"Madame Sophie" - A Freebie

 Madame Sophie

(A Digital Creation!)

Something about this lovely lady spoke to me, and I just had to share her with you. Have fun creating a wonderful story for her! By the way - thank you to for all of your wonderful comments this week. You've made my heart sing with happiness!

Your PNG File

A Jpeg too!

Hope you have a fun weekend!

"Power Surge"

Power Surge

Journal Page

(Click on the fan to see the details!)

This page (for a private swap) was created with all of my rowdy friends of a "certain age" in mind. Need I say more???

On a different note, we were to do something on this page that was out of our comfort zone. Since I rarely use yellow, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Hope you stay cool wherever you are!

Credits: Thanks to Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com for the crown, face, and border images. Special thanks to Magic Moonlight for the body, to Suzee-Que (Flickr) for the fan and to Dover Publications for the butterflies. Flowers from Pringle Hill Studio.

"Feather Your Nest"

A Journal Page

(Click to see the details!)

You know that I love vintage images as much as I love color. So when Marsha, Tumble Fish Studio @ Deviant Scrap, introduced a sheet of images called Twinkle Toes,  I just had to use one of the fabulous dancers on this sheet. Since one of the swap themes for my art group is "nest", I immediately pictured a lovely blue fairy wearing a fabulous nest for a hat, and couldn't resist adding the cat and canary for just a touch of tongue-in-cheek humor.

Hope you have a day filled with color and love!

Credits: Thanks to Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com for the ballerina, the pretty wings and the smiling cat. Thanks also to Karen-The Graphics Fairy for the nest, to Vintage Catnip for the birdcage and to Dover Publications for the butterfly. Borders and roses - Pringle Hill Studio.

A Fabric Heart & Friday's "Freebie"

A Gift

(Click to see the details!)

My darling friend, Lynn at Her Creative Spirit, recently celebrated her Birthday, and I just couldn't let it go unnoticed. Since Lynn loves shabby chic, I decided to try my hand at making a little puffed fabric heart to hang in her new studio. It's made of muslin, scented with lavender and decorated with a printed fabric fairy dog, vintage lace, a stamped muslin word, a tiny ribbon flower and embellished with embroidery stitches. Quite a departure from my usual art!

***************

A PNG 

and . . .

A Jpeg too!

On a pretty Spring weekend several months ago, I wandered into an antique shop and found this little guy in a stack of cabinet cards. I fell in love with his dear face and beautiful clothing. Thought you might like the "original" too. Enjoy!!!

May you have a day of fun discoveries & new experiences!

Credits:  Heartfelt thanks to Lynn at Her Creative Spirit for permission to use her picture of the Birthday Heart!

Altered Envelope

Under the Sea

Front

Back

(Click on a fish to see the details!)

It just so happened that the stars aligned perfectly this week. The Three Muses issued a challenge to create a piece of mail art - in other words, any type of art that can be mailed or has something to do with mail. And, serendipitously, one of my art group's challenges was to create an altered envelope.

This envelope began with a manila envelope base and a piece of artist's paper from one of my older Somerset Studio magazines. After sizing, printing and trimming all of my images (many from Moonlight Journey), they were glued into position and further enhanced with Prismacolor pencils, Neocolor II's and watercolors. Shadows were added with a woodless graphite pencil and smudged for a soft effect, and tiny bubbles were added with a white gel pen.

May you have a serendipitous day!

Credits: Thanks to Moonlight Journey for all of the images except for the roses and scalloped border (Pringle Hill Studio). Special thanks to Somerset Studio for the artist's paper background.

Journal Pics & A Zetti Atc

I know you've been waiting patiently . . .

So without further ado . . .

Here's my completed Teesha-Style journal!

(Click on any pic to see the details.) 

Before I reveal more pictures, I must say a heartfelt "thank you" to all of the participating artists in this project. Each artist's journal is absolutely amazing, and has it's own, distinct personality. In short, they're tiny, fabulous works of art.

A few pages . . .

And some of the luscious details . . .

And finally. . . 

A Collaborative Jam Page

We all contributed a few images.

Although I tried to take a ton of pictures to convey the feel of this awesome journal, my images fell short of the mark. A camera can't quite capture the wonderful essence and detail of each artist's contribution. Again, my thanks to my fellow contributing artists for creating a journal that I will always treasure.

***************
 A Zetti ATC

One of the July theme's in my art group was to created a Zetti ATC for a trade. I've used a bunch of images from Crowabout StudioB @ Deviant Scrap (click here to go there) to create my little swap, as well as a few from the public domain.

Mat you have an artful day!

Credits: Thanks to Crowabout Studio B at DeviantScrap.com for the background and zetti parts; to Dover Publications for the butterfy; to Crowabout Flickr for the word, "Dream". Roses from Pringle Hill Studio.

An Empress "Freebie"

The Empress

A PNG File

And . . .

 

A Jpeg Too!

Continuing with last week's "freebie" theme of elegant women, you just can't get more elegant than an Empress. This week's image is brought to you courtesy of an extraction from Francois Xavier Winterhalter's beautiful portrait of the Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1857 - Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia).

For whatever reason, I've always been fascinated with Russian aristocracy. If you'd like to read more about the Empress, a fascinating woman way ahead of her time, you can click here. I hope that you'll find many interesting situations and settings for this regal image.

Hope that you have a beautiful day!

"Hope"

Renee's Page

(Click on the rose to see the details.)

It recently came to mind that I failed to show you the very last journal page that was created for this past spring's Teesha-inspired round-robin journal swap. This may be the last page that I created, but it was one of my favorites. 

The completed journals are back in each originating artist's possession; and I must admit, the results are stunning. Stay tuned for a peek. I promise I won't forget to share a few pics of my awesome journal.

Hope you have an awesome day!

Credits: Thanks to Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com for the crown, eyes and tickets used in the border; to Holliewood Studios at DeviantScrap.com for the doll's head and body; to the Graphics Fairy for the teacup; to Vintage Catnip for the birdcage and cat's head; to Dover Publications for the butterflies and bird; to Crowabout Flickr for the words. 

Fabric Journal Pieces

A Bowl Full of 
Little Pillows
Waiting to be Embellished

I'll try anything at least once. So when my art group decided to do an embellished fabric swap based on Teesha Moore's recent video tutorial, I couldn't say no. The object of this swap was to sew our little "pillows" into an embellished fabric journal cover (similar to Teesha's). Each finished piece was approximately 2"x3".

Thought you might enjoy seeing my finished fabric sections. What a difference! All it took was a little time, some beads and embroidery floss and a ton of patience on my part!!!

Set 1

Set 2

If you'd like to more information on making some of these fabric pieces to use in your work, check out Teesha's first video - there are four in the series - by clicking here.

May you have the courage to try something new!

Madame X - "Freebie"

A PNG File

For your artful pleasure!

And . . .

A JPEG

John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite portrait artists. No one seemed to capture a woman's spirit quite the way he did. "Madame X" was one of his favorite portraits. The model, an American expatriate, married a French banker and became notorious in Parisian high society for her beauty and rumored infidelities.

I've taken the liberty to extract the beautiful Madame from Sargent's original painting. Can't wait to see what new stories and settings you'll create for her!

May your day be filled with inspiration!

Home Again!

A Fairy Lobster!

If you're lucky enough to live in Maine, is there any other type of fairy? Fortunately, she's way to cute to become an ingredient for . . . . .

Along the way, we spent a gorgeous Maine morning at the Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Me. This picturesque lighthouse was built in 1879 and is one of 63 lighthouses along Maine's 5,000 mile coast.

Nubble Lighthouse

York, ME

After a leisurely morning of driving to the beautiful mid-coast town of Damariscotta, we had lunch at King Eiders Pub, a lovely historic tavern (over 100+ years old), followed by a shopping and picture-taking excursion around town.

King Eider Pub

Damariscotta is a sweet little town filled with lots of pretty shops. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics of the local color.

Door Decor 

 And . . .

A few pretty posies!

We also paid a quick visit to one of my daughter's favorite shops, Damariscotta Pottery. This artistic handmade pottery is recognized by it's creative, elegant, colorful and joyful designs. 

 The Studio's Welcome Sign!

A Mug and . . .

A Whole Lot More!

Since one of the predominant colors in today's post is blue, I've got to share these unique swings. My daughter's talented friend, Sarah, has been sewing all through the winter and spring, and has finally opened her own shop in Brunswick. I just love her new space!

Yay, Sarah!!!

Just two more pictures, and I promise you that I'm finished for the day. Whenever someone mentions Maine, thoughts generally turn to lighthouses, the rocky coast and lobsters. My thoughts of Maine are of gorgeous old farms, weathered out buildings, rolling emerald green hills and dewy fields. My thoughts are also filled with that beautiful ephemeral fog that lovingly caresses the morning. 

 A Maine Morning

May your day be filled with color and light!