Birds Nesting

Today I decided to combine as many challenges as I could into one. I managed to get four out of the five that I like on Tuesdays!

Daring Dardmakers "For my dare this week I would like you to make a card that incorporates beads somewhere in the design…..it’s as easy as that!It can be one bead, lots of beads, big beads, and small beads, whatever you like as long as there’s at least one on your card somewhere."

Arty Girlz Challenge is "wings"

Created Byhand "Create art using a tag! Use a pre-made tag or create one yourself! Alter a tag or add a tag to your art this week! Use tags with sprays, washes, distress inks, rubber stamps, dye inks, paints, papers, collage images, eyelets, ribbons, etc… ! Create a card, ATC, tag, altered art, 4 x 4, inchie, skinny (3 x 5 inches) and add a tag! Post your art to your blog, picture trail or photo sharing site, then post a direct link to your challenge art under the comments section to share with others! Have fun and make art!!! "

and last but not least

Take Part Tuesday's challenge is "nests"

So I started with my base being a tag and I stamped Tim Holtz's tree with a soft sage ink and then over stamped the doodle bird from Alpha Stamps with brown ink. Next I spritz the entire tag with an iridescent gold shimmer. While that was drying I cut out an image from Paula's Kit club Bunny Love Kit, it is a scene of a bird being born I cut the inside of the image out and just used the frame, keeping the nest. Next I added the seed beads, they are sewn on using fishing wire. And as a finishing touch I glued down some Spanish moss to accent the nest a bit more and added diamond glaze to the birds. The ribbon finishes off the tag.

Hope you enjoy!

Caro

Lily

This piece took me longer than expected. It is for yesterday’s Created ByHand challenge. I just couldn’t stop adding to it…

We were challenged to…

Create art using chip board or Grunge board! Use chip board or Grunge Board to create your art. Use inks, paints, papers, collage images, eyelets, ribbons, etc… along with chip board or Grunge Board in your creation! Create a card, ATC, tag, altered art, 4 x 4, inchie, skinny (3 x 5 inches)… whatever you fancy. Post your art to your blog, picture trail or photo sharing site, then post a direct link to your challenge art under the comments section to share with others! Have fun and make art!!

The background in a piece of Grunge Board (stripes) that I painted with two greens and a yellow acrylic and then dusted with a silvery grey pearl ex powder which alas does not show in the photo. The Lily image is from a pack of Tarot Cards from Alpha Stamps. Above the image I used two chipboard swirls painted with the yellow acrylic and dusted with the silvery grey pearl ex.

The two bottles on either side of the image are covered with green ribbon and then wrapped with wire that I strung beads on. The little jars will hold water so you could put real flowers in them but I didn’t have any. So I stamped a lily and colored it with coordinating colored pencils, cut it out and added it to the jars. As a final touch I made some sprigs of wire with coordinating seed beads, twirled them around a pencil to get the nice shape and stuck them in the mini jars with the flowers.

I am going to use this piece for the Alpha Stamps monthly contest…hope I win I really want the prize this month!

Hope you enjoy!
Caro

The Beauty of the Written Word

Today’s Cratedby Hand challenge proved to be a very big challenge to me. It may be because I don’t have any of the recommended supplies but who knows. Anyway, I spent all morning trying out different techniques…coming up short three times. So with time rapidly slipping away I actually finally created something I thought worthy and then decided to combine it with the Crazy Amigo Challenge…killing two birds with one stamp…so to speak LOL

So at Createdby Hand the challenge is…

Create art using sprays, spritzs, mists or spatters! Use a spray, spritz, spatter or mist along with stamps, inks, paints, embellishments, fancy papers to create art

And at Crazy Amigo’s the theme is…

This week we challenge you to make something with the theme 'Beauty'. What's a beauty to you?

I made a 4 x 4 using glossy paper sprayed with meadow Alcohol ink blended with water and a green pearlescent pearl. I also sprayed a book page with the mixture. This covered the Createdby Hand challenge.

But how to portray Beauty…and what is beauty to me. I thought about this one for a bit deciding that things that make me happy must be beautiful. I love stamping, reading, and flowers (receiving more than growing), so I combined these as best I could.

The rose is painted with sparkeling H2O’s and cut out. The image of the woman is stamped directly onto the glossy paper, she is from Paper Artzy. Next I layered the prepared book page, ripped in pieces, cut out an image from an ATC collage pack and glued the rose on.

Hope you enjoy!
Caro

Easter Greetings

Today’s challenge at Created by Hand is… Create art using this bunny template created by Suzanne Cannon of Quietfire Design

I normally don’t do Easter themed pieces but I just received my Paula’s Kit Club in the mail last week and it is filled with fabulous Easter Goodies so out they came to help me decorate this adorable template.

The background is a rabbit randomly stamped (first off stamped) using a Tuscan colored chalk pad. I then stamped the circles using sparkeling H20’s so all the dots are shimmery…surprise surprise. Next I selected the two bunnies’ image out of an ATC booklet, it is attached using shimmery brads (my new best friend). The heart are stamped with the Sparkeling H2O’s and then covered with flocking, so not only are they fussy but they are also shimmery!

This was a very quick and easy Easter card to create. I think quite a few people may be receiving this little darling this year.

Hope you enjoy, I am open to all types of comments.
Caro

Pear of my Eye??

Today’s challenge from Created Byhand is…

Create art using glossy paper! Use glossy paper to create your art - use dye inks, paints, papers, collage images, eyelets, ribbons, etc… along with glossy paper! Create a card, ATC, tag, altered art, 4 x 4, inchie, skinny (3 x 5 inches)… whatever you fancy. Post your art to your blog, picture trail or photo sharing site, then post a direct link to your challenge art under the comments section to share with others! Have fun and make art!!!

I first gold embossed on the Glossy paper and then used alcohol links in various tones. This created a fabulous background paper (a little to busy…but oh well). From there I stamped the pear, eye and lettering using StazOn brown ink. I added diamond glaze to the words. Lastly I wrapped the entire ATC with bronze DMC floss.

I started with just the pear on the ATC but it was a bit to small so where to go from there? Beside me I had open my binder of stamps and there was a stamp with an eye. So I started thinking “why not Pear of my eye” and where exactly did the phrase “apple of my eye” come from. So I did a bit of research…here is what I found courtesy of the Phrase Finder.

Meaning: Originally meaning the central aperture of the eye. Figuratively it is something, or more usually someone, cherished above others.

Origin: The phrase is exceedingly old and first appears in Old English in a work attributed to King Aelfred (the Great) of Wessex, AD 885, entitled Gregory's Pastoral Care. The earliest recorded use in modern English is in Sir Walter Scott's Old Mortality, 1816:

"Poor Richard was to me as an eldest son, the apple of my eye."

It also appears in the Bible, Deuteronomy 32:10 (King James Version)

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

and Zechariah 2:8:

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

Kinda interesting…I hope you enjoy. I am open to any and all comments…Caro

An Artists Home

Today's Challenge from Created By Hand is to .....

Create art using the house template created by Suzanne Cannon of Quietfire Design.
HOUSE TEMPLATE
Print it off and create your house! Think a traditional house or think outside the box! Use stamps, inks, paints, collage images or whatever you have to make your house!

About a million ideas came to mind when I saw this fabulous template. This is the first piece I finished.

I used various shades of Alcohol inks swirled together and then splattered as the background. Next I cut the window frame out and embossed all around it with gold embossing powder. The image behind the window is from Alpha Stamps.

The Tree (Tim Holtz) on the left hand side is stamped using timber brown StazOn, as is the brick on the right (Stampington & Co.). The word “Home” (Stampington & Co.) is gold embossed on purple paper and then I ripped the edges. The Word “Artist” (Tim Holtz) is stamped with brown ink on a very thin piece of veneer.

I finished off this piece with a bit of lace and a few glass leaf pieces.

Hope you enjoy. I am open to any and all types of comments.
Caro