Tips for Making Excellent Pastel Paintings

Gail Watford and Vanda Edington at Works of Wyoming

WOW its cold

Artwork by Suzanne Morlock

WOW it is cold here in Laramie.  Did you know that WOW art gallery and gift shop is located in one of the coldest cities in the US.  According to the list of America's Coldest Cities on The Daily Beast we are ranked number 7.
 
Here is what how Laramie, Wyoming scored


Average winter temperature 2009:  19.3 degrees
Coldest day: -27.4 degrees, January 7
Warmest day: 61 degrees, March 30
Days with snow: 33%

Stay warm with some beautiful Wyoming artwork and this recipe for hot chocolate from Better Homes and Gardens (found on one of our member's blogs).  Be sure to come join us to see some great artwork, have a conversation, and maybe even drink some hot coco or tea (just ask and we will make some hot water) as well.  We are located on the second floor of the Laramie Plains Civic Center, suite 271.

Holiday Countdown: His and Her Gift Ideas

Cut steel wall hangings by Dan Roberts
make and excellent gift.

It can often be a challenge to come up with gift ideas. Here are some Christmas and/or holiday gift ideas for your significant other.  Many of them would work for a  best friend, family member, or acquaintance whose name you drew for a white elephant party.

Coupon book - Coupons are simple to make even if you don't have any fancy graphics programs.  Cut an 8.5x11 piece of nice paper in to 4ths ot 5ths and print or draw your coupons.  Some coupon ideas could be free hug, free kiss, movie or game night, or homemade supper of your choice on me.

Personal Note - hidden notes are always a great surprise to wake up to.

12 Days of Christmas (or insert chosen holiday here) - decide on 12 gifts and give one to your sweety each of the 12 days leading up to the holiday of choice.  Here is website that shows the significance behind the Christian meaning of the song.

Candy or other sweets especially homemade treats always make great gifts for the holiday season.
Chocolate Kisses - These could be used along with the coupon book and each candy could redeem a kiss (or a hug if you give hugs).
You can also use candy instead of packaging peanuts.

Gift baskets are fun and very personal.  You could combine one or several of these ideas with a gift basket.  Gift baskets are great for most friends and family.

Remember mixed tapes?  It wasn't long ago that this was the gift to give your date.  Now it would clearly be a Mixed CD.  You can dig though your music collection and pick songs that had significance behind them.  This is a great gift for girls or guys.

A blanket, movie, and popcorn (or hot chocolate) make a great gift for nearly anyone living through a cold winter (like those here in Larmaie, Wyoming).

One summer when I worked at a church camp, I had a ton of fun creating scavenger hunts for my coworkers (who were friends).  One wanted a car so it ended with a toy car.  A variation on this would be to create a board game and there is a space that results in the gift.

Finally for those of you who are not crafty you can always come in to visit us here at Works of Wyoming.  We are located in suite 271 of the Laramie Plains Civic Center on the corner of 7th and Garfield in Laramie, WY.  Our phone number is 307.742.6574 give us a call or send an email.

What are some of the best gifts you have given or received?

Holiday Countdown: Online Sales Venues

Featured Work on ETSY.  More about the piece.

14 days left until the holidays!

As you may know will are posting 25 days of holiday gifts for the holiday season, DIY ideas, decorations, and creative projects for you, your family, and friends. The projects will include upcyled, craft, art, and other projects from our artists, clients and some other excellent online resources.

I will start this series with an introduction to some great social media sites dedicated to selling your work. These four sites should be considered as a part of your online marketing plan. In fact many of the projects in the series of posts could be made in your free time and sold on these sites.

ETSY is a wonderful site to sell handmade work and vintage items.  Artwork, crafts and craft supplies are all featured on the site.  Several Wyoming artists have work on ETSY.  It only cost 20 cents per item listed for three months on ETSY.

ArtFire is another online resource for selling and purchasing work.  There is a $12 monthly fee for the pro account as well as a free option and a 30 day pro account free trial when you sign up.

FineArtAmerica is another great venue for selling art.  There are many forums, contests, and groups you can join.  Fine Art America is free.   Fine Art America seems like a great way to meet other artists through their groups and forums.

WholesaleCrafts offers opportunities for our wholesale artist.  This site accepts members based on their applications.  They also offer opportunities to show in two wholesale craft fairs in the US.

All four of these sites work well for artists and crafters alike.  My advice would be to see which fits your budget and time as well as your work.  If you would like someone to sit down and research these and other options with you, don't hesitate to contact Works of Wyoming via email or call 307.742.6574.

What are some other online sales sites that you use? Post them below!

Holiday Countdown: Wish List

Are you still working on your wish list for this Christmas season? Are you still trying to find out what to purchase for the artists or creatives in your family? Here are a couple possible solutions to your dilemma.

1. A WOW membership includes marketing tips and advice, a free 2 hour business consultation, free social media marketing advice, waived application fee for all of WOW’s exhibitions 10% off in the gift shop and gallery and more.

One of our many painting by WOW member Jeanie Schlump.

2. I saw the  Intous 4 Tablet and was amazed. This would be perfect for any artist or techie who enjoys working on the computer.
3. Alyson B Stanfield’s book I'd Rather be in the Studio makes an excellent gift for any artist who is looking to make it in the art field (of course WOW’s member ship will also help). This book addresses the business and marketing aspects of being an artist. Be sure to follow WOW’s blog for more art business and marketing tips.

And of course, if you are still searching, you should certainly come into the gallery and gift shop here at WOW. We have a plethora of excellent ideas for family and friends this Christmas/Holiday season. We are located in Suite 271 of the Laramie Plains Civic Center.

Holiday Countdown: Stay Warm

Wyoming winters can get cold, do in addition to the beauty tips posted yesterday, I would like to share some DIY projects that will help to keep you warn this holiday season.  These projects include homemade hot chocolate, a scoody, mittens, poncho, hat, and hand warmers made from a couple old sweatshirts, and a shrug.

Here is a hot chocolate recipe I made for friends and family last year.

Make youself your very own scoodie (scoodie = scarf + hoodie) and arm warmers from an old sweatshirt.
This TreadBanger video will show you more.


Hat, Mittens, and Poncho from ThreadBanger


Another vide from ThreadBanger on how to create a shrug and skirt.

Holiday Countdown: Holiday Marketing Tips

My personal list of DOs and DON'Ts

Painting by Heather Storey, currently in our Affordable
Art for the Holidays sale.

DO post relevant information on your social media sites

DO donate a percent of the profit

DO create a Christmas or holiday logo

DO feature a special holiday line or work

DO take notes on what works and does not work for next year

DO stay organized

DON'T spam and push the sales of your product

DON'T ignore your regular routine

DON'T focus on quantity over quality

DON'T let clutter get the best of you

Remember these tips can carry throughout your entire marketing plan.  You can post on your blog and then post a link to your blog and Facebook business page.  If you have a Facebook business page (and here are several reasons why you should have a Facebook business page in addition to your personal page) feel free to share posts with your personal page.  You don't even need to try and sell, people will enjoy it more if you don't pester them.

Here are five more tips from Retail Online Integration and 60 tips for Halloween through Christmas from BlueGlass.com.

Holiday Countdown: Newspapers

19 days left until the holidays.

If you are looking for a fun and creative way to upcycle some of your old newspapers, here are some great crafty project ideas.

Handbags from uncommongoods.com

From my research about upcylcing old newspapers I have found three main ways to turn them into projects.  The three ways I have found are rolling them into tubes, taking the tubes and making coils, and creating yarn.  If you are less crafty and more practical, you could also consider creating planters.

Some projects you can make from newspaper coils include trash cans, bags, bowls and doormats.

In this tutorial you can see how to make newspaper yarn as well.

If you would like to lead or participate in a crafty workshop at WOW, please let us know what you are interested in and we will try our best to help you set something up.   Feel free to email or Facebook us.

Holiday Countdown: DIY Beauty

Living in Laramie, Wyoming, it is always a challenge to keep your skin, hair and lips taken care of in the dry winters.  I thought I could help by posting some DIY solutions, that I am sure will help you stay beautiful and keep healthy this winter.  Some of these projects could be placed in re-sealable containers and given as gifts or sold in the annual Affordable Art for the Holidays sale (if you want to start planning your booth for next year).  However I will start with one of the most important beauty tips out there.  It is also significant in your artwork.

Confidence and Art Marketing

I know that this is not a traditional beauty tip but it will help people gravitate toward you and your artwork.  If you are confident in yourself, others will notice.  The same is true for your artwork.  If you are confident in your work, others will be as well.  Take care of yourself because your love yourself and take care in creating your work because you care about it.  Confidence will help you and your art career in a variety of areas.  From marketing, where you need to put yourself out there in the big world, to pricing work, where you need to keep prices that will support your business and stand confidently behind those prices.  This winter season, be sure to make you and your art a priority.  In addition to confidence taking care of your body is one way to radiate confidence and here are three more projects that can help.

Lip Gloss

This site has a variety of lip gloss recipes. Flavors include chocolate, candy and cranberry.

Here is a great video tutorial for some great lip balms…These would probably go over well at the next Affordable Arts show.

Here is a ThreadBanger tutorial on YouTube


Video with another three recipies

Scar Removal
DIY Facial from the Secret Life of a Bio Nerd.  Did you know that you can use lemon, cucumber juice and tea tree oil and mix it with non-scented lotion to help with breakouts?  It also helps remove scars.  Find out more in the video below.



Moisturizer
Below is a great tutorial for hair and skin moisturizers for those of us with dry, thick, or coarse hair and dry skin.  Some other great tricks for keeping your hair healthy in the winter includes wearing a head scarf or protective styles.  You can find a ton of videos about taking care of dry, coarse or curly hair on YouTube by searching terms such as "natural hair" and "protective hairstyles for winter."




