Each Day is a Gift ~ Rick St. Dennis inspired art journal page

Hi everyone. I had a bit of a play the other day experimenting with both Brushos Crystals and Dylusions paints and created a bunch of backgrounds. Totally mindless and completely for fun. I decided that one of the Brusho backgrounds would be awesome to star Rick St. Dennis' image called You're a Gift.

I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils keeping the colours in the same palette as the Brusho Crystal background. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and matted with black cardstock. This was trimmed out again and foam tape was applied to the back.

The background started as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper. Ultramarine and Lime Green Brusho crystals were sprinkled onto the paper and then water was spritzed over that. The results are so cool and unpredictable. The page was tipped to create lovely drips and the TH Spritzer tool was used to create the tiny drips off of the main ones. Once completely dry, white embossing paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil with a palette knife. Jet Black Archival ink was used to stamp Hero Arts Painted Circle in several places. White Dylusions paint was added to a bottle lid and used to stamp the smaller circles.

To give this sweet woman a place to stand, two colours of washi tape were cut into flags and overlapped under her feet. The computer generated sentiment was printed on white paper. The word Unopened was matted with green spritzed cardstock and then all tthe segments were matted with black. They were then popped up on foam tape. A SSS star die was used to cut out a green and a black sketchy star, both of which were layered and offset. White pen was used to accent the star on the background. To finish off the page, a black border was doodled around the edges, black Big Brush pen was brushed against the white edge, and a black mat was added to the background.

Thanks for stopping by today. That in itself is a gift! To see more of Rick's fabulous images, check out his Zibbet shop. To be inspired by other fabulous creations, pop by Rick's Fans & Friends page on Facebook. And remember the Part One of the Progressive Challenge is ongoing until the end of this month so you still have time to play along and earn yourself the free image for Part Two next month.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Rapunzel ~ New Facebook Contest theme at The East Wind

Hi everyone. On the 21st of each month, we begin a new Facebook contest on The East Wind Facebook group. The theme for this contest is Once Upon a Time so we want to see you use an East Wind image starring in a project with a Fairy Tale or Story Book theme. While there are some images in the shop which are clearly fairy tale or storybook related (Alice in Wonderland for example), there are tons of other images which could be used to depict a fairy tale/story book character. I decided to go that route.

 Thinking that with her long braid she made a wonderful Rapunzel, I coloured Aurora Daisy Kiss with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. The dots in the flower centers were created with Buttercup Liquid Pearls...gorgeous little spots of pearlescent colour. I extended the circle shape from the bottom of the image because I wanted to create the illusion of Rapunzel standing in a window in the tower. Then I coloured in the background within the circle with black Pitt pen. When I cut her out, I had the window disappear behind her head at the top.Her braid also appears to be this side of the window.

The background of the tower began as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of gray cardstock. Using a TCW Mini bricks stencil, white embossing paste was loosely mixed with both Nougat and Mocha Fresco Finish paints and scraped through the bricks. By not mixing the colours thoroughly, I got the variation in colour that made the bricks more realistic looking.

Once that was dry, two shades of green vines die cut  with Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish were adhered to the brick. Three pink mulberry flowers were scattered on the vines. The sentiment was computer generated onto cream cardstock and die cut with an MFT die. Faux stitching and a black mat were added to the sentiment before it was popped up on foam like Rapunzel. A die cut black border was added to the bottom edge before a black mat was used to frame the entire piece.

Thanks for joining Rapunzel and me today. She's so happy she'll even let you use the stairs rather than having to climb her hair to visit. Be sure to pop by The East Wind Facebook page to check out the other DT projects created for this contest. We would love to have you join us and play along. I can't wait to see where your imagination takes you!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

One Sweet Challenge July Reminder Post

Hi all. For the month of July the theme at One Sweet Challenge is Christmas in July. Today's project is another Christmas card which is a bonus since I always start to make them later than I intend. At least I will have two finished...LOL. I chose to feature Molly Harrison's Yule Fairy available at Sweet Pea Stamps. I loved colouring the wonderful folds in her dress skirt. Yum!

I coloured Yule Fairy with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils adding gold metallic pen to her dress trim. Diamond Stickles were applied to her wings to create magical sparkle. I also painted the two ornaments with mica watercolour paint, again to add shine and elegance to the project. Colour was added to the outside edges of the image by applying Tumbled Glass Distress ink.

The background of the card was kept simple so that the beautiful image could take center stage. A dark blue textured rectangle was adhered to a white card base. The image was matted with a metallic layer of copper metallic cardstock, repeating the colour of one of the ornaments. A photo corner was punched from the dark blue cardstock and placed in the upper right corner to balance out the two sparkly ornament stickers placed in the lower left corner. A third sticker from the same collection was used to overlap one of the image ornaments, tying the background to the image and completing the card.

Thanks for joining Yule Fairy and me today. We are always delighted to have you stop by. To see the other fabulous creations by my talented teamies, pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog. We would love to have you join our Christmas in July challenge which runs to the end of the month. Trust me...it's never too early to start your Christmas cards.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sweet Pea Stamps & Passionate Paper Creations

Hi there. Sweet Pea Stamps is sponsoring an event on Facebook July 17th and 18th at Passionate Paper Creations and to celebrate Lynette at SPS is offering two digis at a special price. This adorable angel is one of them. She is Karen Middleton's Blue Star Angel and she is actually the first image where I have attempted darker skin tones and very curly hair. There are lots of tutorials about which colours to use when colouring with Copics but very few (almost none!) for darker skin tones with Prismacolor pencils. Because of that, I always avoided them but it was on my "I wanna learn that" list so I gave it a go.

Once coloured, I added Stickles to her wings and fussy cut her without leaving my usual white border or matting her in black. I know...you are shocked :) I did run a black Big Brush pen around the edges to get rid of the white and frame her up a little. In order to give her someplace to stand and create the suggestion of a sky, three clouds were die cut from text paper, scuffed with the same paint colours, and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink along the bottom edge. Once adhered to the background, they were outlined with black pen.

The background started with a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of caramel coloured cardstock. Using a brush mix of Snowflake, Nougat, and Haystack Fresco Finish paints, I stencilled the background stars Through TCW's Random Stars template leaving the last few inches on the right side blank. On that side, I sprayed Lindy's Yellow Rose of Texas spray through the same stencil so I would have just a ghost of glittery stars. That side was then patterned with a MS scattered stars punch. The black mat under the page shows through the star openings.

A Latin text stamp was applied to the left side of the background using Tree Branch Archival ink. Jet Black Archival ink was pounced through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil using a dauber. To bring a little more black to the left side and balance out the other edge, a piece of black punched scallop border was added. Black gesso was watered down slightly and added to both sides with an old gift card. A strip of black cardstock and a length of crocheted trim were layered to bridge the two sections of the background. The computer generated sentiment was edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink and matted in black before being popped up on foam tape. To complete the page, a border was doodled around the edge, stars punched from stencilled cardstock were applied and outlined, and the black mat was adhered to the back.

Thanks for joining me today. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by. Be sure to pop over to Passionate Paper Creations to join in the fun there. Who knows...there may be a contest or two and PRIZES! Wink...wink! See you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

New release at The East Wind today

Hi everyone. There is a new release at The East Wind shop today and I love her! Her name is Aurora Scarf Lover and she is gorgeous. I love just focusing on a head shot, especially one this beautiful. I coloured her with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils before cutting her out leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted with black cardstock and trimmed her out again before popping her up on foam tape.

The background began with a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of purple cardstock over which I layered a triangle of turquoise cardstock so that it covered half.. Once these two were glued together, Teal Zeal ink was used to stamp the painted circle design in random spots. Jet Black Archival ink was applied to the background using a Joggles background stamp. White embossing paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil and allowed to dry thoroughly.

Old text paper from an encyclopedia was torn and adhered behind the bottom portion of Aurora to ground her. Two circles were punched from the same paper and added to the top right corner. Three sizes of pink hearts were die cut from patterned cardstock and shaded on one side with Middle Purple Pink Big Brush pen. A white arrow sticker was coloured black with a Big Brush pen, given white paint pen dots, and then adhered beside Aurora pointing to the key word in the title.

The lettering was added with stickers but white gesso was spread in a swath where the word Unstoppable would be placed to emphasize it. White dots were added with a Signo pen. A doodled border around the word further drew attention to it. A simple border was added to the entire piece and more outlining was done around the hearts and where the colours meet on the diagonal.To complete the spread, Neocolor II crayons were added around the edges to deepen them and then activated with water. A black mat was used to frame the entire page.

Thanks for joining Aurora and me today. We appreciate that! To see other projects created by the DT and featuring this sweet image, pop over to The East Wind Facebook group where they will be posted throughout the day. We would love to see what you do with her as well.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

The East Wind New Release ~ The East Wind Witchery

Hi everyone. Unky at The East Wind releases a new image every Tuesday and Friday. The new image for today is called The East Wind Witchery and she has the most amazing hair! Love the hat, too, ...like one of those fascinators. I was able to play along today creating a mixed media project with this beauty.

I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and cut her out along the rectangle of the image design except in the top left corner where I fussy cut next to her hair. She was then matted in black.

The background began as a rectangle of mixed media paper which I spritzed with Lark ink from Art Anthology as well as Creme de Rouge Tattered Angels spray with mica. Platinum ink was pounced through a circle stencil to create a random pattern once the sprays were dry. Black gesso was watered down slightly and added in lines with a gift card.

The image and the computer generated sentiment, also matted in black, were layered over gray burlap remnants. Gray dotty washi tape was adhered to the edges in three places and topped with metal heart buttons. These pieces were outlined with a black pen. A punched black photo corner was added to the top left corner for balance as well as adding a strong pop of contrast. A die cut border was added under the image for the same reason as well as drawing extra attention to the image. To finish, black Big Brush pen was used to edge the outsides of the background before it was matted with black cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by today. To see other wonderful creations by our DT members featuring this fabulous new release, please pop by The East Wind Facebook group where they will be added throughout the day. We would love to see what you create with her, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sweet Pea Stamps Facebook Progressive Challenge

Hi everyone. It's time once again for Part Two of Sweet Pea Stamps Facebook Progressive Challenge. Those who played along with Part One will receive this Part Two image free. If you didn't play along you can still purchase the adorable image from Sweet Pea Stamps and join us this time. The image we are all using is Queen of Wonder by Sandra Caldwell. And can I just say, I love her! Sandra's images are quirky, fun, and full of whimsy. They make me smile.

I coloured the Queen with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and then fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted on textured black cardstock and trimmed out again. A heart was die cut from black cardstock, embossed with a heart folder, and highlighted with Treasure Gold, Copper, and Bronze. It was then placed behind the queen's head.

The background began as a piece of dotty red cardstock cut to a #10 size tag. This was matted with black textured cardstock and the edge was faux stitched with black pen. Before the image and heart were adhered, four miniature heart playing cards were tucked under the top right edge.

The sentiment was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, and matted with black. The inside of the letters was coloured in with red marker and the segments were popped up on foam tape. A length of black grosgrain ribbon with white stitching was adhered to the top of the tag and a metal rose was attached to the front with Glossy Accents. A wonky clock charm, a nod to the Queen's servant, the White Rabbit, was attached to the lower lweft corner with Glossy Accents and a brad.

Thanks so much for joining the Queen and me today. We are delighted that you did...although she has a harder time expressing that :) I can't wait to see what you and others do with this fun image. Alice in Wonderland images are always so fun. Check out the challenge at Sweet Pea Stamps Facebook Friends & Fans group. I hope we see you there. You can also find more of Sandra Caldwell's awesome images at Sweet Pea Stamps shop.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Adjust Your Broom ~ a Rick St. Dennis project

Hi all. It's my turn to post on Rick St. Dennis' Sparkle and Glitter blog today so I'm sharing this project here as well. As part of the fabulous digi sheet called Bonnie's Celestial Collection, Rick created this fabulous wind cloud image. I searched through his collection of over 1200 images on Zibbet and found so many that would combine beautifully with it, finally settling on this awesome witch called Dust Witch. I love the story that the two images tell with the wind trying to get the best of her and Dusty standing right up to him.

I coloured both images with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. I chose muted  'dusty colours' for the witch which is unusual for me but seemed to work. They were then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and matted with black to define them and lend strength when they were popped up on foam tape.

The background began as a  5.25 x 8 inch rectangle of black cardstock which was embossed with a swirl folder to mimic the dust flying about and repeat the pattern on the wind cloud.. The raised embossing was then highlighted with Treasure Silver, Copper, and Gold applied with my fingers. It has a gorgeous gleam and the light reflects off the swirls beautifully.

The black embossed rectangle was matted first with silver foil cardstock and then plain black cardstock. While I find it difficult to capture the shine, it's very cool in real life. The sentiment, a twist on the original which advises adjusting our sails, was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink to fit in with the dusty dirty theme. The segments were adhered to the background with foam tape and I called it done.

Thanks for joining Dusty, Mr. Wind, and me today. We are happy you dropped by. I can't wait to use more of those fabulous celestial images on another creation..or two...or three...LOL

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Christmas in July ~ One Sweet Challenge

Hi everyone. Today marks the beginning of the new challenge theme at One Sweet Challenge. Our theme this month is Christmas in July and for some strange reason, I really struggled with it. Serves me right for thinking it was going to be a breeze...LOL. I loved the image which I chose to colour from Sweet Pea Stamps. She is called Molly Harriston's Little Angel Holding Star. She's adorable and I had lots of ideas for using her on an art journal page but I'm not quite in the Christmas mood yet. I decided to get a jump start on my Christmas cards anyway.

I coloured the little angel with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, adding Clear Wink of Stella to her wing tips and star. I also applied Glossy Accents to the star and metallic silver pen to her halo. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and popped up on foam squares to add dimension.

The background began with a white card base to which I added a black cardstock rectangle with rounded corners. The wintry trees on the designer paper came with glitter glue already on them. Another smaller rectangle was cut, corners rounded, and Tumbled Glass Distress ink used to edge it. Two flags were die cut from green textured cardstock and faux stitching was added in black. Two star buttons were threaded with white and adhered to the end of the flags. Silver greeting stickers were applied to black cardstock and fussy cut for contrast before being adhered to the flags. The finishing touch was the addition of silver metallic faux stitching to the outside edge of the black base. This created the third spot of silver and framed the card.

Thanks for popping by today. Little Angel and I are happy that you did. To see the fabulous projects done by the rest of the One Sweet Challenge DT, pop over to the challenge blog. I am so looking forward to seeing what you create when you play along. believe me...I need the inspiration!if you are looking for inspiration, remember to browse the fabulous images at Sweet Pea Stamps. You are sure to find something to get your mojo going.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

A little space ~ RSD Progressive Challenge

Hi everyone! Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, It's a brand new month and that means that the Progressive Challenge at Sparkle and Glitter begins anew. We are back to Part One which means any Rick St. Dennis image used on a project meets the challenge criteria. This month I combined two RSD images on a mixed media spread, keeping the background simple to let the images take center stage.

The first image I used comes from the Boys Digi sheet found in Rick's Zibbet shop. This sheey has several really cute boy images and I chose the Astrokid. I coloured him with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. He was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then popped up on foam squares.

The second image I used comes from a brand new digi sheet called Bonnie's Celestial Collection. I had asked Rick for a sun and a moon image and not only did he deliver that in fabulous fashion but he also added fabulous clouds, stars, and seconds of both the sun and moon. I love this sheet and have tons of ideas on how to use each image over and over again. Huge thanks to Rick for this! I coloured Mr. Moon with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and fussy cut him in the same manner as Astrokid with a narrow white border. He has the most fantastic face! mr. Moon was also popped up on foam squares for added dimension.

The background began as a 6x8" rectangle of black cardstock. Yellow acrylic paint was mixed with white embossing paste and then scraped through TCW's Random Stars stencil with a palette knife. I love the contrast with the black background as well as the dimension from the raised embossing paste. Once dry, the images were adhered to the background with sections of cheesecloth behind them, both for texture and atmosphere (pun intended). The sentiment was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, trimmed, and popped up on foam. To frame the spread, it was matted on yellow and black rectangles of cardstock.

Thanks for joining Astrokid, Mr. Moon, and me today. We appreciate you taking the time to do that. To see the rest of Team A's awesome projects for Rick's new Progressive Challenge Part One, pop over to the Sparkle and Glitter blog. We would love to have you join us. remember, if you play along with Part One, next month you will receive the Part Two image free.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie