Ponderings of a Mind

Handmade Giant Door

2011-12-30T12:07:00.003-05:00

My husband is building a room off from our basement. He said we needed a wide door in case we needed to move anything large out or in. My reply was, "Well, make it a giant door then!" He used a stained glass window bought while antiquing. I love this door! It is gigantic and beautiful! The door handle has not been added yet because we have not decided what we want to use yet. I will post more pics once it's finished.

Vintage Finds

2011-12-30T11:56:00.002-05:00

Some things I saw antiquing...

The vintage apron came home with me! I love pretty vintage aprons!

Handmade Holiday Tree

2011-12-04T11:11:00.005-05:00

Items needed:

Wooden block
Old book pages
Handmade paper
Burlap
Raffia
Square piece of cardboard
Beads (seed beads, large bead & wire-wrapped beads)
Glitter
Glass beads
Paint (white)
Stamping ink (Brown)
E-6000 glue
Hot Glue

Directions to make your very own tree:

1. I have tons of scrap wood around our house due to our ongoing projects around the house. Hopefully, you do as well. ;-) Cut the wood to your preferred size and sand away the splinters. Paint it white and set aside to dry.
After drying, use mod podge to glue torn old book pages to the top and sides. Then sprinkle with glitter. This will be the base for your tree.

2. Paint your square piece of carboard white. (You should really do this while you are painting your block.) After drying, puncture it through the large nail. This will be the base of your tree.
You will then alternate the handmade paper, burlap, raffia, and old book pages. Use larger pieces for your base and gradually have them get smaller as you work your way to the tip of the nail.
Use the brown stamping ink to distress the edges of your book pages.

3. Hot glue the glass pebbles to the bottom of your wooden block for feet. If they are slightly uneven, use a dab of hot glue on the shorter ones to balance out your wooden block.

4. Use the E-6000 to glue the head of the nail (the base of your tree) to the top center of your wooden block. After allowing it to dry a bit, coat the tip of the nail with E-6000 glue and add a large bead at top. Then add clear seed beads below the larger bead. I also added one single seed bead to the top of the large bead for a more finishing touch.

5. Add the wire-wrapped beads for ornaments.

6. Finish it off with word glass pebbles placed on all four sides in the center. I used peace, faith, heart, & spirit on mine.

If you don't have all of the exact same supplies, improvise! I encourage you to make it in your own unique style. After all, that is what creativity is.
If you make one, please feel free to comment with a link showing off your own creation!

Halloween Swap

2011-09-05T12:39:00.002-04:00

This is what I have created for the Halloween swap with abc_alteredbookclub at yahoo groups. We were to create a 4x4 base with any size roof.

FRONT:

BACK:

Sloth

2011-09-05T09:50:00.001-04:00

Collage Obsession Challenge: Sloth - The 7 Deadly Sins

Sloth allows others to do everything for him. His lifetime goal: No action or effort of any kind.

Vamped Out

2011-08-26T14:08:00.001-04:00

Halloween's Arrival

2011-08-18T12:21:00.001-04:00

The Fall season and Halloween will soon be at our doorsteps. The Halloween celebrants are waiting for that night and starting to slowly come out from hiding...creeping out and spilling over into the Summer season to claim their time once again.

Collage Obsession: Clear Glass (I used a clear canning jar)

Up-close sections of the piece:

Lady of the Heavens

2011-08-16T07:54:00.001-04:00

I combined
Take A Word's Challenge: Celestial and
The Three Muses Challenge: Hats
to create this piece.

Greed

2011-08-09T15:44:00.006-04:00

Collage Obsession Challenge: Greed - The 7 Deadly Sins

Greed's motto: "More, More, More...never enough gold, jewels, and souls"

Special thanks to the following stock providers from deviantART:

Coins, Necklaces: PirateLotus-Stock

Treasure Chest: Moonchilde-Stock

Her Piracy

2011-08-07T21:00:00.005-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge: Pirates

Special thanks to the following stock providers from deviantART:

Model: mizzd-stock

Parrot, Barrel, Coins, Necklaces: PirateLotus-Stock

Ship: CAStock

Sky/Moon: wyldraven

Gluttony

2011-08-04T16:47:00.007-04:00

Collage Obsession Challenge: Gluttony - The 7 Deadly Sins

I introduce you to Lust's brother, Gluttony. I have decided that these 7 brothers will represent all of the 7 Deadly Sins. What a naughty family!

