Another mixed media and happy mail

Well I managed to get to the library and dropped some art off and I can't tell you how excited and proud of myself for seeing my art displayed on the library walls. It was so exciting. I can't thank all my blogger friends enough for believing in me, nourishing me with their knowledge in art and encouraging me and inspiring me to try new things. 

On that note, here is a little mixed media canvas I did  Monday night to take in and this will be displayed by my profile page the library was going to do to introduce who I am. I call this "Discover" it has special meaning to me, I am discovering my drawing abilities. I am discovering I am an artist. I am discovering I have boundless creativity. This drawing has been in my sketchbook for quite a while and I finally broke free and applied colour to it and I am so happy. This piece is not for sale but I told them at the library that I will do some on request or something similar that no two pieces will ever be the same. Mixed media is not a big thing here yet, seems  in my area things take a long time sometimes years to become popular.

 And I am so excited to receive Happy Mail from my blog friend Tee over at The Altered Paper.

As you recall from a previous post that Tee and I did an easel ATC swap. Neither Tee nor I had done such an ATC before and we both tackled it. I really like them and I see Tee does as well.

Below is a little altered notebook that ties at the side with a pretty image, I will probably tuck this into my purse for those times I need to make a note of something. The tag is a little beach them with cute shells and fish on it. Tee has added some glitz to it here and there. Click on any of the pictures to get a larger version to see all her details

 Here is the ATC easel card and a lovely little envelope it was tucked inside. Isn't that the cutest bird and girl. Tee you did a wonderful job on this. It is going to be displayed on my corner cabinet in the living room.

Next up is a bundle of tea, a Marie ATC and at the bottom are scrabble tiles altered with scrap paper then I think Glossy Accents applied and a magnet on the back. Such a cute idea. They will be put to good use. 

And here is Marie with her hair flipped up and Oh La La underneath, isn't that clever?

 

Last but not least a cute little organza bag filled with lovely flowers and goodies and some papers and a personal note from Tee that really touched my heart. Thank you so much Tee for the lovely swap.♥

I am finishing up a couple swap items then I am back to painting. I finished up 4 snowmen heads for wreaths (did I tell you that already?) and on to more projects. If I disappear for any length of time you know where I will be but I will try to pop in now and again. I am signing up for another craft show tomorrow so now I have 2 to look forward to.

Thank you for dropping by and never quit discovering what you are capable of doing.

♥♥♥

Take a peek

A blogger friend of mine, Tee over at the Altered Paper, received a swap I sent her and in my haste I did not take pics to show on my blog so if you care to take a peek over at her blog just click on her link.

I have not received Tee's swap yet but when I do I will be showing you.

http://creationsbytee.blogspot.com/2012/08/easel-atc-trade-goodies.html?showComment=1345255354260#c388212142543978472

I found in my blog travels ATC easel cards. They are so much fun to make. I emailed Tee to show her and gave her a link to how to make them and then we decided we would do a private trade. I made her 2 even tho we were only to make 1, but, I can't usually stop at one of anything. When I get on a roll I go for it.

I will be trading soon with another blogger friend, Amy Jo, and you never know what will be in the works. Our theme is Divinci inspired for an ATC and the tag we are swapping also is game or game piece inspired.

So between my painting which is going on rather slowly I enjoy stopping and playing with paper now and again.

I also am feeling a little blue as of late. My Auntie Lesley is not doing very well. I pray for her but there is no more the doctors can do . I am so blessed to have met her in person and talked to her over the years on the phone. The miles are too far when it comes to these hard times. I hope she knows I am thinking of her and love her very much.

PS did you notice I have a little buddy on my blog now???? Isn't she the cutest?.Looks like my fat Rosie, as a matter of fact, Rosie will stay with you and follow you around and make sure you feel at home while visiting my blog.

TTFN, ♥♥♥

Altered Key swaps received

My Blogger friend Tee has a wonderful swap blog called The Altered Paper. Tee has something always going on and if isn't a swap it is a tutorial or helpful information regarding craft and paper arts.

Tee hosted a swap called the Altered Key and we were to make 2 keys then we were assigned 2 partners. So I received one key from Elysia last week and here it is, it is just wonderful and I love the feather attached to it, the top feather she sent me along with some other neat goodies to use. Thank you Elysia.

 And next are 2 keys from Amy, she made these wonderful keys then sent them to me in this jean pocket. And I was also sent a rather large supply of goodies. I was gaffed!!! Thank you so very much Amy.

..

And stay tuned for my next post.....a big announcement....

♥

RAK's received, 1x3 cards and.....

Wow seems like ages since I posted, although Easter wasn't that far away but I have been keeping busy and trying to stay off the web a bit. I needed to do some necessary things and now I decided it is time to give the house a bit of a clean out and that is going to be an undertaking in itself.

I have managed to sneak some play and creative time in here and there .

I am also into watching Playoff hockey. My Toronto Maple Leafs didn't make it again this year, we won't go into that but now I am watching the other teams battle it out and there have been some battles.

Now onto the good stuff.....

I was blessed last week with 2 lovely RAK's from fellow bloggers

The first one was from Tee over at The Altered Paper blog, I visit Tee's blog a lot and I have been in on only 1 swap but I am going to be in a couple more soon, Tee has the greatest ideas for little goodies to swap, recycling of goods to use in your art and just a lot of sharing of info. I comment a lot over there and Tee happened to read one of my comments about her Stick Pin holders, and here is what she sent me.....

 The little tag, is flipped up at the bottom then some kind of felt or stuffing in the crease to insert the stick pins. The pins are lovely and I can't wait to use them. The dotted paper is a nice note she sent along with it and these beautiful roses made of rolled fabric. Tee thanks so much, I was so surprised to receive it.

Then a day or so after Tee's arrived I get a small box from Amy Jo over at her blog Art from the Heart.

Amy has followed my blog almost from the beginning or soon after and she always leaves me such lovely comments. I was gaffed (my new English word) to open a treasure trove of goodies to use in my art. Amy made me a glass slide pendant to wear, some ATC's, and all kinds of neat things. I have been eyeing some cute polka dot buttons and wondered where I could get my hands on some and lo and behold I get some dotty buttons. I am sending a huge Hug your way Amy Jo, thanks so much for your generosity. Golly it is good to have great blog friends....I love giving but it is fun now and again to receive....I am just thrilled

                                       

Next are 1x3 cards I received in last months Tabby swaps Vintage Children swap. These came last week as well and I was thrilled. I have never traded 1x3's before doing the Tabby swap and they are so much fun and such a small canvas to work with, but these are truly fun pieces. Thanks to Kim for running such a great swap and the ladies that made these. You made 6 and got 6 in return...how fun is that???

 The 6 1x3's below are for this months swap...Some Bunny Loves you over at Tabby swaps and I made sure there was a bunny or bunny ears involved....I had a lot of fun with these....I got my Cuttle bug out and some Co-ordination papers and sanded the embossing on some, I used glitters, gems, sparkly borders and I even used some home made Flower soft. I got a lot of my images either from FlickR, Graphics Fairy and other places around the net.

And last but not least is another Tea card I made using a line of paper from Bo Bunny. When I saw this paper I knew immediately what I was going to do with it and if you read my post about Tea cards you will find a link with full tutorial over at Shawn's blog.

I plan on sending this to someone soon, I think they might enjoy a cup of Green or Oolong Tea.

Well thanks for dropping by.

I can't wait to show you some mini canvas boards I was working on as well.

Stay creative my friends...

♥

Mini domino books and 1x3 trade cards

Hi all, well I have done a little tidying up from things piling up on my table. I was involved in a private trade and finally got everything done and sent off today. I joined a new swap blog and I will give you links to all the blogs involved in my post as I go along.

This is a little long winded so be warned.

♥

First up I wanted to share this darn cute birdie mini domino book I made. My friend Becky had sent me some mini dominoes late last year and I made some necklaces with them but after doing a few large domino books and I really enjoyed them, I thought, why not do a few minis and then I can send them to swap partners now and again with my trades.

Since signs of spring have been on and off the last week or so with some warmer temps, birds starting to return and the days are lasting a little longer I was inspired to make this mini bird book.

So here is what it looks like, click on the pics for a larger view if you have trouble seeing some of my details. These were fun and so very addicting.

 Below is a regular size domino and the little one is the size I just finished making, cute huh? I alcohol inked them in my fav colour and it reminds me of spring and all it's new growth.

I used scraps of paper, I found a bird charm, how lucky was I, thanks to a past swap partner I think was Smifferoo aka Jan.

I punched out some black paper for the holes and then put a white gel pen to make it a shadow and then used pencil crayon on the outside around the one side to make them pop so the birdies can see their way in.

 A bird eco shape and egg print from Artchix Studio with some burlap

 A sticker word, music paper from a hymnal, a tissue paper bird fussy cut and a chickadee stamp

 Rub ons, Artchix German scrap, love that stuff

 another rub on, an inchie bird stamp cut out and a definition of bird from a dictionary used just for art.

And tied together with some nice gold cord

Next up is another domino book that I made for St. Patrick's day using some free images from Leanne Seeds blog, Fripperies and Butterflies, and as I told you in a previous post, I will be a guest artist come this August for her Gecko Galz digital scrapbooking store.

If you go to the Fripperies and Butterflies blog you can snag up Leanne's free images.

When I saw these I knew immediately I wanted to make a cute mini domino book.

I didn't have any shamrock paper so I made myself a shamrock stamp out of fun foam and stamped my scrap paper with Peeled paint and stamped shamrocks on it. I made shamrock shrinky dinks. I messed them up a bit with my gold paint pen but hey, being that small it's hard to get precise.

I used some known sayings for St. Patrick's day, nothing to long so they would fit on the tiny pages.

This is the front. I had to crop and fussy cut the images so they may look a little different than Leanne's original images on Fripperies and Butterflies.

 And this is the accordion fold out. I even put a little Stickles on the brim of the hats, you can't see it but I just had to make it sparkle. I also added a nice gold sticker border around the outside, it almost looks like it was soldered. I think green and gold just naturally go together. 

Thanks Leanne for making this such a fun project for me. Can't wait to do more.

And last but not least, I found a new swap blog called Tabby"sSwaps, hosted by lovely Kim.

This month they are doing 1x3 cards in the theme of Vintage Children.

These were fun, and quite quick. There isn't a lot of room to play with.

I did do one digital image with Gimp brushes and a cute girl from FlickR.

I added a neat puzzle sticker over one of my cards, you may have to click to see it up close but it is very interesting. Might have to use them a bit more often.

Well thanks for sticking it out and I hope you have a lovely weekend. It snowed today but it won't last long now. We can only hope for warmer days ahead.

TTFN ♥

A couple ATC's

Hello friends,

No I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, just been doing a bit of catch up and sort of laxing on the creativity. You know when you sit down and you do something and later it doesn't seem like you accomplished much??? I have been kind of like that, although I did get all my ATC backgrounds done and sent off to Jenxo in Australia for the background technique swap. I can't wait to see what comes out of that trade. I did 4 backgrounds to add to our books. Wooohooo

And I had to redo my February matchbox for Jan in the UK. Apparently when I went to the PO last week the girl filling in put the code UK in the computer and said oh this is going to the Ukraine? I said no, it is going to United Kingdom, England. Apparently our great Postal system says the UK is Ukraine and GB is Great Britain but all this time when I have sent things out it went to England, but, Jan did not receive my first matchbox and it has been long overdue, usually things get to the Great Britain (UK) in about a week or just under, faster than our friends below us in the US (United States). LOL

I seem to have to clarify where things are going in case someone from our Postal system reads this, and of course I did not save my receipt after one week because I have never had a problem before til now. So Lesley is out postage.

Oh well, on to other things.

And, I have been sketching, no I don't have any more to show you today but yesterday I took a book from the library that I have here at home and saw these sneakers so I had to tackle it. It was very detailed and I think, if you know me, that is what attracted me to it was all the detail. I am a detail person and well I was quite pleased with the end result, another day for sketches, I didn't want to bore you all with them.

And...I am doing an ATC swap with another blogger who has been following me for quite some time, and I am not sure if she will be looking so I won't mention any names yet. I am doing a matchbox swap as well for March and so who knows where these or which one is going where.

I love the fairy ATC, I added some wired music wings to her and crackle painted the gate behind her. Added some flowers with Stickles,I really like how this turned out. The fairy is raised up off the card with some foam tape. She turned out better than I expected....I wonder where she is flying off to next???

This one is titled " In my Garden"

 And this card is called Migration. I used K and Company scrap paper, the background is a faded map of North America, the bird is from the Graphics Fairy, thanks Karen, the word "migrate" is from a dictionary I use when I want definitions in my art, some burlap and I had a shrink plastic wing charm that I wired through the burlap. Birdie is migrating to somewhere, I wonder where.

I haven't made too many ATC's of late and I really enjoyed it. I really think mine out, they don't just happen over night...it is a rather long process with me, sometimes too long.

Well I have several projects in the works, one is going to take quite a while as I am designing it for the Gecko Galz Guest Artist spot in August.

Another project I am working on is an altered tin with an accordion book inside, I  get a newsletter from Paper Whimsy and Nancy Maxwell James has done it again. My book is going to be a bit different but that is what I like about art, you make it how you like with the help of inspiration by others willing to share their ideas.

Well that is it of now my dearies.

TTFN

♥

Mail art makes me Happy

Well with ongoing car issues I will not get into but the problem is too stressful to comment, mail came and made me smile when I really needed it.

I was in an ornament swap over in our FlickR group and I was matched up with Jenxo and Jenny. Jenny was a little late signing up so I swapped with her as well. Both live in Australia and I got Jenxo's a few days ago and Jenny's arrived today.

I can't wait to show you....in the ornament swap you had to use paper on your ornie. So of course this could mean a lot of things as long as it is an ornament and has paper on it, made of paper or whatever.

Lookey at these.....yummy..

This is what Jenxo sent me. There is a little book that she sanded some outside of a cardboard box, looks like it had olives and greenery on it then sewed the little pages in, did some binding and there is elastic that wraps around the book to close it. Below it is a doily that has been sewn onto sewing tissue then some string tied in a bow at the top to hang it. A beautiful stack of presents made out of different papers... How cute.

A little ATC pouch she made and it was stapled at the top. I heard something rattling but I thought it was supposed to rattle then I realized it felt like something solid in there. To my surprise I found a bamboo tile necklace with a beautiful paper bead and pearl drop on the bottom. I have already worn it Jenxo and compliments galore.

And this beautiful Angelic tag she made.Beads and lace and ribbon roses. It is hanging on  a corner cabinet  knob in my LR.

Next up is Jenny's

Jenny made me these arches. The Silent Night is gorgeous music paper with gold either ink or some rub on with some other lovely colours blended softly and the Merry Christmas arch is Jenny's whimsical girl she painted. She sure made me smile .

 Jenny also sent me some lovely napkins and this gorgeous card with a lovely message inside.

Thanks so much Jenxo and Jenny and I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy 2012.

Your ornies are hanging around with other friends ornies I have collected over the years.

I am so grateful for all your friendships.

Til next time....stay creative and live a stress free life....hah

♥

Don't forget the altered ornament swap

This is sure to be a fun swap for the holidays. If you want to make 2 ornaments that are paper based and then embellished and receive 2 in return then sign up here in the FlickR group to join. You have until November the 11th. You do not have to sign up to the matchbox swap group,  but, if you are already a FlickR member then you already know what to do. Come one and come all to the Ornament swap. Play with paper, paint, mixed media, etc. It will be a nice frugal trade and what better way to get a couple new ornies for your tree, handmade. 

Hope to see ya there.

A Christmas Ornament swap on FlickR

Hi everyone.

I am still finishing up details for my show this weekend. I will be busy Friday thru to Sunday so I had better make a quick post here regarding this great Christmas Ornament swap.

I have posted it on the Matchbox group because I am not starting a new group just for ornaments. You can click on the blinkie on the right sidebar and it will take you directly to the page.

I would love for you to join us, all the details are there for you to read. I know we just got over Halloween but with the US Thanksgiving then Christmas in December, and it gets crazy, I thought I would post this now and we will take a break during the month of December.

I have a few ideas for you but you do not have to use them, I am just giving a bit of inspiration in case you need some and I am sure you don't.

As you know I did up a bunch of birdcage dies for tree ornies, I cut them  out on the Cuttlebug. You can find templates online, I Googled Ornament coloring pages and found lots for just basic shapes. You can use tree shapes and decorate with vintage images, digi images etc. Just have fun.

I made these a while ago and although they are ok they could use more sprucing up but you get the idea.

So come to FlickR and sign up. We would love to have you join us. It is fun and you only have to make 2.

Thanks for dropping by.

More items for craft show

Hi there, paints flying and a bit of ink too.

These are some ornaments I painted using an e-pattern I got from my friend Marie over at Marie's Country Woodcrafts. Marie does beautiful painting and cuts her own wood. Thanks Marie, these were fun, quick and cute to paint, love that snowflake brad.

 And these are Cyndi Combs Santa 6" Clothespins used for notes, recipes etc. These were fun, love the curly beards

 And this is a Halloween swap I received from Donna my partner from the Altered Paper Halloween swap hosted by the wonderful Tee. Donna sent me these 2 lovely ATC's along with the fab little envies she made to tuck them inside and some wonderful ephemera for other projects. If you drop by Donna, thanks so much, I love them and making ATC's were fun, haven't done that in ages. I really miss it.

 And over at Bella Creations there was a challenge to stamp on a non paper surface, so since I am going key chains for the scrapbook store and maybe a class in October I thought why not kill 2 birds with one stone and make a challenge and stock up. I used alcohol inks, StazOn inks, images,rub ons and an Asian image I had in my stash. Any time I can do anything oriental I do.The STazon really doesn't like the alcohol inks so I had to stamp after I did the AI as it made the StazOn bleed. The Dream key chain I actually stamped then used a permanent marker to make it really black. I used Stream, Lettuce, Cranberry and Butterscotch AI's to colour these. I like the translucent effect from the rub ons on top of the colours. I hope I am able to sell a few of these, they are fun and so useful.

And one final picture to show you. My dear hubs is a great photographer, he often takes pics of the yard which he is quite proud of, he loves it outdoors and gardening, a real natural green thumb. Anyways to my surprise he took these morning glories the other day along the rail fence near the veggie garden, I just love that blue.

Til next time, thanks for dropping by and as always I love to hear your comments. I can't always drop by your blogs and some I do and don't leave comments but I will be back in action soon.

Take care and be creative.

Weenie ATC's and more ornaments

The paint is flying but every once in a while a piece of paper distracts me and I have to get the scissors out and play. Over at the Altered Paper Tee is having a Halloween ATC swap. I generally don't do Halloween but this time I had a play with the Gimp program, made my own images then put them to use on my ATC's for the swap. I have a die for the CB and made this distressed fence, placed an Eco shape crow from Artchix on it then place my 2 witches with the moon behind them in a bottle cap and applied it with GA.

The 2nd image is a girl with zetti striped leggings sitting on her pumpkin with her witchy hat. So cute and fun. I am loving Gimp but lately haven't been devoting time to it much as painting is keeping me busy.

 Speaking of painting....here is an ornament that was fun but I sure need practise with my fur on the coat. This design was in the last issue of Painting the ornament issue and I just had to paint it. Thank goodness hubs is patient at the scroll saw, he is doing all my cutting for me right now. Yeah....

 The next 4 ornaments are painted on scrapbook paper. You can see the blue paper behind the snowman, the Santa coat is actual paper. I cut the shape of the ornie out of a cereal/cracker box, covered both sides with scrap paper. If the paper was double sided I chose the opposite sides for the back. I then painted the designs according to the directions. I have been painting for years and I realized I love painting on paper. The will make great little tree ornies and you could also use them as gift tags and the recipient could then hang them on the tree so it is quite useful. And...this year I bought Diamond Dust glitter and ooooo I just love the sparkle it has when the light hits it. So different than the usual glitter, it is actually made of ground glass. I have to take precautions when I use it so little Rosiecats doesn't get any on her paws.

 More glitter and glitz. You can't see the Joy on the hymn book but it is there in gold gel pen.

And the little green branches on the angel wings are a stamp I used.

 And this little fella is from an old paint book I have had for ages. I used chipboard to make the window instead of wood, I sealed it well, painted it and then put this all together. As you can see I took the pic outside, I don't have a tree set up yet to take ornament pics so it was a bit bright out today but you get the idea.

And today hubs cut out more ornaments for me so I have another pile waiting on my desk. I should have them done by next week as long as nothing stops me in my path. If I could and didn't require sleep I would paint during the night then I could have all day to do my usual day stuff. Oh well I work it in when I can.

Thanks for dropping by, see you next time.



