Hi! Welcome to my Freebies page! Here is where I will post informational videos (Art Bytes) and other fun stuff for you to view or have…wait for it…for FREE!!! Yay! Scroll through the page to see the offerings. If you haven’t taken a class from me before, I hope the videos will give you an opportunity to learn more about me and my teaching style. The photographs are scanned in high res from my personal collection and are shared with you to use in your artwork! Please don’t package them for resale in collage sheets or imagery bundles. I strive to provide good information based on my own personal art experiences and look forward to sharing it all with you! If you need to get in touch with me, click here!
Cheers,
Art Bytes 1: NeoColor II Watersoluble Wax Pastels by Caran D’ache
Here is a wonderful image of three mopey children! Use them as a group or singly! Simply click on the image below, which will take you to a DropBox link where you will click on the “Download” button in the upper right-hand corner and voila! This image is on your computer, ready for you to play with!
Judging by the borders on this hand-tinted carte de visite, it dates back to 1864-1869. I find it so interesting that people would dress up in this manner and have their photograph taken during that time period…I wonder if she was an actress in a play… Simply click on the image below, which will take you to a DropBox link where you will click on the “Download” button in the upper right-hand corner and voila! This image is on your computer, ready for you to play with!
I came across a booklet of paper Valentine stickers that date back to 1914 at a paper and postcard show last year. I simply adore how slang and idiomatic sayings change over the decades! And the put downs…”Let me be like a sister to you” and “You’re not my style”! Priceless! Simply click on the images below, which will take you to a DropBox link where you will click on the “Download” button in the upper right-hand corner and voila! This image is on your computer, ready for you to play with!
Art Bytes 2: Cloche Encounters of the Miniature Kind
You won’t want to stop making these miniature worlds encased in tiny domes! Click on the image below to view the tutorial!
Art Bytes 3: Baking Shrink Plastic
A quick little video showing you what to expect when you bake shrink plastic…
Here is how I set up an encaustic workstation on the cheap…
Art Bytes 4: Magnificent Magnets
More of a mini-course than a tutorial, I share some ideas on how to utilize your shrink plastic pieces and materials from your studio to create wonderful little pieces of art! Click on the image below to watch the video!
Remember, if you feel you need some imagery that is already prepped and ready to download for use on inkjet shrink plastic, please visit my ETSY shop!
Art Bytes 5: Shadow Box Shrine Ornaments with Retro Cafe Art Gallery
Another tutorial that took the scenic route and became more of a mini-course! Watch and learn some tips and techniques for combining shrink plastic with these fabulous mini shadow box shrine ornaments from Retro Cafe Art Gallery! You will fall in love! Click on the image below to watch the video!
For the shadow box shrine ornaments, I find that either the Cloche Encounters or Cloche Encounters 2 sheets work best, size-wise.
In this tutorial, I used the largest of the hearts for the demo piece and the smallest heart for the girl in the gold heart.
The house shape with the heart cut out is the large size as well…you might have to trim the bee’s legs (from the Bee Mine sheet) a little bit to make him fit!
Art Bytes 7: Handling Hummingbirds
I made up some inkjet shrink plastic design sheets with hummingbirds, only to discover that their beaks and feet don’t always behave when shrinking. So, I put together a little video to share some tips and techniques with you that might help get them straightened out! These ideas are good for some of the other birds who have misbehaving beaks and feet as well…
Easter Freebie! Such a bizarre yet cute antique postcard! How did they get those chicks to sit on that fan???? The bunny isn’t a fan…or even on the fan.
Art Bytes 8: Corralling Corvids
During this crazy time of COVID-19, I have been working on series called CORVID-19, where the artwork centers on 19 different types of corvids, the family of birds that includes crows, ravens, jays, magpies and rooks. I put together this tutorial to include some tips and techniques for working with my Corvid Kids or assorted Corvids shrink plastic design sheets. Have fun!