Love Bench

My parents will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary on Friday.  That kinda blows my mind!  They don't seem old enough to have been married that long.

I recently purchased this stamp by Deep Red that shows a vintage couple snuggled together under an umbrella on a park bench.  I thought it would make a sweet image for an anniversary card. 

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve!

Supplies:
Black and kraft cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned paper by Teresa Collins; stamped image by Deep Red; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinders; ivory seam binding from Stampin' Up; Prima paper flower; antique bronze Distress Stickles; antique linen and vintage photo distress ink; corner rounder punch.

Farm Fresh Eggs

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  I'm keeping my tree and decorations up until New Year's Day in order to enjoy them a little bit longer.

Speaking of New Year's Day, that is my mom's birthday.  She grew up on a farm and one of her chores was to gather the eggs.  It wasn't a job she always enjoyed, because sometimes the old "setting hens" would peck at her hand when she reached in.  In spite of this, she has many fond memories of helping her dad on the farm, so when I found some country-themed stamps by Oxford Impressions, I just had to have them.  I used stamps from the Farm Girl and Farm Boy sets.

The layout is courtesy of Sketch Challenge 466 on Splitcoaststampers.  I combined patterned papers by My Mind's Eye and my stamped images, which were colored with pencils and distress inks.  And yes, I hand-cut the little girl, her pail, the rooster AND the baby chicks.  Talk about a challenge!  But I think the final result was well worth the effort.  (Helpful hint: Use a Xyron to apply adhesive to small, fussy-cut images with detailed edges.)

Thanks for popping in!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Gray and kraft cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; stamps from Oxford Impressions; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; antique lace and vintage photo distress ink; peat charcoal pencil; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; scalloped round punch by Martha Stewart; Xyron.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Telegram

This is the prototype for my Christmas card this year (yes, I'm getting a late start on them).  I'll be honest and tell you that I've had more than one thought about buying cards this year.  (I know!  Sacrilege!)  But I just can't bring myself to do that when I know I can make my own.  I just have to resign myself to the fact that my cards will probably be a little late.

I created a collage using stamps from Oxford Impressions, a page from an old Czech book, and patterned paper.  A dry brush technique was used to age the black and green cardstock.  Now that I have my prototype done, I can "assembly line" the rest and get them on their way.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Green cardstock by Bazzill; black and very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger Archival black ink; patterned papers by KaiserCraft; rubber stamps by Oxford Impressions; frayed burlap, black soot, and forest moss distress ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; peat charcoal pencil; Nestabilities Labels 8 by Spellbinders; warm white acrylic paint;  corner rounder punch. 

Are You Feeling Lucky? Well, Are Ya?

My brother's birthday is tomorrow and I figured it might be bad luck if I didn't at least send him a card.  (I'm just kidding.  I'm not superstitious about Friday the 13th.  Are you?)  I was just happy for the excuse to do something creative, since I haven't had much time for art this month.

I used several stamps from Artistic Outpost to create this card.  The focal images were colored with Prismacolor pencils and distress inks.  The strip of burlap hides the fact that the little boy image ends at the waist.  The vintage buttons are from my stash.  One still had old thread in the holes, so I just left it there.

ETA:  This card was selected by the Artistic Outpost Referral Program as a "Top 3" for the month of December!   This is the second time in six months that I've received this recognition.  Fun!

Have a great day.  Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; rubber stamps from Artistic Outpost; patterned papers by Prima Marketing; Ranger archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage photo and forest moss distress inks; peat charcoal pencil; round and scalloped round Nestabilities by Spellbinders; corner rounder punch; burlap scrap; vintage buttons; heavy gel medium.

2014 Art Calendar Challenge - November

I finished my November calendar earlier in the month but never posted it because I couldn't get any good pictures of it; the colors were off no matter which lighting or setting I tried.  Now it's the end of the month and I decided I just need to post what I have and move on. 

My background started with some Tim Holtz tissue wrap that I dry-brushed with gesso.  I then added the hexagon stenciling using acrylic paint and once that was dry, I adhered the circles for each day.  I needed something to distinguish the circles from the background more, so I rubbed on some Gelatos and that's what really brought this calendar to life.  The final steps involved stamping on the swirl border, highlighting the circles and hexagons with black Pitt artist pen, and adding the letter stickers.

Besides the lovely color achieved with the Gelatos, this month's calendar also has some subtle texture thanks to the acrylic stenciling and the tissue wrap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; Tim Holtz tissue wrap (Melange); Heidi Swapp stencil; Liquitex acrylic paint; black Pitt artist pen; Faber-Castell Gelatos; patterned paper from Stampington and Company; swirl border by Stampabilities; Ranger archival black ink; letter stickers (unknown); white gesso; soft gel medium.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving,

 with many reasons to give thanks!