Got some catching up to do

Hello my dear friends,
I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing by. The leaves are starting to change colour. I hate to say it but I have even had my flannel PJ's on a few nights when the temps have dipped.
The garden is still producing tomatoes and we still have to harvest potatoes, squash and herbs but there is still lots of time to do that.
I have been getting busy for a couple craft shows and doing a bit of painting and trying to tie loose ends up for a couple of swaps.
Today I am going to show you a few things I have had done and some matchbox swaps and ATC's I have received. Nothing like getting fun mail, it's like Christmas at my house. Sometimes I set the box on the table and stare at it like I am waiting for the clock to turn to the actual correct time, not that any time is more or less correct, sometimes I can't wait to tear the box open, it all depends on how eager I am to rip it open. Most of the time I do just that and I am just dazzled lately at what the generous folks I have traded with have sent me.
Here is a beautiful matchbox from Miss Peach who sent me this in the theme of  " My Favourite Things" over at the FlickR group Monthly Matchbox swap. We were to find out our partner's favourite things then decorate and then fill her box with goodies she could use and like. Miss Peach made me this wonderful Oz Cabinet Card as I truly love the Wizard of Oz. I could watch that movie over and over. I even have the tape here at home to watch whenever I please. Not sure hubs would care for it that often but it is I would say my favourite movie. And I also like butterflies so Miss Peach made this box and inside was this beauty encased. Miss Peach said this was stuck to a grill of a truck or car and it is preserved so perfectly. Now it has travelled all these miles to Canada and I will keep it here safe and sound. And look at all the goodies she sent me as well. Thanks Miss Peach. This next month I have her name so I will be posting a pic of her matchbox but the pic was blurry so I have to retake it .

Next is a matchbox I got from JoScraps over at the Vintage Dragonfly's Grandma's Attic swap. We were to make a vintage type of matchbox and use mostly vintage items. Jo certainly filled this box and then some. Take a look at the flowers, the card and all the goodies inside. Even the string is vintage. And I just love that beautiful antique image in the frame. Thanks so much Jo. I hope you feel better soon, sounds like you had a rough summer.

Next are a couple Teacup themed ATC's I did a trade with Wendy from BlissAngels. We started this trade before the Canadian Postal strike so that delayed us sending back and forth. I did finally get these ATC's.

Well after the postal strike and they seemed to have sat at the Customs Office for over a month. Now they are here for me to enjoy with Wendy's cute little fairy children sitting in their teacups. Thanks Wendy, they are wonderful.

And finally here are my bird canvases I had mentioned a couple posts ago and a fairy canvas I just made for someone special.

I used the TH birdcage die and embossed and painted to make them look old and worn.

I have used a canvas on the back with layers of cheesecloth and lace. I painted them with burnt umber, black and metallic bronze paint slip slapped all over.

I used corrugated cardboard with the top layer ripped off and then painted with antique white slip slapped for a worn look as well. The more rustic the better and I wanted to keep a nature theme going. I also used some burlap at the bottom corners underneath the words. I had the birds from a card or something in my stash so I could finally use them. I think these would look nice in a sun room on the wall or even a bathroom if you have a nature theme going on.

And here is the most recent canvas I created using another die cut birdcage but I cut it to make an arbor for this little fairy. The top piece on the canvas is chipboard painted with cheesecloth and antique white paint then I took a touch of Timberline green on the corner and just brushed it here and there around the edges just to add a bit of colour and going with a theme of nature again, green brown. the top of the arbor is a brad that I found in my stash with the prongs removed or just gone so it fit nicely there.

I used some fungi images I believe are from the Graphics Fairy, some butterflies, roses I made and a rolled canvas flower I added some distress stickles to. All in all this turned out better than I expected and I hope that I will surprise one of my recent swap partners.

Well that is it. I hope you haven't fallen asleep. I will try to post a bit more regular now.

I won't be doing much swapping or paper crafts as I need to concentrate my efforts on painting for my craft shows.

And....I am looking for glass glitter, clear so that I can use it on some paper painted ornaments for Christmas. If you have a resource you can share with me that is economical could you please comment or email me. I am looking for some but I know a lot of you peeps may have better resources than I do or can find.

Thanks for dropping by.

Always love hearing from you.

~♥~