Gluttony: Anything done in excess; Excessive eating or drinking

8th Anniversary Swap

2011-07-07T12:59:00.007-04:00

I created this piece for an 8th Anniversary swap I am participating in with the abc_alteredbookclub yahoo group.

A special thanks to the following stock photo providers from deviantart.com:

Model Stock provided by: Bugidifino

Spider Web: wyckedBrush

Water: redheadstock

#8: RenjiAbaraiGR

Sparkle Lights: pendlestock

Lust

2011-07-04T01:14:00.004-04:00

Collage Obsession Challenge: Lust ~ One of the 7 Deadly Sins

Lust: An intense desire or sexual urge

Moonlit Flight

2011-06-18T13:21:00.011-04:00

Please click on the image for a larger view.

Collage Obsession Challenge: Boats & Ships

Special thanks to the following people for sharing their wonderful stock images:

Model: Mizzd-stock http://mizzd-stock.deviantart.com/
Desert Rock: http://greenleaf-stock.deviantart.com/
Boat: http://banana-workshop.deviantart.com/
Moon/Sky: http://wyldraven.deviantart.com/

Magician at Play

2011-03-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

4x4 Friday Challenge: Top Hat

City Lights & Lipstick

2011-02-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

High Tea

2011-02-27T21:19:00.002-05:00

Crazy Amigo Challenge: High Tea

In Her World

2011-02-27T13:20:00.002-05:00

Art Creations Friday Challenge 106: Little Girl Image

An Otherworldly Entrance

2011-02-27T00:36:00.000-05:00

Take a Word Challenge: Door

Love Shack

2011-02-26T17:16:00.004-05:00

Collage Obsession Challenge: Old Dark House

I can have a tendency to go "dark" at any chance I get but decided to do something different with this one.

Faerie Dreams

2011-02-20T11:15:00.002-05:00

Art Creations Friday Challenge #105: The challenge was to alter an image from Mucha.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T23:35:00.000-05:00

Valentine Ornaments

2011-02-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

I created these ornaments to hang on my "holiday tree" which is now decorated for Valentine's Day but you can hang these anywhere...from drawer knobs to door knobs to anything else you think of.

I cut hearts from cardboard and painted them.

I then added a pearlescent sheen to the hearts using Perfect Pearls.

I then glued on the heart-shaped pictures and used red glitter glue to add dots around the picture. It was finished off by making a hole at the top and tying ribbon and black fiber-yarn through it to hang.

Improvise on this idea by using love quotes, vintage pics, or anything to your heart's desire. ;) If you create your own version of a valentine ornament, comment and add a link to your blog so I can come see your creations!

Valentine Altered Trading Block

2011-02-12T13:52:00.011-05:00

I recently participated in an Altered Trading Block(ATB) swap that was arranged by Aileen of Aileen’s Musings.

The first block I created featured the writing of E.E. Cummings on it.

and here is the second...

The following ATB's are the beautiful creations I received from my wonderfully talented ATB partner, LORI NORTHON. The amount of detail in her creations are amazing!!! These beauties are proudly on display in my home and on this blog! =D
Lori has created some wonderful art pieces and posted them on her Flickr photostream account. If you would like to view more of her beautiful creations, please click here.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 12

2011-01-06T14:24:00.003-05:00

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Twelve Drummers Drumming

by JO ANN

This is the very last piece of the 12 days of Christmas swap but certainly not the least.
Your drummer art square is beautifully detailed Jo Ann! Jo Ann features 11 postage stamp size drummers on both sides with her twelfth drummer and his drum in the middle over a seasonal page with musical notes and a glitter border.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 11

2011-01-06T10:30:00.004-05:00

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Eleven Pipers Piping

by: CATH CROMPTON
You may visit her blog by clicking here.

I love the hip wrapping and your wonderful layered creation Cath! It is a wonderful creation that features beautiful colors, a gorgeous tree and a plaid paper behind the piper that reminds one of the kilts they wear.

This is how Cath created her 11 Pipers Piping as described on her blog:

"I started with a basic white card and sprayed it green. Then a smaller piece of corrugated card I painted red then a slight spray with the same green. I then stamped the tree shape on to dictionary pages cut them out and dipped them into my melt pot with green embossing powder in. When dry I added the dots with glitter glue but they all haven't stayed on. The tag was coloured with an ink pad in red then the edges brushed with a copper paint. The piper was printed onto tracing paper ripped out and added to the tartan that was attached with eyelets to the tag. A small piece of ribbon and the wording done on my Dymo machine and that was it."

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 10

2011-01-04T22:37:00.004-05:00

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Ten Lords-a-Leaping

by: KATHY W.

I love the little wire-wrapped deer charm on the beautiful wrapped package and your Lord-a-Leaping Kathy! The art square features a lord accented with glittery details leaping from the gorgeous purple textured background. Kathy also included a beautiful small miniature book about the Ten Lords a Leaping and how it may be based on Morris dance.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 9

2011-01-03T09:11:00.005-05:00

On the Ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Nine Ladies Dancing

by GINA WISE

Opening this package is bittersweet, as many of those in our art community are aware that Gina has passed on. This is my first swap with Gina and I must say that the amount of detail that she puts into her art is simply breathtaking...
Our wonderful hostess Elizabeth stated on her blog during the 1st 12 Days of Christmas swap that Gina spent an insane amount of time making the little boxes to house the gifts and I believe it! These boxes are immaculately made.

and here is the actual art square...

The details of Gina's art is amazing! The dancing lady with movable arms is raised from her background and features a gorgeous glittery headdress, lace top, bejeweled belt, an "embroidered" skirt, and delicate black glittery slippers on her feet. Gina completes the setting by adding an shiny embossed floor that looks to be colored with some alcohol inks, a beautiful pink "wallpaper" with silver stars, and a pink curtain with silver embellishments. Gina was a gifted artist and I am so thankful that I am able to own one of her handmade beauties.
To see her beautiful swan from the first group, please click here to visit Elizabeth’s blog.
If any visitor's have additional links to more of her art, please add the links in the comment section so we may all view more of Gina's gorgeous art.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 8

2011-01-02T13:01:00.004-05:00

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Eight Maids-a-Milking

by MARILYN MORRISON

I love the holly leaf you added to your hand drawn piece Marilyn! It makes it look so festive!

Celebrating a Southern New Year

2011-01-02T10:36:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone! May your New Year be filled with an abundance of love, laughter and creative inspiration!

Ringing in the New Year in the South is full of traditions. There are two dishes that MUST be included with the meal...

Collards or turnip greens, which represent all the green money you will receive for the New Year. The more you eat, the more you will receive.

and Black-eye Peas, which I was told represented your coins. However, other Southerners, such as my husband, believe that it represents your good luck for the year.

My husband was also told that you NEVER wash clothes on New Year's Day. It is believed that if you wash clothes on New Year's Day, you will be washing someone out of your life. We have also been told that you must have all Christmas decorations put away before New Year's Day or you will have bad luck all year. It is very common around this time of year to be asked, "Did you get your Christmas decorations down?" Southerners have many superstitions and even if others may think we are crazy...we just don't take any chances.
Case in point: I will never forget the day that I walked down to my great aunt's house to "visit for a spell" when I was a young girl. I could not get her to come to the front door, so I walked around to her back door and peering through her screen door I see her cooking something deliciously southern in her kitchen. I entered through the back door and we ended up in her front room chatting. After our visit, I get up and walk to the front door (which is the closest exit) to leave. She literally blocks my exit and insists that I cannot leave through that door. I asked, "Why not? I want to go home and the door is here." She becomes even more insistent and proclaims that I am NOT to leave through that door and I MUST go out the back door. I remember being so confused and after arriving home I tell my mom that she was acting weird and would not allow me to leave through her front door. My mom then laughs explaining to me the old superstition that you must always exit the same door that you enter. At that moment in my life, I learned that for some, these old southern beliefs are wholeheartedly believed and followed. As for me, I say...pass me those collards and black-eyed peas with a few dashes of green pepper sauce and cornbread on the side...because this southern lady is not taking any chances!

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 7

2011-01-01T18:05:00.002-05:00

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Seven Swans-a-Swimming

by CAROL BARKER
You may visit her blog by clicking here.

I love the beautiful turquoise color you used in your piece Carol! It really makes your seven swans stand out.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 6

2010-12-31T09:15:00.006-05:00

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Six Geese-a-Laying

by AMY MCDONALD

I love the looks of this piece Amy! I love the gold background with the black geese and the sheet music you used goes perfectly with your beautiful creation! Additionally, the wrapping of your piece has a wonderful hue to it. I tried to capture it as best as I could.
I love ALL of the art squares and am currently brainstorming how I am going to showcase these beauties...decisions, decisions, decisions... =)

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 5

2010-12-30T11:22:00.004-05:00

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Five Golden Rings

by MARILYN

I love the embossed look and feel of this piece Marilyn. The colors are beautiful as well! Marilyn was also kind enough to include a little clothespin snowman gift to each of us. How cute he is!

A Wrapping Paper for Gifts...All Year Long

2010-12-30T10:29:00.004-05:00

For this Holiday Season, I used Contractor's Paper to wrap all of my gifts. You can find these huge rolls in the painting section of your local hardware store. I absolutely love this stuff because it wraps MANY gifts, it's heavy duty, AND it's a blank canvas. I can continue to use this wrapping paper all year long and give it my own personal touch for each person I wrap a gift for. You can draw, paint, stamp, and collage to your heart's content! Please note that when you are wrapping, you may want to use clear packaging tape (not regular tape) as this paper is a heavy-duty paper.

When wrapping my gifts for the season, I kept it simple and went for the more natural look using jute twine and fuzzy black yarn. I used leftover scraps from the contractor's paper to make gift tags, using the same bird stamp from my Twelve Days of Christmas piece. To finish off my holiday gifts, I placed a rosemary sprig from my herb garden on each package.

Rosemary is the perfect addition for any holiday or family/friends gathering as it represents good memories. How could I NOT include a sprig in each gift?

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 4

2010-12-29T12:49:00.004-05:00

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Four Calling Birds

by YOURS TRULY ;)

I used a brown paper lunch sack to wrap my Four Calling Birds piece. I simply cut down one of the side seams and cut out the bottom (which I plan to re-use as perhaps as an ATC base or perhaps even tags)...us mixed media artists LOVE to recycle and re-use things. Nothing goes to waste! =) I wrapped the piece and folded the top and bottoms down and also used decorative edged scissors to cut a jagged line across the folded area. I used a paper hole-puncher to punch holes in the top and tie a black fuzzy bow on the package. I then stamped the paper sack using chocolate brown stamping ink.

This is a visual of some of the materials used to create the piece.
The photograph used in this piece is one of my own photos...so no worries on copyright issues. ;) I then digitally altered it by using filters along with a sepia tone. It was printed on white card stock paper and then to create an aged look around the left-hand edge, I used brown water color paint and let it run.
For the hanging 4, I used a 1" circular paper punch and punched out several pieces from decorative scrapbook paper. I then used the same 1" paper punch on white card stock paper, stamped the 4, cut around it, then used the Chocolate Brown colored stamping ink on the edges and then lightly pressed over the 4 to give it more of an aged look. The 4 was then glued onto the 1" circle and a needle was used to puncture a hole and run the metallic copper thread through and tied. I then punched two holes into the actual art piece and pulled the metallic thread through, taping it to the back. It was then finished off with bronze mini-brads. For the final touch, I ran the fuzzy black yarn down the side and taped it to the back. The back was then covered with 5"x5" white card stock and black stamping ink was used on the edges and around the writing which explained my interpretation of the Four Calling Birds.
This is what I wrote:
During the holiday season, many people stay busy visiting with family and friends. I am from the southern United States and grew up hearing my elder ancestors say they were "going calling" or "going to call on someone." This phrase meant they were going to visit someone. Hence, my interpretation of the Four Calling (Visiting) Birds.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 3

