Art by Debbie Saenz

Mod Podge Monday: Monogrammed Antiqued Photo Canvas

Many times Plaid asks me to design projects such as frames or, in this case, a photo on canvas. They only require that I use the specific Plaid product they designate, and then I'm free to be as creative as I want, Yea! And I love to use family photos whenever possible. 

This time, I used a picture of my grandson, Isaiah Michael. Adorable! He was actually 3 years old in this picture and earlier this month he turned 8! 

The used Mod Podge Antique Matte, one of Plaid's new Mod Podge products. 

I really like the time worn effect it gives to black and white photos.  

In case you're wondering...ok, you probably don't really care, but for my family that may read this...I used an M (for Michael, his middle name) instead of an I for Isaiah. Yes, since it was a Plaid project I needed to make sure it photographed well, and the M worked better visually than the I would have, on this particular project :)

I love you Isaiah Michael! 

You can make one like this too, you can find my complete instructions here, on Plaid's website.

I noticed, for whatever reason, a download for the template was not included with my instructions. So, If you want it, just send me an email and I will send you a file with the template I made for this project. 

While in my local Michaels the other week, I noticed Plaid has a new display for their Mod Podge and paint products. I was so excited to find 10 images of my projects were used! How cool is that? 

Next time you visit your local Micheals, you'll find this project with Isaiah Michael featured in the isle with all the Mod Podge and craft paints! 

Well, I better get busy! I have several more paintings to finish this week and more Plaid projects due soon!

 

Lots to Share...

I can't believe it's been this long since I've been around here to write. It's not for lack of anything to share, that's for sure. In fact, I've been so busy I've had to lay my blog aside for a while. 

• I've been designing lots of projects for Plaid. (Bummer! I can't show you those until after Plaid publishes them). 
• We had a wonderful visit with my mom.
• I had my first ever art show with a friend of mine who was so sweet to share half of her booth with me. 
• I have new paintings getting ready to make their way into my Etsy Shoppe. Soon, soon, soon!
• And of course, a little travel with my hubby with some, as always, jewelry making on the road :)
• I've been trying lots of new, much more healthy recipes and less processed foods. 
• Oh yea, and everything else in between!

My nephew ordered this for his girlfriend. This is her first year away in college and yes, she's missing her little pup Max. That was sweet of Jonathan to think of this for her. 

I mounted a print of Max  on a piece of wood and added Text to make it special. 

This was a little surprise I made Jonathan to give his girlfriend. I hand stamped a little Max tag and Mod Podged a small picture of Max onto a wood heart and made a keychain. Oh so cute!

It was such a treat to have my mom work in the studio with me. I was able to keep her hands very busy while enjoying her company. She was a huge help in getting ready for my upcoming show... and there was lots to do!  Thanks mom! xo

And then, of course, we had to visit the Yellow Daisy Festival. My daugher and hubby came along too. My mom and I were remembering last year when we went, it was 2 days after I got home from the hospital after having thyroid surgery. I was not in pain this year, but one thing we learned, it's no fun trying to enjoy an outside art featival in the rain! We left very soggy. Ugh!! 

The day finally came for the Suwanee Day Art Festival. I was sad my mom had already gone back home to FL and was not able to be here for my first art show. 

I have new items (You can see some here if you look really close) to list in my Etsy Shoppe. Stay posted and I'll try not to make it a habit of vanishing from Blogsphere for so long next time; and if you are wondering, yes Mod Podge Monday will resume :)

I'm currently working on:

a series of paintings...my goal? 12 paintings by the end of October! so far, 4 down and 8 to go.

I'll show you one at a time as soon as I photographed them. 

 

Mod Podge Monday: A Very Special Gift...Personalized Painting!

This very special art piece was a gift I made for Jasmine, my precious granddaughter. Mod Podge was a key ingredient, but the main ingredient was love! There's lots of layers and it's all mounted on a piece of wood with Mod Podge, of course.

Jasmine Faith Walton, our beautiful granddaughter was baptized while we were in FL. The best part was that my hubby, pop-pop, had the privilege of performing the Baptism ceremony. Very Special!  

I made this little charm bracelet for Jasmine to wear on her special day. 

God Bless you Jasmine Faith!

ps. I sell these personalized paintings in my Etsy Shoppe. I can paint any name and add any text you wish!

Road Trip Creations

Yes, it used to be really ridiculous, at least that's what my hubby would tell me, when my creative supplies took more space in the car than my personal luggage...and I don't pack light. I like my wardrobe to give me plenty of options. 

Last Monday, my daughter ran the Boston Marathon. We drove 18-1/2 hours to Boston MA, and then back. That's a whopping total of 37 hours on the road!

To my husband's surprise and delight, on our last few road trips, I've been able to narrow down my crafting supply luggage quite a bit. It actually only took up half the back seat! 

37 hours on the road =

• 5 necklaces
• 5 pair of earrings
• 2 bracelets
• 1 ring 
• 10 felted birds
• 2 books on tape
• 10 states

...and  loads of fun! 

I work out a box lid on my lap. It helps with the get-away beads that inevitably happens. I only pull out the supplies I need for the item I'm currently working on. I decided to work only in brass and wire wrap. That helped me limit what I needed to bring :)

My Road Trip Creations:

I was totally playing here...I need to tweak this one a bit!

I can't wait to make more rings. 

Here are my cute little birdies. They still need wings, tails, and beaks. They are a work in progress. I think they would be adorable sitting in little wire perches...with ribbons, maybe some beads...and oh! I have so many ideas!  I'll show you what I come up with in a future post. 

It was such an exciting day to watch my daughters dream of running the Boston Marathon come true!  This is my favorite picture of the day. Sarah's face says it all! This was taken at mile 6 and her smile continued to the end of the 26.2 miles. I'm sure she was running on a cloud! 

My daughter Sarah with her medal and her very proud family! 

Mod Podge Monday will resume next week :)

Mod Podge Monday: Little Princess Stool and my Little Princess

I designed this cute little Princess stool for Plaid a while back. Made with scrapbook papers and, of course, Mod Podge!  You can download my complete instructions Here: Download Instructions for Little Princess Stool. 

and speaking of a little princess....

Let me introduce you to the new little Princess in our family, my precious granddaughter Jasmine Faith.

Isn't she adorable? 

My son Keith giving Jasmine her first kiss. Jasmine was not even an hour old here. 

A beautiful family, Keith, Tara, and their first child, Jasmine Faith. Tara looks amazing for just giving birth!

It was such a blessing to be able to be there for Jasmine's birth. It was really a miracle I didn't miss the plane from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale. My hubby was booking the flight while I frantically threw things in my suitcase. Within which seemed minutes, we were dashing out the door to race to the airport (after I fell down the stairs!). But, YIPPEE I made it, literally in the last second!  

My daughter and her three children came from central FLorida to meet their new cousin and niece. Here I am with my four beautiful grand kids!

I wasn't able to travel to South Florida for Tara's baby shower so I made a few things and mailed them...

I made this trinket box which matches the hanger I also made for Jasmine, which I featured last week.  I also sell these personalized boxes in my shop.

I always make my grand kids special prayer blankets. Here is the one I made for Jasmine.

 

I prayed for Jasmine with every square I cut and every stitch I sewed.  I felt so close to her heart even before I met her. 

Next week I have a really fun tutorial to share with you, a  Mixed-Media canvas piece, "Freedom". 

Happy Easter! He Is Risen! Mixed-Media Painting

I started this painting last Easter and finally finished it the other day. 

The Lord is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Forever and ever!

* * *  1 Corinthians 15:20-26  * * *

The most undeserved death imaginable brought the greatest return calculable! Hallelujah! Everything happened just as He said it would and is so much more glorious than anyone could have ever hoped or imagined. 

My hope and prayer is to live more fully, to the praise of His glory and grace alone!!

We enjoyed a beautiful celebration of the resurrection of our Saviour today with our church family and now, my hubby and I are simply enjoying God's creation on this magnificent day while soaking up the perfect temperatures of this afternoon. Delightful!

 

A little nap on the hammock...I caught him just before he closed his eyes :)

I love love our wrap-around porch. It's so relaxing! This is my view from where I'm sitting as I write this post. This side of the porch overlooks the creek which is surrounded by lucious woods. There's a cool breeze blowing, my wind chimes are singing, and beautiful birds floating through the air. Wow! God is the ultimate artist! One day I'm going to attempt to capture this georgeous landscape in a painting.

Here's a better glimpse of the scene as I stand near the railing on our side porch. It's rather high, probably around 25 to 35 feet up making it hard to see the creek in this shot, but I can certainly hear the water flowing over the rocks. A few years ago our son Nick situated some rocks to create a small waterfall in the creek. Ahh! so calming!

I think I'll go join my hubby in the hammock now:)

 Wishing you all a blessed Easter Celebration!

More on Chico, Our Little V-Day Puppy

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day Celebration! My hubby and I had a date at home that started in the kitchen... we cooked together then enjoyed our special meal with music and candlelight. Ahh! The entire evening was wonderfully romantic! 

 ~ XO ~ XO ~ XO ~ XO ~ XO ~ XO ~ 

Now for a little puppy love, since it was Chico's birthday on Valentine's Day and I did, in my previous post, promise to tell you more about him! Chico is now 7 years old and around our house he's still considered a puppy! We got Chico while we lived in Mexico; he was only 15 days old. He's a Schnoodle, a mix between Poodle and Schnauzer. His eyes had barely opened and he still couldn't walk. The sad story is...his mom died after eating a chicken bone. But, but, but that wasn't the end of his story!

Our daughter Sarah bottle fed Chico warm milk and even rolled him around in a baby carriage. As Chico grew, she carried him on her hip and he would lay his head on her shoulder. He often got special oatmeal preparations with apple and potatoes. Even homemade dog treats and cakes on occasions! I would say, spoiled is the word!

Our son Nick taught him how to sit and gave him his exercise with "rough play". Chico likes to keep Nick's bed warm too! In fact, Nick's bed is the only furniture he's allowed on, however, Chico seems for forget that on occasion. Humm, Humm....

This is my favorite picture of Chico. I took this one on Christmas day about 4 years ago when he was nice and groomed. 

Nick is Chico's personal groomer now-a-days...and well, he pretty much is always sporting his fur coat. And no, he probably really didn't need his red sweater. But he looked cute and the kids thought he needed it.  He has since chewed a hole in his sweater after carrying it around like a rag when he wasn't wearing it. 

Nick actually does a very good job grooming Chico. It's a big job and with all that hair it take about 4 hours.  

Chico's favorite thing to do is drag his many toys out of his toy basket and carry them all over the house. It seems like I'm constantly picking up after him. His favorite is a stuffed Pluto. Yea! for garage sales, can't beat 25 cent toys! When he rips open his stuffed animals, Nick sews them back up. I knew I taught my son to sew for some good reason! 

This was his birthday outfit two years ago. I made him a Party hat with a matching scarf. 

Happy Birthday Chico! 

Oh yes! we have a spoiled little puppy...and I only told you part of it!

New Art Piece for Sarah's Dorm Room - Finished!

I finally finished the special mixed media art piece I was creating for my daughter's dorm room. My original plan was to complete this piece before my thyroid surgery, but never did. But now, I'm pleased to say, Yea! it's complete! I wanted this painting to go over her bed, so I used a rather large canvas, 14" x 28". 

Since Sarah's passion is running, I Incorporated a photograph I took of her when she ran one of her marathon's. You can read more about my daughter here.

I hand wrote lots of Scripture and prayers for the background. My hubby wrote a letter to Sarah and an acronym for her name which I also included.

One of the verses I used is from  Hebrews 12:1-2...

 

Therefore, since we are surrounded

by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders

and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance

the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2

I love how Webster's defines perseverance,...

"in Calvinistic theology, the doctrine that those who are elected to eternal life, justified, adopted, and sanctified, will never permanently lapse from grace or be finally lost: in full, perseverance of the saints."   AMEN!!

Sarah's personality is of one who perseveres...actually, amazingly so!  My prayer and desire is, in the race of her Christian life, through even the hardest of times, she will fix her eyes on Jesus, everyday, beholding the glory of God.

I pray Sarah will run the ultimate race, the race of her life, not for competition, but with as much commitment, discipline, dedication, great energy, and  excellence as she does in her races, marathons, daily conditioning and training...for the ultimate and glorious crown of joy and triumph!  

Now I want to make one of these for each of my children.

