Category: design

journal art

I’ve been doing a lot of journaling lately….I used to do it all the time, and have had a diary or journal since I was old enough to write. But, in the last few years, my journals have gotten less and less inspiring. They are usually filled with To Do Lists, important info, and work data. I wanted to get back to when I used to actually enjoy writing and creating art in my journal. And while, the circumstances for my delve back into my enthusiastic journaling were not exactly positive, I have remember just how much of a calming effect and a release of tension they are for me:

Does anyone else like to journal? Does it have the same effective on you? Send me pics and I will post them on my blog (one day, someone will actually answer me and it will be awesome!)

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art lately: geometric art

Post author By Jess Ross Creative
Post date April 4, 2012
No Comments on art lately: geometric art

some art from my journal…I am loving triangles and simple gemoetric shapes right now.

I will be the first to admit, that I rarely, if ever, have a original art idea. I always see pieces that I love and admire, and usually want to buy for my house so I can stare at them forever but cant afford them so I create my own version, and more versions and they are not exact replicas by any means. I don’t think I am an artist, I think I am just really good at copying other people.

I did this one on an a sheet of music from an old family chorus book I got at the thrift store.

This one was with watercolors and sharpie in my journal.

I call this one “Triangle Lady.”

And here are some of my favorite geometrical prints I have found on various sites:

I LURRV THIS ONE: “Sami Woman Print” by lisacongdon

“Her Colorful Coat” Original drawing by heartpumpsart

“The dimensions of a Volcano” by Judy Kaufmann

“If I could I Would Give You the Entire Universe” print by artist: Meredith Schwab via her etsy shop dittydrops

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tattoos: I want them, I GOT one.

Post author By Jess Ross Creative
Post date April 2, 2012
No Comments on tattoos: I want them, I GOT one.

Okay, I have to expain what the design means because that was an important part to to me. The half circles and small vertical lines or dashes form the Native American symbol for rain. (I found that info here: http://horsehints.org/IndianSymbols.htm) and looks like this:

or this…..

and it stands for: change, renewal, and fertility (not so sure about that part yet).

Underneath the lines are what look like the letter “V” sideways. But, it is the Runes’ language symbol “kenaz” which literally translates to “beacon.” It stands for: vision, revalation, knowledge, creativity, and inspiration. (I found that info here:http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html).

These meanings are all very representative of what I am experiencing in life now and I have always wanted to get this tattoo on my forearm so that I have a constant reminder of the important things in my life. Also, I guess my personal life is in the shit-er right now and drastic times call for drastic measures right??

Butch drawing the design on with markers first

Butch’s drawing of my design.

I went to Certified Customs http://www.certifiedcustoms.net/ in Denver Colorado and my Tattoo artist’s name was Butch. He was awesome. They closed at 12am but he said he would tattoo me after his last client (usually, they are appointment only–but I was desperate)

Everyone there was really nice and pretty friendly for it being 2am on a Friday night, and them being tattoo artists.

Can you tell its starting to hurt now? Yeah, it was. But, it was good pain.

my best friend Cassie on the left and my new friend Blair in the red.

woo hoo! Finally done! Both of us looking worse for the wear.

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tattoos: i want them, i need them pt. 2

Post author By Jess Ross Creative
Post date February 14, 2012
2 Comments on tattoos: i want them, i need them pt. 2

It’s time for round two of beautiful tattoo designs I have been coveting lately. I swear, if I was in a stable job right now, there would be nothing holding me back Last night, while I literally spent all night long looking at people’s “boards” of tattoos on pinterest and found some beautiful, inspiring and unique tattoos. Sometimes, I fall in love with some tattoos but always in the back of my mind I cant help but think…how will I feel about this having to see this every day for the rest of my life?

Lately, (and I am pretty sure this change has to do with my new found obsession with pinterest), I am finding the most amazing tattoos that I would get in a heart beat. I am being to see a pattern in the types of tattoos I love: simple lines and also brightly colored designs saw a few beautiful colorful tattoos that look like water color paintings.

I LOVE the colors in the above blue flower tattoo. They are so rich and look so real and textured they look. I also love that the colors aren;t hindered by the thick dark outlines and end up looking like a coloring page….if that makes sense at all.

A few of the MANY stunning watercolor tattoos by artist Amanda Wachob. Check her work out at: http://www.amandawachob.com/gallery/skin/. I have never seen anything like these tattoos.

Another example of beautiful colors and distinct blending.

Do I love this tattoo or am I maybe blinded by the beauty and “coolness” of this model.

the tattoos I am most drawn too, can be categorized into two differing types. First: simple and elegant lines and patterns; second: bright and bold colors. This is the one I am leaning towards getting. Something about the simplicity of the lines calms me. While I am more drawn to big and bold colors; something about the simplicity and evenness of the lines calms me. Ever since I was born, I have always had an uncanny knack for creating unnecessary chaos in my life. My parents used to say they could always know where to find me by following a path of discarded and broken items. My husband is always shocked and annoyed at how quickly I can turn a room, or, my life, upside down. I tend to worry about everything and focus on the unimportant little things in life and I think this tattoo would serve as a consistent reminder to simplify my thinking. I don’t know why I think that way, but even just looking at the even circles makes me feel more peaceful.

I also really like this one but I don’t think I would get it on my hand. Mainly because, I don’t think I would be able to get away with it as an elementary teacher.

A couple more……LOVE all OF THESE!

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diy recycled wall decor

This is my take on a recycled magazine pages wall decor project that I saw the other day when passing by the window display at J. Crew. These are my favorite projects to do because they are CHEAP (well, basically free!) colorful AND green! A big BANG for a little bitty price.

Here is J. Crew’s current window display that inspired me:

Of course, they have done about a MILLION, so I have a LOOONG way to go until mine looks like that…and let’s just be honest…I probably will get bored of doing these, or find something else I want to do before I get enough to make a wall decoration!

All you need are some old magazines, rip out the colorful pages and accordian fold them. I used a glue gun to insure they would stay glued and to give it some rigidness.

I would love to see any pics of any diy art projects you have done lately around your house!

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easy peasy T-shirt necklaces

Post author By Jess Ross Creative
Post date January 8, 2012
No Comments on easy peasy T-shirt necklaces

I lurrrv t-shirt necklaces! These are two that I’ve made. They are super easy to do and make a big impact. I also use them as scarves in the winter. Here is a tutorial. Just need old t-shirts and scissors.

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Felt-tastic Necklaces

Happy New Years!!!! I hope everyone had a fantastically memorable New Years Eve. Mine was definitely memorable but not so much fantastic. We listened to a really horrible 70’s cover band (in TIGHT COSTUMES!) and watched a bunch of surprisingly limber, but incredibly inappropriate drunk old women dance. Next year, I’m not even going to try. I will be at my house, with my husband and my dog; which is always what I wish I was doing when I am out on New Years Eve.

Anyways. Back to felt. fantastic felt! felt-tastic.

Felt. I love this stuff! I’ve been hearing a lot about felting crafts in the past few years- it seems to be what all the cool kids are crafting these days- but, as usual, I am running a little bit behind with the “trends” and have only just fallen in love with felt! And fell hard!

So I thought I would share this felt flower necklace craft that I’ve adapted from a couple of different crafters….I love Martha Stewart’s fabric flower necklace and have unsucsessfully attempted it several times but my flowers don’t look anything like Martha’s. And I KNOW for a fact that I picked up the felt flowers from some creative and inspiring crafter on the internet but I cannot find the website for the life of me! I’ll add the links in when I find them.

Making the felt flowers are super easy. All you need are felt squares, which come in so many different bright and fun colors (Michael’s has them for $.29 per 8 x 11″ sheet), permanant marker, craft scissors, tacky glue (the clear kind works the best) and random circular objects of various sizes! They come in so many bright and fun colors too. Just trace various sized circular objects and cut them out.

The next step is cutting the felt circle by cutting in a circular spiralliing motion. Then, starting from the inside, with the smallest circle, overlap the layers to create wider and wider circles. Dab some clear tacky glue every once in a while on sections of the felt and then a dab of clue and the ending tip to keep it together.

Once you have a good amount of completed felt flowers, (as you can tell from the above pictures of my felt flowers, I got a little OCD and made way more felt flowers than is needed), then you need to make the base of the necklace. I’ve used a kidney bean shape to create a curve around the neck, but you can do anything really.

Using needle and thread, arrange the flowers and sew them onto the backing. I also threw in some

colorful beads.

Thanks to my beautiful friend Mary who was nice enough to be my felt-tastic model!

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you are the…

a new idea I had the other night when I was watching What About Bob…(my favorite movie) and thinking of how I feel like sometimes I am Bob Wiley and my husband is Dr. Leo Marvin.

and it just kept going from there….

you are the milo to my otis.

you are the fraggle to my rock.

you are the elliott to my e.t.
(can you tell I grew up in the late 80’s/early 90s?)

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new blog!

hello!

I just wanted to share that I have started a new blog for DIY Decorating Projects….If you are at all interested come on over and share your ideas, tips and projects. http://ohappydiy.blogspot.com/

Here’s a taste of what you will find….

how to make this beautiful wall art project

AND

This one too!! Just click here: http://ohappydiy.blogspot.com/

Just click here….

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holy tattoo batman!

Okay, I apologize for the following bit of shameless (or shameful) self-promotion…. but I am just so excited/honored that I had to share!! A few months ago I sold a greeting card of one of my wave carvings to someone through my etsy shop. Here is a picture of the stamp:

What’s the big flippin’ deal right? Well, this amazing individual messaged me a few days ago to show me pictures of her arm.. Why did she send me a picture of her arm you might ask….BECAUSE..she got my wave carving tattooed on it:

I feel incredibly honored and flabbergasted. It is kind of crazy to think that something I created is on someone’s arm forever (unless of course she opts for laser removal surgery) …that’s a lot of pressure! What if it becomes one of those tattoos she regrets?