DIY Keyboard Upgrade

I found a new, and wonderful blog today! I get excited when I find new blogs with good content. It makes me happy. The blog is called Gurlinteruppted. It says it is a fashion and beauty blog but I found more “pretty” things on it.

Anyway, the specific blog post that caught my eye was Does Your Keyboard Need A Makeover? She walks you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to use washi tape and scissors to upgrade your computer keyboard. What a fun idea!

http://gurlinterrupted.com/2013/03/20/does-your-keyboard-need-a-makeover/

Source: designaglow.com

DIY Abstract Tree Painting

A few weeks ago, during Make Something Mondays, you guys voted for a tutorial on an abstract tree painting so here it is! It isn’t exactly the same as the one I showed you before but it is similar. Just remember that it is abstract and that it can be anything that you want it to. It all comes from your imagination.

Things You Will Need:
Water
Canvas
Paint (acrylic)
Paint brushes

Step 1:

Paint a section, about 3/4 down the canvas, and paint it brown. I combined a light brown and a dark brown.

Step 2:

This step is optional.

Paint a layer of gesso over the top 3/4 of the canvas.

Step 3:

Start painting a streak along the line of your designated ground. This will keep the paint from bending together.

Step 4:

Start to paint your sky. Don’t spend a lot of time on this though. The goal here is just to get some color on the canvas so that you don’t see white between the leaves in the final painting.

Step 5:

Paint an outline of a tree on one side of your canvas. Remember that the majority of this tree will be covered with leaves as well, so if you are going to focus on making it look good, focus on the bottom.

Step 6:

Start to fill in your tree. I used one shade of brown and a small brush so that when I painted, it made a texture like in the image above.

Step 7:

Paint some roots for your tree.

Step 8:

Get a lot of paint on a medium-sized brush and dab it on the canvas. It should look something like the above.

A little texture is a good thing.

Step 9:

Randomly spread some leaves out on the canvas. Avoid the tree for now since the paint is still wet.

Step 10:

Add set of leaves in a different color.

Step 11:

Continue step 10 for several more colors.

Step 12:

When the canvas is filled up but has a bit of space left, go back through with other  colors and fill in the negative space. Don’t forget the ground!

Voila! Hope you enjoyed this one!

Happy Monday!!!

Duct Tape Prom Attire = $10,000 Scholarship!

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Content

This is the coolest scholarship I’ve ever seen! Students are encouraged to create prom dresses and tuxes with duct tape. If they had this scholarship when I was in high school (provided I knew about it), I would’ve been all over that! Anyway, the winner(s) receive $10,000. You can apply solo or as a couple. Applicants have to submit a photo of themselves in their prom attire to be considered. The finalists are chosen based on workmanship, originality, use of color, accessories, and use of duct tape. Check out the rules if you are interested. Warning, they are a bit lengthy.

Let’s get to the fun part… The duct tape prom dresses and tuxes!

It is unbelievable, the talent that goes into these prom outfits! Take a look at the gallery; there are a ton of couples and singles that have created dresses and tuxes for the scholarship.

What a way to bond with your prom date. Not to mention, these kids probably saved themselves, or their parents, hundreds of dollars. Who needs designer dresses anyway?!

 

 

 

 

Animal Tire Sculptures by Yong Ho Ji

These animal-like tire sculptures just blew my mind!!! I keep looking at them in amazement. How did the artist, Yong Ho Ji, cut the tire so perfectly, and mold it so precisely, that it created a familiar creature. Holy cow, I can’t get over these! That is how you can tell he is a good artist. When you sit there and stare. There are a billion questions running through your mind, but you can’t come up with an answer to any of them. What he has created is so intriguing that you can’t take your eyes off of it, you can’t figure out how it works.

The tire sculpture process is an interesting one. First, the artists sculpts his form out of clay and wire. When the initial design is perfected, he makes a plaster mold and then, makes a resin sculpture. The tires are added afterwards.

Yong Ho Ji is a Korean artist. He was inspired to make tire sculptures because of a childhood memory of the spare tire on his family’s Jeep Wrangler. The jeep was symbolic of the distinct contrast to his rural home. It was the link between environment and industrialization.

So, the animal sculptures aren’t made entirely of tires, but they are still breathtaking.

Images ©  Yong Ho Ji

Converse Shoes

Converse sneakers.

DIY Heart-Shaped Wire Earrings

I thought I would give this DIY wire earring attempt another shot. I didn’t do all that well last time but I really enjoy the idea of beaded wire earrings so I tried some heart-shaped ones this time. You know what they say… practice makes perfect but I’m thinking that I’m going to need a lot of practice to get where I want to be with this art form. I hope you enjoy this one!

 

Things You Will Need:
Beads
Earring accessories
Flat-nosed pliers
Round-nosed pliers
16 Gauged wire
Wire cutters (if your flat-nosed pliers don’t have them built in)

Step 1:

Using your round-nosed pliers, make a swirl out of the wire (facing inward).

Step 2:

Move a little ways down the wire and bend it upward like in the image above. This will be the bottom of your heart.

Step 3:

Move up the wire and bend it inward toward the swirl. Make sure you bend it where the top of the bend and the top of the swirl will be somewhat even/level.

Step 4:

Bend the wire straight up so that you have something of a heart shape.

Step 5:

Add on your choice of beads.

Step 6:

Bend the top of the wire in a circular fashion to create a loop at the top of the wire. I cut my wire shorter before I twisted it so that I wouldn’t have to do it afterwards. Up to you though.

Step 7:

Add on your attachment.

Step 8:

Add on the earring.

And you are done! It sounds a lot harder than it is because of all of the steps, but when you get the hang of bending the wire it isn’t so bad. Hope you guys enjoyed my tutorial.

FYI: Next week will be the tree painting tutorial that you all voted to see about 2 weeks ago during the abstract painting tutorial. I only got 9 votes but I didn’t get anyone saying they didn’t want to see it. Good enough for me.

If there is anything else you want to see let me know!

Happy crafting!

Brilliant Coffee Mug Design

I drink coffee just about every day. It isn’t just the caffeine; I actually enjoy the taste of black coffee. If you drink coffee at work, you likely have spilled it at some point. And when you spill it, it can never be a small drip, its always enough to leave a massive brown stain on your desk or papers. I know you know what I am talking about. Even if I move my papers, I still manage to get drips on them.

You know what is Brilliant? A designer by the name of Designer: Kim Keun Ae gives us a solution to the problem.  He took an every-day mug and inserted a small grove around the cup. This allows the coffee drips to fall into that crevices rather than make its way to your papers.As you can see, I am all about this coffee mug, but I am curious as to why it took so long for someone to design this. It seems like such a simple and obvious concept, yet I am infatuated with it. I guess inventions are made when theres a need for the product.

Moss Graffiti: Boredom Buster

Have you ever seen moss graffiti before? I’ve seen in on Pinterest before but I honestly thought it was all photoshopped… you can’t make moss gross like that. Making the photo in Photoshop would be so easy too, so I just dismissed that as the only option. Well, I was wrong. I was looking around on The Bored Ninja today and accidentally found a tutorial on how to make it. Now, that is exciting! Turns out, it is environmentally friendly as well.

It kind of reminds me a chia pet…

If you want to make it you will need:
Moss
Water
Bucket
Blender
Buttermilk
Paint brush
Spray bottle
Retention gel

Images © The Bored Ninja

Awesome Tree House For Kids… Or You

I Found a post on Eilas Photography’s Blog and thought it was inspiring, in a different kind of way. This married couple promised their kids a tree house. So, the father, apparently a creative individual, decided to put together this amazing structure. I’m not sure how long it took to put it together, or even if they had planned a timeframe, but it looks like there was a ton of detail and thought put into it. This is not your cookie-cutter tree house!

Check out the blog for more details and pictures. There are a ton of great images on there!

Photos © 2013 eilasblog.com

Realist Figure Paintings by Omar Ortiz

Omar Ortiz was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 1977. He finds inspiration to paint from the beauty of the human figure, mainly the female figure. He studied graphic design but decided to focus on his passion for painting. He did his very first oil painting in 2002 in a class with a teacher who he now considers his mentor.

Yes, these are all oil paintings and they are breathtaking! The wow factor is never-ending for me.

I took a figure drawing class in college and I loved it. We drew nude models for the three hour class and it was such a learning experience for me. Drawing different people with different body types, muscles structure, bone structure was amazing. These oil paintings remind me of that class and only brings back good memories.

I strongly encourage you to check out Omar’s blog (on WordPress). It is written in spanish but don’t let that deter you from exploring. The posts are mainly pictorial so even if you can’t read it, you will not be disappointed.