Blessings xo,

Debbie

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I'm linking up with my friend Jennifer at:

 

My Graduate...College and a few Collages

Below is a post I wrote (and never published, UGH!) before the whirlwind of projects I did for my daughter's dorm room and also, getting ready for surgery.

Today is one week since I had a thyroidectomy! Still recuperating and spending more time hanging around the house getting my hands messy with paint and on the computer. Enjoy...It's on the longer side, so you might want to kick up your legs and get a cup of coffee :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

How does time fly so quicky? That's what I've been asking myself lately with my daughter Sarah, our 3rd child, who will soon be heading off to college. That leaves us with our youngest, Nick, who is a highschoool senior this year.

The empty nest syndrome is right around the corner! Yikes! It certainly doesn't seem possible...but, honestly, in many ways, rather exciting since I don't ever remember not having kids! I was a kid myself when my first was born. 

I have been thinking of how I will decorate Sarah's dorm room. She actually told me I could do anything I wanted...just as long as her roommate agrees. Oh yea! I'm so excited about her new little space. I want to make it very special for her. 

I thought of decorating it Bohemian chic. I figure that would be a way to infuse some bold happy colors because I know painting the walls will be off limits. 

I do want to incorperate inspiration and even some scripture to remind her of who and what matters most. 

I've already decorated a large trunk and have a growing pile in our storage room with items Sarah is sure to need. 

I made this collage painting for her dorm room. I want her to remember the Lord's plans for her are to give her hope and a future. I adhered scrapbook papers with Mod Podge, used acrylic paint and inks to collage the background then I hand painted the verse. The colors are not exactly what I had in mind when I started this peice, but I think it will work with the color pallette I have chosen for Sarah's dorm room. 

The original here is 11 x 14 on a wrapped canvas. I have made several copies, smaller in size and adhered them to wood. I gave some as graduation gifts and they're also now available in my Etsy Shoppe. 

I decided to make one with the same verse since I needed some grad gifts for boys and pink would just not cut it. So I painted this one. I also made copies of this in which I mounted on wood. These too are now available in my Etsy Shoppe.

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Sarah, My Amazing Daughter 

I know I've shared about my daughter in previous posts, however, I must say it again...I have a truly amazing, loving, beautiful, dedicated, and talented daughter!

Yes, I'm sure I'm a bit biased but it is completely true! The only way I can explain how and why she is like this, has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with her Heavenly Father who created her the wonderul way she is!

I love this one, I think she looks like an angel. 

I took Sarah to Portrait Innovations and spent entirely too much money! We got some really great shots and had so much fun too! I tried to rationalize the pit in my stomach by telling myself how much money we saved on school pictures through our years of homeschooling. My hubby didn't quite see it that way. lol!  

They told us to bring anything that had to do with her interests, so we brought many of her metals and some of her trophies...and running clothes for her to change into. This is one of my favorite pictures!  

SARAH LOVES TO RUN! And that really is an understatement! She has been running since she was 14 years old when  she stepped on a treadmill at our local YMCA. 

She has not stopped since. Sarah has run many marathons, triathlons, and even a half Iron Man. She trained herself for the first seveal years winning her age group in every race she ran until a Brooks trainer noticed her during one of the Tueday night runs at Fleet Feet. He began training Sarah about a year ago and along with Sarahs hard work and dedication, she qualified to run the Boston Marathon. But sadly, she was not able to run since she wasn't 18 yet.

Sarah will be continuing her education at Brenau University in Gainsville, Georgia where she received a full athletic scholarship. Sarah was recruited to run on their cross-country team and will study Occupational Therapy, a five-year master's program.  

I took this shot when Sarah was running in the "Running for the Bay" Marathon in Apalachicola, Florida last year. The sun was rising and she was running over a huge bridge. Since they didn't close the roads, I was able to drive beside her and take this pic. This was the marathon when she qualified for Boston with a time of 3:38. 

The quote I added to this photo was one that she was quoted in in an interview for a article that was written about Sarah in  our local newspaper several years ago. "When I started running outside, it felt so much better. It was like I felt God's glory running through me" Sarah Saenz

Sarah's inspires me with her dedication and self-discipline! 

My Sweet Sarah Marie

Isn't she lovely?

