Quote of The Day

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Placemats and Books!



One of my digital illustrations I forgot to share!!
 I had to delete  last weeks post with font size fit for the
eyes of an ant! Nothing I did would fix it! Obstacles
all week were a sign I needed to move on. I missed you all!
Sometimes it's difficult to let go of something you loved
and spent so much time with!  I deleted my art for that post
and took my first  blogging break in over ten years!
  How quickly Paint Party Friday has rolled around again!
Hard to believe I posted daily for years!
My kitchen table tree with my new placemat!

 I got half way done this  post  when my browser
 crashed taking  my post with it.. Hope my second
attempt   is a winner! I wasn't about
to give up once again! Although the art 
and subject matter are completely different! 
One of six placemats we had sitting in a drawer unused for the last six years!
 I had planned to put these placemats in a thrift box at the end
of October when Cupcake asked if I would paint them instead! The
 fabric is quite substantial so I gave it a whirl. I added white
 gesso to my blue acrylic making a nice thick cover for the 
  the former pattern! Then continued to  Paint  and stencil. 
Here are the results of the sneak peak I gave you
a few weeks ago!!
 I wanted to make them reversible too.
  So I did the other side orange, silver and yellow, sealing them
with  poly acrylic sealer! We needed to be able to
 wipe them rather than machine wash them. They weren't
cheap to make. The expense was in the
 time and the sealer. I used a few coats of sealer on
 twelve sides which took the majority of the jar! 
  These were really  fun to make but time consuming. 
 After stenciling them I painted over each flower several times 
 to make them more vivid and  vibrant!  Then waited for each 
layer to dry! The sealer made them quite shiny and pliable!
 The pattern is similar on all the placemats,  but no two are alike
I never measured out the spaces I just enjoyed creating each
one free hand! Now we have a unique set of kitchen placemats to
go with our orange Rachel Ray dishes!! 
Each book has 40 pages, equaling 80 illustrations!
 My flipbooks arrived nine days earlier than expected. 
They are above and beyond my expectations!
  Not sure I could capture  just how vibrant and clear 
they turned out in the videos I posted below. 
So exciting to see 80 illustrations actualized in print!
 There was a small glitch  in the dye lot. As you can see here
that bottom color on this front page is looking rather dark blue
 (looks even darker in person) when it was actually suppose to be 
a purple similar but different than in the blond girls shirt! Also
in one book one page was out of sequence!

 The Customer service was incredible. The employee was
kind, efficient, helpful. She even explained why the dye lot 
on that colour might have been different. She suggested
changing it and then sent me three replacement books
at no charge. That is why I LOVE vistaprint!
They are not paying me to say this but if you want to
get greeting cards made up of your artwork this is a
 week to do it!! They have great sales for black friday!

Truth be told they often have great sales!
Check them out! It's pretty easy to
navigate too!! Treat yourself with your
own flip book of your art! It truly is
heavenly to see your work in print!
Below are super short videos of the books!
Sage Suggestions

Have you had to let go of anything lately?

Sage Suggestions two!
Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear American friends.
Have a wonderful safe celebration! I am so grateful
for your lovely friendship!

30 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful post. Love the place-mats and he flip books. I wondered where you were last week, there was a link but no post - sorry your computer was playing up. Have a great week, I'm happy you are well and nothing more serious was amiss. Hugs, Valerie

Clare Lloyd said...

Your placemats look great

kat said...

Oh I love your mats, what a super idea and they look fabulous with your art work!!
Such a cute mini tree too, I love all that twinkles! I can bet you love your flip books full of your bright art work, all looking so good here, you can be well proud of your creations!

Indira said...

Your placemats look vibrant and colorful, perfect for the holiday season! The flip books look great and I have used Vista print. I might try them out myself. Hope your computer problems are of temporary nature. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

riitta k said...

Your banner is so joyful - greeting the reader with their happy faces ;DDD

Christine said...

Your flip book is gorgeous and so totally represents you. What a great idea with the placemats, I love them. Glad to see your post today!

sirkkis said...

Love your placemats' joyful colours and flover figures. The Christmas tree is cute as well. Your drawings look great on the new flip books.
I am glad you made good shoppings and your desktop runs again 😃
Happy PPF ❤

Gillena Cox said...

Happy PPF, the reversables - good idea

much love...

Janet said...

Cupcake had a great idea when she thought of you painting the placemats. They turned out great! Bright, happy colors to make every meal even better.
And the books are wonderful. Another great idea!

froebelsternchen said...

What a fab idea with the placemats- they turned out just super - and your booklets are amazing -- fabulous art Giggles!
oxo Susi

Linda Kunsman said...

awesome place mats dear Sherrie-they are SO you!!! I see you're getting ready for the next holiday already:) Your printed books look fabulous! I have used Vistaprint before and like them very much too. I may check into the special if I have something I want to use for my cards.

Having Thanksgiving I didn't get a chance to post for PPF but wanted to pop in and say hi and see what you were up to this week.

Anonymous said...

love all the colours of your pages and those placemats are great fun

Faye said...

All your obstacles aside, this is one terrific post, Sherrie. I love your flip book. That's a great way to preserve your art in one place. The improvement on the placemats is overwhelming! Yours is art at its finest.

carol l mckenna said...

Lots of creativity on your post ~ love it all ~ especially the artwork with sayings ~ Bravo to the books too!

Happy Weekend to you ~ ^_^

BrownPaperBunny said...

I love that you painted the placemats, they came out wonderfully!! Happy PPF!

Tracy said...

You've given those placemats a whole new lease of life, Giggles!
Hmm, giving things up... Well, having to wait feels like letting go of something, and I've had a year of waiting.

Laney said...

Sorry for your computer troubles! So frustrating! What a good idea to paint these placemats and they look great in your bright colors. Your books look great, too!

Granny Annie said...

So intrigued by the place-mats and the flip books. You are amazing!

Anonymous said...

I have had to let go of many things this month, too long to discuss, but this was a good read!

Lessandra said...

Love your flip books. I love your sayings on each picture - sage!

Julene said...

Beautiful work on those placemats!! And what an amazing way to reuse them!! Your books a beautiful, too. Impressed at this end!!!

NatureFootstep said...

lol, I have family members who would totally love your elephant :)

Unknown said...

Wonderful post! Those placemats are wonderful. I love the idea of using both sides!
xo Michelle # 49 PPF

sheila 77 said...

These flip books are tremendous, and the books can't crash! I saw one or two paintings I don't think I have seen before, a princess flashed by.
Painted mats, gosh what a good idea, love the bright flowers and being reversible is icing on the cake. Blue tree loves its patterned mat and vice-versa.
Little green bird with the sweet face doesn't look too worried about the large obstacle (which is a very pretty large obstacle, all dressed up for a great party).

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

Your placemats came out fantastic, and what a great way to reuse old ones. The books you had made of your artwork came out great too, and will make amazing gifts for your loved ones too. Sorry it took me so long to reciprocate to the comment you left on my blog. Blessings, my friend!

Latane Barton said...

Well, aren't you the clever one now? I guess I would have just toss those placemats and you turned them into something so pretty and useful.

alarmcat said...

busy week for you! love your little books. are those going to be gifts for someone??

stefanie stark said...

I am very impressed by your fantastic place mats and the flip book and I always love to see your colorful art!

carol l mckenna said...

Love your books and those place mats are fantastic ~

Wishing you a delightful week ~ ^_^

Jennifer Rose said...

So much great colour in this post ;D the place mats were worth the work, they look great :D

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