The East Wind new release ~ Iguana

Hi everyone. I had an opportunity to play with Unky's new image from The East Wind which is being released today. It's called Iguana and is so cool! New releases happen every Tuesday and Friday in The East Wind shop.

I coloured the image with a mix of Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils adding a little Glossy Accents to the iguana's eye and this beauty's watch face. The image was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and was then matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape to create dimension and shadows.

The background began with a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper to which I added London Blue, Cut Grass and Vibrant Turquoise Dylusions paint. Once dry, stencilling was added with white gesso through TCW's Honeycomb stencil and with Jet Black Archival ink sponged through Sheena Douglass' Distress grid stencil. White embossing paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil. White gesso rings were made using a small Mini Mister lid.

The sentiment  which I love was computer generated and printed onto white cardstock. It was then trimmed out and matted with black cardstock. Thin strips of the same black were adhered in three groups on the left side of the background. Black flat pearls were added to the strips. Drywall mesh was added to black cardstock and a heart shape was die cut. A bright "iguana green" button was threaded with white floss and adhered over the heart. Black Big Brush  pen was used to edge the background before it was matted with black cardstock.

Thanks so much for visiting today. If you want to see other creations with this fabulous new image, please visit The East Wind Facebook group where others on our DT will be posting their makes throughout the day. We would love to see what you do with her!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

New RSD Altered board book

Hi everyone! I haven't made an altered board book in what seems like ages and I had an idea that I really wanted to play out. The theme of this board book is Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah and it's going to feature one of Rick St. Dennis' morning goddesses and some kitchen monsters/robots because that's who is in the kitchen with Dinah! How fun is that! I began with a child's board book which I sanded and coated with gesso. before applying the second coat of gesso, I glued some washi tape to the center seam of each page to prevent the gesso cracking as the book is bent. The tape stays flexible so no cracks appear.

For the first two page spread, I decided to invite Sugar Monster into the kitchen. I coloured him with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Then Sugar was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border before he was matted with black cardstock and trimmed out again. Foam tape was added to the back of him for dimension when he was added to the background.

The background began with London Blue and Crushed Grape Dylusions paint brayered onto the gessoed background. Gesso was scraped across the dried paint with a palette knife. Once that was dry, Forget-Me-Not Archival ink was stamped onto the background using a cross-hatch stamp. A little while ago, a friend gave me these fabulous vintage Woman's Day magazines from the early 1950s. They are so cool, filled with wonderful old ads. I thought it was be so cool to use them as a background for these kitchen themes pages. I tore out three plus a recipe and adhered them to the journal pages with gel medium. Inktense pencil activated with water was used to shade them and black outlining was added. A little stamping was added on top in a few places to embed these ads.

Black stencilling was sponged on next using Jet Black Archival ink and TCW's Mini Texturized stencil. Using another pattern from the same stencil, white embossing paste was scraped through the circles with a palette knife. Music washi tape was adhered to cream cardstock and applied to give Sugar a place to stand. Another little section was added to the other page at the top to create repetition. Memory Box Sketchy Rings die was used to cut black cardstock twice. One was layered  onto each page...love that die! Sugar was popped up onto the left side.

The sentiment which was computer generated  and printed on white paper was matted with yellow spritzed paper and then black cardstock  before being adhered to the background. To finish the spread, a border was doodled with black pen and the circles filled in with white paint pen. Doodling and rub-ons were added and three enamel hearts adhered to the top left corner to balance out the design. Black Big Brush pen was added to the edges of the book as a final touch.

Thanks for joining Sugar and me today in Dinah's kitchen. Stay tuned until next Thursday when another character (or two) from this altered board book will be visiting.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

One Sweet Challenge mid September reminder post

Hi everyone. It's time for the mid-month reminder post for One Sweet Challenge. The theme this month is either Halloween OR Use Purple, Green, Orange and Black on your project. Once again, I chose to follow both themes with this little beauty by Molly Harrison called Little Halloween Witch with 2 Cats. I think she is adorable.

I coloured Little Witch and her friends with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border for better contrast with the dark background.

