Painter's Tape

Have you used painter's tape before? I have, but it's been a long time, and it was on a canvas that I stretched and gessoed myself. Years ago, when I used painter's tape, it worked exactly as I hoped it would. Straight lines, fast and easy.

Two weekends ago, I had a canvas and a verse that I wanted to paint, and I was in a chevron mood, as so many people are these days. So I picked up some painter's tape thinking it would make my lines cleaner.

Side note - clean lines are over rated. I don't hate them, but they have a time and a place. I like things to look a little messy. Homemade. Whimsical, if you will. Maybe it's the gypsy in me? Perfection gets a little dull.

Okay, back to the canvas. So I cut out a template that made it really easy to draw on the lines. But then I spent 2.5 hours - or however long it took me to watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (love this movie!) - taping off the lines. My thinking was it would be quick to draw, take a while to tape, but then be quick to paint, and it would be nice and clean.

Boy was I wrong!

I don't know if it's because it is a store bought canvas or what, but the tape didn't stick close enough. Paint seeped in all over the place! So I had to go back and paint it without the tape, and the whole thing took a lot longer than it should have. I wasn't too frustrated. I always know when I am trying something new, that it may not go like I expect it to. But still... this canvas just wasn't that big of deal!

And then came the lettering. I don't hand letter well. I'm great with fonts, I love stickers on paper, but painting letters? I knew it was a bad idea. I gave it a try anyway, just in case I had developed a skill without realizing it, but sadly, that was not the case. So in the end, I used paper and stickers to display the verse and then attached that to the canvas. And because I like a little texture, I added little pom poms around the paper. I love pom poms! They make fun ornaments!

Here is how the canvas turned out. It is about 12" x 16". I will have it for sale at the Funky Finds Holiday Shopping Experience. Nothing fancy but it's cute =-) The verse is a portion of a long time favorite of mine, Psalm 51:10 - "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me".

Thanks for stopping by! I'm looking forward to getting some good crafting time in next week, so soon I will have more pics than I know what to do with! At least, that's my hope =-)

My Attempts to Get "On The Line"

When I try, and fail, to do something technologically simple, like create a Facebook page, I feel like Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia (yes, I saw it) saying that her son-in-law was going to get her "on the line".

It's Facebook!!! Why won't it let me make a page?!? Apparently, Facebook takes offense to my small business name. I don't know if it's gypsy or rhetoric that makes them uncomfortable, but there was no business page to be had for me. So I made a personal page using the name Gypsy Rhetoric, but I made the mistake of using Gypsy as my first name and Rhetoric as my last name. Do you see where I'm going here? So anytime that I send a message to someone it would say "Gypsy sent you a message on Facebook". Um... no.

And Etsy. Ahh, Etsy. How I love you. For shopping that is. For selling? The jury's still out.

Someone suggested to me a year or so ago that I should sell invitations on Etsy. I totally agree. This sounds like a great idea. You create a fabulous design, that is easy to modify, let people send you info for their event, enter the text and sell them a file for $10 that they can print themselves. I really do want to do this. And I have lots of designs that I can go ahead and get on there, but there are a lot of steps involved to getting that done. I created an Etsy site a month or so ago, but it's going to take some time to get it up and running. I'm hoping to get a few things on there tomorrow.

The thing I have the most fun looking for on Etsy is artwork, specifically prints. I plan on having invites and cards on my site, but the prints are what I am looking forward to the most. Here is a glimpse at my first print =-) It was SO fun to make, and I am definitely in like with it. It will probably be hanging on my wall soon.

I am thankful for all of the skills that I developed during my years as a graphic designer. I hope to always keep them in use to some degree. But what I really enjoy is crafting. The whole reason I declared a major in graphic design is because I loved to scrapbook. Layouts are fun!

I like to sit in a circle of paper and scissors and glue dots and bling and put them together, one layer at a time, until it becomes something meaningful, or fun. I am really excited about being a vendor in the Funky Finds Holiday Shopping Experience. (You can expect me to mention the event at least once in every post =-) I hope that it is a fun experience and that I make a little money, but no matter what happens on November 9th and 10th, the next two months of preparing for that weekend are going to be fun!

A couple of months ago I found some black frames at Michael's that were just begging to be jazzed up. I heeded the call, and they are slowly becoming fun little quotes and sayings that make me giggle. Here is the first one that I did.

If you can't tell, it is a funky little bird, and the text reads "The force is strong in this one. You can tell from the glitter."

My husband didn't get it. But I know there are gypsy souls out there that will!

That's all for now folks. Stay tuned for more sneak peeks of the Gypsy Rhetoric booth!

A Gypsy Soul

Welcome to my blog! I am so happy to create a home for Gypsy Rhetoric. I am a long time crafter and have always had the dream of making and selling funky little pieces of me =-)

And yes, I sometimes type smiley faces. You should get used to that now.

In May, I turned 32. Those of you who have known me for a long time know that 32 is my favorite number. Why do I have a favorite number? I have no idea. But for whatever reason, I do. So turning 32 was a big deal. Big enough to motivate me towards exploring this little dream of mine. So a lot of research, confusion, prayer and hot glue sticks later, here I am. I own the name Gypsy Rhetoric, I have a craft room that has been getting a lot of action, and I am signed up for a craft fair, Funky Finds Holiday Shopping Experience, in Fort Worth, Texas on November 9th and 10th. That is a Saturday and Sunday, and I would LOVE for you to come and visit my booth.

I will be posting pictures of items that will be on sale, and sharing silly stories about this journey I am on. I have no idea where it will take me, but any advice, encouragement or feedback is welcome!

Thanks for stopping by! That's all for now.