Winding thru Winter: Painting Springtime with this and that

I was considering a medium for an upcoming craft that has to be framed, and it occurred to me that most frames either have a cardboard back or a cardboard insert included. It's already the right size for the frame. It just needs to be primed!

I had a frame on hand but could easily have gotten one at a thrift store. Argh, I've passed on so many great wooden frames because I had no idea what to put in them!

I had to include my little salt dough bird (Bitty thinks it's Cookie Monster). I imagine him saying, "Are you sure you know what you're doing??!?"

I got out my gesso, a medium I was introduced to by Courtney Adair Johnson, who has a great blog and Facebook presence.

https://www.facebook.com/REmakeArt.

I tinted it pink and spread it on with an old gift card- an idea from one of her classes at Plaza Art.

After printing it with some painted bubble wrap, I added a flower. Georgia O'Keeffe, I am not. So I added some paint using some old cutouts that housed Bitty's Fall stickers. A little more squiggly glitter paint, a smash with some scrap paper, and I'm much happier with the result.

The purple in the corner was painted over a mesh produce bag.

I added a Mod Podge layer to seal, then reframed it. Pushing it into the frame caused a few small cracks at the corners of the painting, but I'm calling this one a success overall. 

It's now on my desk, and with some dry erase markers it will be a place for my "to-do" lists. 

I'm resolved in 2014 to keep some empty frames at hand. When Little Bit gets the painting bug, this is an easy and inexpensive way to keep his art. I hope he resolves to paint more in the new year. Not only is it more fun for me, it's easier to take pictures of him painting than when he's doing this: