Pottery Barn Getting Cretive and Thanksgiving. Part 1

Oh how I love the pottery barn. Just even waking by the windows of the displays just makes me want to stand there and gaze at how the layers of dishe fit so elegantly togethr, with statues of birds, or huge vases filled with pussy willows all makes a textured table. Thanksgiving being right around the corner, all of the tables are set up with gorgeous displays. Can I afford to do this for our holiday? "Noooooooooooo". So I get creative. I am not compulsed to buy from Pottery Barn, would like to as I mosy my way to find the clearance area if there is any. Embarassed, feeling like I probably can't afford their beautifuyl items, and when greeted, I kind of happily but shyly just say I am lookng. Now my mind starts to set in gear..get ideas, job them in your memory tab or write them down. Sometimes the store even has catalogues.

The fashion style of the table today is layers, just like clothes. You have oneor two different sized mats that go under the three dishes. Burlap, runners, table clothes, table mats are all for the go in your Thanksgiving deigned table. Clear vases with coffee beans in them, inches of cranberries in another, place a candle in them, and voila, centerpiece city! Go outside like I do and cut branches from trees. Some bushes have in my yard are reddish or orange colored right now. Clip them, stick them in a vase. Or, bundle them together, tie them with raffia and lay on in one direction of the table and the other at the other end.

One idea I have seen, not at the Pottery Barn, but elsewhere is grapevine wreaths. These are not overly expensive in Michaels or AC Moore's, but I have grape vines down the street. Depending on how many people you will have sitting down at your table for Thanksgiving, will depend how much you need to cut. Start your project out small, cut approximately 10-12 vines nd strip them of their leaves if any are left. Keep the little coily things that look like tendrils on the branch. These give interesting character to the vine. Grab one vine and loop it into a circle. Grab another and begin to weave it around, when it comes to the end, tuck it into the other vine. Continue this. Make the wreaths a bit larger than the largest plate you will be putting down on the table. After you make the wreath, place it down, and try the plate on top for size. As long as the plate sits evenly ontop of the vinewreath, you are good to go. Now add the next sized plate and then the bowl. Place your napkin ring around the napkin and place that on top of the bowl and now set the rest of the table in a formal fashion.
This is the beginning of preparation for Thanksgiving in just a little over three weeks.

Healing Art Journal Page Spread

I had so much fun doing this, that I am doing another one in different colors. Cool too because the next girl portrait looks so different. When you draw a different shape head, you then automatically have different shape eyes, nose and mouth. I wanted to try to paint with warm colors seeing that the last one I did was blues and purples. This time will be reds and oranges I think.

Gesso, ink, acrylics, watercolor pastels and crayons were used along with graphite pencils, and stamps. Next time, I am going to use stencils.

Healing Art Journal Page

This is a close up of a portrait done for the free class I am taking by Willowing.

Willowing and Free Class-Art Healing

Tamara from Willowing.com is giving a free course. This was the first week and she gave two classes each an hour long. I have watched them twice this week and love watching that paintbrush with water, change the blending of colors in Tam's faces. Along with painting, you get to get healed of emotions that are wearing you down. Write them down in your journal then gesso over them. BUT before you gesso, think of the positive responses to the aweful things that your mind tells you. As a christian, I believe that we go through many trials, and our own thoughts can pull us down greatly. We have to remember who we are in Christ. So, after I wrote down all the things that bother me about myself, negative thoughts I think about my personality and character, I then focused on the Lord. Be Strong in the Lord.

So. I gessoed over my graphite pencil letters, and am now sketching my face. Will it look like me, not worried about that, just working on the structure of the face.

COMMENTS

Would you leave me comments so that I can learn from you also! It is fun to know who is looking at my crystalscreations from all around the world!

Thank you so much,
Crystal

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Hubbie and Me at Seabrook Beach

Blusterry day at the beach