Crowabout Journal Project

Beautiful Dreamer
5"x7" Journal Page
Front & Back

I've been waiting and waiting to share this post with you - and now that I've received my gorgeous completed journal I finally can! Last fall I took an on-line Crowabout journal class hosted by Nancy Baumiller. We had such a fun time in class that we didn't want it to end.

With that thought in mind, we collaborated on a journal. The subject was "Collage Dreams on Paper", and each artist was to contribute a page (both front and back containing artist info). After the pages were complete, one of the artists (Thank you Susan!), bound the journals and all of the assorted pages. My contribution is the "Beautiful Dreamer" (seen above).

Imagine me doing the "happy dance" when I found the journal in my post last week! It's absolutely brimming with creativity, color and awesome images.



It's so interesting to see each artist's interpretation of the same theme. And, of course, each page has that special Crowabout "look".


Thought you might like a sneak peek inside this fabulous journal. We had a ton of fun putting this project together, and I personally couldn't wait to see the results.


This keepsake was well worth the wait! These pictures are just a tiny taste of the eye candy that's inside.


My heartfelt "thanks" to each of the contributing artists for this wonderful treasure!

Hope you have an art-filled day!

Treasures & Thanks!

Thank You, Lorraine!
(Click to see the details!)

A few weeks ago, my friend, Lorraine from Creative Daily sent an email and asked if I would like to trade a handmade charm. Of course I said: "Yes!", immediately and sent my charms off to British Columbia, Canada.

Last week the postman left an embarrassment of riches in my mailbox! When I opened Lorraine's envelope, I found that I was the very lucky recipient of not only a hand made charm, but this lovely hand-stamped and sewn muslin envelope, containing a gorgeous mixed-media piece.

Lorraine is a very talented and creative mixed media artist and instructor, and this piece truly showcases her diversity and fabulous work.

Just look at all of that luscious lace, the sweet transfer and all of the wonderful details. And, of course, there's was my awesome handmade charm. A sweet little gift unto itself!

But that's not all . . . there was another hand painted, hand sewn envelope containing a beautiful handmade card too.

My heartfelt "thanks" to Lorraine for her kindness and generosity. I am very grateful for all of these lovely treasures, but most of all, I'm thankful for our friendship. If you have an opportunity, stop by her blog, Creative Daily, to say "Hello!" Lorraine is truly an inspiration!

Thank you, too, to my followers for leaving all of the fabulous comments this past week. It takes time to leave each comment, and I truly appreciate your taking time from your busy schedules. Your sweet words always make my heart sing with gratitude and appreciation.

May your day be filled with love and friendship!

A Lacy "Freebie"

A Lacey Lady
For your artful pleasure!
And . . .

The JPEG too!

There something very intriguing about this lovely lady's face, but the lace . . . . Oh My! It's remarkable, lavish and so beautiful. It belongs to an era when needle arts were treasured, and women wore their handmade laces and embroidered belongings with pride. I couldn't resist her!

Hope you have a beautiful day!


Note: To my knowledge this image is in the public domain.

The Duchess of Chamomile

The Duchess of Chamomile
(Click on the teacup to see the details!)

It's been quite some time since I've had an opportunity to play with my digital art, and it's been ages since I've had an opportunity to play with the Three Muses, one of my favorite challenge sites.

This week's theme at the Three Muses is "a nice cup of tea", so I thought I'd have a bit of fun with this lovely lady. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce the lovely Duchess of Chamomile, rumored to be the current mistress of the dashing and debonair Earl Grey.

May you find a bit of fun in your day!


Credits: Your can find my Duchess "freebie" on my 3/19/10 post . Special thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the tea cup and a french document used for one of my layers. Thank you to Normal Frances-Flickr and Kelly L. Watson-Flickr, for images used in my layering process, and to MudBay Images for the image of the cute pup. Both the Duchess and the roses are from the public domain. The background of the hallway is from my collection.

More Zentangles

Zentangle ATC's
(Click on a doodle to see the details!)

A few weeks ago, my sweet, creative friend Patty at Magpie's Nest wrote a post that contained pictures of her zentangles. I was absolutely mesmerized - her zentangles were fascinating. Patty created them using bristol board, a rubber stamp and tons of doodles. Needless to say, I had to give it a try.

In this series of ATC's, the colored backgrounds were created with Golden acrylics and a touch of Pan Pastels. Thanks, Patty, for your inspiration!

Hope you have an inspired day!

A Duchess & A Thank You!

A PNG File
For Your Artful Pleasure
and

A JPEG Too!

Everything about this lovely woman, whom I shall call "The Duchess", whispers "romance" to me. If I close my eyes and listen, I can hear the rustle of her silk gown and smell the faint odor of damask rose perfume left in her wake.

------------------------

Thank you, Diane!

I just love surprises! And last week my very talented and creative friend, Diane at My Art Journal, surprised me with this lovely award. Diane creates some of the most gorgeous little art boxes you've ever seen, well worth a blog visit when you have an opportunity. Thank you, Diane, for this lovely award.

