{Image: Tree of Life from Ignant}

With a forester for a Husband I have a healthy appreciation for tree rings… and this one in particular.  The little-biddy animals that make up the rings are just so clever and so apt – a way of highlighting the responsibility we have to Mother Nature and all of the animal species that inhabit our planet.

Available for sale here and most probably the Husband’s birthday present this year!

Tasha Chawner

Tasha Chawner

{Image: Monica from Crafty Nest}

I’ve got a thousand and one ideas floating through my head for things I could frame as silhouettes.  Okay, maybe not a thousand and one, but a few.

• the family’s initials;
• Daughter’s name (she’d love this in her room!);
• a triptych of my dandelion or swirl photos;
• the words ‘live’, ‘laugh’, ‘love’;
• etc, etc.

What would you frame as a silhouette?

Tasha Chawner

{Image Source: Pinterest via Candy Whiting}

I don’t follow celebrities and don’t always place a lot of faith in what they have to say, but this is something I agree with Jennifer Aniston on.

It’s taken me nearly 4 decades to learn to love my body, so let’s start helping our young girls learn it sooner…

Tasha Chawner

As the year kicks up a notch and I get busier at work, I’m re-assessing the direction I want to take with the blog.

I can’t quite pin it down myself, so I’m wondering if you will lend a hand?

What would you like to see more of on the blog?

Tasha Chawner

The pink paper daisy that my Secret Santa gave me last year has survived. I can’t say the same for the yellow…

निर्माणरत |nirmANarata | finding pleasure in creating

Tasha Chawner

Today I learned about:

A magazine named Desktop
The visual glory of  Carnovsky’s RGB wallpapers
Inkling - taking your paper sketches to digital art
And the beauty of Beautiful Pages

I do so enjoy going to Mr Taylor’s Multi-Media classes…

{Images: RGB wallpaper from Carnovky home page; books from Beautiful Pages About page and Good Fucking Design Advice at Beautiful Pages}

Tasha Chawner

Tasha Chawner

My first attempt at a diy canvas shares the piano with our family photos

Inspired by this post over at A Beautiful Mess, I set about making my own canvas portrait – instead using one of my photos of a dandelion, just in case I really messed it up (first attempt and all!)

What you need:

1 cheap canvas (a couple of dollars from the discount store)

a fluid medium (I used Liquitex Matte Medium that I picked up from Lincraft.  Not sure if it was the right thing to use, but it worked!)

a wide paint brush

a spray bottle with water

photo of your choice, printed on regular paper

What to do:

1. Print your photo.  You have to be mindful what photo you used as it will end up reversed on your canvas (another reason I opted for the dandelion – a bit of an idiot-proof photo).

2. Prepare your canvas by applying a thick coat of your medium.

3. Press your photo on to the canvas, smoothing carefully to remove any air bubbles.

4. Leave your canvas to dry.  I left mine overnight.

5. Once dry, spray the paper and start to gently rub the paper layer off.  Once the paper starts to come away, you’ll see your image.  It’s damp and messy, but lots of fun watching as the image is revealed.  Just be a bit careful not to rub too hard in the one spot as you will remove the image.

6. Once all of the paper is removed and your image revealed, you can add a top coat of the medium to seal the image.

7. Place in a prominent place around the house and enjoy your new art!

If you decide to give it a go, be sure and post a link to show how your diy canvas turned out

Tasha Chawner

{Image Source: Pinterest via Rach B}

Tasha Chawner