FiFi's Daughter

MORE SKETCHBOOK PAGES

2012-01-24T03:17:00.000-08:00

Finally I have finished the Sketchbook Project 2012 and will be mailing it out today! I will post a couple of the spreads I did this week for you to see:

This is really self- explanatory - just a favorite poem, rubber stamps, papers and a sponged background.

Here I have used Artchix images against a patterned paper background and more rubbers stamps.

And here is the cover:

I've had fun doing this sketchbook and am glad to be finished!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

HELLO AGAIN!

2012-01-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

Fifi's Daughter is back from her hiatus! I have a couple of spreads that I have completed for the Sketchbook 2012 project to show you:

Here I have used some Cavellini paper images, Tim Holtz paper tape and some chipboard flourishes. My pages are pretty much just random collages, which is what I most enjoy doing. Since my sketchbook is "Untitled", there doesn't have to be a set theme.

Here is another:

Inks, stamps and torn strips of a map.

And, the first page of the book:

I used a portion of a map of Ohio, aged with a little ink, and circled my city. My high school yearbook photo and name complete this page.

There are a few pages left to go and also the front and back covers. Gotta' get it done this week and sent off in the mail.

Hope there is someone out there still interested enough to visit me here at Fifi's!! I am planning to have a small giveaway in the next week or two, so stay tuned!

Have a great day!

OFF TO COLORADO!

2011-10-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be flying to Colorado to visit my son and his family in Parker CO. My return date is December 31st! Needless to say, I am looking forward to being there and enjoying the beautiful Colorado scenery, along with three of my grands.

I may be able to work in my Sketchbook 2012 while there and, if so, I will post as I can. I definitely will be able to visit some of your blogs and make comments here and there.

Until then, take good care!

LAST TWO GLUEBOOK PAGES

2011-10-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the last two pages sent to Mary for her vintage gluebook page swap.

This page has more of a nature theme. An old book page, music, map, postage stamps, torn papers and a butterfly are added around the bird images. I like the overall look of this page.

Here is the next one:

The girl's image is a copy of an old postcard I purchased in a shop on Gaylord Street in Denver, CO. (lots of little shops to poke around in there.) Background is a combination of paper provided by Mary in one of her online classes, an endpaper from an old Readers Digest condensed book and some snips of music. Added the frame and butterfly to focus in on the main image.

When Mary has received and sorted all pages, we will receive six pages from six different people. These will be bound into the covers of a vintage book with binder rings. Mary will also include some other vintage ephemera for our personal use. I am excited to see the pages I will get from others!

Enjoy your day!

2011-10-02T02:30:00.000-07:00

This vintage gluebook page features a couple on their wedding day.

I used some more wallpaper sample pieces for the background. Bits of music and old text. In one of Mary's classes she taught us how to make our own paper by combining two or more - the butterflies and music along the right side are the result of this.

Have a great day!

SISTERS

2011-09-28T04:04:00.000-07:00

Here is one more of my vintage gluebook pages for Mary's swap.

The image of the cute little girls was given to me by a friend to copy. The sisters grew up to be two of his aunts on his mother's side. The printed paper was provided by Mary in one of her classes. I tore the alphabet from an old dictionary and the butterflies are from the same plate I used from an old encyclopedia.

Have a great day!

two more pages

2011-09-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Here are two more pages that were sent off to Mary at Green Paper for her swap:

And:

For the first one, I used an image and some background papers that Mary had provided in one of her online classes. The map of Paris and the Grand Opera House ticket were in my stash. A bit of wallpaper again. On most of my pages I made use of butterflies cut from a papillon page gleaned from an old encyclopedia. The colors are soft and I could match them to the colors I was using on my pages.

The background for the second page uses wallpaper samples, an old book page and some old music. Don't remember where the image of the pretty lady is from. I fussy cut some wallpaper flowers to "sit" her in and to embellish the page. Word phrase was cut from an old children's book. The postage stamps pick up some of the colors from the rest of the page.

I really enjoyed the process of making these pages! I had forgotten just how relaxing it is just using scissors, glue and odd bits of papers to create an interesting scene.

Thanks for visiting. Will be back with the other pages later in the week.

Green Paper Glue Book Page Swap

2011-09-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

Mary Green is currently hostessing a swap of vintage glue book pages. I decided at the last minute to join in with the fun. Here is one of my pages:

The pages are required to be 5 x 7 inches. I was given two old wallpaper sample books awhile back and decided to use some of the papers on my pages. For this particular background I used a portion of an endpaper from a discarded library book that looks like spider webs. Then I added some strips of a light blue wallpaper. The image is one I have had for a long time. She looks like a "housewife" to me. I also used an old handwritten recipe and some milk coupons. So, she likes to cook, save money on milk and dust away the cobwebs in her house! LOL

We had to make six pages for the swap; I made seven so that Mary could have one too. I will be posting the others every other day or so.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

ELIZABETH

2011-09-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Another spread finished for the Sketchbook Project 2012.

I am showing my age here - I grew up with Elizabeth and she was so very beautiful as a young girl and woman. Glamour, fame, happiness, sadness, marriages, divorces, good health, bad health - she experienced so much in her life!

First I adhered old book pages down and added some gesso over the text to tone it down a bit. A small picture of Liz clipped from a newspaper was added. Then I used several rubber stamps to create a background, using violet ink to reference her eye color.

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend.

BIRD COLLAGE

2011-09-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

Another spread for the SKETCHBOOK PROJECT 2012. A mix of collage images, patterned paper, rubber stamps, watercolor crayons.

This is something I need to do on a weekly basis now. Don't want to be rushed at the end! I really like how colorful this turned out.

Thanks for the sweet comments - they make my day!

Have a wonderful weekend!

CIRCLES

2011-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here is another spread that I have done for the Sketchbook Project 2012:

Got started with the circles and didn't know when to stop!!

It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood - hope your day is wonderful!

LENNA'S GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-11T03:44:00.000-07:00

Lenna Young Andrews has been hosting various swaps on her blog for so long that she is celebrating her 1000th (WOW!) post with a fabulous giveaway. Hop on over and join in the fun - remember to leave your e-mail in order for her to contact you if you win.

And, if you have never participated in one of her swaps, I can say that I have never been disappointed in any of them. So many fabulous artists to swap with and a lot of different venues, too. Check it out!

SKETCHBOOK PROJECT 2012

2011-08-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, blogland! Yes, it's me. Actually posting on my long-neglected blog. Hope I can be more productive and get back into some collage work!

I signed up for the Sketchbook Project 2012 a few weeks ago. My choice for theme was: Untitled! This gives me lots of leeway as to what I actually put in the book. Here is one of the spreads that I have finished:

For the background, I laid a paper doily on each side and sponged color through it. Then I added some rubber stamps and used tea dye distress ink to "age" the pages a bit. For the focal images, I used the front of an old dress pattern envelope. I love finding these patterns at garage sales/thrift stores. The description of the pattern was cut from the pattern envelope and used as the title of this spread. (thus the color scheme, too.) Some other words cut from magazines were placed here and there.

This little sketchbook may just be the trick to getting me back into paper and glue!!

Anyone else out there doing the Sketchbook Project this year??

VINTAGE CANVAS

2011-05-06T05:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a 10 x 10 canvas I just finished to give to a friend for her 40th birthday, which we will be celebrating this evening:

Sorry for the poor quality of this photo!

There are lots of layers on this piece, including a base of used tea bags that were dried, taken apart and then the tea was discarded. Matte gel medium to layer them onto the canvas. This created a wrinkled texture that I love.

Over that layer I sponged through some stencils, then added rubber stamped images that were stamped on tissue paper and then adhered with the same gel medium. I colored in some of the flowers, rubbed the whole canvas with ink pads, added some more stenciling, etc., etc.

The collage image with a transparency overlay and some butterflies were added next. Then I applied the lace at the top, added a shell button and some pink bling here and there. Grosgrain ribbon was attached to the edges all around to cover up the stapled canvas.

This whole process took me two days to complete. Hope she is happy with it!

Thanks for visiting.

ALTERED BOOK ROUND ROBIN

2011-05-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I posted on this blog! Lately, I have been into card-making much more than collage, mixed media stuff.

However, I am still involved in an altered book round robin and here are the pages I did this month.

These two pages face each other for a double page spread. The owner of this book had marked her pages for a rainbow of colors and we could choose which color to feature. Obviously I chose red. Most of my images have been in my stash for ages and I just added anything else red that I felt could be incorporated on the pages. Some bling, a faux flower and German scrap flowers and borders for embellishments.

This was loads of fun to do - hope Marnie will like it!

For anyone the least bit interested in visiting, thanks for stopping by!

ANOTHER COLLAGED POSTCARD

2011-03-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

Cindy McMath of Pink Bird Studio recently posted a background she had made after visiting Terri Kahrs blog. Terri and a friend, Roc, had made a video of some backgrounds they had made using ordinary stuff around the house.

To make a long story short, I visited Terri's blog too. After watching a couple of her videos, I made this postcard:

Sorry, this scan is so dark :( I had a large crumpled sheet of newsprint that was in a package I received. I cut it into approx. 8 x 10 sheets and used color washes to spray each one. Then I cut a 6 x 4 piece from one of these prepared backgrounds. Sponged around a Tim Holtz mask with pine needles distress ink. Stamped the words (stampers anonymous) with archival black ink.

Then, as Terri and Roc had done in one video, I used an old credit card dipped in white ink to make marks across the bottom of the card. The lid from one of the color wash sprays provided the circles, and a section of rubber shelf liner added some other areas of texture. The little girl and bird images are from ARTchix Studio and the cute little hat is from Lisa's altered art. So much fun to do this!

Now I have several other sprayed pieces to use to make more collages.

TFL.

COLLAGED POSTCARD

2011-03-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is a postcard that I have made to send to a friend in England.

Used torn papers and a vintage photo. Stamped the butterfly on an old book end paper and cut out. Added some distress inks, rubber stamps and a sentiment. The size is standard postcard size - 6 x 4 inches.

TFL.

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART

2011-02-27T04:07:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's Sunday again - the weeks go by so quickly. The theme for Sunday Postcard Art is double take. We are to use one image twice. Here is my postcard:

I have used nothing but rubber stamps and ink for my postcard. The large flower and the small crown were both used twice; the polka dots and the accent stamp were used more than twice obviously. I stamped the flowers with lightning black Brilliance ink and the rest of the images were stamped with black. Distress inks in mustard seed and pine needles were applied over the whole piece. A black marker was used to edge the whole postcard.

Thanks for looking!

ALTERED BOOK SPREAD

2011-02-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

I have been sorting out some of my stuff with the hopes of organizing a bit. (Daunting job!) Thought I would share a double page spread in an altered book I did about five or six years ago when I was teaching an altered book class:

The background consists of many torn papers- old sheet music, gift wrap, patterned tissue paper. Vintage images cut into tags on the right page, with a twine bow, the letter M sticker and some buttons for embellishments. A piece of mica attached with tiny brads covers the image on the left page. Also added a small cameo. Rubber stamping here and there on both pages. It looks very vintage-y to me.

TFL.

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART - FACES

2011-02-20T03:28:00.000-08:00

Here is my postcard for this week's SUNDAY POSTCARD ARTchallenge:

First, I created the background on white cardstock using Ranger distress inks in a variety of greens. The sketched faces are from my daughter's high school art class days and I used a circle nestie to cut them out. Added some Hero Arts circle stamps and a pretty flourish randomly all over. The edges are distressed with a red inkpad.

Fun to use some original, if not professional, artwork for this postcard!

TFL.

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART - HEARTS

2011-02-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I played here at Sunday Postcard Art! But, hearts are one of my favorite icons, so decided I had to get in on the action.

The heat embossed sentiment and edges are not as sparkly in this scan as they are IRL.

Head on over to SPA to see this week's fabulous entries!

altered book round robin

2011-02-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

Time to mail out another book to the next gal on the chain. This month I had Renee's book and her theme is Numbers. Her book is an old ledger book with pages 3.5 x 8.5 inches. I love this size! Here is the double page spread I created:

I used paper from Tim Holtz' vintage shabby pad, on which I stamped several number stamps (there are quite a few in my stamp collection). Also a "paid" stamp with the no. 7 on it. Added a rusty metal 3 to the right page and some computer generated phrases to the left page. Darkened all the edges with a black ink pad.

Usually I quit at a DPS; but this time I decided to add something to the backs of both pages. Here is the back of the left page:

Just collaged several bits and pieces of ephemera that have numbers on them - a boarding ticket, a library date due slip, playing card number stickers and a couple of collage images from ARTchix Studio.

Here is the back of the right side:

A times table that is from an old flash card set, a bingo sticker, the number 5 stenciled over the card, a watch stick pin, and another set of numbers I found on a collage sheet. Some rusty hinge distress ink around the edge. I fastened the times table to the page with a round paper clip without glueing it down.

Sure hope Renee will enjoy these pages as much as I enjoyed creating them.

TFL!

another vintage collage

2011-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here is another little collage I finished this week:

First I made the background (forgot to scan it before I added my collage elements). I love using the Tim Holtz inking tool for adding colors to white/cream cardstock. THis time I used most of the blue distress inks including broken china and then used pine needles to darken along the edges. Overstamped with a Magenta small floral vine and some tiny dots around the edges.

The image is from Paper Whimsy (love their images). Butterfly is from K & Co. Sentiment from an old hymnal. Added a pearl to her neckline, some tiny black gems to the butterfly and sentiment, Stickles turquoise glitter and some soft white ribbon. Mounted to a piece of black cardstock.

A few more collages are in the making; just a few finishing touches to add.

Have a good Sunday!

vintage valentine collage

2011-01-29T02:58:00.000-08:00

This week I have been playing with some backgrounds and some collages for a few gals. Here is one of the backgrounds:

I started with a pale cream cardstock and added barn door distress ink around the perimeter followed by walnut stain. Overstamped with a pretty stamp from Hampton Art Stamps using the walnut stain inkpad again.

Here is the valentine collage I made using the background:

I cut the music heart freehand from an old music book, distressed the edges with walnut stain again. Cut the pretty image into another heart shape. Added lace and ribbon, brads and a heart button. Top corners were punched with one of my favorite punches. Couldn't stop without adding a bit of Stickles platinum glitter around the heart shapes!!Attached the entire collage to a 5.5 x 5.5 inch piece of dark brown cardstock.

Still working on a few other collages.

TFL!

A VALENTINE

2011-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a valentine card I made for a friend this morning:

I am certainly getting a lot of mileage from my new classic fabric background stamp from Hero Arts. I white embossed it on red cardstock. Added some XO ribbon to a Martha Stewart heart punched border strip of cardstock. Stamped and clear embossed the sentiment (Hero Arts) on white cardstock and
punched the heart shape around it. Added it to the center of a white heart doily and layered it all to a folded white card. Hope she likes it!

Have a great day!

PAY IT FORWARD

2011-01-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a great idea that I discovered on Sarah's blog. Sounds like a lot of fun - are you up for it??

Here are the rules: I promise something handmade to the FIRST five people who leave a comment on this post. To be eligible, you must repost this, offering something handmade to five other people. The rules are that it be handmade by you and it must be sent to your five people sometime in 2011.

One, two, three - GO!!!

THANK YOU CARD

2011-01-19T05:44:00.000-08:00

Since I still had this Paper Whimsy collage sheet out; I decided to use another image to make a long overdue thank you card for a friend.

I started with one of my new Hero Arts background stamps, Classic Fabric Design. Inked it up with two Ranger distress inkpads - broken china and peeled paint. Spritzed it with a water mister and stamped on white cardstock. Added a portion of a paper doily and ribbon, then the beautiful Paper Whimsy image. The sentiment is from another new Hero Arts clear set, Find Joy, and was stamped with broken china and the edges were distressed with the same inks. Added a cute little dragonfly from K & Co. and some turquoise gems. Inked the edges of the background and then layered to a light green card.

TFL!

SMITTEN

2011-01-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Nancy Maxwell James offered an online class starting January 14th called "Smitten". The class will be one month long and has several projects suitable for romance, love or valentines. I have always adored Nancy's artwork - check out her blog for more info and to see her amazing pieces!

Here is my first completed project:

Nancy used a chipboard luggage tag for her sample. I opted to use a Nestabilities label die cut. I covered it with some patterned paper which I then distressed with Ranger distress inks in stormy sky and tea dye. Added some old music and a strip of old ledger paper. The beautiful image is from Paper Whimsy. I computer generated the words down the left side and added some pearls and a butterfly. I colored some white ribbon with the stomy sky ink and tied on with the key. Some platinum glitter around the edges to finish it off.

Definitely not up to Nancy's stellar work; but I am happy with it and had so much fun doing this little tag.

Thanks for visiting!

INK STAINS CALENDAR PAGES

2011-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Roni has been sharing lots of great techniques for calendar pages on her blog. So far, I have managed to get the first three months done. Here is my January page:

Using alcohol inks and hair spray to create the background was so much fun. And, I used a berry sprig stamp from Stampington and Co. Then, I used a tiny hole punch to add extra interest - since I decided to layer my pages to a black base, the black shows through the punched holes and makes it look like there are more berries. The alphabet stamps are from European Papers.

Here is my page for February:

Roni calls this technique "gradient embossing". I used one pink and two purple inks for my background. This one took a lot more time; but it was well worth it. The heart stamp is from Penny Black. Mounted on a black base again.

For March:

For this page, I could only find one shadow stamp which is from Magenta. (there are more in my stash somewhere!) I used three colors of ink on the stamp initially and stamped on white cardstock. Once they were stamped and dry; I added another color for the edges. There was too much contrast between the greens and white for my taste, so I then stamped the shadow stamp at an angle randomly on the piece using yet another green ink. Accent stamp used is from Judikins.

Hop on over to Roni's blog to join in the fun. I will probably just do three at a time and then post.

TFL!

GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE FOR JANUARY

2011-01-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

I wanted to try to get something done for Mary's monthly challenge before the deadline. Here is a Valentine card I created using the three images provided by Mary:

I sponged the perimeter of the ledger paper with Brilliance inks (coral and orange) using the Tim Holtz blending tool. I used a Spellbinders heart die to cut out the couple. Added some tiny dots around the heart and the corners with a pen; the stamp is from Magenta. I am going to give this card to my daughter to give to her husband for Valentine's Day.

TFL!!

ALTERED BOOK ROUND ROBIN

2011-01-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

I have been involved in an altered book round robin since September. We are to do a double page spread in each book as it comes to us; we have one month for each book. Sue asked for "anything that flies" for her theme. Here is my creation:

Sorry for such a poor scan; the book is a thick child's board book and we were to keep everything as flat as possible. However, I did pop up the little girl and the kite for some dimension. The sky was sponged; the hills and sun were created with patterned paper, the flowers punched from origami paper. I wrote the haiku myself; something I enjoy doing. The Asian doll is a rubber stamp from Hero Arts, the trees from Rosebud Rubber Stamps, the kite from Penny Black, the Asian calligraphy (faintly stamped throughout the sky) from Inkadinkadoo, and the birds from Portfolio.

Here is how the haiku reads:

This was a fun spread to do - I hope Sue enjoys it when it finally reaches home.

Am glad to be back from my trip to Parker CO; have a long list of projects to work on!! Thanks for visiting my blog!

LAST POST FOR 2010!

2010-12-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

Sending warm wishes to all of you for the holidays! Tomorrow I will be flying to Denver CO to spend 10 days with my family in Parker CO, so I won't be posting again until 2011! Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your time with friends and family. See you next year!

ANOTHER CARD

2010-12-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for my grandaughter's birthday, which is the day after Christmas. I also entered it into StampTV's sketch challenge for this week.

The cute little snowman stamp is from Stamp Oasis. I added some glitter dots of snow and the biggest snowflakes were made with a Martha Stewart punch. The small ones were from a bag of snowflake confetti.

Very appropriate since we are under a blanket of snow and it is freezing here!! Hope you are keeping warm, wherever you are. . .

A Christmas Card

2010-12-14T03:50:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been into rubber stamping and making cards for various friends and a few challenges. Here is one I made for the Hero Arts December challenge:

The scan does not show the crystal lacquer on the berries or the glitter on the leaves very well. And the ribbon is a lot more sparkly also. Looks much better IRL.

Rubber stamping is my first love and I am having fun playing with stamps these days.

Thanks for visiting.

PAPER MAKING

2010-12-13T03:37:00.000-08:00

No, not the kind you use junk mail and paper bits blended with water to make a pulp and press it into sheets of handmade papers. This is a trick Mary Green taught us that is a lot less messy and the possibilities are endless. You may remember seeing how I used these in the Mary's December challenge which I posted recently.

Here is one I made using a music sheet and a butterfly plate from an old encyclopedia:

And here is what I made using old book text and an end paper from a book:

I love the look of transparency this gives to the papers. Check out Mary's blog for a detailed look at how to do this on your own.

YUMMY GIVEAWAY

2010-12-13T02:51:00.000-08:00

Rita at Let's Embellish is having a very nice giveaway over at her blog. Hurry over to sign up, it ends on the 16th!

Who wouldn't love to have all of these goodies to play with? Good luck!

GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE FOR DECEMBER

2010-12-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Mary has provided three images once again for us to use in anyway we want for her monthly challenge. Here is the collage I have made in my moleskine journal, which I have titled "In the Garden".

I used two background papers that I created by combining a book page with a book inside cover sheet that had beautiful roses on it for the first one; and then I combined some old music paper with a butterfly page from an encyclopedia for the second one. I added some flowers I punched from one of Mary's images to the dress and a couple of small strips music in a couple of places. A red watercolor crayon and some stamped dots finished it off.

Thanks, Mary, for another fun challenge.

lesson seven and eight

2010-11-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

In Mary Green's Collage Basics class, for lesson seven we were to make several torn paper backgrounds using a different medium on each - gesso, pastel acrylics, bright acrylics, sepia - or anything with which we wanted to experiment. Here is my background with a sepia image against red and green acrylics:

For lesson eight, we were to take the bright colored background and integrate the vintage sepia image to make it more compatible with the colored background.
Here is my finished piece:

Even though I don't dislike the bright colors; I do prefer to use softer, more vintage-like colors when making a collage with vintage images.

Mary will be introducing a new online venture for 2011, which will be the Green Paper Collage Club. Check out her blog for the details.

Have a great weekend!

lessons five and six

2010-11-20T03:41:00.000-08:00

Here are two ATC's I have done for the Collage Basics class. We were to try using mostly vintage papers and an embellishment. I have used all vintage papers for the queen and her castle. I put the queen under one of Tim Holtz' fragments for the "embellishment" part of this ATC. All of the papers used for the other ATC are vintage, too. I added some stamping to both ATC's - just a bit of vine for the first and the blackbird and some more vines for the second. There is no embellishment on the second one, but I like it the way it is.

Thanks for visiting!

lessons three and four

2010-11-16T05:58:00.000-08:00

For these lessons I attempted to combine patterns in a pleasing way and also use the golden mean theory of placement. My collage is done on a 5.5 inch square and I wanted the colors/patterns to be soft and muted. Added a bit of gold paper trim and punched flowers plus gold metallic ink around the perimeter - couldn't resist the urge to add some bling!

Now I am somewhat caught up with Mary's class until tomorrow. It is so much fun to see the creations of others who are taking the class. So much talent out there!

Thanks for visiting!

lesson two

2010-11-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

Mary has wonderful tips on how to blend colors in this lesson. I have tried to merge the orange/gold and blue hues of the kitty picture with the papers I chose for the background layers. A butterfly adds a bit of whimsy, too!

This was a one-page collage in my moleskine - not much space; but I like working within the confined area.

Check out Mary's blog for more information on her Collage Basics class.

collage basics lesson one

2010-11-09T06:29:00.000-08:00

Mary has started us out with a simple lesson in composition. I have used a few vintage elements to create my ATC:

My week is very busy again; so this was done in a hurry - would have done it a bit differently if I had taken more time to think it through. Oh, well - tomorrow is another day!

Mary's class is still available for anyone who would like to sign up! Lots a collage sheets are provided for the class and Mary has many tips and tricks up her sleeves.

Have a great day!

odds and ends

2010-11-07T03:24:00.000-08:00

FLOTSAM:

AND JETSAM:

After having several stressful and demanding positions in the workplace, the last job I had was working for my friend's son-in-law (and his brother) who owned a laundromat with snack bar. I worked two days a week and met so many interesting people. My duties entailed just manning the snack bar and keeping things neat and tidy. There wasn't any stress at all in this job and I enjoyed working for two very nice guys! Many times I would find little odds and ends of paper, buttons, stickers, metal objects, etc. The two collages above include many of those items, along with some added stamping and images of my own. I think I have a few more items in a little tin that I could incorporate into another collage. Maybe someday.

I am happy to be completely retired now - oops! I forgot! I do work occasionally for a few hours in a stamp store; but I really don't count that as work! Too much fun. . .

Thanks for visiting!

GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE FOR NOVEMBER

2010-11-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, my! It is hard to believe that I have not posted since October 4th!!! If anyone is still following me or has the least bit of interest in my posts, I apologize!! Seems my life is way too busy these days, and my artwork is severely limited. However, I do want to get back into the swing of things; so here is the spread I did in my moleskine journal for Mary Green's newest challenge:

I started with lots of papers for the background which I gessoed over; cut the two images into scalloped ovals and placed them on the floral card Mary provided. (copied the images twice). Then I layered on more papers, stamps, postage stamps and some blue watercolor crayon with more gesso where needed.

This spread is a bit busy; but I like the overall effect of lots of stuff. Mary is offering a new online class - Collage Basics - beginning November 7th - check out her blog for the details!

Thanks for stopping by. . .

green paper october challenge

2010-10-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

Mary Green has another challenge for October on her blog. We are to use all, or a portion of, three images she provided for our project. I have done another spread in my moleskine journal:

Some of the background pages were from Mary's online classes and some were from my stash. The butterfly is from Mary, also. I used a watercolor crayon around the edges and some of the papers, too. Shaded a bit here and there. The Eiffel tower and faux Paris posts are from ARTchix.

Thanks for visiting.

TAG TECHNIQUE SWAP

2010-10-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

Lenna Andrews is hosting a tag technique swap and my tags are ready to be mailed. However, I am still working on a hostess gift for Lenna and hope to get that done and head out to the post office this afternoon. Everyone started with a blank book of 10 tags and envelopes. We are to do all 10 tags and send the whole thing to Lenna. We will get back 9 other tags plus one of our own to complete our books. Here is my tag:

I used a Tim Holtz technique (sorta'). Smooshed three colors of distress inks onto a craft sheet; spritzed heavily with water and laid the tag on the ink. Lifted straight up and set aside to dry. Then I mixed some perfect pearls in water to make my own mist and sprayed the tags with it. Stamped images after the tags were thoroughly dry.

Here is my envy (which we did not have to do anything to unless we wanted):

I brayered color over the entire envelope and then stamped. Sponged some color around the edges.

It will be fun to see what my little booklet will contain when it comes back to me. Thanks, Lenna, for another fantastic swap.

Lesson Six

2010-09-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind with Mary Green's online class! Sometimes life just gets in the way and there's no time for "play". Here is my double page spread for lesson six.

The prompt for this lesson was layers, and I have layered a lot of things on these two pages. Borders, images, transparencies over postage stamps. Added a final border with a brown watercolor crayon around the whole thing (thanks, Lenna!)

GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE

2010-09-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

Mary Green has a monthly challenge on her blog. She provides a collage sheet and we are to use each image (entirely or in part) to make a collage. She also has a random draw for paper ephemera for those who participate in the challenge.

This month's sheet featured Lillian Russell. Here is my DPS done in my moleskin:

The background paper is from Mary's first class "Your Vintage Gluebook." The theater, roses and Lillian's image were on this month's sheet. I added the music, ticket, velvet flower and some stamped stars. Also a bit of charcoal for shading.

Thanks, Mary, for another fun challenge.

COLLAGE COTERIE LESSON FOUR

2010-08-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our fourth lesson in Mary Green's Collage Coterie class introduces us to using threes in composition. The prompt is "Three's a charm".

Using my small moleskin journal again, I coffee stained the pages and let them dry. Then I added images from Lisa's Altered Art and a German scrap flower from ARTchix. A postage stamp, three faux gems, some charcoal shadowing and faint rubber stamped flourishes (Stampington). Distress ink around the edges to enclose it all. I really like the coffee stained background - since I don't drink coffee, I had to ask a neighbor to save his grounds for me. Needless to say, he was stumped when I told him I wanted to stain paper! LOL

Thanks for visiting!

COLLAGE COTERIE LESSON THREE

2010-08-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my spread for our third lesson in Mary Green's Collage Coterie class, in which we are to use shapes and also deconstruction of images. I have combined the two by deconstructing the Eiffel Tower and using squares and circles for shapes in this spread. I used an alphabet stamp set (Hero Arts) and a Paris postmark stamp (Stampers Anonymous), along with a brown watercolor crayon around the edges again. Some tiny copper German scrap from Alpha Stamps.

I really like the size constraints of my new little moleskin journal (3 1/2" x 5") and can see myself working with this size much more in the future. A bit bigger than an ATC, but not as big as some journals I have seen.

By the way, you can still sign up for this class - it is open and you can work at your own pace. You won't be disappointed and the cost is minimal compared to other online classes that are out there.

Enjoy the last full week of August, everyone! Can't believe how quickly this summer has gone by.

COLLAGE COTERIE LESSON TWO

2010-08-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Mary Green's second lesson in her online class "Collage Coterie" was color and contrast. I decided to do a two-page spread:

I colored the little girls with chalks and placed them against a torn paper (some vintage and some not) background. The birds were provided by Mary on a collage sheet. Did some shading around the images with colored pencils. I added some postage stamps, rubber stamps and the dogwood branch was purchased in a package from Alpha Stamps. The edges were colored with a brown watercolor crayon and then I used the water brush to wet them down. (I learned this technique from Lenna Andrews :*)

Mary's first class was full of inspiration and I can see this one will be more of the same!

TFL.

COLLAGE COTERIE

2010-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Mary Green's newest online class "Collage Coterie" started yesterday. Her first lesson taught us how to use torn strips of vintage papers and gesso for a background. The gesso tones the papers down a bit and makes them more cohesive overall. I made two ATC's:

For the one on the left, I used an image from Lisa's Altered Art, some rubber stamps, punches and a scrap of patterned paper at the bottom. The strips of paper were glued on vertically. For the one of the right, I glued the strips horizontally. A friend gave me the old photo and I used a postage stamp, some German scrap along the bottom, and a butterfly from Mary's Vintage Gluebook class. Distress the edges of both with the distress tool by Tim Holtz and some distress ink.

This is an ongoing class - you can sign up anytime if you are interested. Very informative and a fun Flickr group to share your creations. Mary is very generous with collage sheets for her classes, also.

Thanks for stopping by.

VINTAGE NOTECARD

2010-08-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here is one of a set of notecards I am making - kinda' shabby chic/vintage style.

I made the background with distress inks on glossy paper and stamped over it with a darling stamp from Lost Coast Designs. Then I added some collage elements (heart and butterfly) from Lisa's Altered Art. This was layered to a square paper doily and a ribbon and copper brad were attached to the left side. I also edged card with a Pilot gold metallic pen.

I love how soft the colors are on this card; but the scan makes the colors look a bit deeper than IRL!!

Thanks to Lynn Stevens, I am entering this in the Simon Says challenge for their "wings" theme.

Thanks for visiting!

FINAL ATC FOR GARDEN VARIETY SWAP

2010-08-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today I took the time to make an ATC for the host of the Alpha Stamps garden variety postcard/ATC swap. I made this one for Lenna and sure do hope she likes it!

The background is made with lettuce and stream dimensional pearls by Ranger. Added some Magenta stamps and a tiny strip of music. The items I purchased from Alpha Stamps are the images which are from K and Company and the tiny coppery German scrap along the bottom (love this!).

Am hoping to get this in the mail tomorrow!! Thanks, again, Lenna for such a fun swap.

GARDEN VARIETY ATC

2010-08-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

The swap hosted by Lenna Young Andrews requires that we make one ATC to trade, along with four postcards. Each of these must include the use of one item from Alpha Stamps. Two posts back, I uploaded the postcards I made for this swap. Here is my ATC:

A few weeks ago I made a few ATC backgrounds using Ranger's Adirondack Dimensional Pearls. I put a few drops of two colors on cardstock and spread them around with an old credit card. Some were done with a red pepper and butterscotch combination; some with a lettuce and stream combination. For this ATC, I used the red and butterscotch background and added rubber stamped tiny flowers (Magenta), a sentiment (Annette Watkins) and a loopy border (A Stamp in the Hand) to the background. Then I used a pretty floral image from one of Alpha Stamps collage sheets plus a bee transparency from K and Company, also ordered from Alpha Stamps. A bit of gold metallic pen around the edges to finish it off.

Now I need to make another ATC or postcard for Lenna (not required, but only fitting due to all the effort she puts into her swaps!) and get them in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by!

GREEN PAPER PACKAGES CHALLENGE

2010-08-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Mary Green has a new challenge this week using a collage sheet she has provided on her blog. We are to use all of, or a portion of, the three images she has offered. Here is my collage:

I decided to add some color to Lady Randolph Churchill's image and then created my collage on a 6 inch square of Tim Holtz designer paper. The flourishes are Tim's dies also. I sponged some distress ink around the edges to ground it a bit and decided to stop there before I really messed it up!!

Check out Mary's blog for the details of the challenge - and to see what others have created!

TFL

alphastamps postcard swap

2010-08-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Lenna Young Andrews is hosting another swap on her swap blog. We are to create four postcards and one ATC to swap; using just one item from a plethora of beautiful products to choose from provided by alpha stamps. Here are the first two postcards I made:

I used distress inks and a gorgeous sunflower stamp by Donna Salazar to make all of the backgrounds on my postcards. Then I collaged items from several different products offered by alpha stamps. A floral collage sheet called Tallulah's flowers; a K & Company pack of die-cut cardstock and acetate images (this is my favorite thing I ordered from them - 65 fabulous pieces of many different things - butterflies, bees, flowers, birds - I was amazed! And, many have a copper metallic accent on them. Love this package!!!) I also used some Graphic 45 images and some from a sheet called Creative Scraps. Here are the last two I made:

Since there is a lot of coppery accents on some of the K & Company images, I edged my postcards with a copper Krylon pen. Also added some clear dew drops and some speckles with a Magenta background stamp. Still have to make an ATC and also something for our fabulous swap coordinator - Lenna! Hopefully those will be done today or tomorrow and I can mail the whole shebang to her this week. (Fingers crossed, Lenna!) This was so much fun - I ordered a lot of stuff from alpha stamps and I have enough "leftovers" to create many more beautiful ATC's, postcards, cards or collages.

If you have never joined one of Lenna's swaps, I highly recommend that you do - the newest one is a tag technique swap and I am hoping to participate in it. Check out Lenna's blog for the details to sign up. Lenna is a fantastic swap hostess - upbeat, encouraging, organized and so artistic, too! Can't wait to see the postcards I will get back from this swap. Thanks, Lenna!

100TH POST GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2010-07-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

After putting all of the names of those who commented on my 100th post giveaway into a big blue bowl, I pulled out the WINNER:

BARBARA DELISLE!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS, BARBARA! I will mail the collage out to you on Monday. I am sorry I don't have one to send to everyone, but thanks for your sweet comments and I hope to continue posting and visiting your blogs, too! It is so much fun to "meet" new friends through their blogs, isn't it??

Have a great weekend!

another green paper challenge

2010-07-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

One of the gals who participated in the YVG ATC swap received an empty package because someone had opened the envy and removed the contents. That is so discouraging!! I decided to make an ATC to send to Jo using the challenge pieces Mary provided for her current challenge. The background is patterned paper and the two strips of German scrap are from Alpha Stamps. The music strip was sent to me, but I don't remember who sent it :( The little butterfly is from a free image sheet provided by Mary in the Your Vintage Gluebook class. I hope Jo will like this one.

Thanks again, Mary, for your generosity in providing the images!

Green Paper Challenge

2010-07-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Mary Green is hosting a challenge which ends July 14th. She will also send a fabulous vintage paper assortment to a randomly drawn winner at the end of the challenge. I used the required three images and added some other ephemera, a postage stamp and rubber stamp, too. Mounted on dark brown cardstock, I think I will use this as a cover for a journal.

TFL.

Your Vintage Gluebook ATC swap

2010-07-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

Some of Mary Green's Your Vintage Gluebook class members participated in an ATC swap. Here are five of the ATC's I received in the swap. Top row, left to right: Micki Mikesell, Rosalie Ackerson and Penny Shilling. Bottom Row: Jo Urbani and Linda Freeman.

The sixth one, above, is by Susan Warnick. She enclosed hers in this adorable folder:

All of these ATC's are just wonderful and the details are so amazing. I love each one of them!! Thanks to Mary Green for hosting this swap.

Mary also has posted a challenge for anyone who would like to play - check it out!!

Thanks for looking!

Summer 2010 Just Cards!

2010-07-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of four cards of mine which was published in the newest issue of Just Cards! I have always loved Paula Best stamps and this is one of my favorites.

Another of my cards is on page 43 in the current issue of Scrap & Stamp (July 2010). It's always a thrill to have something published!!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July to my friends in the good old USA!!

This card is for the Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stamper challenge. The theme is rhinestones (or gems). So, I took the Studio 490 heart, made it red, white and blue an added red, blue and clear gems all over. However, the clear gems do not show up as clear in the scan! Background stamp by Impression Obsession, large stars by Magenta. Sentiment is by Stacy Stamps and the tiny stars are by Rubber Moon.

This is my first time to participate in Hels' challenge.

Thanks for visiting.

GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-07-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th post! Even though I have been lax in posting for the past few weeks, I am hoping to get back into blogging on a more regular basis. Sometimes there's just not enough time to devote to all the things I enjoy doing!

To celebrate my 100th post, all the names of those who comment to this post will be put in a drawing to win the above-pictured collage I recently made just for this occasion. If you are a follower of my blog and you make a comment, your name will be entered twice. The drawing will be held on Saturday, July 10th at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

ARTchix Sister-Site lottery

2010-06-30T04:15:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for the beach babes lottery for the Artchix Sister-Site yahoo group. This is the ATC I made for the lottery, using an image from an ARTchix collage sheet. If you are a member of this group, you have until 2:00 p.m. EST today to submit a card for the drawing! There are 18 ATC's up for grabs so far! Good luck.

I have been missing-in-action for quite awhile. Just busy with lots of things here at home and taking a break from blogging. Please check back for my next couple of posts - there will be a small giveaway for my 100th post!! That is quite a milestone for me, since I am not very consistent with posting.

Thanks for coming by!

blog candy alert

2010-06-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

Check out The Stamp Man's blog candy! I love Tim Holtz products and this is an awesome giveaway!

colorful words tag swap

2010-05-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Lenna Andrews Young is hosting a "colorful words tag swap" on her blog. We are to make eight tags and she will swap them out and send us eight tags back which she will make into a book!

I used distress inks and Versafine ink for my background and then added some stamping and dots using sequin waste as a stencil. Added a strip of the punchinella down the left side and then darkened the edges with Versafine ink. I used Tim Holtz's new tattered floral die for the flower which I cut from copy paper, colored with a Brilliance jade inkpad and then overstamped each one with various stamps. Sprayed the whole thing with Krylon gold glitter, which is subtle and doesn't show in the scan.

TFL!

another glue book page

2010-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a two-page spread I have made for my gluebook. I am having fun with Mary's online class. She has a lot of great images to use and also her lessons are very informative, if you are interested. You can sign up anytime.

I really don't have time to do challenges these days due to this class and a couple of swaps I am working on. I can see that nice weather and getting yardwork and some cleaning done around here is also eating into my playtime!! Guess I will just put the challenges and extra things on the back burner for awhile.

Happy Spring to all and have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

Vintage Glue Book Page

2010-05-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Mary Green is offering an online class for a vintage glue book using images she provides or your own images, if you choose. This is my first page and it is certainly a challenge, because you are supposed to limit your supplies to glue, paper, scissors and a substrate, of course. It is very hard for me not to add some color around the edges, or to add a stamped image here and there, or an embellishment of some sort somewhere!!! The image of children that I used is of my Sunday school class when I was about five years old. Some of the papers are Mary's and some were from my own stash. I also used background papers that are not old at all. It was fun to try something a little different; and I will probably upload a few more of my pages as I go along.

TFL!

two challenges in one card

2010-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this blog for the first time today.

And, I have wanted to play in this challenge for awhile now:

So, here is the card I made for both challenges:

I used Art to Borrow paper from Stampington for the background and the vertical strip. An old Acey Deucy Italian script stamp for the gray panel (using Ranger's new pumice stone distress ink). Impression Obsession flourish, Magenta flower and Hero Arts sentiment. Spellbinders dies. IRL, the color of the flower matches the paper, but it scanned differently:(

Thanks for looking!

postcard swap

2010-05-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

For the first swap of the new ARTchix-Sister-Site yahoo group, we are exchanging postcards with our partners, up to 3 for 3. I chose to do one this time around. The theme is "Sunnier Days". I used Ranger's new rusty hinge distress ink to color a 4 x 6 inch piece of cardstock and added rubber-stamped swirls and circles and a TH stamp up in the corner to reference the sun. Collage images are all ARTchix. Words are computer generated. Some glitter here and there and a band of black along the bottom.

The group is still growing; if anyone is interested in joining. Should be a lot of fun once things get off the ground. There are already 80 members and we are shooting for at least 100. Susan Burgess (aka Sanna) is the moderator - some of you may know her through other groups. Thanks for looking!

TAG TUESDAY GLITTER

2010-04-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Glitter, glitter everywhere! Isn't it fun?? Anyway, here's my party dress all ready to go for Louise's challenge this week. Background is Tim's vintage shabby paper with some added stamped touches (circles and dots). Dress is an SOI Designs Nicole Croy stamp. Martha Stewart Glitter. I used a Sakura quickie glue pen - I like it because you can get a line of glue right where you want it to be.

Thanks for looking!

SPA oriental

2010-04-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my postcard for SPA's oriental challenge this week. I have used patterned paper, rubber stamps, gold paper and a dimensional flower.

TFL!

the eye of the child collage

2010-04-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

This is a small collage (approx.3 x 5 inches) I have done to send out in a package to someone as a little RAK. I painted the background with Ranger dimensional pearls in two colors. Then I used images from ARTchix for the collage, except the little girl is Paper Whimsy. Added some circles and polka dots; Black German scrap and some black pen accents. Hope she likes this!

Thanks for stopping by. . .

recycled tag

2010-04-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

The challenge for Tag Tuesday this week is to reuse or recycle something. I have used a Borders gift certificate holder to make my tag. The red was the outside and the yellow was the inside of the holder. Added some stamping to the roof, windows and doors and along the roof's eave. Also added some German scrap and black pen dots.

Thanks for stopping by.

collage obsession

2010-04-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Image provided by collage obsession to create something beach related. Computer generated caption, tiny starfish, and some glitter for the sand. TFL.

Lottery ATC

2010-04-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

This is an ATC I made for a new yahoo group that is all ARTchix related. Not owned by Helga Strauss, just a "sister" group for ARTchix fans.

I used watercolor ATC blanks from ARTchix to make the base ATC and then cut out a heart shape from another one. Used watercolor crayons to color both. After they were dry, I added polka dots with glitter pens. The ARTchix gal is always a fun image to use, so I cut out the main figure and then used my hole punch for the other two heads. Some black dots with a fine line pen and some stickles glitter to outline the heart and ATC. Computer generated the words and colored lightly with a pink pencil.

This is the first bi-weekly lottery for the new group - should be fun!!

TFL.

tag tuesday inspiration quote

2010-04-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Don't have a lot of time today (or this week) so here is a quick tag for Louise's challenge today. I brayered some ink over a manila tag; stamped images and then overstamped the quote; added a border (Mariposa stack) along the top and bottom with some ribbon to finish.

Thanks for looking!

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART PARIS

2010-04-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my postcard for SPA. Even though I am late, I had to do something this week since Paris is my very favorite theme. Stamped background, ARTchix images and Cavellini stickers, too! German scrap along bottom edge.

Go check out all the beautiful postcards at SPA!

TFL.

blackbirds and trees and miniature art

2010-04-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here is my entry for three challenges this week:

3 muses, wednesday stamper, and theme thursday. I have used stamps, letter stickers, ribbon and German scrap on this 3 x 3 inch square. Edged it all around with a Pilot gold metallic marker.

Thanks for stopping by.

kim kesti challenge

2010-04-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is a card I made using Kim's sketch for her blog challenge. I used Basic Grey EVA papers; scalloped scissors for the square shape, a stamp from Rubber Stampede inside the square and a sentiment stamp from Eureka. The large flower is Prima and the jeweled flower is from K & Co. Some wild plum ink around the edges helps a bit, I think. I like the way my card turned out using this sketch as inspiration.

TFL.

sketch tag

2010-04-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

Tag Tuesday's challenge this week is to use the sketch Louise provided to make our tag. This was definitely a challenge for me - the results are not exactly what I had imagined. Image is from Crafty Individuals. A bubble wrap background and a few rubber stamps.

TFL.

MAIL ART

2010-04-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

The challenge at 4 x 4 Friday this week is Mail Art. I have used mostly rubber stamps with an old air mail envelope for the base. Also found a small vintage envy with the address that I cropped and a plane to denote "airmail". The private mailing card stamp is from Tin Can Mail; the postmark is from Coronado Island; the wavy lines are Magenta; "post" from Rubber Monger and the gentleman is from Endless Creations. Sponged some tea dye distress ink all over.

Thanks for looking!

favorite letter

2010-04-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Theme Thursday's challenge this week is to use your favorite letter. I used a mask to create the first background layer with distress inks over it. Overstamped with a Stampers Anonymous stamp and a border stamp at top and bottom. Some tiny dots and edges darkened with ink. I'm not sure where I got the image. Colored and glittered a grungeboard "a" and added a bit of ribbon at top and then around the a.

Thanks for stopping by.

collage with stickers

2010-03-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

The challenge for Tag Tuesday this week is to make a collaged tag and include at least one sticker. The base for my tag is a map of Paris. I have used several flat Cavellini stickers and a couple of dimensional ones too. A couple of rubber stamps and a fleur-di-lis brad finishes it off.

Thanks for visiting and check out all the other tags, too!

THEME THURSDAY

2010-03-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Make something 2 x 4 inches for this week's challenge at Theme Thursday. The image and word I used is from Lisa's Altred Art. Flourish stamp is from All Night Media and the tiny border stamp is from Magenta. Gold German scrap for embellishment.

TAG TUESDAY black and white

2010-03-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

Black and white is the challenge for Tag Tuesday this week. I have used lots of stamped images, a white button and pearl, black thread, black german scrap border and a black and white polka dot ribbon. This was a fun tag to make. Thanks for the challenge, Louise!

TFL.

ONE ATC FOR TWO CHALLENGES

2010-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

All in a Row is the theme for TMTA this week and Vintage Children is the theme for MIXED MEDIA MONDAY this week. So, I am submitting this ATC to both challenges today. The stamp is from Limited Edition.

Thanks for looking!

TAG TUESDAY - spring

2010-03-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

Spring is the theme for Louise's Tag Tuesday challenge this week. Tulips are one of my favorite spring flowers; but, then when you see such prolific colors and blooms everywhere when spring arrives, it is hard to pick just one favorite!!

Thanks for stopping by!

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART

2010-03-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

The theme for Sunday Postcard Art is goddess. I have used a Stamp Oasis stamp against a night sky for my entry.

TFL!

GINGERSNAP CREATIONS

2010-03-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

Gingersnap Creations is having a wonderful randomly picked birthday giveaway on March 19th to celebrate their birthday. Looks like someone will be very lucky to receive so many lovely treasures in this drawing. Check it out! They also have wonderful challenges in which I have not participated as yet. Hope to do so sometime soon.

TAG TUESDAY

2010-03-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge for Tag Tuesday is to use an arch. I have used all rubber stamping for my tag with some distress inks for the background and some shimmer from perfect pearls, which doesn't really show up in the scan.

Thanks for looking!

TAG TUESDAY

2010-03-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

Use brown and another color to make a tag for this week's Tag Tuesday challenge. I chose lime green and love the way it pops!

Image is from Crafty Individuals. Added some background stamping and Prima flowers with a faux gem.

TFL.

PRIMA

2010-03-02T04:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday there was a drawing over on the Prima Marketing site for $100 worth of their beautiful products. Now they will be having another drawing on Thursday, March 4th, to promote their "Big Secret" - which is yet to be revealed!! Hop on over there to take a chance on these amazing goodies:

WOW!! Isn't this a fantastic giveaway???

MARIPOSA STACK CARDS

2010-02-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

Here is one of a set of four cards made using papers from the Marisposa Stack of papers from JoAnne's. Added some lace along left side, a Hero Arts phrase, some Prima flowers and faux gems. The papers in this stack are absolutely gorgeous - need to play with them some more.

Speaking of Prima, follow this link to their website and read all about their Big Secret! They are coming up with more and more things to entice us these days!

Thanks for stopping by!

LISA'S ALTERED ART CARDS

2010-02-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been making some sets of cards to sell locally. This is one of a set of four, using a sample collage sheet from Lisa's Altered Art. The others are very similar, just different "fairies" and cardstock.

Am finishing up another set using the Mariposa paper stack I recently purchased at JoAnne's. There are so many beautiful papers in it; I will definitely be making a lot of cards from them as I find time!

Thanks for visiting.

TAG TUESDAY - cutesy

2010-02-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Finally got a tag made just in time for Louise Granlund's TAG TUESDAY challenge for the week, which was to do something "cutesy". Like a lot of you, I don't really do cute these days. Found this darling angel stamp in one of my drawers. I purchased it in 1998 and it was designed by Annette Allen Watkins. I think she originally had her own stamp company; later her designs were sold by Printworks. (I always put my name and the year I bought my stamps on the side of the wood mount. Fun to see how long I've had some of them. Of course, I can't identify the clear ones that way.) I digress. Colored the image and added some glitter. Cut out the star shape and added stamped stars - large ones by Magenta, small ones by Rubber Moon. Colored them in and added more glitter. Some metallic stars and ribbon finish off this tag.

This was indeed a challenge for me - am glad I found time to do it and get it posted. Have been busy this past week with other things.

TFL.

PENNY EXPERIMENT

2010-02-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

This is a 6 x 6 page I have made for a project called the Penny Experiment which is an attempt to turn a found penny into one million dollars worth of food for food banks. The book I am working in is No. 9/100. It will be passed around to others who will add their own pages. When it is full it will be sold to raise money for food banks.

I used a patterned paper for the background and then stamped across it with pine needles distress ink, swiping the edges with it too. Added some collage elements, punched dots, ribbon and Prima flowers with a brad. Glued a found penny to the medallion in the top right corner, in keeping with the origin of the idea. Not sure if I am actually done with this; will keep looking at it from time to time to see if I want to add more to it before passing it along to Cheryl Carraway.

TFL.

COLLAGE OBSESSION!

2010-02-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

I used the image provided by collage obsession to make this ATC. I taped it to a background paper in order for it to show up in the scan a little better.

The ARTchix Studio's current bi-weekly lottery theme is "words, woman and ...." the artist's choice. I chose to use the color white as my 3rd element. So this is ATC is for both challenges.

I used patterned paper for the background which I layered onto a slightly larger black cardstock. The flourish is a Magenta rub-on. Added white dots with a white pen and colored her lips in with a colored pencil. Words and German scrap are from ARTchix. I also added glitter around the edges and to the white German scrap; doesn't show in the scan. Thanks for looking!

TAG TUESDAY - MONOGRAM

2010-02-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

Louise's TAG TUESDAY challenge is to use a monogram on your tag. I chose to use a P for Paris (sigh)!

Background was created using distress inks: marmalade, mustard and marigold spritzed with water on craft sheet. Overstamped with a Stampers Anonymous stamp using marmalade again. Lots of stamped images, some postage stamps from France, a Martha Stewart punched scrapbook paper border and some German scrap. Ran the marmalade pad around the edges to finish it up a bit.

A trip to Paris is on my bucket list!

TFL!