The background began as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of kraft designer paper which was printed with a white Halloween design. White embossing paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil to add texture and dimension. Once dry a rectangle of spider web designer paper was layered over the kraft paper. The red spider on the bottom left was part of the original design although I added coloured pencil shading and black pen doodling as well as tho flat black pearl eyes to jazz it up a little. Once Little Witch and her friends were adhered to this, rhinestones were added to the intersections of some of the web lines. A punched border of washi tape applied to white cardstock was added to the lower right corner.

Two half doilies were added to either side of the web paper and black spider stickers with larger gems on their bodies were adhered over each doily. Tiny black dotted lines show their web string. A black border was also doodled around the outside of the kraft layer before the entire piece was matted with black cardstock. To complete the page, the sentiment, The Witching Hour" was fussy cut from yet another piece of Halloween Designer paper and popped up on foam tape before being added to the top left corner.

Thanks for stopping by today. We all appreciate that...even the spiders mentioned how nice of you that was! When you get a chance, pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog to see the wonderful creations by the rest of our talented team. We would love it if you played along with our September challenge: Halloween OR Use Purple, Green, Orange and Black.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

The East Wind Challenge #39 ~ For the Little Ones

Hi everyone. We are beginning a new challenge today on The East Wind blog. The challenge is called For the Little Ones and we want to see something made for a child or featuring a child. I figured with school starting here just last week, a bookmark would be a great choice for a project as many little ones will be starting their nightly 20 minute reading time again. I chose two images from The East Wind which were connected by a cat theme. When I read, there is always at least one of my cats volunteering to help me by sitting on the book.

I coloured Bed Time Story and the little bits of sleeping Tuxedo Cat that would show coloured pencil with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. They were then both fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. I had two atc size pieces of white cardstock which I had used to mop up overspray of Starburst and Adirondack inks so I used one as a whole and chopped the other into two sections. A black pen was used to doodle a border around all three. The little reader was placed on the whole background and Tuxedo Cat was adhered to the larger of the two sections. A Lawn Fawn alphabet stamp set was used to stamp the sentiment on the smaller section and a hand cut heart finished it off.

All three segments were spaced evenly on a black tag background and adhered flat so that they would survive longer in a book. A scrap of washi tape over white cardstock was punched as a reinforcement and added around the tag hole. Black and white plaid ribbon was used as the simple topper.

That's it for my sweet little bookmark. The little reader, Tuxedo Cat, and I thank you for visiting today. We appreciate that! When you get a chance, be sure to stop by The East Wind Challenge blog where the rest of the Blog Team have their fabulous creations displayed. We would love to have you play along with us in our For the Little Ones challenge: Something for a child or something that features a child. I hope we see you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Just doin' my Happy Dance ~ A Rick St. Dennis tag

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing a mixed media tag created to celebrate the Happy Dance...that feeling of excitement, sheer joy, and delight. I chose to use this adorable fairy to represent doing the happy dance. Her name is Summer Fairy and she is available in Rick's Etsy shop.. She also needed a stage or platform where she could hop up and strut her stuff. One of the mushroom clusters from Rick's Wonderland Elements Set One seemed the perfect choice for a wee faerie. I must say, I absolutely love these elements sets. They provide such wonderful settings and help customize so many images. I love how they help tell the story.

I coloured both images with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils adding some yellow gel pen to the flower centers to make them pop. I fussy cut each image and then glued them together by Summer's feet. Then the new single image was adhered to black cardstock and trimmed out again. Foam tape was added to the back to add dimension and create shadow.

The background began as a rectangle of mixed media paper which was spritzed with Lindy's Stamp Gang Tibetan Poppy Teal and Bells of Ireland Green Starburst sprays. Both contain mica and have the most wonderful shimmer. Black cardstock was cut to a #10 size tag and the sprayed paper was then cut to fit as two sections. A star stamp and one with text were inked with Forget-Me-Not Archival ink and added in several places. A border was doodled with black pen and black splatter dots were created with a TH stamp and jet Black Archival ink.

Before the bottom section was adhered to the tag, the sentiment was printed onto it. Three small washi tape flags were applied to the sides and tiny polka dot buttons adhered with Glossy Accents to those flags. To complete the tag, two lengths of turquoise and four of blue polka dot grosgrain ribbon were added to the top.

Thanks for joining Summer and me today. We always appreciate that. It gives us both a reason to do the happy dance. You know what else gives us a reason to do our Happy Dances? Well, have you seen Rick's new Alice in Wonderland themed Alice 150th Birthday Colouring Book for Adults? It's also available on Amazon. I am so excited...I'm going to have to find a bigger mushroom so I can dance on it, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sweet Pea Stamps Facebook Progressive Challenge Part 2

Hi there. It's time for Part 2 of the Sweet Pea Stamps Facebook Progressive Challenge and the image which we are playing with this time is called How Do I Look Now by Gabriella Szabo. She has gorgeous whimsical images and is one of the many talented artists at Sweet Pea Stamps. If you played along with Part 1, you will have received this image for free  for part 2. If not, you can still purchase it and join us this time.

I coloured Bluebell (she told me her name) and her wee friend with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Cinnamon Stickles was added to the flower centers and wing dots. Turquoise Stickles was also added to the wing dots. Glossy Accents was added to the dew drops and the bunny's eye. The image was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. It was then matted with black cardstock and trimmed out again. Foam tape was added to the back for added dimension.

The background began as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of turquoise tone on tone chevron patterned cardstock. -Me-Not Archival ink was used to add additional pattern with Joggles Latin Text and Open Circles background stamps. White embossing paste was scraped through TCW Mini Netting stencil. Bottle lid rings were made with Dylusions Black Marble paint. Idea-ology rub-ons were applied in three places. Hearts were die cut from vintage sheet music in 3 different sizes and adhered in a triangle. Doodling was added to the hearts as well as the border and Inktense pencil activated with water was used to shade around the hearts. A black Scribbles die cut heart was adhered over the top heart.

Bluebell and bunny were adhered to the background with foam tape and a scrap of cheesecloth was layered under her to ground her and add texture. Tiny punched flowers with Stickles centers were adhered beneath her to bring the flowers from the top of the image to the background below it. To bring the orange colour to the top right and balance out the composition, three faceted gems were added to the corner. The sentiment was computer generated and printed onto white cardstock. Once the segments were trimmed, they were matted with black cardstock and adhered with foam tape. The outside edges of the background were inked with a black Big Brush pen and a black mat was added to the back to frame the piece.

Thanks for joining Bluebell, Bunny, and me today. We love that! When you get a chance, take a peek at the Sweet Pea Friends and Fans Facebook page where you will begin seeing how other DT members and our wonderfully talented members create with this sweet image. We would love to have you join us.  One of my favourite things is to see how many people interpret and play with the same image...so inspiring.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Bewitched ~ September Challenge at One Sweet Pea

Happy Labour Day! Today is the first Monday of the month and that means there is a new challenge at One Sweet Challenge. This month you have a choice. You can either enter with a Halloween project or you can enter with a project using the colours Purple, Green, Orange, and Black. I decided that was too big of a decision so I did both! I chose to play with two of Molly Harrison's cute witch images which can be found at Sweet Pea Stamps. The one on the left is called Little Witch and the one on the right is Witch Standing with Pumpkin and Cat.

I coloured both witches with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Standing Witch and her cat were given tiny black half pearl eyes. Both were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border so that they would stand out against the dark background. Foam tape was added to the back of both images.

The background began as two tone on tone 4.5 x 6.5 inch squares of patterned Halloween paper with  a flag design across the top. They were joined together and brads were placed to "hang the bunting". Three sizes of bats were stamped with Versamark and then clear embossed to add more interest to the background. Yellow Rose of Texas Starburst spray was spritzed onto mixed media paper and once dry, California Poppy Gold was sprayed through a stencil over top. A 4 inch moon was die cut from this paper and Dried Marigold Distress ink was used to deepen the outside edge before it was adhered behind the two little witches.

A border was cut from another Halloween paper and placed on the background so The had a place to stand. The embossed Happy Halloween was part of the paper. The bat border was sliced from a separate paper and layered over top as well as added to the right hand side. Small shimmery bats which change colour in the light were added in three places to pop a little colour into the night sky.

Striped washi tape was adhered to white cardstock so that it would frame the background once they were layered together. That's my lazy way of adding the checkerboard pattern without having to colour it all in:) To finish off the page, sparkly white stickers were added to spell the word Bewtitched. I know I find these two cuties bewitching, for sure.

Thanks for joining us today. To see the fabulous makes by the rest of our talented DT, be sure to pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog. We would love to have you join us this month for our Halloween/Purple, green, orange & black challenge. Hope to see you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

New Magic ~ Sparkle and Glitter Progressive Challenge

Hi everyone. Happy September!Today marks the beginning of Part One of the Progressive Challenge on Rick St. Dennis' Sparkle and Glitter blog. Part One means that the theme is Anything Goes using an RSD image. If you play along this month, next month you will receive the Part 2 image free so you can play along again. I have been eyeing this Garden Sprite Giggles image for quite some time and decided that one of the mushroom clusters from Wonderland Elements Set One would be a perfect pairing with her.

I coloured both images with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils adding a little clear Wink of Stella to her wand and the mushroom stars. Love that extra bit of glimmer. Both images were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then matted in black cardstock. Foam tape was added to the back of each image to add dimension and create lovely shadowing.

The background started as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of designer paper with a subtle tone on tone pattern. leaves were stamped across the top and upper sides with Coffee Archival ink using a Dylusions stamp. The leaves were shaded with an Inktense pencil and the shading was activated with a waterbrush to spread the colour and fade it toward the middle of the leaf. Two different washi tapes were applied to the background and shaded around with the same Inktense pencil and water.

The sentiment was computer generated, printed onto white cardstock, and matted with black cardstock. Each segment was popped up on foam tape. Tiny butterflies were punched from ink sprayed mixed media paper and the bodies were added with Copper Scribbles paint. These scattered bits of colour similar to the colour used in her shirt and in the mushrooms helps the eye move around the page and connects the images to the background. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the sidea of the piece before it was matted in black to frame it.

Thanks for stopping by today. Giggles and I appreciate your company. Be sure to pop over to the Sparkle and Glitter blog to take a peek at other wonderful inspiration projects from Team A. We would love to have you play along with us. And don't forget to check out Rick's new colouring books which are a-maz-ing! They are Day of the Dead and Rhinestones, Furs and Feathers.

The East Wind Challenge #38 ~ Corrugated Cardboard or Paper

My, oh my! Here we are in September already. It's time for a new blog challenge at The East Wind blog and since it's the beginning of the month, all of the DT members are using the same image, the freebie from September's newsletter. She is called Party Girl and not only does she have a fabulous sense of style but she's got spunk, too. She makes me smile! The challenge this month is to Add Corrugated Cardboard or Paper to your project. I can't wait to see how people do that!

I coloured Party Girl with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and cut her out leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted with black cardstock and trimmed again. Foam tape was added to the back of the image to create dimension and shadow.

The background started as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper onto which I scraped lemon Zest, and Cut Grass Dylusions paint using an old gift card. A tiny bit of a deeper blue acrylic paint was added in opposite corners. Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise was applied through an Americana circles stencil. Black Marble Dylusions paint was also applied to the background through TCW's texturized stencil as well as in the form of rings using a bottle top. Torn scraps of corrugated cardstock were layered over black cardstock pieces, making sure that one stack gave Party Girl a place to sit. Turquoise dotty washi tape was added to these layered scraps to add a pop of colour and tie in with the image. A corrugated arrow and star outlines with black pen were adhered to the background to continue the theme and add contrast with hard edged shapes.

The sentiment from Create With TLC was just the message I was looking for to pair with Party Girl. It also happens to be one I relate to oh-so-well :) It was printed on white cardstock, edged with Black Big Brush pen, and matted with checked washi tape applied to a white scrap of cardstock. Two sizes of black enamel dots were added to three places on the background to create a visual Triangle. A scrap of die cut border was added to the top left to balance out the composition. The edges were inked with Black Big Brush pen and the entire page was matted with black cardstock to frame it.

Thanks for stopping by to visit Party Girl and me today. To see what the other members of the Blog DT created with this fun image, pop over to The East Wind blog and check them out. I can't wait to see your corrugated project. Remember, this image is free to all of The East Wind newsletter subscribers so if you haven't done that yet, git on 'er! :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie