Happy 2010!

Happy New Year!
PNG File
For your artful pleasure!

May your New Year be happy and healthy. May it be filled to overflowing with good friends, joyful memories, laughter, discovery and artful journeys. May you see through the eyes of a child, and may your heart be filled with peace, love and gratitude.

May 2010 be filled with many blessings for you and yours!

"Beautiful Dreamer"

"Beautiful Dreamer"
6 1/2" x 4 1/2" Collage
(Click on a butterfly to see the details!)

Although there's been precious little time spent in the studio lately, I managed to make time to finish this last piece of the year for a "Dreamers" swap. Given the same subject, it always amazes me to see each artist's interpretation of a theme.

May all of your dreams come true!

Credits: Image of the dreamer - Becky @ WhymsicalMusings.blogspot.com; crown, borders and "create"heart - Marsha @ TumbleFishStudio - Etsy; assorted butterflies from Dover Publications.

Christmas Wishes

"The First Glimpse"
From the Library of Congress
(For your artful pleasure!)

To all of my dear friends and visitors, I wish you and yours a very blessed Christmas filled with peace and love. May your homes be filled with the joy and laughter of family and good friends, and may you have many wonderful memories of this beautiful season.

Warm wishes for a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cheer!

Bob Dylan like you've never seen him before. Hope this brings a bit of Christmas cheer and a chuckle too!

Party On!

"The Imp"

"The Imp"
4"x6"
(Click on a snowflake to see the details!)

I had plenty of inspiration from my family for this Sunday Postcard Art challenge of "Christmas". Especially at this time of the year, when our daughter was young she'd poke her curious nose into every tiny nook and cranny looking for a stash of hidden presents. (Yup! We DID get her to admit it!)

When she was lucky enough to find the treasures, she'd peel away the wrapping paper painstakingly to take a quick peek. Then, she'd meticulously re-wrap the packages to make them look as though they had never been touched. No wonder my husband's nickname for her was "Imp!"

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Holiday Wishes

Heartfelt wishes for a wonderful Christmas filled with many blessings. May your day be filled with peace and love; and may your celebrations be filled with the laughter and joy of good friends and family. Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a season of joy & peace!

Credits: Patterned border - TumbleFish Studio; Santa hat & poinsettia - Lisa's Altered Art.

A Question & Freebies

A Vintage Santa

For your artful pleasure!
(PNG File)

Quick question: Why does Santa get all of the credit, when it's dear Mrs. Claus who's been gathering the gifts, sending the cards, wrapping the presents and cooking and cleaning for the big day?

It's not that I'm complaining, and I know it's a rhetorical question. However, since I'm up to my ears in last minute Christmas preparations, I can't help but ask. I guess the old saying, "It takes a woman to do a man's job" is true! LOL!

Jpeg File

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Mrs. Claus
Merry Christmas to All!

A PNG File

& A JPEG File
Enjoy!

Here's hoping that your preparations are almost complete and that your sense of humor is still intact!

"The Naughty Elf"

"Naughty Elf!"
4"x6" Collage
(Click on a snowflake to see the details!)

The inspiration for this postcard came from memories of when my four children were very small. Around Christmastime when asked "Who made this mess?" or "Who is responsible for . . . . .?", all four answers were always the same and were said with utmost sincerity. The answer was always: "I don't know - not me!" Sometimes it took everything I had to keep a smile from appearing on my face during those "teachable moments"!

When I saw this little girl, the look on her face reminded me of those "honest" childhood answers, and the memories came flooding back. Without further ado, meet "Not-Me", the Naughty Elf!!!

Hope you have a day filled with wonderful memories!


Credits: Girl in green dress, the Santa hat, ornament, Christmas bird and pointsetta flowers from Lisa's Altered Art - Etsy; the enchanted door from Artsy Fartsy Queen - Flickr; and the turquoise border from TumbleFish Studio - Etsy.

"Celebrate the Season"

"Celebrate"
4"x6"
(Click on a snowflake to see the details!)

I've had a lot of fun this year making Holiday postcards. It all started innocently enough with a few cards that I made for a swap. An then another idea popped into my mind, and another and another! This was sent to a dear friend to make her Holidays a bit brighter.

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My Techniques

Edge a piece of watercolor paper with a red NeoColor crayon border and spread the applied color around with a baby wipe. Let it dry, then add an orange burst of Neocolor in the center of the red 'frame' and smoodge (a technical term!) it around with the same baby wipe. (Hint: I'm a bit impatient, so I use a heat gun to dry the background.)

After gluing the sweet image of the puppy (CassisCrations - Etsy), the border (Tumble Fish Studio - Etsy), the Santa hat and flowers (Lisas Altered Art - Etsy), and the computer-generated text, I used a white paint pen to add some background dots, and a pink marker and white gel pen to add the snowflakes.

All of the images were further enhanced with watercolors and Prismacolor pencils before being outlined with a black Pitt pen and some smoodged charcoal pencil. A touch of red Pan Pastel was added to each side of the postcard, and the entire piece was edged with a gold metallic marker.

May your day be merry!

"Naughty!"

"Naughty!"
4"x6"
(Click on the tree to see the details!)

This week's theme at Sunday Postcard Art is "the holly and the ivy". This postcard was created originally for a very dear friend. However, since my well-dressed Zetti is wearing a tiny sprig of holly at her waist, I think she qualifies for this week's challenge.

Judging by the size of the ruby on her Sana hat, she must be a very naughty little girl!!!

