You&I

I have been accepted to You&I Framshop and Gallery as a part of the Kennewick Art Walk!

The walk is always the first Thursday of the month. My work will be up November and December which means the open house and walk will be Thursday, November 6 and Thursday, December 4 from 5-9.

Don't worry if you missed November. The turnout was perfect and December is coming and though I think my work will move back to make room for new art, it will still be up!

I will have some smaller pieces there that will make perfect gifts so be sure to stop by.

175+ Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Artists and Family

My favorite part about Christmas is Santa. Not because I like to receive receive receive but because there is something special about giving without expecting anything in return, not even a thank you. 

Growing up my mom filled the stockings and added a few Santa presents under the tree on Christmas eve. Santa's gifts were always wrapped with matching paper and ribbons and boys. True beauty. 

As I grew older Santa continued to come even though we all knew what was going on until one Christmas eve I snuck downstairs and started adding stocking stuffers and I continue to, to this day (even at the in-laws house and they don't even do Santa).

Whether you already have a stocking tradition or want to start one this year, here are some great ideas to get you started and many on a thrifty budget. I will start with stocking stuffer ideas for your artists in the family and go through ideas for several other family members...If you are in a hurry, here are 5 Last Minute Holiday Ideas.

Artist Stocking Stuffers 
1. Paint brushes
2. Paint tubes
3. Paint Palate
4. Favorite songs to listen to while making art
5. A gift card to Blick or another online art supplier
6. A cute apron
7. Bite sized candies
8. A travel watercolor kit - or watercolor paint refils
9. A travel water container
10. Art books
11. Little knick-knacks or anything beautiful
12. A gift card to a local art or craft store
13. Kneeded eraser, nice pencils (I like mechanical but some people don't) and a sketchbook 

14. Tape ( duct tape, artist tape, washi tape, double sided tape)


Kid Stocking Stuffers
15. Mini box of sugar cereal
16. Stickers – especially scratch n’ sniff stickers (Michaels craft store has a good variety)
17. Pez
18. Chinese paper yo-yo ( or other random paper toys)
19. Candy necklace
20. Stretchy bugs/critters
21. Silly straws
22. Glow sticks (you can get 15 packs at the $tore around Halloween)
23. Astronaut Ice cream ($3.10 for a 12 pk. here on Amazon)
24. Lip gloss/lipstick
25. Mini nail polish (inexpensive and good choices of kid’s colors at Walmart)
26. Fruit snacks
27. McDonald’s gift card (just enough to get an ice cream cone on a “date” with mom or dad)
28. Matchbox cars
29. Slap bracelets
30. Kazoo
31. Crayola Model Magic packs 

32. Coloring book and crayons 
33. Food shaped erasers (girls love the scale of these for American Girl dolls)
34. Glow in the dark stars and planets
35. Heat bags (sew a pouch of fabric or a sock filled with dry rice
36. Dress up jewelry
37. Earrings
38. Travel game 
39. Webkinz or other small stuffed animal
40. Fancy scissors
41. Silly socks
42. Box of crayons, markers, or colored pencils
43. Journal 
44. Silly putty
45. Can of silly string
46. Animal sponge capsules
47. Expandable t-shirt, towel or washcloth
48. Glue sticks
49. Markers
50. Watercolor paints
 51. Origami paper
52. Disposable camera
53. Rearview spy glasses
54. Smencils (scented pencils)
55. Noise maker (shakers, tambourine, maracas, whistle)

Teen Stocking Stuffers
56. USB Flash drive
57. iTunes gift card
58. Stretchy book covers
59. Diary with invisible ink pen
60. Cell phone cover or a new cell phone 
61. Embroidery thread for friendship bracelets
62. Beef jerky or other snacks
63. Gift card to bowling alley or skating rink
64. Makeup
65. Art Lessons
66. Gel pens and black paper
67. Perfume
68. Nail polish in funky colors
69. Manicure pen
70. Lanyard for keys
71. Keychain
72. Wallet
73. Earbuds
74. keys to something special like a first car parked in the driveway with a giant bow.
75. books or a book (I was a nerd and asked for several books on the AP reading list one year, but this could be a great chance to give an artist book, graphic novel, or auto biography of an inspirational figure. Chicken Soup for the Teen Soul is also good.)

Mom Stocking Stuffers
76. Scented hand sanitizer (particularly from Bath & Body Works)
77. Camera memory card
78. Jewelry (Earrings, necklace, etc. My mom loves huge earrings. I sometimes buy them at the $tore, take the charms off and string them as necklaces.) Wire wrapped Jewelry or make paper bead jewelry.
79. Gift card for a pedicure, manicure, or massage (I know this one’s not “cheap” but it sure will earn you a lot of points, dads!)
80. Keychain charms of kids with initials (SO cute!)
81. Package of decorative buttons (for crafting)
82. Knitting needles or crochet hooks
83. Crochet or knitting pattern book
84. Fancy hand soaps (particularly from Bath & Body Works!)
85. Seeds an a mini pot
86. Scrapbooking ribbons, tags, embellishments, etc.
87. Scentsy

88. Beaded bookmark (can be found in card or gift stores or on Amazon here)
89. Fancy scissors
90. Scrapbook paper (rolled up in a paper towel tube)
91. Gourmet coffee or fancy hot coco mix
92. Specialty tea
93. Ped Egg or pumice stone
94. Votive candles 

95. Icing tips/bags
96. Mascara 

97. Box of dollar store note cards 98. Chocolates (bag of Dove or Bliss)
99. Coffee shop gift card
100. Nail polish
101. Scented hand lotion (particularly from Bath & Body Works!)
102. Tree ornaments
103. Purse
104. Gift Card for favorite store and offer to go on a shopping spree with mom (or just give her the card so she can get away)

Dad Stocking Stuffers
105. Tape measure
106. USB flash drive
107. Picture hanging hardware
108. Nails & screws
109. 3M hooks
110. Car charger for cell phone
111. Beef jerky
112. Car wash gift card
113. Golf tees
114. Golf balls
115. Video/Computer game
116. Coffee shop gift card
117. Drill bits
118. Tool keyring 
119. Mini flashlight
120. Gift card to bowling alley
121. Wallet
122. desk calendar
123. a nice tie
124. socks 

 Anybody Stuffers
125. Favorite candy bar
126. Snack packages (cheese crackers, cookies, etc.)
127. Hand Sanitizer
128. Gum
129. Sudoku book
130. Christmas ornament (start a tradition and give or make one for each immediate family member)
131. Hand and foot warming packs (found in the dollar spot at Target)
132. Slipper socks
133. Hot chocolate packets
134. Mug with candy canes and coco
135. Video Games
136. Kinect or other gaming system

Practical Stocking Stuffers
137. Calculator
138. Book light
139. Pencil sharpener
140. Deodorant
141. Toothbrush
142. Kids toothpaste
143. Dental floss
144. Barrettes / pony tail holders
145. Comb
146. Hot comb, flat iron, gel, or other hair supplies

Adult/Bestie/Husband/Wife/Romantic Stocking Adult Stocking Stuffers
147. Unmentionables or Christmas underwear
148. Victoria’s Secret gift card
149. Date night our on the town gift card
150. Butterscotch Schnapps and Apple Cider mix and cinnamon sticks
151. Peppermint Schnapps and Hot chocolate mix with a candy cane
152. Artwork is always a great idea.
153. Mini scented candles
154. Gift card for a tattoo 

Family Stocking Stuffers
155. Deck of playing cards. Bang is also a good game
156. Video games
157. Ornaments
158. Ski Passes
159. Netflix or other yearly subscription
160. Movie tickets
161. Travel tickets
162. Maybe pet supplies for a new pet
163. Game sets - Yahtzee is easy, you can find dice and the refill sheets. Our whole game cost less than $5

Pet Stocking Stuffers
My mom always had stockings for out pets and I was typically the one to open them. These were often items that we had for our dogs anyways, but added a little fun to Christmas morning.
164. Chew toys
165. Canned food
166. catnip
167. Play stuff/toys
Tot Stocking Stuffers 
168. Playdoh
169. Bubble bath
170. Bathtub crayons
171. Pacifier
172. Cute socks
173. Baby/Tot photo book (tots love looking at pictures of themselves and their family members)
174. Dum Dum lollipops (not for the youngest tots!)
175. Bubbles
176. Character band-aids
177. Board book (one of my favorite authors of tot books is Sandra Boynton)
178. Character spoon and fork set
179. Character kids cup (Target “dollar spot” often has these)
180. Shoes

If you like countdowns or want to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, you could pick several of these and gift one each day. 

What are some of your favorite gift giving ideas?

Upcycling Inspiration for Earth Day!

For Earth Day I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my Upcycling projects, my Upcycling Pinterest Board and my  World Water Poster.

Circuit board inspired Art
More Circuit Board Inspired Art
Circuit Board Gift Created from an actual circuit board
Upcycled Shopping Bag
Upcycled Men's Shirt into a Shopping Bag Part 2
Paper Beads in Haiti

T-Shirt Necklaces
Dead Roses

Paper bead art lesson in Haiti

Some of the 150+ projects that can be found on my my Upcycling Pinterest Board include rubber band cards, Gumball Machine Fish Tank, Newspaper Art, CD Jewelry, toilet paper tube and plastic bag projects, Lego necklace, QWERTY key art, old window projects and many many more fashion, decorating and art ideas.


I am sure that these ideas will provide you with just the project inspiration you are searching for this Earth Day!

What are your favorite upcycling projects?

Graffiti Drawings

I recently started a shop on ETSY where I am selling personalized name tags ( graffiti style drawing) in various graffiti styles.  I typically create a new style for each drawing (although some letters look really cool in a certain style).  I also like to include shapes or backgrounds that relate back to the person and his or her interests.

I will be posting more of these drawings as a part of my Make it Plain Walk-through series of posts.  The drawings included in my Make it Plan art exhibition featured some significant leaders in African American religious culture. 

If you would like a chance to win a free drawing, be sure to like my Felicia Follum Art and Design Page on Facebook.  You can see a larger variety of my artwork there.  If you would like to purchase one for a gift or for yourself, be sure to let me know.  The example below is a drawing I gave to some friends for their wedding.  These unique drawings do make excellent gifts.  It is framed in a simple glass frame. 

My Graffiti Tags

Wedding gift for some friends

Ok, so they are not really graffiti tags but graffiti style ink drawings.

To see me in action check out my post about the great time I had at the City Church Bazaar.

Journal - Ink Drawing

 Here is another book arts piece with a simple binding and ink drawings.  The back and inside of the front cover also have drawings.  

I would like to make these using homemade paper for the filler paper in the future.

I think that it would be a fun way to upcycle some scraps that I have laying around.

I plan to create more but would like to personalize them a bit more (so if you have any friends you want to buy a gift for, give me their name and we can work something out : )

I might also make some with "Live, Laugh, Love" or something like that as well.

How Bazaar!

A couple weeks ago, our church had a Bazaar/Garage Sale to raise money for Haiti (not the group I worked with, but another one).  I sold photographs and ink drawings.  It was a great time and a significant learning experience. 

It was fun because I was able to sit and draw and people really enjoyed watching…Someday, I would love to go to a downtown somewhere and draw.  I need to get faster or have some pre-made initial pieces (I’m thinking book marks for $5. Anyone interested?), but am seriously considering it.

Here is one of the graffiti style name ink drawings I completed.  I love the graffiti style (and the fact that it is all black and white) and have been enjoying improving my ink drawing skills and techniques.

I will also be going to Last Thursday in Portland this Thursday...Maybe I will see some of you there.

4orMore

Art Alley
Felicia Follum
Photography

Every year the University of Wyoming's Student Art League does an excellent fundraiser, The 4 or More Show.   The 4 or More event is composed of cutting 4”x4” panels of Masonite and mounting them onto balsa wood strips.  Each member takes 4 or more squares and creates some form of artwork on them.  They can also be used as a pedestal for a three-dimensional piece. 

For the actual sale the league picks a night when there is a concert or some other large event in the Fine Arts building, hangs the pieces on the kiosk wall and holds a silent auction.  The prices range from $4 to $44 in increments of, you guessed it, 4.  We usually sell upwards of 100 squares.

This fundraiser is excellent and raises a significant amount of money.  This past year my squares all sold for at least $16.  I was quite excited. 

Visit my website to see the rest of the images from this year and to see my squares from past shows.  One of my favorites from the past was a wood burned image of my salamander that stretched across two pieces.  A professor bought these two squares for her son.

Liquid Jesus
Felicia Follum
Photography

Dragonfly
Felicia Follum
Photography

Barnacles
Felicia Follum
Photography

Spider
Felicia Follum
Photography (no Photoshop)

I think that I would like to use this technique in the future to mount larger art pieces....Hmmm but what?  Any ideas?  What would you place on a 4"x4" square?

Upcycled T-shirt Scarves and Neclaces

Though I am a social/political fine artists, I do still have periods of time where I just want to be creative and take a break from my more serious work.  I love upcycling and the idea of making something beautiful out of something we would otherwise throw away.  Here is one of my favorite projects to create during the times between heavy social/political research and project creation.  T-shirt scarves/necklaces.

I have seen these all over the place (well in upcycling and DIY YouTube videos and websites) so I decided to start making them myself.  Every time I wear one of mine I get multiple compliments and I am going to share my secret with you..

All you need is an old T-shirt, good scissors.  I like to use fabric glue, charms, beads, and fabric scraps (can be from your t shirt).

Instruction and more images below.

What Do You Do With Dead Roses?

Well here is what I would do...
Make Potpourri and Dried Flowers
and maybe take some artsy photographs along the way.

 

Tutorials below...

Hot Chocolate

The last couple days have been pretty cold.  Yesterday was - 21 F and we still had school.  I guess last winter got over 10 degrees colder but still I don't like riding my bike or walking in the cold.

In response to the cold weather, I figured I would post about something warm.  That something is homemade hot chocolate that I made.  The recipe I have is a little too dark for me but it still tastes good.

The recipe (it is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book):




1 25.6 oz. package of nonfat dry milk powder
1 16 oz. jar powdered non dairy creamer
1 8 oz. container unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 c. powdered sugar

I altered the recipe by adding peppermint, maybe a cup.
You can also add marshmallows.   

If you want to make these into gifts you can get a set of (I think) 12 mason jars and put a couple cups in each.  If you have old spaghetti or jelly jars they will work well too.  Take a square of material and place it in-between the seal of the lid and the wring.  You can use ribbon that you have to tie a bow.  I bought mini wisks to add as well. 

This recipe is a ton it makes around 30 servings.

Enjoy!!!

Circuit Board Gift Card/Photo Album

This is the perfect gift for the nerd in every young ladies life.  This project was fairly simple and fun.  I was going to make the circuit board into a a photo frame but the dremel bits I had were too week, so I used the circuit board as a cover and added a light up piece.

For those of you who want to make this you need a circuit board, Ulfa knife (like X-acto only better), dremel (my board had holes), electrical wire, newspaper, paint, and ink.

Turtorial and more images below...

Upcycled Pot Holders

I was at my grandmothers house over Christmas and we made a bunch of potholders.  Here are a couple of the ones I kept.  I think that they might be one of the easiest sewing projects out there.

We took some old rags (clean ofcourse) and cut them up into rectangles (that fold in half to create two squares).  We then took some material that I liked and cut it to rectangles about a half an inch to an inch larger than the rag squares (again you could use two squares).

You fold everyhting in half, right sides in and rags on the outside, and sew around three sides (two if you used a folded rectangle).

Turn it right side out, add a hanger, and sew the last side shut (fold edges under).

Finally sew a x though the center of the pot holder and the edges to hold the rags in place. 

Upcycled Paper Beads Lessons Plan

This past summer I was given the opportunity to go on a trip to Haiti.  I took a couple magazines, scissors, toothpicks and glue along with me.  These four items led to an amazing opportunity to lead some of the older girls and younger boys in the skill or craft of making paper beads.  It was a great opportunity to combine two of my most significant passions, people and art.  Although paper bead making may not be seen as Fine Art (Check out my Facebook Art Page), there is something marvelous about using my artistic ability and Fine Arts training to connect with others.

This is a project that could be done with kids or adults of any age.  The process is fairly simple.  You start with a piece of magazine or paper and cut it into triangles (for more oval beads) or rectangles the long way (for thicker beads).  After you do this you can roll them on a toothpick and add a drop of glue.  Finally finish it off with some sort of water proofing (spray paint or gloss medium work well).  I use gloss spray paint.  The simplest way to create a piece of jewelry is to take stretchy sting and thread it on with one or two spacer beads in-between paper beads.
 
Last Christmas break I created and sold a significant amount of jewelry made from these beads. I entered, and sold, jewelry in the Affordable Art for the Holidays show at the Works of Wyoming Gallery. Some of the jewelry that I created for gifts and the show included earrings, necklaces and bracelets incorporating paper beads.