Two natural beauties

I completed my last two atcs for the SCS swap. The theme for the first one was lace. I had a lace transparency which I layered over some shiny turquoise cardstock to show off the design. I matted that on some deeper textured teal cardstock for contrast. Then I decided to add some lace trim along the top and bottom edge of the transparency and again along the bottom edge of the teal. Next came bling in the form of brads and pearls which I adhered to the smaller trim piece. Then colouring bliss! I coloured the Arty Expressions 2 digi stamp from CS Designs using my Prismacolors and a little OMS. Tiny rhinestones became the lights in her eyes. She has such a wistful expression. Love it! She is mounted on black cardstock and popped up on foam tape. I like the stark black next to the softness of her skin and the lace. A little word was added to the bottom right hand corner...just 'cuz. I am entering this card in the Anything Goes Challenge on Art With No Boundaries. CS Designs has several challenges each month. The artwork submitted is just beautiful. Check it out!

The second atc's theme was the Comet Moth of Madagascar. What a beautiful creature! I wanted to create a tropical forest type of background with lots of texture. I stamped a vine stamp first on the white background and then again on green tissue paper. The tissue was then crumpled (with gusto!) and Decoupaged over the white so that the stamps were offset to create depth. An internet image of the moth was fussy cut and mounted on black to set it off on the green. The moth has these shiny spots IRL so I added some dabs of Glossy Accents. Bling flowers and a title completed this baby.
Thanks for visiting today. I appreciate it. I'm off to play in my journal.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

One of a Kind

I just love this stamp from Stamp N Plus Scrap N. As soon as I saw her,  the stamp became a must have. I used  her as a flower top for this artsy card. I coloured her with my Prismacolors and then doodled a stem and leaves to fussy cut. I layered up the background with brown textured and plain black cardstock with a piece of DCWV's Timeless Type paper on top. Then I used a Dylusions stencil to draw in some leaves which I filled in with black marker. I finished the card off with a torn mound of "dirt" and a computer generated sentiment. I think she would also be lovely as the head of a mannequin or an art doll. Hmmm. Might have to try those! Any other ideas? Thanks for visiting :)
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Nine down; Seven to go!

Two more atcs were created on my very messy craft desk today. The first theme is mauve and cream which I totally cheated on and used white. I tried the cream flowers but they made me grumpy because the white looked better. Hopefully my swap partner will forgive me (fingers crossed). I used some Bazzill textured cardstock along with some DCWV Pocket Full of Posies paper for the background. Then I coloured up another CS Designs digi stamp and matted it with black to make it pop. Three white silk flowers (really clean cream, if you will) with brad centers, a metal wish charm, and some sparkly comma stickers were all she needed to be happy.
The second atc used a Meljen digi stamp. The theme was turtles and this happy little guy was fun to colour up with my Prisma pencils and a little OMS. I used paper from a stack I've had forever (TPC Studio) and fussy cut the grass for the bottom edge. The background matting is the reverse of the paper. I couldn't quite come up with the message I wanted to include but kept coming back to the idea of stopping to smell the roses. Finally, the lightbulb came on (I'm exhausted from all that thinking) and I knew what I wanted to say: Take time to dance with the butterflies. The little flower brad was just a fun extra touch. Hey, thanks for looking.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Lovely Ladies

I am still having fun playing with atcs for the SCS PAT 22 swap. The themes for these two are Turquoise and Vintage English Rose. For the first one, I used some shiny, sparkly DCWV paper for the background. Then I coloured this gorgeous digital stamp from CS Designs. If you haven't checked out Chris' digis, you are really missing out. They are amazing and very versatile. I coloured a second monocle so I could pop it and the matted square up on dimensionals. A little bling (of course), a flourish sticker and more black matting finished this beauty off. Oh wait, I added stickles to her lips and pupil lights. How could I forget more shiny, sparkly touches?

The English Rose card used some K&Company paper for the background. I added some lace trim and a few flat back pearls because Rose has lace at the neck of her dress. I double matted a Paper Whimsy image and then fussy cut more roses from the background paper popped up on foam for dimension. It still needed a little sumpin-sumpin which the Prima flower cured. I think I could make atcs all day every day. Thanks for taking a peek.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Lovin' these atcs

I completed three more atcs for the Pick-a-theme swap. The first was created for the theme Vintage Masculine. I used G-45 paper from the A Proper Gentleman 6x6 stack for the background and for the fussy cut image. A Tim Holtz gear, some brads, and a real watch face finished it off.

The second atc was created for humourous coffee. I love this internet image of the kitten sleeping on the phone. I dripped Vintage Photo distress ink along the top and spritzed to make it drip like coffee. Then I added rings which I promptly covered up. Some Paper Wishes cup brads and paper clip, bling "periods" and tiny 911 stickers finished off this card.As always. I inked the edges of the card to frame it up.
The third card was created in the theme of Wild Animals. I found an awesome internet image of a leopard which I adhered to the center of my black cardstock. Then I cut another layer from DCWV Lady Couture animal skin paper. I poked a hole through the center and rolled the paper back to reveal the leopard's face. Ink on the rolled edges made it look a little more worn. I added some computer-generated words matted on metallic paper, a little bling to the corner, and some copper ink to the edges to finish it off. Love, love, love making atcs! Thanks for visiting.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Spring atcs

I've been working on some Pick-a-theme atcs for a swap over on Splitcoast. I love PAT swaps because they challenge me to create in colour palettes or themes that I wouldn't necessarily come up with myself. Anyway, the first theme was the colour red so I immediately thought of poppies, a personal fave. I used a My Grafico digi stamp which I coloured with my prisma pencils. I matted  the image piece on black and then on red cardstock dry embossed with the CB swiss dots folder. A little bling, a word stamp from Crafty Secrets and I called it done.
The second atc was created for the theme: purple. I used a Sassy Cheryl's digi stamp which I coloured with Prisma pencils and a few watercolour pencils. I punched holes in the buttons and threaded embroidery floss through the button holes. I added a doodled checkerboard border and three real buttons to the corner. I popped the image part up on foam tape and placed it over a purple striped background paper. I love the whimsy of this atc. I hope my swap-mates like these cards too.
Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Dancin' Up a Storm

I created this animal art doll for a swap using a Prairie Fairy Designs digi stamp called Morley Dancing. I actually printed him three times in order to cut apart enough pieces to allow his legs and tail to move. After all, he is dancing so he needed the freedom to really bust a move :) I paper pieced his shirt and scarf and then used my Prisma pencils to shade the clothes. His body and boots were also coloured with Prismas. His antlers and muzzle were traced onto corrugated cardstock and then layered on dimensional tape. I layered some embroidery floss fringe onto one scarf piece and then added the second one on top with foam tape. His tail and socks have molding paste layered on with a palette knife to make them appear fluffy. Lots of fussy little details for such a little guy but I'm happy with how he turned out. He makes me smile. Hope he does the same for you.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie