My big Christmas project

by Denise M. SessousJanuary 13, 2017

or, how I spent the month of December…

My boyfriend is very hard to shop for. Usually, what he wants he buys for himself and it’s usually something tech and out of my price range.

He let me in on a secret though, he likes to receive gifts that are handmade. They’re unique, made with love and made specifically for him. So, after Googling “handmade gifts for guys,” I stumbled upon this gem of an idea: a chess set made of hardware (nuts, bolts, washers, etc.)

It took a bit of planning and several trips to Home Depot, but I managed to make a nice set that comes close to the project as pictured.

My boyfriend loved it!

He cautioned me from making one every year though, so I’ll have to hit the creative drawing board next year. I’m up to the challenge.

Hidden Butterfly

by Denise M. SessousAugust 15, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Five: (Day 12) Camouflage…Create or alter something so that it disappears into its background.

First of all, so sorry about the HUGE time gap between posts. My life got a bit chaotic (as life sometimes does) and I’m returning to a sense of normalcy now.

That being said, I decided to approach this challenge in a more abstract way as opposed to photo-realistic. Butterflies have great camouflage, but they only mimic the texture of bark and leaves.

So, I took lots of pictures: a few with my wood blank in front of the background to get a sense of scale and a ton of the tree with the vines. I cut the photos apart and the decoupaged them to the blank.

Unfortunately, so much time had passed between when I started this project and when I finished that the lighting had changed. And in hindsight, I should have used the photos that’s came out more “yellow” than the ones that came out more “blue.” But, she seems to blend pretty well.

Pages of a Book-er-fly

by Denise M. SessousJune 1, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Three: (Day 8) Transform an old book into something new by cutting, folding, gluing and so on.

So, I absolutely needed a book that I don’t care about. All the books I own are ones I want to keep. So, it’s off to a thrift store…thank you 2nd and Charles for your free book bins.

The first idea I had was to cut away the page edges or the center (like a book safe) so when the book is opened, there’s a butterfly shape.

The second idea was inspired by a recent trip to a shabby-chic consignment shop. There were a few wreaths on display made from old sheet music rolled into cone shapes.

Then, I discovered book folding…and that was all she wrote. A few YouTube tutorials and and couple of hours on Photoshop later, I had a plan and a template. I ran out of pages on my first attempt (thankfully, I picked up two books) and now I have a bookshelf-worthy book-er-fly.

Butterfly Stencil

by Denise M. SessousMay 23, 2016February 10, 2017

Week two: (Day 7) Today, make a stencil and use it in your work.

Of course, this will be a butterfly stencil. Ooh…I just realized this is the perfect project to try out the xActo set I just bought. Oh boy, oh boy!

And, what better way to commemorate a new sketchbook?

Butterfly chain

by Denise M. SessousApril 26, 2016February 10, 2017

CreativeSprint – Day 25: Teach us how to do something.

REFLECTION:

What was your favorite day of CreativeSprint so far and why?

How to make a butterfly paper chain, step by step.

Step 1 – Choose a piece of paper and fold it, accordion-style. (Hint: Be sure to make the folds even and four layers max. The paper pictured is 4 1/4 inches by 11 inches and folded into quarters)

Step 2 – Press all layers flat, draw the image you want on the top layer. (Hint: Be vigilant of your folded edges. This is how the paper chain stays connected, so don’t cut completely through your folds.)

Step 3 – Cut out your design (Don’t cut through those folds!). You can also cut out shapes within your image, like making snowflakes in grade school. My design was too ambitious for the tools I had available. Specialty scissors or Exacto knives will allow for more detail.

Step 4 – Unfold and enjoy! You can leave the paper plain white or decorate it.

In reflection, my favorite CreativeSprint day was Cat-terfly for the simple reason that I had fun. It didn’t feel like work to create this and the idea came to me easily.

Save

Gnorw, drawkcab, nwod-edispu

by Denise M. SessousApril 25, 2016February 10, 2017

CreativeSprint – Day 21: Do something intentionally wrong today.

Upside-down, backward, wrong…so many choices.

Since my theme for this challenge is butterflies, I couldn’t let this get ugly.

I purchased a masquerade mask base, but instead of decorating the front like you’re supposed to, I decorated the inside. And, instead of wearing on my face, I made it into a hairclip that’s meant to be worn on the back of your head.

I just hope it’s wrong enough, ’cause it feels kinda right…