Pigment of My Imagination

"Sketching Everyday Things" - Sketchbook Delight II - Lesson 2

2012-02-12T18:20:00.000-06:00

Here is my homework for Lesson 2 of Alisa Burke's Sketchbook Delight II. This lesson focused on sketching things you find around your home (like food) that you may not necessarily think to draw/sketch. Alisa drew some adorable cupcakes but since I didn't have any nearby I decided to sketch my breakfast -

A healthy breakfast of apple, granola bar and a latte. Don't kid yourself - my breakfast isn't that healthy everyday - yesterday my breakfast was a Butternut doughnut from Dunkin' Doughnuts. One day this week I ate leftover chocolate cake for breakfast. Surely, I am not the only one who cheats on "the most important meal of the day"!! This is my second time sketching this still life - the proportions are definitely better the second time around but still I'm having issues with the mug - there is a lip at the top I have no idea how to draw.
Linking to Art Journal Everyday - Julie Fei Fan Balzer.

PDCC118, PTI Day 6

2012-02-10T13:24:00.001-06:00

A papercrafter would have to be living under a rock in the deep recesses of a cave in the middle of a vast wilderness to not know that Papertrey Ink is celebrating its 5th anniversary with lots fabulous releases, challenges and huge giveaways!!

This card is made with sketch #2 from Papertrey Ink and the colors from the current Playdate Cafe Challenge. Definitely colors that are out of my comfort zone but I've been trying lots of new things lately and, therefore, in the spirit of embracing "different" I decided to make my own background paper with oil pastels.

Cardstock, vellum and sentiment (LIFE from Poppy Prints) are from Papertrey.

Sketchbook Challenge - CLOSE-UP!

2012-02-07T12:09:00.000-06:00

The theme for February at The Sketchbook Challenge is CLOSE UP. Jill Grace posted this adorable little bug (Quesada Domis - which I believe is some type of cicada) on one of her Pinterest boards the other day and I just had to try my hand at it.

Seriously, who takes pics from the "other side" of the stalk? People who want their cute pics to go viral - that's who!!

The inspiration pic can be found here. Did you know that a couple years back I watched a cicada hatch out from a shell in our carport? It was the most amazing thing - I sat and took pics for about 45 minutes while my husband held the flashlight. I kept asking him why he wasn't holding it steady until finally I looked back and realized that he was playing football on his phone! Apparently, he wasn't as amazed by the cicada as I was - here are a few of my favorite pics from that night:

Linking to Art Journal Every Day (Julie Fei-Fan Balzer).

"Draw Your Supplies" - Sketchbook Delight II - Lesson 1

2012-02-02T16:48:00.001-06:00

The Sketchbook Delight - Part 2 class taught by Alisa Burke just started yesterday - The first lesson is a review of the things taught in Sketchbook Delight 1 including info on supplies (pens, paper, pencils, paint, etc.), shading, sketching, applying color, etc. I'm really excited to take this class -

The homework is to draw your supplies (I painted mine too cause I am a rebel) and I am tickled to be able to say that it is pretty apparent that I chose a pencil, paintbrush and pen to draw. I avoided the pens that were clear because the thought of trying to convey transparency was spooky to me - I need to work on adding more shading but I need to be a bit braver for that - all that water sloshing around willy-nilly makes me nervous too! Can't wait til the next lesson. . .

Linking to - Just Journals Linky Party and Art Journal Every Day (Julie Fei-Fan Balzer).

"Too Often Her Head Was In the Fluffy Clouds" Canvas

2012-01-28T21:34:00.000-06:00

Last night I felt like playing with my NeoColor (water-soluble wax pastel) crayons so I sketched out a girl on some painted book paper. Since my extensive collection of NeoColors numbers only 7 there was a rather limited palette to work with - good thing I like shades of brown and white!!

Funny how an art project like this evolves. With no real intention or direction when I started other than wanting to work with the crayons, I found that when the girl was finished the top of the page seemed too empty so I decided to paint in some clouds. The caption then seemed to come naturally - "too often her head was in the fluffy clouds".

After that the thought popped up, "If a few fluffy clouds are good - MORE fluffy clouds will be better!!" The result being the two smaller canvases. I really like how all three pieces work together to make one large composite piece. Makes me wonder now how many of the artistic works that I really admire had lots of forethought and planning in their creation or just "kinda happened"?
Linking to Artists in Blogland - Show and Tell Saturday #17.

Nature is Art - Art Journal page

2012-01-25T19:54:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, Roni, Laura and I got together to have a little crafty time. We watched a couple drawing videos and then decided to draw poppies. Roni and Laura then proceeded to draw/color/paint beautiful realistic poppies!! Gorgeous poppies. I took a different approach -

Since my drawing skills are rudimentary at best I decided to make a "grid" and fill it with a variety of items in case I hated my poppy. The paper I had was not conducive to watercoloring at all - See how crinkly it became! In the end though I was pleased with my efforts and added my sketch to my ever growing art journal. It won't be long before it is full.
Be sure and read this great post that Julie Fei-Fan Balzer wrote about art journaling!! - Let Go of Expectations.
Linking to - Balzer Designs: Art Journal Every Day and Just Journals Link Party.

West Elm Inspired Art Journal page

2012-01-21T19:42:00.000-06:00

The January Challenge for Artists in Blogland is SOUL. I thought about the things that give me joy and top among them are beautiful flowers.

A West Elm bedspread offered my first inspiration coupled with this great quote from Eleanora Duse -

"If the sight of blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the field has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive."

Linking up to Just Journals Link Party.

Art Journal - Leaves

2012-01-14T23:35:00.000-06:00

Decided to try my hand at drawing/watercoloring some leaves. I've only ever watercolored on actual watercolor paper but this time I painted directly into my journal. A thick layer of GOLDEN Absorbent Ground allows your watercolors to soak into regular or gessoed paper. Cool!

Very different from painting on watercolor paper but was a fun experience. The ground gave a fun texture that wouldn't have been there otherwise.
Linking up to Just Journals Link Party #9 and Art Journal Every Day.

Ballpoint pen doodle -

2012-01-09T23:10:00.000-06:00

Currently, I am enrolled in Alisa Burke's Create Daily class. One of the things she emphasizes is that art shouldn't have to be expensive - that we should embrace and utilize everyday materials. . .

This doodle reflects that sentiment. It is drawn entirely in -

ballpoint pen ink. (BTW - This pen is from a local tanning business. Funny cause I am one of the white-est people on the planet!! Not sure how that pen got in this house!!)
Linking to Art Journal Every Day and The Sketchbook Challenge.

"Bird with Crown" canvas

2012-01-06T23:19:00.000-06:00

Today was a "painty" day!! I love a "painty" day!! Kim and I started warming up by doing Dina Wakley calisthenics which involved painting/stamping on tags and playing with patterned paper. We decided that our theme would be "birds" -

As a twist I decided to paint my bird on a smaller canvas (4" square) and then mount that onto a larger background canvas (8" x 10"). Funky, fun dimension -

Do you agree that crowns are a good look for birds? Jazzes up an everyday ensemble. I had on a gray sweater today and I think that a crown/tiara would've been the perfect finishing touch. . .
Supplies included Martha Stewart and Golden acrylic paints, old book paper, Tim Holtz Tissue tape, A Muse Washi tape, spray inks, stencils, canvases, cardstock and rub-ons.
Linking up to Artists in Blogland - Show and Tell Saturday #17.

Favorite Crafty posts of 2011 -

2012-01-01T21:00:00.000-06:00

While stamping will continue to be one of my favorite loves, I've been discovering a love of other crafty venues in the past year. Here are some of my favorites posts and some of my new favorite artists:

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - She is an amazing artist and is the main reason that I decided to delve into art journaling. She is a wonder with watercolors and the cover of my journal is a tribute to her bright cheery works (btw - my art journal is made from a composition notebook - I was too intimidated to try "creating" in something that I had paid real money for but since this was only $1 - why not?)

Tangling - I remember watching lots of tangle videos on YouTube and being amazed at how gorgeous the works are - believe it or not it is easier then you may think. I've printed my favorite patterns and put them in clear sleeves in a binder for reference. This is a canvas I made to showcase one of my small tangles - here is a link to the largest one I've made.

Donna Downey - Her Inspiration Wednesday videos are such a treat!! She is comfortable in so many mediums and is at the forefront of all new trendy things like PanPastels. My poppy page was definitely influenced by her love of this flower.

This page makes me happy because it was it was totally me - the pattern on a favorite skirt inspired a page that even turned into a card.

Amigurumi - In my younger years I crocheted a lot - made little animals, afghans, potholders, etc. Decided to give crocheting a whirl again with an amigurumi doll for my niece. Got the free pattern here and am wondering now how we crocheted without the magic adjustable ring??!!

Alisa Burke - Her "peek inside my sketchbook" posts are fabulous and inspired this art journal page that I had turned into a canvas for the wall. I just won a place in her current class - Create Daily - it starts today. WHOO HOO!

Fabric owls - My cousin, Selena, is an owl lover so when we saw one in Books a Million it inspired a parliament of owls made from supplies I had on hand.

Coptic Handbound Art Journal - Now that my composition notebook is almost full I'm ready to start work in the handmade book I made with my friend, Kim.

Christy Tomlinson - I've taken both of her SheArt classes this year and I've learned so much. Her videos are entertaining and informative. Because of her I can draw a person now - go figure. . .

Carla Sonheim - Her book, Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists, is a great starting point for making fun projects and inspired my watercoloring in the car.

2011 has been a pretty creative year for me - branching out and trying new things is really fun!!

My favorite cards from 2011 -

2011-12-31T12:03:00.001-06:00

This is the time of the year when lots of bloggers are reminiscing about their favorite projects of the past year. Karin Martin is hosting "A Year in Review" on her blog, so I thought I'd jump on that bandwagon with my favorite cards from 2011.

This bird makes me happy since he is from cardstock that was covered in washi tape stuck in a plaid pattern.

Colored with Copics, this card features a fun layout and a set from SU! that has been sadly neglected -

The flower on this card is a removable pin - a card and a gift all in one!!

Carved my own chevron stamps - boy, have I loved using these on lots of projects this year.

Patterned paper that matches any color combo you want is possible if you stamp your own.

Sometimes everything adds up just right - That's how I feel about this CAS butterfly card!

The colors, stamp set and "beachy" feeling of this card set makes me miss living in Florida.

A gorgeous coat in a Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger sparked this yellow paper rose on a pink damask background.

