Mixed Media Magic Card

 We are under another heat wave….along with thunderstorms. What a weird summer! The heat wave will continue all week with temperatures hot and humid and nearly 100F. Thank goodness I have indoor hobbies to keep me busy.

 It was one of my daughter’s birthday this week and this is the card I made for her.

 

 The background started out as a piece of 12x12 ugly striped cardstock that I knew I would never use. So, it was time for some mixed media magic to transform it into something I would use. I like to make the family cards really special and I thought Janette would like this one….and she did.

Sorry, I don’t keep track or photo each step when I do mixed media. This was several layers of paint, spray, ink, gesso, stamps and stencils. I just keep layering until I like it and then I stop. Once I cut it down to fit on a A2 card which is the light purple, I added the die cut butterfly (Memory Box die) and sentiment (no idea of manufacturer, sorry)…which is the same paper as the card base. I no longer worry about cutting up the cardstock. When I need a matching piece, I cut! The dots for the butterfly trail was stamped in black. I thnk its an old Technique Tuesday stamp. The butterfly was popped up with dimensional tape.

That’s all for a hot and humid Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

Cheers

Violet

Ps: To save a card to your Pinterest account, simply over over the image until the “Pin It” symbol appears and then click …. be patient, it sometimes takes a few seconds. This will take you to your own Pinterest account to save the card.

 

I'm not smiling until spring.....

We had the first bad snow storm which was mixed with freezing rain and then more snow and then high cold winds! I hate winter! 

I made this art journal page a few years ago but I'm reposting it because that's how I feel today!

I Won!

Well yesterday was an interesting day for sure. First of all I checked out Tim Holtz blog, as I do every day, and lo and behold they decided to choose some people who had left previous comments that week and they pulled my name....So, I won some Tim Holtz products….don’t know what kind but I don’t care because I love them all. I hope the leaf die and matching embossing folder is part of the haul though as I love his November tag that featured it. Here is my favourite project using Tim Holtz products.

I’ve posted this before but thought I would re-post for those who are new to the blog. I think other than the stamped face it is all T.H. products.

And here’s another Mixed Media piece that features Tim’s Halloween paper and some Sizzix products and stamps, and well, a little bit of everything.

 

 For more information on how I made these, check them out by clicking on "Mixed Media Piece" under 'LABELS'.

I’ve been quilting so much lately I haven’t been down in the studio working on mixed media projects but I will be as soon as the quilts are completed. Stay tuned!

Then I popped over to see what my blogging friend, Deb, from California, www.learningtojustbreathe.blogspot.com, was up to and she drew my name to win her beaded spider. I HATE real spiders but I love her beaded one. If you like whimsical art, be sure to check out her site – she’s an awesome artist.

Hhhmmm….two wins in one day…I should have bought a lottery ticket but it was raining here so I didn’t go out.

Yes, rained all afternoon and evening which pretty much spoiled the Halloween Trick and Treaters. I bought a box of 90 chocolate bars and we had….37 kids show up! Oh boy, Joe has a lot of bars to eat because I don’t like chocolate very much….and yes, I know I’m weird! People look at me like I’m an alien when I say that!

See you Monday! Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Cheers

Violet

Donations for a Church Fund Raiser

The summer-like weather is coming to a brutal end starting tonight…..and to add insult to injury, they are predicting two days of rain. The farmers have been working like crazy trying to get their crops off and this is not what they need right now. Joe had to cut the grass yet again today and I did some of the fall clean up. Cleaning up in the fall is no where near as much fun as planting in the spring! I watered the garden too which Joe thought was a waste of time seeing it is calling for rain but I figured if I watered today, we won’t get rain; but if I don’t, we will…so I’m trying to buy the farmers some more time.

Joe’s cousin who brings us all the organic veggies is looking after the fund raising auction at their church. Last year I donated some Christmas stockings and some other things to them but this year I decided to donate two small slate paintings and a mixed media piece. They go to a small country church with a small congregation so I don’t mind helping them out.

Here are the two paintings.

Nothing too complicated but cute and I hope someone buys them. They are irregular in shape because they are broken pieces of slate that a friend of mine gifted me. They were painted with acrylic paint and then a couple coats of varnish were brushed over the top to seal them.

 And then this piece I just finished last night:

The cousin also brought me some wood pieces left over from carpentry jobs he did and he figured I could “do something” with them! He can’t believe what I do with odds and ends. I decided to use one of his pieces and give it back to him – but altered! So this piece is about 4” wide and about 13” high. It is indeed a mixed media piece. Lots of layers of cardstock, stencils, stamps, paint and ink. Then the tree branches were added at the top by mixing up stencil paint and paint and spreading in on over a stencil and letting it dry. The tombstones, ghost, bats, and owl were Sizzix dies and the haunted house is from a Quick Kutz die. I wanted the owl to be sitting on a branch so I took a piece of brown cardstock and ripped it into a branch shape, painted it dark brown to match the other branches and twisted it into shape. Then the owl was glued to it and then all glued to the wood. Not sure if this is anybody else’s cup of tea but hopefully someone will buy it.

That’s all for a Thursday,

Cheers

Violet

Home Sweet Home

I haven’t done too much in the way of Mixed Media or Art Journal pages lately but here is one that I did get made. I like my pages to tell a story or give someone food for thought.

This one is the usual art journal page technique. Lots of spray paint and stencils for the background. Some funky trees and house from paper. I love hearts so I had to have them and besides it was a Home Sweet Home page. The sentiment was printed off and layered a couple times on paper and then glued on. Just a fun page with a reminder that there is no place better than a loving home.

Cheers

Violet

 

Warm Winter Wishes

It’s beginning to look like……a cold winter day!...it’s -8C (17F) and that’s with the sun shining. Fooled you didn’t I? Yes, it’s beginning to look like Christmas as well but we are now expecting rain both Thursday and Friday so the snow may be all gone before Christmas. We seldom have a white Christmas here in Chatham-Kent but about 1 ½ hours down the road in Middlesex County they usually have snow from November to March because they are in one the snow belt areas. In case you are not familiar with that term, it’s the areas in Ontario that get with winter storms that form over the great lakes. Luckily they usually miss us….but not always. In fact, Joe just read the weather report and after two days of rain, they are predicting more snow for Saturday. Welcome to Ontario's weather....if you don't like the weather, give a day or two and it will be completely different.

So, seeing it is cold I thought I would post a little mixed media project I created called Warm Winter Wishes. I must not have held the camera steady as it looks a little fuzzy so ignore that please.

 This one is made using a piece of wood (about 14" high by 4" wide) that Joe’s cousin, who is a carpenter, dropped off one day. He had these odd shaped pieces and cut them into a house shape and said he figured I could do something with them – thank you, yes I can! This one is the usual background of paper, paint and ink. The cups are fabric. The letters were drawn with a stencil and then painted blue with acrylic ink and then I went over them with some metallic sparkly paint. Then I added white acrylic paint all around them to really high-light them. I added some dark paint around the cups by mixing some blue and brown acrylic paint and then I made a boo-boo. I decided to add some of my homemade glimmer mist over the cups to make them shimmer and it did, but, it made them darker and they lost that nice fresh look. So, I cut out more cups and glued them on top with Modge Podge and now I like it.

Well, I’m off to deliver poinsettias to the nursing home so that’s all for now.

 Take care all.

 

Cheers

Violet

 

The Friendly Witch and a Mixed Media Piece

It’s a pretty nice fall day today but of course that will end in the middle of the night when it starts raining….and it is expected to rain for 24 hours. Sounds like its going to be a wet Halloween night. Hate it when that happens on Halloween. The kids so look forward to dressing up and going out door to door. One of my former co-workers told us that when her daughter was about 5 or 6 she came upstairs dressed in her Halloween costume about November 10^th. Her mother asked her why she was wearing it and the kids said she just finished the last of her Halloween candy and needed to go get more. I guess there was a major meltdown when she was denied the pleasure of going trick or treating in November. Kids are so funny.

Today’s post is a tole painting I did a few years ago and never posted. My youngest daughter’s mother-in-law is also a tole painter as is her sister-in-law so we, and a few more of their friends, got together one Sunday afternoon and painted The Friendly Witch. Who says witches have to be ugly!

 

One of the husbands of one of the ladies present cut out all the pieces. The wood is about ½” thick. The hands and pumpkins were separate and added at the end. We made the straw broom ourselves. It was definitely a fun day when we made this one.

This is a mixed media piece I made last year…and it was posted last year too but I thought I would share it again for any new viewers. Hubby’s cousin shows up once in awhile with left over wood and says “I’m sure you can do something with these!” Yes, I can thank you very much!!

 

Don't forget if you want to see more of one kind of craft, simply click on that heading under LABELS to bring up just those postings.

Time to go get some crafting or quilting done. Can’t decide which one I feel like doing today.

Cheers

Violet

 

Dreams have no Expiry Date

This weather is ridiculous! We had yet another thunderstorm and more torrential rain last night at 2:00 and it didn't end until 3:30. And we are having another one right now. However, I have relatives that live further north and they are in desperate need of rain. My cousin said he was hoeing the garden behind the house and looked up to see it raining in the front of the house, but it never rained on the garden. So odd.

I haven't done any mixed media or art journal pages in a long time but Stamping Bella decided to start posting them on Tuesdays (or Wednesdays) again so I thought I make a page. I was reading something on the Internet and it said something about giving up on a dream and I thought to myself "Dreams shouldn't have expiry dates" and I decided right then to make a page. Here it is.

The background is the usual mixture of paint and several kinds of ink and stencils and drops of inks and rub-ons. The large flower is a foam stamp that came with some stuff from the thrift store so I had to use it but I added some acrylic paint to darken it. The clocks are Tim Holtz stamps and the numbers are a Crafter's Workshop stencil that I won. The word "Dreams" are stickers but I have no idea where they came from. I cut open the stickers and throw the top out so who knows who made them....although I think they came from the dollar store. The little butterfly sitting on the "M" is a rub-on.

So, what ever your dream is, don't give it an expiry date! Dreams are free!

Cheers
Violet

Dream - Believe - Imagine

Sunday was not a good day for me and I had no idea what I felt like doing....but I knew quilting was out because I don't like "noise" when I'm having a bad day...and the sewing machine counts as noise.  So, I wandered down to the lower studio but I didn't feel like making cards and unfortunately I did not clear up my card making mess on the table so scrapbooking was out - cleaning up was not happening either! So, I went over to the old office desk where I paint and picked up a blank page from my mixed media stack and decided to do a page for the Stamping Bella challenge. No idea in my head at all. Just wanted to play. Here's my page.

I just started by spraying on some ink, and then stenciling with acrylic paint, more spray, more paint, on and on until I liked it. Okay, background done but what to put on it. I was flipping thru my stencils - most are 6" Crafter's Choice, but I have several larger ones that I bought at the thrift store - one of those mystery bags where you know its a bag of stencils but not sure how many you will like - I took a chance on it and some I will likely not use but some I quite like - including the one with the words on it. So I pulled it out and stenciled in the first three words - Dream - Believe - Imagine with black paint and then I touch them up with a black marker. The only suggestion that Emily at Stamping Bella made was to use the negative part of a punch. Okay, I can do that. I found this scrap of olive green paper that I had already sun thru the Spellbinder Edgeabilities die and didn't use for some reason and punched out some flowers. When I placed it down it was rather blah so I took another small strip of wine paper and cut squares to go behind the punched flowers. Much nicer. Okay, the middle was sort of bare. What shall I put there. I looked around and saw a package of napkins I had bought at the dollar store with large flowers on them. I cut one out and laid it down - nah, didn't like it at all. But, then I thought these flowers would make great butterflies. Mmmmhh I wonder if they would go thru the Cuttlebug. Yup, I used a Cuttlebug die and the Stampin' Up die and die cut the butterflies, removed the white backing paper behind them and Modge Podged them down. I had to use up the flowers I had punched out so I added them near the top and put a dot of red paint in the centre and outlined them. After some more outlining and shading here and there (and more fiddling) I called it done.

Release Your Dreams

Two posts in one day! I'm on a roll because.........I FINISHED IT! I got right down to work this afternoon and finished my mixed media piece for the Tim Holtz challenge. Here it is:

This was just a piece of 7" board that was laying around so I went to work to alter it. Many, many layers on the background, as usual. The face is a foam stamp that came with some polymer clay packages I bought and after stamping and embossing it in black I rubbed various Distress Inks around it. The circle is two pieces of cardstock glued together and run thru the Cuttlebug in a spruce branch embossing folder and then painted black and then dry brushed on some copper acrylic paint. The wings are from Tim Holtz grunge board and I embossed them with a paisley embossing folder, painted them white, rubbed on some C. Helmuth dark blue paint and immediately rubbed it off and then dry brushed on the copper. I curled the edges of the wings with a paint brush handle.

The little flowers were what was required to use on the piece - or any of the flowers in that set. I die cut these out of grunge board (love this stuff but it stinks at first) and then painted them white, then the blue, then rubbed copper around the edges and smudged it here and there on the flowers. They were curled with a wooden skewer. The centres were gold but I went over them with a bronze marker. The key is also grunge board and it has many layers of colours to make it look old. The sentiment was printed out with my Brother label maker and then adhered to Tim Holtz's color core cardstock. Whew. Finished it in time!

A Very Purple Page

Over the weekend I decided to play a bit with the Art Journal page challenge over at Stamping Bella's blog. This page did not turn out like I expected it to and will never be one of my favorites but it likely won't end up in the garbage or cut up for other pages either. It's just OK.

It is very purple! I started out gluing on some torn paper from a phone book - barely visible on the left side and then stenciling in the flower and the dragonfly with dimensional paste. Once it was dry I sprayed on some various colours of ink for the background - you can see blue, turquoise, pink, and yellow peeking through. I painted the flower red and first and hated it so I went over it with some purple acrylic paint. Still didn't like it so I went over it with purple ink. I lightly sprayed the page with the same purple ink (Rangers Color Wash, Wild Plum) and then spread it around it bit with a wet brush - didn't spray quite as lightly as I thought so it came out very purple. I quickly dabbed it with a cloth so it wasn't completely purple. I rubbed some green paint over the dragonfly to just pick up the raised areas. The tag was cut out from a left over piece of purple and I added the velum saying after I mounted it on white paper so it would be readable. The purple butterfly border was from another left over piece of cardstock and the flower on the tag was die cut with a ProvoCraft die - part of one of the alphabet sets. The flower still looked dull so I used a white Souffle pen to make little dots around each petal and some just flying out and added some to the end of the dragonfly and along the top of the tag inside some black scallops I drew in - which you can hardly see in the photo. Like I said, it's OK, but just OK.

Don't forget if you ever want to see something up close on any blog, just double click on it.

Ride it Out

This winter has not been kind to me so far! I still have laryngitis and a bit of a cold and yesterday I did a really stupid thing - I put the sewing machine needle thru my finger! For the first time in two weeks I felt well enough to sew and I really have no idea how my finger got so close to the needle but it did. It just caught the edge of my left index finger and sort of ripped the skin. I know, OUCH! (Good news - I didn't bleed on my project) I thought at first I may have to have a stitch in it but I finally got it to stop bleeding and bundled it up. It was throbbing last night and I didn't dare type. This morning I found my plastic finger guard (it pays to be a pack rat sometimes) so it is well protected now. I'm typing with right hand on the keyboard and the left first finger. Weird, but it works.

 Joe and I went to get groceries in the afternoon and then we went to Future Shop and we bought a new laptop and Ipad. I told Joe to keep an eye on me and warn me if I was walking around the stores holding my left index up in the air because it throbbed if I held it down. I would look like I was giving everyone "the finger". He didn't think this was as funny as I did!

So, this week's art journal challenge at Stamping Bella was to use tape of any kind on the piece. I was flipping thru an old issue of Our Canada magazine and saw a picture of someone on a camel. Ride it out jumped into my mind and my page idea was born.

Well, my life has definitely been a bit astray this winter and all I can do is ride it out. The background is again a mixture of ink, sprays and paint and stencils. I had to portray life astray so first I cut off the picture of the little girl on the camel - too ordinary - and replaced her with a photo of a boy likely downloaded from the graphics fairy blog.  Hmm what else could I add weird - birds wearing hats (free download from www.zoranland.blogspot.com), fish floating by (from www.paperwhimsey.com) and a cat wearing a top hat and tails riding backward on an old fashioned bicycle and then a dunce hat on the camel. Then I added butterfly wings behind the boy on the camel. I printed out the sentiment with my Brother label maker and added the tape.

Well, I got this posted but I think my typing will be at a minimum for a few days. Thank goodness for spell check!

Find Your Own Joy

Still sick. Joe just mentioned this morning that he can't believe how this cold I have is hanging on. He knows when he gets a cold it lasts for the normal 7 - 10 days or more but the rare time I've had one, it comes and goes in 3 days. Not this time. Our only theory is that my body was tired from fighting the long and drawn out attacks from the brain disorders and my immune system must be down. Who knows. Hard to be creative when you feel crummy though so I haven't got much done.

I did manage to do an art journal page this week though. The challenge over at Stamping Bella was to make an art journal page using only vintage photos. I have a lot of them that I've downloaded from the Internet, mostly from the Graphics Fairy, and I think this where I got this one from.

I watch a lot of mixed media and art journal videos on YouTube and they are an interesting and varied lot. I prefer the ones that tell a story instead of the ones that are just various paint and paper glued on collage style. Those are interesting to look at but just not my style. Here's my page.

I was looking at my collection of old photos and I came across this one of four beautiful ladies looking bored. I thought to myself, they look like they are waiting for something to happen to cheer them up. Bingo! The page idea was born. 

The background is my usual mixture of various sprays, ink and paint. Once the ladies were glued down I outlined them with a brown pen and added some tissue tape along the bottom edge, just for a little extra dimension. Besides, I bought this tissue tape on sale (of course) at Michael's in December and hadn't used it yet. I also stamped the border under the tape with Stazon ink. The sentiments were printed out on my Brother tape maker that I usually forget to use! Once they were on, I stamped the little butterflies with black Stazon. There you are, four ladies ignoring the beautiful butterflies all around them while they wait for something else to enjoy. I hope you find your own joy today, as small as it may be, enjoy it!

I'm NOT smiling until spring

This morning we decided we absolutely had to get some groceries. The fridge was getting just a little bit bare looking. But, as usual, nothing is as simple as just getting groceries. First I mentioned that I had to go to the library, then Joe said he should go to the bank, and then I said "me too", and then he said the car needed washing because it had a lot of salt on it (yes, salt. In Canada they spread salt and sand on the roads to melt the snow and or ice and it gets sprayed up against the car which causes it to rust if you leave it on), and then we thought we may as well drop some things at the local food bank while we were down by there, and then we got groceries, and then he stopped to put gas in the car and then we had to go to the other end of town to another grocery store to get the things we couldn't get at the first one. Needless to say it was a very long morning and we ended up not eating lunch until after 1:00. Right after lunch we headed out for a 50 minute walk - some of it was a bit colder then other parts, depending on the wind. It's right at about 32F but the wind makes it feel colder.

Speaking of cold! I'm not fond of cold weather or winter so today I'm posting an art journal page to reflect my feelings.

This would be a self portrait if I was an owl! Love owls by the way. The background is the usual mixture of inks and paints ans stencils and stamps. The owl itself I cut out of an old Birds and Bloom magazine. The lettering started out as rub-ons but they were not very well adhered so I went over them with a black pen. Fun page to do for sure.

Family Life

Very, very warm for this time of the year in Ontario. It think the high today is suppose to be about 51F and Saturday it could go a few degrees higher; and then comes Sunday when it plummets to the normal 32F. No wonder so many people are sick with the temperature going up and down like it has been. I don't have many funny stories to tell this week because my brain disorders have attacked and I haven't left the house much. We got a couple of long walks in but that's about it....and I did some quilting (still working on the quilts for the Alzheimer ward) and I painted more papers to use in my mixed media pieces.

Little toe hits door jamb. Little toe loses every time. Yup, even in the middle of the night I can't seem to stay out of trouble. I was heading back to bed and turned the corner a little too quickly and wham! my little toe hit the corner of the door. Ouch. Of course, then I had to turn a light on to see if it was bleeding and bleeding on the carpet - yes to both - so a quick clean up was in order. I don't think I broke it this time but it sure hurts.

Today I'm posting a mixed media piece I did. I'm very new to mixed media and I like to experiment on these little 5x7 canvases from the dollar store. Constructive criticism welcome!

I like sheep! So, I thought I'd paint some. The sun in the corner was made using a stencil from Crafter's workshop (love their stencils) and molding paste that had yellow paint mixed in with it. The background is a combination of Distress Inks, water colour paint, acrylic paint and who knows what else. I don't really keep track as I'm layering. The sheep, and the fence) are just acrylic paint and I did the swirls with a Sharpie pen. Then I added some stamps and rub-ons from the Paper Pickle. I had trouble coming up with a title and asked my family and friends. I wanted the Family to be the first word so I asked for suggestions for the rest of it. I got three I liked a lot so I have two more sheep paintings forming in my mind. The title was done using some rub-ons that I picked up at the thrift store - a huge package of them, some used, some not. Painting this way is so different then tole painting, which I still enjoy, but I love layering paint and ink to see what I come up with. It's different every time and usually different then what I had in mind.

"I Miss My Summer Garden"

Looks like it's going to be a nice sunny day today. We had a frost last night though so it did get cold. The tops of all the cars are white which is a sure sign of a heavy frost. I'm taking my sister-in-law Christmas shopping today. I don't usually take her and the wheelchair on my own but we can manage for once...unless Joe decides to come and disappear while we shop! That could happen.

This week's art journal page challenge over at Stamping Bella was to do a collage. I haven't done much of that but there is no time like now to learn new things so I went for it. This is not my favorite piece but we all have to start somewhere so why not share the failures along with the ones we like. Well, this is not totally a failure, just not my favorite.

The background is once again stenciled, patterned wall paper that was painted over in spots, ink and paint. The pictures all came from old Birds and Blooms magazines. The sentiment was printed out on my computer and then coloured in. And I do miss my summer garden. So blah out there right now.

A Mixed Media Christmas Tree

This project has been quite the work-in-progress. I'm pretty much self taught in mixed media having only taken one class with Linda Heavens at the Paper Pickle when we made the three hearts piece. But, being me, I just jump in and start things not knowing how they will turn out. I start out with a vague idea of what I want to do but it veers off course pretty quickly. I saw one of these on Christy Tomlinson's site and thought I'd give it a try myself. She did hers on a rectangle canvas which would likely be better; but, Joe's cousin had some left over wood and cut me a few pieces knowing I'd do something with them so that's what I'm using. 

I'm posting three versions of this piece to show you how it changes.

First time I thought it was done - but sort of knew it wasn't but the doubts started creeping in so I left it for a day or two.

I was thinking it needed more contrast after a discussion with Linda H. (many thanks) I decided I was on the right wave length and made some drastic changes...at least I thought they were drastic.

Here's the next phase - thought it was done again, but it was not....

I know the background always changes, depending on where I take the picture of what I place behind it. This background was white which did not enhance the piece at all. But, you can see where the background imagery is still visible, but a little more muted and the tree pops more.

This is the finished piece, I think!

Better background (a file folder) and I added some white rub-ons that sort of look like snowflakes. It is what it is. Sometimes I think I should stick to card making!!!!...but this is so much fun.

Handcrafted ornaments and the Flu Bug

The flu bug has hit our house! Yikes! Hubby woke up this morning and ate breakfast and all was well. He did a couple of loads of laundry (yes, hubby does laundry, I do not) and was taking an armful of clean sheets and clothes upstairs but dropped them on the table quickly and made a mad dash to the bathroom. Wow, that hit quickly. Since then he's had a cup of tea and one cracker, which did not stay down either, so definitely got the flu bug. Of course, the first thing he says is "So much getting the flu shot" but I explained to him, again, that the flu shot is for the serious respiratory flu that can kill people, not the 24 hour stomach flu! I sure hope he doesn't share it!

While I was decorating the tree yesterday I snapped a few pictures of some of the decorations that I've made over the years. These ones I made about 18 or 19 years ago and they are looking a little shabby and need to be redone but at least you will get the idea of how to make them for yourself. I didn't put them on the tree this year they were so beat up looking.

As the sign says, I made these from used Avon blush containers - mini ones. I used to sell Avon (and did very well at it and loved it but had to quit when I got sick) and my customers would keep their empty blush containers for me. Each one is a little different.

Here's a close up of one of them.

That picture is my beautiful granddaughter, Kadri, who was about 2 when this picture was taken, and is now almost 21 so yeah, these are oldies. First, find some containers with a clear lid. Paint the container - I used gold paint. Cut your picture to size and glue it in. If you look back at the first picture you will notice that some of the pictures have shifted so obviously the glue has dried out over the years. I likely just used a glue stick as supplies were limited back then. Wrap ribbon or lace around the edge and glue it down. Decorate the top and glue in a hanger. Done!

This next ornament was taught to me by my friend and nearby neighbour who came to Canada from South Africa. She is also the one that challenged me to make the African doll (check under Labels for dolls to see them).

I made these for all my daughters and some friends too. Fun to make with chunky chenille, one large jingle bell for the belly and small ones on the ends of the arms and legs, and a wooden head. Just twist the two pieces of chenille together and insert them in the jingle bell - you may have to pry open the ends, and then squeeze them shut again. I stuck the ones that go into the head into Tacky glue first to make sure they stay there. The small pompoms are also glued on with Tacky glue....great glue!

I'll post some more oldies another day! Have a great weekend everyone!

Love is just a word until.......

Yesterday was a balmy 5C here in Southern Ontario and hubby decided he just had to get out and do some yard work. He hasn't been out of the house for 10 or 11 days because of his coughing. His intention was to "mulch the leaves on the side of the house and cut the back grass and then have lunch and a hot shower and rest. I know him better then that! Yup, came in for lunch and went right back out and didn't come in until almost 4:00. Men! He says he feels "fine" today (would he admit to anything else?) but is a man of inaction once again! I asked him he wanted to go get groceries this afternoon and he said "Tomorrow". Yup, he's fine, sure he is.

This week's art journal challenge at Stamping Bella was to make a page using stickers.

I had made this house out of left over cardstock but never used it on a project so I decided this is the week it gets used. The background is once again a mixture of paint, ink, rub-ons and stencils. I punched out the little hearts to have them coming out of the chimney and liked the negative piece so much I couldn't bear to throw it away so I stuck it on too. I wasn't sure what verse I was going to use but then I came across this one on the Internet and loved it. Not sure you can read it from the picture but it says "Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning!" Love it!

Sunflowers brighten up the day

Hurricane Sandy has lived up to it's reputation and has caused a lot of damage and taken a few lives. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families suffering.

The wind here is so strong, trees and limbs are littering the yards, power is out in some places and lots of flooding. It's been raining steadily here for about 3 or 4 days. Sometimes nature is just plain cruel.

On a brighter note, I did get an art journal page done for this week's challenge over at Stampin' Bella.

The challenge was to use a typewriter type font on the page. Well, I don't have a typewriter and I didn't have any stamps that look like typewriter fonts so I searched thru the fonts I have on Word and found this one that was actually typewriter keys. Worked for me!

I had no idea what to do when I started out. I had made this background page and it was dark. Must have made it on one of my bad days and I should know better. This page has so many layers and no mater what I did, it was dark. I threw it to one side and gave up...temporarily. While I was flipping thru an old copy of a Birds and Bloom magazine I came across this full page picture of an American Goldfinch on the sunflowers and I thought to myself "Sunflowers really brighten up the day"...eureka! that's what I'll do! I tore out the page and then spent a long, long time fussy cutting around each piece, including between the leaves, etc. so the dark background would show thru and once cut out, I used Modge Podge to glue it down. I had already printed out the message on white paper but when I looked at it, it was boring. I should have printed it out on yellow paper, which I didn't have, so I just took out some yellow acrylic paint and painted around them before I cut them out.  Then I just used a black pen to outline some of the elements and the words.

Next week's challenge is to use stickers! I do have a few of those!