art-filled day…

my husband and i took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather a few weeks ago and set up a painting area outside. we set up our canopy and our 6-foot table underneath and carried LOTS of art supplies outside.

i love when lawrence and i get to do artwork together; he works a ‘regular’ job during the week, so these times are rare…

acrylic paints in boxgelli plates

i was excited to use my ROUND (!) gelli plate for the first time! i told myself today was just about playing, so i wasn’t worried about finished products, just going with the flow.

lawrence worked on creating mosaic crosses…

lawrence creating mosaic crossescreating a mosaic cross(sorry for the inconsistency in the photos – some were from our digital camera, some from my iPhone.)

using round gelli plate for first time!

i had to get a picture with my new round gelli plate BEFORE i covered it in paint!

first use of round gelli plate

my first print with the round gelli plate! remember, i was just playing with it, so i of course started with my favorite color (Americana’s Calypso Blue from DecoArt), then added a darker blue and got a cool, water-looking print.

first round gelli prints

i used one of my favorite stencils, the random text box stencil from Retro Cafe Gallery on the round gelli plate. i made some prints on white cardstock, some on old (rectangular) gelli prints. i was pretty happy with the results…

first round gelli prints

i’m thinking i’ll use these in future mixed media projects (stay tuned!)…

gelli print

i also made some prints with my rectangular gelli print, this time using blues and orange (i LOVE this color combo!).

i’ve been wanting to make prints with large doilies, and today was the day…

doily gelli prints

next time i’ll use brighter colors for more vivid prints. i do love how i ended up with a half-painted doily – that will definitely be used in a future project too!

i tried out my set of alphabet metal stamping set on a piece of wood, just to see how it looked –

using metal stamps on wood piecebut i had to stop and take photos of my paper mache skulls while the natural light was still right.

paper mache skulls(these are all available at our website www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com, at $18 each.)

painting area outside(my mom checking out what lawrence is doing)

it was a good day. it was a beautiful day to be outside, i got lots of gelli prints ready for future pieces, lawrence created two beautiful mosaic crosses – all in all, a good day.

til next time…

 

 

lots of heart art going on!

just wanted to share some of the heart/love inspired items i have in my Etsy shop

heart art collage

and in our website Arte de Nuestro Corazon

Arte de Nuestro Corazon heart art collage

if you’re a creative soul, i have also been busy adding NEW items to my Etsy supply shop – my 2nd shop for destashing art & craft supplies –

feather butterflies in Etsy supply shop

 

heart milagro from Etsy supply shop

i had planned on doing a blog post on what i’m currently working on – hand painting canvas tote bags, and more mixed media hearts – but my computer is giving me SO much trouble right now, especially when i’m doing any edits to my photographs.  i’m hoping to get some help working out the kinks very soon…

til next time…

happy holidays…

can you believe Christmas Eve is here?!

December ends with me trying to do more painting…

purple, red, gold canvas WIP/instagram pic

excited about the reaction to my hand painted wood ornaments & seeing the last of my hand stitched ornaments sold (as seen on the beautiful Christmas tree from Frozen Ropes Sports Training Facility in Glendora where several of my ornaments hang) …

Frozen Ropes Christmas tree/my ornaments/Instagram pic

and  hoping for a peaceful, no-drama Christmas Eve with my familia.

merrychristmasfromsusiecarranzastudio2013

I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas. 2013 was rough & I’m happy to see it end. hoping 2014 brings lots of love, laughter, and dreams finally coming true…♥

(the beautiful angel figurine in photo is from my mother’s Nativity scene.)

’tis the season – for Dia de los Muertos…

i love this time of year, when there are lots of events and shows celebrating Dia de los Muertos.  i was going to write about it, but realized i already did last year, which you can read at Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead: Honoring Loved Ones No Longer Here.  i also love creating pieces Dia de los Muertos style, like these hand painted & embellished mini wood coffins.  they’re perfect for keeping on your home altars for your loved ones who are no longer here, with space inside for small mementos or treasures.

hand painted and embellished mini coffins, Dia de los Muertos style

hand painted and embellished mini coffins, Dia de los Muertos style

i’m happy to say that the first three sold quickly after i posted photos on my facebook page – so i created more today:

mini wood coffins, hand painted and embellished Dia de los Muertos style

hand painted and embellished mini coffins, Dia de los Muertos style

here’s just a sampling of some of my DOD (Day of the Dead) work on our website:

DODartcollageArtesiteWM

and some from my Etsy shop:

DODartcollageEtsyWM

i learned so much about Dia de los Muertos from Annette Armas (i’ve mentioned her before, Annette of CJ’s Angels and our Arte de Nuestro Corazon business partner).  she creates Dia de los Muertos art like it should be:  beautiful, colorful, culturally-inspired, in a way that honors the tradition of celebrating loved ones no longer here.

check out some of Annette’s work for yourself, and let me know what you think:

work by Annette Armas

work by Annette Armas

Annette and her daughter Theresa also have a gorgeous 2014 calendar out right now, with 14 all new images, all Dia de los Muertos (the calendar is available for purchase right now at Arte de Nuestro Corazon, while supplies last!):

CJsAngelscalendars1WM

So – do any of you celebrate Dia de los Muertos?  what do you do?  if you have a related blog post, please share in the comments.  i’d love to see what you’re up to for Dia de los Muertos…