The bloglovin' plunge

Well, I took the bloglovin' plunge by transferring my personal list from Google Reader to bloglovin' because I don't want to miss a single post from my favourite bloggers. I also added the bloglovin' button to my sidebar so that if anyone still wants to follow me they can. (Please, please, please!!) It actually was a piece of cake to do both. Now I wonder why I procrastinated. Isn't that always the way :D

I had a bit of a play and created a few more altered playing cards from The Spoken Soul online class taught by Mary Jane Chadbourne at Artful Gathering. The backgrounds are done with gesso, Neocolor IIs, Inktense blocks, Gelatos, Distress inks and stains, acrylic paints and inks, and layers of paper scraps. Since the backgrounds were done at different times from the paper layers and the images etc. I couldn't tell you what I used on each card. I do all the backgrounds, then all of the paper scrap layering, then stencilling and stamping, and then I audition the images that I have fussy cut and keep in a container. Once those have possible card homes, I audition quotes that I have produced on my computer. What I can do is point out any embellishments or features specific to each card.

For example, this first card has a scrap of embossed black cardstock drybrushed with metallic gold acrylic paint. The half round "sun" is a piece of grungepaper sprayed with Dylusions inks. The clock was fussy cut and coated with Glossy Accents to make it look like a watch crystal was on the face. Her little hand was cut between the thumb and palm so that it would look like she was really holding the clock.

The next card has black half pearls decorating the banner flags. Dew Drops became the fish bubbles and were shaded next to the left side to give them dimension and allow them to be more visible. The white ring around the K was done with watered down gesso and a small lid to a bottle. A slight twisting motion once it's down on the card gives a less uniform ring which I like.

The third card has a moon image layered over the circle of paper already adhered to the card. He was given a top hat and a punched butterfly bow tie with an additional black butterfly behind it to create a shadow. His monocle is a jewellery jump ring with a Dew Drop adhered inside to create the effect of the glass. The bonus is that the Dew Drop magnifies that eye...very cool IRL. The tiny photo corner was handcut, dotted with a paint pen, and given a white half pearl accent. The quote has gold ink along the black matting edges in order to repeat the gold in his monocle.

I'm still having a blast creating these and coming up with those little details I like so much. They help my mojo want to hang around which is a bonus. Anyway, thanks for visiting today. I'm hoping that you will continue to subscribe either through email or bloglovin. I'd love it if you did :) I talk to myself enough already. It's nice to know someone else is listening...lol.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Create Yourself ~ eTeam picks challenge

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! The eTeam picks challenge at eclectic Paperie started last Thursday and usually I post my response the same day but flower gardens, home renovations and life in general got in the way. The good news is that it continues until July 4 so I'm still within the challenge window. Our wonderfully talented Annette Green chose the theme of Monochromatic for June's eTeam challenge and right away I knew I was in trouble. I don't believe I have ever created anything monochromatic in my life. I am a big fan of combining lots of bright colours along with touches of both black and white. This, my friends, was a huge challenge for me...darn near daunting :) That's why I chose a smaller canvas to alter (6" x 8"). I figured the less real estate I had to fill the better.

I first covered the background with Neocolor II crayons blended with water. I wasn't happy with the intensity nor the shades of green so I covered that with Inktense blocks and water to spread the ink. Still not satisfied. Next, I applied Fresco paint in Hyde Park, Avocado, and Snowflake using a piece of Cut N Dry foam and keeping the paint wet to help with blending. When the paint was dry, Peeled Paint Distress ink was applied through the Dylusions Diamond of a Border stencil as well as the Dotted Flowers stencil. Peeled Paint Distress stain was mixed with Studio 490 white embossing paste and applied through the Dotted Flowers stencil to create greater dimension. Once dry, the circles were shaded on the left side with a Prismacolor pencil. The Distress stain was also splatted onto the canvas in several places to make the inky circles with the radiating drips. Have you tried that? So fun!

Some lighter green patterned paper from my scrapbox was cut with the MFT harlequin border die and adhered to the canvas in two places, after the edges were inked with the Peeled Paint Distress marker. The same marker was used to outline the diamond border on the canvas. Sewing snaps were taken apart and glued onto the diamonds . A TH flourish stamp was inked with Memento Bamboo Leaves  and stamped over the top of the diamonds and around the edges of the canvas. A manila tag was torn, inked with Peeled Paint Distress ink and edged and stamped with Memento Bamboo Leaves. Before the tag was adhered to the canvas, dotty ribbon was threaded through the hole and tied with a burlap string.

One of the Dylusions Mini Couture women from the set was stamped onto three different papers: one for the hat, another for the dress, and a third for the body. The parts were fussy cut, the dress adhered to the body, and the elements matted with dark green cardstock. Shading was done with Prismacolor pencils. They were then placed on foam dots for dimension and adhered to the canvas. To complete the project, 1" circles were punched from the same dark cardstock, cut in half, and glued to the top edge. Green Prisma pencil created the dots on the circles. Pine needle branches were punched from green scraps using a McGill punch and adhered behind a threaded green button. Along the bottom, an Idea-ology word band  (Life is about creating yourself) was threaded with baker's twine and glued in place with Glossy Accents. Peeled Paint Distress marker deepened the outer edges of the canvas to create definitiion.

Phew! I made it! I really had to fight off the urge to add white and black accents, a brighter button, and maybe a coloured belt. I really do like my usual variety of colours but thoroughly enjoyed the challenge that the Monochromatic theme presented. Thanks, Annette, for the push  that got me out of my comfort zone :) Thanks also to all of you for joining me on this adventure. I'm glad to know you were right there with me. Pop over to the eclectic Paperie blog, if you get a chance, to see Annette's take on her challenge as well as the wonderful inspiration pieces by the rest of the DT. I'd love to come for a visit...maybe you'll play along with us.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Below are the links to some of the products used above which can be found in the eclectic Paperie store:

Dylusions Couture Clear Stamps - Mini Couture	Dylusions Stencil 5x8" - Dotted Flowers	Dylusions Stencil 5x8" - Diamond of a Border	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Embossing Paste - White
Tsukineko - Memento Dew Drop Bamboo Leaves	Inkssesentials - Glossy Accents 2 oz.	Idea-ology - Word Bands	Tim Holtz� Distress� Markers - Peeled Paint
Distress Stain - Peeled Paint	Distress Ink Pad - Peeled Paint	Inkssentials� Surfaces #5 Manila Tags

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In the Garden ~ Craft Your Passion challenge 168

Well, Happy Summer, now that it is officially here. One of the things I love most about the summer is watching my flower gardens change and grow. The bright colours, copious butterflies and bees make me happy and provide lots of entertainment. That's why the challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is right up my alley. The theme is In the Garden and we want to see garden themed images or scenes. I was able to play with this sweet little gardener (Pure Innocence 017) by Heather Ellis. I just love her little boots and watering can. I coloured her with Prismacolor pencils, cut her out using an oval template, and inked the background with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress inks. She was then matted with brown cardstock.

The background paper comes from October Afternoon's Fly a Kite collection and was matted in brown cardstock. The floral paper and the dotted paper are from DCWV's Butterflies & Blossoms stack. A flower button was threaded with jute and adhered beside the image which had been popped up with foam dots. The metal thanks charm was adhered at the bottom of the image oval and corner pieces from the DCWV stack were also adhered to the background. Easy Peasy!

Thanks for stopping by today for a visit. I truly appreciate your time and sweet comments. They make my day. If you have a minute, pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see what the rest of the DT created in response to our In The Garden challenge. It's worth the click :)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
2 Sisters challenge #149 ~ Summer Fun
My Creative Moments June Wordplay Saturday ~ Summertime
One Crazy Stamper  June Challenge ~ Summer Fun
Brown Sugar Challenge #47 ~ Summer
Creative Corner Challenges ~ Summer

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Be an original ~ Eclectic Ellapu Challenge

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not much of a cook. My husband does all of the cooking in this family. However, I am able to follow a recipe...especially a challenge recipe :D That's what Andria wants us to do for this week's Purple challenge at Eclectic Ellapu. The recipe has the following ingredients: 1 stamped or digi image + 2 embellies + 3 papers + 2 diecuts. That I can do!!

I started with a 3.5 x 4.25"  block of wood left over from our recent reno project that is just shy of 1.5" thick. The sides were covered in Rusty Hinge Distress Stain and the top had a ledger type paper from MME's Reunion pad adhered with gel medium and then trimmed to fit the block. The TCW hexagon stencil was used with Rusty Hinge Distress ink to create a pattern over the paper. A second patterned paper from the same collection was die cut with a die from Spellbinders Office Supplies set to create the torn notebook edged rectangle. A third paper was die cut with an MFT large scallop die and adhered over the second paper. Once they were glued to the wood block, a small ink blot stamp from Hampton Arts was randomly applied to all papers.

The digital image is from Deidre Mosher as is the sentiment. Both were coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut. Olive's glasses and the O of original were coated with Glossy accents to create dimension and shine. Flat pearls were placed in the three corners of the frame, on the hat ornament, and on the center of a punched flower which was added to her hat decoration. The edges of the frame were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the image was matted on black cardstock before being popped up on foam tape.

To complete this project, the sentiment was matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam dots. Black cord, my second type of embellie, was criss-crossed below the image and tied in the back. Faux stitching was placed around the edges of the block which was then outlined with a black Big Brush pen to create definition.

Just a fun and quick little project which manages to follow the recipe...just don't tell my husband. He might expect me to do that in the kitchen and that would seriously cut into my play time. Thanks for stopping by today. If you get a chance, pop by the Eclectic Ellapu blog to see how the rest of the Purple Team spun this recipe. I hope you feel inspired to play along.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:
Allsorts Challenge ~ Weeh 212 Outside the box (wood remnant from house reno)
Seemacrafts ~ June Challenge Mixed Media
Stampin' for the weekend ~ Anything Goes
Stamping Dragon Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

My latest obsession

Here are a few more of my altered playing cards from The Spoken Soul online class offered by Mary Jane Chadbourne at Artful Gathering. The backgrounds are layers of Neocolor II watercolour crayons, Inktense blocks, Distress inks and stains, Gelatos, Big Brush pens, acrylic inks and paints combined with stencilling and stamping. The papers are mainly from my scrap box ...Go me!

The images come from many sources including Deviant Scrap (Tumble Fish Studio) and Etsy stores like Cemerony. All of the quotes are computer generated and the bits and bobs are from my stash. These are a fabulous way to use things left over from other projects and sitting on my desk until inspiration and need collide. It's also a great place to try out new techniques or media.

Thanks for stopping by for another peek at my latest obsession. I have more coming soon to a post near you  so stay tuned :D

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Talk about Fabulous...

I am taking an awesome online class right now at Artful Gathering called The Spoken Soul. The instructor, Mary Jane Chadbourne, is awesome. She is a fabulous artist who shares her vast knowledge and enthusiasm so well. I appreciate her teaching style, her inspiration, and encouragement. There are some very talented people taking the class and sharing their works in progress.

We are altering decks of playing cards using mixed media products and techniques and then collaging images and quotes onto the cards to serve as reminders of messages we want to remember or that speak to us in some way. I'm not going to share the usual detail in order to respect Mary Jane's class content but I do want to share some of my almost finished cards. I still need to finish the backs and decide how I want to display these for them to be considered complete.

I am having a blast creating these mini works of art. They are lovely because each card does not have to be completed in one sitting. With the multiple layers and steps, I can spend whatever time I have whether it's ten minutes or hours continuing the creative process. You'll be seeing lots more of them during this six week course. She's teaching another online class in July called House of Cards plus I've ordered the DVD from last's year's class, too. Can you tell I like her and what I'm creating??

Thanks for popping by today. You know I love it when you do that!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Hey Lady! ~ CYP Challenge 167

I had the chance to play with another adorable Lenny image from Stamp Fairy this week for the new Craft Your Passion challenge. The theme is Let's Play Dress Up. You must include an image of an animal or a person dressed up as something else.  I used Lenny Ladybug 3...so cute! I coloured Lenny all dressed up in his sweet ladybug costume with Prismacolor pencils using 4 different layers of choppy strokes to make him look furry. Lenny's eyes as well as those of his ladybug friend are half pearls. Lenny was cut out using Spellbinders Labels 25 die. The edges were inked first with Antique Linen and then Black Soot Distress inks before faux stitching was applied. The image was then matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape.

The red and white dotty paper came from October Afternoon's Fly a Kite stack. The right edge was punched with a border punch which allowed the black to show through the row of holes once the matting was applied to the red paper. Lengths of black satin ribbon and black and white baker's twine were added to the background and wrapped to the back before the image was adhered to the card. Three little ladybugs which actually were the tops of Dollar Store thumbtacks were glued over the circle border to complete the card.

Thanks for taking the time to pop by today. Lenny and I really appreciate it. I think his lady friend does, too, but she is very shy and isn't saying much. If you get a chance, drop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the inspiration projects created by the rest of the CYP DT. We're looking forward to seeing what you create in response to our Let's Play Dress Up challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ #24 Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ #22 Always Anything Goes
Glitter N Sparkle ~ #37 Threes (three ladybugs)
One Stitch at a Time ~ #168 Use a Digi
Crafty Calendar Challenge ~ June  Things With Wings

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie