So Artful Challenges - image

Maude Fealy. She is a beauty, but I have never heard of her. This is the image we were given to work with for So Artful Challenges.

Her frame was made by using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and some distress inks to simulate copper. Coloring of Maude was done in Photoshop Elements.

Spotlight - Art Cards and TT

Spotlight technique is the theme for Artekarten this week. Here is my example made using a Dezinaworld music background along with a Dover freebie image. This was a lot of fun even if it did require quite a bit of planning.

This also fits for Theme Thursday (vintage).

Edit: I ran off several copies of this one to make Mother's Day cards out of for some of the homebound people I know.

Rainbow Lady - Take a Town, City or Country Break

This is my entry for Rainbow Lady's Challenge. Obviously I chose countryside instead of city.

I decided I needed to do more watercoloring. I have forgotten the basics since I haven't done any real paintings in so long. So today I got out my water color paints and paper and copied from an oil painting I did way back when.

I did make a number of changes so it isn't exactly like the oil painting. Besides, this is only about 4.5 x 5" and the oil painting is pretty big (24 x 30"). I have trouble thinking up subjects to paint so I think I will continue to use my oil paintings as a springboard.

Tag it On - Pockets

This tag was made for Tag it On challenge where the theme is pockets. My stamps are from Stampendous (tiny butterfly) and Craft Smart for Michael's (birds).

Three Muses - Underwear

The Three Muses' theme this week is Underwear. I thought of those waist whittlers of yore and remembered that I had an image of a corset. This is a Dover freebie. The woman image is from Nicecrane Designs.

Three in One Entry

Here is my tag for Tag Tuesday (Arbor Day) and for Paper Minutes (olive green, cream, and rose), and for Created by Hand (ribbons). Normally I try to avoid doing multiple challenges with one entry because I end up not doing justice to any of the challenges. However, all three fit in so well that I hope this is ok.

TMTA - Coffee

Coffee is the theme for this week's Think Monday Think ATCs. I used some divine background paper I got in a pack. The coffee cup is my Cuttlebug folder. The man and woman image is from a magazine. The coffee lid is from Donut Shop Coffee, some of the best coffee in the Keurig coffee line. (The best, in my opinion.)

Take a Word - Memories

This is my entry to Take a Word. A simple collage, but at 3:30 a.m. I can't think any more complex!

Easter Greetings

So Artful Challenges - Southern Belle

My southern belle, the image Jeanette gave us, is in the foreground of a small watercolor I made last night. This is my entry for So Artful.

Art Cards - Stippling

For the Artekarten challenge (stippling) I have made this simple card. The flower was made with Fiskar punches.

I didn't have proper stippling brushes and had to use a stencil brush and a stiff art brush.

Rainbow Lady - Sweet Treats for Easter

I used this image from Chi Chi designs for my entry to Rainbow Lady's challenge: Sweet Treats for Easter. The marshmallow peeps, found in most American Easter baskets, were googled.

Tag it On - Birds - as you will

This tag was made for Tag it On where the theme is birds. (To the 9 people who left comments on my tag yesterday that I had mislabeled "tag it on" instead of "tag tuesday" I thank you for your patience and politeness.) The birds tag background was a shiny card that came with our Twinings - Keurig tea. You may be able to read some of the words beneath the gesso. I first sprayed with Alcohol Inks. That didn't work well so I dropped drops of AI and spread it around. Then came the gesso. The bird stamp is by Hampton Arts, Studio G.

Please click photo to enlarge.

Tag Tuesday - Easter

I made this tag/bookmark for TagTuesday in a form that it could be mailed as an Easter greetings. The flowers are Fiskar punches. The leaves are heart punchouts. The background was made on a piece of watercolors. I put  down some distress inks on my craft sheet, spritzed them with water. Then I took my background stamp and wiggled it through the different soupy inks.

Take a Word - Travel

For the challenge Take a Word (Travel), I have used a photo of a city on the Italian riviera (background). The small inset is actually a collage made up of various parts of a travel brochure sent to my house. I digitally reduced it in size in order to fit it onto the larger picture. The woman in the upper right looked like she could be contemplating a trip to me so I borrowed her from Dover.

One of the most enjoyable trips my dh and I made was to Italy and did include San Remo and the beautiful Italian riviera.

Please click on photo to enlarge.

Song Title - Easter Parade

Sunday Postcard Art's challenge is to use a song title. My title is "Easter Parade" by Irving Berlin.