Birthday Fortune

I am horribly behind on sending birthday cards to my friends.  I have a good excuse:  I'm swamped with work this fall.  But I still feel guilty so I'm determined to make some cards this week and get them in the mail.

The main image from Artistic Outpost was stamped on kraft cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I highlighted her jewelry using Glossy Accents.  The patterned papers are by 7 Gypsies.

Have a great day!  Thanks for popping by.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; kraft cardstock by Stampin' Up; patterned papers by 7 Gypsies; stamped images by Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage photo distress ink; copper brads from Michaels; pop-dots.

Happy Veterans Day

Please find time today to thank the veterans in your life for their service, and continue to hope that all of our current military men and women return safely home.

Feel Better Soon - Masculine

A dear friend of the family is in the hospital and not doing too well, so I created this card to send to him.

I stamped the image by Artistic Outpost on a piece of ledger paper, colored it with Prismacolor pencils and distress inks, and tied a piece of scrapper's floss around it.  His hat, vest, and red bowtie received a treatment of Glossy Accents. The focal image was adhered with pop-dots on top of some other patterned papers by My Mind's Eye for a simple and graphic card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; kraft cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; collage image from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage photo distress ink; Karen Foster's scrapper's floss; pop-dots; Glossy Accents; corner rounder punch.

You Can't Get a Man with a Gun - Bookmark

I'm sending a book to a friend for her birthday, so I decided to make a bookmark to coordinate with her card, which you can see here.  This was my third attempt at this bookmark and I was ready to give up, let me tell you!  But the third time was the charm and I'm happy with how it turned out.

For the background, I started by adding some vintage text scraps to a piece of Cosmo Cricket patterned paper.  I then dry-brushed some warm white acrylic paint and over-stamped a crackle background.  My cowgirl from Artistic Outpost was stamped on vanilla cardstock, colored with pencils, and trimmed closely before being adhered.  The sentiment (also from Artistic Outpost) was stamped on the margin of an old piece of sheet music.  Final touches include some charcoal pencil outlining, white acrylic paint stenciled through punchinella, and a black acrylic border.  After spraying the bookmark with acrylic sealer, I reinforced the back with a piece of Bazzill cardstock and added the large eyelet and ribbon at the top.  This bookmark measures 2.5 x 5.5 inches.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Cosmo Cricket patterned paper; vintage book text; frayed burlap distress ink; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger Archival black ink; sentiment and image from Artistic Outpost; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; crackle background stamp (unknown); Adirondack white and black acrylic paint dabber; punchinella (sequin waste); dark charcoal pencil; extra large copper eyelet from We R Memory Makers (I think!); ribbon from Michaels.

Picked Pumpkins - Watercolor/Mixed Media

Tonight is my final watercolor class.  I  hate to have it end!  Without a weekly class and some guidance from an experienced watercolorist, I don't know how much my painting skills will progress.  I just know that without a class to motivate me, I'll not be as diligent about setting time aside to practice.  Perhaps I'll have to create my own class using a book that I bought a while ago.  It has a DVD but I haven't watched it yet.

I made this thank you card to give to my instructor.  I painted the pumpkins and the foreground with watercolors, but couldn't resist adding some color and detail to the pumpkins with Gelatos and a very fine Pitt artist pen.  I also sponged some blue distress ink around the outer edges.  It's amateurish, but kinda cute. (Like moi! Wink.)

Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Brown and orange cardstock by Bazzill; Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Schmincke Horadam tube watercolors; very fine black Pitt artist pen; Faber Castell Gelatos; chipped sapphire distress ink. 

With Deepest Sympathy

I needed another sympathy card, so I used my new stencils by Tattered Angels and Dylusions turquoise ink spray to create a simple background for a lovely script sentiment.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn weekend.  Welcome to my new followers! 

Supplies:
White cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; silver stationery from Target (old); flourish stencils by Tattered Angels; Dylusions vibrant turquoise ink spray; sympathy sentiment by Stampabilities; Ranger Archival black ink; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; sheer silver ribbon from Michaels;self-adhesive rhinestones; pop-dots; corner rounder punch.

She Makes Her Own Way

I created this birthday card for a good friend who definitely makes her own way.

I combined some favorite old patterned papers (Cosmo Cricket Souvenir Collection) with images from Artistic Outpost.  The focal image was stamped once on patterned paper, then again on vanilla cardstock.  The image on vanilla was colored with pencils, trimmed closely, and adhered to the patterned paper.   (But first, I used an Xacto knife to cut a slit around the lace in the bottom right corner, so that my cowgirl could be tucked down behind it).  The banner was stamped on three papers and "hung" with thin twine.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla and kraft cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by Cosmo Cricket; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; charcoal pencils; frayed burlap distress ink; thin natural twine; antique copper brads; black pop-dots.

Water Reflections - Watercolor

Last week in watercolor class the lesson was on painting reflections.  The teacher painted a water scene, and then we were to create our own scene employing the same techniques.

The first technique was laying plastic wrap, horizontally and unevenly (i.e., with wrinkles), across the wet blue paint.  By holding it in place for several minutes while the paint dries, it creates waves or white caps across the water without any effort at all.  Once that dried, we painted in the pile mooring and its reflection.  I finished my painting when I got home by adding the sky (*love* how that turned out), and the sand.  However, I was not as happy with the dead tree and some rocks on the right side of my painting.  I couldn't fix them, and the painting was horribly off-balance, so  I simply cut them off.  HA!   (Not all watercolor tricks are done with the paint brush.)

Considering I haven't spent much time boating or on the shore, and was not working from a photograph, I think I was able to create a lovely water scene with a believable reflection.

Happy Monday!  Thanks for stopping by.

Candy Bar Pull-Up Treat - Thank You

I think I mentioned that I'm taking another watercolor class.  I'm enjoying it and finally putting all of my painting supplies to real use!  However, one item that hasn't been working for me well is the art board I bought to paint on.  It's just too large and unwieldy.  As luck would have it, the gal I've been sitting next to in class has a similar board and found she was having the same problem. She had her husband trim her board to make it smaller, and she volunteered him to do the same to mine!  So last week before class was over, I decided how much I wanted cut off and she took the board home with her.

I asked whether her husband liked any particular treat that I could give him as a thank you and she said, "Chocolate!  And he likes the cheap stuff: Hershey's with Almonds."  (Hmmm, I like the cheap stuff, too!)  So I bought a large Hershey's with Almonds for him and created this special packaging for it.

It's a fairly easy project, but I did have to figure out my own dimensions since I was covering one of the extra large candy bars (you can find the tutorial for Pull-Up Treats here on Splitcoaststampers).  I kept the embellishments simple and masculine.  The eyes from Artistic Outpost were stamped on a Tim Holtz ticket, and I used a tag-shaped punch for the sentiment.

Happy Monday!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Brown and tan cardstock by Bazzill; black cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned paper by DCWV; Tim Holtz ticket; eye/glasses stamp from Artistic Outpost; thank you stamp by Recollections (Michaels); Ranger Archival black ink; vintage photo and peeled paint distress ink; antique crackle background stamp (unknown); tag-shaped punch; antique brass mini eyelet; metal key (unknown); black waxed linen thread by Books by Hand, from Dick Blick; black satin ribbon from Michaels.

2013 Art Calendar Challenge - October

I wanted to try something a little different for this month's art calendar:  the entire background is a watercolor painting.  Here is what my calendar looked like before I added anything else.

And here is what it looks like now that it's completed.

The daily squares were cut from a piece of orange artist paper in a recent Stampington magazine (Somerset Memories, I believe).  After I adhered the daily squares, I used a sepia-colored Pitt artist pen and brown Gelatos (smeared with my fingers) to go back over the parts of the pumpkins that had been covered up.  I love how this detail integrated the daily squares into the painting and brought the pumpkins to the foreground again.  I used a water pen to add blue Gelatos around the month and days of the week.  The Gelatos are a recent purchase for me, so I wanted to experiment with them.

This calendar was super fun to make and it gave me so many ideas for next month as well as for other mixed media projects.  To see other art calendars for Kate Crane's challenge, please visit The Kathryn Wheel.  Kate also has a Facebook page called Art Journaling Calendar Challenge, which more people seem to be using now to post photos of their calendars.

Thanks for dropping in.  Have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; Schmincke pan watercolors; Pitt artist pens (black and sepia); alphabet and number stamps by Words Worth (October 2013); alpha stamps by Studio G (days of the week); number stamps by Hero Arts (dates); Ranger Archival ink (black); stormy sky and vintage photo distress ink; Faber-Castell Gelatos; scrap white cardstock from my stash; orange specialty paper from Stampington and Company.

Fly Away - CAS Sympathy Card

Clean and simple cards are a challenge for me.  But sometimes that's exactly the look I want, for example for a sympathy card.  So this week I tried again and finally, I made a CAS card I like well enough to send to someone.

I started by stenciling a butterfly on whisper white cardstock using Dylusions vibrant turquoise ink spray.  Once that was dry (almost instantly, I must say), I stamped on my sentiment.  And for once, I decided no further embellishments were needed.

The butterfly stencil was in the Glimmer Screens starter kit (by Tattered Angels) that was in my prize package from the talented and generous Yvonne.  Pop on over to her blog Journey into Artistry to see some lovely stamped and mixed media creations.

Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Black and white cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; silver stationery from Target (old); butterfly stencil by Tattered Angels; Dylusions vibrant turquoise ink spray; sympathy sentiment by Stampabilities; Ranger Archival black ink; corner rounder punch.

Evolution of a Tulip: from Sketch to Watercolor to Mixed Media

Confession:  I did not sit down at my craft table a single time last week!  Maybe I needed a break after the marathon sessions working on my mom's scrapbook the week before.  Maybe I wanted to enjoy the beautiful fall weather we've been having.  At any rate, I finally sat down last night and to jump-start my creativity, I decided to play with my watercolors.  I thought about using them to create some sympathy cards that I need.  But I really just wanted to experiment, so that's what I did.

To start, I got online and found this How to Draw a Tulip video on YouTube.  I love tulips and for years they were my signature flower.  I watched the video and told myself, "You can do that."  (We all need encouragement, right?  Even if it's from within our own heads!)  So while watching the video a second time, I lightly sketched a tulip on drawing paper.  (Unfortunately, I forgot to make a scan of my pencil drawing before proceeding to the next step.)

Then, like in the video, I went over my pencil drawing with a Sharpie, modifying and refining the various shapes. Once I was happy with that, I transferred my sketch to watercolor paper using a pencil and transfer paper.  I just guessed how to do this, vaguely remembering doing something like this when I was a kid, and miraculously it worked!  (And, once again, I forgot to take a scan of this step.)

Since I had done a transfer, my tulip was now a reverse image of the original sketch.  Using watercolors, I painted my tulip.  Overall I thought it was okay, but a little blah.  So I pulled out a fine point black artist pen and added further refinements and shading.

And here, in less than an hour believe it or not, is my tulip!  I am super pleased with how it turned out.  It's much better than I expected.  And then I decided to quit for the night, as I want time to think about how I want to finish this.  I can't simply have a tulip floating in mid-air, but I'm not sure how I want to ground it or frame it.  So for now, I will leave it alone until another day.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great Monday!

Supplies:
Strathmore 80 lb drawing paper; Staedtler Mars Lumograph 6B pencil; Sharpie fine point black marker; Strathmore tracing paper; 140 lb watercolor paper; Prismacolor 2H pencil; Winsor and Newton travel watercolor set; Cotman no. 5 round watercolor brush (it came with the travel watercolors); Faber-Castell fine point PITT artist pen in black.

8th Grade Graduation - Scrapbook Page

My mom had a high school class reunion this weekend, so I've been working on updating the scrapbook I started for her five years ago before their last reunion.  We've been gradually adding more old photos, including photos from the various reunions they've had.  I even had to start a second book (and buy extra refill pages) to accommodate everything. 

One of the "new" old photos I added this time around is a snapshot of my mom on her 8th grade graduation day.  She's standing outside the farmhouse where she grew up, in a spot they often used to take photographs. Since we have just one photo from that milestone, I used a more modern layout and design.  I layered several lovely Valentine papers by Authentique to frame the photo.  The numbers were die-cut on the Cuttlebug.  I'm really pleased with how this page looks:  fresh and sweet.

Happy Fall Equinox!

Supplies:
White and black cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers and word sticker by Authentique; Cuttlebug die-cut numbers; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities; small oval punch by Stampin' Up.

Elusive Ghost - 4x4

Here's another haunted Halloween chunky.

This one started with some scraps of torn patterned paper that I dry-brushed with white acrylic paint.  I then added some vintage Czech book text, stenciling with distress ink, a stamped crackle background, and a distressed rub-on.  The bat was stamped on plain vanilla cardstock, colored with pencils, trimmed closely, and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder for dimension.  I added a layer of Crackle Accents to the tree branch for even more texture.  The English book text was found in my favorite1920s novel.