This is one of my favorite cards ever from last year. All the vintage images (Graphics Fairy) were imported, resized and printed onto vellum. I cracked myself up with the punny sentiment -

YUP - those are my favorites from 2011 -

LIM47, CQC117 - Vellum rose "Bonjour"

2011-12-30T16:36:00.000-06:00

It is unseasonably warm and sunny around here these days - in the 50's!! Not sure what to think about it but I am enjoying the pleasantness while it lasts! Today's card is based on 4 current challenges!! First up is the CARDS challenge to use vellum. Little Birdie Studios made a video nearly two years ago that inspired my first ever paper rose! I've made gobs of them since, but vellum (because of its thickness) is a little trickier to work with, so I am thrilled with how this bloom turned out!! The second challenge is the sketch by Lucy Abrams featured below. Lucy is one of my favorite designers for Hero Arts - she make the most beautiful creations with kraft cardstock!!

The third challenge is from the Less is More blog to make a clean and simple card featuring Just One Word (LIM47). My one word is Bonjour (retired stamp from a muse) - I always thought that was two words but since I don't speak French I am not going to quibble with a stamp about its spelling. Finally, the last challenge is from a blog that is new to me - ColourQ (cqc117) - Black, White and one other color of your choosing.

Never thought the color of my choosing would be orange but that small scrap of Basic Grey Ambrosia paper was just begging to be used and seems to be the perfect backdrop for the gorgeous rose! Maybe I should listen to my patterned paper more often!

Watercoloring in the car -

2011-12-26T22:44:00.000-06:00

Have you ever watercolored in the car? I would never think to do such a thing if not for the inspiration I get from artists like Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Donna Downey who think nothing of creating on the go.

These are the tools that I packed - Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists by Carla Sonheim, KOI Water Colors, ZIG Millenium Waterproof Markers, pencil, Copic Marker, ZIG White Opaque paint pen and a kitchen towel to soak up the watery mess.

My first picture was inspired by LAB 20 - Take inspiration from Spanish artist Joan Miro. I am not familiar with his art (and therefore may have something totally un-"Miro-esque") but the elements and geometric forms called to me and inspired my crazy bird.

My second picture was inspired by LAB 19 - Picasso Dogs. Obviously, I decided to go human and not canine but my son Caleb says my bald lady is as ugly as a dog. He is quite disturbed with this picture and asked me to not even put it in my art journal. If the purpose of "art" is to provoke emotion than I will take that as a compliment.

Both the watercolors were painted on our way to Mississippi to visit family. Once we were there though it was time for some traditional stamping. My cousin, Selena, had a commission to make some mini calendars and I jumped in to help her. Here are the 18 mini calendars I whipped up. All her mini calendars are gone now but I managed to snag one of the butterfly ones for myself - I'm sneaky that way!

I did some painting on the way home too - and will post that on another day. . .

Linking up to - ART JOURNAL Every Day: December and Artists in Blogland, Show and Tell Saturday #16.

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Stripe-tastic!!

2011-12-21T23:18:00.000-06:00

Tuesday Trigger time and this pic is very cool! While I am not so in love with the dress, I think it is super cool to have the fabric on the wall behind her. I used to work for some people that had padded linen on the walls of their powder room and it was really unique!! The card uses patterned paper from the Stella Rose collection from My Mind's Eye to mimic the stripes but added a fun touch by mitering the corners.

The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Monogram Frames set from a muse|studio. ALAS, it is soon to be retired along with many other sets - to see the complete list click here and to order click here!!

Have a great day!

CFC32, PDCC111, CSC70 - Aqua bird

2011-12-19T22:20:00.002-06:00

I made this card on Friday but didn't have a chance to post until today - Life is busy, busy, busy!! Three challenges are represented here - The Play Date Cafe Challenge (Black, White and Splash of Aqua), CASE Study Challenge (Amy Sheffer), and CAS-ual Friday Challenge (decorate your envelope).

The stamp is a clear stamp from Indakindado and the bird is diecut using the Tim Holtz Diecut. A muse|studio Washi Tape decorates the envelope and the ground underneath the bird while a length of seam binding ties a pretty bow.

Guess what?? I won a free spot in Alisa Burke's Create Daily Online Class - It starts January 1st - I can't wait!!

Handmade Coptic Bound Art Journal

2011-12-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

Look at my new art journal!! I am so tickled with it because it is exactly "me"! The perfect color, fabric, patterned paper, etc. That is because I made it myself!! My good friend Kim and I don't get to craft together near enough - in fact, a couple years back when she owned Serendipity and I taught at the store we didn't get to craft together at all!

When Kim asked if I wanted to try my hand at making an art journal with her I jumped at the chance - first stop was Blick to pick out the perfect Lineco Book Cloth (Linen). An indispensable tool is the teflon bone folder that I bought at The Paper Source about a year and a half ago - it was a huge splurge at the time but I use it every single time I craft!!

Here are my finished covers! Used my most favorite paper (Roni - I only have 3 sheets left - YIKES!) - Cloud 9 Design, Hannah's Story Collection - Botanical Garden. I so wish I had bought an entire pack of that particular design before it was retired!! The front cover is enhanced with a quote that I cut down from a greeting card.

Here's my favorite part - the binding. I've seen handmade journals in lots of books but never thought to try it out myself. It was SO fun!! I love how the Coptic binding looks just like a chain stitch in crochet. This type of binding allows your book to lay flat when it is open and you can make it as thick as you choose (I used 5 signatures).

Kim printed out some botanical prints for me on vellum (she knows me so well) and I was tickled to layer them throughout my journal. It adds a pop of color and whimsy here and there.

sigh. . . don't ya just love ferns? Anyhoo - I love my new journal so much that it is intimidating to me right now - not sure I'm ready to mess it up with my scribbles just yet and the binding bug was still biting me so I

cut up some old Little Golden Books and played more! My boys are way too old for these children's books but reusing them allows me to still have the memories but in a practical way. In fact, I am using the Tickle Me, Elmo book to store recipes in - the ones that you write on scraps of paper. I have gobs of those and they needed a home. (BTW - are you as creeped out as I am that "exercise Elmo" looks like Richard Simmons? I never noticed that until now).
Linking up to Artists in Blogland Show and Tell Saturday #15 -

December Sketchbook Challenge - Trashed, Ruined and Decay

2011-12-14T21:51:00.002-06:00

December's theme at The Sketchbook Challenge is Trashed, Ruined and Decay.

Here are the definitions of Ruined and Decay:

1. Total destruction or disintegration, either physical, moral, social, or economic.

2. A cause of total destruction.

3.a. The act of destroying totally.

b. A destroyed person, object, or building.

4. The remains of something destroyed, disintegrated, or decayed

5. A gradual deterioration to an inferior state

My art journal page is reflecting definition 5 - gradual deterioration to an inferior state. Fall leaves are beautiful but don't last long. . . In an attempt to keep these colorful leaves from further decay I attached them to dictionary paper with Glossy Accents (Ranger) and then flipped the leaf over and applied more Glossy Accents all over the front of the leaf. After a while I had a pretty pile of shiny leaves that were quickly cut out for use on other projects.

The aged background was made from patterned paper, masking tape, fabric book tape and "drippage" (if you watch Donna Downey Inspiration Wednesday videos you know exactly what I am talking about) and some painted/splattered paper I made a while back.

A stamped sentiment finishes up the page. I will admit that even a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to stamp a sentiment like this on anything - it is soo sloppily done - the letters don't line up evenly - it isn't perfectly centered. But. . . . I like it - kinda a lot - go figure! Have you done anything creatively recently that you thought you would NEVER do??
Linking to Art Journal Every Day and Just Journals Link Party #8.

a muse|studio - Retiring List

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

All good things must come to an end - Above is the retiring list for the 2011 a muse studio catalog. If you are interested in ordering any of the above sets do so quickly. They won't be around for long!

CFC31, LIM45, CAS148 - Sweater Dog

2011-12-12T15:48:00.000-06:00

Today's card is a mix of three current challenges - The CAS-ual Fridays "In the Mist" (use mists on your clean and simple card), the Less is More "Snow" one layer challenge and the SCS CAS148 "Chill Out" challenges.

At first glance you may not realize that this is a one-layer card. A mask allowed only the center of the card to be open for misting while additional masks and sponging formed the snow banks. A quick frame made with a fine-tip marker keeps the focus on the winter scene.

The shimmer spray (Blue Skies Glimmer Mist) is much more noticeable when the card is at an angle. That adorable dog in a sweater stamp is a favorite of mine since it reminds us of our dog, Lily! She has very short hair and spends all fall/winter in sweaters. Want proof?

Four different pictures - four different sweaters. Lily probably has 10 sweaters including some special "dress-up" sweaters with bling/flowers for when we visit Nana's house (yes, I am pitiful but I have no daughters and this is as close as I will get to a girl!! No, her nails are not polished so Lily still has some dignity.) The stamps are retired and from amuse.

Runway Inspired Challenge #1 (RIC1)

2011-12-10T19:56:00.001-06:00

There is a new challenge blog on the block - The Runway Inspired Challenge started by Jennifer Rzasa.

Inspired by fashion, the first inspiration photo is taken from the Versace Spring 2012 collection featured at Milan Fashion Week.

Damask Floral clear stamps from Impression Obsession are stamped in black on white cardstock while the rolled flower and background layer are fashioned from Doodlebug Sugar Coated cardstock. Sentiment is from a muse|studio (Vintage a muse). This fun challenge is open through December 16th.

SheArt - Shell Girl

2011-12-09T20:54:00.001-06:00

Mom and dad just got home from vacation in the Outer Banks of NC where mom was quite the beachcomber and returned with LOTS of gorgeous shells. I decided to take most of the shells she gave me and do something different. . .

make a skirt for a SheArt girl! Some of these shells are so different from what I am used to - they are smooth and worn like seaglass - I call them "shellglass". After arranging them on my 6" x 12" canvas I penciled in my girl - Wouldn't you agree that a girl with a long, flowing skirt deserved long, flowing hair?

Stencils, sprays, rubons, markers, etc. added the details and the shells were attached with E6000. There was a definite bad smell from the glue for a while but I was so enamored with the girl that I didn't mind too much. The texture is fabulous

The SheArt girls are inspired by the online class taught by Christy Tomlinson. Linking up to Show and Tell Saturday #14 at Artists in Blogland.

FTL169 - hello

2011-12-08T16:24:00.001-06:00

Quick post today - This card is based on the current FTL169 sketch from the Clean and Simple Stamping blog. The circle has the Herringbone technique from SCS - so much fun the first time I tried it I decided to do it again - All patterned paper is from Basic Grey, sentiment stickers from Cosmo Cricket and felt embellishment is from Recollections - Boutique Fleur.

CFC30, LIM44 - Love is for the birds. . .

2011-12-05T20:57:00.001-06:00

What could be better than kraft with green? How about SPARKLY kraft with green?? This card is based on the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge to choose a row tic-tac-toe style and make a CAS project. As much as I wanted to do Stripes/Orange/Aqua (never in a million years!) - I settled on Green/Kraft/Chevrons.

Used my handcarved chevton stamp inspired by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, the Martha Stewart Birds On a wire Edge punch along with a muse|studio cardstock, sentiment and ink. A quick run through the Xyron and a generous sprinkle of Smoky Quartz Martha Stewart glitter and you have the sparkliest birds in town!!

This card is also for the Less is More Colour Challenge - GREEN.

Happy Anniversary Herringbone

2011-12-02T19:27:00.001-06:00

Have you seen the Herringbone tutorial that Beate Johns did on Splitcoaststampers this week? So fun!! If only I had read the instructions instead of just looking at the pictures! Once I finished I realized that she ran her base cardstock through the Xyron to have a sticky background for her paper strips. . .

I glued each and every strip down individually. No wonder I was thinking, "This is such a cool look but it takes SO long." - duh!!

Patterned paper is from Basic Grey (Curio, Granola); Sentiment from a muse|studio (Essential Sentiments)

OLW72: Variations on a Sentiment

2011-11-30T20:16:00.001-06:00

These cards are for the One Layer Wednesday Challenge: Variations on a Sentiment. The challenge is
1) use ONLY a sentiment stamp on your card...no other stamps or embellishments allowed!
2) use a NON-STANDARD size for your card
3) make at least two cards using the same stamp that vary something (color, type of ink, technique, placement of the stamp, size of card) Susan isn't happy unless she makes things kinda hard!! LOL

The top card is my favorite - love the white embossed on the kraft and the lines drawn with markers really draw the eye to the sentiment. Then it was time to get out of my comfort zone and use COLOR!!

It may seem challenging at first to stamp a sentiment with all those colors (Cherry, Orange, Papaya, Grass, Blackberry) but here is an easy way to do it. First I taped off each individual letter and then inked up. Once you've peeled off the tape you have a perfectly inked stamp. Just use your Stamp-a-ma-jig to line your stamp up. While it was kinda time consuming to tape/ink/stamp each letter individually (compared to stamping the entire word at once) the end look was worth it!

Wanted to try the same stamp in some vertical cards. BTY - my non-standard card size was 2.75" x 5" - makes for a tall skinny card that easily fits in a 4b envelope -

Stamped my sentiment in Slate ink and added a couple of scored lines to ground it - easy peasy. This is one of the most fun challenges that I've done in a while and I have a little pile of thank you cards too!!
All products used are from a muse|studio (sentiment stamp is retired - sorry).

Happy 5th Anniversary, Ellen Hutson

2011-11-29T16:22:00.001-06:00

Did you know that Ellen Hutson is celebrating 5 years in business? Her online shop is chock full of the best papercrafting products out there but she carries more than that - her shop is one of the only places where I can find my favorite soldering products (Simply Swank solder, etc and Ranger glass slides).

To celebrate this milestone Ellen is hosting some challenges in The Classroom blog including this sketch by Julia Stainton.

My Basic Grey Curio called out to me again - LOVE these patterned papers - so gorgeous and lush!! The Lifestyle Trellis die made the elegant cutout layer on the left.

For fun a KaiserCraft birdcage replaces the circle element on the sketch - see the a muse|studio bird flying away to new adventures?? Check out the other challenges at The Classroom.

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Red and Rustic

2011-11-28T13:07:00.001-06:00

I wanted to play along with the current Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Red & Rustic but wanted to do something "different" than my usual MO (I watched Law & Order this morning - har har) so I decided to make an art journal page.

The Trigger Challenge rules are to make a paper crafted project so I think an art journal page should work just fine. LOTS of papercrafting goodies are featured on this page including: Making Memories - Sienne Paper Reverie ribbon and gemstone brad; Jillibean Soup - Corrugated shapes; Basic Grey patterned paper (Curio - I should have bought two of these!!) and paper ribbon; Pink Paislee rubons, etc.

The idea behind the girl is from the online SheArt workshop (Christy Tomlinson) - I've been making a plethora of the girls lately and they are fun!! Like paper dolls but you make the dolls and the clothes. The weather has turned for the worse around here - wet and cold!! Guess winter has decided to stay now!
I am linking this post up to the Show and Tell Saturday #13 on Artists in Blogland.

CFC29, LIM43 - Sizzix leaves

2011-11-27T12:30:00.001-06:00

The boys and I braved the crowds shopping on Friday for a while and when I was in Joann's I picked up the Sizzix Branch and Leaves Sizzlits die that has been winking at me for a few months now. When it was less than $5 it became too irresistible to pass up -

Two challenges inspired this card - the first is the sketch challenge from CAS-ual Fridays pictured above and the second is the Less is More - A Bit of Bling challenge. My "white space" is really kraft space on this particular card.

I wish you could see how sparkly this card is in real life!! The pretty green twinkle stickers, cardstock (Lichen, kraft) and sentiment (Friend to Friend) are from a muse|studio. Baker's twine (Honeydew) is from The Twinery.

CASE Study Challenge #65 - Hero Arts Digital stamp

2011-11-25T22:36:00.001-06:00

This project is for the current CASE study challenge where the amazing Kryssi Ng is the featured designer. Look - this card is really a notebook!

My son, Caleb, just showed me the other day how to use a fascinating binding technique they learned in school (there is no way I can describe it but let's just say it involves paper, scissors and that's it! Very cool and Caleb was overjoyed to show me something I'd never seen before since he knows how much I love all things "paper"). When I saw this challenge I immediately decided to make a notebook and use a touch of a muse|studio Washi tape on the left side to imitate Kryssi's card.

I couldn't find the perfect stamp until I remembered that a month or so ago I purchased/downloaded some digital stamps from Hero Arts. The Block Tree was just the thing to fill the bill, the ground is Hero Arts Key Lime Texture paper and the font is Milk & Cereal. Using the digital stamp kept the image colored perfectly and I could mass produce some notebooks pretty quickly if I felt like it!

SheArt 2 - 6" canvas

2011-11-23T20:42:00.001-06:00

This is my first canvas with a SheArt girl!! I loved the first SheArt class but the second one has really resounded with me - I think it has to do with the fact that I finally started to let go with the thought that things

in my art journal had to be perfect. Back in January when I started my journal I was feeling brave but in reality I was super afraid to mess things up. As a result there were times that months went by without me attempting a new page. . .

Now I get that the journey is a huge part of the process. Since I've loosened up and have started to have fun I wish I had time to play in my art journal every single day!!

The colors are reflective of the Play Date Cafe Challenge 109 (Maroon, Copper and Tumeric) - One of the things that I absolutely love about this particular challenge site is the ability to load up any kind of creative work that reflects the colors - I've even seen jewelry uploaded!

CP142 - Natural Beauty butterfly -

2011-11-21T21:19:00.001-06:00

I do believe that it has been a "month of Sundays" since I've done a card based on a sketch from the Card Patterns blog. How long is that precisely? A "month of Sundays" is longer than "a blue moon" but considerably shorter than "a coon's age" (hope that clears up any confusion, LOL).

The butterfly from SU!'s retired Natural Beauty stamp set is a favorite of mine and is colored with Copic markers and layered onto Curio patterned paper from Basic Grey.

Time to skedaddle. . .

LIM42 - Miss you

2011-11-20T21:51:00.001-06:00

This week's challenge at Less is More blog is to do a one-layer card featuring silhouettes. I used watercolor paint to make a wash of green on the background and then stamped my birds (Inkadinkado) and sentiment (retired amuse artstamps). Tied a piece of copper cording. Should've stopped there - oh yes, I should've stopped there. Alas, I did not - I had a thought that some splats would add that extra needed oomph - in fact, it looks as if my card has the "bird flu" - oh well, can't win them all -
Here is a link to a silhouette card I made back in February that I really love - it is definitely not a one layer card but there are no splats to be seen!

Art Journal - She Art 2

2011-11-18T22:01:00.001-06:00

Monday marked day 1 of the SheArt2 class taught by Christy Tomlinson - I took the first SheArt class and made this girl who had no face. However,

in this class we are learning how to paint faces - Week one includes eyes, noses and mouths. (Doesn't this girl look a little like Anne Hathaway with blue eyes? - just step back about 10 feet and squint your eyes - do you see the resemblance now?)

Today I played and painted two girls and I am amazed at how they turned out!! Seriously - they look kinda like people - WHOO HOO for me!!

Their faces/hair are painted - their clothes are paper pieced.

Rub-ons, stamps and markers add details -

I should probably quit while I am ahead - Did I ever tell you about the time my mom and I decided to take up tole painting? Donna Dewberry was in NO danger of losing her job to either of us! Mom and I gathered up our supplies and got down to business and the best work I ever produced was on a paper plate!! YUP - I still have that paper plate to this day - 10 years later - (Mom, are you embarrassed for me?)

That was the finest outcome I had produced in my "painting life" other than the many pieces of furniture that I have repurposed by repainting. These girls look more like people than my "rose" looked like a flower!
Linking up to Artists in Blogland - Check out all the great work on this site!!

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Fall is in the Bag

2011-11-17T22:26:00.001-06:00

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger time!! This card is based on the trigger picture below - I love that bag! Love the colors and pattern - I even think that peek of orange in the middle of the handles is super cool too!

I figured that this inspiration pic would "trigger" a flurry of circles to appear on cards so I decided to take a different route and try another shape. Not sure what you call this shape (I should ask Connor since he had Geometry last year) but you can make it too with a 1.25" square punch and a Corner Puncher.

I have a notoriously hard time lining things up perfectly so I used a gridded ruler sheet to line these shapes up the way I wanted - flipped them over, applied glue - then set the kraft paper background right over them. Used scissors to trim where a few errant pieces went over the edge.

LOVE the graphic look of this card and it is a perfectly "mail-able" card since there aren't lots of bumpy layers! All cardstock and supplies are from a muse|studio and available online.

LIM41, Embellish - LEAVES

2011-11-16T21:44:00.001-06:00

Leaves!! They are everywhere right now - and not attached to the trees! There is a house in particular that I think about every year at this time. It is a teeny cottage on a tiny lot near where we live that has the most beautiful huge tree in the front yard. I'm pretty confident that they bought that house in the spring, summer or winter. Why?? Because in the fall, when the leaves drop, that front yard is literally about 8" deep in leaves!!

We are suckers for gorgeous trees too - one of the big attractions to our home was the huge tree in the backyard - so gorgeous but we have a long haul to get the leaves to the front curb to be picked up. As much as I hate those leaves right now, I am very grateful for their shade in the summer!! Today's card is based on the One Layer Challenge on the Less is More Blog and the colors from the Embellish Color Trends Challenge.

The leaf stamp is from the Autumn Beauty stamp set and the sentiment is from Monogram Frames. Ink colors are Currant, Eucalyptus and Fern. All supplies are from a muse|studio and are available in my online shop!

CFC28, FTL166 - Too stinkin' cute!

2011-11-15T21:41:00.001-06:00

Made this card the other day but didn't have a chance to upload until now - based on the CAS-ual Friday challenge of using a tag coupled with a perfect sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping.

All products are a muse|studio and available in my online shop.

Art Journal - Birds!

2011-11-14T17:33:00.001-06:00

More art journal fun - this month the Sketchbook Challenge is Imaginary Animals. Granted, birds like this aren't all that imaginary but I do think I would look twice if a bird with "backward legs" was walking around my backyard!!

The birds themselves were cut with Nestabilities dies from dictionary paper - I sure have gotten a lot of use from my $1 French dictionary!!

The negative page was adhered with Mod Podge in my journal and then painted with acrylic paints. Letter stickers, rub-ons, stencils, oil pastels, markers, Tim Holtz tissue Tape, stamps, etc add lots of fun details -

BALANCE IS HARD - That is one smart little birdie!

Have you tried the new Martha Stewart paints yet? They can be used on virtually any material - These are the colors I started with -

Surf, Gray Wolf, Cloud, Beach Glass, Sycamore Bark. Since then I've bought 5 more colors including Wet Cement (hee hee - I love that name - how exotic??!!)

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Lou Holt

Show and Tell Saturday - Friendship Soldered Necklaces with Leaves

2011-11-11T22:04:00.001-06:00

A couple weekends ago I got to spend a great day with my friend, Kim in Glendale, KY shopping and eating yummy food. We had such a good time and it was such a beautiful day - there were oodles of the most colorful autumn leaves that I had ever seen. Leaves so pretty that I wouldn't even complain about raking them (I might grumble a little - I am only human). Anyhoo, to commemorate our fun day I decided to take a couple of the leaves that I had gathered and make soldered pendant necklaces for Kim and I.

I can never resist a monogram so I stamped a tiny initial onto some linen and then backed it with a 1" square punched section of leaf. The glass is from Ranger and the copper tape/lead free solder is from Simply Swank. Another reason these necklaces are special to me is that I learned to solder in a class that I took with Kim. Today we went to lunch - look at what I ate -

Yummy bento box lunch with a crunchy shrimp sushi roll!!

I'm linking up to the Artists in Blogland: Show and Tell Saturday - be sure and check that site out to see loads of beautiful creations!

PDCC107 - Happy 46th Anniversary, Mom and Dad

2011-11-10T13:41:00.001-06:00

My mom and dad just celebrated their 46th Wedding Anniversary!! WHOO HOO!

Their card uses the Color Splash Challenge from the Play Date Cafe. The butterfly stamp is from the retired SU! Wonderful Wings set. It was one of my first stamp sets and has been used SO many times - it is a set that I will always keep.

Lots of glitter makes for a super shimmery image!! The sentiment (Essential Sentiments), texture (Woodgrain/Harlequin Impression Plate) and Black Twinkle sticker are from a muse|studio.

LIM40, CAS143 - True Friend

2011-11-07T23:09:00.001-06:00

Seems like forever since I've made a CAS card - in fact, I missed out playing on many of my favorite challenge blogs last week. In an attempt to remedy this egregious error (does that make me sound smart?), here is my card for the CAS143 Sketch Challenge from SCS and the Less is More Challenge (Red and Orange). All supplies used are from a muse|studio including the sentiment (On the Wing) and the leaves (Wild Rose).

Tomorrow will be a fun (please, oh please, be fun) excursion with the boys. My man-sized 14-year old has grown out of nearly everything in the past few months. No school tomorrow so it is time for a new winter coat along with new jeans, etc. While he hates shopping he does love to eat so when I told him we'd eat at Schlotzsky's he was game to go. Maybe (most certainly) I will drop by Michael's to check out the Martha Stewart new line of craft paint - mom needs to have something to look forward to too, right?

Art Journal - Circles

2011-11-05T23:50:00.002-05:00

More goofing off in my art journal - today I played with circles - lots of circles. The background was painted with yellow and tan acrylic paints then a bit of shimmer was added with Tim Holtz Metallic paints.

Then lots of circles with art pastels made the scene. I never had an art class in school and only know a very limited amount about art supplies but I do know that I enjoy smooshing my fingers around in the pastels to get them to blend. Don't know that I could ever achieve anything that looked identifiable so circles seemed pretty safe. By the way - do I need to spray this with any type of fixative or will it be okay on its own??

Found a cool quote that seemed perfect - "Circles create soothing space where even reticent people can realize that their voice is welcome."

My art journal is getting thicker all the time!! So many things to try -

I feel some wire coming soon - - - Linking up to the Just Journals Link Party on Marcia Beckett's blog.

Art Journal - Leaves

2011-11-04T10:36:00.002-05:00

A big weather front just went through these parts and now there are TONS of wet leaves all over the back yard!! Everytime I look outside I think about how we are going to need to be raking, raking, raking so when I wanted to make an art journal page yesterday the first thing that popped into my head was LEAVES.

First step was to take watercolors and paint fall hues onto dictionary paper followed by a liberal dose of splattering. Stamping followed with my handcarved chevron stamps (inspired by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer).

Then it was time to draw - sketched out some free form leaves and added details with a white ZIG opaque writer. LOTS of Crystal Effects added the sheen to the leaves (and I do mean LOTS - it took all night to dry!!)

YUP - These leaves are much prettier than the wet, soggy ones in my backyard that include the added potential danger of accidentally stepping on a hidden "dog present" - sigh. . . .
I am linking up to Artists in Blogland and Art Journal Every Day: November.
Have a great weekend and watch where you step!

Moxie Fab World - Textured to Perfection

2011-10-31T22:35:00.000-05:00

The Moxie Fab World - Textured to Perfection challenge will be closing in about an hour. This is about as close as I've ever cut it in submitting to a challenge but I had a "painty, messy good time" last night that was just itching to be made into a card.

Gobs of texture on this baby - lots of layers of paint, sprays, oil pastels, gel medium with glass beads, scribbling, etc.

Made a big mess on my table too - please note the most important ingredient for successful crafting - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

I covered an entire watercolor sheet and planned to cut it into pieces for using in several projects.

More texture and finishing touches are added with a muse|studio supplies - the Harlequin/Woodgrain Impression Plate and the sentiment (Marvelous Marigolds) is stamped on a panel cut with a Labels die and enhanced with a black twinkle sticker. BTW - I also like the texture added on the black layer panel - you too can have that shreddy look when you completely kill your cutting blade by slicing through textured watercolor paper with glass beads on it - 'doh!!

"M" Monogram - A thing that I love!!

2011-10-29T23:03:00.002-05:00

If you've been around this blog much you know that I love the letter "M"!! My good friend Kim knows that too. Look at what she gave me today - 3 new beauties to add to my burgeoning collection!! She picked these up when she was on vacation recently to Portland and Seattle. YUP - I'm jealous too!! Kim and I hadn't had a chance to get together in forever - today we went to Glendale, KY and visited lots of antique stores including this one - now you can be jealous of me too!

OLW69, LIM38, PDCC104 - No chatter thanks

2011-10-24T22:34:00.003-05:00

Alas, I have no time for chatter but I do have a card to share. The One Layer Challenges for Less is More and One Layer Wednesday were Polka Dots and Stripes. How perfect is the PTI Vintage background stamp that incorporates both?! (all stamps are from Papertrey Ink).

The colors are from the current Play Date Cafe Challenge - it is their 2 year anniversary. LOVE that blog - so many inspiring creations every week.

The bits of blings are from a muse|studio.

CARDS Challenge - Chevron

2011-10-20T12:37:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge on the CARDS blog was to use Chevron. If you haven't already noticed, Chevron is one of the hottest trends around. Why do we love chevron so much - could it have something to do with that stripe of chevron on Charlie Brown's shirt?

When our older son Connor was small he had a rather large, round, bald head and Corey wanted to take his picture in a Charlie Brown shirt and I wouldn't let him do it - I wish I had cause it would be funny to me now but at the time I was insulted that he was poking fun at our son.

This chevron is made with a muse|studio Washi Tape and Tim Holtz Tissue Tape using this tutorial from Julie Campbell. The flower is PTI felt and dies. The sentiment, cardstock and texture are from a muse|studio and are available in my online shop.

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Finesse the Dress

2011-10-19T22:03:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I've gotten to play a Tuesday Trigger Challenge. My cards tend to be a too literal translation of the trigger and my first tendency was to heat emboss silver flourishes on turquoise cardstock which would be very pretty but very typical of what I tend to do -

In the trigger picture the silver flouishes are a subtle touch on the skirt's background. I recreated that look by stamping a pale plaid (Mad for Plaid) in the background that really set off the botanical (Beautiful Botanicals 2) image. A little scalloping at the bottom, some satin ribbon and a few pearls and my version of the trigger was done -

All supplies used are available in my online a muse|studio shop.

Handmade fabric OWLS!!

2011-10-18T18:03:00.001-05:00

Did you miss me? I haven't posted in more than a week! That's a long time in my world - we've had lots of family in visiting so things have been super busy. One of the people in was my cousin Selena who has a great love of all things "owl-y". While we were out and about on Friday we saw an owl bookend at Books a Million which prompted the following conversation. . .

Selena (excitedly) - "OOooohh - I love that owl bookend!"
Me (nonchalantly) - "Betcha I could make something like that with stuff I have at home."
Selena (daringly) - "Go ahead - I dare ya"
Me - (nervously) - "YIKES - you are actually taking me up on my big crafting talk. . ."

Well - I did it!! Made my own pattern which is a big deal since I do not sew much at all!! In fact, I have to dig out my book everytime I need to thread the bobbin. Selena used to be a consultant for Zag Bags and had lots of fabric samples (even a few leather pieces) that she gave me about a year ago that I've been hanging onto for the perfect project!

The top owl is Selena's - made in her favorite colors complete with a leather beak! For mass production, I fashioned a paper template for the owls - their dimensions were dictated by the size of my fabric samples. Since I had no fray stopping stuff (no clue what that stuff is called since I have none of it), I stitched around the wings and beaks before attaching them to the owls.

The eyes were cut from felt with my Nestabilities dies. The other owls are for my nieces/nephew in Washington state. All the owls were made over two evenings while visiting with our company. In fact, there was a fifth "prototype" owl made from the most hideous samples that I had. After gifting it to the dog, she promptly tore off the beak - how rude!!
I'm linking this post to Artists in Blogland - a new site (to me) of amazing inspiration!

CAS139 - Brown Orchids? yup. . .

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week's CAS challenge at Splitcoast Stampers is to make a card based on the picture below. YUMMY = big cup of coffee and a frosted apple treat (don't know what that thing is but I do know that I wouldn't hesitate to eat it were the opportunity to afford itself - better watch out frosted apple scone thingie!).

Finally used my Papertrey Ink Gracious Vases stamp set - for fun each of the flowers has a little bling courtesy of either a Sakura Gelly Roll Sparkle or Glaze pen.

Maybe in your world Orchids are white or pink but in my world they are a lovely shade of shiny brown!! My MIL is coming for a visit later this week and she likes to write cards so this was a good opportunity to dig out my Basic Grey Curio paper pad and make a bunch of cards for her with that gorgeous patterned paper!!

This is an easy way to make several cards quickly and yet have each one be different and unique! Just in case you were wondering the patterned paper strips are .75", .5", and 1.25" x 4.25" (mostly I am putting these measurements down so that I don't have to figure it out again the next time I want to make cards with this layout - I'm lazy that way) The sentiments and dotted lines are from the a muse|studio Friend to Friend and Polka Dot Patterns stamp sets.

CIC9, LIM36 - Love you with all my hearts. . .

2011-10-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Time for another Less is More One Layer Challenge - this week is all about hearts! In my pursuit of something a little different from the norm these hearts are stamped with

colors from the current Paper Crafts Color Inspiration Challenge - 9. The a muse|studio Hearts a'Plenty was an obvious choice of stamp set for this card but then using Mini Alphabet allowed me to write my own sentiment (this is something that I say to my boys/hubby all the time).

All supplies are available in my online a muse|studio shop!

Operation Julie's Smile Blog Hop

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my stop on the blog hop for Operation Julie’sSmile. If you came here from Ashley Newell’s blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, you may want to start from thebeginning at the Sweet Stamp Shop’s blog and take your time. You have ALL WEEKEND to hop with us and winprizes!

Read here to learn more about Julie's story!! A donation button can be found in the right sidebar of my blog and ALL DONATIONS will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2,500!

I couldn't think of a more appropriate sentiment for Julie than "SMILE" - I know she is feeling so supported this weekend from her friends in the crafting community! I used products from a muse|studio for my card. Want to know how to make that stamped flourish??!!

LOOKIE!! First ink up one of the stamps from Vintage Labels and then add a flourish at each end from Ornate Elements!! So simple - don't even need to use a stamp positioner. I was quite tickled when I stamped this the first time - ran around the house showing my husband and sons and they, sadly, were not as impressed as I had hoped for but what do you expect from males?

To add an interesting end to my stamped flourish I cut it with one of the Nestabilities Labels 1 dies. Use the layout/sandwich pictured above and you can cut just the end of your stamped panel no matter how long it may be!

Texture was added to the Toffee cardstock with the Woodgrain/Harlequin Impression plate and then the card was finished with a paper doily (found in the baking section of most stores), French Roast Twill Ribbon and a Butterfly diecut from gingham paper adorned with Chocolate Pearls. The selection of gorgeous rich colors was inspired by this week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - Treat Yourself! challenge.

Items used in this card are available in my a muse|studio online shop!

I hope you enjoyed your stop here on thehop! The next stop is Laura Williams’s blog. Make sure you leave a comment herebefore you go so that you can have a chance at the amazing prizes up for grabsand if you can, please make a donation so we can help bring back a new smilefor our friend!

Embellish Circles Trends Challenge

2011-10-05T23:34:00.000-05:00

It is so nice to be back on the blog again. I've had a super busy last two weeks with little/no time for crafting so when I got home from work this afternoon it was play time! This card is for the current Embellish magazine challenge -

CIRCLES. Watercolor markers made the background using the technique seen here. The circle was cut with a Nestabilities die and popped up on white cardstock that had the same size circle cut out. TIP - have the circle/cardstock nested together when you stamp your image - then you'll only have to stamp one time and you are guaranteed to have your images line up!!

Buttons threaded with skinny strips of paper add additional circles and the "weed" (a muse|studio Beautiful Botanicals 2) has stylized circles too.

All supplies used on this card are available in my online shop -

LIM35 - The Colour of Your Eyes

2011-10-01T20:58:00.000-05:00

Did you know that today is World Card Making Day??!! WHOO HOO! A day devoted to cardmaking makes my heart go pitter patter. This card is for the Less is More challenge to make a CAS card featuring the color of your eyes. Mine are blue but they look different shades when I wear different clothes so a card featuring several pigments of blue works for me. The stamps, paper, washi tape and embellishment are all from amuse|studio. Have fun looking at all of today's creations out in blogland - I know I am!!

LIM34 - Thinking of you

2011-09-28T16:57:00.002-05:00

Quick post today - This card is based on the Less is More blog's sketch challenge for the week. I chose to keep things really simple by using a snippet of my favorite pattern paper of all time - The Botanical Garden Collection from Cloud9Design - Hannah's Story. A couple years back I bought every sheet I could lay my hands on and now I just dole out little chunks to myself when I want to be happy - LOVE this paper - it is modern yet retro, simple yet busy, neutral yet colorful. I love it so much that I would frame it like artwork and that's is exactly what this card looks like!! Sentiment and teeny black twinkle from amuse|studio.

OLW65: Sentiment-a-mania

2011-09-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

Almost didn't make it but here it is - One Layer Wednesday challenge posted on Tuesday. The challenge was to have the sentiment be the focus of the card or at least share the focus equally with the stamped image. Stamping the greenery from Beautiful Botanicals in a pale ink like Lichen allows the black sentiment (Thank You Mix) to take center stage. A small sprinkle of clear twinkle stickers and a rounded corner are the final touches on an unusually sized card - 4.25" x 3.5".

All supplies used are available through my online shop.

Now I only have to wait one more day until the next OLW challenge!!

PDCC100 - Airbrushed Hello

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

WHOO HOO - The Play Date Cafe is celebrating their 100th challenge and I wanted to try something that I hadn't done in a while - airbrushing with Copic markers.

During a recent visit to Joann's two different sheets of ki memories paper made it into my bag of goodies.

While the Copic Airbrush System was out and assembled I went ahead and airbrushed two pieces of cardstock to have another for the ol' stash for a different crafty time. Stamps used include the Monogram Frames and Darling Dots Background from a•muse|studio.

Congrats to the Play Date Cafe Challenge on their 100th challenge and for the next 100 to come!

FTL159, CFC21 - Warm Thoughts

2011-09-25T17:25:00.000-05:00

Wheat, Kraft and Squash - 3 monochromatic colors linked together with dark brown - makes me happy and meets the requirements for the current CAS-ual Friday challenge!! Layout is from the Clean and Simple Blog.

The flowers are from the a•muse|studio Clever Girls stamp set and sentiment is from Ooh La La! It is fun to mix match images/sentiments from different sets - usually I am drawn to "printed" looking sentiments but the flowers and color palette made me lean toward the "script-y" look for this card.

The middle die from the scalloped border die set and some pretty brown pearls finish off a card that is very simple and straightforward but seemed to cause me no end of grief and consternation while it was being constructed - don't ya hate when that happens?

All supplies used in this card are available in my online shop -

Corey is happy cause the Bills and the Lions won today - here is a Corey quote - "I picked them from last year so it's not like I'm on a bandwagon or anything". I personally do not get the fascination with football at all - in fact when someone asked me recently about Fantasy Football I told him that, "my fantasy is that there would be no football". However, I'm going for the Patriots this year cause I think Tom Brady is cute - and cute is what counts in football, right??

Art Journal - Easy Canvas Prints

2011-09-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Look at my new 11" x 14" art canvas that I received from Easy Canvas Prints - do you like it? Does it look familiar at all?

It is a page from my art journal!! WHOO HOO! How cool is that?! Brendan from Easy Canvas Prints contacted me recently and explained how easy it is to change your photos to canvas and I was game to try it out.

Painting directly onto a canvas scares me - big time!! That's why I was proud of myself when I started an art journal - at least this way I could try out new techniques but I didn't have to worry about wasting resources or putting too much pressure on myself to "do it perfectly" - in fact, if I don't like an art journal page I don't have to show it to anyone. BUT - what if you LOVE a page that you did?? I really don't want to remove pages from my journal so taking a pic and having it printed onto canvas is the perfect solution!

Placing my order was a cinch! The site was easy to navigate, there are lots of choices for sizes and edging options plus the canvas was shipped expertly and quickly. I've hung it in a large frame on a shelf in the living room.

Makes me happy to see such a professional print and know that its origins were from me!!

FTL158, Embellish Paint and Mist Challenge

2011-09-22T23:00:00.001-05:00

"I've been misting/splattering up a storm around these parts here lately. Why, I even made a flower outta burlap. Gotta dash - the calf has done busted outta the corral." - The Crafting Cowgirl

Colors courtesy of the Embellish Paint or Mist Challenge. Layout from Clean & Simple's FTL158 sketch.

Patterned paper from Basic Grey (Ambrosia, Basics Kraft); SU! ribbons; PTI sentiment; Making Memories cabachon; Glimmer Mist (Blue Skies, Key Lime Pie); Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.

CAS136 - Leaves

2011-09-21T19:17:00.000-05:00

This week's Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoaststampers is the theme of "Leaves" - While my immediate thought was to stamp some fall foliage a different technique won out -

I got my Fall SLICE cartridge out and cut some leaves which I then misted over with some Inkadinkadoo sprays (Sunny Yellow and Raspberry). Big sentiments from PTI (Think Big Favorites #6) and some random splats (Liquitex ink - Transparent Raw Umber) make striking, quick cards!!

Can you see the shimmer? I totally think it was worth the overspray on my husband's cell phone that make his speaker pink - don't you?? YIKES!!

Art Journal - Alisa Burke inspired

2011-09-19T11:25:00.002-05:00

Recently, I discovered the wonders of Alisa Burke and her blog - Redefine Creativity. WOW!! That blog and I spent several delightful hours together hanging out - me fawning over the blog and the blog demurely whispering, "thanks, I'm happy you are enjoying me so much". . .who paints their hallway? Alisa does; who paints watercolor shells in her art journal (complete with a video)? Alisa does; who does amazing free motion stitching, has a book out and offers online classes? Alisa does. I could go on and on but now it is time to talk about how cute my art journal page is. . .after all this is my blog. . .

I love these doodled flowers!! So fun to draw - painted with my watercolors and then matted with black in my art journal on a bed of Mod Podge covered paper bags. Too much color frightens me so I toned it down with the black and kraft but that makes the colors pop from the page!! Egads! What was I thinking? har har

Look what I painted/doodled on the other page - still vibrant and graphic but only in yellow/black/white. I've got big plans for that page that will be revealed in a future post - - - -
It is a rainy dreary day here - how's yours?

LIM33, CFC20, PDCC99 - Thought of you today. . .

2011-09-17T21:39:00.000-05:00

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge is to make a mini card - This 3" sweetie uses the current Play Date Cafe Challenge colors of lavender, yellow and white.

The Less is More Challenge is "anything goes" - they are aiming for 1,000 players so be sure and link up your CAS cards! I'm sure they will appreciate it -

Got a chance to play with my new a•muse|studio heart dies. It is always fun to turn your cardstock "inside out" - using a die makes that color visible from the outside - some of the new a•muse|studio felt is featured inside the card - that stuff cuts like a dream!! The woodgrain impression plate adds some texture to the white space.

This is just the sort of card I like to hide in my husband's work clothes. Makes him happy when he finds it and since I have a bad memory and usually forget about putting it there it makes me happy too.

All supplies are available in my online a•muse|studio shop!

Reject Blog Hop -

2011-09-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

Another Paper Crafts call for submission - another rejected card (silhouette call) for the Reject Blog Hop hosted over at Amber's fabulous blog Damask Love. Did you realize that Paper Crafts received over 1,300 submissions for the 100 spots in the March/April issue of the magazine? YUP - not great odds there. . . oh well - I'll just console myself with chocolate - YUM!

OLW64 - Color it!

2011-09-15T13:41:00.001-05:00

One Layer Wednesday time and I am "tickled pink" with my card - hee hee. The challenge is to stamp with an outline stamp (a•muse Smile Inside) and then color with whatever medium you choose.

A Copic Raw Silk (E53) marker kept the plain flowers from disappearing into the background then a colored flower was paper pieced from white cardstock and sparkled up with Glossy Accents. A little bit of piercing and wavy stitching adds some interest to the bottom of the card to ground the row of flowers.

Repetitive stamping is a good way to make a single small stamp fill an entire cardfront.

All supplies available in my a•muse|studio online shop!

Donna Downey inspired "P" page - Art Journal

2011-09-12T22:44:00.001-05:00

Do you watch the Inspiration Wednesday videos on Donna Downey's blog, Simply Me? If not, you are really missing some fabulous creations - Recently, Donna did a page inspired by the letter "P".

If you've ever watched Wheel of Fortune you know that the most common letters are R, S, T, L, N and E but since Paper, Pencils, Pens, Pigment, Pastels, Paint all start with P then that is a more obvious direction to take for the crafty people!

Although my layout is quite a bit "busier" than Donna's keep in mind that she IS an artist and I've merely played one on TV (no, not really) - I'm still pretty happy with it though. . .
Here an exhaustive list of "p" products - provided I remember them all - Punched Paper bag, Pearls, Pastels, Pink, Plaid, PinkPaislee rub-on, Poisson(fish) on "p" dictionary page, Perturbed, Pen/ink drawing, Painted/Penciled birds, Picture/Photo of Paintbrushes, Pattern of Pencils, Purple Paint with Polka dots, Patterned Paper, Plant, Puffy Paint . . .

CFC19, LIM32 - You and moi? Ooh la la!!

2011-09-11T22:00:00.001-05:00

Hey - Today's card is based on two of my favorite challenges - first up is the CAS-ual Fridays "Falling to Pieces" challenge to use paper piecing on a fall themed card.

I paper pieced these cute little doggies (a•muse|studio Ooh la la!) with patterned paper from the Basic Grey Basics Kraft 6"x6" pad.

The second challenge tackled was the Less is More (LIM32) "Seeing Double" - use two of something on a one-layer card. It is no secret to Chrissie and Mandi from Less is More that I struggle with having adequate "white space" on the cards that I submit to their challenges. This card has LOTS of white space - so much so that I think that I should receive a "Certificate of Merit" for my efforts (hee hee - I know that there is no such thing but if there was I'd nominate myself - humble attitude, huh?)

Those little piles of colorful leaves are cute on a card and even on the yard at the beginning of fall until 1) they get rained on, and 2) need to be raked up!! At that point I curse the very large tree in our backyard which apparently only makes it drop more leaves and maybe even grow new ones to drop down on me in disdain over my bad attitude - when will I ever learn??

Supplies available through my a•muse online shop!!

STAMPS - Ooh la la!, Hearts a Plenty, Polka Dot Patterns, Seasonal Branch (leaves)

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - Garden Glory

2011-09-10T18:51:00.001-05:00

Time for a new Tuesday Trigger - Garden Glory. As the days are starting to get a little shorter and cooler it is certainly refreshing to see my favorite spring flower in an inspiration picture. I love Peonies so much that I used them in my blog banner!

There is one element missing in this gorgeous inspiration picture? Do you know that it/they are?? ANTS!! It takes the diligent work of lots of ants to open all the layers and layers of petals on those gorgeous showy blooms.

This fun layout is courtesy of the current Clean and Simple Stamping's FTL157. The bloom is made with tissue paper and cut with my Tim Holtz' Tattered Floral die (a kinda spendy purchase but one that I use all the time). A jeweled brad in the flower's center and the brown cardstock are reminiscent of the table in the inspiration pic while the green filigree (courtesy of a Lifestyle Trellis cutting die) is an obvious reflection of the chair.

Sentiment is from the a•muse|studio Monogram Frames set. Patterned paper from Memory Box (Jubilee Collection).
My 10 year old son is off with some of his younger friends to cavort at Chuck E Cheese's tonight. Can I tell you how happy I am that it isn't me there?!! WHOO HOO! YIPPEE!!

OLW63 - We're Back, Baby!!

2011-09-08T19:20:00.001-05:00

WHOO HOO!! Do you feel my joy?? After a summer hiatus One Layer Wednesday challenges are back!! Jennifer is hosting this week and the theme is baby cards -
I made this card with the newly pregnant mommy in mind - when the pregnancy is so new that you don't know the gender of the baby; when it is so fresh that there is no way anybody would ever know you were expecting unless you told them and yet you feel "so very pregnant", when suddenly "boring" pregnancy/birth stories are the most fascinating sagas in your friends' lives, when receiving a card acknowledging your pregnant state makes you beam with joy then cry for no reason. . .

All supplies are a•muse|studio and available in my online shop!

Cardstock - Lemon Chiffon, Sugar
Ink - Grass, Sage, Papaya
Stamps - Vintage Labels, Marvelous Marigolds, Essential Sentiments
Accessories - Labels die set, Fern Satin ribbon, Sugar Organdy polka-dot ribbon

FTL156 - Embellish Stripes Challenge

2011-09-07T22:43:00.001-05:00

Today's card is based on the current Clean and Simple Stamping's FTL156 and the Stripes Color Challenge from Embellish. Dug out some of my neglected embellishments - a corrugated flower from Jillibean Soup jazzed up with a Maya Road Red Ruffle Blossom.

The sentiment is from the a•muse|studio Essential Sentiments stamp set - definitely an essential in my book!!

BTW - Have you ever seen this DirecTV commercial where people's heads turn into Benjamin Franklin - do you think he would have appreciated this particular incarnation complete with headband and earrings? Creepy and disturbing. Plus, since I had this picture stuck in my head I thought I'd do you a favor and get it stuck in your head too - Enjoy and you're welcome!!

Sweet dreams!

LIM31 - Metal Hello

2011-09-05T12:05:00.000-05:00

Time for another Less is More Colour Challenge - this week's task is to use metal. I've had this metal embellishment for a long time and thought it would look cool on a cardfront. Such a simple way to make a big impact. The patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye - Stella Rose collection. Label sticker Martha Stewart and letters from Basic Grey.

Here's a little peek at some of the goodies I picked up this weekend - I am particularly excited about the big box of oil pastels for goofing off in my art journal. Corey wants to know if I plan on making teeny tiny ships for the corked bottles - har har.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

PDCC97, CFC18 - Black & White and read all over

2011-09-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge was a toughie -

CFC18: Create a Clean And Simple project inspired by a book, and use the colors black, white and red.

Have you guessed which book inspired this card? Little Women. I read that book so many times when I was young - in fact one of the best gifts I ever received was a set of five Louisa May Alcott books from my grandmother. While most people are familiar with Little Women did you know that there were two other books that went with it? Little Men and Jo's Boys. LOVED all of them! Anyhoo, the March girls (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy) spent a lot of time on their correspondence as was common then. They were also very clever girls - writing their own newspaper and building sets for the plays they would put on in their home. Seems quite likely that they would also fashion pretty cards to send to their friends.

I used the retired Art Nouveau Backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms to stamp the background then cut a square from the front with a Nestabilities die. Martha Stewart Clear alphabet and Maraschino twine from The Twinery add the requisite splash of red for the Play Date Cafe Challenge.

Read any good books lately? Yesterday, I finished Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill about slavery during the time of the Revolutionary War. Really good book. Another favorite in the past few months was These is my words : the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 : Arizona Territories : a novel - I particularly enjoy historic fiction - what books do you recommend?

Happy Anniversary, Corey!!

2011-09-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

Guess who has been married for 21 years today??!! Did you guess my husband, Corey? Then you would be correct - the best 21 years of his life! Would you believe that he was 20 when we got married and that I was 10?

One of the many things that Corey loves about me is my practicality (that's what I tell him anyway) and what, I ask, could be more practical than combining your anniversary card with two challenges?? The first is the Vertical Sketch Challenge from the Moxie Fab blog pictured above (turn the sketch upside down). The second is the CAS133 challenge from SCS to use kraft and bright colors.

Stamps are from Stampabilities and a muse. Heart is grungeboard painted with Claudine Hellmuth paint and then covered with Tim Holtz Rock Candy.
Happy Anniversary, Cor - LOVE YA!!

Tuesday Trigger - Nice and Neutral

2011-08-31T20:43:00.000-05:00

YUP - Cath Edvalson and I had a chat a week or so back and I said to her, "Cath, what's up with all these colorful Tuesday Triggers? Why not have a Nice and Neutral trigger to make me happy cause we all know that the Tuesday Trigger is all about Michelle, right?" So now you know the amazing influence I have over Cath cause here is my perfect trigger picture!! (Cath and I may or may not have chatted - perhaps I was talking to myself. . . there's nothing weird about that - nothing at all. . .)

sigh. . . nice, nice, nice!! This picture is very Moxie Fab what with the banner and homemade flowers but very attractive to the beige/taupe/grey lovers among us!!

I borrowed my friend Roni's Daydreamer stamp set from PTI. Isn't that sentiment perfect for this trigger - wouldn't you have good dreams in this bed?

LIM30 - Critters on Parade

2011-08-30T16:54:00.001-05:00

HELLO?! How cute is that little squirrel? He and his friends decided to play this week with the current Less is More Challenge Recipe of using a combination of 3 previous challenges to make a clean and simple card.

I had so much fun with the ink challenge (LIM28) recently that I decided to do another variation of it. Take a piece of computer paper that is the same size as your cardfront and cut a square out with a Nestabilities die. You can then get perfectly sponged squares in no time flat.

a•muse|studio Wheat cardstock with wheat ink give a great monochromatic look that goes with the LIM Monochromatic Challenge (LIM18) and LIM Pastel Colors Challenge (LIM5).

All these furry friends work for the LIM Things That Move Challenge (LIM29).

Friends Fur-ever is one of my favorite sets in the a•muse|studio 2011 catalog. 6 animals, 8 sentiments and 5 foliage stamps!!

If you want to make critter cards of your own all supplies are available through my a•muse|studio online store.

MAX Name Frame

2011-08-28T22:42:00.000-05:00

Here's the last of the handmade gifts that went into last week's care package. My SLICE (Basics 1 cartridge) quickly cut the letters out of Stella Rose (My Mind's Eye) patterned paper layered on SU! cardstock and Basic Grey paper.

These frames came from IKEA and are fun cause they have options. You can frame your picture deep like a shadow box - or you can frame them where the picture is right at the surface like a traditional frame. I wish I'd have had these skills when my boys were little but then again who has time to craft when your kids are little?!!

Moxie Fab World - The Square Challenge

2011-08-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

So the other day when I stamped with the girls I only used a limited color palette of cardstock - white, vanilla, kraft, black and wheat (a•muse|studio). While that might have caused most of you "color lovers" to panic, for me it was quite enjoyable!

Used this sketch from Moxie Fab's The Square Challenge in Card Ideas Week and stuck closely to the layout. That gorgeous flower is the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Dahlia stamped in Wheat ink (a•muse|studio).

Loved it so much that I made another one - the sentiments are from a•muse|studio (Marvelous Marigolds, Avian Notes) and were finished off perfectly with the addition of a few black twinkle stickers.

LOVE these!!

CFC17 -

2011-08-26T23:08:00.004-05:00

Doncha love it when the sun smiles at ya? The past couple of weeks it has cooled down here a teeny bit and there are moments where it is actually pleasant out in the morning before it heats up - makes the dog happy cause she has gotten walked more lately! This card is for the current CAS-ual Friday Challenge Stuck on You.

I have had this sticker from K & Company ever since I found out my SIL was having a baby boy - my intention when I bought the cute sheet of stickers was to make several thank you cards for her but then I forgot and made different cards. Now the baby is a year old so it was high time that at least one of those stickers found the light of day.

The sentiment is from the a•muse|studio vintage a muse stamp set. Look close and you can see the texture on the white that was added with Roni's PTI Linen/Canvas Impression plate. Got to stamp with the girls today which was so nice since we hadn't gotten to do that in months - now I have some fun stuff to post over the next couple of days.

LIM29 - Things that Move

2011-08-22T12:40:00.000-05:00

Don't you love a beautifully wrapped gift? I've been so inspired by the things I've been seeing on Pinterest that I wanted to make a card that that reflected one of my favorite looks - white and kraft!!

This week's challenge on the Less is More blog is Things that Move. It is pretty open to your own interpretation. This card works because birds move and bird charms move even more!

The dimension from the seam binding adds to the movement too - can you imagine how cute this would be on the front of a kraft gift bag?
Sentiment is from the a muse|studio Graphic Sunflower stamp set.

Soldered Mother/Daughter Pendant Necklaces

2011-08-21T22:25:00.000-05:00

I've been really crafty this weekend - just not with paper. Today I made matching mother/daughter soldered necklaces for Jen/Stella. BTW - The hand that I've modeled the necklaces on is an old latex rubber glove mold that I picked up in an antique store in Franklin, TN a couple years back. Cool, huh?

What I love about these pendants is that from a distance you see what seems to be stylized pink flowers but after a closer look what you are really seeing is a graphic photoshopped pic of Stella when she was just a few months old. Jen's photographer friend did these pics.

The other side sports a black/white pic of Stella. Won't it be cute when they both wear their necklaces? I hadn't dug out my soldering iron in over a year at least so I was pretty proud that they turned out as good as they did!! The small pendant is 1" square and the larger one is 1 1/2" square. Usually soldered necklaces are on ball chain but I tried to spice it up a bit with something a little more fun and chunky - what do you think?

Amigurumi for Stella

2011-08-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

SQUEEEE!!! Isn't this the cutest amigurumi doll you've ever seen me make? Yuppers!! cause it is the only amigurumi doll I've ever made!! I got the pattern from Jenny & Teddy Creations. There are several free patterns on that site - plus many others for sale in their etsy shop.

What is amigurumi you (my mom) might ask? Basically it is a fancy Japanese word for crocheted little doll. So here's the choice - Crochet (fancy French word but only two syllables) or Amigurumi (fancy Japanese word with 5 syllables) - I'm definitely going for the word that makes me sound more awesome!!

This girly is for my 3-year old niece Stella who has curly blonde hair - so, so cute!! I made the barrettes out of tiny clothespins with a muse|studio flower ribbon glued on. The purse can actually hold stuff - maybe I should put some coins in it. Someone should have $$ in their purse since mine is usually empty after being raided by the males in my family!

CFC16 - Cuttlebug Knuckle

2011-08-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge is to use embossing - I chose to heat emboss my sentiment and I made this card for my husband, Corey, whose been working extra hard lately!

I took my inspiration from a pillow I found online but I have no idea where I found that picture now - probably Design Sponge - I loved the look of the layered trellis and wanted to recreate it on my card - that's when I suffered from "Cuttlebug Knuckle" - have you ever had that injury? Most likely you have if you own a Cuttlebug - most people learn their lesson the first time they suffer this trauma but some of us get a bit overconfident and get whacked more than once. It happens when you have a particularly thick "sandwich" that you have to use extra torque to get through your machine. If the handle happens to slip from your fingers it will come back at your poor knuckle with the speed and force of a jackhammer - YeeOUCH!! Who says papercrafting isn't dangerous??!! My poor swollen, purple knuckle says otherwise!

a muse|studio August Spotlight

2011-08-16T07:26:00.002-05:00

Time for another a muse|studio spotlight!! Each month a few selected stamp sets take the spotlight (and are on sale) along with a gorgeous color palette to make your fingers itch to play with paper!! Click here to learn more!!

LIM28, CFC15, FTL153 - Avian Hello

2011-08-15T22:41:00.000-05:00

What do you think of peanut butter and jelly? . . . how about soup and salad? . . . crackers and cheese? Each item is good alone but is even better when paired with a friend. This week two of my favorite challenge blogs decided to pair up their challenges. . .CAS-ual Fridays and Clean & Simple Stamping are sharing this sketch:

To make things even more "tasty" I decided to add another challenge - the Less is More one layer challenge for this week! Do you want to know how I made that colorful background using the "Mortise Masking" technique? Click to see a great tutorial video by Julie Ebersole.

All supplies used on this card are available in my online a muse|studio shop!

Ink: Bermuda, Ocean
Stamp sets: Avian Notes, Monogram Frames

Tuesday Trigger Trifecta

2011-08-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

This card incorporates THREE inspirations from the fine ladies at Paper Crafts. The first comes from the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - Luminous Layers pictured below - I am enamored with this dress because it features my favorite earthy colors - cool!

The vertical panel of scallops are easily made with my scallop tutorial that was featured on the CREATE blog. To add some zing/shine to my scallops there is a strip of copper tape at the top and bottom of the panel - this tape can be found in the stained glass section of your local hobby store.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Teri Anderson and am inspired by her creations all the time - these fun flags are based on her recent tutorial on Paper Crafts Connection. Last but certainly not least this card was also made for the current August Paper Crafts Gallery Challenge of Girlfriend-themed projects.

Remember when I posted about how I used up my entire marker making this? Later that day I found out that I won the random drawing on Dina Wakley's blog Ponderings of all the fabulous things above, which includes the very markers that I used up!!! Oh happy day!!

I was even happier when my box arrived and Dina had so kindly added some amazing Jenni Bowlin products as well!! Dina is a terrific mixed media artist from Arizona that has a new line of stamps with Stampington and makes mixed media layering and painting seem effortless - I spend lots of happy time at her blog. Hope you've had a great weekend!!
Stamps - PTI; Paper - Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye

PDCC94 - Watercolored background block

2011-08-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

Let me just start by saying that I LOVE this card - I love it so much that I would bake a cake from scratch for this card and watch while it ate it! I love it even though it has blue in it - go figure!

The colors of Fudge, Goldenrod and Teal are courtesy of the Play Date Cafe - look how easy it is to make the colorful background -

Started with my a muse|studio 2.25" square acrylic block and scribbled two colors of Tombow Markers (443, 993) onto it and added a quick spritz of water.

Flip it over and stamp onto your watercolor paper - it can be a bit tricky - too little water and you get a spotty impression - too much water and you get a green puddle!

Used French Roast ink on some of my favorite stamp sets - amuse|studio Just Because and Friend to Friend. Love the sentiments from the friend to friend set - there are 6 different sentiments with that mix of script and print which is so fresh and popular now.

All supplies are available in my online a muse|studio shop!

psst - wanna know a secret? a muse|studio is going to be releasing a supplemental catalog with new stuff including stamp sets, dies, cardstock/ink/ribbon, patterned paper, baker's twine and even felt!! This 44 page supplemental catalog won't be going live until August 22nd but if you are nice to me and ask pretty please I can e-mail you a .pdf file of it!! Just e-mail me at msmathey@gmail.com if you want to peek and start your wish list.

Carla Sonheim - Faces 101

2011-08-10T23:37:00.000-05:00

These small watercolored pics are a product of my attempts in the Carla Sonheim Faces 101 class. In this exercise we made watercolor splotches (approximating face shapes) and then added hair. The details are mechanical pencil. My dudes crack me up - wasn't quite sure why I put a mustache on the upper left guy but what goes better with a mustache than a gob of wild hair? Mr. Green Hair was meant to be a girl but the features were too masculine so I added the scruff - now he's a girly guy.

Girls were much harder to do for me - guess cause I wanted them to be pretty as princesses and they looked more like the evil stepsisters. My favorite was the gal with purple hair but the males in my family did not agree - I'm having big problems making smiles on the profile pics - they look kinda sad but I guess they looked in the mirror -

Speaking of smiles - our babies started back to school today! Guess they aren't babies any more - Connor is 14 and started high school and Caleb is 10 and started middle school. Big transitions for both of them but they were both happy and satisfied with how their days went when I picked them up. I can't believe how old they are getting but Corey and I are about to have our 21st wedding anniversary so really I guess I can't believe how old we (Corey/me) are getting!!

CAS130 - Wild Rose

2011-08-09T04:49:00.000-05:00

If you visit my blog much you know that I LOVE a card challenge!! They jumpstart my creativity in so many different directions - this card is no exception. It is based on this week's CAS130 Challenge from Splitcoaststampers to CASE this card.

I wanted to keep my card one layer as well and felt "flower-y" so I used stamps from the a muse|studio Wild Rose set. If not for this challenge I don't think I would ever have put Grunged Sunrays with Wild Rose but WHOO HOO - it sure looks great!! Koh-i-Noor pencils add some depth to the roses and the sentiment is from the Friend to Friend set. BTW - If you don't have Koh-i-Noor pencils yet you are definitely missing out - they are so smooth and easy to work with - LOVE them so much!!

All supplies (including the pencils) are available in my a muse|studio online shop!!

FTL152 - Sunflower Hello

2011-08-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

Had so much fun playing with the a muse|studio Graphic Sunflower stamp set that I used it to make more traditional sunflowers using the layout from Clean and Simple stamping.

I inked the entire flower stamp with Papaya ink and then took a sponge dauber and added some Slate ink to just the center - easy peasy!! Labels 4 Nestabilities cut the background medallion. I cheated with my sentiment placement - shhhhhhh!!

While this color of yellow is a bit bright for me the kraft paper helps to tone it down a hair! Remember - the Graphic Sunflower stamp set is 10% off in my online a muse|studio shop until August 15th.

CFC14 - a muse|studio spotlight

2011-08-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

These little lovelies (3.5" square) are made with featured products from the current a muse|studio Spotlight. Until August 15th you can save 10% on featured stamp sets (I used Graphic Sunflower and Swanky Background). I love the Sorbet Assortment Pack of paper (4 sheets @ of Watermelon, Buttercup, Apricot, Sage and Linen) - perfect summery colors!.

Look closely at the flower centers - see the sparkle? That look was achieved by using the CAS-ual Friday Challenge to add glitter to glue dots. Putting the glue dot directly onto the pearl added dimension and the sparkle.

Time is running out on the current spotlight deals - Click here to read more -

Art Journal - Relaxing Tangles

2011-08-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here lately I've gotten the urge to tangle again - hadn't done it in quite a while. In fact, this page started as a few separate "test run" tangles to try new patterns and the next thing you know I decided to fill the entire 8.5" x 11" page - just to see if I could -

it took all afternoon but I DID IT!! My one ink pen is running dry now - how cool is it to use the ink completely out of a pen?!

This type of doodling is supposed to be relaxing - and it is - when you use common sense and don't spend an entire afternoon hunched over and squinting while you draw. It is a good thing that I have SO much common sense that I can squander an afternoon's worth and still have plenty left (I hope) -

Look close on the right hand side and see my favorite part of this sketch - See the two little critters? They represent our two boys!! Connor had on his Domo t-shirt and I couldn't resist trying my hand at it - even made extra mouths as part of the design. . .

Learned yesterday how to draw the twisty, curvy tangle called "Paradox" that I've admired for a long time and how to make leaves - so they are all over the place - like Kudzu! This form of artistic expression is really fun and forgiving - if you mess up you can just color that area black and continue on - all you need is paper, a marker or two and a grey pencil for shading - try it!!!

Art Journal - Julie Fei-Fan Balzer inspired

2011-08-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

Time for more art journal fun!! The leaves are inspired from a post by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - love her stuff so much and I can't wait to get my hands on some of her new stencils!!

The background is covered in sewing pattern tissue paper that my mom gave me. I am not a seamstress - I do not sew. In fact, way back in the day in Home Ec class I made a pair of shorts - I was so proud of myself that I made another pair but inadvertently sewed the two fronts and two backs together which gives you one BIG leg and one small leg. I became friends with a seam ripper that year.

If you only do what you know you can do - you never do very much!

Try and fail but don't fail to try.

YUP - those two quotes just about sum up my entire sewing experience. I've since made curtains, pillows and other items that involve straight (semi-straight in my case) stitching but nothing involving patterns. However, patterns mixed with Mod Podge are just about perfect these days - can't mess that up!!

PDCC92, CFC13, CASE50 - Thinking of You

2011-08-01T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is one long, lean and lovely card!! It measures 4" x 9" - definitely a size that I wouldn't create unless it was for a challenge!! Trust those crazy chicks at CAS-ual Fridays to come up with a challenge where you have to take 36" square inches of card space and yet keep it clean and simple!!

The colors from the current Play Date Cafe Challenge were just the thing to add an elegant dimension to this "Paul Bunyan" card - the colors are petal pink, coral and antique gold - the a muse|studio Gold Shimmer Couture paper was the perfect accessory and added just a touch of gleam. I also incorporated the current CASE study challenge to be inspired by this card by Dawn Woleslagle of W plus 9 Design.

Watermelon ink was looking too pink against the pale pink background so I stamped my images from Beautiful Botanicals 2 in Apricot ink and then used my stamp positioner to stamp on top with Watermelon and ended up with the perfect color of coral!! (First I giggled, then I shook my own hand and then used that hand to pat myself on the back - good thing I do most of my stamping alone). Added a strip of scallops courtesy of the largest die in the Scallop Border set and

finished up with a sprinkling of Latte Pearls and a sentiment from Essential Sentiments. When you look from this angle this card seems to go on forever!!

All supplies used in this card are available online!

FTL151, LIM26 - Feeling Fruity

2011-07-30T23:57:00.003-05:00

Time for a new Less is More challenge - and for the first time I made a card on the day the challenge posted! This particular challenge was to use fruit on a CAS card and my while my selection of fruit stamps is very limited I managed to find an apple in the a muse|studio School Days set that was up for the challenge.

Used a somewhat modified version of the current sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping. The black gingham paper added the perfect background touch to ground the stack of apples. The scallop was cut with the middle die from Scallop Border dies set. School will be starting up in a couple of weeks - I'll be needing teacher cards again and this one is easy to reproduce in a hurry. . .

All supplies used in this card are available in my a muse|studio online shop!

LIM25, FS233 - Featured Stamper: Jennie Moczan

2011-07-28T13:19:00.001-05:00

Listen - Do you hear them? Crickets chirping on my blog - I haven't had a chance to craft in about a week and that is too long!! BTW - you can usually literally hear crickets in my house since we have to keep them to feed Clyde (the Bearded Dragon). Anyway, this week's SCS Featured Stamper is Jennie Moczan - I am a big fan of her CAS style (she is on the SCS CAS Design team) and we were both A Muse Instructors. This card is the one I chose to CASE and I was also able to incorporate the Less is More Challenge to use ribbon/button.

All supplies are from a muse|studio and are available in my online shop - Stamp sets (Hearts a Plenty, Hand Scripted) - Ink (Grass, Buttercup, Orange, Cherry, Blueberry) - Ribbon (1/4" Sugar Organdy Polka-dot Ribbon).
psst - wanna know a secret? a muse|studio is going to be releasing a supplemental catalog with new stuff including stamp sets, dies, cardstock/ink/ribbon, patterned paper, baker's twine and even felt!! This 44 page supplemental catalog won't be going live until August 22nd but if you are nice to me and ask pretty please I can e-mail you a .pdf file of it!! Just e-mail me at msmathey@gmail.com if you want to peek and start your wish list.

Moxie Fab World Challenge - Fanatical About Botanical

2011-07-24T16:36:00.004-05:00

Time for another Moxie Fab Challenge - Fanatical About Botanical! Most botanical prints are really fabulously overblown with gobs of frilly details and I imagine most cards inspired by this subject will be too, so I opted to challenge myself to make a CAS botanical card. When I go to natural history museums I am invariably drawn to the big displays of bugs in glass cases - so many varieties of insects, their sizes, colors and iridescence are always fascinating to me so I decided to make that the focus of my card.

First stop was a trip to see The Graphics Fairy - if you haven't been in her domain yet be prepared to spend some time looking through the thousands of vintage images she has uploaded - amazing and free!! I downloaded several promising bugs and used PSE7 to arrange them into an aesthetically pleasing grid which was then printed onto vellum. After the vellum dried I layered it onto a slightly larger piece of ivory cardstock stamped with the retired Cornish Heritage Farms (Art Nouveau Backgrounder) inked in a muse|studio Wheat pigment ink.

Look closely and you can see the difference that bit of stamping did in adding some elegance to my bugs' habitat! Added a punny sentiment that was part stamped (a muse|studio Essential Sentiments) and part stickers (Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey) and attached it to the cardfront with staples which remind me of the little pins they use to hold the insects in place in these displays. Pretty cool - and no insects were harmed in the making of this card!!

TLC334 - Color Blocking

2011-07-22T21:02:00.001-05:00

This week's Try a New Technique at SCS is Color Blocking (with a Twist) - Since I've never color blocked I opted for the easy choice offered - just stamp a block into ink and then directly onto the cardstock. Next time I'll try the twist part - twist seemed scary to me today - baby steps right? hee hee
All supplies are from a muse|studio (Making a Difference stamp set; Ocean, Bermuda ink; Sky gingham patterned paper; Onyx pearls) and available in my online shop.

SCS Featured Stamper - Teri Anderson

2011-07-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

This week's Featured Stamper on SCS is none other than Teri Anderson!! Did you know she is my most favorite Paper Crafts Go-to Gal??!! I remember the first time she commented on my blog I about fell out! Teri uses tools in the most original way and can make a chipboard letter squeal with joy!!

I decided to CASE this card and match it up with a couple other challenges - Paper Crafts Color Inspiration Challenge #7 and the Less is More - Circles challenge. Stamped with my brand spanking new PTI Mehndi Medallion stamp set that my friend Roni surprised me with - the circles were cut out with 3/4" and 1 1/4" punches.

I was having so much fun stamping that I made another card and added the line frame that I learned how to make from Nichole Heady on this video.
It is HOT around here but at least it isn't as hot as it was a couple weeks ago. Look what our newspaper reported: "Owensboro had the highest city heat index reading in the country Monday afternoon (7/11), according to the Weather Channel, with a reported heat index of 116 degrees. The reading, reported via the Weather Channel’s Twitter feed, was topped just a half-hour later. The National Weather Service office at Paducah reported that Owensboro’s heat index at 4 p.m. was 123."

PDCC90, CFC11 - Sweets and Treats

2011-07-18T23:08:00.000-05:00

I made this card on Friday but have been so busy that I didn't get a chance to post it until tonight and it is past 11PM!! Two challenges are involved - CAS-ual Fridays (Sweets and Treats) and the Play Date Cafe Color Challenge (Eggplant, Orangesicle and Fuscia).

I decided to use the a muse|studio Sweet Love stamp set for the image and sentiment and make some "faux stitching" by embossing the zigzag from Mad for Plaids in white.

A little crystal clear glaze makes the globe look glass and a pink twinkle heart adds a bit of sparkle.

All supplies are available in my online a muse\studio shop!

a muse|studio spotlight

2011-07-16T22:46:00.002-05:00

It is time for a new a muse|studio spotlight - each month, selected stamp sets will share the spotlight with a gorgeous color palette to create projects that showcase the versatility of paper crafting. Click here to learn more!!