’m all in for the experience.

So yesterday, out came the containers of Christmas crafting supplies, and my daughter, Mom, and I went into the zone.

As I looked at the wooden Santa my sister, Gina, hand painted years ago, memories of our years as business owners of Heartwarmers flooded back. You see, we used to gather our four children around the kitchen table to make crafts, while we created items for our Christmas country and victorian gift lines.

Now all that remains from those years of running an arts and crafts business are the decorations surrounding my daughter and I: the remaining odds and ends of stuffed snowmen with dough-art carrot noses, tiny half-finished angels and Santas, hand-painted wood accents of stars and hearts…the list goes on and on.

Memories of years-gone-by swirl happy feelings around the room and through our hearts. Three generations of creative eclectics who love to make things from scratch; people who believe in gifts taking time and attention, precious commodities these days.

As I watch my mother sew, I’m grateful for the woman who passed on her love of creativity to me. I know the lives she’s touched extend far beyond her children and grandchildren; every person who is inspired by my book, blog posts, or personal lessons, has benefited from this amazing woman who took the time to pass on her love of crafting.

So as you bustle about for Christmas, consider a home-crafting project day. Gather a few of your loved ones together and make some memories as you create homemade Christmas gifts. I guarantee this day will make your holidays very special.

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Deborah Keily Hanson: Pianist, Composer, Teacher

Meet the multi-talented Deborah Keily Hanson: pianist, composer, teacher and so much more! I play her music while creating because her unique arrangements inspire my creative muse.

I first met Deborah almost twenty years ago when I returned from living in Europe. My children attended El Dorado where Deborah produced and directed over 20 musicals. I choreographed dances for a couple of her amazing productions. However, both of us didn’t realize, at the time, that her father was my favorite teacher of all time. Back in the 6th grade, I had the privilege of benefiting from his artistic approach to making learning fun and innovative. Her collection titled “Pianoscapes” is inspired by his paintings.

Here is an excerpt from her bio posted on her website: “Deborah Keily Hanson has a diverse musical background. An accomplished musician, teacher, and performer,  she has performed solo recitals, accompanied soloists from the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, performed at the Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival in Jamaica, accompanied musical theater groups locally and with the Los Angeles Opera Musical Theater Company.”

Her website gives additional information about this amazing woman and her many accomplishments: http://www.hmspiano.com/. You can click to play her music and order CD’s from her website.

She has  performed with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Lancaster Community Orchestra. In September 2010, Deborah joined the Argentine pianist Mario Roque in performing duo piano fund-raising concerts for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Deborah also was featured in articles for Pianoforte. In 2011, she was invited to play for a Master Class with Menahem Pressler. She also regularly performs in the Sara Compinsky Master Class.

You can also purchase “Pianoscapes” and her latest collection, “Seasons,” by selecting this link: www.cdbaby.com/cd/deborahkeilyhanson3.

Fast forward to the future, I’m now working with her multi-talented husband, Jeff Hanson. I just had to share about a woman who takes being a creative eclectic to a new level. Here is an amazing article published about her: http://blog.sheetmusicplus.com/tag/deborah-keily-hanson/.

She also sells her sheet music at http://blog.sheetmusicplus.com/tag/deborah-keily-hanson/.

 

 

 

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Moment-by-Moment Magic

Living a spiritual life can be a moment-by-moment magical experience. One never knows when God’s Spirit will reveal a priceless treasure eyes do not see until the veil of rushing lifts.

An uncurled rose, a baby’s toes, a covey of quail feasting.

Sometimes this magic appears as whispers ears hear while eyes seal with sleep: “You are my precious, and I will lead you in the way everlasting.”

You sense His presence, arise, and in a moment, ambition’s robe slides to the floor; You want nothing more on this earth then to be with Him in heaven.

1900 Storm Memorial Statue – Galveston TX

Often artists capture this phenomenon of moment-by-moment magic with brush swipes across canvas; something created from the by-product of mental musings or brooding over images.

During hard, clay-like days, sublime moments slip through the cracks of life unless one stops to ponder the miracles of nature.

Although 21st Century living tempts us with 24/7 connection, we can slow and sip the sweet nectar of a sunshine-kissed, solitary moment.

A dear friend of mine, Emilie, shared a truth I find returning to me often: “I don’t want to be so busy writing about life that I don’t live life.”

When my compulsion to capture every moment overwhelms, I remember Emilie’s words and set down my spiral notebook and computer and seek solitude.

During these times, I wonder what God would say to me if I were ready to hear. What could occur if I sought after this moment-by-magic more often.

For more inspirational posts, select the photo link below:

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