Wow!  This is my 500th post.  That does not seem possible.  When I started this blog, I wondered whether I'd be able to keep it up.   Guess I surprised myself (lol).  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster; patterned papers by Authentique; titanium white acrylic paint; Dylusions and Heidi Swapp stencils; vintage photo and dusty concord distress inks; My Mind's Eye distressed rub-ons; vintage book text; crackle background stamp (unknown); Stazon black ink; bat stamp from Oxford Impressions; Stampin' Up very vanilla cardstock; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Versamark ink; clear embossing powder; Crackle Accents; dark and white charcoal pencils; Adirondack black acrylic paint dabber; soft gel medium.

Trio of Pears - Watercolor

I'm taking another stab at learning to watercolor paint by taking a class offered through our city parks and recreation department.  And of course, the first lesson in the class is the one that is the hardest for me:  value!  Value refers to the relative darkness and lightness of a color.  It's those contrasts that give an image shape and which create depth and distance.  My problem is keeping the light values.

After a practice exercise in atmospheric perspective (which I don't think I did very well), we had a little over an hour to paint whatever we wanted based on a photo or sketch of our choice.  I wanted to keep it simple so I had found a photograph online of three pairs against a white background.  And here's my rendering of said pears.

I lost some of the highlights on the two pears on the left, but overall I'm pretty pleased with this first painting.  At least you could tell they were pears, right?

Have a fabulous day!

Have Courage - Moo Bookmark

I'm putting together a care package for someone very dear to me who suffers from a serious and chronic illness.  There's not much I can do but offer encouragement and send little things to brighten her day.  She has told me more than once how much she cherishes the cards and other things I make for her, so this time I'm including a moo-sized bookmark in her package.

The base of the moo is a distressed bingo card.  The sweet girl from Artistic Outpost was colored with Prismacolor pencils before being adhered to the background.  It's not super noticeable, but at the bottom I added a Tim Holtz rub-on that says "have courage."  Once the moo was done, I sealed it in a self-laminating pocket (the type you can buy to make your own luggage tags), before adding the eyelet and ribbon.  This will help protect it as I'm sure she will actually use it as a bookmark.

I'd like to welcome my new followers!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Supplies:
Chipboard bingo card; white acrylic paint; Stazon dove gray ink; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; girl image from Artistic Outpost; black Stazon ink; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Tim Holtz rub-on; charcoal pencil (peat and medium); Adirondack espresso acrylic paint dabber; large eyelet; thin ribbon; Fray-Check; self-laminating pouch; corner rounder punch.

E.E. Forrest, Druggist - 4x4

Here's another 4x4 chunky with the theme haunted Halloween.  It has so many details and loads of texture.  And this chunky even involved FIRE!  I lightly singed the edges of the prescription pad in a couple of places.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Medium weight 4x4 chipboard coaster; vintage book text; patterned paper by Authentique; white acrylic paint; crackle background stamp (unknown vendor); Stazon black ink; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger picket fence distress crackle paint; peeled paint, antique linen, vintage photo, and black soot distress ink; rubber stamps: Hero Arts (skull), prescription pad (Artistic Outpost), bottle, label and mortar/pestle (Oxford Impressions); Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; dark charcoal pencil; clear embossing powder; Glossy Accents; Crackle Accents; Adirondack black acrylic paint dabber; soft gel medium.

Test Post - I Love My Jean Collage

I don't know exactly what I did, but I was not able to get into my Blogger account to post!  Let me tell you, I was a little panicked.  And the list of blogs I follow?  Gone!  This was truly a case of "I know just enough to be dangerous."  After more than a few harrowing moments and several attempts to reset and recover everything, I think I have the problem fixed.  Whew!  I figured I better test it by posting something.

This is a collage I created back in 2011 when I took an online class.  It's still one of my favorites that unfortunately, gets forgotten because it's hidden away in a journal.  I'm thinking about cutting it out of the journal so I can display it somewhere.





Thanks for stopping by and please come again!  (Hopefully I'll be back, too.)

Ace of Skulls - 4x4

As usual I used a lot of different products to create this layered, distressed piece.  (You can see a complete list of supplies below.)  The skull is a rubber stamp by Inkadinkado.  It's wearing a Grungeboard crown that I colored with distress ink and painted with crackle paint.  I also used crackle paint on the background to help age it and give it some texture.  And here's something fun that I discovered:  the moon glows in the dark!!  It's a Martha Stewart sticker that I've had for a couple of years, and I never knew that.  It's pretty cool.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Medium weight 4x4 chipboard coaster; patterned papers by Authentique; vintage Czech book text; titanium white acrylic paint; Heidi Swapp stencil; rusty hinge, vintage photo and antique linen distress ink; Ranger white distress crackle paint; skull stamp by Inkadinkado; Crackle Accents; Ranger archival black ink; Stampin' Up whisper white cardstock; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Martha Stewart stickers (moon and bat); old playing card; Tim Holtz Grungeboard crown; self-adhesive numbers (unknown); black Dresden trim; medium charcoal pencil; Pitt black artist pen; Adirondack black and copper acrylic paint dabber; Golden gel medium.

Birthday Salute

I created this card for my brother whose birthday is coming up in a few days.  One of his hobbies is studying World War II, so I wanted to make a card that evoked the feeling of that era.

I started by choosing my color palette:  navy blue, dark red, and ivory (the colors in the photo are a little off).  The little tyke from Artistic Outpost was colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils and distress inks, and he is positioned there partly to cover up some lyrics on the flag stamp that I didn't think worked for a birthday card.  I kept the flag image neutral so that the eye is drawn to the little boy.  The red cardstock was embossed with stars and then sponged with vintage photo distress ink to make the stars more visible. For the final touches I went old school:  distressed paper edges and bronze brads.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Navy blue and red cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage photo and frayed burlap distress inks; Cuttlebug stars embossing folder; bronze brads; pop-dots.

2013 Art Calendar Challenge - September

Since I had so much fun making cucumbers for last month's calendar, I decided this month to try my hand at painting tomatoes.  Our garden is just exploding with delicious red and yellow tomatoes; we're eating them every day (sometimes for lunch and dinner both!).  This time I used tube watercolors and paint brushes, rather than watercolor pencils and a water pen.  I find working with the brushes more challenging and I need the practice, as I've signed up for a watercolor class that starts next week.

This calendar began with a vibrant background of turquoise and chartreuse spray inks that I chose to compliment the tomatoes.  I used some store-bought as well as homemade stencils (leftover die-cut items from another project), and toned down some of the color by stenciling white acrylic paint through punchinella.  The chickenwire stamp adds additional, garden-related interest (we've had to use it to keep the rabbits away from certain flowers and hostas).

Happy Labor Day to my American followers!  I hope you're enjoying the long weekend.

Supplies:
Strathmore 9x12 Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; white gesso; assorted vintage papers and sheet music; Heidi Swapp stencils; Heidi Swapp chartreuse spray ink; Dylusions vibrant turquoise spray ink; punchinella (sequin waste); titanium white acrylic paint; Ranger black archival ink; chickenwire stamp from Oxford Impressions; large alphabet stamps by Wordsworth; small alphabet stamps by Studio G (Michaels); date stamper by Smash; salty coean, barn door, and rusty hinge Distress Inks; Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolors; assorted watercolor brushes; Pitt sepia artist pen; Derwent ocean deep charcoal pencil; patterned papers from Stampington and Company; Golden regular gel medium (matte).

Black Eyes Blazed - 4x4

I haven't given up on the idea of participating in a Halloween chunky swap, so I sat down last night to try my hand at another one.  This time I started with one of my favorite spooky images: a bat from Oxford Impressions.  I used this stamp last year to create these ATCs that were traded in record time.

I spend a lot of time building up the background layers on projects like this, and it's where I have the most fun.  Even if the first layers end up largely obliterated by what is added on top, a little bit peeks through here and there to add depth and interest.

Happy hump day!  Thanks for dropping in.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster; patterned paper by Authentique; titanium white acrylic paint; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Heidi Swapp clock stencil; crackle background stamp; Ranger archival black ink; punchinella; dusty concord, rusty hinge, old paper, walnut stain, and black soot distress ink; bat stamp by Oxford Impressions; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; vintage book text; My Mind's Eye distress rub-ons; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; white, peat, and burnt orange charcoal pencils; Adirondack black and espresso acrylic paint dabbers; Elmer's glue stick; Golden matte gel medium.

Arthur Coffin - 4x4

Last week was a busy one, leaving me little free time to work on any art projects.  And I swear I suffered withdrawal because of it!  So yesterday I skipped doing laundry and started to play around with some ideas I have for a Halloween-themed chunky swap.  After a while I decided that the images just weren't working for me, so I switched gears and this is what I ended up with.  It's not particularly "Halloween-y," but it is kinda spooky!

I started by covering a 4x4 inch chipboard coaster with some Halloween-themed patterned paper.  I toned it down with white gesso and added some stamping, stenciling, and book text.  The main images are stamps by Oxford Impressions.  A lot of distress inks, acrylic paint, and charcoal pencil went into giving this piece a dark and mysterious feel.

Have a great Monday!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster (4x4 inches); patterned paper by Authentique; vintage book text; rubber stamps by Oxford Impressions; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger archival black ink; distress inks: dusty concord, antique linen, vintage photo, black soot, frayed burlap, rusty hinge; Adirondack acrylic paint dabbers or distress paint: espresso, frayed burlap, snow cap; white gesso; charcoal pencil; Dresden trim; white gesso; punchinella; gel medium.

2013 Summer Fashion Trends

Some cards just make themselves...

Last Friday a colleague of mine discovered, on her way home from work, that she had been wearing two different sandals all day long!  And either nobody noticed (what she hopes) or people noticed but didn't say anything (what she fears).  Either way, this gal has a great sense of humor and was willing to share the story AND take a picture of her feet wearing the two sandals.  One of my first thoughts (after OMG--that's hysterical!) was "I have to make her a card with this picture."

I imported her photo into a Microsoft publishing software in order to add the title.  On the inside I used a stamp that says, "Be Good.  And if you can't be good, be Stylish."  I know she'll get a bang out of it.

Have a great day!  And be sure to check your feet before you leave the house in the morning.

Supplies:
Yellow cardstock base by DCWV; white and fuchsia cardstock by Bazzill.

Refrigerator Pickles

Since I still had plenty of cucumbers even after giving some away, I decided to make refrigerator pickles.  I used a recipe from MyRecipes.com and I gotta say, the pickles taste pretty darn good!  I put some on a grilled hotdog and the combination was fabulous.  The recipe I used has a little more kick than my grandma's recipe for refrigerator pickles (which are more of a bread and butter pickle), thanks to the red pepper and the garlic.  I reduced the garlic by half and diced it fine, but I still think these pickles will be a little too spicy for one member of the household.  Since it looks like the cucumbers will be producing for a while, we'll have enough to make a batch of grandma's pickles next.

Have a great weekend!

Extra! Extra!

I returned to my stamping roots, so to speak, to create this birthday card for a male friend.  He's one of those big guys (a former noseguard for the Nebraska Cornhuskers) with a soft side, so I think he'll like this card.

The paper boy was stamped on cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  He was adhered to a patterned paper stamped with a newsprint collage (all stamps are from Artistic Outpost, by the way).  I created the frame with two Nestabilities Label 8 die cuts.

I can't believe it's Friday already!  I had to look twice at the calendar to confirm it.  Thanks for dropping in and have a great day.

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; Bristol smooth white cardstock by Strathmore; rubber stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger archival black ink; antique linen and vintage photo distress inks; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Derwent burnt orange and natural charcoal pencils; tortillion (for blending the charcoal pencil); oval, scalloped oval, and label die cuts by Spellbinders; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

Speaking of Cucumbers...

I found this bad boy in the garden yesterday.  He should have been picked a couple of days ago (at least!) but he was hiding right in the middle of the patch under heavy foliage.

At almost 10 inches in length and seven and a half inches in circumference, I know he'll be full of big seeds.  I won't let him go to waste, however.  I'll just slice him lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, turning him into a cucumber canoe.

Have a great day!

2013 Art Calendar Challenge - August

Our little garden is currently producing cucumbers like crazy, so I decided to make them the theme of my August art calendar.  I am so pleased with my watercolor cucumbers!  I drew them with pencil (I had a "live" model...hee hee), then colored them using Derwent watercolor pencils and a water brush.  A sepia-colored artist pen was used to simulate the little bumps and ridges on the cukes.

The first layer of these pages consisted of a plaid pattern created with painters tape and spray mists, but I had forgotten to prime the pages with gesso first.  Once I scraped on some white gesso and added some strips of washi tape and rubber stamping, the plaid design was mostly obliterated.  You can still see some of the chartreuse spray mist, especially around the edges.  But the stars of these pages are most definitely the cucumbers.

To see more August art calendars for Kate Crane's challenge, please visit her website The Kathryn Wheel.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; blue painters' tape; Heidi Swapp spray mist (chartreuse); Ranger Perfect Pearl Mists (turquoise); white gesso; washi tape; punchinella; distress inks: mustard seed, peeled paint, scattered straw, vintage photo and tumbled glass; Stazon olive green ink; flourish stamps by Inque Boutique; Heidi Swapp polka dot spray stencil; Derwent watercolor pencils; Niji water brush; Pitt sepia artist pen; Pitt black artist pen; large alpha and number stamps by Wordsworth; small alpha stamps by Hero Arts; date stamper; Derwent tinted charcoal pencil (forest pine); matte gel medium.

