You Are My World

My Wonderful Husband has always been there to support all of my creative ventures, well truthfully he stands behind me on anything I want to do.  Over the years he's always encouraged me to follow my dreams and for that I am so grateful.  Each time I finish a new piece, I run down the stairs excited to share what I've made with him.  Recently, he started asking me to make him a painting.  He proudly displays my son's works of art in his office but he doesn't have anything of mine in there.  So a few nights ago I began working on a very special piece just for him. 

Our song is LOVE OF MY LIFE by Sammy Kershaw so I wanted to incorporate that in somehow.  So are you ready to see what I came up with.........here we go:

I glued down random pieces of scrap paper, a sheet of vintage sheet music and a heart dolly that I've had forever to create some texture.

Next I added some Raw Umber and Rich Copper.  I choose these two colors because my husband likes the old world look.  

I planned to paint over the heart dolly but then decided to keep it as is and just age it a bit.  I added the yellow and it kinda reminded me of wings so I added the second heart.  I used a stamp to create the winged heart then just cut it out.  I wrote in the lyrics to "LOVE OF MY LIFE" and outlined the two hearts with india ink.  Now for a little contrast, my husbands favorite color is blue so I streaked it on with a palette knife.  At this point it was looking really flat to me and I like a lot of dimension so this is where I called it a night.

So after dinner last night, I got back to work and dressed this baby up.  I wrote out the title with india ink, cut it out and glued it on.  I really wanted the lyrics in the piece but in the end, I felt like adding in all the flowers was the better choice.  The lyrics are still there as part of the piece's base and I added a little love note for him up in the corner ;D 

The flowers are by Spare Parts, K&Company and Spellbinders Blossom One.  I'm really happy with the way this turned out, my honey really loved it and it looks great in his office! :D

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Have a Wonderful Day!!!!

Dreamer

I hope you're having a great week.  Summer kicked off for us last Friday and we had an out of town emergency to take care of.  So things have been pretty busy around here but what else is new right, lol.  I'm hoping for the chance to tag along with my honey on some of his business trips this summer so my postings might be a bit sporadic over the summer.  There is just so much fun out there waiting to be had!!

Ok, well today I have a pretty rare layout to share.  This one is all about me :D  I used BoBunny for this one and added some stamping/embossing.  I love the wild Bohemian vibe:

Photos of me are so hard to come by because I'm always behind the camera and my DH is not the best photographer.  Have you done layouts about yourself?



MARK YOU CALENDERS!!

Mark your calenders, put a note on the fridge, do whatever you gotta do to SAVE THIS DATE:


Please join us for this VERY SPECIAL Owl themed blog hop.  Why is it soooo special you ask.....WELL it just so happens to be the very 1st Blog Hop that my friend Heather Lynn is hosting & it's also my 1st time participating in a Blog Hop!!   I'm very excited and my mind has been working overtime, I've got so many ideas for my project(s) ;D  So be sure to join us, Heather has put together a super talented group and you won't wanna miss their AMAZING projects on JUNE 22, 2012 and lets not forget all the blog candy up for grabs!!!

Never Forgotten - Memorial Day

Between all the bar-b-ques, swimming and family fun, let's not forget to honor our fallen heros.

We walked among the crosses

Where our fallen soldiers lay.

And listened to the bugle

As TAPS began to play.

The Chaplin led a prayer

We stood with heads bowed low.

And I thought of fallen comrades

I had known so long ago.

They came from every city

Across this fertile land.

That we might live in freedom.

They lie here 'neath the sand.

I felt a little guilty

My sacrifice was small.

I only lost a little time

But these men lost their all.

Now the services are over

For this Memorial Day.

To the names upon these crosses

I just want to say,

Thanks for what you've given

No one could ask for more.

May you rest with God in heaven

From now through evermore.

