Gothic Arches - Mermaid

The Gothic Arches challenge for Sunday of this week was mermaids. Here is one of the most famous mermaids of all - the Copenhagen mermaid statue.

My background is of alcohol ink and gold embossing. The shiny blobs are Omni-Gel.

Saturday's Workout Gesso

This colorful ATC was created for Saturday's Workout using a background I had prepared. I first laid down streaks of Glossy Accents and let it dry. Next I applied different inks and mica mists. After this I cut it into an ATC size (2.5" x 3.5") and applied swipes of gesso. I also used the sequin waste mesh to make an interesting design in the lower left corner. The collage of  Mayan images are from a travel brochure.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Femmy.

Where was I ten years ago? Same house, but still working. I was the Homebound Minister of a 1200-member United Methodist Church in Virginia USA.

Five things on my To-Do list for today. It is mid afternoon so I have already done most of my chores for the day. However, I will walk down our driveway to get the mail and pay online any bills that come. I will prepare dinner (chicken) and eat. I will water my potted flowers on the deck. I will watch television with my husband.

Snack foods I like: anything chocolate, ice cream, cookies.

If I were a billionaire, I would pay off my house and my children's houses. What's left would be donated to causes dear to my heart.

Places I have lived: Tennessee, California, West Virginia, Texas, Delaware,Virginia among other places.

People I want to know about: Rubita, Astrid, and Leila.

Theme Thursday - Favorite Holiday

I knew I had saved this alcohol ink background for something special. It just looks like Christmas to me. I had done this ATC for a Yahoo group challenge so I decided to make a 4x4 using the ATC on the green/gold background. The theme for Theme Thursday is favorite holiday and Christmas is mine. 

The red/burgundy one is a Skinny done on an advertising postcard, coated with gesso, then inked with various kinds of ink. I also used Winston and Newton's iridescent medium. 

Altered Art for Created by Hand

Created by Hand challenge this week has us busy altering something. I am a paper crafter so my first thought was to alter something paper. Then I saw the Altoids ® tin that I keep some tiny rubber stamps in. I put gesso all over the lid. When it was dry I misted on green, blue and butterscotch alcohol inks. Then I dribbled on some metallic gold ink. The mesh was already in place when I put the gesso on so it has been inked as well. The lace is some that I bought at a flea market. Now my tin for tiny rubber stamps is very fancy.

Li'l Redhead and the Arch

About 5 years ago I created and developed this red-headed girl that I named Li'l Redhead. I have used her in cards to children and to elderly folks in nursing homes. She is a delight to me and has taken on a playful personality of her own. I began to draw her in honor of my beautiful redheaded granddaughter. I'm not sure that this really meets the requirements for Gothic Arches Sunday challenge, but I hope no one gets upset if it misses a little. The Gothic Arches team is themeless for this week so I am presenting this entry.

SaWo Cut and Dried

Today's challenge for Saturday's Workout is to do some cutting and pasting. I have used an old watercolor that I did not like too much and cut it to a skinny size (3 x 5 ") for my background. That is cut #1. Then I used my handcut stamps of a bare tree and a maple leaf to make the foreground tree. Those are cuts #2 and #3. Then I cut out an image of a kissing couple on a park bench. That was cut #4. I hope I have understood this challenge well enough. Check out the other posts for Saturday's Workout.

Theme Thursday Hats

Theme Thursday is all about hats today. We can do any type of art work with "hats" as the theme. This is a card I made and sent to a friend a while back. It is one of my favorite cards that I have made, using Pearl Ex, watercolors and bits of collage materials.

Created by Hand - Patterns

The challenge for today is to use a pattern in our art work. Here is a patterned background I have made using an advertising post card as the substrate for my Skinny (3" x 5" card). The background is made up of Luminiere paints and fabric paints mixed with Winsor and Newton's iridescent medium. The pattern is acrylic paints and fabric paints. Take a look at some of the other entries in the Created by Hand Challenge. 

Skinny Saturday Queen

I didn't do a lot of art for challenges this week. I had a rare visit from my sister who lives out of state. We had a really nice time together. She is the dulcimer making, dulcimer playing sister, not the paper crafts sister.

I am entering a new challenge today Skinny Saturday. A skinny is a piece of art measuring 3" x 5". The theme this week is Oh, to be Queen. My substrate is an advertising postcard I received in the mail, which I cut to size, covered with gesso, and sprayed with some wonderful Moon Shadow mists from Lindy's Stamp Gang. I used Buccaneer Bay Blue and Phantom Fuchsia. Stamps I used were my hand-cut crown, stamps from All Night Media and Hearts in Touch. Some were embossed with gold tinsel and clear stamp ink. The queen is stamped with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress ink.

Saturday's Workout Crumpled Foil

Today's challenge in SaWo was to use a glossy paper, moisten it, paint it with acrylics or watercolors, and cover it with a crumpled piece of foil and let dry. The acrylics paints I used were turquoise and gold. I recently used this method in my Tower entry except I used plastic film wrap instead of aluminum foil. In fact the backgrounds behind "dream" and the dragonfly are scraps from the Tower entry background. I do a lot better with plastic wrap than I do with the foil.

Theme Thursday - Man

Once upon a time, long, long ago, children could go to movies by themselves and enjoy the Saturday matinees for about a nickel each. My sister's favorite cowboy was Gene Autrey. Mine was Roy Rogers, whose loyal steed was Trigger. When I saw this picture of Roy and that today's challenge was an ATC using a man's image, I knew I had to use it. Other entries on this theme can be seen at Theme Thursday.

My background is an advertising postcard which I dabbed with gesso. When that dried I sprayed Moon Mists of several colors and then added the collage.

Created by Hand - Wings

Our Tuesday challenge today was to create a piece of art ( ATC, 4x4, skinny, etc.) using wings. I thought of two winged stamps I have: the angel and the dragonfly. I decided to go with the dragonfly and used a background I just made with photo paper and alcohol inks. The dragonfly is stamped in silver. The gold reeds are strands of cord. I added a strip of another background I had done to conceal the ends of the cord and to act as an image of water. Take a peek at Created by Hand and see some awesome art.