Thank You

A couple of weekends ago we road-tripped to Des Moines for the weekend.  The initial reason for the trip was to attend a 50th wedding anniversary party, but we also visited one of my cousins who I don't get to see very often.  After a tour of her garden and back yard, she and her husband treated us to a delightful lunch on their patio.  We then went downtown to West End Architectural Salvage, an interesting place that was the setting for an HGTV decorating show last spring.  Overall, it was a wonderful way to spend a day with one of my favorite relatives.

My cousin is a world traveler who is always planning her next trip.  She's thinking about going to Paris in February, so I created this thank you card using stamps from Artistic Outpost (Paris Exposition set).

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Black and mustard cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger archival black ink; focal image stamps from Artistic Outpost; background stamp by Inkadinkado; Francaise stamp by Hero Arts; distress inks: wild honey, rusty hinge, fired brick, crushed concord, brushed corduroy; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; pop-dots; corner rounder punch.

2013 Art Calendar Challenge - July

No need to check the calendar on the wall--it IS August.  And yes, I'm just now finishing and posting my July art calendar.  What's even more embarrassing is that I started the background for this at the end of June!  I thought I'd expand my horizons by working with some colors I don't normally gravitate toward, so I started by applying some pink, green and yellow acrylic paint using a brayer.  Well...I didn't like it.  And then I became busy, and the next thing you know July is gone and I hadn't looked at the page a single time the entire month.

But a couple of nights ago I found a poem called July in a 1911 school book, and that gave me the motivation I needed to finish this calendar page.  To tone down the pink and green, I stamped on some white gesso using a piece of punchinella (sequin waste) and stippled on some tumbled glass distress ink (a light blue) through a larger-holed piece of punchinella.  Then I adhered some sheet music scraps tinted with scattered straw distress ink and swiped on more white gesso using an old credit card.  And finally I was happy with the background!  (Lesson 1:  Don't give up.  Lesson 2:  White gesso can fix a lot of things.)

After adhering the daily squares and the poem (torn into four stanzas), I added some random stamped images and doodled some borders in black ink.  And you know what?  This may be my favorite art calendar month thus far!  I love how light and airy the colors are and overall how playful the calendar is.  And since July was a busy month with a lot of fun social engagements, that seems appropriate. Now it's on to August before any more time passes!

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Please come again.

Supplies:
Strathmore 9x12 Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; Ceramcoat pink quartz acrylic paint; Folk Art yellow citron and sunflower acrylic paint; brayer; white gesso; punchinella; stipple brush; sheet music scraps; poem from a 1911 reader (school book); distress inks: tumbled glass, broken china, scattered straw, tattered rose, peeled paint, picked raspberry, mustard seed, and dusty concord; alphabet and number stamps by Wordsworth; dragonfly, butterfly, and flower stamps by Inkadinkado; Ranger archival black ink; Pitt black artist pen.

With a Flutter at the Heart - ATC

I've enjoyed my recent "roll" making moo cards, but frankly, I was ready to get back to making larger pieces of art.  I decided to start by making  a quick ATC using some scraps and ephemera that have been on my desk for a while now.

The three main elements of this card include a row of cancelled postage stamps from the 1920s (that miraculously were still connected to one another), a Crossword Lexicon game card with the middle cut out, and a clipart butterfly.  I adhered them to a collaged background of vintage book text and sheet music, and then brought everything together with some white gesso, distress inks, acrylic paint, and charcoal pencil.  The found poetry is from a 1911 school book.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
ATC blank; vintage sheet music and book text; white acrylic paint; vintage Crossword Lexicon game card; vintage postage stamps; butterfly clipart; punchinella (sequin waste); white gesso; tumbled glass and peeled paint distress inks; Adirondack snow cap and espresso acrylic paint dabbers; Ranger frayed burlap and vintage photo distress paints; old plastic hair rollers (to stamp circles with); Golden gel medium; charcoal pencils.

On the Fence - Moo

This is the final moo for the swap I'm participating in.  I'll be happy to get these into the mail today, but then there's the long wait to receive my returns (the swap deadline is September 12).

Once again I started with a bingo card that had been dry brushed with white acrylic paint and stamped with a blue ticking stripe and brown splatter.  I colored the cute little guy from Artistic Outpost with Prismacolor pencils and distress inks.  Due to spacing issues and for added interest, I added some vintage text along the bottom.  The edges of the card were finished by dabbing on some espresso acrylic paint.

Here are my three bingo card boys together.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
140 lb watercolor paper; bingo card; sandpaper; white acrylic paint; ticking stripe image and little boy from Artistic Outpost; splatter stamp by All Night Media; Stazon black and saddle brown inks; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; weathered wood and antique linen distress inks; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; vintage book text; charcoal pencil; Adirondack espresso acrylic paint dabber.