Elise Engh Studios: May 2013

Organic Art

I could call this "pressed flower art", but Organic Art sounds better to me......

I used some dried snapdragons, a paper butterfly and a dried leaf butterfly for this piece. Like my other butterfly art, I used photo stickers to keep the different pieces in place on watercolor paper.

Feathers in my Yard

Yep, I'm painting feathers now! I've been loving the feather trend for a while, so why not? They're so fun to paint with watercolors!

I just happened to find both of these feathers in my yard (on separate days), pretty lucky huh?! The rooster feather is gorgeous and I have no idea how it found it's way to me, but I'm glad it did :)

Handmade Vacation Souvenirs

I've never been the type to spend lots of money on vacation souvenirs...... I'm kinda cheap like that. So this time, we decided to make our own souvenirs! I picked up a few stones from Ocean Beach and brought them home.

We washed them and painted scenes from our vacation on them with acrylic paints, then labeled them on the back! It's a fun way to remember all the good times we had and the beautiful ocean!

This one is supposed to be a peacock feather, if you can't tell... haha! I loved seeing the peacocks run wild at Irvine Park! They're gorgeous!

Photo of the Week

Happy Memorial Day!

We "camped" in our backyard over the weekend, which wasn't so bad! If you get uncomfortable in the night, your own bed is not too far away :) We had the most fun just hanging out in the tent, eating popcorn, and being silly before we went to bed. I love these two guys!

P.S. Please ignore the blurriness of my photo this week. It's not the best quality, but it captures the moment--- so there ya go.....

Paper Butterfly Art Tutorial

My butterfly paper punch is one of my favorite craft tools. I seriously can't get enough of making tiny paper butterflies, even if I don't know what to do with them all! haha! They're just pretty so I keep making them! Maybe I'm a little addicted :)

Here's an idea I came up with to use some of them up........

Paper Butterfly Art Tutorial

Materials:

Card Stock or Watercolor Paper - cut to desired size

Other colored or decorative patterned papers

Butterfly paper punch (optional- you can make this without it, but this makes it much easier)

Photo Stickers

Ballpoint Pen

Step 1: Using a butterfly paper punch, cut out butterflies of different colors and patterns. I used two plain colored papers and then some fun patterned paper I made before by stamping with watercolors.

If you don't have a butterfly punch, cut butterflies out of paper by folding the paper in half and and cutting the shape of a butterfly's wing out of it- similar to cutting paper hearts. You can find a tutorial for butterflies HERE.

Step 2: Arrange your paper butterflies on your card stock paper. You can line them all up in rows or place some in a corner and have them flying up from there to make it more interesting.

Step 3: One by one, place a photo sticker on the back of each butterfly and press it into place on the card stock. I had to cut the photo stickers in half for them to fit my butterflies.

Step 4: After you have all the butterflies stuck on your paper, you can add a little more interest by drawing the antennae with a ballpoint pen.

Step 5: Don't forget to sign your masterpiece!

Ready for a new free crochet pattern? Here's a fun one I came up with for summer!

9 Petal Summer Flower Motif

Materials: Any yarn of choice

Any size crochet hook

Darning needle

Abbreviations: ch = chain

sl st = slip stitch

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

dc = double crochet

st = stitch

sts = stitches

Round 1: ch 12, sl st into first ch to form a ring.

Round 2: ch 1, work 18 sc into ring, sl st in first sc to join.

Round 3: ch1, sc in same st as last sl st, *ch 3, skip next sc, sc in next sc, repeat from * around 8 times, ending in ch 3, sl st in first sc. (9 loops for petals)

Round 4: sl st into next ch 3 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal. *(sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 3 space, repeat from * around 7 times (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired), join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 5: *ch 6, skip next 4 sts, sc in next st (space between petals). Repeat from * around 8 times. (9 petal loops)

Round 6: sl st in next ch 6 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal. * (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 6 space. Repeat from * around 7 times, (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired) join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 7: *Ch 8, skip next 6 sts, sc in next st (space between petals). Repeat from * around 8 times. (9 petal loops)

Round 8: sl st into next ch 8 space, ch 1, work (2sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into same space for petal. *(2 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into next ch 8 space. Repeat from * around 7 times. Join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

These flowers whip up pretty fast and are great stash buster projects. I've made five of them now and am trying to decide if I want to make a purse with them or just stick them on a pillow. What would you use them for?

Photo of the Week

Love this time of year....... love the lilacs! These are from a neighbors yard that I walk by often. We've planted two tiny lilac bushes in our yard and I can't for them to grow up and produce blossoms like these :)

Hope you're all having a good start to your week!

A Happy Three Years of Blogging

Today marks three years since I started this blog! It's been a fun journey. I never thought I would be doing so much when I started it, but it has been a blessing in my life. It's helped me grow in many ways.

But on the flip side, the more involved I get, the more time it takes. I'm constantly trying to find the right balance with blogging and the rest of my life. I'm sure one day I will have to slow down. We've been waiting for what seems like for-ev-er to have more kids while we sorted through my health problems and now that things are going well and I'm off all my meds, we may be getting close to that! We couldn't be happier! We'll see what this next year brings!

Here are my favorite posts from my third year of blogging:

Tin Can Lanterns

Bike with Balloons Painting

Infinity Scarf Pattern

Ocean Painting on Fence Boards

Decorative Stones

Watercolor Portrait Tutorial

Bag of Flowers

Watercolor Birds

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Blogiversary Giveaway for a chance to win a Giclee Print from my shop! It ends May 23rd!

Blogiversary Giveaway

Guess What?! Tomorrow is my 3rd blogiversary! Whooooowhooo!

In honor of all of you readers out there I'm hosting my very first ever GIVEAWAY! You get a chance to win a Giclee Print from my Etsy Shop!

Details:

Giveaway starts Thursday May 16th 12:00 AM Mountain Time and ends Thursday May 23rd 12:00 AM Mountain Time.
I'll announce and contact the winner on Thursday May 23rd.
Make sure to visit the Giclee Prints Section of my shop and leave me a comment on this post about which one is your favorite and you could win it!
Don't forget to leave your email with your comment so I can contact you if you win!

Mother's Day Postcards

Since I was vacationing at the beach before Mother's Day, I took the chance to do a little painting.....

These watercolor postcards are what I sent to the Mother's in my life. I wish I could paint at the beach every week!

Photos of the Past Two Weeks in California

I'm back from California! Bet ya didn't even know I was gone, right? I try not to advertise online when I'm going away, especially if it's for two whole weeks like this time. Southern California is crowded and not too kid-friendly, but man, is it gorgeous! This trip was worth saving for! Here are a few- ok actually a lot- of photos of what I enjoyed :)

We visited LOTS of beaches, always my favorite, and a few other places in LA,Orange County, and San Diego you might recognize. My little Porter LOVED Disneyland and it turns out that the beginning of May is the best time to go there - 68 degrees and not crowded- awesome!