Now I get to reveal seven things about myself, so here goes!

1. I love my sweet little dog even though she's a Diva! There's nothing better than a "fur baby".
   
2. First thing in the morning, I NEED my coffee - 1st thing!!! Can't function without it. (I'm sooo not a morning person!)
   
3. I decorate my house for every holiday. It started when my children were small, but now that they're grown, I do it because it makes me smile.
   
4. When I was a child, the first movie I remember seeing was "Cinderella". I was enthralled with the animation and wanted to "draw for Disney" when I grew up.
   
5. I love watching the play of light - on anything - water, walls, hills, etc. It's mesmerizing.
6. Fountains - LOVE them! Love everything about them. Love the sound of water dancing and splashing and the sight of a rainbows reflected in a million prismatic water drops. Fountains soothe my spirit.
7. Gardens - love them too! I enjoy the entire gardening process. I love the feel of the sun on my neck and the scent of Mother Earth. I like getting my hands dirty, and I love sitting down with a cool drink when my gardening is finished for the day. Gardens teach me about patience and bless me with peace and joy.
   

Hope you have day filled with peace!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

A PNG File

For your artful pleasure.

And, a JPEG too!

A bit of the green to brighten your St. Patrick's Day!

May you always have the luck of the Irish!


Credits: This image was extracted from a postcard in the public domain.

Teesha Journal - Part 2

Back Cover

4 1/2" x 5 1/2 "

Last week I gave you a sneak peek of my Teesha Moore inspired journal that was created for a round robin involving eight very talented artists. As promised, here are my remaining pages.

Back Inside Flap

My journal has now progressed to the 2nd artist in the round robin. I've completed one artist's journal page, and am about to start another. It's interesting to see how each little book is filled with it's owner's personality, individuality and creative style.

Jam Page
Each artist is must contribute
two images to this page.

Since this is a long term project, I'll be sharing my pages occasionally over the next few months. After our journals have completed the round robin they'll be returned to their original owners filled with beautiful art.

Overview

Hope you have a art filled day!


Credits: Thanks to Land of Nod Flickr for the great image of Marie, to Julia - Ceremony Etsy for the little red heart, to Marsha - Tumblefish Studio Etsy for the image of the crown on the jam page and the purple/blue and red/white striped borders. Special thanks to Nancy Baumiller - Crowabout for the words "do, art, good stuff" and the winged eye. Butterflies from Dover Publications. Remaining images were trimmed from magazines and scrap paper.

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

Your Freebie!
(From the Library of Congress)

This is the weekend that we turn the clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Savings Time. Officially the clocks are to be turned ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. As everyone in my family knows, this is my least favorite weekend of the year, and here are my top ten reasons why.

1. Being a woman, there aren't enough hours in the day.
   
2. The **cough, cough** more mature I get, the more I find that I need my beauty sleep.
   
3. It bears repeating . . . There aren't enough hours in the day.
4. It takes at least a week for my poor "Boomer" body to acclimate to the time change.
5. Reminder . . . There aren't enough hours in the course of a day.
6. Once the hour is gone, where does it go? Is it in a "holding area"? Is it like the TARP money? I'm sure there's a HUGE deficit of hours hidden somewhere in our government's vaults. (And now they want to run health care!!!)
   
7. With all that needs to be accomplished, there just isn't enough time ever!
   
8. During the course of the next week or so, it's disconcerting to find a watch that hasn't been turned ahead an hour. It's just a rude reminder that an hour has disappeared, never to be seen again.
9. Once again . . . There aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to do!
10. See reasons 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9!!!!!
    

Hope you enjoy every precious moment of your day!

Teesha Style Journal

Front Cover
4 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Over the last few weeks I've been busy creating a Teesha-Style journal for a round-robin in my art group. The journal was created using Teesha Moore's instructions (click here to go there), but it's only half the size of Teesha's so that it's easier to mail to our swap partners.

Inside Flap

After constructing the journal from a sheet of watercolor paper, we were instructed to color all of the pages with watercolors, acrylics or water soluble crayons. We then had to complete the front cover, inside flap, an artists' sign-in page, the back cover, another back flap and a "jam" page where everyone playing will contribute a few images before sending it to our swap partner.

Artists' Sign-In Page

Overview

I've never participated in a round robin, and this will be challenging and a lot of fun. Thought you might enjoy seeing the first half of my Teesha journal. I'll reveal the second half in a later post.

Hope you find the time to play today!

Charmed!

Last year my art group did a charm swap; and because we had so much fun, we decided to do it again.

We could make up to twelve charms, and there were no limits regarding the size of the charms or the materials used to make them. The only rule was that each charm had to be handmade.

I tried a few different techniques and materials including using Diamond Glaze over images, words glued to wooden shapes, fancy glass beads, shells, rhinestone findings, crystals, vintage pearls and tiny charms. (You can click on each of the pictures to see the details.) I can't wait to receive my "swaps"!

Hope you have a charming day!