Sneak Peek of my post on the Joggles blog

Hi everyone! It's my turn to post a project on the Joggles blog and this time I decided to use Strathmore's 6x6 bristol artist tiles as the substrate for some mixed media fun with the new Joggles/Bloobel rubber stamps. You know that I am smitten with all of Lisa's fabulous Bloobel images and the Joggles Cling Rubber Stamps are amazing quality so this idea was a win/win for me. I created 4 tiles but I'm only showing you one here. To see the rest and get the scoop on my step by step process, you'll have to head over to the Joggles blog. I know...I'm mean :)

Hope to see you there!
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Mother Nature's Box of Crayons ~ Inspired by a new release from The East Wind

Hi everyone! I am such a huge fan of fall/autumn. I think I love everything about it including the amazing fall colours. Where we live, there are a lot of maple trees so we get the spectacular reds and oranges which make my heart happy. As soon as I saw Unky's new release from The East Wind shop, I pictured her in fall colours. She is called Aurora "Magic Flute" and she seems like some kind of fairy sent by Mother Nature to remind us to enjoy every moment and all of the simple beauties in our days.

I coloured Aurora with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and I took a little artistic license with her, I think. I believe the back piece on her head is probably hair but I wanted her to have a head dress in intense fall colours. It suited my vision of an Autumn Fairy :) To give her a place to sit and play her magic flute, a branch was die cut from brown paper, then inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink, and lined with black pen,

The background, a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper, was spritzed with Yellow Rose of Texas, Marigold Yellow- Orange, Hag's Wart Orange, and Rudolph's Nose Red Lindy's Starburst Sprays. Once dry, one of the TH Falling Leaves stamps was applied to the background in several places with  Vermillion and Tiger Lily Archival Ink. Text was added using  Red Geranium Archival Ink and a Wendy Vecchi stamp. Once the tree was adhered to the background, black splatter dots were added with a TH stamp and Jet Black Archival. Aurora was popped up on foam tape and adhered so she is sitting on the tree branch. Leaves were punched from various red, green, yellow, and orange mop up papers. Coffee, Red Geranium, Vermillion, Tiger Lily, and Fern Green Archival inks were sponged onto the points of the leaves to make them multi-coloured. They were adhered to the branch and then outlined with black pen to help them show up against the similarly coloured background. The tree branch was also outlined.

The sentiment was printed onto white card stock, the words cut apart, and then matted with black. Foam tape was used to pop them up and adhere them. A black pen was used to doodle the simple border and black Big Brush Pen was used to outline the edges. Black card stock was used to mat the journal page and provide a frame to pull the page together.

Thanks for joining Aurora and me today. To see what others from TEW DT have done with this gorgeous image, be sure to pop by The East Wind Facebook group today. It's very cool to see where others take her in their art.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Jack Swine ~ a Sandra Caldwell New Release

Hi everyone! Since we skipped last Monday's new releases because Sandra was sick, it means that today Sandra Caldwell has two fabulous groups of new releases available in her Etsy shop Babycakes Digis and Designs. The second image I played with is called 1072 Jack Swine. He was coloured with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. I think he's very dapper in his striped suit and bat wings.

The background started as a rectangle of designer paper which had a different image inside the frame. I cut the inside out and matted it with black so that Jack contrasted with the spooky background. The frame was then faux stitched and tiny black bats were stamped and fussy cut. Before adding them to the frame above Jack's head, Glossy Accents were added to their eyes to add dimension and shine.

A purple banner was hand cut and then stamped with Versamark Ink. Black embossing powder was added to the ink and then heat set. The open letters were coloured in with white coloured pencil. White gel pen was used to faux stitch the banner. Black enamel dots were used to embellish the ends of the banner.

When you get a chance, pop by Sandra Caldwell Stamps Fans Facebook group to see the  two fabulous sets of new releases she has for us this week. it's going to be a banner day there with so many awesome images and DT projects being posted. To check out the rest of Sandra's awesome images, pop over to her Etsy shop, Babycakes Digis and Designs.  There is such a delightful collection of wonderful quirky images in Sandra's signature style that you are sure to be inspired!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Jack Swine ~ a Sandra Caldwell New Release

Hi everyone! Since we skipped last Monday's new releases because Sandra was sick, it means that today Sandra Caldwell has two fabulous groups of new releases available in her Etsy shop Babycakes Digis and Designs. The second image I played with is called 1072 Jack Swine. He was coloured with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. I think he's very dapper in his striped suit and bat wings.

The background started as a rectangle of designer paper which had a different image inside the frame. I cut the inside out and matted it with black so that Jack contrasted with the spooky background. The frame was then faux stitched and tiny black bats were stamped and fussy cut. Before adding them to the frame above Jack's head, Glossy Accents were added to their eyes to add dimension and shine.

A purple banner was hand cut and then stamped with Versamark Ink. Black embossing powder was added to the ink and then heat set. The open letters were coloured in with white coloured pencil. White gel pen was used to faux stitch the banner. Black enamel dots were used to embellish the ends of the banner.

When you get a chance, pop by Sandra Caldwell Stamps Fans Facebook group to see the  two fabulous sets of new releases she has for us this week. it's going to be a banner day there with so many awesome images and DT projects being posted. To check out the rest of Sandra's awesome images, pop over to her Etsy shop, Babycakes Digis and Designs.  There is such a delightful collection of wonderful quirky images in Sandra's signature style that you are sure to be inspired!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Mr. Santa #1028 ~ A Sandra Caldwell New Release

Hi everyone! It's Monday and that means that Sandra Caldwell has another fabulous group of new releases available in her Etsy shop, Babycakes Digis and Designs. I created another adorable Christmas card with my chosen image called Mr. Santa  #1028. I love his dapper hat and cheerful face...so cute and fun to colour.

I coloured Mr. Santa with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Don't you love his baby blues? He was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border around him and then was matted with black Card stock to frame him and provide contrast with the background. Foam tape was used to pop him up and adhere him to the background.

The background is actually one layer cropped from a larger sheet of designer paper to fit inside the white card base. It was then matted with black card stock to anchor and frame it. Faux black stitching was added to the scallops and picot ribbons to make them look more 3D and add some detail. A red button was threaded with green embroidery floss and it was adhered to the background with Glossy Accents. The letters for Ho Ho Ho are sparkly white stickers which catch the light beautifully.

Thanks so much for stopping by today to visit with Mr. Santa and me. He'll be putting you on the Good List for sure!  When you get a chance, pop by Sandra Caldwell Stamps Fans Facebook group to see the other fabulous new releases she has for us this week. They are wonderfully inspiring and my talented DT teamies will post their delightful creations featuring them throughout the day. To check out the rest of Sandra's awesome images, pop over to her Etsy shop, Babycakes Digis and Designs.  You are sure to find an absolute ton of images that will nudge your mojo!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Crazy Cat Lady ~ Inspired by a Bloobel image

Hi everyone! Being a huge cat lover, this image from Bloobel stamps was a Must Have for me. She's called Crazy Cat Lady and I can relate to her oh-so-well :) I have two fur babies right now only because I know my husband's feelings on more than that but I could easily be that "crazy cat lady" if left unsupervised.

I coloured CCL with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. She and her friends were then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. They were then matted with black card stock and trimmed out again. Foam tape was added to the back of the image except for the bottom foot which was glued flat so that the die cut grass would lie flat.

The background is another 6 x 8 inch rectangle of the plain back side of designer paper. Two sizes of Ellen Hutson Bokeh Dot stamps were added using Forget-Me-Not Archival ink. The same ink was used to add text stamping. A small kitty paw print was added to each corner with Versamark Ink and black embossing powder. The border was drawn to connect the four prints leaving some openings between the lines. White paint pen was used to dot inside the border openings adding texture and brightness. More white was added in the form of Ranger Texture Paste scraped through TCW Texture Tile stencil. The die cut grass was adhered so that it slightly overlapped CCL's foot. Tiny lavender flowers were punched, adhered to the grass, and black rhinestone centers were added.

The sentiment was printed onto white card stock and the words were cut out individually. The center of each O was lined with a fine black pen and the words were matted with black. Foam tape was used to adhere the words to the background. To add a little more whimsy, pattern, and liveliness to the page, black and white striped washi tape adhered to white card stock was added behind the blue background to create a frame. Black card stock was then added to the back of the page to provide a final frame and draw the eye to the inside.

Thanks for joining Crazy Cat Lady and me today. She, her furry friends, and I all appreciate that. To see more of Lisa Graham's fabulously quirky and whimsical images, pop over to her Bloobel shop. It's a lovely place to visit and meet new friends who want to live at your house and in your art :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure ~ Week 35 response

Hi there! I playing a bit of catch up on a couple of the weekly prompts which I skipped for the Joggles Art Journal Adventure. I completed my journal page for Week 35 which Barb had dubbed Outward From the Center. I was a bit stumped on what I wanted to do when all of a sudden I thought of a sun face and then I was off and creating! I am such a fan of celestial images especially where the sun, moon, or stars have a face.

I began the background of my 8 x 10 inch journal page by spritzing Sassy Sapphire, Bachelor Button Blue, and Delphinium Turquoise Lindy's Starburst sprays onto  it and allowing it to dry thoroughly. Using Forget-Me-Not Archival Ink, a Wendy Vecchi Tales of Art stamp and Darkroom Door Polka Dots stamp were added to the background for subtle texture. Wendy Vecchi's A Form of Art ledger stamp was applied to the outside edges of the page with Jet Black Archival.

The sun and the triangular rays were all fussy cut from yellow mop-up paper which had picked up Yellow Rose of Texas, California Poppy Gold, and Marigold Yellow Orange Lindy's sprays. You can also see a little stencilling in the face. The face was cut into a 3.5 inch circle and was first stamped and edged with Orange Blossom Archival Ink and a River City stamp called Face of Uncle Enos. He was stamped a second time off-set slightly from the first using Jet Black Archival ink. I love the effect that created! The cheeks were scrubbed in with a dry brush and a mix of red and white paint.

The triangles were cut by hand and then edged with Orange Blossom Archival ink. Once they were adhered in place, black pen was used to outline them on the background as well as doodling patterns on them. Black die cut arrows and black gems were added to extend the outward from the center idea as well as creating that pop of black I love so much. I decided to call this guy Ray because it makes me laugh so I added his name to the top left corner using Idea-ology Alpha Parts. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the three sides and a simple double border was doodled around the page to create a frame.

Thanks for joining Ray and me today. Ray has a hard time showing his joy...just know it's there :)  If you haven't already been following along with the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and Barb's weekly Monday prompts, it's never too late. You can join in at any point, catch up or not, and we'd love to have you join our wonderful AJA Facebook group as well. It's an awesome group filled with creative, friendly, and supportive people who share the same enthusiasm for this fun adventure.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie