Friday Give-away!!

Happy Friday, Friends!

Well, as promised, here is the first give-a-way in my four week Friday give-away series. Today's prize is a GICLEE PRINT of my latest painting, valued at $50.00. It is a signed, limited edition and comes unframed. It will be matted and mounted on archival board. Shipping costs will be billed to the winner if it's over $5.00. 

The question you must answer is this; If you had the opportunity to learn one new technique for your crafting or art making, what would that be? Please elaborate. Leave your answer in my comments section and if you sign up for my mailing list, I'll add your name in twice!

Now, here's a photo of the painting...the print will not have that big old © and the copyright notice across the image. Instead, it will be discreetly placed on the bottom and will be hand signed. Good luck! I'll announce the winner on Monday. Remember, you must contact me if I announce your name and if I don't hear back by the following Friday, you forfeit your prize. 

note: everyone is encouraged to enter, even my BFFEs!

Comments

[Pam]

So many things to learn... I start a lot of things and don't fully follow through. But right now I think it might be knitting that hits the top of the list... so many wonderful fibers out there and I'd love to make some of those awesome scarves for myself and friends. But another close second would be incorporating shrink plastic with polymer clay... I saw this recently and it really intrigued me.
Love the print by the way... I'm a cat lover... and my house literally overflows with them (I keep adopting them - or they me depending on who you ask) and I love the bright colors you use! I haven't painted for years really but you remind me how much fun it could be!

[Pastelmagick]

My list is ever-growing as my time and budget are limited.

However, if I had to pick the tops, I would include wire-crocheting and heat-embossing.

I'm new to crocheting in experience, but my mom has been trying to teach me for years. I'm just fascinated by all of the ways you can "tie knots."

As for heat embossing, I'm always up for a scrapbooking technique I haven't tried, but I have yet to find a class for this particular technique.

P.S. I LOVE your artwork!

[gail friend]

Hi,,, your painting is beautiful. I love cats also. What a generous contest, thanks,
I would love to learn watercolor painting. Its on my to-do list. I draw and have written a childrens book, but want to do the illustration myself in watercolors. Thanks again and happy creating,,,gail friend

[Michelle]

As an avid scrapbooker, I love trying new techniques. One that I have not yet tried but would love to learn is incorporating stitching on my layouts and cards. I just haven't quite gotten gutsy enough to actually do it yet. Maybe this will inspire me to do so.

While I am here, I wanted to share about your wonderful art and nominated your blog for an award. Check it out at http://scrappyhour.wordpress.com.

[Brenda Pinnick]

I am really, really enjoying hearing what art & craft desires everyone is sharing. I never would have thought of lace making or wood burning! Now I'm off to do a little research to see what's happening in those areas.

[Tamara]

I would like to learn how to do woodburning. Not the tacky now-that-I'm-retired-my-wife-said-I-have-to-get-a-hobby kind of woodburning, but the kind with finesse that makes people say, "No way is that woodburning! Who knew you could do such interesting things with hot metal on a hunk of dead tree?" It always seemed to me like a craft with limitless possibilities for the unexpected.

[terrie bailey]

Gorgeous as always Brenda:)~X~
I would love to master the Art of accrylic Painting...I love the sense of feel and mish mash feeling I get from them:)
I`v put a lickle link to you on my blog in hoping that more people become aware of your fabulous creativity:)
Have a lovely Weekend~X~

[Babs Wallis (Crumbleycat)]

Your painting is gorgeous Brenda and I know you love cats just as much as I do. Our two rescue cats are just recovering from a really nasty bout of cat flu which they contracted in the cattery while we were on holiday(they have been vaccinated). We thought we were going to lose them, it was an awful week.
There are not many crafts that I haven't tried but one I would really like to learn properly is lace-making. I tried it years ago and the sound of the spangles jingling on the ends of the bobbins as you move them to make such gorgeous, fine and intricate patterns is so relaxing and some of the results are stunning - how proud I would feel if I could produce beautiful lace.
Babs x

[Kirsten]

One creative technique that I would like to learn is the skill of taking the piles of sketches, journals full of ideas and files full of clipped magazines and turn it into pieces of art. I would like to learn the skills of the multi-media artist ... combining collage, painting and journaling to create meaningful pieces of art.

[Linda]

I'd love make silver jewelry. Maybe specialize in rings. There are so many gorgeous gems in every color of the rainbow and I'd use them all!

lindastamps

[Jacqui McGrath]

One thing I would like to learn to do is heat embossing! I think it would be a cool thing to add to my scrapbook style - just to give another tactile element to my pages. Tactileness (if thats a word)is one of the things that turned me on to scrapping and I'd love to incorporate as much dimension as I could throw at a page!! Not for me the less is more thingy - well not today anyway!
PS Love the print - the grey cat reminds me of our old pet Stanley!!!
Jacqui x

[Veronica Goff]

What a lovely work of art Brenda!
If I had the opportunity to learn one new technique, it would have to be Encaustic Painting. I love the smell of bees wax & I have lightly scratched the surface of this art. The encaustic paintings I've seen are so beautiful that I find myself traveling deep within the painting to discover what secrets the artist may have hidden deep within it's waxy layers of colors. Yep, Encaustic Paintings it'd be!

[Ann Butler]

Hey Brenda,
Love the painting! If I could learn a new technique it would be to make faces in polymer clay, that is something that would be fun to do!
Hugs,
Ann

[Debra Quartermain]

Hi Brenda,
What a wonderful, generous contest and gorgeous print. Our two cats could have posed.

It is hard to choose, there are so many more creative techniques I would like to learn. My first choice would be learning to be an artist in both watercolors and oils. I could then paint the beautiful fall outside my window. My Mom loves her paintings and I would love to be able to do one for her myself to wake up to each day.

Debra

[melissa]

hi Brenda!
i would love to learn how to quilt. I have a sewing machine and have made a few small sewing projects, but would love to know how to cut, piece, sew and finish a quilted project. Even a potholder would be great! i need to sign up for a class. :)
i just joined your mailing list last week. :)
Thank you for having this great contest. Your painting is gorgeous! I love the birdies!
:) Melissa

[Margot]

Only one thing! Gosh I don't know if I can pick one. There are so, so many!

That being said, I think sewing is a skill I'd like to integrate into my creative tool box. I collect vintage clothing and patterns and it would be amazing to be able to do alterations and make new vintage clothes!

What a lovely painting!

Cheers
Margot

[Phyllis Dobbs]

I have always wanted to knit. It just looks so relaxing and something you can do after a stressful days work of meeting deadlines, pulling weeds, fighting traffic, worrying about the price of gas or grocery shopping.

What I really love about knitting is the versatility. You can knit clothes, home decor items of just fun wacky stuff.

You have a huge variety of fibers so you can knit with the colors to fit your mood or personal style. Think of the bright warm colors such as orange, fuchsia, and red, or the cool blues, greens and aquas, not to mention the earth tones or neutrals.

Gee, anybody want to teach me! I'm ready to learn.

[Molly Smith]

Hello, Brenda!

I would love to learn to sew and use one of my two sewing machines; a fairly new Janome and a travel machine! I've owned five sewing machines in total. I need hands on instructions and I know it is a mental block because the machine is intimidating. My goal is to go to a sewing school. I just want to learn the basics and I think I could teach myself anything advanced with practice.

My mother used to make the grandchildren simple PJs for Christmas Eve each year. But they were so cute. Would really like to do this.

Your painting is fabulous! Very unique and I love the bright colors :) Thanks!

[Helen Murphy]

I would love to be able to crochet as there are such great embellishments around that are made like this at the moment but I just cannot seem to get the hang of it from books! In the absence of that I would love to be able to do something more "arty" and would love to learn how to paint - even if my art teachers told me I was a lost cause! What I find really funny now is when people look at my pages they tell me I must be so artistic to do something like scrapbooking - try and tell em otherwise but they just will not have it. This is such a shame as I know they can do it themselves but just need to be brave enough to give it a try - guess we are all the same with whatever we put on this comments section. Things that we would all LIKE to try but do we really have the courage to actually get out there and do it? Sounding like Carrie from SITC now LOL!!!!

Love the painting - as Brenda might know I just adore ginger kitty cats and am currently owned by two of them!

[Aimee Wheaton]

I would love to learn how to make those adorable mixed media soldered pendants and jewelry or learn how to use polymer clay and make adorable figurines.

Beautiful painting!!! I love cats!

[Lisa Call]

No - pick me!

If I had to pick something to learn today it would be how to oil paint. I know all the techniques I want to make my textile work - I'd love to get into oil painting.

[Cathy]

Well that picture is beautiful.

I guess if there is something I really need to learn about crafts it has to be time management. Not being able to effectively manage time has caused me great stress with many crafts.

I procrastinate and then before I know it a deadline is upon me. I barely have a project started, let alone complete. It takes away from enjoying the craft and makes it a stress filled fight against the clock.

[Randi-Sue Deckard]

Pick me, pick me....my daughter is a cat fanatic and we're in the process of redoing her room (new floor and paint) and this would be a wonderful addition to her walls!

If I had to pick only one thing (today) to learn it would be "enameling" on metal & glass. I would love to have a collection of colorful silver and fused glass jewelry designs plus work on more elaborate designed wall art using enamels on fused glass.....

That was a hard choice!