From the Art Grotto

This 'n That

2011-12-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

I have been neglectful of my blog so am going to post a few samples of work I created but have not yet posted. Some of you have commented that you like to see the scans, so here are a few items. These are a few items I made in December, all of which were mailed out.

Christmas Card - 2011

This is one of the 60 Christmas cards I made. It is made from scraps of Christmas cardstock that I have kept over the years - too nice to throw out and not enough to make many cards. I saw a design for a triangle shaped card in a magazine and decided to try to replicate it, turning it into a Christmas tree. As it turned out, each of the 60 cards is different. I used Spellbinders dies to create some of the embellishments such as the deer and also used some K&Company purchased embellishments. Now I need to start thinking about Christmas 2012!

December ATC for Wisconsin group

Tri-fold Calendar

The two front panels open up to reveal a 2012 calendar.

Christmas Tags for Cuttlebug Swap

ATC Background Techniques: "I"

2011-12-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

I love creating backgrounds so was excited to join an ongoing swap creating backgrounds using different techniques. A group of six is making an ATC every month for each of the participants. Rather than randomly sending any technique, my friend Carole who organized this swap (she is the background Queen!) decided that we should go through the alphabet, one letter at a time. I think some of the letters might be a challenge!

Interference Resist with Alcohol Ink

This month we are creating with the letter "I" in mind. I found a technique in the wonderful book "Texture Effects" by Nancy Curry. It is a simple but beautiful technique. Simply randomly sprinkle powdered pigments such as Perfect Pearls on black glossy card stock then apply alcohol ink using a sponge or felt pad which seals the pigments. You can then stamp using a permanent ink. What you can't see in this scan is the depth and shine created using this technique. I added the bird and cage to complete the ATC.

Tim Tag #6

2011-12-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to make my version of the 2011 12 Tags of Christmas created by Tim Holtz. I have been using materials that I have on hand, so this tag is not exactly like Tim's but created in the "spirit" of his tag. The original was created using a Sizzix collage folder which I don't have, but I do have a Cuttlebug collage folder which I used. The idea of the tag is to emboss on metal and color areas of the tag. I used metallic tape on a tag, embossed, then colored using alcohol inks. The top of the tag is embellished with red mesh wired ribbon and a hand made embellishment I received in a previous swap. I tried to take a photo but there was too much reflection, so I attempted to scan. That didn't work very well, but at least you can get an idea of what it looks like.

The good news is that I have completed 6 of the 12 tags ------ looks like I will be finished soon now that things have quieted down.

Tag #6

Art Journal - Alice in Wonderland

2011-12-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

One of my internet groups has been involved in an Art Journal swap. Each participant chose a theme, and the others have been creating a double sided page for her journal. This month I created this page for the theme of "Alice in Wonderland." I had found a 12X12 sheet of tags awhile back celebrating Alice and Halloween. I couldn't resist even though I didn't really have a use for them -- I just thought they were clever! But I sure was glad when I had to create this page - they were perfect! I hope the gal who receives this page will enjoy it and want to add to her journal.

Front Back

End of the Year Swaps

2011-12-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm coming to the end of the 2011 swaps and finally finished the last few (only one to go!) It has been a good year with swapping, making new internet friends and learning new techniques.

Diamond Fold

Now that I have a Scor Pal, well, both sizes and a Martha Stewart score board (!), I am able to have the tools to do precision scoring and folding. The theme for the Cuttle Bug group for December was "Fancy Folds." I could never have made this card without being able to make good, accurate score lines to fold this card. The navy base is one piece of paper! I used two Cuttlebug embossing folders and a die to create this along with Distress Inks - a great way to color coordinate different papers. The silver snowflakes are foam stickers. I think they were produced for kids, but I found them fun to use!

COTM - Snow

I belong to group of Wisconsin stampers (and a few from other states, as well), and we have a themed Card of the Month swap. Each month has a designated theme. The theme for December is snow or holiday. I purchased (very recently as in the last day or two as all Christmas stuff is marked WAAAY down!) a new set of embossing folders, so this is the first time I have used them. I embossed white paper and used Distress Ink to add the blue highlights. The snowflakes are a piece of printed card stock, and, yes, I used a sparkley snow flake sticker!!!

The scan below is an ATC I made for the same group. I had the blue and white CS out as well as those cute snowflakes, so I created this ATC. I had purchased a couple of sheets of vintage images at the annual stamp/scrap show in Madison and used them to complete the ATC's

Now all I have to do is finish up my 12 Days of Christmas tags. I'm hoping to have them made by January 6, the original end of the 12 Days. And, of course, a new round of 2012 swaps is set to begin.

Thanks for checking my blog - hope to post more and more regularly in 2012.

Art Journal Swap

2011-12-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

I love belonging to internet groups as I get to see lots of wonderful work created by artists from around the world. I joined a new (to me) group about six months ago and have had fun joining in on the swaps. By the end of the month a small group of us will be completing art journal pages. Each person chose both a theme and an orientation (horizontal or vertical) with the goal of binding the pages into a book and adding our own journaling to the pages sent to us by our partners.

For the first half of December I created a 5"X7" double sided page with the theme of quotes about words. Words!!!!! I love words and quotes, so this was great fun. I had trouble selecting only two quotes about words ---- there are so many really good ones. But I settled on the two below. Of course, one is by Emily Dickenson -- she always could say so much in so few words. And I had never come across the other quote, but it is something I truly believe in.

The page is created on watercolor paper with color added using Distress Inks by Tim Holtz. I stamped a few images, added some purchased embellishments, and computer generated the quotes.

I really like how the pages turned out and was so happy to receive a very nice e-mail from the recipient.

A while back I was in a year long swap dealing with art quotes, a different quote each month. I received some lovely pages and am planning on combining them with the six I will have from this swap. It will be a wonderful handmade book!

Tim's Tags #4 & 5

2011-12-06T14:52:00.001-08:00

Day 4

Day 5

Trying to catch up so I don't fall too far behind. Here's what I came up with for Days 4 & 5. Day #4 - I used the Rays embossing folder and the Snow On the Edge die along with a Sizzix snowflake die and some "bling." The label is a Nestabilities die. I was surprised to find that I do have some of the burlap ribbon - perfect for the "grungy" look of this tag.
I had fun with creating the fragment embellishment using alcohol ink and Stazon according to Tim's instructions. I let the ink dry overnight and the Stazon did remove the color. I love the pair of deer so used the leaping dear on the tag layered over the tall pine folder. I have an idea for Day 6 - better get going before I get even more behind!!!

Tim Tags - Days #2 & 3

2011-12-05T06:16:00.001-08:00

I'm still trying to catch up with Tim's Tags for 2011. I actually have the pair of deer die so I at least had the central image. I used some printed music velum over a basic tag for the background and a purchased (!) embellishment for the the deer. The border is a Spellbinders die.

Day #2

Day #3

I really had to "stretch" on this one as I didn't have a bold sentiment stamp. I guess the only thing that I did was make some kind of foliage embellishment. Onwards and upwards to Days # 4 and 5!!!!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

2011-12-03T19:44:00.001-08:00

This is my first year of participating in the Tim Holtz's 12 Days of Christmas challenge. He encourages everyone to do what they can, to improvise if you don't have the exact materials he uses. I don't have the pine cone die (yet!) so I die cut some green foliage and a brown poinsettia (Spellbinders) and added a purchased embellishment (K&Company.) I'm half way finished with #2 - I'm only three days behind!!!!!

Tim Tag

2011-11-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

I recently made a set of "Tim" sized tags using the new Winter Distress Ink set (limited edition) and two of Tim's stamps - Santa and Rays. After I colored the tag, I stamped the Santa image but was left with space on the bottom and top, so I filled it in with the rays, certainly not Christmassy but did the trick. I added glitter glue and a Poinsettia made with the new Spellbinders die set. I didn't add the fibers but included them in the envelopes - saves on postage as two were headed out of the country.

Wild West ATC's

2011-09-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

WILD WEST ATC'S

I recently joined an internet group which offers a variety of swaps. One of the first swaps I completed is a set of ATC's with the theme of Wild West. I already had a few stamps I had purchased in Arizona, but I thought I needed something else. Lo and behold in today's newspaper magazine supplement there was an article about John Wayne! Who else symbolizes the Wild West??? I cut out some text for the background and the little pictures. The other ATC is a part of a landscape which is chalked and cut down to ATC size. Enjoy!

ATC-ABC Swap: "C" is for Crayon Resist

2011-06-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a sample of the ATC's I made using Crayon Resist, a very easy technique. I stamped white CS using black ink, first using a text background stamp and overstamping with an open flower. I colored the centers and petals of the flowers with crayons and deliberately didn't fill in completely. I used several colors of Distress Inks to cover the images, then "polished" using a soft cloth. Finally I CB'ed the letter "C" from a scrap of copper colored foil. Quick and easy!!

More Projects

2011-05-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples of swaps from the last few months.

Alice in Wonderland ATC's

Cards for Troops

This 'n That/ATC's

2011-05-28T08:03:00.001-07:00

I have finally returned to making ATC's - it seemed that my groups had somehow gotten away from these for awhile. I joined the monthly round of themed ATC's through a Wisconsin group - this month's theme was "Farm Fresh" - Door County Cherries was my contribution:

Another group is doing monthly swaps of techniques. The following are my ATC's for "A" and "B" - looks like we will be swapping through 2013! Thanks to my stamping friend Carol S. from WA for organizing this. Her blog is awesome and inspiring.

