Fancy Boots

I was so impressed by the amazing cowboy boots I saw at the recent Paper Cowgirl Altered Art Retreat that I dug into my backup files to find a photo of my altered cowboy boots.  These are Justins, size 7 1/2, and, alas, I now wear a size 8 or so.  I have hung on to them for years, thinking I'd give them to my daughter.  But she wears a size 8, too.They were my favorite dress boots, bought the year we went to the National Finals Rodeo when the show made its debut in Las Vegas.

So two years ago, I dug 'em out of my closet, got the fabric bits, trinkets and acrylic paints and set to work.  I painted plants and trees that represented the areas I have lived--Joshua Trees for California, Bald Cypress for Louisiana, red Hibiscus for Hawai'i, and Satsuma oranges (on the heels) for Louisiana.  I added glitter, embroidered longhorn embellishments, and two celluloid medallions from a vintage children's western holster set to finish the boots off.  Big ol' curtain tassels from Tuesday Morning add that romantic flair.

While these boots aren't made for walking, they sure look nice on an end table, and they remind me of rodeos in times past!

Mas Y Mas

 My Official PC Name Bade, all hand-made and sparkly with gorgeous gold glitter.

More and More, for sure!  Have I got Paper Cowgirl fun to share with ya'll?  Is Texas a big ol' state?  My name badge was in danger of getting bent to bits while pinned on my apron, so on Saturday, I pinned it to my cowboy hat, as you can see above.  I love the horseshoe theme!

I coordinated a "Faithful Horse" swap, providing a link to an awesome template from artist Ann Wood.  Because this was the last swap posted, we only had a total of six swappers, but I think lots of ladies wished they had joined us. The creativity with the template was astounding.  Once home, I displayed my herd on this ribbon board so ya'll could truly appreciate the artistic variety.  I used the map paper and cut my templates a little bit bigger.

 Detail of Quick Cutz embossing

One swapper sent her horse in a different direction and another used "Quick Cutz" Metal Embossing sheets for extra special detail.

One of Suzie Button's sweet ponies!

I participated in the Rodeo Queen Sash swap.  My swap partner was the wonderful Ms. Mendy, who added her signature bling-tastic touches to this white satin sash complete with shabby pink lettering and sparkly sequin edging.  It was a bit heavy to wear (the price of royalty!) so I had my son photograph me in it all my splendor, complete with tiara, upon my return home.

Here is a detail from the bottom of the sash:

Below is another horse from our "Faithful Horse Swap":

Hope you enjoyed these photos--I have more to show you!

Paper Cowgirl Swaps Progress

The craft table is cluttered here at El Rancho Not So Grande--I'm working on my swap items for the up-coming Paper Cowgirl Altered Art Retreat, which will take place in Waxahachie, Texas in two weeks.

I'm nearly done with my Rodeo Queen Sash.  I just need to corral my daughter, who is the sewing expert, to help me finish the edges on the sash's bottom end and sew down some trims.  My Sash Partner likes mermaids and sweet color schemes, which means I'm using a different color palette than my usual orange-browns and neutrals.  It's been a challenge, but it's fun, too.  I've re-made a vintage horse show ribbon (I have a huge stash) with a mermaid theme, including a string of "pearls" and have created several faux flowers to cluster around the ribbon, which will accent the bottom of the sash.  I just need to locate my felt letters so I can add a special word--I'm leaning toward "CREATE" or "ARTFUL".

I'm embossing designs on my herd of paper horses.  They have paper and silk flower details, and I plan to add eyelets so I can thread "reins" through their mouths.  My 16-year-old daughter thinks they are cool.

All my swap items need to be attractively packaged, so I'm playing with treatments on some cute pre-made paper cones I plan to use to hold one-yard bits of vintage trims for one of the swaps.  My flower blossoms will go into little mesh pouches, and I want to add a cute detail to those as well.  I found a nifty padded hanger to hold my Rodeo Queen Sash.

 The biggest outstanding task is the design for my ATC cards.  I plan to use old road maps for the background and I have created several cowgirl "buttons" in Photoshop to use in the design.  One is featured above as a gift to my readers!  You don't have to be a Paper Cowgirl to use this, just don't re-distribute it or sell it as your own artwork--I created it from scanned images in my personal collection.

 This is a sample of one of the buttons I have created to use on the tag I'll attach to my swap items so my partners will know who made them.  I love this cowgirl--she's the author of a book on barrel racing that was published in 1961 in Cypress, Texas.

My Paper Cowgirl pendant, made by Ms. Dale of SeaDreams Studio has arrived.  It is so cute!  And my Cafe-Press order with my official tee-shirt (featuring the same design as shown on the pendant arrived tonight.  All I need is a real horse!

Cowgirl Photoshop Project

This is a page that began as a scan from a 1941 edition of a Lone Ranger coloring book published by Whitman Books, Racine, Wisconsin.  I love the original (featured below, before restoration) but wanted to have the line art available for other projects.

I started this on Thursday, the night my dog died, and there was something soothing about cloning and erasing, bit by little bit.  I worked on it Saturday and Sunday evening, and spent a large chunk of today finishing the work and adding the filters. I altered some parts of the drawing and created "solid" dust clouds.  I used my mouse for all the re-lining work (the cowgirl, her horse, tack and the dust clouds were all relined).  I have a Wacom tablet, but haven't used it for awhile, and wanted the familiarity of the mouse for this project.

All told, this is about 10 hours of work.  I was having a new A/C installed today, so I did the bulk of the work while the technicians were hauling equipment up and down stairs.  I still may tweak the line art--I think I'll move the horse's rear leg into the middle of the "dust cloud" and do a few other refinements.  However, it's a nice piece, as it is, since the drawing has that old-fashioned feel.  I feel like I know Billie Jeanne after working on her page so long!