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art, arts and craft, PrettyWaterlogueApril

Tips for Better Waterlogue Pictures + Best of #PrettyWaterlogueApril Week 2

Tips for Better Waterlogue Images | Pretty Handy Girl

Everyone participating in the #PrettyWaterlogueApril challenge are amazing artists! I had chosen 80 favorite Waterlogue images this week, but force myself to narrow it down to just twenty images. This has been torturous! If you don’t see your image below, please know that it’s not because I didn’t absolutely love your painting. I just had to limit my weekly showcase. Lets check them out – Tips for Better Waterlogue Pictures.

Before we get to this week’s 20 favorites, I wanted to share a few tips for getting better Waterlogue pictures. Besides good composition, I use the photo editing app, SnapSeed to clean up and edit my images.

This is the photo right out of my phone after I snapped the picture:

I used SnapSeed to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and a few more settings. I find using SnapSeed really helps my phone images look a lot better.

Once I bring that edited image into Waterlogue, I play with several of the settings in the Waterlogue app. I’ve found that if you are using an image of animals or people, it really helps to increase the amount of detail shown by choosing Large or Giant (only available for newer iPhones) image size. The larger the size, the more detail Waterlogue retains. You can see in the example below, that Buddy’s eyes are lost in the medium setting. It isn’t until the Giant setting that you see the highlight in his eye, which makes his face more recognizable.

I used the giant setting for my final image because it helped retain the definition in Buddy’s face.

However, there are times that I like a looser painting. For example, landscapes look great when broken down to blocks of color with less definition.

Now, onto my Top 20 #PrettyWaterlogueApril images for Week #2! Read more

April 13, 2014/12 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

art, arts and craft, Destinations, Pretty Handsome Guy, PrettyWaterlogueApril

Best of #PrettyWaterlogueApril Week 1

I am absolutely blown away by all the Waterlogue artists that are partipating in #PrettyWaterlogueApril on Instagram. There are so many beautiful images. Some would make beautiful greeting cards or garden flags. Others need to be framed and hung up to enjoy immediately! Scroll down to see my top picks this week!

I’m still working on that amazing giveaway prize, but I can tell you so far I have some great sponsors! Check back soon to learn more. In the meantime, I thought you might get a kick out of some photos from our Spring Break trip to Beaver Creek, Co.

Pretty Handsome Guy, myself and the two Handy Boys enjoyed some fresh powder and beautiful vistas.

PrettyHandyBoy #1 and I taking a rest at the top of the mountain:

This is my favorite picture that was taken of me. I don’t think anyone could miss me in that bright coat. LOL.

The boys truly wowed me as they carved turns down some intermediate trails at the end of the week. Considering this was their first time skiing beyond the North Carolina mountains, that’s saying a lot!

You know this chocoholic chick was on the slopes everyday at 3pm when the Cookie Ambassadors passed out fresh chocolate chip cookies!

Beaver Creek also had loads of fun things for the kids to do. Pretty Handy Boy #2 was thrilled to do backflips on the bungee trampolines:

Somehow I was talked into trying it out. At first I was enjoying it…

…but after I was pressured into doing a backflip…I began to regret eating the cookie right before jumping.

I had a chance to see my Aunt Bonnie who lives in Denver. We had fun shopping, eating and catching up.

I also enjoyed snapping a few pictures of the landscape and turning them into beautiful Waterlogue paintings for the #PrettyWaterlogueApril challenge (you can see the rest of my pictures on Instagram):

It was extremely tough choosing my favorite paintings this week. In no particular order, these were the chosen images. If you are on Instagram, be sure to click on the links to follow these talented artists: Read more

April 7, 2014/14 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

arts and craft, Decor Adventures, Hot Glue

Jute Wrapped Eggs

Hello! It’s Jessica here from Decor Adventures. I’m so happy to be back again with a creative and easy project for you to do this spring season. I’m usually a fall person, but find myself very excited for spring this year. It’s nature at its best and so I thought some natural texture would be a perfect connection to the warm days ahead. Jute wrapped eggs are a twist on the traditional dyed eggs and can decorate your home well past the Easter season.

Materials

Jute – Some people say you can find this at the dollar store, but you can get it at a craft or home improvement store too.
Plastic eggs – I got mine at the thrift store for only $1.00. Now is a perfect time of year to find spring craft materials.
Glue gun and glue sticks

Instructions

First, you’ll hot glue the two sides of the eggs together, assuming you have the plastic ones that come in two parts. This is to keep the egg together so after you’ve done all that work to wrap it, it doesn’t break open. Put a bead of glue around the one edge, then close the two sides together. Read more

April 2, 2014/6 Comments/by Decor Adventures

accessories, arts and craft, Contributor, Crafts, Gift Ideas, gifts, painting

DIY Colorful Coffee Stirrer Keychain

Hello Pretty Handy Girl readers, Jaime from That’s My Letter back again to share a fun craft project. Today we’re making DIY wood keychains using coffee stirrer sticks.

If you love coffee just as much as I do, what could be better than a nifty craft made from coffee stirrers!

The pattern possibilites are endless, stripes, diagonal, rainbow, chevron and on and on. And what a great gift or favor idea for a party – you could paint them to match the party color scheme.

I may or may not have borrowed a few wood coffee stirrer sticks from my local coffee shop with a green and white logo. Of course, I let my daughter do the dirty work but you only need about 5 sticks for one keychain. Or more appropriately you can purchase coffee stirrer sticks or thin wood craft sticks from most craft and hobby shops.

The painted coffee stirrer sticks are sealed with clear gloss varnish which gives a super hard finish that will hold up to everyday wear and tear while protecting the wood and paint.

Try one and I guarantee you’ll be hooked — then you’ll be making different styles and versions for everyone you know in a school or team color scheme ;-).

Materials:

5 wood coffee stirrer sticks
acrylic craft paint
small paint brush
basswood (purchase one stick at 36″ l x 3/32″ thick x 2″w)
super glue (gel version is best)
scissors
rubber bands
clear gloss varnish (Americana DuraClear or similar)
sandpaper
clear gloss polyurethane spray (optional)
drill & small drill bit
keychain hardware

Instructions:

Step 1: Paint wood coffee stirrer sticks desired colors using acrylic craft paint. Paint the edges too but not the back. Read more

March 19, 2014/12 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

art, arts and craft, bathroom, Crafts, decor, framing

How to Cut an Art Mat Like a Pro

Want to save some money and mat your own prints and artwork? It’s not hard, but having the right tools will really help you cut a straight, clean and beveled mat.

I’ve been giving the boys’ bathroom a little updating and one of the things that I wanted to do was add some artwork. Because the bathroom has predominantly blues and whites, I’ve been sticking with a coastal theme. I decided to create my own art using photos of the ocean.

I found two photos that I took of the boys from past vacations and emailed them to myself. Then I saved them to my phone and ran them through the Waterlogue app (only available for iPhone right now.) The app turns any photo into a beautiful watercolor painting. I’m seriously addicted to this app right now.

After running the photo through the app, I emailed myself the new photo. Then all I had to do was open it on my computer and print it onto Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper. The paper has a watercolor paper texture and produces beautiful images.

And viola! Instant meaningful art!

Luckily I already had frames on hand to use for this project.

Before cutting the mats, I painted the frames with Annie Sloan Paris Grey and finished them off with Miss Mustard Seed’s Linen. Then I distressed the edges of the frames.

Now, about matting that artwork…

How to Cut an Art Mat Like a Professional:

First, choose a firm and flat surface to work on. Hopefully you have a self-healing cutting mat to cut on top of. If not, you can use thick chipboard or scraps of linoleum, but be careful that you can’t cut through to your work surface.

Materials:

Colored Mat
Artwork
White Artist’s tape (you can use masking tape or scotch tape, but it might discolor your print over time.)
Logan Mat Cutting System
Extra Mat Cutting Blades
Self-healing cutting mat
X-acto knife
Ruler

A Note about Cutting Blades:

When cutting mats it is imperative that you have a fresh blade. I sometimes have to use 2 blades per mat. So, don’t be shy about swapping that blade out. If a tip breaks off, it’s going to drag on the mat and won’t give you a clean cut. (Discard old blades by wrapping them in tape to avoid personal injury.)

If you don’t own a mat cutter, you can cut your mat window with an x-acto knife, but you won’t achieve a good clean bevel. Typically, if you cut 2-3 of your own mats, your tools will pay for themselves! The Logan mat cutter I use runs about $50 for the guide and cutting handle.