- C W Johnson



Disney Tattoo

Hello friends, I've got a layout from our trip Disney today:

When we went to Down Town Disney, my son REALLY wanted a Cars tatoo.  I'm not a fan of tatoos at all so I held out as long as I could but Daddy caved and told me to lighten up so he got his Cars tatoo.  So when I decided to scrap these pics, I journaled about my disappoval of tatoos and included some subliminal signs in the layout.  Take a look at the over all design and you'll notice that the background pattern papers form a large "X".  There is also an "X" where it says "inked".

I went for a grungy/rocker feel for the layout cuz that's what tatoos make me think of.  I cut the title using my Cricut Stamped cart.  I cut all the circles out with my Cricut too.  Well, I hope I didn't offend my tatted friends out there :D  I really liked the way this layout turned out so I wanted to share.  I'll be back with a BIG announcement, so keep an eye out!!

Thanks for all your comments on my Purple Beauty Altered Journal!!!!!



Altered Journal - Purple Beauty

Ok, so I finally finished my Purple Beauty altered journal from the other day.  I tried really hard to keep with the purple so this is what I did:

 I put some magenta and purple down

Next I used a stencil and a stamp

I added a wash of blue to tone down the purple, some white and lime green for contrast.

Next came some craft tapes and a quote but it need more......Since I'm gonna be working with owls for the hop, I thought I'd start practicing so I pulled out my Cricut Sentimentals cart and the the owl at 3".

I inked the owl up and placed him on some K&Company Julianne Die-Cut cardstock.

Well, I hope you liked my altered journal :D

Thanks so much for stopping by!!



Summer Fun!

Since summer is almost here, I thought it'd be fun to pull out a summer layout of my son from one of our vacations.

I just love the combination of blue and red! 

For this layout, I started out with some navy cardstock then cut down the patterned paper, inked the edges with red and attached to the cardstock.  Next I tore a lighter blue pattern paper as a back drop to my title.  I inked the edges of this piece in blue and attached the letters.

I used Cricut George and Basic Shapes cart to cut the letters, circle mat and photo. I matted the 2nd photo inking both with red and layered them on the layout.



Now it was time to dress things up to finish it out!  I added rubons, chipboard elements, ric rac sticker and faux stitching all around the edges.  That's it my friends :D super easy right!

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments on yesterday's post.  I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with purple issues, lol.  I've got another altered journal in the works that I'll be sharing soon so stay tuned!!  Oh hey, look over to the right and check out my "Well OWL Be" blog hop badge!  I've been invited to participate in Heather Lynn's very first Blog Hop, isn't that GREAT!!  This is going to be my very first Blog Hop so I'm pretty excited :D  I've been wanting to do something with Owls and now I have my chance, so stay tuned for that too I'm sure all the ladies will be knocking it out of the park with their Owly creations!!!

Altered Journal - Live Inspired

Hey!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :D  I enjoyed some quality time with my family, got a chance to do a little crafty shopping and relaxed a bit too.  My daughter-in-law and I made the rounds to Michaels and Hobby Lobby.  We both picked up some fun stuff so yesterday we were up in the studio working our magic ;D  She started working on an Art Journal and I played with my new Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One then finished up a journal that I started on last week.

Ok, remember my Purple Beauty post?  As much as I tried to make it purple...........well, I just show you what happened:

So....I started out with every intention of creating a purple journal.  I painted on varying shades of purple then stamped on some branches and used a stencil to add some interest........

 But I just don't get along with purple, lol.  Purple and I just can't communicate so I washed on my good buddy blue and added some lime green for contrast :D

After that I just went to town adding things and my background ended up kinda messy. 

Sorry forgot to get some pics along the way. 

Since I didn't really like the way the background turned out, it was time to search through my scrap bins.  I pulled out some white cardstock that I use when I have extra ink on my stamp that I wanna use up or as a background when I'm misting.  It was perfect so on it went!  Next I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the bingo card, I forgot how much fun my Cuttlebug can be.  It's been ages since I've pulled it out and I'm ashamed to say that I had a lot folders that I'd never even opened, Yikes!  Anyway, I inked it, sprayed it with some mist, roughed up the edges and glued it on :D

I attached the printed packing tape and some craft tapes I picked up at Michaels over the weekend.  The tag is from one of my DH's shirts and I added the graphic cuz I thought it went with the design.  To finish things up, I wrote out "live inspired" cut it out and outlined it with red.  At this point, I needed more red so I attached a little strip at the bottom and the piece on the top.  The little clip is Tim Holtz and I used little stickers to spell out "create".

It's funny how a project evolves so much from start to finish.  Do you always start with a plan and stick with it all the way through or do you just go with the flow like me?

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!



Gotta Wear Shades!

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that today is FRIDAY...can I get an amen!  The week seems like it went by so fast (which is good) and there is only five days of school left, WOOT WOOT!  My DH got back home yesterday so I didn't get any creative time in.  Instead, I slaved ALL day to make him a nice big dinner :D  Luckily I still have a layout to share with you today ;D

This is a pretty simple layout, I used black cardstock for the base and layered in the red scrapbook paper.  I really like the flourish on the red paper so I cut it out and mounted it on the black so it could pop.  Then I used my favorite white pen do give it a little more dimension.  I used some chipboard letters for the title as well as some chipboard accents.

I used a black ribbon as a kind of banner to help set off the little chipboard letters.  Well, that's it for today :D  Enjoy your Friday and as always THANKS for visiting me!!!

Altered Journal - Purple Beauty

I've got a little preview of a project that I started on last night.  I really enjoyed making the altered journals for my son's teachers so I thought I'd make some more for my shop over at Homestead.  As you know, I always reach for my blue but I resisted the urge and started with purple this time:

This is what I have so far but as usual.......now I'm stumped.  I really don't know why purple is so hard for me to work with, lol.  Anyway.......maybe it'll come to me during the day and I can finish this up tonight.

Thank you for the comments you left me on yesterday's post "Bliss - Mixed Media Canvas".  I'm so happy to hear that I've inspired many of you to give mixed media a try.  It really is a lot of fun and there isn't any rules, you're not doing portrait work because its more on the abstract side so anything goes.  Really it's just about expressing whatever you want.  Most of the time when I create something, my color choices are a reflection of the way I'm feeling at the time; so the process becomes very therapeutic for me.  I hardly ever start with a plan and just go with the flow.  I think that's why I enjoy the process so much, I just figure it out as i go :D  So don't be shy, open up those paints and just start playing!  If you have a smile on your face while you're working, then you're doing it right!!  I hope you all have a wonderful day!  Here is a little quote for you to kick off the day:

"Inside you there's an artist you don't know about....Say yes quickly, if you know, if you've

known it from before the beginning of the universe." ----RUMI

Bliss - Mixed Media Canvas

I'm so happy to have had the chance to paint last night :D  Painting always does the soul good!   This is a 12x12 canvas and this is how I started out:

I really had no idea what I wanted to create when I began so I just started going through all my scraps of paper and started gluing them on.  Next I used an oil pastel crayon to scribble some shapes for a little resist action.

I gave the canvas a light wash of Unbleached Titanium and I wanted to use my Adirondack Metallic Gold dabber.  I've never used them before and when I tried to open it the whole top came off so I had globs of paint all over.  I decided to just use my fingers and put in on the canvas.  I also used a palette knife since there was so much all over the place.  I really like the textured I got from this :D

Still not sure of what I was doing, I turned to my go to color "blue" and created a border.

I washed over the center with Green Gold fluid acrylic but it was looking a little blah to me.....

 So, I brought in a punch of cobalt blue to brighten things up :D

Now for some definition, I added a border and outlined the star with India ink.

 At this point, it was looking a little dark so it was time to bring in some white.  I used a large bubble wrap and gesso.  I also brushed on some of the gesso to create a back drop for the title.

Here is the finished piece!!

The title "Bliss" is from K&Company, Brenda Walton Die-Cut Cardstock.  I spritzed it with Tattered Angels, glued it on, outlined with my Faber-Castell marker and white pen.  I also stamped some flourishes, drew in some stars and splattered white paint to finish it off.

 I added a Tim Holtz stamp that reads

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to keep". 

That's so true, don't you think!?

I hope you like my latest mixed media canvas as much as I do.  I really enjoyed making it and am so happy with the way it turned out.  Thank you for visiting me today! 

 I look forward to reading your comments :D

Take Care!!



Zoo Adventure!

Hello Hello!!

I've got a Zoo layout to share with you today.  This is from my youngest son's first trip to the zoo.

I used my Cricut to cut the title and the tag.  The journaling spots are from the Os I cut :D  I used some foam behind the photo of the leopard to create a pocket for the tickets.

Thanks for stopping by and THANK YOU to all my new followers!  I'm so happy to have you following along :D  I'm hoping to get my hands full of paint tonight so hopefully I'll have something new to show you soon.  Take Care!!

Arts & Crafts 101

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! 

Today I've got a throw back layout, yup this one is an oldie from when I first started scrapping :D 

I wanted to get my son's hand & footprints but clearly...it's not as easy as it looks!  I made such a mess and only got one good footprint but we had a lot of fun trying, lol. 

Thanks for stopping by and commenting :D

TTYL!

Mother's Day Exploding Boxes :D

Happy Mother's Day

to all my wonderful blogging friends!! 

I hope you're enjoying a very relaxing day with friends and family!  I just wanted to share the adorable exploding boxes I got from my son and DH:

My son made the box on the right for me at school and taught my husband to make one.  So the one on the left is my DH's box :D  They were so excited about their little boxes that they just couldn't wait so they gave them to me Friday night :D

The inside holds pictures, a poem that my son wrote for me and chocolate kisses.

I just love these kind of gifts!!

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

Altered Journals - Teacher Gifts

As you know it's Teacher Appreciation Week so I've been sending in little bits of goodness to my son's teachers everyday this week.  Thursday was "Stock the teacher's room with school supplies" so you could send in any kind of supply.  So I decided to send in altered journals but I did things a little different than I normally do:

 Instead of covering the journals with scrapbook papers, I thought I'd treat them like canvases and paint them.  So I started by priming up the journals with Gesso.  By doing this, I ran into a little problem.  The paint started to get into the pages of the journal so I added some scrapbook paper but this didn't work either because my paper was to small.  I ended up using 12x12 sheets and in retrospect, I should have used some parchment paper instead because the paint ended up sticking to the scrapbook paper and tore a bit when I pulled it off.  Oh well, lesson learned, right......

Next came a coat of my favorite shade of blue! :D

Now that the base color was down, it was time to start adding texture.  I decided it needed some transferred print so I tore a page from a book, slapped on some Gel Medium and placed it on the journal.  The key to making this work is giving it a good rub down with a bone folder. 

Time to pull it back and see what we have........

Yay it worked!! 

You see how some of the paper is on the journal, you can spritz it with some water and gently rub that off.   Okay, so at this point thing started popin so I forgot to take more pics along the way.

 

I used some Stazon to stamp on some sheet music.  Then I used a polka dot stencil with a sample of the new Liquitex spray paint that I got in the mail.

There was a lot of paint on the stencil from the first journal so I flipped it around and used it as a stamp on this one.

Ta Da!  Here are the finished journals.  I stamped the sentiment onto some white cardstock and outlined it with India Ink then added a strip of black tape.  To finish it off, I wrote little notes for them.  I wanted to add some flowers but I don't think adding a lot of dimensional items is practical for a daily journal.  I've made some like that for myself and they always seem to fall off. 

If you add dimensional items to your journals and don't have a problem with them falling off, please let me know your secret :D

TGIF!!! 

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!!!!!