 Thanks for staying with me during this rather long post. But sometimes a mom just has to brag a little. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 Yes, tomorrow I will reveal Sarah's dorm room. 

Blessings, 

Debbie xo

A Budding Artist, He's only 6!

Yes, Yes, Yes, I know I've been gone a while; life has just been a tad bit, well, crazy!....But, I want you to meet my grandson Isaiah Micheal. Isn't he absolutely adorable? Isaiah has always showed artistic tendencies. I have many of his little treasures, drawings he's done for me over the last few years. Ok, maybe I'm a bit biased, but wait until you see his masterpiece, the surprise he made for his mommy!

Last month Isaiah and his siblings, my two other grandchildren, lived with us for three weeks. You can read my last post here where I explained the crazy and unexpected tragedy that happened to my daughter and her family. 

But before I show you his masterpiece, I want to thank all of our family, friends, and the many others we don't even know, who blessed our family with so much love during this difficult time! It was wild! Like the floodgates of help and support opened up (from many unexpected people and places) and poured down fast and furious....coming from everywhere! The amazing beauty and overwhelming love of God was so very evident! Our hearts were encouraged indeed...and still are!

Isaiah worked on the background first. He chose the colors and I showed him how to blend them. He did everything himself! 

I then showed him the bubble wrap technique. At first he thought that was a silly idea, until he tried it, and then he really got into it and I had to persuade him not to cover his entire painting with little bubble imprints. 

Isaiah started getting tired after about an hour of painting.Pretty good for a 6 year old boy!

His original idea was to quickly finish in one setting, but I told him how artists work on their paintings over several days, weeks, and sometimes years! As his eyes grew big, he agreed it was better to put it away until he was excited and ready to paint again. 

Here we are again, this is after several days. Isaiah wanted a heart that said, "love". I lightly drew a heart with the word Love inside. Of course he wanted a red heart! He chose a metallic red. Lots of concentration here!

Here we are again, session number 3. Notice his buzz cut? Yup, that was the work of my 17 year old son Nick. 

Isaiah painted in little areas at a time. It was hard for him to keep his hand from smearing the wet paint. He chuckled when I pulled out my hair-dryer as the drying tool. He said, "Nana" with a grin as he shook his head. 

He's ready again...a few days later, painting in his PJ's. He seemed to work much better at night after the other kids were in bed. His concentration was so intense. 

I figured it would be better for him to use a marker to draw the lines instead of painting them. When he was done I simply sprayed it with a matte medium to prevent the ink from running.

He painted Hologram Extreme Glitter over the heart. It goes on white, but when it dries, it has a beautiful iridescent shimmer.

Look at that proud little face! Isaiah kept saying, "Mommy is going to love this!". 

When his painting was completed and it was time for Isaiah to sign his name, I was so moved with emotion for him...almost like when I'm finally happy with a painting I have been working on and the time has come to add my signature. It's like, oh YES! the creation is complete and I'm happy with it!  

It makes me think of when God created the world. After each day of creation, He said, "...and God saw that it was good".  Being created in God's image allows us to create and then stand back and look at our creation and experience a sense of satisfaction. 

And Ta Dahhh.....drum roll please! Here's Isaiah's awesome masterpiece! Isaiah used the word "masterpiece" to describe his painting after the second time he worked on it...so cute, and yes, he was right ! I'm so proud of him! He did a fabulous job!

I took this picture the morning just before we left to drive our three grandchildren back to Florida. I wrapped Isaiah's masterpiece between two pieces of cardboard for safe travels. 

We arrived in Melbourne, FL past midnight, after 11 hours on the road. We had a beautiful time of reuniting. And after we unloaded the car, It was time to give mommy her special surprise!  Kari Loved it and Isaiah's masterpiece has a special place on their their living room wall.

It's been several weeks now since we brought our grandkids back to Florida. Now I'm preoccupied with my daughter Sarah's dorm room. Preparations are well on their way with only one week until the big day when she moves in.  Wow! I still have lots to do! And my to-do list keeps growing...make curtains, duvet cover, build furniture, make headboards and  a million more purchases. Ugh! the list goes on and on....but this is sooooo much fun!

Here's what I'm currently working on. 

 I better get busy!

Debbie xo