"B" for brayered background with rubber bands, blue, blossoms and bling:

"A" for acetate and alcohol inks:

2011-05-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

These are the cards I made for the "Cards for Troops" project for May. Each month, besides general BD, TY, etc., we are asked to send special seasonal cards such as 4th of July. I really enjoy making these each month - Usually around 30 0r so cards which are sent to a central location and then forwarded to troops stationed around the world for their use. Thanks to my stamping buddy Jan of Redrubberink for linking me up to this project. Of course, it's also a reason to add to my stash!!!!!

Welcome Miss Rosie

2011-05-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Who could ask for a prettier "fur ball?"

April Oriental Themed Card

2011-04-01T09:22:00.001-07:00

I really enjoy challenge swaps, so the Oriental Art challenge for April is Kites. EGADS!!!! I don't have a kite stamp, so I needed to come up with an idea. After doing some reading about Oriental kites, I discovered that the fish kite (Japan) is very popular. Although I'm not good at Origami, I was able to fold the fish. Here's the result.

March Cards for Troops

2011-03-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I found out from my stamping buddy Jan Hoeffler - Red Rubber Stamping -about an ongoing project to create cards which would be sent to bases where troops are stationed so that they would have a choice of handmade cards to send home to their friends and family. Besides general cards such as birthday, thank you, etc., each month there are two special themes. Here are scans of the cards I made (I made 4-6 of each):

Father's Day

More Father's Day

Graduation

Birthday

OSA - Monthly Themed Swap for March

2011-03-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

March Oriental Card of the Month

This month the theme is Origami and the colors, silver and blue. Origami and I don't really get along. In fact, I am in awe of people who create those fantastic creations with little pieces of paper - no cutting, no glue, nothing but folding in and out. I gave it a valiant effort, but just couldn't create the simplest of kimonos, butterflies, or other projects for kids! When I was about to give up, I looked at the piece of partially unfolded paper and realized that, if I turned it around and folded up the point on the bottom, I would have a vase!!!!!!!!!!!! The Penny Black flower stamp looks perfect in its Origami vase.

Cleaning Up

2011-03-06T12:11:00.001-08:00

Found some scans I forgot to post. I made this simple Valentine for a swap for Wisconsin Stampers group and for our monthly Shoebox group. I happened to find s super bargain on paper at a local stamp store - 15 cents for 12X12 good quality card stock - I couldn't go wrong with that!!! I used to Spellbinders dies to create the layered heart image and, of course, had to add some "bling!"

Through a stamping buddy, I found out about a group which collects cards to be sent to troops for their use. Besides general use such as Thank You and Birthday card, each month also has a couple of special themes. Here a few of the cards I made:

Finally, this is an ATC I made for the monthly ATC swap for Wisconsin Stamping. The card is only 2-1/2" X 3-1/2", the size of a sports trading card. These are fun to make, but sometimes challenging. I have a large stamp of a jester and was able to use a portion to create this Mardi Gras ATC:

Cards with Carole

2011-03-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

My friend Carole came over last week to "play with paper and past!" Well, it really was glue, but that isn't alliterative. The group of cards below are Carole's creations - Chocolate and Coffee, St. Patty's for JJ, and a dramatic floral card that could be used for many different occasions.

These are the cards I designed for the day. We first made Flower Pot Cards (see "Going Potty" for more details. Then we created cards for spring and Easter.

We ended in the early afternoon with lunch - Adventures Wild Rice Chowder (thank you Juli for the recipe) and brownie cheesecake. Good thing we worked hard in order to work off some of the calories!!!!

Working in the Grotto - February

2011-03-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Just because I wasn't blogging doesn't mean I wasn't down in the grotto making cards. Here's some of what I created.

The above Valentines were created for older patients at Children's Hospital.

This card I created for my grandson is a re-working of a swap I received.

Looked perfect for a little boy!

Here's another card I made for Children's for the older boys.

The cards below were all created with one stamp.

"F" Swap

2011-03-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last month I joined the "ABC" swap on one of my groups -- and that month's letter was "F." Here's what I came up with:

I covered a Frame with a Floral napkin and added the image of a Floral butterFly Fairy. I couldn't believe I actually had the sticker which says "Flitter Flutter!"

Gone to "Pot!"

2011-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was surfing through the projects on splitcoast.com and found the tutorial for the Flower Pot Card -- it looked intriguing, so I gave it a try. Much to my dismay, it is actually not too difficult, just a little "putzy." I eventually made some with a group of friends, then with my friend Carole M. who came over earlier this week for a day of stamping.

This shows where the sentiment is stamped.

I think I'll make a few more for people who enjoy flowers and flower gardening.

Haiku Bunny Swap

2011-03-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

Spring Haiku Bunny Swap

The Haiku Bunny stamp by Hero Arts is very popular and impossible to purchase as it was discontinued a number of years ago and never reissued. Those of us who own one guard it with our lives!!! Oriental Stamp Art (OSA), a Yahoo group which focuses exclusively on Oriental art, hosts a Haiku Bunny swap every year. Since 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, this is a special year for the special bunny. Here's my Spring bunny. I stamped some floral scrapbook paper with the grass stamp from a set by Stampin' Up, stamped the bunny separately, cut him out, and layered on the base. A silver butterfly floating by is the perfect accent. I sure hope spring comes soon to the upper Midwest!!!!

Collaborative Calendar for 2011

2010-12-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my friend Bonnie and I decided to enlist a few other stampers to create calendars. This is what the six of us made for 2011.

January - Jane

February - Ashley

March - Maggi

April - Karen

May - Jane

June - Billie

July - Maggi

August - Bonnie

September - Billie

October - Bonnie

November - Ashley

December - Maggi

Everyone agreed that this was a fun project, even the two newbies who had never done this before and were a little taken aback that they would make 12 (!) of the same pages for each month!!! The calendars were bound using a Bind-It-All and mailed out to the participants. I hope we can continue this project for 2012.

"E" Swap - Elegant Embossed Frames

2010-10-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

I finally am able to publish the scan of this fun swap that I made for my friend Carol. Due to "technical difficulties" (my IPhoto disappeared!), I could scan, but I couldn't transfer the image. Thank goodness for good tech support! The frames are made from small magnetic frames that I had received for free. To make them "elegant," I embossed metallic paper with various Cuttlebug folders and colored with alcohol inks. I ran the frames through the Xyron to put adhesive on the front of each frame, then placed each down on the embossed/colored paper. After carefully cutting out, I had a set of frames for Carol to display pictures of her grandchldren. This was a fun project. Now if I can only get some more frames!!!!!

This and That

2010-09-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

Made some quick cards the other day - here they are. The first uses decorative paper (marked way down at Michaels) and some solid color scraps embossed with the smaller CB embossing folders. I enhanced the texture with chalk which "tied" all the colors together. The flowers are small metallic peel-offs.

I was sent the Owl CB folder by mistake and when I offered to return it to the company, the service rep said I should just keep it. I wasn't too crazy about it but finally tried it out. I embossed on white, then chalked it to highlight the owl and flourish. I recently purchased a set of BD clear stamps (Fiskars) - I really like this one!

I made the following cards for two new stamping pals. The frame is Nestabilities, and the stamp is from Gina K Designs. The second card was made following directions posted on StampTV - the technique is white crayon resist with Distress Inks.

ACE 11 - September

2010-08-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

This year I joined a sub-group of Oriental Stamp Art, a Yahoo group dedicated to learning about and creating Oriental style items, especially cards. A theme and colors were chosen for each month by the list mom, and we sent out three cards in "Round Robin" style. September is the last month for the group. Here's my creation: the theme was leaves/fall and the color burgundy. This is a gate-fold card (I've been playing with that layout for the last few weeks) - the left and right panels open in the middle. The leaf brad holds the central image/sentiment in place until the card is opened. It was fun to make, especially as fall is my favorite season.

Swapping with SEWisconsin Group

2010-08-29T11:28:00.001-07:00

I finished up my "assignments" for the August swaps today. Here are the scans and brief descriptions.

Open Wings

I love this central image - reminds me of the '60's and '70's! Linda will find a little surprise when she receives it!

August Layout

Each month we have a layout challenge. I'm obviously in an "autumn" mood!!

Tunnel Card

This is a view of the inside - hard to see as there is a lot of shimmer.

This is the closed version - looks like a "regular" card until it's opened. At first I was really challenged by this, but once I "googled" and followed the process, I realized how easy it is. The flower is made with the Tim Holtz Sizzix flower die. What you don't see is the dimension on the inside. I hope Linda likes the cards I'm sending to her!!!!

August Shoebox Challenges

2010-08-28T07:26:00.001-07:00

My stamping buddy Bonnie has a wonderful blog - Google Craftiblog to check it out - and a few of her internet friends occasionally send her craft items as a challenge to see what she can do with whatever they send her. One gal sent along an envelope of items which Bonnie shared with us in July. Our challenge was to use the materials and bring the finished item(s) to August Shoebox Night. Here's what I finally finished - I had the basic item stamped for our meeting and made some final changes.

Tri-fold Manilla Tag and Acetate

First I colored the tag with Distress Inks including silver and gold. I stamped the sentiment twice, once on the card base and again on the acetate. I colored the acetate with Sharpie markers, trimmed the acetate and adhered to the center, slightly off side to create some depth. The trees were stamped on either side and embellished with Flower Soft. The metallic leaves were found at Michaels, a package of about 40 for $1!!!

Large Manilla Tag

The tag was colored with inks, then I stamped the central image (one of my favorites!). I masked the image and stamped the top and bottom with a marbelized background stamp and added the embellishments to the bottom and fibers to the top.

(Yet) Another Fall Card

The central image is acetate run through the CB using an embossing folder. I then colored using Alcohol Inks. The tag is from Spellbinders, and I used a $1 stamp for the sentiment, adding gold peel-offs instead of ribbon. Simple and fun to make.

Another Use for a Tag and Acetate

I received an invite to a SU party and really liked one of the cards on the postcard, so I used it as a model for this card. The leaf is acetate inked up and cut with the large CB maple leaf. A scrap of hand decorated paper is used for the background behind the tag.

August Shoebox

2010-08-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

August Shoebox Card

A small group of friends has been getting together for an evening of fun - making cards, chatting, and having fabulous dessert! This month we made only three cards (Ashley had to take her dog to the vet, and my stamp scrubber leaked onto the card base!) But we did have fun, celebrated Bonnie's BD with a luscious lemon pie (thanks, Chrissy!) and also shared some challenges (more on this in a later post.) So, here's our new cards - lots of ideas for you stampers.

JANE'S PRETTY IN PINK BD CARD

Jane (who is brand new to stamping!) helped us create this lovely BD card using reversible cardstock, a border punch, and a couple of dollar stamps. The dragonfly has jewels on the body and shimmery highlights on the wings. This will probably be Kada's card for BD #3 (but don't tell her!)

Bonnie's Distress Ink Trees and Beaded Embellishment

Bonnie always comes up with some lovely ideas and combined a tutorial using Distress Inks from GinaK's Stamp TV videos and an idea for a simple but gorgeous embellishment - beads and a long pin. Be sure to check out Stamp TV - lots of wonderful ideas - great videos!!!

Chrissy's Masculine Card

I just love this card - monochromatic cards are so striking. We distressed the white paper used for the stamped images with Distress Inks, then stamped in black. Thank goodness Chrissy cut all the pieces for us!!! I have two BIL's who have BD's coming up - both would like this card. Now I have to decide who gets it!

Next month we will make Ashley's card and mine which didn't get made this month. A special thanks to Chrissy who was hostess and made the delightful lemon pie.

July Shoebox

2010-08-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Bonnie and I have been getting together on a regular basis to make cards, eat dessert, and "gab." She recently was able to find a job after being laid off for quite while, and she has made some new friends who are interested in making cards. Bonnie called the group "Shoebox" because each of us designs a card and brings all of the materials for each of the others to make the card. We added a new member, my friend Chrissy, who attended for the first time in July. Here's what we made:

Chrissy's Happy Birthday

Jane's Levis Inspired Card

You can tell that Jane is very detail oriented. She also paints Christmas ornaments.

Bonnie's Elegant Lady

Ashley's Birthday Card

I haven't colored in the candles yet.

Reverse Nestabilities

This is the technique card I brought in my shoebox. Rather than layer elements on top of each other, they are layered underneath. I love using the Spellbinders Nestablilies dies. Unlike punches, they will last forever!

And the evening concluded with a decadent chocolate peanut butter pie!!!! Thanks, Ashley, for hosting, and also to everyone else who brought projects.

Working in the Grotto

2010-08-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Although I haven't been posting much to my blog, I have been working in the grotto - it's nice and cool there! Here are a few cards I have been working on:

Oriental Inspired Thank You

I received a gift of a sheet of Oriental unmounted stamps from a friend as a thank you - this is the card I sent her in return. All of the images are this style - and they are are beautiful. It will be fun to play with them

Summer Swap

I belong to a small card swap group where the hostess "assigns" themes, colors, or layouts as challenges. We then send a card out to a specific individual in the group. This is my "Summer" card. I have made this same design a few times, and I always like the result. The following are also swap cards for this group.

Brown, Green, and Blue

(Color Challenge)

Bookmark

Christmas

This is an idea from Zana of Stamp Zia.

Decorated Heart

2010-07-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

On one of my Yahoo groups, we had the opportunity to join a "Decorated Heart" swap. I joined and, of course, then had a hard time coming up with something more than a card or book cover. I happened to be perusing Tim Holtz's blog and saw an example of a heart collage using a canvas, grungeboard, and pages from a book.

I had all of the materials and, like Tim, used Distress Inks to color the paper. After searching through my "stash" of embellishments, I was able to come up with this design. I hope Trish likes this.

Book Study

2010-02-09T14:47:00.001-08:00

In one of my on-line groups we are trying techniques from the book Paper Transformed by Julia Andrus. My friend Carol Sweeney has been our leader/cheerleader for this project, and she posts her samples with comments on her blog. Check out her blog for more information:

http://carol-creative-expressions.blogspot.com

I have been keeping up with the techniques and have finally posted my results. The first technique was Luminous Paste.

These are samples of what it looks like.

These are samples of what it looks like if you don't follow directions, in this case, use matte instead of glossy medium!

And this is the serendipity part - the paper towels used for clean up coated with glossy medium!

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Technique #2: Faux Leather

This was a simple but beautiful technique - glossy medium on dark paper, let dried, then run through the Cuttle Bug using the mesh folder!!!!

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#3 - Cosmos Paper

Because the directions called for a heavier CS, I used some "naked" die cuts. After inking with pigment ink, a couple of layers of ultra thick embossing powder were applied followed by some copper Perfect Pearls. It really looks like metal.
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#4 - Pearly Mottled Paper

I have to admit that I had trouble with this one and found out that others did too. It all depended on the paper and the application of the water. The top sample was my first attempt - too much water!! The next one didn't have enough, but I got better with #3. I tried glossy paper for the fourth - the water removed the dye ink. The last sample was made on a piece of file folder, and it turned out the best of all.

OSA Challenge #53

2010-01-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Here's the card I made for Challenge #53. The Windy Day stamp (Hero Arts) is one of my favorite. I also used a Cuttle Bug folder from the new Oriental set for the background.

Using Blank Notecards

2010-01-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick card I made for a swap which had to have ribbon on it. I spied some pretty blank note cards at Michaels last week - eight cards and envelopes for $1!!! The central image ("M") is covered up with a die-cut (Spellbinders) scalloped circle, and I used a circle Valentine stamp for the central image. The bottom edge is punched using a Martha Stewart border punch, and I had just the right color narrow ribbon to thread through the holes. Voila!!!

Ribbon Card for Anna

OSA Layout Challenge 52

2010-01-07T15:38:00.001-08:00

Last year OSA (Oriental Stamp Art) ran a weekly layout challenge. I participated for awhile but eventually got busy and didn't continue. The cards that were created were stunning! I vowed to get back into the weekly challenges, and this is what I made. It took me a few days to figure out what to do about the half circle on the top and finally had an idea----half of a parasol, the kind used for tropical drinks! Here's the result.

Diamond Top Fold Card

2010-01-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last year I purchased a ScorPal and later joined a group which shares ideas and templates for creating all kinds of cards, small boxes, etc., using this handy tool. The challenge this week was to create a diamond top card. I was excited to try this out AND I needed to make some cards for an on-going swap through OSA, an Oriental interest group. This month the colors are purple, blue, gray (and I added some pink to the mix); and the theme is mountains. I used Spellbinders square to cut out the image. Here's the finished project:

This is one site where you can find directions, or you could Google "diamond top fold card":

http://www.card-making-magic.com/diamondtopcards.html

First Swap of 2010!

2010-01-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

After my "trials and tribulations" with the new computer, I'm back to blogging and swapping. One of my groups has a color challenge every month, and January's really was a challenge: Use the colors navy, black and dark green. Luckily cream/white are also allowed!!! I created the background using Distress Inks: Pine Needle, Soot, and Denim. I had a lovely piece of handmade paper from my friend Bonnie which really made a difference.

New Scans

2009-11-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Some of My Fall Work

I recently got a new computer - and the learning curve has been steeper than I expected. I am persevering, but the transition has been slow. I finally got back to my blog and uploaded a few things that I have worked on recently.

OSA APE 9 "SEASONS"

Oriental Stamp Group has produced a fat book over the last nine years, and the theme for 2009 is the seasons. Our pages had to be 6" X 6." "Windy Walk" (Hero Arts) is one of my all-time favorite stamps, so I used it to create a page for winter. It is stark, just like winter in Wisconsin. I used a new CB border along the right side and colored it with white Pan Pastel. "Winter" seems faint in the scan, but it does show up in "real life!" The book should be gorgeous!!!

Cuttle Bug Embellishments

Using a few CB dies and also one from Spellbinders, I created these embellishments for a swap. They aren't the traditional Christmas colors, but I liked how they turned out!

Tag Boxes

My friend Bonnie and I get together every few weeks or so and make cards or other items - it's always great fun, a delicious lunch, and we come home with at least a few finished items. The front and back of each tag box is made with shipping tags from the office supply store. I covered mine with some decorative paper from SU and embellished one with a tag cut with CB die. The snowflakes are pre-made embellishments fro Joann's.

Triangular Folded Card

I belong to a ScorPal group which is always a challenge - I can't fold straight without this handy tool. The card opens up into a large rectangle. I used CB and Spellbinders dies again along with a cute set of clear fall stamps which cost only $1!!!

Double Bugging

Double "Bugging" - read about this technique and just had to try it. I embossed the base card with "Divine Swirl" CB folder, swiped with Tea Dye Distress Inks, then ran it through CB placing the embossed piece under the closed folder to flatten it out. I ran it through a different folder "Pumpkins," to emboss it a second time, and colored the new raised parts with Distress Inks. The pumpkin is a die from CB colored with Perfect Pearls

Side Step Card

Here's another ScorPal project - some simple cutting, scoring, and folding. Then, of course, there is the embellishing. Bonnie had it all figured out, so I used her suggestions to make this. I still haven't sent it to anyone - it's on the dining room table as part of a fall centerpiece.

Easel Cards

Another easy technique using ScorPal , Spellbinders dies, and some stamping. These cards fold out and stand alone, just like they are perched on an easel. I'll post a picture of them open later as I forgot that I have to put the scans on Blogspot in reverse order (or else I haven't figured out how to move them around!)

To see some of Bonnie's tutorials on how to make some of these cards go to:

http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/

Now I'm finishing up Christmas Cards, really early for me. I make over 80 and have 60 almost finished. For the past few years I haven't made the cards all the same - I haven't figured out if this is a good idea or not.

Just a Few Swaps

2009-07-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

Just some quick pictures of a few recent swaps.

This is a small canvas for the Quote of the Month on CCSwaps. I glued torn sheets of text and gessoed over it which you can't see in the picture and then stenciled some leaves lettuce and silver daubers. The picture is clip art which I was able to add text to. The diamond shapes are small mirrors.

This card was made for a Coffee, Tea,or? swap. I used a piece of paper napkin, some decorative paper for the background and the text, and added a coin and tassel. It's all mounted on bold CS.

If you have read earlier posts, you know that I ran a swap using Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls. I made a bunch of tags for samples and used two for the swap. I simply used a 12X5-1/2 sheet of Basic Gray CS, scored at 4" and 8", cut off a diagonal piece and stamped. I glued the sides and bottom shut and added faux eyelets.

Color challenges are some times hard, but I did sign up for Light Blue, Peach and Chocolate Brown. The brown paper is Color Core Chocolate with a light blue background which I put through the CuttleBug and sanded down to reveal the blue underside. "Hello" is a CB die, and the butterfly is from Spellbinders.

I made this for a Masculine swap - again I used one of my Perfect Distress tags and put it on a card which I had put through the Cuttle Bug with the Argyle embossing folder. I highlighted some of the texture with brown chalk ink.

"Perfect" Distress Technique

2009-06-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

An internet friend recently posted a link toTim Holtz's blog which featured a new video using Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls. I always enjoy his videos because he explains things so well. So I got out my supplies and gave it a try. My first set of samples, while pretty, didn't have quite the effect that I wanted, so I watched the video a second time and discovered that I hadn't followed the directions. You can see those samples at the end of this blog. I tried again and this time the samples turned out better. Another internet friend, Carol Sweeney, also blogged her sample of the same technique. Here are the links:

http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/05/another-technique-video.html

http://carol-creative-expressions.blogspot.com/2009/05/tim-holtzs-perfect-distress-technique.html

As I was experimenting, I decided to also try PearlEx instead of Perfect Pearls - not surprisingly they worked as well. I have also included that sample.

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After swiping the Distress Ink on a craft sheet (you can use waxed paper or freezer paper instead), I misted it with water and laid the tag down, swirling it around to pick up the ink. Remember to keep this first color light, so you might want to use more water on a darker color.

After drying the tag, I stamped the image and dusted Gold Perfect Pearls over the image, then spritzed lightly and dried.

Here's a sample made with PearlEx.

Since I had all the supplies out, I made a number of tags. After creating the central image, I added more stamping.

I made two tags using PearlEx and other images.

After adding all the images, I used more ink to darken around the edges.

Embellished with fibers and bits of odds and ends

Here's a tri-fold card using a sample from my first, darker attempt.

You can see how the central image is "lost" when the background is too dark.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS TECHNIQUE!

New and Old - Repurposing Materials

2009-05-08T09:45:00.001-07:00

I finished up two swaps for CCSWaps this week, both of which required me to search through my stash and either use up what I already had or something that I had received. The first is a 6X6 canvas titled "Mon Ami." I had all of the materials on hand including a paper napkin which I used for the background. This came from a swap a number of years ago. Scroll down to see the canvas labeled with the various items.

Source of Materials

The second item is a redesigned card front made from a commercial greeting card which I had received some time ago. I cut the back off, then cut the front into two pieces and trimmed down the larger reactangle.

Here's what I did to make the new card.

Guess it pays to save everything!!

More Metal

2009-05-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying working with metal, especially after taking a class at Artiscape with Cheryl Darrow. While I am still a beginner using the tools, I have been able to use the CuttleBug embossing folders to create a similar effect. I had made a similar item for a swap a week or so ago and wanted to make a present for my sister Juli. I had been frustrated trying to color specific sections of the metal with alcohol inks and was excited to be able to purchase two of the new Tim Holz alcohol ink pens last weekend at a rubber stamp/scrap show here in Waukesha. After coloring the embossed image, I was able to remove some of the ink from the tall grass using a cosmetic sponge and the blending solution. I put Wild Plum in one of the pens and colored the bird. The background is decoupaged paper on a hard canvas and a piece of the original Basic Gray paper which looks like wood. I don't think I'll buy a pen for each of the inks I have (sorry, Tim), but will decide which accent colors I will use the most and buy pens for them. Check out Tim's video for a demo: http://tinyurl.com/q2z8hp

"Morning has Broken"

Artiscape 2009

2009-05-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been excited since last year to attend Ariscape 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. I found a Yahoo group associated with this venue, and participated in a fat book swap. Here's the cover of the finished book - forty fat pages. I blogged mine previously. www.tinyurl.com/cau3dj

ARTISCAPE!!!

My good friend Barbara and I attended from April 16-20. We left dreary, rainy Milwaukee and arrived to SPRING! Columbus was warm, the flowers were blooming, and we didn't have to wear coats, hats, or mittens. It turned out to be a perfect weekend with lots of fun, wonderful classes, great opportunities to add to our art stashes. The good weather lasted until Monday morning - it was cool and rainy in Columbus, time for us to return to cool and rainy Milwaukee.

At registration we received our packet of materials including our "Dance Card." It held our list of classes, tickets for events, and other information. The theme for the event was "The Age of Innocence," so this fit in perfectly.

ART CHARMS AND MISCELLANY

I had taken a class last year from this instructor, Mike Meador, so I knew I was in for something fun and just a little "wacky!" Yes, we used recycled soda (or other beverage) cans to make embellishments, charms, or ???? Covering the little wooden cubes was pretty easy, but making the wee frames with inserts was more challenging. I had a lot of trouble with the first one, but by the third time I had figured out how to do this. These are incomplete - they need clip art or something, but they're really practice work. The materials are free and easily found, a bonus. Think I'll try using piece through the CuttleBug.

SEWN IN AND TIED, TOO

This is the front of the book we made with office supplies and other found ephemera. The picture below shows a view of the book open. There is even a cloth bag included as well as coin envelopes, tickets, etc.

BEESWAX COLLAGE

I have been interested in using beeswax as a medium in collage - it creates a beautiful effect. We were told at the beginning of the class that there is a Zen quality to using beeswax - the warmth, the scent, the soothing, repetitive brushing on the beeswax. We were assured that there are no mistakes as what you put on can be taken off. We had lots of papers, ephemera, botanicals, and doo-dads to use. Everyone seemed to enjoy this class. And I am planning to work more with the beeswax.

PAPER MAKING - CANS AND CUTTERS

This was a short class, only an hour, but it was good, messy fun. The previous class had spent the afternoon mixing up batches of pulp and then making sheets of paper. They used all kinds of things as the base: bananas, dried flowers, bark, and even denim jeans! We were kind of the clean up crew, using the leftovers. I didn't have any cookie cutters with me, the open ones without a handle, so I used a can to create the base for some embellishments. I haven't worked with paper pulp for awhile and, now that the weather is better, I think I'll make some pulp in my blender and have some more messy fun.

SOLDERING FOR MAIDENS

I always said that I would NEVER bother with learning to solder. Well, I was wrong! This was an excellent - lots of demonstration of techniques, good instructions to take home, and something that, with some practice, I will be able to do. The charms are double-sided: B/W clip art on one side and the checkerboard paper on the reverse. It was suggested to mix them up the way I did. I added them to a chain I had at home but I can always change my mind and use them in a different way. We left the class with our completed charms and a soldering iron.

I'm ready to go!

METAL ART

This is a portion of what I made in this class. I couldn't get a good picture of the project because it is metal (reflected the flash) and too large for the scanner (cut off 3/4 of the frame.) So, you will have to use your imagination.Or, you can go to Cheryl's website to see another shot of it http://www.tensecondsstudio.com/Gallery/index.html We used a 12X16 canvas as the base as well as a sheet of metal. We used the back side of the canvas as a frame by painting the edges with household caulk tinted with acrylic paint. While that was drying, we embossed (and debossed) the saying using special metal tools and sanding some of the color off the metal. The darkened words were printed on paper, cut out, and glued down. The metal was then set into the "frame" - ready to hang. I learned a lot in the class (Cheryl Darrow - Ten Second Studio) and will work more with this medium. If you are interested, check out Cheryl's website and her videos - they are very interesting, informative, and also a good laugh!!!

NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S QUILTING

The last class - I couldn't believe everything was coming to an end. Cheryl Meador, the instructor, brought kits with all the pieces cut, the batting sewn in, and lots of pearl cotton for us to hand sew a mini-purse. In her instructions, she also showed how to make a pattern for other sizes or how to make book covers or whatever. I haven't down hand work like this for a long time and forgot how much I enjoy doing it. And, I love the fun colors.

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So, that's what I did at Artiscape, well, at least the classes. We had a great time in Columbus, and I plan to go next year. Hope to see some of you there as well. Maybe the Canadian rugby players will be there again (but that's another story!

Check out the website at http://www.europeanpapers.com/

Book Study: Glossy, Alcohol Inks and Mica Powders

2009-04-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Carol Sweeney has been posting demonstrations of the techniques in Nancy Curry's book Texture Effects for Rubber Stamping for the Yahoo group Next Generation. This technique uses glossy card stock, alcohol inks, and mica or interference powder. You can find the directions in the section called "Flights of Fancy."

(Click on the image to see a close up)

If you don't own this book (and I highly recommend it), go to Carol's blog:

http://carol-creative-expressions.blogspot.com/2009/03/book-study-mica-alcohol-inks-3.html

March "Madness" - Part 2

2009-03-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some more scans of projects. I was in a swap where I had to use a puzzle piece as a part of the design. I had purchased a few children's puzzles which were made up of large pieces and chose one for the cover of a purchased notebook. I stamped the flourishes on the cover and added the puzzle piece which I had decoupaged with printed tissue paper and a purchased embellishment, adding some fibers through a hole I punched with my Crop-a-Dile.

Oriental Stamp Art runs many swaps every year, and this is what I made for a mingle (send one card to your partner) - the theme was black plus one color. The crane stamp (Stampin' Up) was stamped on DSP (see previous blog to unravel the secret meaning!) and layered over blue. I highlighted areas with a clear glitter pen. The strip is embossed with a CB embossing folder and highlited with Versamark.

I signed up for a lighthouse card swap and later realized I had sold my one and only lighthouse stamp at a rummage sale! Not be be deterred, I used a picture for the backgroun from a Wisconsin calendar - a lighthouse in Sturgeon Bay on the Lake Michigan side. The shore scene is the stamped part. All stamps are from Seaside Stampin'. If you love the ocean, lakes, sea life etc., go to their website for a treasure trove of stamps.

Recently I tried my hand at a technique called gesso resist. It is sooo easy. Apply a few coats of gesso to a page of text. When it is dry, stamp and emboss an image, then color over the whole thing. The embossing resists the ink!

Arrtiscape 2009

2009-03-29T09:39:00.001-07:00

Last April my friend Barbara and I attended Artiscape, a wonderful art convention with outstanding workshops in Ohio. We had so much fun that we are going again, this time to Columbus, home of European Papers which sponsors and organizes everything. I discovered this year that there is a Yahoo group associated with Artiscape; members may sign up for various fat books (hand made books whose pages are 4" X 4"). The theme this year is "The Age of Innocence." I made 44 pages, all similar but not ecactly alike. Here is a sample of some of the pages.

For more information on Artiscape, go to www.europeanpapers.com.

More OSA Challenges

2009-03-29T09:31:00.001-07:00

I am still keeping up with the OSA (Oriental Stamp Art) theme and design challenges. These are the ones for the the month of March:

Year of the Rat

Dolls

Kanji or Text

Pagoda

For lots of eye candy, go to www.orientalstampart.com and look through the albums.

March "Madness!" - Part 1

2009-03-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of work in the grotto, but I just now sat down to load up some samples. The fish card was created by using Alcohol Inks with canned air, the type you use (or are supposed to use) to clean the dust from your computer. The technique is easy - put down a few drops of ink on glossy CS and hit it with a blast of air! I then stamped the large koi stamp on acetate and mounted over the background.

Below are two ATC's made for the Wisconsin Yahoo group's March swap. The background paper is from the Elegance line found at Joann's. Since I had to perform "surgery" on Haiku bunny so he would fit on the ATC, I used the leftover piece to Cuttle Bug a flower.

The butterfly is also cut and embossed with CB, then colored using Pan Pastels and highlighted with metallic rub-on paste.

I also made some more BD cards for Dick's "stash" - he likes to have a number on hand for mailing. I used a CB embossing folder and sanded off some of the color so you can see the simple flower design

The above card was simply stamped on a piece of DSP (decorative scrapbook paper - my new acronym for the week~) using black ink. This is much nicer than the gray card I made for a swap a while back!

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Here's my canvas for Quote of the Month -I sure wish it were daffodil season, but they came up early last spring and got covered with snow and frozen, so I settled for paper. I decoupaged a paper napkin on to a painted canvas, distressed it with tan acrylic paint, and added the quote.

Cards, Cards, Cards!

2009-02-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

I still make lots of cards, especially for birthdays and also for swaps. My mom's birthday is in February, and I made a folded card for her thanks to my friend Bonnie who has been creating fabulous folded cards. She came over one day and we used her ScorePal and lots of paper to create folded cards. This is the one I sent to Mom - we all need a touch of spring as this has been a long, snowy winter in Wisconsin!

Card Closed

Card Opened

Be sure to check Bonnie's blog to see more fabulous folded cards and other stunning creations:

http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/

All Gray!

Our small SEWis group is doing color challenges this year - gray is absolutely the hardest color to work with.

Pink and Orange

This was a lot more fun to make!

Hearts

Love my Cuttlebug!!

Fun Swaps in February

2009-02-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

The moderators on CCSwaps are always challenging us to try something new. The box below was for a "Money for a Rainy Day" Swap. We were to create a sealed money box for our partner so she could add a dollar for each swap she participated in during 2009. At the end of the year, she would have a nice stash of money to spend, probably on more art supplies. I used a purchased paper mache "treasure chest," cut a hole in the top, then decoupaged it with printed tissue paper. I added beaded trim, ribbon and two metal embellishments. The one on the top is where I cut the hole.

Money for a Rainy Day

Tiny Book-in-a-Box

The book-in-a-box is quite small, not much larger than a matchbox, but a little deeper. It originally held a piece of jewelry. I created a small accordian book and glued it into the bottom of the box.

Quote Swap

2009-02-23T06:51:00.000-08:00

This is the February quote, a swap on CCSwaps which will continue through the year. The collage was done on a canvas board using acrylics, a paper napkin (the flowers), and an image of Frida Kahlo. I tried to incorporate her use of bright colors and tropical themes. I am really enjoying this swap.

More Challenges

2009-02-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to do the weekly OSA challenges, incorporating the theme into the layout. The Lantern theme really had me puzzled - I just couldn't figure out what to put in the smaller circle until I came across the large Oriental coin - perfect!

The blue card uses a quote from Confucius which I thought works well with the image as the lady is not particularly beautiful. It is, however, one of my favorites and I have two versions of it.

As soon as I saw that the theme for this week was "Harmony," I knew exactly which stamp to use. The lady with her cat is from Cherry Pie - one of my absolutely favorite stamps.

OSA Challenge #5 - Winter

2009-02-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

I again combined the theme challenge "Winter" with the design challenge. This time the design was, indeed, a big challenge - 12 squares layered over a narrow piece of CS surrounding the image. The three layers include silver paper, but it looks gray in the scan. The snowflake is also metallic. Enjoy - winter is almost half over!!!

Final January Swaps

2009-01-30T05:35:00.000-08:00

January Quote of the Month

"Quote of the Month" will be an ongoing swap through the Yahoo group, CCSwaps. The challenge is to create something which reflects the chosen quote. This month I created a collage on a canvas board using a background paper which I made in a workshop taught by Bernie Berlin. The floral images were cut from a napkin and glued down. I am sending this to my friend Carol Sweeney from the state of Washington who came to Wisconsin last fall to attend the Raeven's Nest art retreat. We both took the background class, so I used a piece made that evening.

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Winter Shadow Box

Continuing the winter theme (from a previous post!) I created a shadow box to Celebrate Winter. The background is from a Christmas card, and I used the image of the little girl for the focal point. Unfortunately, when I took the picture, the flash is reflected on the little girls hat - she doesn't have a headlight! This was a gift for my friend Chrissy Bornfleth, and I was able to hand deliver it to her. What fun!

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Stuff in Your Stash

I ran a swap for CCSwaps called "Stuff in Your Stash," a challenge to use up those bits and pieces of things which we save but never use. The background is a leftover piece of acrylic painting practice, and the tag is from a set of tags I made a few years back; I had made severeal extra, but never used them. This is on its way to New Zealand.

OSA Challenge #4/Happy New Year!

2009-01-30T05:28:00.000-08:00

This week's challenges were to use the challenge layout and to celebrate Chinese New Year, the Year of the OX. I have only one Ox stamp so I incorporated the image of an Oriental little girl who is celebrating the New Year. The bamboo background was stamped with Versamark and brushed with Interference Red Pearl-Ex. I have enjoyed combining the two weekly challenges and hope to keep up with the next 48!

