Thankful People ~ One Sweet Challenge November theme

Well, I'm sure you have heard by now that Sweet Pea Stamps is closing its doors at the end of November so this will be our last month to run One Sweet Challenge. Our theme for this month is Thanksgiving or Thanks. Canadian Thanksgiving has already passed since we have ours in early October unlike the American one which is later this month. Since I have been consciously working on maintaining thoughts of gratitude, I decided to make that my focus for this mixed media project.

I chose to feature Ronne P. Barton's The Gold Fairy on my page. I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, adding some Icicle Stickles to her wings and the highlights on the bubbles for a little shimmer and magic. The image including the individual bubbles were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and matted with black cardstock. Once they were trimmed out again, the larger image was popped up on foam tape and the small bubbles were adhered flat to the background.

The 6 x 8 inch mixed media rectangle was spritzed with water and then Purple and Turquoise Brusho crystals were sprinkled into the water. More water was added to help the paint move and blend while still leaving white space.Three sizes of butterflies were punched from yellow scraps of Lindy's Starburst sprayed paper and tiny star sequins were added for the bodies. Three flags of washi tape mounted to white cardstock were hand cut and adhered in two places. The word Grateful, a TH Big Chat sticker, was added to the top of the upper strips.

The computer generated sentiment was printed on white cardstock and matted with black. It was popped up on foam to create dimension and shadow. Two black one inch circles were punched and then split in half to form the scallops around the sentiment. White paint pen dots embellished them. Black pen was used to doodle the border repeating the circles from the image. Black big brush pen was used to edge the background before it was double matted with blue patterned and plain black cardstock.

Thanks so much for joining The Gold Fairy and me today. When you get a minute, pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog to see the other wonderful projects from my talented teamies. We would love to see you join us this time around. Check out the Sweet Pea Stamps site, too, to snap up those wonderful images before they are gone.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

One Sweet Challenge reminder Post ~ Autumn Colours

Hi everyone! It's time for the One Sweet Challenge Mid-October reminder post. Our themes this month are either All Souls' Day or Autumn Colours which is the one I chose to feature. Autumn is my favourite season and I love how it's a feast for the senses, including the eyes. The trees here are absolutely breath-taking right now.

I chose to feature Holly Durr's image called Longing which can be found at Sweet Pea Stamps. I coloured the image with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. It was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted in black, and trimmed out again. Foam tape was added to the back to create dimension and shadow.

The 6 x 8 inch mixed media paper rectangle was colourized with Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, and orn Lipstick Distress inks applied with blending tools. Jet Black Archival ink was sponged through Colorbox's Rounded stencil to create the circles. Joggles Faux Latin text stamp was applied to the background with Coffee Archival ink and Stampendous Mish Mesh stamp was added with Orange Blossom Archival ink. White gesso bottle lid rings and black specks were added to the mix. A length of burlap was adhered across the background and a wide and glittery pumpkin themed ribbon was added over that.

Once the image was adhered, a segment of black punched border was added to the bottom left corner. Three black triangles balanced out the other corners. The letters for the word Autumn are Thickers. Nature's Grand Finale was computer generated, trimmed out, and popped up on foam. The other part of the scalloped border was tucked underneath it to give it more visual weight and emphasis. To complete the piece, Orange Big Brush pen was used around the outside edges of the background and a black cardstock mat was used to frame it.

Thanks for stopping by today. To see the other fabulous inspiration pieces by my talented teamies, be sure to pop by the One Sweet Challenge blog. We would love to have you play along with us before the end of the challenge. Plan a stop by Sweet Pea Stamps...you are sure to be inspired by the huge variety of images Lynette has available there.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Fall Colours or All Souls' Day ~ One Sweet Challenge October theme

Hi everyone! It's the first Monday of the month and that means that a brand new challenge is beginning for One Sweet Challenge. Our October theme is Fall Colours or All Souls Day. Autumn is my favourite season so that's what I went with for my mixed media page. I love the fabulous colours of the trees and bushes, especially the maples and sumacs.

I chose to feature Molly Harrison's Star and Moon Fairy from Sweet Pea Stamps colouring her with my Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. I used gel pens to colour the tiny dots on her skirt, hair, and on the moon. Star Fairy was cut out leaving a narrow white border and was then matted with brown cardstock. It was then trimmed out again and popped up on foam tape.

The background started as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper. Yellow Rose of Texas and Marigold Yellow Orange Lindy's Starburst sprays were spritzed on the background. Hag's Wart orange was sprayed through Dylusions Blocks stencil and then it was flipped and cleaned off on another area. Drips were encouraged by tilting the background. Using my mop-up atcs and a maple leaf punch, I cut fall coloured leaves which shimmer because of the mica in the sprays. These were adhered to the background and popped up on foam to overlap the base of Star Fairy's skirt.

The word Autumn was created with Idea-ology AlphaTiles and "the sweetest thing" with an Idea-ology rub-on. A brown Micron pen was used to create a scribbly border and the entire piece was matted with brown cardstock to frame it and add strength to the background.

Thanks for joining Star Fairy and me today. We appreciate your fine company. To see the other amazing projects created by my talented DT teamies, please pop over to the One Sweet Challenge  blog. We would love to have you join us  for our Fall Colours or All Souls' Day Challenge during the month of October.

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

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

Gear Up ~ One Sweet Challenge Mid Month Reminder

Hi all. It's time for the mid-month reminder of our August challenge at One Sweet Challenge. This month our theme is Back to School...not in the traditional sense but as in trying out a new technique or medium. I love this as there were a couple of things I wanted to try and this gave me the little push I needed. This time it was using alcohol inks (not new) on Yupo paper (new to me). It's awesome!

The Sweet Pea Stamps image I chose to feature for this project is Holly Durr's All Aboard. I am such a fan of her images and always enjoy creating anything steampunk. I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. A little Glossy Accents was added to the charm hanging from her tunic. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and matted with black cardstock. Foam tape was added to the back of the image to add dimension.

The background began with a 6 x 9 inch rectangle of Yupo paper which I have never used before. I had seen it on a YouTube video on Joggles' channel and was able to purchase a pad of Yupo at an art store. It looked like too much fun not to try it! Yupo is a coated paper which causes alcohol ink to react in cool and somewhat unpredictable ways. A drop spreads like crazy and gets a halo of another colour around the edges. When dropped close together, you get organic shapes where one pushes into the other. If dropped on top of each other, you get the coolest rings. So fun! I let it dry thoroughly and then stamped some gears over top using black VersaFine ink. The only thing you have to watch is how slippery it is when you set the stamp down. It was also slow to dry so I sprayed a fixative over the stamping before moving on.

Black cardstock was embossed witha TH folder and Treasure Gold, Silver, and Copper were rubbed over the raised pattern to highlight it and create an industrial feel. This was torn into three scraps and adhered onto the background. Metal and cardstock gears, a metal clock face, propeller, and key were all adhered to the background with Glossy Accents. The wording was added with Idea-ology Alpha Tiles. To complete the page, black cardstock was used to mat and frame the piece.

Thanks for stopping by today. To see the other fabulous creations by my teamies, pop over to One Sweet Challenge blog. It's worth the click! You still have two weeks until this challenge ends. We sure would love to have you join us!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

It's the Little Things ~ One Sweet Challenge post

Wow! seriously, is it August already? I feel like Rip Van Winkle...I keep losing days and weeks. If I'm sleeping them away, why am I still so tired? LOL Anyway, since today is the first Monday of the new month, we have a new challenge theme at One Sweet Challenge. Our theme for this month is Back to School but not in the traditional sense. This time we are going back to school by learning and experimenting with a technique or medium that is new to us. I love having that little push to try something new! My something new is Brusho Crystals which aren't new to  the world but are to me. I bought them a while ago but never experimented and just played with them until now. They are tiny crystals of colour which when activated with water give the most glorious rich hues. Yum!

I wanted to colour this gorgeous image from Sweet Pea Stamps called Blueberry Fairy by Holly Durr. Holly Durr creates these gorgeous faces,delightful hair, and wings. I cannot resist her images. I coloured BB (blueberry) with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. The photos don't show it very well but her wings are a blend of turquoises and green. There are actually four colours on each feather. BB was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted in black cardstock, and fussy cut again. She was then popped up on foam dots to give her dimension and create a shadow around her.

The background began with a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper. This was the first time I tried using only one colour of Brushos (Purple) and varying the intensity with the amount of water I added. I tipped the paper to get bigger runs and then used the TH Spritzer tool to get the tiny drips. White embossing paste was scraped through TCW's Mini Netting stencil. I love how it picked up some of the Brusho purple from the background...cool effect. Stencilling was also applied using Forget-Me-Not Ranger Archival ink and Memory Box's Alpha Crumble template. Black rings were added with Black Marble Dylusions paint and a bottle lid.

Two different patterns of washi tape were added in three spots and faceted jewels layered on top of the left side flags. The sentiment was computer generated, printed on white cardstock, and matted with black. Foam tape on the back of each segment gave them a little dimension. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the background which was then framed with a black mat.

Thanks for joining BB and me today. That might seem like a little thing to you but to us it's huge. When you get a minute, pop over to One Sweet Challenge blog to see what the rest of my talented teamies created and what they chose to experiment with for our Back To School theme. Remember to stop by Sweet Pea Stamps as well. There are always new images and I always come away from a browse with inspiration galore...not to mention new images too :)

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

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

Expand Your Horizons ~ One Sweet Challenge Mid Challenge Reminder

It's time for our mid-challenge reminder post for One Sweet Challenge's June theme for Sweet Pea Stamps. Our theme for June is Die Cuts and/or Punches...easy peasy, right? I was browsing all of the fabulous images at Sweet Pea Stamps when I saw this adorably quirky fairy by Linda Biggs called Fairy Freak. Love the whimsy of this little sweetie.

I coloured Fairy Freak with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pensils.I added Wink of Stella dots to her eyes and then topped them up with Glossy Accents both for the shine and the dimension. The bubbles once coloured were also given a coating of Glossy Accents. Freaky's pretty wings were outlined with Cotton Candy Stickles. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then was matted in blacl cardstock before being popped up on foam squares.

The background started as a rectangle of bright blue cardstock. Background stamping was done using Forget-Me-Not Archival ink and Joggles Sparks stamp plus a TH circles stamp. Little black circles were also stamped with Jet Black Archival ink. Freaky was adhered over cheesecloth to add texture, contrast, and a feeling of clouds. Stars were die cut from mop up paper where a stencil spritzed with Yellow Rose of Texas spray ink was cleaned. They have a lovely glimmer from the mica in the spray. More bubbles were added with Dew Drops.

The lettering is a combination of Idea-ology AlphaParts and black stickers both with added paint dots, plus chipboard circle letters. Two different patterns of washi tape were added to both sides of the background. Black Big Brush Pen was used to edge the background before it was double matted with yellow and black cardstock.

Thanks for joining Fairy Freak and me today. Be sure to pop by the One Sweet Challenge blog to see the amazing projects by the rest of the OSC DT. We would love to have you join us for our June Dies and/or Punches Challenge. You still have lots of time to play along. Pop over to Sweet Pea Stamps and check out Lynette's amazing selection of images in both rubber and digi. You are sure to be inspired.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

All You Need is Love ~ One Sweet Challenge June project

Hi there! I cannot believe that it is June already. Wasn't it just February? Yikes. With a new month, we have a new challenge theme at One Sweet Challenge.

featuring images from Sweet Pea Stamps. This time, the theme is Dies and/or Punches...easy peasy. For most of us, that's a go-to addition to many projects.

I chose to play with an image from an artist who was new to me. Star Wand by Lemon Shortbread is so adorable. Check out her beautiful face and that flowy hair. I saw her and had to colour her. It may be my first Lemon Shortbread image but certainly not my last! I coloured Star with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, adding a little puffy gel pen to her wand star. I fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border and then matted her with black cardstock so she would pop against the background. Star was then popped up on foam squares and asked to wait for the background to be completed.

The background began as a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of mixed media cardstock to which I applied Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade, and Scattered Straw Distress ink in layers to achieve depth. Water was spritzed and flicked over the background so that the colour was removed in places. Solid hearts were die cut from patterned and text paper and then edged with Distress inks. These were then adhered to the background and outlined with black pen. Three lengths of washi tape were added both to give Star a place to stand and to add pattern to the spread. Another heart was cut from black cardstock using the Sizzix die, Scribbles and Splats. This provides good contrast between the softer coloured hearts and the black as well as the solid versus the lined heart.

The first four words of the sentiment were stamped with Jet Black Archival ink and the word LOVE was spelled out with stickers. More texture was added to the background with White Embossing Paste through TCW's Halftone Borders stencil using a palette knife. A doodled border, a little outlining, and a black mat finished off the piece.

Thanks for joining Star and me today. To get a peek at the other amazing projects by my talented One Sweet Challenge teamies, pop over to the OSC blog. We would love to have you join us for our Dies and/or Punches Challenge. You have the whole month of June to enter!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Your wings are ready ~ One Sweet Challenge mid-month reminder

Hi everyone. it's time for our mid-challenge reminder post at One Sweet Challenge. May's theme is Things With Wings and the hardest part of that challenge was narrowing down to two all of  the choices of fabulous images at Sweet Pea Stamps.I am on a mission to choose an image from each artist for these monthly challenges, both to stretch myself and to really sample all of the inspiration at the shop.

For this mixed media piece, I chose to feature Janna  Prosvirina's image called Fireflies. Isn't she a beauty? I decided to  make mine butterflies to better suit where I wanted to go with this theme. I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border. She was then adhered to black cardstock and a narrow black border was cut. This gives strength to the skinny bits when they are popped up on foam and provides strong contrast with the background.

The background began as a 6 x 8" piece of mixed media paper which I spritzed with Tattered Angels Rum Punch spray and Autumn Maple Crimson Starburst spray from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Both have lovely bits of shimmer in them which catch the light in a delicious way. Over that, I stamped Joggle's Starburst Background Noise stamp using jet Black Archival, Red Geranium Archival, and Rocket Red Gold Brilliance Archival inks.jet Black Archival was also sponged through TCW's Halftone Borders stencil to add more texture and pattern.

The sentiment was printed on white cardstock and matted with black before being adhered above the sweet image. Two white feathers were crossed at the ends and adhered to frame her. Where they crossed was topped with a layered butterfly from Pink Paislee and another was added on the vertical feather. To help balance the composition, three black faceted buttons from my grandmother's stash were adhered to the bottom left corner. Black cardstock was added to the background to frame the entire page and add the contrast I like so much.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. When you get a chance, pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog to see the creations by my talented teamies. We would love to see what you create for our May challenge theme Things With Wings. I hope you will join us.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

One Sweet Challenge ~ Things With Wings

Hi everyone. Since it's the first of May. it's time for a new month-long theme at One Sweet Challenge. For the month of May, we would like to see you play along with "Things With Wings". There are so many images that fit that idea at Sweet Pea Stamps.

Today I chose to play along using Dreamy Lashes by Maigan Lynn. I love all of that hair and those gorgeous butterfly lashes. I coloured this beauty with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. She was then fussy cut and matted with black cardstock.

The background began as a rectangle of mixed media paper which I spritzed with Yellow Rose of Texas and Hottie Patottie Hot Pink Lindy's Starburst sprays. Extra drops of the pink were dripped onto the page and then blown into tiny runs with the TH Spritzer tool. Stamping was done with Hero Arts Painted Circle and Pale Ochre Archival ink and also with a grid stamp and Magenta Hue Archival ink. Splatter dots were added with black ink tapped off the eye dropper.

A border was doodled and coloured in with both black and white pens. Pink Neocolor II crayon spread with water was used to add colour next to the border. Black harlequin border was cut with a die and then divided into three segments. White paint pen dots were added to the bottom left of each diamond. Once Dreamy Lashes was adhered to the background, cheesecloth was placed at the top of her head and punched/doodled butterflies with bead bodies were scattered randomly flying out of her head. These were punched from mop up paper which I use to clean up overspray. I always keep them on my desk and often add them to my pages as punched of torn elements.

The sentiment was computer generated and printed on white cardstock. It was cut with a die, matted in black, and faux stitched. The background was double matted with black and pink textured cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by today. My dreamy lashed friend and I appreciate that. When you get a chance, pop over to the One Sweet Challenge blog to see the gorgeous projects by the rest of our talented DT. We would love to have you join us this month for our Things With Wings challenge. Can't wait to see what you create!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie