Love Rocks.

Greetings!  It's a new month and time for a new challenge over at Eclectic Ellapu!  Our theme for the Pink Team for the month of September is "Hearts."  I immediately think of Valentine's Day, but realize that you can use hearts in your art all year long.  I began by creating a background using Distress Inks and various stencils by Tim Hotlz for Ranger and Rebekah Meier for The Crafters Workshop.  The focal image is by Pam Carriker for Stampington and was also colored with Distress Inks.  The sentiments are by Dina Wakley for Ranger.  I hope you will check out what the rest of the talented Design Team have created to inspire you and then consider sharing a project of your own with us.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

Anything for a Friend

Greetings! Thank you for dropping by my blog today.  I am a few hours late, but it is time for a new challenge over at Inkspirational! It is a photo challenge this time and isn't it a beauty?  I love all the different approaches the Design Team took on this photo and hope you will take a few minutes to check out their designs!  As most of my art studio is boxed up for our move next Wednesday, I was not able to grab the first image that came to mind to use.  Oh well, I just had to break into my new stash of Oxford Impression images instead!  On my card base, I used Distress Paint to create the sky and grass.  The focal images and sentiment were inked with Ranger Watering Can Archival Ink and water colored with Distress Inks, trimmed and mounted to the card front. A few pearl gems and a seam binding bow complete my card.  We cannot wait to see what you create!  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

A Very Special Birthday

Greetings!  It is time, once again, for a new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge!  Our theme this time is to create a card or project for a "Special Birthday."  My son and I both have a birthday during the month of September, so I decided to make a card for him.  I had originally thought I would ink up this gorgeous Paper Artsy stamp for Mother's Day, given the sentiment along the side, but it works for this occasion, as well.  I began by creating my background using various Distress Paints and Distress Inks.  The colors were a bit deeper than I wanted, so I brushed a very light layer of Gesso over the top and it muted it beautifully.  Next using Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks, I stenciled feathers around the edges using a stencil from The Crafters Workshop.  The focal image was stamped with Watering Can Archival Ink.  The sentiment by Artistic Outpost was also stamped with the same ink.  Some black and white twine and vintage buttons complete my card.  I hope you will pop on over to FSC to see what the rest of the Design Team have created to inspire you and then we hope you will share one of your own creations with us, as well. Please remember we are a stamping challenge, so no digis.  As always, our sponsor FlonzCraft has a $20 gift voucher for one lucky participant.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

On a Roll, with Comedy...

Greetings!  The weeks they do fly by, don't they!  It is time for a new challenge over at Inkspirational and this time it is a colour challenge!  A great color combo of Red, Orange and Yellow to be exact.  Please pop over to Inkspirational for the fine details about adding neutrals to your project and to see the WIDE range of projects the Design Team have come up with to Inspire you!

Two posts in a row, I sought comedy for my posts.  How unusual!  I recently acquired some quirky sentiments from Dylusions by Ranger and remembered this focal image by Lost Coast Designs that was begging to be inked up for the first time, and came across when I was considering images for last week's post and everything seem to fall into place. The stencils are from Red Lead Paperworks and were inked with Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  I thought they gave the impression of coffee rings!  The focal image was stamped with Archival Ink, trimmed and mounted over the stenciling.  The sentiment was stamped with Black Archival Ink and then trimmed, distressed with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and added to the card front.  I also lightly distressed the edges of the card with  Pumice Stone Distress Ink.  A repurposed sheer red and white dotted ribbon was fashioned into a simple bow and added to the top right corner of my card.  I hope you will get inky and share your own creation with us!  On another note, my husband and I settled on our new home in my home town yesterday!  I have been away for over a decade and am so excited to move back home and be just two miles from all of my children, grandchildren and extended family.  We plan to move in early September.  As you might expect, I am holding out my art supplies to the bitter end for packing! I'll share photos of my new art studio when it is set up! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs, Yvonne

Making You Laugh

Greetings! First, I want to thank each of my followers who reached out to me recently concerning the loss of my beloved, Josephine.  I really appreciated your support.  My post today is for the new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge, which is entitled "Make Us Laugh."  Now, those who are close to me know that I am about as sober as they come, however, even fewer know that when I am on a roll, I truly do have a very dry sense of humor and it would not take much for me to accept a gig as a stand up comedian, even if it were for one evening!  But, I digress!  As humor is not really my thing, I was a bit worried at how to go about creating my design sample.  I decided to look through my stamp images and came across this image, including sentiment from Lost Coast Designs. Now I try to be very sensitive to others, to a fault, and would not want to offend ANYONE, and I hope my card does not do so.  I can honestly say, as someone who has struggled with my weight my entire life, that when I purchased this stamp, I related.  I can remember as a teenager, trying on clothes at the department store and asking my best friend if the outfit made me look "fat." The funny thing is, I look back at photos of myself now, and I was a bean pole, as a young woman.  The world has not done women and young girls any favors have they with their propaganda?  Anyhow, the young woman above, is obviously a very healthy weight. Okay, enough of being philosophical.  The card was created using the Sea Star Stencil by Red Lead Paperworks and various shades of Distress Ink for the background.  The wave stencil is also by Red Lead Paperworks. Simple embellishments include a wood charm by Red Lead Paperworks and a real starfish. Definitely, out of my comfort zone on this one!  I hope you will stop over and see what the rest of the FSC Design Team has created for your laughing pleasure and then, perhaps, you might create and submit a project of your own to be in the running to be selected for a $20 gift voucher by our sponsor FlonzCraft.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

Tweet, Tweet, Chirp, Chirp!

Greetings!  The weeks are flying by, aren't they? Already it is time for another challenge over at Inkspirational!  This time around, the challenge is to create a card using Markers or Pencils.  I rarely work with Markers of Pencils, so this was indeed a challenge for me!  It was further complicated by the fact that we are in the process of getting ready to move, and some time ago I packed up items in my craft room that are seldom used, and as you guessed it, that included markers and pencils!  Golly gee, what to do....

I just happened to need to go over to the Office Supply Store as my computer was on the blink, and while there, checked out the fine arts aisle and treated myself to some new Watercolor Colored Pencils!  (The ones in storage were just inexpensive ones, purchased in the toy aisle at the drug store, so I was really excited about opening these up and getting creative.)

I have been wanting to ink up my new Scribbly Birds by Dina Wakely and they seemed just right for this challenge.  I stamped them with Black Archival Ink onto scrap white card, trimmed them and then colored them with a variety of colored pencils. Afterwards, I spritzed a bit of water onto my craft mat and blended the coloring with a small paint brush dipped in water.  I really like how they turned out!

For my card base, I chose stencils by Red Lead Paperworks and stenciled the feathers and eggs with Distress Ink in colors I thought blended well with the birds.  I next flicked drops of water onto the card base and removed bits of ink to mottle the card front.  I finished with a stencil of Tim Hotlz's in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The edges of the card were distressed with Broken China and Vintage Photo Distress Ink, too.  The birds were also distressed with a bit of VP DI and mounted to the card front.  I decided to mount the bluebird on foam dots.  The sentiments are also by Dina Wakely.  The top of the card is wrapped with ivory burlap string by May Arts and the twigs are from my back yard!

I hope you will pop over to Inkspirational and check out the gorgeous projects the Design Team created for you and then consider sharing a project of your own.

On a personal note, I wanted to share with you that we lost our dear sweet Standard Poodle, Josephine, earlier this week. She was in good health, though 14.5 years of age.  It was quite a shock for us, and we miss her terribly.  She was such a part of our family and gave us unconditional love and great joy. Here's to you, our dear Jojobean!

Hugs, Yvonne