I've Got the "Blues!"

2009-01-30T04:59:00.000-08:00

I belong to a small group of (mostly) stampers from SE Wisconsin which has been swapping cards with specific themes. Two recent themes were Blue/gray and Winter. Guess I was in a blue mood as both cards used light blue and gray colors! Could it be the gray, cold Wisconsin winter???

Winter

I used Cuttle Bug combination die cut and embossing folder to create the snowflake and the snowflake folder for the background. After embossing the background piece, I sanded some of the black to reveal the blue underneath. Silver embroidery thread and a silver brad finished this off.

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Blue and Gray

Still in a blue mood, I used one of my favorite stamps, a quote from Dickens and a silk flower for the central image. Silver peel-off border and a small vellum butterfly were the final touches. One of my favorite quotes is "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" Spring can't come too soon!!

OSA Challenges #2 and #3

2009-01-21T16:40:00.001-08:00

Continuing with the OSA challenges, I completed #2 and #3. Even though I had these finished, it has taken me all week to load them here.

Challenge #3

The layout was simple layering with the corners off set. The theme was to use blue, so I made the entire card in shades of blue. One of my favorite stamps is the illusive (this stamp is not manufactured anymore) Haiku Bunny which I stamped on printed paper. The corners are silver peel offs, and I used blue "jewels" in the corners. I like the simplicity of this.

Challenge #2

The theme for Week 2 was Cherry Blossoms. I guess Ruth Cooper who is running the theme challenges is tired of winter like many of us in the Northern hemisphere! It was fun to create something "Springy!" The design challenge was just that. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "math" of the rectangles. My solution was to cut a larger rectangle, then "eyeball" and trim to fit. It is a nice layout and I will use it again.

Swapping

2009-01-20T16:39:00.001-08:00

Now that Christmas is over, I have been doing some swaps with a few groups. Today I made/embellished two note pads. The one below is for my friend Bonnie whom I met through the SEWis Yahoo group. When I got her name for the Pink, Green, Gold swap, I wanted to make something special. I spied the lovely green journal at Michaels and knew exactly what I would do with it. I added some fabric flowers, pink faux brads, gold peel offs (fancy stickers), and some fibers. Hope she likes it.

This list pad was made from "scratch" for Tamara who belongs to the CCSwaps Yahoo group. The swap was to recycle Christmas items, scraps, or???? I received a gift in a very sturdy box and cut two pieces out to create the front and back covers. The ribbon on the cover, the fibers on the wire, and the lining paper inside were salvaged wrapping from another swap, 12 Days of Christmas. I used Bind-It-All to connect the covers and glued a list pad inside. Like the cover, the pad is polka dots.

Both projects were fun to create, and I hope the recipients enjoy them.

IT Girl for Pauline

2009-01-14T14:06:00.001-08:00

One of my groups, Art Ventures, is doing a long-term swap called "IT Girl." Each month one of the gals who has signed up is designated "IT," and she chooses a theme. January's IT girl is my friend Pauline who lives in the UK. She chose "Women" as her theme, not surprising because both she and I love that theme! I chose to make a collage of magazine images. The final canvas is 9X12. Unfortunately, my scanner cut off the bottom of the collage so you can't see that the decorative corners on the top are repeated on the bottom. Hope she enjoys this.

Swapping Samples

2009-01-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

I belong to a few swap groups and enjoy the challenge of coming up with something based on a specific theme, product, color, or???? Here are a few of the recent swap items.

The challenge of the Christmas card was to use my Cuttle Bug machine, a home version die cut machine. The background paper was dry embossed using the Swirl embosssing folder. The oval is a combination die cut and embossing set, one of the Disney items! The embossing made a big difference in the final card.

I made this calendar for a friend in Australia. Each month one of the swappers is the "It Girl" and chooses a theme. Jessie's theme was time, a perfect choice for a calendar!

Below is a version of a Christmas gift I made for some friends. For the swap we were to make a shaped tag, so I made a version of the Flower Fairy. I used a printed image and embellished with flowers and a sticky brad. The wings were stamped with a swirl and dusted with Pearl Ex.

My group from Wisconsin has been running a Color Swap for the last year or so. This time the challenge was to use olive, rust, and brown. I had a beautiful napkin sent to my by my swapping friend Michelle who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She often sends me small items from SA to use in my work. The napkin was a perfect choice. I glued on to the olive card stock and embellished with some black trim. The embellishment is from a pre-printed chip board set.

Oriental Row Houses

2009-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last year I made row houses for one of my swap groups. They were great fun to make (using up scraps and bits and pieces from my stash of stuff.) I showed the ones I received to my friend Sonia Evans who is a moderator for Oriental Stamp Art, and she suggested that I run an Oriental Row House swap for that group. I signed on to be a hostess and made some samples for the OSA members and those of you who check my blog. I only used materials that I had on hand (it's a good thing that I don't throw a lot out!) I got a little silly (must be the winter weather!) and named each of the houses. The gals who join the swap will not be asked to name their houses.

The House of the Woman in the Green Dress
The House of the Warrior

The House of the Three Sisters

The House of the Panda

The House of the Fat Cat

The House of Tea

The House of Motherly Wisdom

The House of Gung Hay Fat Choy

The House of Beauty

2009 Challenges

2009-01-05T16:50:00.001-08:00

One of the art groups I belong to is Oriental Stamp Art (OSA.) Obviously this group concentrates on creating and learning abour Oriental art and culture. This year marks the tenth year of OSA and we are immersed in challenges and swaps. There are two special weekly challenges this year - design and theme/subject. Our first theme is "Zen," creating an interpretation of our personal vision of Zen. I chose an image which has always intrigued me, a serene yet mysterious view of a boat floating away towards the unknown. The design challenge is to use a central image and enhance it with the three circles. I was able to combine the two, and (hopefully!) will be able to do this for the next 51 weeks!!!!!

Shrine from Raeven's Nest Art Retreat

2008-10-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, October 16-19, I attended the first ever Raeven's Nest Art Retreat in historic Cedarburg, Wisconsin. The weather was glorious, an almost perfect weekend weather wise. I took three classes, spent a lot of time with my friends, and enjoyed every minute of the weekend. The most ambitious project was creating a shrine with Lauri Mika as instructor. The class was challenging, exciting, and ultimately fulfilling as I was able to make and complete (not always something that happens!) a beautiful shrine.

The shrine is made of handmade and colored polymer clay tiles, glass and mirror tiles, and assorted findings including buttons, charms, and other miscellaneous things. It is all glued down to a square wooden frame. The picture below shows the shrine in process. After making and decorating tiles, we began to assemble the shrine in order to work on placement of the tiles, figuring out what else we needed to create for the finished project. Although I give away the majority of things I make, this will be staying here with me!!!!

Next year the Raeven's Nest Retreat will be held the third weekend of October

- hope to see you there!

Canvas Swap

2008-07-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

I belong to a very small (six) group of gals who are also members of OSA (Oriental Stamp Art), a Yahoo group dedicated to Oriental art. A few years ago I was asked to join and since then, we have had some wonderful swaps which have challenged each of us every time. Earlier this year we made charms, a first for most of us. This time we decided that we needed to work on collage, so that became the challenge. I have done lots of collage work, but never on a canvas with paint, mediums, etc. I had a few mistakes like using some walnut ink which, after I had sealed a layer, turned huge portions of the canvases very dark. I was able to use three but had to redo portions of the other three. I made six, one for each of us including me, something I don't always think to do. Now I have to decide which one to keep and mail the others to their new homes. Take a peek and let me know what you think.

A Small Village of Row Houses!

2008-07-22T13:00:00.001-07:00

Here are the row houses I made for a large swap. I will be receiving 25 from various artists. Every one sent to our hostess Trish Bayley and she will be swapping all of these out. I wonder if she realized when she posted this swap how many houses would need to be sorted and swapped!!!!!

And Even More Decos!

2008-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

The two deco swaps I am participating in have been a lot of fun. For Art-Venture, the theme for each book is "Art." Not much of a surprise since our small group has fun trying new techniques, products, etc. The following page I created for my friend Carol who lives in the upper Northwest. Her work has been an inspiration for me. She loves color and texture, and is always willing to try something new. Below is a scan of both the front and back of the colorful page I created. The image of Frida was purchased in Ohio at Artiscape. And I think the quote is a perfect theme for this group. I'll get to meet Carol in October when she comes to SE Wisconsin to attend the Raeven's Nest retreat in Cedarburg.

This page, front and back, was created for Adrienne who lives in Wales and came to the US last fall, visiting some of us in Wisconsin for two weeks. What fun! She is another very creative artist, always trying something new, and challenging us to do the same. Hope you like the page, Adrienne, that I created for you.

More Swaps

2008-07-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

I enjoy the challenges of swaps - the hostess chooses a theme and the participants create something for that theme. The first challenge was to use both purple and teal for a greeting card. I took my cue from the preprinted paper I used as background.

This challenge was to use red, black, and gray. I made a bookmark/tag which will be sent out once the Send-to list is posted. The panda is one of my favorite stamps.

Ironically another group had a red, black, and white ONLY swap posted. As you can tell, I worked on both the tag and the card at the same time. The Oriental lady is one of my first Oriental stamps, purchased many years ago.

Swap Cards

2008-07-06T17:02:00.001-07:00

I belong to a small group of (mostly) Wisconsin stampers from the immediate area. I don't always participate in swaps but decided to jump back in as this such a nice group of gals. I finished cards for two swaps, making one for the swap and another for future use. I have the stamps, ink, paper, etc., out, so making two of something is a big time saver. The theme of the first set is "Collage Stamps." I used a couple of my favorites, some Basic Gray cardstock, and my new toy, Cuttle Bug. I stamped the images twice and cut elements out to layer. The flower is made from scraps using a CB set of flower dies. The card fronts and layers were also embossed with the CB.

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I also joined the Birthday Card swap - you can never have too many extra BD cards around. Since I had the CB out, I embossed the Happy Birthday background and colored it with Brilliance Galaxy Gold. I layered silk flowers, attaching with brads, and added soft gold CS for a background. And, since I had Oriental stamps and paper out, I created the cat card using printed CS, a bamboo stamp on the green card itself, and a stamped cat image. Another silk flower and a piece of gold peel-off/sticker finished the look. One will go in the mail on Monday and the other saved to use later.

More Decos

2008-07-06T16:59:00.001-07:00

Just finished up anothe deco page - this book will return home to Alaska in a few days as it is almost finished. The theme is Oriental - Shelley covered all the pages so it was choosing images/stamps and creating away! Hope she likes this one. The rest of her book is lovely. Enjoy!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Izabel!

2008-07-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

My younger granddaughter, Izabel, turned THREE on June 28th! Her grandparents from Birmingham were able to visit for a long weekend, and we all got together for birthday cake and lots of fun.

Architecture/Row Houses

2008-06-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

In the last few months, houses of all shapes and sizes have been a current theme explored by the mixed media groups. For a swap themed "Architecture" I created a free standing set of five houses which are connected allowing this to stand on its own.

The entire width of this is 12 inches, only three inches wide when folded up as in the scan below. This is off to Wales to my friend Adrienne who visited the US in the fall of 2007. Hope she enjoys this!

Folded and ready to go on its journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

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Interested in Row Houses? Check out Trish Bayley's blog:

http://trishbee.co.uk/?p=674

Prepare to be AMAZED!!!!

And check out the links she has posted, as well.

More Tip-ins

2008-06-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Diamond theme tip-in - another challenge for the monthly tip-in swap.
Sent off to New Zealand!

Deco Mania!

2008-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

If you have looked at my blog in the past, you know that I have been involved in some deco swaps - basically little books which are sent to friends who add art work and send on to someone else. Hopefully, the book is eventually finished and returned home. Here is the front and back of a page in a book which I just finished. I had been using vintage images and came across some vintage corset adds. I used them layered over reproductions of old-time ads and added the "Ultimate Support" tag along with rick-rack (yes, they still make and sell it!) Hope the recipient likes this.

This page is made for a different set of deco books - the theme is "Art." I used an image I had saved from (I think) a take-out menu from a restaurant in Maryland. I have always loved the image and finally used it. The background was created by "artfully" adding water colors and dye inks to paper towel. The quote on the back is one of my favorites and really works with the heart shapes in the central image.

Tip-Ins

2008-06-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Altered book artists sometimes participate in tip-in swaps which are loads of fun. The idea is that a theme and specifice size are decided upon, and participants swap them out. Once you have received the finished page(s), you can either tip them into an altered book by gluing the page in or you can also assemble them into a new book by various methods. The first picture was made for my friend Adrienne who had wanted to be in the Nature swap but forgot to sign up. So, when I sent her a birthday present, I included this for her. The page folds in half down the center. I was lucky enough to meet Adrienne last fall when she traveled from Wales to the US to attend Art and Soul in Portland, then came to Wisconsin to visit with my friends Chrissy, Kathy, and Barbara.

This tip-in was made for the Men swap. I really had fun with this. I used the cover from a theater program for the front. The Milwaukee Rep had staged Cyranno last fall and I saved the program because Lee Ernst is one of my favorite actors (he was brilliant in the production!) I printed off a page of dialogue in French from the script for the background. Love the guys on the back as well.

More Little Beauties

2008-06-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

CCSwaps is running a monthly swap - Little Beauties. I have signed up every month as these are fun to make and even more fun to receive. The intention is that these will be used on ATC's, greeting cards, AB pages, or other projects. It is also a good way to use the little leftovers which all of us hate to throw away. The newest swap is Oriental. I have quite a stash of Oriental themed paper, stamps, and embellishments, so this was great fun.

Earlier in the month the theme was Vintage. Another favorite! I used copyright free images and sized them, printing some on acetate, some on ivory CS, and others on a transparency. The scan is representative of what I created as I signed up three times for this round. Was I crazy or what? Of course, that meant that I would receive three sets. Two have already arrived and are gorgeous.

Painting????

2008-06-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Bonnie has been learning to paint the "One Stroke" way. A friend of hers had been hosting monthly workshops, and Bonnie asked me if I would like to try it out. Of course - just what I need - something new which would involve supplies, products, etc., which I would have to go out and purchase. So, I have gone twice for instruction and practice. If you have ever seen this technique demonstrated, you know that it looks so easy. Well, trust me, it takes a lot of practice, practice, practice. Here are two of my early attempts. Bonnie "rescues" some of her practice pieces by cutting them down and making greeting cards out of the pieces, so that's what I did below. I've got a long way to go, but it is fun even though frustrating.

Puzzle Book

2008-06-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Imagine a puzzle piece over four inches large. That's what I used to create this puzzle book for my friend Chrissy who ran a puzzle piece swap. The challenge was to incorporate a puzzle piece into any kind of project. I covered the large piece with paper, then distressed, stamped, and painted it. I also cut a square the same size as the cover out of chipboard and finished it same way. The smaller puzzle piece in the center was run through a CuttleBug embossing folder, then distressed. I added embellishments, then punched the cover, back and some pages, assembled and delivered. It was great fun.

Little Bird Beauties

2008-05-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

One of my swap groups has a continuing swap called "Little Beauties." These are embellishments that one could use for altered books, greeting cards, or whatever. Each should focus on the month's theme, in this case "Birds," and be relatively small, no larger than about 2"X3". This month's theme is "Birds," and here is what I created. Since I am sending to someone who introduced me to the artistic side of Cuttle Bug (and I subsequently purchased one and a lot of folders as well!), some of the Little Beauties were created in part by using either a Cuttle Bug die cut or embossing folder. I have also been encouraged (or is it seduced?) by two other artsy friends who also have the CB. Thanks to all three, I am having fun adding texture and interest to my work as well as die cutting tags, etc. Enjoy!!!!!

Mother's Day

2008-05-09T05:32:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day in the US occurs on Sunday, May 11, this year, so I made a card for my mom who always likes receiving the things I have made. I created a simple card using a photo of her mother, my grandmother Maude Gillis Lovejoy, which was taken when she was quite young (I wish I knew the date.) I kept it simple so the focus is on the photo, and I added some gold peel-offs to accent the picture. The big surprise is that I had an old, damaged photo of Mom's sisters, my aunts, restored and sent a copy of that picture and a CD with the picture on it so she can make as many copies as she likes. I plan to work with that image in the next few days and will post later. A big weekend with our sons, DIL's, and grand kids is coming up, so I'll be busy, busy, busy!

Maude Gillis Lovejoy

This and That

2008-05-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

Even though I wasn't blogging, I was busy creating a number of projects. I belong to a couple of Yahoo groups which offer swaps, challenges, round robins, etc. I am currently involved in three round robin deco swaps. Each of us creates a blank book which is then sent around to the other members. Each person creates art in the book. Sometimes the book has a definite theme, and others don't. The two scans following this were made for deco which has the theme of "Art." I used paper towel that had been used to clean up another project and created the background for this page. The first scan is the front, and the second the back of the same page.

Another big swap is the "Tall and Skinny" book. Each page is 3" wide and 7" tall. It will be bound on the top. Each participant had to create 26 of the same page and send it to the hostess who will sort, bind, and then return to each of this. My friend Kathy "SweetPea" Beringer is the hostess of this one (she has done more books than I can count!) and chose the theme - we were to combine pictures of animals and humans in a whimsical manner. It turned out to be a real challenge, but here's the page I created. It will be interesting to get the book back in a few weeks.

I participated in a number of swaps in the last few months. The challenge here was to create an art paper doll. I used a paper doll parts stamp from Paula Best and "real" butterfly wings.

Another swap that I joined (and it is a continuing swap with a different theme each month) is to make tip-ins. The challenge is to make a page, front and back,which can either be tipped (glued, adhered, or?) into an altered book OR to create some other way of making a book out of the tip-ins received. Many of us are punching holes and binding, either for a notebook or by using some other binding method. Here are the front and back of one of the three tip-in pages I made for the theme "Birds." Can you tell that I like poetry and songs???

Here's a two page spread in a deco book for my friend Trish Bayley who lives in the UK. She made the book using envelopes and bound it with her Bind-It-All (which I encouraged her to buy!) She had started the black and white theme, so we have followed along. I think the look is striking.

These colorful fish were created by applying alcohol inks to a transparency, then overstamping with a large Koi stamp. I layered it over bright scrapbook paper. It has the look of peering into the Koi pool.

Another tip-in theme was nature. I made three pages again and this is the front of one. I had received some lovely embellishments in a "Little Beauty" swap and used them on each front. The middle one is made of air dry black clay.

Finally, I have been playing with my Cuttle Bug and created this using the thin metal and running it through the CB using one of the new folders. I colored the embossed piece with alcohol inks.

Where's Waldo???

2008-05-06T17:12:00.001-07:00

Guess I've been suffering from "blog fever" and haven't updated my blog for quite awhile. I have been busy and will upload some pictures of my adventures including a trip to the Baltimore area (Columbia, MD) to vist my dear friends the Bakers. My other "fabo" trip was to Artiscape held in Sandusky, Ohio, sponsored by European Papers. My friend Barbara Hahn and I attended, not knowing much about the event, but confident that it would be great fun. And it was!!! One of the highlights of the event was meeting the Queen of Skybluepink. Many of us have purchased wonderful goodies, charms, doo-dads, punchinella, ad infinitum, from the Queen. I found out that she would be attending, and I requested a special audience which she most humbly granted. For the royal picture she wore her dress crown. Here we are -I'm the crownless one!!!!

She is as delightful as her weekly newsletters and full of energy and ideas. We spent some time discussing our mutual new passion - knitting socks! What fun!

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Besides wonderful classes and outstanding evening entertainment complete with great food (and a few glasses of wine as well), Barbara and I also enjoyed viewing the display of hundreds of ATC's. The picture below doesn't do the exhibit justice. The ATC's were left in the plastic pages and hung in strips to create a wall of beauty. This is only a portion of the display. Enjoy!!! More later on the classes.

Speaking of resolutions...

2008-01-28T18:29:00.001-08:00

One of my resolutions for 2008 is to use the bits and pieces from leftover projects. CCSwaps is currently running a swap called "Little Beauties," small art pieces measuring 1-1/2" X 2-1/2". These are small enough to use on cards, ATC's, altered books, or other creations. Most of these samples are one of three, designated for the swap (I signed up three times!) And others are one-of-a kind. The Little Beauties were fun to make and now give me an excuse to save even more scraps!

Resolution: Use leftovers

2008-01-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions for 2008 is to use up leftovers. When I was working with the Shining Stone technique, I cleaned off the brayer by applying the residual ink to shipping tags. These are the fronts; the backs, except for one, are just designs. It was quick, easy, and far less messy than cleaning off a paint-loaded brayer. Versafine black stamped well over the inked surface. All I have to do now is add an embellishment or two and some fibers, and they will be ready to mail out.

"Gluey" Backgrounds

2008-01-24T06:08:00.000-08:00

A recent challenge was creating colorful backgrounds using glue and various inks. Here are the samples I made using regular Elmer's glue and inks. The Textured Glue samples were created by spreading glue over card stock and adding some texture. After drying, various inks were applied. Here are the results. Next time I will leave more open space as the texture is barely visible.

The "gloppy" technique seemed to produce more interesting backgrounds. Glue was drizzled and "glopped" on, then allowed to dry. Inks were applied and burnished to produce some lovely backgrounds.

For more information on this technique, check out Trish's blog

http://trishbee.co.uk/?p=341

Some Swap Cards

2008-01-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

I belong to a small Yahoo group comprised of mostly local gals. We have monthly swaps, each with a specific theme. Here's what I made for January. The first swap was to use new things, either gifts we had received or something which we had recently purchased. I came across a great bargain at the local Michaels - sets of 10 note cards for 40 cents! I loved the colors and the price, so I purchased them and then used one for this card. The image is from Trish's Advent Challenge - you've got to love the little girl and her dog!
The second swap was a Valentine card. I used alcohol inks to create the background for the stamped image and purchased paper for the card itself.

And one of my favorite color themes is black and white - another Advent image!

Altered Book Challenge - Faux Chipboard

2008-01-08T16:56:00.001-08:00

As part of the challenge which I posted a few days ago, I created a double page spread in my Techniques Altered Book. I used Lumiere paint on the pages and stamped the sentiment and the Stamp Zia bough. I cut my Faux Chipboard sample in half diagonally and glued it down. Finally I added the little boy image from Trish's Advent Image Challenge and some gold braid. I haven't been working in my altered books for awhile and had forgotten how much fun they are. Next up is adding the Shining Stones sample to the Background Noise background technique book . Thanks, Trish, for keeping me busy - better than housework!!! Check this out if you are interested in all the things Trish is doing:
http://www.trishbee.co.uk/techniqueszone/

Challenges!

2008-01-03T16:40:00.001-08:00

A wonderfully artful Yahoo group which I belong to is "embroiled" in a series of background challenges from our creative genious, Trish Bayley.

Shining Stones:
The first one is a relatively simple but effective background. Dye ink is brayered on glossy CS and set aside to dry. A paste is made with water and Perfect Pearls, then the CS is spritzed with water. The paste is applied, spritzed again with water, and finally "smooshed" with a paper towel. The results are beautiful which, unfortunately, don't totally show up very well in the scan. Here are two samples I made. I also tried it on black glossy as well as red. Here is a link to directions and more samples: http://trishbee.co.uk/?p=309

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Faux Chipboard:

The second challenge for 2008 is "Faux Chipboard." Again, this is simple and achieved with products/items in most mixed-media artists' stashes. Fun foam (!) shapes (such as the snowflakes I had) are glued down to sturdy CS, then lightly gessoed. When dry, acrylic paints are stippled on and left to dry. Finally, the entire surface is overstamped. Here is a link to more complete directions and samples:

http://trishbee.co.uk/?p=318

I tried a few different things such as using Versafine black on the sample to the left and regular dye ink on the sample to the right when I did the final stamping. I decided to finish everything off by spritzing with Radiant Rain. As you can see, the Versafine did not run, but the dye ink did. I like both effects and am glad that I tied both to see what would happen.

Now all I need to do is get my technique book started. I received a great sketch book for my birthday from my good friend Chrissy and covered it yesterday using some background paper made in a class that I took from Traci Bautista. All I need to do is add the title on the cover and include my first two challenge samples. I'll post when the cover is finished.

ATC Art Doll

2007-12-28T09:27:00.001-08:00

Just mailed out the ATC Art Doll I made for a swap. I only made one, but she looked lonely all by herself on the page, so I copied some sisters for her. The arms and legs are attached by brads so they swivel up to cover the torso which measures regulation ATC size. The doll "parts" are a sheet of UM's from Paula Best. The "Art" wings are Stampers Anonymous. I also added our group's "mantra" - Make art every day.

Christmas Album #2

2007-12-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

I finally got copies of some family pictures to make an accordian album for my husband similar to the one I made for my brother. The tags sticking out from the top are for journaling, and I hope he actually adds text and also labels some of the pictures as I am not sure about everyone in the older pictures.

This is the back cover. I used a picture that I took on Saturday of our grandson JJ and our younger grandgirl, Izabel. She is three weeks younger than he, so we had two 2-1/2 year olds for a family party!

This is the front extended. I used pictures of Dick's family for the front part of the album.

Here is the back. There is another picture from Saturday which includes our older grand girl, Kada, and some photos of our sons when they were pre-schoolers.

These pictures are on the back of the journaling tags. Sorry about the flash - guess I should have scanned rather than snapped!

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours!

2007-12-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

The Christmas tree is really a history of our life together. Some of the ornaments were given to me by my husband as a gift for our first Christmas together. Other ornaments were gifts, and I made the beaded icicles, about six dozen or so, with the help of my mother-in-law.

Here is a view of our fireplace. I made both the sampler and the Christmas stockings. The Santa on the right is our newest addition.

Here's a view of the Christmas sampler I made almost 20 years ago. During the "off season," it hangs upstairs in our loft, reminding us of our favorite season!

And what would Christmas in Wisconsin be without snow! Last year the ground was bare, but we have had almost 30 inches this December.

12 Days of Christmas Gifts

2007-12-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

My friend Kathy of CCSwaps organized the "12 Days of
Christmas" swap this year. We were divided into groups and made something for each of the other 12 in the group. I ended up being in three groups, and these are the gifts I made.
I used stampboard for these pin/pendants - no two are alike.

The little post-it note book is made with decorative paper, slide mount, and bound with my new favorite "toy" - Bind-It-All!

The Winter Birds hanging is made from a beer mat and decorated with images from a napkin. I love using the beaded embellishments to add a final touch.

Make Art Every Day

2007-12-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Make Art Every Day is the mantra for a group of fellow mixed media artists. I used some copyright free images to create these calendars. Some of you who are reading this blog might just very well be receiving one of them. I made a dozen, no two alike!

Oriental Calendars

2007-12-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

This year I made a number of calendars for friends. These were made for the gals in my Initial Round Robin group, a small group of friends who all belong to Oriental Stamp Art.

Album for my brother's family

2007-12-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is an accordian album I made for my youngest brother and his family for Christmas this year. I made the structure in a class, then added photos. You can see their three sons and daughter Lydia who was adopted just a year ago from Ethiopia. She experienced her first Christmas and first snow!

Make Merry!

2007-12-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted projects to my blog. I've been working on many things, getting ready for the holidays. Above is the Christmas card (one version) that I made for this year. I used double sided printed paper and coordinated the solid color CS and ink. I love the antique Santa!