A Fine Art Mystery Series

 

 A Fine Art Mystery Series

from Award-Winning Author Paula Darnell

 

Artistic License to Kill - Book 1 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

Artist Amanda Trent, accompanied by her beloved golden retriever Laddie and her persnickety calico cat Mona Lisa, is determined to start a new life after her husband divorces her to marry a younger woman, but it isn't easy.

After a disastrous interview at the prestigious Roadrunner Gallery in Lonesome Valley, Arizona, far away from her previous home in Kansas City, Amanda's afraid that she'll fail at her new career. But her prospects begin to improve when she's accepted as the newest member of the cooperative gallery.

Then, on her very first day, she discovers Janice, the stern director, has been murdered right in the art gallery, and the Roadrunner's members, including Amanda herself, become suspects. Which gallery member murdered the unpopular director? Or was the killer an outsider with an ax to grind?

 

Click to Buy Artistic License to Kill at Your Favorite Retailer 

 

Vanished into Plein Air - Book 2 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

Who wouldn't want to make a living from her favorite pastime?

Although sometimes self-doubt creeps in along the way, artist Amanda Trent has been striving to do just that, ever since her ex-husband dumped her for a younger woman and she moved to Lonesome Valley, Arizona, to start a new life. So when her friends from the Roadrunner Gallery urge her to join them and world-renown artist Ulysses Durand in a plein air paint-out, she hesitates, fearing that she might not be able to complete a painting in the four-hour time limit.

But everything goes smoothly at the public open-air event—until Ulysses's wife goes missing and he asks Amanda for her help. Has his past come back to haunt the famous artist? With a little help from her nemesis, cranky Lieutenant Belmont, the support of her friends, and the companionship of her furry feline Mona Lisa and her lovable golden retriever Laddie, Amanda tracks a killer who's determined to strike again unless Amanda can save the day

Click to Buy Vanished into Plein Air at Your Favorite Retailer

 

 

Hemlock for the Holidays - Book 3 in A Fine Arts Mystery Series

As Lonesome Valley kicks off the holiday season with its annual parade, artist Amanda Trent embraces the Christmas spirit, happy that her family will be coming to town to celebrate the season with her and her loyal pets, Laddie, a friendly golden retriever, and Mona Lisa, an independent calico cat.

Amanda has just one nagging concern: her art sales have stalled, so her checking account is starting to look a bit puny. Her financial woes pale, though, in comparison to her concern when several people eat carrot bars laced with hemlock at the high school's arts and crafts fair, resulting in one unlucky man's death. Was the poisoning an accident, or did someone with evil intent deliberately spike the sweet baked goods?

Leads the police follow don't pan out until Amanda puts the puzzle together. But, sometimes, knowledge can be a dangerous thing. . . 

 Click to buy Hemlock for the Holidays at your favorite retailer 

 


Killer Art in the Park - Book 4 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

 

 A sunny summer’s day. . .

An art show in the park. . .

How could something so delightful turn so deadly?

When she hears a bone-chilling scream, artist Amanda Trent leaves her booth and rushes through the park to find a horrifying scene. Her friend Pamela is kneeling beside her husband’s body, her hands covered in blood. Amanda’s fear that the police will immediately peg Pamela as their chief suspect comes true when Pamela is arrested for murdering her own husband. But Amanda knows that Pamela is no killer, and she’s determined to prove it.

Encouraged by the support of her friends and bolstered by the companionship of her adorable golden retriever Laddie and her moody calico cat Mona Lisa, Amanda pursues clue after clue, to no avail. She’s running out of leads, and Pamela’s running out of time. Can Amanda discover who the real killer is before Pamela has to call a prison cell her new home? 

Click to buy Killer Art in the Park at your favorite retailer. 

 

 Halloween Hue-Dunit - Book 5 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

When a flirtatious former member bursts into the Roadrunner during a members’ meeting, Amanda and her friends are startled to learn that the beautiful blonde plans to return to their cooperative art gallery. But Monique’s going to bring more than her artwork with her; she’s also about to bring trouble. On her first night back, she makes eyes at a recently married man who ignores his bride to schmooze the newcomer, and that’s just for starters. With a fight over her billionaire husband’s will, a private eye who’s tracking her, a relative who’s had all just about all she can take of Monique’s outrageous behavior, and an ex-boyfriend waiting in the wings, it’s no wonder that Monique decides to take a break to attend a Halloween costume party.

