Sunday, August 27, 2017

ATC

ATC's are artist trading cards these small but mighty cards can be done in any style or format. This one is a watercolor Floral.  It is 2.5 x 3.5

Adding this to Simonsays  Monday challenge -http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/adding this to PaintpartyFrid
Adding this to piant party Friday - http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.Thank
 you for visiting and for your kind words. 

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Letters to Lauren

I have a four month old granddaughter. Even though she lives in Phoenix and I live in Michigan, I have been traveling to see her almost every month. She is growing so quickly! Thank goodness for facetime when we are not there.

I had seen a story on line where a grandfather kept a journal for his granddaughter. I thought that was an amazing idea so I started Letters to Lauren. After each visit, I  write her a letter. I share how much she has grown, what she has learned, what we did and more. I wanted some place special to keep these letters so I decorated a plain pencil box.









I had the perfect papers to use - Mix and Match Sugar and Spice Pad from CanvasCorpBrands 

Mix & Match Pad - Sugar & Spice

First I gave the box two coats of paint. I also added a thin coat of Vanilla over the Pink.


I started building the layers on the top, beginning with the  Baby Girl Quotes and a banner from the It's a Girl Sampler 


Baby Girl Quotes on Ivory PaperBaby Girl: It's A Girl Sampler on Ivory Paper

Ribbon added texture and I cut out her initials from the Pink and Ivory Baby Girl Alpha
 and backed it with black corrugated paper

Baby Girl: Pink & Ivory Baby Girl Alpha Paper

To finish it, I created a cluster around one of the quotes in the paper pad

I could not leave the inside plain. I again used the quote paper, ribbon and another quote.  Pink Polka Dot paper finishes the inside.



I included a tag which is titled "What I Want For You" which sums up my feelings perfectly. 

I have three letters in here so far and will be adding another at the end of August.

I am not including a photo of my adorable granddaughter because I am honoring my daughter's wishes not to post any baby photos on line. You will just have to believe me when I say she is the cutest!

I you have enjoyed this special project! I cannot wait to give it to Lauren when she is older!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Keeping Cool

Our air conditioner broke last night, so I am trying to keep cool but doing winter crafts! Not sure it is working:)

I saw a challenge over at Mixed Up Blog


The challenge was to create a mixed media project  using cork. I remembered I had a 4 x 4 inch piece of cork in my stash. So I grabbed it and made a snowman ornament.


I used texture paste for his face. His hat is made from sheet music. I stenciled his nose and mouth using punchinella. I added embossing and stamping to the background which has a faint layer of gelatos. 

Thanks for such a fun challenge!
Thank you for visiting and your kind words!


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Wishing You


A freind in our art group was having a birthday so I painted this for him. 
Saw the image online but I did not save the information to reference it. My apologies to about that.




Adding this to Simonsays Monday Challenge!

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Out of my Comfort Zone

This mixed media piece really had me thinking and took me right out of my comfort zone.





I am participating in a Facebook challenge at AALL $& CREATES. The first challenge is Europe.  I saw this great quote "Visit Europe to see the living past"  and was taken back to our tour of Italy two years ago. All I could think as I looked at the important buildings, ruins, gardens was of the people who lived here - the great philosophers, the writers, the artists and more. They stood where we did. They looked out at the country side like we did.  The depth of their history is hit me like a ton of bricks. America is so young in comparison.

I knew my focal point would be the Architextures Treasurers Weathered Lady Statue from Canvas Corp Brands
Treasures - Weathered Lady Statue
This was the exact feel I wanted.

I collaged pages from a book of Shakespeare's plays. To this I added layers of washi tape, texture paste, stenciling, mist and more. At one point I washed it off and started over.  I have learned to step back, take a breath and keep at it. I finally had a composition I liked so finished it up.






Challenge 1 - Europe


Image may contain: text


Sharing this with Paint Party Friday!



 Supplies used include  7 Gypsies Wanderlust Paper, Simply Sheer Vintage Blue, Glimmer Mist Tattered Leather - CanvasCorpBrands

My thanks to each of you for inspiring me!

Friday, August 11, 2017

Beach Babes

Our granddaughter LOVES the pool. Was happy to watch her and my daughter together enjoying the water!

Joining in on CSI


Here is my layout

I always enjoy these challenges which seem to make me think outside the box!

I flipped the sketch.

I have blurred the baby's face to follow my daughter's wishes of not posting baby photos on line.

Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words! You should check out CSI!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Crawling is for Babies

When we last saw our granddaughter in July, she was only 3 months old. Even then she was rolling all over the floor, sitting in her activity chair, and standing on her feet. She wanted to take steps as my husband held her. We laughed about it and said "crawling is for babies" I knbew those were photos I would have to scrap.


I used this sketch from over at Sketchnscrap
Layout Sketches due August 31st

And here is my layout


Per my daughter's wishes, I have blurred the baby's face. 

Thanks for visiting and checking out all of my scrapping of the baby! I appreciate your kind words. 

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Red White & You

I was able to be with my granddaughter for her first 4th of July. We had a fun day just her parents, her and I. Of course, we had to take pics! I wanted to scrap it and am using this sketch





from StuckSketches.

Here is my layout


I pulled out some very old Little Yellow Bicycle papers for this! (Per my daughter's wishes, her face is blurred out. Thank you for understanding)

She had on a shirt titled Little Miss Independence.




Making Embellishments

I am up today at Helmar sharing how to make your own embellishments - in this case flowers!

IMG_0858

Would love for you to visit me there!

Beyond Excited

In my last post I talked about finding my niche as I experiment and try to find an artistic style that I feel comfortable in. Well, at the last minute, I completed a painting for an art call by Clearprint. The challenge was for layers, so I made my string art flowers on the top side of the paper and painted underneath.

LOOK ------ I was one of the top 5 chosen!!!



It is on Facebook as well!



While I still may not be sure of my niche this has given a small boost of confidence. 

Thank you to all who are journeying with me and for all of you who have inspired me!  You may not know it, but I learn and grow from all of you!

Thank you for letting me share! 

Friday, August 4, 2017

Finding my Niche

This all begins with a long story................................

Two years ago I lost my job as the result of a downsizing. I wasn't sure what the next steps would be for me career wise as I was not too far from retirement. I ended up taking a beginning painting class through the local community education. For all my life, I have been the non artistic twin. My mom, who painted beautiful oil paintings, passed the art gene to my twin. I got math and science from my dad. All my life I struggled whenever anything involved paint or drawing. But, I had seen something called mixed media and thought maybe with this art class class, that is something I could do.

The class was actually not all that helpful but I did start creating mixed media canvases. I was encouraged to join the local art group and attended my first show/sale. To my surprise I sold some! I have continued making and selling for the past year. But, I am still struggling with being a "real" artist. I keep experimenting and playing with mediums to find something that I feel is me.

So I saw this online and decided to try. It is string art which apparently is actually a very old technique. But, new to me. I played, experimented, and wasted a lot of paper. I had this canvas which I had covered with paint (another failed experiment) and took the string to it.

So what do you think? I kind of like this technique. And it is something different from my mixed media. The fun part is every time I do it, the design changes. I will be bringing some of these canvases and paintings to the next show/sale.


Thank you for letting me share and for visiting! I appreciate your kind words more than you know. 
 

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Thank you for being so sweet

A little thank you card. Tis the season for watermelon!
A great way to use scraps!I painted the seeds.



Adding this to Simonsays Monday Challenge - Food or Drink.
Thank you for stopping by!

Time for Scrapping