What are your favorite beauty secrets for the winter?  How has confidence played a role in your art business?

Holiday Countdown: Snow Dyeing

Who here (in Wyoming) loves snow? For those of you who do, this project will be perfect and for those of you who are not big fans of the fluffy white stuff (known as the s-word in my house as a child), this project will show you the true beauty that snow can help you produce.

Bloom Bake and Create features this process on her blog.  To learn more check out her two post series.
Snow Dyeing Part 1
Snow Dyeing Part 2

This is one project I have not a chance to try yet.  Let me know how it works and post images of your projects.  Any tips or tricks you learned?  What is your favorite method to dye fabrics? And what do you do with the fabric once it has been dyed?

Holiday Countdown: On the 4th Day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Four caling birds...

Sadly, I will not be posting four calling birds, but rather three images of bird artwork and a hilarious video featuring birds and some fun bohemian artsy types.  This artwork is currently in the store and was created by local Wyoming artists.

Put a Bird on It and A Free Craft Fair.
The video is from the Portlandia series on YouTube.  This specific episode comments of the current bohemian fashion statement of placing birds on almost everything.  I had the opportunity to attend Last Thursday in Portland, Oregon last summer, and was shown these videos to prepare me for what I would see.  (see my experience from last summer). Even if you have never traveled to Portland, you are sure to get a kick our of this series.  If you are looking for an excellent event for artisan and craft venders and happen to be in Oregon on the last thursday of any month, be sure to look for Alberta street.  It is free to set up and free to walk around.

Laramie's AAH Show and More Birds
If you don't get a chance to visit Oregon for Last Thursday this holiday season, be sure to check out the Affordable Arts for the Holidays sale here at WOW...It's arguably the next best thing.  You get to support local artists, be around other artists, and if you are lucky take home some of this beautiful artwork with a bird on it.

Open Hours and Contact
We are open Mondays from 1 - 5 pm, Tuesdays - Fridays from 1 - 6 pm, and Saturdays in Decemeber from 1 - 4 pm
We are located on the second floor of the Laramie Plains Civic Center in Suite 271.

Feel free to contact us via email or Facebook or call 307.742.6574.

Holiday Countdowns: Plarn

Plarn, or plastic yarn, is a wonderful alternative to traditional yarn. It is simple to make, all you need to do is cut plastic bags into strips and connect them together. There are some wonderful tutorials on YouTube.

One of many plarn making tutorials.


You can use plarn for most knitting patterns.  The main challenge is that the material does not stretch the same as yarn (or even T-shirt yarn).  If you stretch the plarn while creating your project, it will probably rip.  Here are some wonderful plarn project ideas.
Plarn Purse
Plarn water bottle carrier
Plarn shopping bag
Plarn bracelet

Like always, if you have questions be sure to contact WOW.  We would love to chat more about this and other projects.

Holiday Countdown: Scarves

24 Days left....

Nothing beats the perfect scarf during Wyoming winters so I thought I would share some tutorials on how to make and tie scarfs for the second day of the Holiday Countdown.

This DIY T-shirt scarf tutorial is my favorite (and I have seen many and even created one myself).  Some others I have made.


A scoody would be perfect for this holiday season.  If you want to make me one, I will be at WOW.

A circle scarf...


Now that you have several scarves, lets look at some ways to jazz them up a bit.  Here are 25 ways to tie a scarf in 5 minutes


Now that you know how to tie and make scarves, be sure to stop the gallery to buy and/or to sell some beautiful scarves.  We currently have several t-shirt scarves as well as some knitted beauties.  If you would like to attend an upcycled scarf making workshop, be sure to contact the gallery.  Email us, find us on Facebook or call at 307.742.6574.

We are open from 1 - 5 Monday - Friday and 1 - 4 on Saturdays.  Satuday December 3, we will open at 10 am.  Be sure to stop by Suite 271 in the Laramie Plains Civic Center.

Holiday Countdown: Our Tree

For the holiday season we will be posting 25 days of holiday gifts, DIY ideas, decorations, and creative projects for you, your family, and friends. The projects will include upcyled, craft, art, and other projects from our artists, clients and some other excellent online resources.

I figured I would get you started with a project that WOW has been working on for the past couple days. Gayle and our intern, along with our intern's family had a great time decorating the tree for the 18th Annual Festival of Trees and Silent Auction here in Laramie.  The auction and lighting ceremony will be held tonight from 6 - 8 pm at the UW Art Museum.  All proceeds will benefit the museum.

The tree titled Plains to Mountains was decorated using handmade holiday ornaments.  The two recipes were cinnamon dough ornaments from MarhaStewart.com borax ornaments using pipe cleaners and sagebrush from Food.com.

WOW Ranked #2 on Laramie Live

Works of Wyoming ranked number 2 in  Kari's Top 5 Best Black Friday Sales in Laramie!!! Go WOW!!!

Be sure to come in between 9 and 5 to score some amazing deals on local artwork and spread the word to all of your friends.  

We are located in the Laramie Plains Civic Center in Suite 271.