Although her costume wows the guests, the party comes to an abrupt end when Monique takes a dive from a third floor balcony. Amanda’s sure that the unlucky artist was pushed to her death, and, with a houseful of masked party-goers, it’s no easy task to sort out the suspects. But even though she’s busy painting new artwork for an upcoming show while taking care of her lovable golden retriever Laddie and her finicky calico cat Mona Lisa, Amanda can’t resist doing a little sleuthing on the side. She’ll have to hurry, though, if she’s going to catch the killer before someone else suffers the same fate as Monique.

Click to buy Halloween Hue-Dunit at your favorite retailer.

 


 

 

 

Tweedy Bird Christmas Decoration

 Make a Christmas Tweedy Bird Tree

Want to make a cute Tweed Bird Christmas Decoration? You'll need the items on the list below to put this crafty DIY project together for the holidays.

Materials

  • terra cotta pot
  • iridescent bronze acrylic paint
  • 1 yard wired Christmas ribbon, 1.5 - 2 inches wide
  • 2 yards double-faced satin ribbon, 1/4 inch wide
  • floral foam
  • small piece of gold tissue paper
  • branch 
  • 9" x 12" red felt
  • 9" x 12" scrap of tweed fabric (with some red in the tweed)
  • black Sharpie
  • brown Sharpie
  • Tweedy Bird template (click here to download)

Instructions

You'll also need some sharp scissors, a paint brush, craft glue, clear tape, and a tapestry needle or needle and thread to match your ribbon.

The first step is to paint the outside of your terra cotta pot with the iridescent bronze paint. This will give it a nice, subtle holiday glow.

Next, paint the upper part of the inside of the pot. It's not necessary to paint it all the way to the bottom because the bottom inside will not show when the project is complete.

Here's the painted pot, which now has a slight glow, thanks to the iridescent paint.

Find a branch that has some smaller branches going out to the side so that you'll have several places to hang your birds. Remove any leaves, and dust it off with a paint brush.

Paint the branch with the iridescent bronze paint, making sure to paint all sides.

Cut a piece of floral foam to fit into the pot, apply some glue to the bottom of the pot, and glue the floral foam in place.

If the floral foam doesn't cover the entire space, put some packing material around it.

 
 
Cut a square of gold tissue paper, and place it over the foam. It does not need to be glued.

 Place your branch in the center and push it down into the foam all the way to the bottom of the pot.

Wrap the wired Christmas ribbon around the pot and tie a bow. Trim the ends so that the wires are not sticking out.

Apply a light coat of glue all over the felt and press it onto the tweed fabric. Tweed ravels quite a bit, so the felt helps to stabilize it when you're cutting the birds out.

Download and print the template for the bird and wing. Tape the template to the felt side with clear tape; then cut right through both the tape and the glued felt and tweed. Cut six birds, one at a time, and twelve wings, one at a time, as shown on the template. After you cut out each bird, cut around the outside with sharp scissors to clip any frayed edges on the tweed. Make four or five cuts (the template shows five, but either four or five is OK) as indicated to make the tail feathers.

Draw an eye with the black Sharpie, and color the beak with the brown Sharpie.

 
Glue the wing to the bird, using felt side up for the tweed side of the bird.
Turn the bird over and make the eye with a black Sharpie and color the beak with the brown Sharpie.

 
Glue a tweed wing to the felt side of the bird.

Cut the satin ribbon into twelve-inch pieces, one to hang each bird. Cut the ends of the ribbon diagonally. Thread a tapestry needle with the ribbon, and pull it through both layers of fabric. This is the method I used, but it can be a bit difficult (I really had to tug to work the tapestry needle through the bird), so, if you prefer, thread a needle with thread to match your satin ribbon and simply sew the center of the ribbon to the top of each bird.

If you used the tapestry needle method, slide the needle off the ribbon. Tie a square knot or two overhand knots in the top of the ribbon. You may need to trim the ends, depending on how far down you want your bird to hand on the branch.

Arrange the birds on the branches, and your Christmas Tweedy Bird Tree is all ready for the holidays!















Halloween Felt Table Runner - Easy DIY Project

 

Here's a quick and easy project for Halloween decorating. We're going to use craft felt to make an orange and black table runner and decorate it with black felt bats. Click HERE to download the bat template so that you can print it.

