Artful Briefcase

This unique, hand-painted briefcase up-cycle has been simmering in my mind for quite a while. Today's sunshine lured me out of the studio armed with an old briefcase,  masking tape, extra fine grit sandpaper, a clean rag and some rubbing alcohol. First I taped off the area I planned to decorate.

Once the section of the case was taped off, I took a fine grit sanding paper to the taped off area. I didn't have a really fine grit sandpaper, but I used the finest I had to rough up the surface of the briefcase. The point here was to rough up the surface and give it more tooth to hold the paint.

Once I had sufficiently roughed it up, I carefully wiped it with a clean cloth soaked with Rubbing Alcohol to remove any remaining finish I might have missed while I was sanding.

Next pre-painting the area. Mix equal parts of water and paint. I used a mixture of Primary Cyan and water with a couple of drops of Carbon Black.

Apply the watered down paint to the taped off area. Do not let each coat dry completely before adding the next coat.

These layers of paint (I used 3) will appear streaky and should be moved and creased as they dry in order to keep the paint from cracking.

After the third coat, I added the first coat of undiluted paint, using Golden Quinacridone Red fluid acrylic.

After this coat was completely dry, I added a second coat and allowed this to dry completely as well.

Then came the final designs. A few silver and black lines and a peaceful face were added.  This briefcase will be available in my Etsy Store if you're interested.

Share the Love

Found this article on information about love and connection interesting. Check it out:
Ten Things You Might Not Know about Love

Be careful, you might learn something!

Seeing Life with New Eyes

About a year ago I happened upon an inspiring online club offering courses to improve self image, goal setting, body image and other topics. I was entranced by the encouragement and wisdom I found and quickly became a part of the Brave Girl's Club Community.

Found this story today written by one of the founders of Brave Girl's Club, Melody Ross. Thought it worth sharing.

Enough procrastinating. Guess I'd better get back to the packing. Enjoy the view in your life today!

Procrastination Habits

I like thinking about change, planning for change, talking about making changes. I enjoy the idea of changing. But when it comes right down to actually making a change, I get side-tracked. Instead of meeting the change head on, I find myself dreaming up a class to teach or beginning a new project.

I'll give you an example. When the time came to step out of my comfort zone and promote paintings, greeting cards and ARTformation Cards, I turned to sewing. When the sewing projects approached completion, I began needle felting an old wool coat.

I end up with some lovely projects, but the first task doesn't get done in a timely fashion.

The Professor and I are currently planning to move from the idyllic condo we have called home for the past 6 years. Sadly, I seem to be up to my old tricks of procrastination. Rather than packing our life  into the stacks of boxes it will take to move us to our next location,

I contacted a local store about selling my ARTformations and line of inspirational greeting cards.

And wrote this post.