My background is the collage I made last night from bits of painted and stamped scraps of papers. I took a picture of it and kept it on my computer where I captured it for the background of this piece. The ladies in the hats are from Dover Publications freebies. I printed this 4x6 piece out and colored the ladies and hats with my Prismacolor pencils (not really my expertise).

Springtime Rock and Roll!

What I like best about the Art Cards challenge is that I get to learn new techniques. This week it is "rock and roll". Obviously, my abilities are not what they should be or will be with more practice. I just had to try this, but I forgot to use the "position-er tool".  Cynthia has given us Springtime as the theme for Rainbow Lady's Challenge, so I am combining the 2 challenges.

Oops! I went back and noticed I was not supposed to stamp twice. I was supposed to put two different colors on the same stamp.  I'll do better next time.

Another rock and roll example that I made is on my other blog.

Tag it On - A Tag of Any Other Shape

Frankie of Tag it On has us stretching our minds this week to come up with a tag that is not the normal tag shape. I have used the Fiskar's template and cutter to cut out this shape. The paper is from a stack of cardstock called Old World Stack. I can't find a maker on it, but the barcode company is 92251.

The stamps are from Stampin' Up and are used with Archival black ink.

TMTA - Trees

The theme for Think Monday Think ATCs is trees. I made this background last night using some Bombay india inks that I sprayed with water. This didn't work very well since I now know that india inks are pigment inks. Still I like the result I got when I laid the cardstock flat into the soupy inks. The trees are stamped in Distress Inks of China Blue, Frayed Burlap, and Peeled Paint.

Take a Word - Lace

When I think of lace, I visualize a beautiful bride such as this gorgeous lady from Dover Publications. I have set her in front of some alcohol ink backgrounds I made with a lace-edged piece of satin. June, who has given us this Take a Word theme for the week, let me use a number of her lace pieces.

One Stop Challenge - Monochromatic

Maybe this is a little over the top on Green, but this is my monochromatic entry for One Stop this week. The background was originally done with sprays and mists, mostly from Lindy's Stamp Gang. I now have the background image on my computer so I can keep using it.

Award from Planet Lady Janet

I received this lovely award from Lady Janet and am just now posting this. I am supposed to choose others to pass it on to but really, there are just so many deserving artists that I am giving this to anyone whose blogs I've commented on. You are all winners.

As for listing 7 things about myself, these can be seen HERE.

Lilac Wine - Rainbow Lady's Challenge

Cynthia of Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog has challenged us to combine wine and lilac. This was really a challenge for me because I thought of my multi-colored watercolor painting of a wine bottle and fruit. There was no lilac in the picture so to use it I had to do some ad libbing.  The gorgeous lace is a gift from June.

The 3 Muses - Victorian Elegance

This is my ancestor Pearl, who died in her early 20s. I don't know the cause of death, but it was a time when many died of such things as yellow fever and influenza.

The frame is from Dover.

This is my entry for The Three Muses.

Stephanie in the Rain

About 35 years ago I did volunteer tutoring in reading in one of the city schools. Stephanie was one of my students. She was energetic, playful, and full of life. I went home and did this oil painting that depicted Stephanie's traits. By adding this png of the window this could easily be a scene from a nearby building, looking out at the child playing in the rain.

Umbrella is the theme for Take a Word.

Gothic Arches - Open Theme

This week it is a free and open theme for Gothic Arches. Mine is revealing what I did when my husband was away on a week's fishing trip.

Here is another one. It is all digital using my  watercolor painting of a petunia. The background is pretty involved. First I took closeup pictures of the pink hyacinths in the front yard. I digitally made the picture I liked best into a pattern. The pattern, duplicated, filled up a blank rectangle making a pretty background. But then I used 3 more of the same background, joined together to form a larger patterned background. I made the two arches from this background, one darker than the other.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

So Artful supplied us with a lovely vintage poster to illustrate the theme: April Showers Bring May Flowers. I have used a portion of the picture plus an old barn picture I took last week and some pink magnolias  (Dover?).

Not up to snuff today. I have a bad cold and am feeling really lousy. I don't feel artful at all.

Artekarten - Zip Technology

This was a fun technique that Anja showed us on Artekarten this week. The tutorial can be seen here.

My stamp inks are distress inks.My background paper and the bird sticker came from a pad of decorative papers by Me & My Big Ideas.

Here is my second attempt using a skinnier insert. The background is a paper towel I used to wipe up stains on my craft sheet. The butterfly stamp was sent to me by Frankie.