Monday, September 30, 2013

First Halloween

Jen's first Halloween costume! I sewed this from a  preprinted panel of fabric from the store. I was quite proud of myself. Not so sure she liked the hat!

Sketch from MyScrapsandMoreSketches




All G45!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula - Part 1

We took a couple of days to visit the UP and more specifically Tahquemenon Falls and Pictured Rocks. 
We did something we have never done before - traveled with the dog. Oh sure, he comes with us all the time to the cottage but he has never "vacationed" with us. And, even though he is almost 13, he does like to walk so we thought we would give it a try. 

Tahquemenon Falls is a state park and

 The Upper Falls, one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi has a drop of nearly 50 feet, more than 200 feet across and a water flow of more than 50,000 gallons per second. 




We viewed the lower falls and then saw a trail to the upper falls. It was 4 miles which we figured was doable. We were duped by the beginning boardwalk like path. Pretty soon we got to this
As we soon discovered, the trail was more than medium difficulty! There were mud bogs that sucked your feet in, tree roots jutting and laying a patchwork, bridges that were severely slanted and foot paths on the brink of the cliff that were about 10 inches wide! At one part Mike had to tie the dog to a tree and come to help me across a rough spot. 






 We made it to the two mile marker where there is a sign which reads "You are half way,
 Don't Turn around - You can make it!" The dog and I voted for turning around and I must say the return trip was quicker!

Lesson learned - be prepared for hiking which includes - boots, a backpack, lighter clothes, a towel, snacks and water!!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Red Sky

My computer room faces east and there is a small window right above the desk. The other morning I happened to glance out and saw the most magnificent colors! I grabbed my camera and ran outside to take some pics. As quick as it came, it left - gone within 10 minutes.


I thought this Skechcabilities sketch would be perfect








I also saw the Challenge over at Frosted Designs. The challenge was to pick any three of the times ( hearts, arrows, stars, shapes) and use them at least three times. One set of chevrons is peeking our under the yellow button and purple flower. You may not be able to see it but it is there.

I have circles, chevrons and arrows.

Also Doris is now on the DT over at Sketchabilities and she is having a giveaway on her blog if you use this sketch.


I actually spent days on this! I spritzed, I splattered, I got out stencils and modeling paste, and water colors.
I even painted two of the flowers.

I also used the Welding feature for the very first time on my Silhouette to make the title.

Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Fun Challenge at Scrapjazz

Each month there are challenges posted over at Scrapjazz.

One of this months was to go to your pantry and use a product design as as the inspiration for your layout. I don't have very many packages in my pantry but found this box of pasta

And here is my layout

I had a burlap ribbon which i thought would be perfect with my Feels like Home papers from LYB!


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

So I found these old photos

I found these old photos of me - circa 1970. Figured I would use them for a layout and a couple of challenges.

The September challenge for Limor's Mixed Media art group  was to try something new using one of two sketches and add journaling.

Here is the sketch from Once Upon A sketch

Here is my layout






For my new technique, I wanted to use my new Prima mist on Pink Paislee resist paper. I learned that the mist beads up so you cannot just apply it like you would on plain cardstock. I had not thought of this so used a wipe to spread the color around.

I was wracking my brain to remember facts about myself at this age.

This is also for Frosted Designs number challenge. The paper has numbers written on it and I included a number in the title and journaling.

I am also using this for Try It on Tuesdays make your own flowers challenge. The one pink flower is made from lace and a pennant ribbon and the other pink one is made from punches. The white one is not hand made.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Art Journal Cover

I saw a challenge over at Anything but A Card called hit the Books.
The challenge

Hit the Books: create a project based on a favorite book, or alter a book, use book pages on your project, create a book mark, a book cover, make a tote, etc. JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge :)

I was inspired to decorate the cover of my art journal which is just a random old paperback book I got at the library sale. I wanted to use a mix of old alphas for dimension and modeling paste for texture.


I was actually painting during Tracy's Mixed Media Monday which is where the colors came from. Obviously my work took a different turn than hers. I do like it though and am pleased now to be able to grab this book to journal in!

Products used: Deco art paints, TCW Mini Chevron stencil, Spackle, Faber Castell Glaze

Monday, September 9, 2013

Vacation Album

My daughter brought her new boyfriend to Michigan for vacation. He has never been to the state so we made sure he saw some of our favorite spots. I made an album for him which I hope he will enjoy. The cover has lots of fun travel embellies and, of course, is tied with twine!








This is for the September challenge at Scrapourstash. On the cover I have a plane and a travel sign. The sign is the photo of the welcome to Michigan sign. I printed the sign on paper to match the album instead of photo paper. It almost looks like a premade embellie.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Thank You

Whenever I win a prize, I like to send a thank you note.I appreciate the opportunities to win prizes and want the person offering these chances to know that. I often to try to use the product I won on the card but this time I decided to switch it up and do more of a mixed media/paint card. I just wanted to play.

This one is a new fave of mine! The colors are so pretty and I love the simple design. 

I broke out the glitter for this one! Unfortunately I did not notice that my thank you sentiment fell off before I photographed it. I will be adding that back on. 


I love the new Little yellow Bicycle Feels Like Home collection. It is just perfect for this thank you!




Products used - Deco Arts Paints



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Count a Blessing

I frequently walk on the golf course with my husband as he plays. I don't play - just walk. One night a few weeks ago, I found these wonderful lacy leaves. I am assuming bugs or something got at them and immediately thought of how I could use them. Fall and leaves go hand in hand right now so this is the project I made.

I modge podged the leaves on after creating a wonderful background using various paints, stamps, stencils, etc.

Supplies - Deco Art american Paints, Modge Podge, mesh, stamps.

Fall Color

Happiness is simply staring in awe at the colors on a fall day! I remember this morning at the cottage. the water was as clear as glass and the trees reflected perfectly just like a mirror. So very pretty!

I really wanted to emphasize the color so I got out my paints. I poured some puddles and then used a straw to blow the paint around.

I used more of the wonderful LYB Feels Like Home Collection!

Entering this in the Create to Live challenge at My Sweet Earth.

Supplies - Little Yellow Bicycle Feels like Home collection, Deco Arts American Paints

Playing with Paint!

A journal page - my version of Tracy's Monday show.

I took a bit of a different approach and used some wonderful LYB papers for my house. I covered them with a layer of watered down paint. Hand wrote the words. This was a fun challenge.

Yes, the house is based on the design of our house.

Supplies - Deco Art Americana Paints, Modge podge, Punchinella, She Art Stencil

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Today is the Day!!!!!

Today is the day!!! My projects are up at Little Yellow Bicycle!!

Feels Like home was a treat to work with! Such gorgeous papers! Love the colors and patterns. This line also has an amazing array of chipboard, wood embellies, stick pins, vellum tape stickers, etc. that makes it easy to pull a project together!


Here is the link to the post


I will repost the projects here at a later date!!!Thanks for all the support!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Art Scraps and More blog


You need to visit my friend Alexandra's blog!
She is having a giveaway sponsored by Faber Castell!!



Lots of amazing goodies!!!!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Scrapbooking.com

I have a layout in this month's issue of Scrapbooking.com. Titled It was Summertime in northern Michigan, this layout was a tribute to summers spent visiting my grandparents in Northern Michigan. My grandmother had a wood cookstove which I could never use without burning everything! They had a garden and a root cellar filled with jars of fruits and veggies. I remember playing in the hay in the barn and petting a cow. We made that trek every year!

http://scrapbooking.com/article/80487

Time for Scrapping