New Release at The East Wind ~ Aurora What Matters

Since today is Friday, there is a new release at The East Wind. This one is called Aurora "What Matters". It seems like such a timely image with all of the hustle and bustle that we have been living with for the past few weeks. Sometimes it's hard to remember to take time for yourself, to slow down, and center yourself. Aurora is reminding us of how important that is.

I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border. Then Aurora was matted with dark brown textured cardstock and fussy cut again before being popped up on foam tape. The oval behind her was cut with an X-Cut die from DCWV's the Far East paper. A Washi tape was placed below her so she would be grounded and not levitating...not sure how relaxing levitating would be!

The background began with another paper from the same stack which was cut to allow some of the white to create a border. Another rectangle was cut from the same brown cardstock, again slightly smaller than the previous one to allow it to show. A length of cork ribbon was wrapped around the brown layer, forming a band. The Aurora oval was popped up on foam dots and centered on the background.

To continue the butterfly theme from the oval paper, three butterflies were punched from the same paper. The edges were inked with Vintage Photo and brown beads were adhered to the centers for the bodies. Three large pale pink pearls were adhered to the bottom right corner to balance out the butterflies in the top left. The sentiment was computer generated, trimmed close, and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink to complete the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Aurora and I appreciate your fine company. If you pop over to The East Wind Facebook group, you'll be able to see Jackie's beautiful project with this lovely image. I love her style!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

TEW Challenge 21 ~ Lucy Loo Grinch

Hi everyone! There's a new challenge beginning today at The East Wind Challenges blog. The theme is Christmas and I decided to take a kind of a different take on the traditional card. My card features Lucy Loo - Lucy the Grinch, Unky's take on that lovable Dr. Seuss character.

I coloured Lucy Loo Grinch with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted in black and fussy cut again before foam tape was placed on the (not her...lol) backside. Clear Wink of Stella was applied to the star and the ornaments on the tree. Once dry, Glossy Accents was added over that on the ornaments and on her eyes. White embossing paste was pounced onto her hat and dress fur as well as the fur on her shoes with a small brush.

The background began with a green rectangle, matted in black, and cut to fit on the white background leaving a border all around. Strips of other designer paper were adhered overlapping like a Christmas ribbon on a package. Three stars were punched from yellow patterned paper, then inked on the edges with Scattered Straw. Wink of Stella and Icicle Stickles were added to each star before they were adhered to the red strip.

The sentiment was computer generated as I was channelling what Lucy Loo Grinch might be saying. It was printed on white cardstock, cut out with an MFT die, and matted on black cardstock. Doodling and faux stitching were added to finish the card and tie the elements together.

Thanks for visiting Lucy Loo and me today. I know I appreciate it but she's a little busy to notice...so many trees, so few chimneys...lol. To see the rest of the Christmas themed projects from the rest of my talented teamies, pop over to The East Wind blog. We can't wait to see what you come up with if you decide to play along with our challenge

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie.

RSD Showcase ~ The Valentine Kind

Hi everyone. Today is the RSD Showcase on the Sparkle and Glitter blog and our theme is Valentine's. Rick St. Dennis has so many wonderful Valentine images  from which to choose but I am particularly smitten with these quirky Valentine girls that he recently released. Today I chose to play with Charlotte Chic Valentine Girl who can be found in Rick's Zibbet and Etsy shops.

I coloured Charlotte with Prismacolor pencils, adding some metallic silver gel pen dots on her eyelashes because she's that kind of girl, too. It's all about style for Charlotte. I fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border and then matted her with black cardstock before popping her up on foam tape.

The background began as a 6x8 inch piece of mixed media paper which I needed to use to stand up to the wet inky layers I knew I would add. I sprayed the paper with water, and then spritzed it with Postbox Red, Crushed Grape, and Funky Fuchsia Dylusions sprays. Once dried, I dipped the background into the leftover sprays on my craft sheet a few times, drying in between each time. Once I was satisfied with the depth of colour and drips/splatters, I misted it again with Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold to create shimmer appropriate for this fashion diva. The Dylusions bricks stencil was spritzed through with the same three colours I started with for extra pattern and texture.

Some background stamping was done with Jet Black Archival ink and a clear pattern stamp. Circles were added with black and then white gesso using a couple of lids as the stamps. Washi tape applied to white cardstock was added to where Charlotte would stand as well as to the side. Two punched photo corners were dotted and added to the top left corner.

Once Charlotte was placed, the sentiments (one from Create With TLC and the other computer generated) were printed on white cardstock. The lengthier sentiment was cut with a die. Both were matted with black and adhered to the background. Three sizes of hearts were die cut from shimmery paper and then matted in black. The tiny one over the i in Valentine was hand cut and added without the mat. Three flat black pearls were added to lead into the second half of the sentiment. The hearts were shaded around with a Stabilo pencil activated with a water brush. To frame the spread, black cardstock and plain chipboard were added to the back adding strength as well as contrast.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Charlotte and I are delighted that you did. When you get a minute, check out the Sparkle and Glitter blog to see Aletha's incredible project using another of Rick's wonderfully quirky Valentine girls.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Aurora Warm Wishes ~ new release at TEW

Hi all. I had a chance to play with a new release from The East Wind called Aurora Warm Wishes. I am such a fan of Aurora's sweet face and she is the star of another Christmas card which I am sending out for my mom who is no longer able to do that.

I coloured Aurora with Prismacolor pencils, adding some clear Wink of Stella to the four candles on the image. After it was cut out with a Spellbinders Labels One die, I traced the same die onto black cardstock to get a mat just the right size. Before adhering them together, Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress inks were applied to the edges. Doodling with a Pitt pen was added over that.

The background designer paper with sparkly snowflakes was cut smaller than the white card base and matted in black. An icicle border was cut with a Joy Crafts die: once from white and once from black. They were then offset for a shadow effect which also made the white icicles more visible. Black Soot Distress ink was applied to the top edge and doodling was added as well.

The Aurora image was popped up on foam tape and two die cut snowflakes (Impression Obsession) were added to opposite corners, one on top of the image and one beneath it. A flat white pearl was placed in the center of the top snowflake. The sentiment, from Create With TLC, was printed on white cardstock and edged with broken China. It was then die cut, matted in black, and popped up on a double layer of foam tape to complete the simple card design.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Aurora and I both appreciate that. If you get a minute, stop by The East Wind Facebook group today to see Jackie's gorgeous card using Aurora Warm Wishes. It's so striking and beautiful!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Merry Creepmas ~ Rick St. Dennis Airless Chambers project

Today is Day 5 of the 12 Days of Creepmas organized by Smeared and Smudged.

It's my turn to post on the Airless Chambers blog and I have a mixed media Creepmas project. I began by spraying my white bristol background with water and then Dylusions Cut Grass, Fresh Lime, and London Blue ink sprays. That layer was dried and then the background was dipped into the leftover spray on the craft sheet drying in between dunkings. The final coat was a spritz of  Iridescent Gold Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist for that creepmas glow...lol. The edges of the background were inked with Black Soot and then black Big Brush pen. The bristol was matted in black cardstock and then mounted on chipboard for strength.

An icicle border was die cut from white cardstock, shaded outside with a Stabilo black pencil and outlined with black Micron pen. Two different patterned washi tapes were layered onto white cardstock and then adhered  below where the two stars of the show would stand to ground them. White punched snowflakes were scattered around the background.

Creepmas Witch Tree and Phineus Pucker were coloured with Prismacolor pencil and fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. They were then both matted in black and popped up on foam tape.

Glossy Accents was added to their eyes and Wink of Stella was added to the dear witch's hat and ornaments. Metallic gel pen was also used to outline her lovely cape.

A third image, Creepmas Bones, was printed on white cardstock, coloured with Prismacolor pencils and cut with an oval die. It was framed with a black oval which had paint added to the edge in a checked pattern. Icicle Stickles were added to the spider webs on the design.Doodling and inking with Black Soot completed the outside edge of the sentiment.

The other sentiment, which expresses poor Phineus' dismay at what he has found under the tree, was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, and matted in black. The segments were popped up on foam dots for extra loft. Black pearls become the thought bubble trail of Phineus and a black cardstock arrow indicates the tree under which (or is that witch) his present awaits...poor lad!

Thanks for joining Phineus, his witchy friend, and me today. We appreciate that.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Hold On to the Magic ~ CYP Challenge 243

There's a new challenge beginning today at Craft Your Passion. The theme is Christmas With Non-Traditional Colours. Our  fabulous sponsor this week is Crafty Sentiments and I am playing with the adorable image Harriet-Lantern.

I coloured Harriet with Prismacolor pencils, adding white half pearls for buttons and hair baubles. She was fussy cut, matted in black cardstock, and popped up on foam tape for added dimension.

A black rectangle was cut to fit inside the white card base and then a rectangle of  designer paper with glittery dots was cut to fit inside the black. A band from the same paper pad was cut and matted to fit across the width of the card. Another scrap of pink paper with a little Titan Buff stencilling was die cut and matted in black to fit behind Harriet who was then adhered on top of the stack.

Two pink buttons were threaded with green hemp twine and adhered to the upper left corner of the card. The three other corners were given black punched photo corners. Doodling was added to the outside edges of the card to add to the whimsy. The sentiment from Create With TLC was printed on cream paper and die cut with an oval. It was then shaded with Black Soot Distress ink and faux stitched. The star and the words along the side were coloured in with gel pen and the word Magic was coloured in with Black Diamond Stickles.

Thanks for joining Harriet and me today. We appreciate that you stopped by...especially when life is so busy for many people right now. To see the other wonderful creations by my talented teamies at Craft Your Passion Challenges, pop by the blog when you get a minute. We would love to have you join us for our Christmas With Non-Traditional colours challenge.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

New Release at The East Wind

4th post of the day...and you thought I was slacking...lol!

If you are back for this one, huge thanks since this is the fourth project and accompanying post of the day...some days are like that. Unky has a gorgeous new release today as she does each Monday and Friday. This time I was able to colour it up and create a card...couldn't resist her. The image is called.Lucy Loo Snow Queen and is available in The East Wind shop. If you watched Unky's Colouring video on YouTube last week, you saw her colouring this beauty up....yummy!

I coloured Lucy Loo with Prismacolor pencils adding some Baby Blue Stickles to her dress and some Turquoise bling to the snowflakes and her tiara. I fussy cut her and then tucked her into and on top of a die cut Ornate frame. I backed the blue frame with textured shimmery white paper and fussy cut around the outside. Although I could not capture it in the photos ("cause we haven't seen the sun in ages!), it's very pretty IRL as it catches the light.

The background began with the same textured blue cardstock being cut into a rectangle slightly smaller than the white card base. A rectangle of blue paper with white dots was cut to fit inside the blue layer. Another band of snowflake patterned paper was matted and adhered vertically down the card front.

The framed Lucy Loo was popped up on foam dots and centered over the snowflake band. Four snowflakes were punched from a thin metal sheet and adhered to the card using Glossy Accents. The sentiment from my stash was trimmed out, matted in the same silver foil and popped up on foam tape. Three white pearls balanced out the top left corner.

Thanks so much for stopping by again. Lucy Loo and I are most appreciative. Stay tuned to The East Wind Facebook group to see gorgeous projects created by my talented teamies using Lucy Loo Snow Queen..

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

RSD Progressive Challenge Part II

Today begins Part II of the Progressive Challenge on RSD Sparkle and Glitter blog. All those who played along with Part I last month will be sent this gorgeous new hat lady image to play along with Part II. She is called Christmas Party Hat and if you were unable to play along last month, you can purchase her in Rick's Etsy shop and still join in the fun.

I coloured her with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border to accommodate her feathers and fur as well as provide contrast with the narrow black matting I added. She was then popped up on foam tape for added dimension and to create shadow.

The background began with a rectangle of glittery snowflake embossed designer paper matted on a piece of black cardstock and cut to leave a border of the white card base showing. A black and a white Weathered clock were die cut and offset when adhered to the background. A small doily was split into two sections and layered under the edges of the clock.

White mulberry flowers were placed along the top right edge to frame the image. Leaves were punched and added along with sparkly turquoise boughs which brought a little of the turquoise in the image to the top. A sparkly snowflake was given a pearl center and added to the bottom right to complete the visual triangle. Three sparkly blue toned gems were added to the bottom right corner to complete the design.

Thanks so much for joining us today. Be sure and stop by the Sparkle and Glitter blog to see how some of my talented teamies coloured and created with this gorgeous image. We would love to have you play along with us this month. The more, the merrier!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Merry Everything ~ CYP Challenge 242b

Whoa! Third post of the day...go me!
We also have a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges since today is Monday. Our theme for Challenge 242 is Christmas Presents. Our sponsor is the fabulous Stitchy Bear Stamps and the image I am playing with is called Cartoon Polar Bear. I love the look on his face.

I coloured Polar bear with Prismacolor pencils, adding a black half pearl and some Glossy Accents to his eye  and nose as well as Texture Paste to his hat fur and pompom. I also added a dot of Icicle Stickles to the highlight on his nose. PB was then fussy cut, matted in black cardstock, and then popped up on foam dots to add dimension and create shadow.

The background is black cardstock cut and folded into a center step card. A small doily was adhered behind PB allowing the edges to hang off the front panel. Two pieces of washi tape were adhered to white cardstock, fussy cut, and placed below PB so he was grounded (polar bears can't fly or float in the air). The sentiment was computer generated , die cut, faux stitched, and matted in black. A double layer of foam tape lifted it up. The four presents on the side panels were layered stickers from my stash.

Thanks for hanging out with PB and me today. You can see by his face how happy it made him and ditto for me! To see the other wonderful creations by our design team, pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to take a peek. We would love to have you play along with our Christmas Presents theme!

Life is good; so is srt.
Bonnie

Meowy Christmas ~ TEW Challenge 20

It's the first of the month so that means that we have a new challenge at The East Wind, the one where the DT uses the freebie image that comes with the newsletter. This month the theme is Meowy Christmas and Unky has created this adorable Christmas ornament with a sweet kitty inside called LaLa's Merry Christmas. Huge Awwww Factor!

 I chose to colour the image with Prismacolor pencils except for the silver topper and the outside edge. The topper is done with silver acrylic paint shaded with a Pitt pen. The outside edge was done first with Pan Pastel and then deepened with Faded Jeans Distress ink. The ornament was fussy cut, omitting the hanger string at the top. It was then matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape. Metallic silver cording became the new hanger.

The background began with a rectangle of designer paper cut to fit inside the white card base and matted in black. Faux stitching was doodled around the perimeter. Two other Christmas themed scraps of DP were die cut into circles, matted in black, and given silver foil cardstock toppers. Silver cord was used to make the hanger for the one on the left side.

More silver cord was wrapped around the background layer before it was adhered to the card base. The sentiment was computer generated, matted in black, and the openings in the letters coloured with green pen. Foam tape was added to the back and it was placed over the silver cord.

Thanks for joining LaLa and me today. We appreciate your company and want to reassure you that no animals were injured in the making of this card...lol. In fact, it is Molly and Parker approved. To check out the other wonderful projects using this sweet freebie image, pop over to The East Wind Challenge blog to see what my talented and creative teamies have done. We would love to have you join us!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

The Mad Tea Party Teacup Book ~ The Finale

Hi everyone.I'm here today to share the last couple of spreads in my chipboard Mad Tea Party book featuring a few of Rick's many fabulous Alice in Wonderland images. Since all of the backgrounds were created in the same general way which I explained here, I won't go into that today. Instead I will jump right in with the third double page spread about Cheshire Cat.

The left side of the spread features one of Chessie's most famous quotes. Although he wasn't part of the chapter in Lewis Carroll's book about the tea party, he was very important to the scene since he directed Alice to it at the end of the chapter before. In keeping with unifying the book, several elements were repeated on this page: the doily; the harlequin washi tape, this time cut into harlequin shapes; the butterfly (Absolom); and the detail on the cup handle. The words are from an Etsy collage sheet and bright blue flower buttons are a nod to all of the gorgeous flowers in Wonderland.

The right page of this spread features one of the many Cheshire Cat images which Rick has in his portfolio. This one is called Stand On Your Head Cheshire Cat and can be found in the Zibbet shop. Chessie was coloured with Prismacolor pencils using the Tim Burton colour scheme rather than the Disney one. He was given turquoise rhinestone eyes and then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. He was matted in black and popped up on foam tape. Small tree branches were layered together to create a larger branch for Chessie to perch upon. Detail was added with Prismacolor pencils and Big Brush pens. Another blue butterfly and some of the same harlequins plus a computer generated tag finished the spread.

The left page of the next spread features a quote from the book when Dormouse is falling asleep while Hatter is singing his Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat song. The quote was printed on kraft cardstock, edged with Black Soot Distress ink, and matted in black. A tiny sign with the fist part of the song was added as well as more harlequin tape left over from when the diamonds were cut. Piano washi tape popped up on foam tape, and a music note and treble clef brad were added to continue the music idea. A small bat was die cut from Black cardstock and given red Stickles eyes. The finishing detail was the three stars added to the handle of the cup...the regular subject of the Twinkle song.

The right side of this spread features the adorable sleepy Dormouse image found at I Brake for Stamps. She was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and a checkered border was doodled around the image before it was cut out. This ties in with the black and white washi tape. A doily was layered underneath and outlined with black pen.

The image, black arrow, and name were all popped up on foam tape to add dimension and shadow. Two of the circles left when the harlequin tape was punched were added to the Dormouse word and two strips were added beneath the image. The three star detail was added to the cup handle repeating the detail from the other page.

The final page is the back cover which has two Idea-ology letter cards, A and W, adhered to the background. the word "in" was done with a Dymo labeller. A teapot clock image placed on a scallop circle background, a metal key charm, and another sparkly butterfly were added to the page. Hearts were punched from the harlequin washi tape and added in clusters. The ring was fed through the pages and a dotty black and white ribbon was added to the binder ring.

Here are two last pictures, one showing how chunky the book is and the other showing how they are fastened together.

I had an absolute blast creating this book with Rick's fabulous images. Thanks for joining me on this adventure.
Bonnie