Zen Whimsical Girl Mixed Media

Zen Whimsical Girl Mixed Media
Created by Sophia Vida

Just a quick post to share my latest whimsical girl with you. She was lots of fun to create with my Ecoline Liquid watercolors. When I create one of these painting starting with the hair, I’m never sure who she will be. I’m literally creating as I go and have no idea as to where I’ll end up. Sometimes, that in itself is the greatest art adventure!

After her hair was completely dry, I lightly drew in her face with a pencil.  And when I was happy with the sketch, I used a mixture of watercolor crayons, markers and pencils to finish it off.

Next I added a little color to the background and let it dry. Then I added a few Zen doodles in her hair and to the corners of the page. She needed some bling, so I gave her glittery highlights in her hair with Stardust Stickles. I love how the Stickles pick up the color you put them on. They’re so awesome! And Voila! I had a beautiful, one of a kind Zen Girl.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

This original painting is available for purchase on my Etsy Shop – Color Explosion Studio: ColorExplosionStudio

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give Thanks Watercolor

give Thanks Watercolor
Created by Sophia Vida

I bought a block of hot press watercolor paper and wanted to try it out. I saw a demo online where they painted a leaf on cold press and hot press watercolor papers using the same paints. Interestingly enough, the paint on the hot press paper was brighter and bolder than the cold press. Also the texture was different. Cold press paper is a little bumpy. The hot press paper is smooth so the paints don’t get stuck in the ridges and flow more evenly.

I made this painting using maple leaf stencil that I traced with a pencil and painted with Ecoline Watercolor Paints. Once the leaves were dry, I painted the background in a vivid pink.

Next I practiced writing the sentiment on scrap paper until I came up with a design that I liked.  Using a Marvy Gold Metallic Calligraphy Pen, I wrote “give Thanks” on bottom. I also outlined the leaves and lettering with a Sakura Micron 01 Pen.

I mixed a little gold metallic paint with floating medium and added a little shading to the leaves. Last I added Stardust Stickles to the painting and Voila! I had a fun Autumn painting with bright cheery colors.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!!

Supplies Used:

• 7″ x 10″ Arches Watercolor 140lb Hot Press Block
• Ecoline Watercolor Paints
• Marvy Gold Metallic Calligraphy Pen
• Sakura Micron 01 Pen
• Stardust Stickles
• Gold Metallic Paint
• Floating Medium
• Maple Leaf Stencil
• 06 Round Watercolor Brush

 

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Autumn Mixed Media Girl

Autumn Mixed Media Girl
Created by Sophia Vida

The vibrant colors of fall are just breathtaking. I created Autumn trying to capture the feeling of fall. Let me know what you think.

I painted this lovely girl using watercolor paints. I added highlights to her hair with a gold Marvy metallic pen. I’m having a hard time using punches on watercolor paper because most of them won’t work on this thick paper. Luckily the Martha Stewart punches work well so I was able to create the smaller leaves and butterflies from watercolor paper that I painted.

The larger leaves were made from watercolor paper using thin dies and my Cuttlebug. Once everything was glued into place I added shading and highlights. Last I accented the butterflies with a green metallic Gelly Roll Pen and Stardust Stickles and Voila! I had a new whimsical girl.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!

This original painting is available for purchase on my Etsty Shop – Color Explosion Studio: https://www.etsy.com/listing/568192523/autumn-watercolor-mixed-media-9-x-12?ref=listing-shop-header-0

 

 

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Happy Halloween Vintage Decorations

Happy Halloween
Created by Sophia Vida

I love fall and the cooler weather it brings. It’s just wonderful!! I wanted to share with you a few real easy Halloween decorations I made from a sheet of vintage cardstock I purchased at a craft show.

I started by drilling small holes in the corners of the two larger wood plaques and then sanded them where needed. After brushing off the dust, I applied a good coat of gesso to all three pieces, front and back.

While the gesso was drying, I cut out my images. I then painted each piece with 2 coats of coordinating paints and let it dry. Next, I sanded the edges just a little and brushed off the dust.

I purchased black coated copper jewelry wire that I used to hang two of the plaques with. Once the wires were in place, I glued the images onto all the plaques with Aleene’s Tacky Glue. Last I added torn harvest fabric as an accent and also used it to hang the third plaque. And Voila! I had three unique vintage Halloween decorations!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy!

Supplies used in this Project:

• 3 Vintage Halloween Images
• 3 Wood Plaques fitting your images
• Gesso
• Acrylic Paint: Black, Orange, Red
• Black Copper jewelry Wire
• Drill for hanging
• Harvest Fabric scraps
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue

 

 

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Create Some Magic Journal Page

 

Create Some Magic Journal Pages
Created by Sophia Vida

I have a few journal pages that I need to share with you. I’ve published so many posts that I thought these were on my blog but apparently I left them out. I had bought a hard cover 8.5″ x 11″ journal at the craft store on sale, which is always a plus!

