artist crushes

I've had this "thing" lately for prints. I love them and if I had my way, my wall would be covered in them. Here are a few of the artists I'm currently crushing on:

Meera Lee: I'm so glad to have stumbled upon Meera Lee's work, her pieces are so delicate and girly and everything that I've ever looked for in a piece of art. She's an East Coast girl too, which makes me like her even more. Check out some more of her work and links to her shop on her website.

Ashley Percival: If you couldn't tell by now, I'm a huge fan of the animals. Ashley's work features many whimsical-looking animals, most of which are wearing glasses, and, let's face it, what's cuter than an colorful animal with glasses? Society6 shop.

Lee Crutchley: You all already know that I'm a big fan of Lee and his work. I own his book, Quoteskine Volume 1 and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Volume 2! (Lee, if you're reading this, please hurry up! Okay maybe not because I know you can't rush art so...) He's a great guy so visit his shop... now!

Ashley G: If you've been plugged in to the blogger circle for a little while, you've probably seen Ashley G's work somewhere. So simple and a little dreamy. Check out her Etsy shop.

Sherri DuPree-Bemis: This lovely lady's talent is endless! Both her music and her art influenced me so much in high school and she's always had a special place in my heart. I how she balances the simplicity of black and white with complex patterns and textures. Check out her website and shop.

xo, e.m.

i love lyrics

Sometimes you just gotta play around with some song lyrics and make some fun art, am I right? This is how I relax and blow off some steam. I've been listening to music all day long and I decided to make some art to maybe even hang on the walls of my new room. Maybe?

xo, e.m.

p.s. Most of these fun design'y things are from the precious Pugly Pixel. Grab 'em and go make some art of your own!

easiest art you'll ever make

Here's a super simple craft that's perfect for anybody who wants to add a little, dare I say, pizzaz to their wall space. All that you need is a small piece of canvas, some kind of paper (tissue paper, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, even print-outs. Just nothing from a magazine because the image on the opposite side will bleed through) Elmer's glue, water, some thin cardboard, a paintbrush, scissors, and glitter.

Start out by mixing a generous amount of Elmer's glue with some water. Dip in your brush and coat your entire stretched canvas with it. It'll be wet, this is completely okay! Begin placing strips of paper on the wet canvas, overlapping, if you wish. Cover it in the glue/water mixture with the brush just as you did with the canvas.

With the excess, you can either trim it or glue it to the sides. Let it dry. Mine took about an hour to dry completely, I left it in my kitchen with the ceiling fan on. After it's dry, cut out your desired shape from the thin cardboard. I just used the cover of an old sketchbook. Nothing TOO thick, but also nothing that will bleed. Pour some Elmer's (not mixed with water this time) on waxed paper and dip in your brush. Holding down the cardboard tightly with your hand, paint inside of the shape.

Wait for the glue to dry a bit (you're going to want the glue to be tacky, not wet. I learned the hard way that this makes it run and it DOESN'T look pretty!) and pour on some glitter. Leave it for about a minute or so, then take the stencil with the excess glitter off. Shake off your canvas and find a nice place for it!

xo, e.m.