In The Studio

5 Favorite Projects for Gauche Alchemy

In The Studio

I’ve been part of the Gauche Alchemy team for a little over two years, now, and I’ve loved every minute working with these ladies. The store is now on hiatus for now but I get to share one more project on the blog.

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With change on the horizon, I thought it would be nice to take a stroll down memory lane and pull out my 5 favorite Gauche Alchemy projects, in no particular order…

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The first project I actually started for Gauche Alchemy but it took a year before I actually got it finished and ready for posting. It highlights the awesome color kits that Gauche Alchemy is famous for (at least in my eyes) and I still get a kick looking at them.

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I think this is actually the first project of mine that ever showed up on the blog, a challenge I posed to my fellow Alchemists that we all had a blast with. My little Polly Flanders doll never had it so good!

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I was so jazzed to be the Alchemist who got to play with the Dia de Los Muertos kit first, and this rosary with paper and clay beads and the skeleton cameo still holds a place of honor in my craft vault. Seriously, I love the way this turned out and, looking at the picture again, might do another on a different theme. Paper beads are kind of addicting.

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Of course when a steampunk-themed kit came out I was all over it, and my Steampunk Chef’s Hat gets a lot of compliments when I wear it (paired with my Steampunk Chef’s Coat, of course) to conventions.

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Finally, my recent Curiosity Cabinet was another project that I had in mind for several months before making the time to put it together. I love the way it turned out (a common refrain, I know, but it’s true regardless of the repetition) and it’s another project I want to revisit and make another in a different theme. Someday. First I have to get through the other ideas in my head.

Have you made anything awesome lately?

Inspiration, Continuation, and Gustatation*

In The Studio, Just for Fun

*yup, that one’s made up, artistic liberties if you will!

FridayFreeForAll

It’s Friday, folks: we made it through another week and hopefully everyone rocked their week as well as I did mine! Granted, it may have started slow but we are finishing up with a bang. Let’s talk about the awesome that’s going on over here, and then I want to here about your awesome as well!

Have you ever heard of a Random Road Trip? Basically it’s where you grab your gear, get in the car, and head out with no destination in mind. Maybe you flip a coin to decide whether to go left or right, or you drive on way until you need to refill the tank. The only rule is that the journey is the destination.

I’ve never been brave enough (yet!) to try a random road trip myself, but sometimes when I’m working in the Abyss I find it’s cousin: art without a cause. You have no idea where you’re headed, and there’s a good chance you’re gonna run out of gas before you get somewhere recognizable, but  you keep on arting along until some end comes your way. That’s kinda how it felt to use Kiala Givehand’s Mixed Media Inspiration Deck to create an art journal page. The results of this experiment are now available over on GaucheAlchemy.com (preview below).

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detail shot of my art journal page…

I started with no plan, just those 8 cards, but I really love the way this page turned out. The main lesson I took away from it? Watercolors can cover a multitude of sins and marry the strangest bedfellows in the process. I really must get out the paints and brushes more often!

And speaking of painting, one of the things I accomplished behind-the-scenes this week was creating a sample board for the Gingerbread Dollhouse. Yes, it’s staying pink and hopefully the neighbors won’t revolt, but such is life and such is the direction we’re going!

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More on what went into the color choices in a future Gingerbread Diaries update, but for now that’ll give you an idea (of course, with everyone’s monitors being different, who knows exactly what you’re seeing above, lol).

An opportunity arose this week which I just couldn’t dream of saying no to. A friend of mine is coming up on her first wedding anniversary and she wanted something special to gift her husband. A bit of batting ideas around among friends and she’s graciously let me be the the pen to her vision.

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Sneak peak of a work-in-progress–just a corner of the sketch, here.

As much as I enjoy creating business-related illustrations, those intended as personal gifts are some of the most fun to work on because you get to know the subject or recipient even better, and that comes through in the work. Once it’s finished and been gifted I’ll be sure to share the finished artwork. It’ll also make a great piece for my portfolio (which is sorely in need of an update); if you want to talk about order a commission, feel free to click on the Hire Me or Contact links at the top of the page.

Finally, to answer my made-up word in the title, this week’s favorite food is the Brie Bites from Trader Joe’s. Little 2-3 bite-rounds of soft-ripened Brie that I can toss in my lunch bag in the morning and they’re perfectly softened in time for my mid-afternoon snack, currently being enjoyed with a Cara Cara orange.

This weekend I’m looking forward to seeing the house progress in person, continuing our search for the best Chinese food in Thomasville, and a belated Mother’s Day tradition of the local Parade of Homes tour and dinner out with Mom.

What have you been enjoying this week?

Curiouser and Curiouser…

In The Studio
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Click the image to see the rest of the project!

Isn’t it awesome when a project comes together and turns out the way you want?!

I’ve been plotting and planning and dreaming up this month’s Gauche Alchemy project for months and finally made the time to put those plans into action.

Taking action is a big thing in life right now–we closed on the house, the convention schedule is heating up, I’m about to wrap up my wedding recaps which means I can get back to a more steady, regular blogging schedule, and my birthday is coming up at the end of the month which always gives me a bit of a boost to get things done.

The Video Summit, in it’s last days for this year, is always inspirational and makes me want to focus on my personal business plans–all of them, not just the cookbook side–and with the move coming up it means that our finances will be getting a little shaken up, but in a good way that means I can continue with my timeline to be more and more self-sufficient over the next few years, eventually working “for myself” more than someone else. (Of course, being in business for yourself usually means working for/with lots of someone else’s, but it’s still a different dynamic when you’re running your own show!)

Lots of change, lots of progress, lots of making things happen. I like it. A lot.

What’s going on with you?

 

Words of Worth for Gauche Alchemy

In The Studio

This month’s project for Gauche Alchemy is up on the blog today. I had fun getting back to some simple basics of paint and collage and I have to admit I’m itching to do more.

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Right now The Abyss is in chaos, and the roller coaster of the house purchase is sapping a lot of my energy. Putting together a big canvas of words reminded me a bit of what’s important. This is just a hill, a wall to climb, and what’s on the other side may look a lot like where we are now, or it might look totally different. Experiences help shape us, if we let them (and I’m of the mind that that’s a good thing), but they don’t have to change our core.

Oh, and happy Pi(e) Day! Hope you have some tasty dessert lined up, and if not, maybe get into the kitchen and create a special treat for your loved ones?

 

Is it the Box or What’s Inside?

In The Studio

Or, in this case, the envelope…

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I’ve always been a sucker for good packaging and I tend to save up the fun and unique specimens for future projects. I finally put some to good use in today’s Gauche Alchemy project. It’s a fun, quick way to dress up otherwise boring objects–sometimes it’s those little touches that make all the difference!