The ivory colored pages are a decent weight with a little texture. However, they’re not thick enough to work well with water so I have to make sure to give the pages a good coat of gesso before starting.

Once the gesso was dry, I painted the background with yellow and orange acrylic paint. For a little texture I used a stencil with fiber paste which I later distressed and sprayed with glimmer mist.

The flowers were stamped on watercolor paper that I cut and glued into the journal along with the green stems I also painted on scrap paper. I added a leafy vine stencil to the background with distress inks.

Next I stamped “create some magic” with black staz on ink directly into the journal.  I highlighted both pages with stickles, distressed the pages a bit and Voila! I had 2 fun, fall colored journal pages.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

– Golden Fiber Paste

– 8.5″ x 11″ Art Journal
– Palette Knife
– Assorted Stencils
– Gesso
– Yellow, Orange and Green Acrylic Paints
– Flower and Letter Stamps
– Black Staz On Ink
– Painted Watercolor Paper for stamping flowers
– Scrap paper for stems
– Stickles: Assorted Colors

– Tea Dye Distress Ink
– Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist – Pearl

Spooky Candy Bark

Spooky Candy Bark
by Sophia Vida

I wanted to share a fun and super easy Halloween candy bark with you that is absolutely delicious. I made this last year and had requests for another one this year.

This recipe was created by a very talented lady, Kelly Senyei.  You can you can find it on my Pinterest Board Fall-Halloween Crafts Board or go directly to her website at justataste.com/halloween-candy-bark.

Last year I was lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time during the holidays and purchased a Chocomaker Melting Pot for next to nothing at the craft store. In the past, I used to make candy recipes the old fashioned way by melting the chocolate in the microwave or stove top. The down side was I needed the melted chocolate to stay liquid and if I didn’t move fast enough, it would start to harden. This melting pot has a warm setting so you can keep it liquid, which is a really nice feature.

The recipe for the bark is really easy to make and the variations are endless if you use your imagination!! Visit Kelly Senyei’s website for details and instructions on making this deliciously fun candy bark justataste.com/halloween-candy-bark.

Hope you all have a Spooktakular Halloween!!!

Enjoy!!!

Patchwork Pumpkin

Patchwork Pumpkin
Created by Sophia Vida

I’ve been away for a while and really miss everyone but I’m happy to be back!! My break wasn’t really a break. We had to replace our flooring and as a result, had to pack up the entire house which at the time seemed like a monumental task.

While waiting for everything to get done, I read the book “Clear the Clutter” by Karen Kingston. Most Feng Shui books I’ve read in the past were complicated and hard to understand. But Karen made this book an easy read, filled with great advice for clearing the clutter and getting the energy moving again. I highly recommend it!!

So when the time came to finally unpack, I couldn’t wait to get rid of the clutter. It was amazing how much “Stuff” you can collect over the years. I got rid of bags and bags of “Stuff” that I didn’t even remember I had. And it felt great!! My creative energy is zipping right along again. So now back to art and this fun project:

I purchased an inexpensive paper mache pumpkin from the craft store along with 3 different printed fabrics. To start, I coated the pumpkin with gesso and cut the fabrics into 1 inch squares. Using Matte Mode Podge, I adhered the pieces of fabric to the pumpkin making sure to overlap the squares. Once it was completely covered, I let it dry and finished it off with brown ribbon that I glued to the stem with Aleene’s Tacky glue. Last I added a few fall sprigs and leaves to the top and Voila! I had a cute patchwork pumpkin to display for Fall!

Hope you enjoy!!!

Supplies Used:

• 6.5″ – 7″ Paper Mache Pumpkin
• 3 Different Print Fabrics cut into 1 inch squares
• Matte Mod Podge
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue
• Fall Sprigs
• Fabric Scissors
• Small Foam Brush

 

Spooky House Watercolor

“Spooky House Watercolor”
Created by Sophia Vida

Time is just flying by and Halloween is almost here. I saw a spooky house on Pinterest that inspired me to paint this one in my little 5.5″ x 8″ watercolor art journal. This was a fun piece to do while watching TV.

I started with a pencil sketch and then outlined it with a Sakura Micron Pen 03. The next step was to color it in with the Kimberly watercolor pencils. I used Niji Waterbrushes to activate the colors. Once it was dry I added accents with Sakura Gelly Roll pens and of course my all time favorite, Stickles. Last I accented the cat with Ranger Glossy Accents and Voila! I had a new painting in my journal!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!!

 

For this Project you will need:

• Sakura Micron Pen #03
  
• Kimberly Watercolor Pencils
  
• Strathmore Visual Journal, Watercolor Cold Press 140 lb Paper, 5.5″ x 8″
• Niji Waterbrush – Small and Medium
  
• Stardust Stickles
• Sakura Gelly Roll Pens
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Paper towels

    

Mixed Media Haunted House

 Mixed Media Haunted House
(created by Sophia Vida)

I wanted to create a little something for Halloween. What could be better than a haunted house, right? It needed to be scary, but not too scary. Quite a bit of the supplies for this house were items I had leftover from other projects. I purchased a couple of new things like the bead strand, crossbones and beware sign but that was about it. With everything I pieced together, this is what I ended up with…..

For this project you will need:

– 8-1/2″ Plain Wood Bird House
– Americana Acrylic Paints:  Persimmon (Orange), Light Cinnamon (Brown), Dove Gray and Black
– Martha Stewart Pumpkin Craft Stickers #48-20391
– Folk Art Crackle Medium
– Miniature Halloween Beware Decoration from Michaels
– Tim Holtz Crossbones Adornments #TH93089
– Favorite Findings Spider Mix Flatbacks from Joann’s (#1194)
– Glitter Hanging Jack-O-Lantern Ornaments from Joann’s (#1351-0888)
– Crafting Moss
– Jesse James 7″ Bead Strand from Michaels
– Ranger Glossy Accents
– Ranger Liquid Pearls – Onyx
– Stickles: Stardust, Dark Blue
– Thin white fabric
– White String
– Stylus in varying sizes
– Two 1″ – inchie squares for windows
– Two 1″ squares of copper sheet for shutters
– 1″ Styrofoam Ball
– Sharpie fine point pen
– 3 small black beads (any kind)
– Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Walnut Stain
– Aleenes Tacky Glue
– Glue Gun
– 1/2″ Paint Brush
– Plastic Coated Paper Plate
– Paper Towels
– Container with clean water to rinse the brush

1. You can gently sand the bird house if you like but I wanted it to look more rustic so I skipped this step. Coat the entire house with black acrylic paint. Let dry. Then give it a second coat and let dry.
2. Cover the entire house with crackle medium. Let dry.
3. Paint your roof with 1 coat of brown paint. Let dry.
4. Paint your walls with 1 coat of orange paint. Let dry.
5. Paint your fence with 1 coat of gray paint. let dry.
6. Randomly adhere the pumpkin stickers all around the house.
7. Using Aleene’s Tacky glue, adhere the Halloween beads to the front line of the roof. Let dry.
   
8. Using Aleene’s tacky glue, adhere the beware sign to the front left side.
   
9. Using the glue gun, adhere the moss all around the edges and yard of the house.
10. Make a smaller loop on the Jack-O-Lanterns and cut to size. Glue them to the  front left and right corner of the roof using Aleene’s tacky glue. Cover the strings by gluing a little moss on top.
    
11. Using the glue gun, adhere small pieces of moss randomly on the roof.
    
12. Using your sharpie pen, draw your spider web in the top left corner. Go over web lines with Glossy Accents. Let dry. Note: If you get the Glossy Accents in between the webbing, use the end of your stylus to remove it before it dries. Just be sure to wipe the stylus clean every time.
    
13. Add 3D Onyx Liquid Pearl around hole. Let dry.
    
14. Glue your crossbones over the hole. Also glue your spider by the web and add more spiders if you like.
15. Paint both of your inchies with a mix of black and gray paint. Let dry. Add white accent lines and go over the lines with Stardust Stickles. Let dry.
16. On one of the copper squares, mark the center with a pencil. Score down the middle with a thick stylus. Score shutter lines across both sides. Distress with Walnut Stain and Liquid Pearls. Cut in half on center score line with scissors and adhere edges to the back of the window. Repeat this step for second window.
17. Glue windows and shutters to sides of house.
    
18. Glue the black beads to the Styrofoam ball for eyes and mouth. Push them in a little so they are flush. Let dry.
19. Cut a small piece of white fabric and wrap it around your Styrofoam ball. Secure with a piece of white string. Gently stuff part of your ghost into the hole and glue the back of the head onto the house. Let dry. Voila!! You have a one of a kind work of art!!
    

Thanks for looking and have lots of fun making your own Haunted House!

 

          

Blue Watercolor Teacup Birdies

          

“Blue Watercolor Teacup Birdies”
Created by Sophia Vida

I love working in many mediums but watercolor is always my favorite. I took a wonderful online class by a very talented artist, Laurie May at Creative Workshops called 3 Stacking Cups with Birds and Roses. In the class Laurie gave detailed and easy step-by-step instructions on how to create this cute and whimsical watercolor painting. The class was reasonably priced and I highly recommend it!! For more information on Laurie May, visit her blog at  http//www.lauriescharmingdesigns.blogspot.com.

To start his painting I lightly sketched the design with pencil and then colored it with watercolor paints. Next I outlined everything with the Sakura Micron pens.  After the paintings were dry, I couldn’t resist adding a little bling to some of the roses and highlights with Stardust Stickles.

I had so much fun with the first painting that I decided to try a second one with fall colors. It didn’t turn out quite the way I had envisioned but I love it nevertheless.

Hope you enjoy!!