Karen Tessandore

  • Smile

    Lately, I've been thinking that the girls I draw or paint look a little…serious.  I always intend for them to look quietly happy.  But if I'm not looking at them close up, they lose their spark.  So my new plan is to work on a more obviously happy expression & this is my first attempt

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  • Blurb

    Aside from being a fun word to say, Blurb is a wonderful little (big?) book company where you can print your own book.  I had heard of them years ago, but it was only recently that I found out they had developed software to convert a blog into book format.  So of course…I now have

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  • Happy Valentine’s Day!

    I found a couple Basswood Country Rounds today at Value Village and thought one of them would make a great background for a lovely Valentines-y girl in a pretty pink dress.  (+$3 bucks each and still in the package…who could resist?)  I started with covering the area I wanted to work with in gesso, of

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  • Best. Day. Ever.

    I'm not going to elaborate on that.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  ♥  But really…it was an unexpectedly great Valentine's Eve! What I can tell you is that I made a couple new paintings today.  I'm still really enjoying these tiny watercolor papers.After finishing this little blue dress, I had an

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  • Valentine’s Candy

    I ♥ Necco hearts.  Especially the yellow & white ones.  But for some real decadence, check out these creations by Vosges Haut Chocolat.  I'm actually not a big chocolate fan, but these are very different.  +I'm a sucker for everything they do with their packaging.  Isn't that purple heart wonderful?  They publish a great catalog

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  • Valentine’s Cookies

    First, let me say how much I love this Pearl Dust!  After the background icing is set up & before you start with the other details, just take a soft paint brush and dust it all over the cookie.  It gives them this lovely sheen. This is my favorite house ~ the little heart shingles

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  • 2/3 of the way…

    My friend Meg & I had a great time at a cookie decorating class a few days ago.  We learned that when using Royal Icing, fancy cookies are a 3 day process.  Day 1) bake the cookiesDay 2) "run out" the background frosting on each cookie & finally…Day 3) the fun detail decorating!   This is

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  • Art Night

    This last weekend was the first Art Night get together!  I should have taken a "before" of the table, but here it is while we were right in the middle of our needle-felting fun.  Note the band aids & chocolate kisses – we were set for all eventualities!  Penny made this cute brown hedgehog…And Meg

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  • Marshmallows are back, yes they are.

    This time it's Raspberry Vanilla Marshmallows!  I'm staring to get the hang of these, so I decided to branch out with the flavors.  They're scrumptious & so pretty pink.Also gettin' fancy with the shapes…I think I'll be sad when February leaves.  {It really is my favorite.}  Only 6 days 'till Valentine's!   ♥

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  • Box People take over!

    For almost 8 months I made what felt like a zillion of these little folks.  Most of them sold at a juried art show at the Anchorage Museum.  It was so fun to see the different reactions from people!  Some just really didn't know what to make of them.  I still have the notebook page

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