Man of the House

Today at Thank God it’s Friday the theme is….

Men…

Please create your art work by using minimum one stamp which has something to do with men. A picture, their hobbys or their habits or some sentiments or everything you think of when talking about them, as long as it has to do something with MEN…. ;o)

A few weeks ago over at Created By hand the challenge was to use the house template. I absolutely fell in love with this template so of course it poped into my mind when the theme of men came up. Why? Because every man thinks he is the “man of the house” but we all know who really wears the pants J

The background is stamped using an architectural stamp embossed with Tim Holtz distressing powder. The Vitruvian Man in the center is stamped using brown ink and then burned…yes; my entire house smells like burned paper. And I had just taken a shower so my hair stinks…The windows are from Stampington & Co., also stamped in brown ink and then dusted with the same color to make them look a little older.

The two men are collage images from Paula’s Kit club.

The frame surrounding the house template is a stamp from Stampington & Co. stamped repeatedly to make a continuous line with brown ink on copper paper. Yes, the paper shimmers…once again the computers lack to sparkle frustrating my efforts LOL.

To finish it off I added two swirl paper clips in opposing corners.

I hope you enjoy!
Caro

Dearly Loved

Today’s Theme Thursday is… This week’s theme is “letters of the alphabet”! Use one or more letters of the alphabet on your creation this week! Use them on their own or use letters to make up a word!

When I was up in Boston visiting Janice from the Circle of Friends I bought a pack of rub on letters, my first rub on’s ever! I just loved them.

So of course I had to use them today. But starting with a letter is the easy part. It was where to go from there that proved a little daunting. I’ve mentioned before that I purchased a slew of collage sheets from Altered Pages so I flipped through them until I found this image of a mother and child. It seemed perfect for the “Dearly Beloved” letter.

Keeping with the theme of alphabet I stamped script all over a sepia card and aged an old book page using Tim Holtz Distressing ink. The heart, which I am disappointed with, is embossed using Desert Sand embossing powder. I stamped and embossed it right on the cardstock and then using my craft knife to cut along the top of the heart allowing me to slide the collage image behind.

Rubbed the marvelous letter on and added the lace as a finishing touch.

I am not pleased with this piece at all. I don’t know if it is the colors I selected (not my usual and I was trying something new out) or if my composition is off. Any suggestions would be welcome.

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

Play On

The Theme at Crazy Amigo’s today is… This week's theme is Music. Use music-instruments, written music, etc.

I Love Love Love Love Love Music! I don’t know what I would do without it in my life. The funny thing is that only one stamp that I own has anything to do with music. I don’t even have any collage sheets dedicated to it. Trust me, I will be remedying that very shortly LOL.

I ended up layering my stamps. I started with the very gorgeous cloud ladies dancing from Stamp Land Chicago. Because what goes better with Music than dancing…or a drink or two. I painted them with Sparkeling H20’s so they are shimmery (alas…why can’t that show up on screen???) I over stamped that with the music score and then dusted the entire sheet with blue ink. It was a very quick card to make, less than an hour.

The word “Play on” is thumb tack letters. I was going to add stems to them and try to make them look like actual notes but I was worried that would ruin the look. Maybe when I have more time to play I’ll try it out.

I am not 100% pleased with the look, I think the blue may be a little to harsh but the overall effect was accomplished.

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

Africa's Dangerous Days

Wow…what a wonderful Think Monday – Think ATC theme to come back from the sick bed to. I didn’t think I would have the energy to think about a design more or less actually complete an ATC…but I guess even the Flu can’t get the addicted down LOL

Anyway…the theme for Think Monday – Think ATC is… Although we didn’t have a real winter, I’m kind of always freezing. This is probably why I chose a theme associated with heat this time *gggggg* This week is all about the African continent. Whether the landscape, animals, human beings, or any idea you come up with. We’re already looking forward to see your ATCs!!

A few months ago I ordered some Collage images from Altered Pages among them was the image with the pyramids. When I opened the package that the collage sheet came in I also received some book pages…one of them had the title of “Dangerous Day’s” which to me seemed perfect with the theme.

When I was playing around with last weeks Theme Thursday I did some stenciling on a bright yellow fabric…When I saw it laying there I thought it was just right for today’s ATC. I spray glued it to a heavy piece of cardstock and continued layering from there.

I stamped the queenly image on transparency film and highlighted it with red and jade markers. The tag is alcohol inks mixed together with hieroglyphics stamped on top. Then transparent letters added. I wanted raffia for the ribbon but I was all out, this green ribbon was at the bottom of a “to be cleaned up” pile…now I don’t have to clean it up LOL.

I hope you enjoy!
I welcome all comments, be them critical or praise.
Caro

Beach Baby

The theme at Theme Thursday was perfect for me it is….

“warm colors”! Use one or more warm colors in your creation this week! Warm colors - red, yellow and orange! You may use other colors as well, but have one of these “warm colors” as one of your main colors in your art!

Since Mixed media Monday’s theme of texture I have been working on a few pieces that feature Kudzu. Something has been off about all of them…that was until I decided to go with the “Warm tones” instead of the cool tones I was using. I would like a bit more texture in this piece but I don’t really know how to add it and be able to stamp. Any suggestions???

So here is what I did. I found a picture of Kudzu that I just love love love. Cut a mat board and dabbed on acrylic paint. Once that dried I stamped the sea shells from Paula’s Kit Club. To add shimmer (which I can’t do without) I added gold pearl ex powder, which I sealed so it would not wipe off over time. Next I embossed the swirl using Tim Holtz distressing embossing powder. Added some actual sand around the mat board opening pulled some tulle across the upper left hand corner and then added a few splash stickers and warm toned tacks.

This one is suppose to be for my Grandmother, Kudzu’s Great Grandmother but I’m not sure I can part with it now.

Enoy!
Caro

The Mercy of Thin Air…Bookmark

Today’s Wednesday Stamper challenge is…

... to come out from behind your book and make a bookmark. So that after having had a relaxing read you can put a gorgeous piece of artwork in there to enjoy it even more.

This was perfect for me. For those of you that do not know I am a member of the Columbus Book Markers. This coming up Monday I am hosting our meeting, because the February books were my selection. As the hostess my one duty is that I have a book mark as a door prize. I had completely forgotten until reading the challenge that I need to make one.

The book for Book club this past month was Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue. I really enjoyed this historical fiction/ghost/love story and highly recommend it. Portraying the story on a bookmark proved to be a bit difficult…after all how do you portray the idea that sometimes stuff happens?

I decided to take a blithe approach starting with a beautiful, free image, of flying horses from tartx and printed it out on transparency. The background is a cloud stamped in versa mark and chalked then over stamped with writing that I off stamped first in order not to get it too dark.(wow, that is a mouthful) The book page is died using Tim Holtz distressing ink.

Unfortunately the scan is not very good. The colors or light blues, pinks, yellows and greens…think heavenly shades with silver along the edges and used in all the ribbons. If you click on it a larger image will pop up showing more detail

I hope you enjoy…I am open to any and all types of critiques.
Caro

The Queen of Green

I started working on the Arty Girlz challenge a little to late in the evening last night to get it uploaded. Plus I had a terrible time with the layout. Anyway…

The Arty Girlz challenge this week is…

The challenge this week is to have the colour green on your project, as usual you choose the format

I use a lot of green being that it is one of my favorite colors. So instead of using something I had already made I decided to make something new and really challenge myself to only use the color green. Everything is stamped, stained or embossed using various shades of green. The ribbons are also all different shades and textures of the theme color green. The background paper has a number of different shades of green on it.

I hope you enjoy!
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

Soaring with Butterflies

Today’s theme for Think Monday - Think ATC is…

Looks like we can’t get enough of animals here. First we had cats, then birds, and now it’s insects There are so many of them - butterflies, dragonflies, bugs, spiders or ants - what kind of insects will you show us?

I really wished I had something other than butterflies, I am kind tired of the whole butterfly thing. But alas, it is the only insect that I have…I will be remedying that shortly LOL.

The background paper is a whole bunch of different butterflies scanned into photo shop, cropped, and laid out on a yellow orange background. I then stamped the woman in the frame (Great Impressions) on paper and scanned her into photo shop then printed her out onto transparency paper. With all that done…I could finally assemble.

To attach the transparency to the butterfly background paper I punched holes and threaded iridescent green DMC floss through the openings. I added a butterfly image that is 3D in the lover left hand corner. Punched a sun shape out of cardstock stained with Tim Holtz alcohol inks and hand wrote “Soar” onto it. Then I covered it with a page pebble and affixed it over the DMC floss…

It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn’t…

I am open to any and all comments be them critical or just nice…always looking to expand.

Hope you enjoy…
Caro