2010-12-28T19:25:00.003-05:00

On the Third Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Three French Hens

by PENNY AUSTIN

One side of Penny's tag explaining the modern folklore behind the Twelve Days of Christmas:

I love the pull-out tag with the folklore information on it Penny! It is a wonderful creation!

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 2

2010-12-28T18:36:00.004-05:00

On the Second Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Two Turtle Doves

by ELIZABETH (our hostess)
You may visit her blog by clicking here.

In Elizabeth's own words on how she created the 2's (as posted on her blog):
"I hand drew the "2" on wax paper using white glue. I tried to control the glue as it came out, but some of the "2s" are better than others. I spent an insane amount of time placing plastic confetti birds on the glue, and unfortunately, made the "2s" a bit wonky. Next, I added single layers of facial tissue to the tops, using watered down glue. Be sure to dab the glue/water mixture on at this point. The tissue is quite fragile and tears easily. Allow to dry, preferably overnight. After the "2s" were dry, I cut them to size, then backed them (still with the wax paper on them) with dictionary pages, again using white glue, this time full strength again. Then I sewed around the piece."

"For the paper, I used some deli paper and painted them fun Christmas colors. Since the deli paper was a bit see through, I backed them with sheet music. Then I inserted the art square gift and sewed the package shut using the longest straight stitch I could get from my machine. I made a small tag and stapled it to the string I left hanging, in hopes the recipient would be able to easily pull the string freely." ~Elizabeth

"While I was looking for ideas for pages for the first 12 Days swap (Dec. 13-24), I learned the doves I had created were not turtle doves. In fact, the more research I did, I found that turtle doves are smaller than other doves, and have a beige body. The turtle dove's tail is key, though, because it is wedge shaped, with a dark center with white borders and tips. So I dug out my black marker and beige stamp pad, and went to town on the doves. The words in their beak are stamped (yes, I stamped) on seam binding. It was already doubled, so I didn't have to deal with raw edges. I printed a portion of the 12 Days song, colored it with Staz-on/alcohol mixture, then sewed the front to the back (which contains my personal information). I added the two doves using foam dots for lift." ~Elizabeth

Please visit Elizabeth's blog for additional pictures and to view more of her tutorials!

I absolutely love the wrapping for your creation Elizabeth! I will most definitely be putting it to use somewhere else. It's obvious that you put just as much love and creativity into the wrapping of your art piece as you did the Turtle Dove creation.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 1

2010-12-28T18:05:00.008-05:00

I am a member of the abc_alteredbookclub through Yahoo Groups and participated in a Twelve Days of Christmas gift swap which Elizabeth hosted. Each of the twelve participants were to pick one of the twelve days of Christmas and create a total of 12 pieces for their day in 5"x5" format. Eleven of the twelve pieces we created were creatively wrapped and mailed to our host Elizabeth while we retained one of our creations for ourselves. Once Elizabeth received all of them she mailed the remainder of the 11 days back to us. We were to begin opening the 1st day of Christmas on December 26th.

On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

by LIZ KETTLE
You may visit her blog by clicking here.

This is how she created her wonderful and gorgeous piece in her own words:

"I began by painting a pear branch and partridge on watercolor paper. I am still very much a beginner with watercolors but think this turned out pretty well! I scanned the painting and reduced it to 5"x5". Then I printed it out on tissue paper 12 times using waterproof pigment inks. My base is a craft stabilizer to which
I used a heat activated fusible web, Misty Fuse, to apply a sheet of gold
scroll tissue paper. I cut these into 5" squares. Next, I used matte medium
to apply the partridge in the pear tree image. The matte medium renders the
tissue paper transparent. I stitched around the pears and leaves using gold
metallic thread to finish up."

I absolutely love your creation Liz! I love the feel and texture of your piece. The stitching is beautiful and if you are saying you are a beginner with watercolors, you are a natural at it!

Holiday Wreath

2010-12-28T17:30:00.006-05:00

A picture of the wreath I created to hang on our front door for the Holiday season. I used fresh rosemary and lavender sprigs from our herb garden in a grapevine wreath. I then pinned on some potpourri balls for extra color and texture and finished it off with a simple red velvet bow. I love using natural grapevine wreaths to decorate as you can change out the decorations with the seasons.

Caterpillar

2010-11-28T21:46:00.003-05:00

Here is the last Alice page! The quote was entirely fitting since this is the very last page of the book and the end of the project. =)

2010 Alice Challenge Book from paperarts group

The theme for the year is Alice in which eleven characters are chosen from both
books (Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass). On the first of each month a character is announced and a page is to be created using that character.
http://paper-artz.blogspot.com/

Cheshire Cat

2010-11-02T23:08:00.001-04:00

White King

2010-11-02T23:04:00.000-04:00

Dark Fairy

2010-10-21T17:52:00.001-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge: Scary Fairy

Special thanks to photographer Marcus Ranum :) I used one of his models in this piece.
Personal website: http://www.ranum.com

The altered background used is from one of my personal photos.

Evil Clown

2010-10-10T10:44:00.003-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art: Evil Clowns

Another Marie...

2010-10-07T08:34:00.004-04:00

While creating one Marie for Sunday Postcard Art challenge, I decided to create another... After all, can you really have too much of a good thing? ;)

Dark Marie

2010-10-07T07:58:00.001-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge: Dark Marie

Sit for a Spell

2010-09-30T12:52:00.001-04:00

Art Creations Friday Challenge #88

50's Pinup

2010-09-23T16:41:00.001-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge: 1950's Pin-ups

Harvest Moon

2010-09-23T14:35:00.001-04:00

4x4 Art Challenge: Harvest
Watercolors, Chalk, Pen, Collage

Gentleman in White Paper

2010-09-09T15:53:00.001-04:00

Watercolor, Pen, Chalk

Knave of Hearts

2010-09-09T15:51:00.001-04:00

Watercolor, Pen, Chalk, Glitter Glue

Tweedledum N Tweedledee

2010-09-09T15:50:00.002-04:00

Pen & Chalk

Mad Hatter

2010-09-09T15:48:00.001-04:00

Pen & Chalk

Alice in Wonderland

2010-09-09T15:33:00.002-04:00

Pen & Chalk; Crow Image

White Rabbit

2010-03-28T17:46:00.004-04:00

Pen, Watercolors, Markers, Oil Pastels & Chalk

2010 Alice Challenge Book from paperarts group

The theme for the year is Alice in which eleven characters are chosen from both
books (Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass). On the first of each month a character is announced and a page is to be created using that character.
http://paper-artz.blogspot.com/

Queen of Hearts

2010-02-26T15:16:00.003-05:00

Pen & Watercolors

2010 Alice Challenge Book from paperarts group

The theme for the year is Alice in which eleven characters are chosen from both
books (Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass). On the first of each month a character is announced and a page is to be created using that character.
http://paper-artz.blogspot.com/

Starlit Flight

2010-01-26T14:46:00.002-05:00

The Three Muses Challenge: Something in the Air

Wings of Hope

2010-01-16T21:07:00.002-05:00

Art Creations Friday: Challenge 57

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.
- Emily Dickenson

Alice: Red King

2010-01-14T12:22:00.006-05:00

Cotton CandyLand

2009-10-04T22:21:00.001-04:00

ART CREATIONS FRIDAY CHALLENGE: Image of Woman

Black Hat Society

2009-10-04T17:54:00.001-04:00

DARKNESS INSPIRATION CHALLENGE: BLACK HATS

Tears

2009-10-04T17:48:00.000-04:00

ART PIECES ATC CHALLENGE: TEARS

Bottle Up the Negativity

2009-10-04T17:43:00.000-04:00

THINK MONDAY - THINK ATC CHALLENGE: BOTTLES

Buckets of Joy

2009-10-04T17:32:00.001-04:00

WEDNESDAY STAMPER CHALLENGE: Bucket(s)

Zetti Witch

2009-10-03T08:21:00.002-04:00

THE THREE MUSES CHALLENGE: Zlightly Zetti

Witchy Bookmark

2009-10-01T17:59:00.002-04:00

ONE POWERFUL HOUR CHALLENGE: Something Skinny

I painted the background and drew the witch and bat on some leftover card stock paper I had. I then glued it on a sturdier piece of paper and put red and silver glitter on the right side and the top. (It's hard to see it in the picture.) I then slid the yarn in between 2 brads and attached for my "witchy" bookmark. =)

Fly High

2009-10-01T17:56:00.004-04:00

ART ON THE DARKSIDE CHALLENGE: HALLOWEEN ATC's

This is not as "dark" as some of the recent work I have been posting. However, it's always good to change it up. ;)

Bat Girl

2009-10-01T17:54:00.000-04:00

THEME THURSDAY CHALLENGE: WINGS

Stripey Legs

2009-09-29T18:01:00.002-04:00

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART CHALLENGE: Stripey Legs

Wanna play?

2009-09-27T20:35:00.001-04:00

Think Monday - Think ATC Challenge: Girls with Dolls

Gypsy

2009-09-27T10:02:00.002-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art: GYPSY

This is a late post for this challenge but it's done! =)

Be Careful What You Wish For...

2009-09-24T18:56:00.002-04:00

Art On The Darkside Challenge: Be Careful What You Wish For

Guess she should have been a bit more detailed when she made her wish!

2009-09-18T16:05:00.001-04:00

Theme Thursday Challenge: ATC with Flourishes

Cup o' Joe?

2009-09-16T22:10:00.004-04:00

Inspire Me Thursday Challenge: In Good Company

Would you care to visit with them and share a cup o' joe? Although Joe may literally be in your cup...

These are the parents of Little Boy Boo and Halloween Princess. (See below)

Moongazer

2009-09-16T14:49:00.004-04:00

Mixed Media Monday Challenge: Something Round

Gazing into a crystal ball is just not good enough for this woman. She has something much better.
;)

The Ritualists

2009-09-16T13:30:00.002-04:00

This piece puts a whole new meaning to the phrase "playing with fire"
This was not created for a challenge but purely for fun and the upcoming Halloween holiday. Too bad there was not a challenge this week for: FIRE
Hope everyone enjoys!

Infinite Time

2009-09-15T21:37:00.002-04:00

Art Creations Friday: Challenge 40

Just as the earth is not flat, I don't believe time is linear...it is as infinite as the skies above us.

Heralding of Hecate

2009-09-15T18:41:00.001-04:00

The Three Muses Challenge: MOON

Little Boy Boo

2009-09-11T00:14:00.002-04:00

Thank God It's Friday Challenge: Skulls

Here is the Halloween Princess' brother.

Halloween Princess

2009-09-10T01:07:00.002-04:00

Art Creations Challenge #39
The picture of the little girl provided was so cute...but I still could not resist doing another Halloween-themed piece. I should have lots of new decorations for Halloween this year!

Witchy Girl

2009-09-09T20:59:00.002-04:00

Theme Thursday Challenge: Halloween ATC
Another Halloween creation and since this is my favorite holiday I am sure this will not be my last. ;)

Spider Mistress

2009-09-08T16:20:00.004-04:00

Created Byhand Challenge: Stitching
I have been wanting to create a few Halloween pieces and this theme is perfect. I have no idea what possessed me to use spiders, other than it seems that they are nature's perfect weavers and "stitch" so perfectly. I have created the piece in an older book. Hope you enjoy!

Fish Tales

2009-09-02T17:12:00.001-04:00

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge: Fish

Door to Another Place

2009-09-01T20:02:00.003-04:00

This piece was inspired from the Dans ma maison il y a Challenge for the week which was: Door.

Below is a close-up of the "Door" I created to put on the house:

On the Farm

2009-09-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

Saturday Surprise Art Challenge: Down on the Farm

Marilyn Monroe

2009-08-31T17:00:00.002-04:00

Think Monday - Think ATC Challenge for the week: Marilyn Monroe

Dancing Upon Stars

2009-08-31T13:10:00.003-04:00

Art Creations Friday Challenge 38

I loved the dancing picture provided for this Art Challenge as I love to dance!
If it were only possible to dance upon stars...oh well, I guess I shall have to settle for dancing under them. =)

Sweet Reprieve

2009-08-30T16:27:00.003-04:00

Think Monday - Think ATC Challenge
Strawberries, Chocolate & Wine are definitely a sweet aspect of life AND...
A Sweet Reprieve.

Crown of Light

2009-08-26T16:01:00.001-04:00

Dans ma maison il y a Challenge: Crowns

Prisoner of His Heart

2009-08-26T10:41:00.002-04:00

37th Challenge from Art Creations Friday...hope you enjoy. =)

Magic Wands

2008-11-13T16:42:00.003-05:00

I would have posted this before Halloween but I was too busy planning a big Halloween party. (Of course, it's my favorite of all the holidays.) I decided to create a wand to go along with my Halloween costume. Once I started, it was hard to stop. I was addicted to creating more magic wands. Initially, I had planned on making one single wand but then I felt that choosing the perfect wand was such a personal choice. I also started thinking...different wands for different spells.

Or just maybe the wand chooses you...

Searching for Space...

2007-07-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

We all need a little personal space…a larger amount of space from certain people than others~ especially those who wear out their welcome or maybe those personalities that clash with your own. I consider myself an outgoing person in the general sense…not shy by any means. However, I like to spend my personal time and space with a select few…in limited doses, of course. I suppose that is where the statement, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” originated from. What they were essentially trying to say was, “Stay away awhile and then I will start liking you again.” There are several ways to handle the situation of the uninvited guest who makes you feel like you are starring in a ‘Groundhog Day’ movie with them. I wanted to scream just from watching the movie…imagine living it! Yes, my sanity is at the verge of a complete meltdown from the repeated scenery of the uninvited guest. It is time to strategize using a mind on the verge of rabid desperation. I have already attempted the, “I have plans and will be leaving soon” only to have uninvited guest invite themselves along. Although this tactic usually works, it is simply not sufficient under these extreme circumstances. I must now resort to moving or installing a gated security fence with cameras along the property boundaries. As you can see, I am way past the locking all doors and closing all blinds scenario. After all, this is an extreme situation. If I could only have my mind returned to a sane state, I could try the rational way of a diplomatic conversation. However, I am already having the gated security fence installed while I am away on vacation.

An Authentic Life

2007-07-11T08:42:00.001-04:00

It’s been hard emotionally these past few days. I try to keep these thoughts in a distance as my focus needs to stay centered on simply living life. Yet, they are always in existence…an imprint that will forever mark my soul. These memories and longings always manage to push their way to the surface and when that bolted door finally splinters open, all those tears come flowing in a steady rushing river.
It was not my intention to launch my first posted blog in this manner. No matter…as life seldom plays itself out as we intend it to. We hold these self-made grand illusions to fool ourselves into thinking we know how life will be played out. Yet life never seems to follow the same script we hold in our own minds. Then there always comes a time and place when we reach the end of a script. We don’t exactly make grandiose plans about that part, do we? I am by no means saying that we should primarily focus our thoughts toward our end script. Just be a little mindful of it so that you live life to its fullest capacity.
Live authentically.
My youngest brother has always been a true testament to this statement…his laughs, smiles, friendship, compassion, dynamic personality and great sense of humor echo through time immortal. He lived his life by always doing what he loved and celebrating life with his loved ones. His light still shines here and I celebrate his uniqueness and all that he brought into this world.
Happy birthday little bro on your special day ~July 11~
I love you and miss you.