Hope your day sparkles with a touch of humor!

Credits: Background, birds and Zetti body - Itkupilli; the little man - Crowabout; the tiny heart - TumbleFish Studio; Santa hats and fan - CassisCreations - Etsy.

Christmas "Freebie"

A Christmas Cutie
Png File
(Click to enlarge!)

In two short weeks from today, floors will be strewn with colored wrapping paper and ribbons, squeals of excitement and surprise will fill the air, and stockings that were hung with care the night before will be emptied! This little one seems to express the joy and delight of Christmas morning perfectly. As usual, I've supplied a png and jpeg file for your creative pleasure.

For my friends who are celebrating Hanukkah, I wish you a very Happy Hanukkah and many blessings!

Jpeg File

May you have a delightful weekend!

December Birthdays!

"Make a Wish" ATC's

(Click on the cupcake to see the details!)

As busy as we all are with Holiday preparations in full swing, I'd like to take a moment to wish all of the December babies a very Happy Birthday!

May your special day be filled with laughter and delightful surprises, and may your year be filled with good health, good friends and many happy memories.

For Patty!
Happy, Happy Birthday!

Special Birthday Wishes to my awesome husband who'll be celebrating his Birthday this week, and to my sweet friend, Patty at Magpie's Nest, who recently celebrated her Birthday. Speaking of December babies . . . . Warm wishes and congratulations to Marilyn from In My Room on the birth of her first grand-daughter, Sophia Elizabeth, who was born on Sunday December 6. If you have a moment, click on the links to pay a visit to these beautiful ladies and take a peek at beautiful Sophia.

And if December isn't your Birthday month, close your eyes, take a deep breath and make a wish - a very grand wish - because your fairy godmother just may be listening! After all . . . this is a very special month!

May all of your wishes come true!


Credits: Birthday fairy wearing the green hat, the pink party hat, and the roses are all from CassisCreations - Etsy. The little pink fairy and the cupcake were one of my "freebies". Click here to add them to your collection.

Christmas Tags

Embellished Tag #3
(Click to see the details!)

When something had to be done for the holidays, my wonderful sister-in-law, Ginny, had a saying that she used with great frequency: "Work smarter - not harder!"

I can still see her standing in her kitchen fixing beautiful party platters made by mixing homemade treats and store-bought goodies. Always the gracious hostess, she'd flash a dazzling smile of thanks when compliments were received.

Tag #1

Having received some great digi-tags from my dear friend, Lynn at Her Creative Spirit, I printed them onto cardstock and took them to the printer. After having several color copies of the original tags made, embellishing began. (If you'd like to see more or purchase some of Lynn's digi work, click here to go to her Etsy shop.)

Tag #2

I started by adding just a little distress ink around the edges and then edging the tag with a gold metallic marker. Then I got a little bolder and dabbed a little more distress ink around the edges, used Prismacolor pencils to "brighten" the image, and added some glitter for the "fluffy" effect on her muff and coat. I went "all out" on my last tag and added some flourishes with black Stazon ink and dots with the gold marker in addition to the previous additions.

Although these tags are so pretty "as is", it didn't take much time to make them my own, and they'll add a very special touch to my Holiday gifts. Thank you, Lynn, for helping to make my Holidays a bit merrier and lot easier too!!!

May your Holiday preparations be easy and fun!

"Vintage Santa"

"Vintage Santa"
4" x 6" Digital Collage
(Click on the tree to see the details!)

Have I ever told you how much I LOVE Christmas! I truly do! When I was a child, I tried to stay awake on Christmas Eve and would lie in bed listening for the mingled sounds of hooves and jingle bells. The slightest sound would trigger magical thoughts of an enchanted sleigh and flying reindeer. I fell asleep thinking of that jolly, old fellow trimming the Christmas tree and leaving wonderful surprises beneath it's decorated branches.

Since this week's Sunday Postcard Art theme is "St. Nicholas", I had to participate, even though time has been so limited. My entry is digital and uses a background and gold frame from Itkupilli, and a lovely, vintage Santa from Flickr's SuzeeQue along with several digital filters and custom faux writing stamps.

Wishing you a very happy and very magical St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas feast!

Holiday "Freebies"

A PNG File
For your artful Holiday pleasure!

To make your Holiday Season a little merrier, thought you might enjoy this cutie pie (from the public domain). Use her for your Christmas cards, tags, bookmarks and gift labels. I'm going to use her on my cookie gifts this year. To make life a little easier during this busy time of the year, I've included the jpeg version too. Have fun!

Jpeg File

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More Freebies

Lisa Volrath at "Ten Two Studios" is hostessing a wonderful holiday giveaway. During the month of December, she's posting a free collage sheet of beautiful images every day. If you'd like to investigate, just click here and it will take you to Lisa's site. Once you're there, you'll find instructions on how you can download her great freebies. Thank you, Lisa, for your generosity and kindness!

May your weekend be merry!

"The Tree"

The Tree
Rockefeller Center
New York City

Radio City
Home of the Rockettes
(Click to enlarge these pictures!)

Tonight's the night! This is the night that's signals the official beginning of the Holiday Season and the Christmas countdown for me. Tonight's the night that they light the huge tree in Rockefeller Center.

For anyone who lives in the New York metropolitan area, this tree is the official symbol of the Season, so I thought I'd share it with you today. These pictures were taken a few years ago, when we went into the City on Christmas Eve. I only wish that they could convey the spirit of love and camaraderie that surround this gorgeous symbol.

May your day be filled with love and hope!