In addition to the bat template, you'll need one piece of 8" by 36" orange craft felt, one piece of 8" by 36" black craft felt, a few straight pins, scissors, a rotary cutter and a mat (optional), and craft glue. I machine-stitched the runner together, but if you don't have a sewing machine, you could overlap the seams and glue it. The first step is to cut the orange felt in half so that you have two pieces, each 8" by 18".

Next, cut an 8" by 12" section from the black felt.

Pin each orange section to the longer black felt piece, which will be in the center of the table runner.

Use a half-inch seam to sew the orange felt pieces to the black felt center piece. Backstitch to begin if you're machine sewing. (If you're gluing, overlap the seam half an inch with the black felt on the top.)

Sew the seam and backstitch at the end. Clip threads.

Here's the stitched seam. You could use either black or orange thread. I used black so that it would show up in the picture. Sew the other orange felt piece to the black felt center piece in the same manner.


Pin or tape the bat template to the 8" by 12" black felt. If you fold the felt, you can cut two bats at a time. Hold the felt and template firmly as you cut out the bats. Small, sharp scissors work best.

Cut out eight bats.

Arrange the bats on the orange felt any way you like. I put four on each side and made it symmetrical, but you could have more on one side than the other. Below is the left side of the runner I made.

Here's the right side.

This is the completed runner on my dining room table. The light was so bright in the room (you can see its reflection on the table) that it washed out the color in the photo, but it's orange on the sides as shown above.

Here it is on my coffee table. It's longer than the table so the ends droop down, but it looks cute with the vintage ceramic Halloween decorations set in the middle.

More Halloween Ideas









DIY Needle Felted Jack-O-Lantern Brooch for Halloween

How to Make a Needle-felted Jack-O-Lantern Brooch 

A jack-o-lantern brooch made of wool felt and fiber is super cute for Halloween, and since it's not a complicated project, you can finish it in under an hour. Remember to cut off any stray strands. I forgot to do this before I took the picture!

 Click here to download the template so that you can print it.

Materials

Step One

  • Wool felt, 2.5" x 5" piece 
  • Orange wool roving, small amount
  • Green wool roving in two shades, tiny amount 
  • Black wool roving, tiny amount
  • Safety pin, 1" 
  • Craft glue

Tools

  • Scissors 
  • Felting needle
  • Tape or straight pins
  • Template

Step One

Cut around the template, place it on the wool felt, secure it with tape or straight pins, and cut out the pumpkin shape in felt.

Step Two

Place a thin layer of orange roving on top of the pumpkin, but do not put the roving over the stem or leaf.

Step Three

Needle felt the first layer in place, and add another layer of orange roving on top of it. Continue needle felting.

Step Four

You can use a single needle or a multi-needle tool.

Step Five

Check the back to make sure that the fibers have gone through the felt. Continue needle felting, if necessary, until the fibers are firmly attached.

Step Six

Trim off the excess orange roving around the outer edge.

 

Step Seven

Check from the front, too, to make sure the edges aren't fuzzy. Trim if needed.

Step Eight

Add a wisp of light green wool roving on top of the stem and leaf.

Step Nine

Needle felt the light green roving in place.

Step Ten

Add a tiny bit of dark green roving in the center of the stem and the center of the leaf.

Step Eleven

Needle felt the darker green wool roving in place.

 
 
Step Twelve
 
Take a small amount of black wool roving and pull it apart; continue pulling it apart and combining it so that it doesn't all go in one direction. We'll use this for the jack-o-lantern's eyes, nose, and mouth.

Step Thirteen

Start with the nose, form a triangle, and needle felt it in place.

Step Fourteen

Add a round eye in the same manner. Then add the second eye.

Step Fifteen

Form a "mustache" from a wisp of black roving.

Step Sixteen

Now, manipulate the black roving "mustache" to form a mouth with a lopsided grin, needle felting it in place until it's secure.

Step Seventeen

Cut out a pumpkin-shaped backing from the felt, using the same template. It's not necessary to include the stem and leaf. Apply glue to this felt shape.


 Step Eighteen

Apply the shape with the glue to the back of the jack-o-lantern and press until it's secure. Allow a few minutes for the glue to dry.


Once the glue's dry, you can wear your jack-o-lantern brooch. Simply pin it onto your garment with a safety pin. If you prefer to use a pinback, you can use the same technique that I use for putting a pinback on the back of a fabric flower to make a brooch. See my article "How to Make a Fabric Flower into a Brooch." Pictured below is the jack-o-lantern brooch on a navy sweater.








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