Fun For All Ages

I created this thank you card for a friend who recently surprised me with a gift of art supplies.  She understands my love for old-timey dudes with big mustaches, so I bet she will laugh when she opens this card.

My "fun guy" is a found relative from Tim Holtz.  His name is Lester and I paired him with some circus-themed papers by the Paper Studio and added the 5 cent thingamajig as kind of a wink wink.  I know that folks back in the 1800s must have had SOME fun, but they sure don't look like it based on their portraits!

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Gray cardstock by Bazzill; naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by the Paper Studio; found relative by Tim Holtz; custom fastener by Tim Holtz; vintage photo distress ink; pop-dots.

Love Everlasting

My mom's good friends Donna and Mel are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this week.  Isn't that amazing?  What's even more wonderful is that this couple is still active and fun and enjoying life together.  I think that deserves some recognition!

My card was inspired by this one on Pinterest.  I changed the design somewhat because I didn't want to make a shaker card, and the heart dies that I have do not nest in the same way.  Because of that, I wasn't able to achieve the double-mat effect that I wanted (although I tried, believe me).  But I do like the simple elegance of the embossing and the tone-on-tone white layers.  Another change I made was adding the die-cut word.  I saved my happy anniversary sentiment for the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Charcoal and red cardstocks by Bazzill; naturals white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Anna Griffin embossing folder (thistle bouquet); heart die-cut by Spellbinders; love die-cut by Little Yellow Bicycle.

Aunt Dee is Unsupervised - AGAIN!

That crazy Aunt Dee!  She just can't resist shouting to the world how happy she is to be on the loose.  And since she loves to travel, she doesn't mind at all that I'm sending her to visit friends.  This time she's off to see Stella, who happens to be the person who gifted me this sassy Dyan Reaveley sentiment.

I used ripe persimmon, peacock feathers, and scattered straw distress inks on bristol vellum paper to create the background.  Aunt Dee was stamped separately on white cardstock and colored with markers before being adhered.  Similar to this postcard, I embossed a plain piece of bristol vellum with a postcard folder by Sizzix and adhered it to the back, then finished off the edges with a washi tape. 

TGIF!  Go grab some unsupervised time for yourself. 

Supplies: 
Strathmore bristol vellum paper; ripe persimmon, scattered straw, and peacock feathers distress inks; spray bottle of water; Aunt Dee image (unknown manufacturer); Dylusions sentiment by Dyan Reaveley; Ranger Archival black ink; Staedtler pigment ink pen; Tim Holtz stencil (Bubbles); white jelly pen; washi tape; postcard frame embossing folder by Sizzix.

Art E. Choke - Altered Envelope

Here it is the middle of November already.  Thanksgiving is only a week away.  Where does the time go?!  Honestly, it seems like just last week I was mailing my October partner's altered envie, and here it is time to mail November's.

I painted this watercolor artichoke when I went to an artist hangout.  I didn't have any plans for it and in fact it was still taped to my painting board.  Since I had used a large piece of watercolor paper, I had enough leeway to turn it into an envelope.  After I cut and scored my envelope shape, I added the checkerboard border using watercolors and the lettering using a Tim Holtz stencil.

The artichoke and the checkerboard both wrap around to the back of the envelope.  I outlined the entire envelope with a silverleaf pen to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Grumbacher Transparent watercolors; Tim Holtz stencil; Staedtler pigment ink pen; authentic mail art stamp from Red Lead Paperworks.

Aunt Dee is Unsupervised!

And she's on her way to join my friend Sandy, who recently retired.  I can just imagine the shenanigans those two have in mind.  Knowing them, the bathtub is already filled with ice and beer, and rubber cockroaches are ready to get slipped onto some unsuspecting person's dinner plate.  I feel like I should warn the locals.

I selected these vibrant papers by Bazzill to coordinate with Aunt Dee's lime green eyeglasses.  The sentiment is a Dylusions (Dyan Reaveley) stamp.

 TGIF!  Make it a great one!

Supplies:
Black and yellow cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up: patterned papers by Bazzill; Aunt Dee (unknown manufacturer); sentiment by Dylusions; Ranger Archival black ink; various markers.

Aunt Dee Says - I Am Exhausted

It's been a trying week.  What with the election and the trauma of catching a burglar trying to break into our house, Aunt Dee and I are both pretty exhausted!  A little irreverent art therapy is just what the doctor ordered.

A friend of mine recently gifted me a set of Dylusions (Dyan Reaveley) stamps with snarky comments, and they pair perfectly with good ol' Aunt Dee.  I decided to make a couple of postcards to send to friends who are similarly exhausted this week.  I used picked raspberry, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks to create my background on a piece of bristol vellum paper.  Aunt Dee and the sentiment were stamped separately on white cardstock and cut out.

For the address side of the postcard, I cut another piece of bristol vellum the same size and embossed it with the postcard frame folder by Sizzix.  (The embossing did not show up well in the scan, so I darkened it a little for you.)  I glued the front and back together, and sealed the edges with a polka dot washi tape.  This was a fun little project that lifted my spirits and will no doubt do the same for the recipients.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Strathmore bristol vellum paper; picked raspberry, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks; spray bottle of water; Aunt Dee image (unknown manufacturer); Dylusions sentiment by Dyan Reaveley; Ranger Archival black ink; Staedtler pigment ink pen; washi tape; postcard frame embossing folder by Sizzix.

Mixed Media Art Leaves

I couldn't resist my friend Nanner's Art Leaf Swap.  After all, what signifies autumn better than colorful leaves floating through the air?  For the swap, we were to create art of our choice on leaf-shaped substrates (not on an actual leaf, as eventually they disintegrate).

"Muž"

I decided to use a ginkgo leaf shape for my pieces.  I've been enamored with ginkgo leaves ever since I painted one in a watercolor class a couple of years ago.  A classmate had a real ginkgo leaf that I coveted, and I've been on the search for one of my own.  Fast forward to this summer when a friend and I were downtown on a public art scavenger hunt of sorts and BOOM!  We stumbled upon a ginkgo tree!  I came home with a handful of leaves that have been drying and pressing in my old dictionary the last couple of months.

"Dévče"

I scanned one of the ginkgo leaves and printed a copy in a larger size to use as a template.  I also scanned a bingo card and printed several copies on cardstock to use as my background.  I gave each bingo card a wash of white acrylic paint, traced the outline of the ginkgo leaf, and then cut out each leaf (taking some artistic license with the final shape).

"Señor"

My focal images are all from Artistic Outpost.  They were stamped on smooth cardstock, colored with Prismacolor Premier pencils, and cut out.  Before they were adhered, I added random scraps of sheet music, book text, stenciling, stamping and grungy rub-ons to the background.  Two of the leaves have vintage postage stamps on them.

"Fräulein"

To help blend my people into the collage and to reinforce the stems, I added torn scraps of patterned papers along the bottom of each leaf. The final steps involved covering the back with a patterned paper, dabbing metallic acrylic paint around the edges, and spraying each leaf with an acrylic sealant.

"Mademoiselle"

Once everything was dry, I popped each leaf into its own cellophane envelope and sent them on their way.  I can't wait to see the leaves I receive in return

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.