Make Your Own Art

So, I have finally decided my walls are too bare. I just can't stand it. And I love art. I think I picked it up from talking to my sister, who used to work at the Smithsonian in the Asian art section. About a year ago my hubby and I started looking into what makes an art piece that we actually like. Ok, it's mostly me. But, he gladly participates when I ask.

I would love love love love love to just throw down several k on etsy, supporting actual artists. But, my hubby won't go for that (the amount of money... he is totally for supporting small shops). So, in the meantime, we're looking at making art from the pictures we take or just from things at home. It's the "fake it 'til you make it" kind of idea. (In this case, making it is having several k to throw down on art.)

Here are my two current favorite ideas:

1. On a blog called Deliah Creates, I found her distressed canvas idea. (Also check out her current post on chore dice... I love it!) So far, my attempts haven't looked nearly as nice as hers, but they're still in the works. The great part about this: It costs only a few dollars (depending on the size of the piece) and really not a ton of time per canvas. I also found this site that has interesting transfer ideas.

I'm going to show pictures of my current attempts, but if you want to feel inspired, please check hers out. Like I said, I'm still figuring this out.





2. Magazine art. There was a piece of art I really liked created by the person who wrote this blog. She made a magazine collage thing. While I didn't like it nearly as much as the piece of art that originally brought me to her site, I did like the idea. This is what I've done with it (it's not finished):


I sketched a really basic picture of poppies on a thin canvas. I cut out magazine pages that had the colors I wanted to use. And then I put decoupage medium (the thin stuff) on a small section, cut out pieces and got to layering. It looks way cool from far away.


Anyway. It's been fun. The kids kind of enjoy it, too. And I must add, my other favorite source for art has been the goodwill near us. Some goodwill stores have a nicer goodwill section or store next to the regular store. I found some pretty nice stuff there. Also, the American Cancer Society has thrift stores that often carry nice things, as well as other local thrift shops. You just shouldn't take kids to these kind of stores... I found that out the hard way.

Funny Caterpillar Story

I am, in general, quite in favor of insects in the garden. After all, bees and moths and butterflies are my pollinators so that I don't have to bend over all day and try qtip my way into plant reproduction. I've found that most of the insects I see are actually eating the little buggers I can't see that would kill my plants. For example, even though I dumped out at least 8 earwigs from a lettuce plant last night, I'm not going to go hog wild and start dumping pesticides or try to kill the entire earwig population. The fact is, I'm pretty sure they're just eating aphids and during the day happen to hide from the sunlight in the nooks of my lettuce plants. I will admit, though... I had the creepy crawlies all over my skin for a good 10 min. And the earwigs did die a garbage disposal death.

I have had three exceptions to insect coexistence in two years of gardening. This year I found ants farming aphids on my fava bean plants. I just clipped off the tips of the infested branches, squashed 'em and haven't seen a problem since. (I actually keep the squashed bugs near or on the plant; I've heard a dead bug often gives off a chemical signal that tell other bugs to stay away. The exception to this is bees. Do NOT kill a bee and stick around... other bees come and will sting you.)

Earlier this year I also found cabbage caterpillars. Squashed 'em and moved on. No significant damage.

Last year, though, it was tomato caterpillars. I got most of them when they were young, but at the end of the year when I was cutting down the plants, I found the huge guy above. He was a monster of a caterpillar, and I knew if I didn't get him he would come back in butterfly form next year to wreak havoc on my tomatoes.

The kids were enthralled. They just wanted to sit and watch the poor bugger. I didn't want them to watch it die, but I couldn't get them to stay out front. So, I made them stand a good 4 feet off to my left. I placed the unfortunate on his brick execution table, raised the spade, and slammed it down. Then came the screams.

No, my kids are not so sensitive as to scream for a caterpillar's death. Somehow, I'd angled the spade just right so that green caterpillar guts squirted all four feet over to my four year old. She screamed for her now goopy clothes. My two year old just stood there, also covered in green guts, wondering what all the ruckus was about.


P.S. No, I don't know how to identify insect gender. Is there some psychology to the fact that I identified the executionee as a he? :P I am so totally kidding!