here is a little atc (I love atcs) that I made for a swap on the mixedmediaart group....it is called Celebrate and I thought I would celebrate the hat.....I just couldn't resist this twist.

Well finally back to blogging.  Hectic before Christmas as you all know.  I did lots of things but as usual in my rush I forgot to take pictures of most of them...I made some fun cards for the grandkids and had a great time with them....cards for others but mailed away before picture taking.
I spent yesterday cleaning up my studio. I don't know about you but when I create I am like a hurricane hitting....everything is out...so now it looks nice and is beckoning me to start again....

Monday Morning and I am ready to get in to the studio and produce!!
I want to work on some clay this morning as I am wanting to get back to my roots....molds and altering....going to be a good day....

I have been playing with toilet paper molds today....I have Pam Carriker's book
Art at the Speed of Lite and she has lots of neat techniques in the book; this being one of them.  I thought I would show you that now you buy toilet paper not to use in the bathroom but in the studio room....the toilet tubes for journals and the tissue for molds...
I didn't cut them really close and well because they still are a little damp and this is my first crack at doing this.  It sure is fun..the hearts are made from the toilet tissue..the fleur de lis was made from the backing of napkins.  I have a napkin one drying and decided I would let it dry naturally until tomorrow morning.  I also have a face from a polymer clay mold drying and will leave that one until tomorrow...the leaves one I sprayed after it was almost dry to see what Glimmer Mist would be like on it...I only did a couple of sprays so the next time I will do more...I did the little flower out of patterned tissue paper and it came out okay but it was too hard to cut out because of the pattern so I will try on some plain tissue next....Thanks Pam...this is going to be lots of fun to do and to add the embellisments to cards and other projects....
Any questions you have just email me....
So instead of working on my swaps I played....me bad!!!

Here is another tag for the swap.

I am doing a fabric journal and tag swap on our Mixedmediaart group.  This is one of the tags I did for one of my partners...This has been so much fun and I am almost ready to start putting my journal together....

I just couldn't help myself making this card for Jacob's 15th b'day.  He is a big Tim Burton fan as I am also and so  I had to put his head in this custom (I think it was a Dover download)...see his lucky #7 at the edge of his cloak...

I have been working with different techniques lately and having so much fun with them.  Here is a postcard I made for a special friend.  The tree image is printed on fabric...I love printing on fabric....

Next we have a picture painted and collaged by my grandson for art in highschool...I learn so much from Nicole and Jacob's art. I never took art courses in school and the kids learn so much today.

Here is Nicky and the team in Pittsburg where, on a tournament won all of their games and came home proud with the trophy.

here is a picture of my grandaughter. She plays hockey on the boy's team Meadowvale Mohawks.  She won the shovel a couple weeks ago for player of the game.  Nicole is an avid Hockery player and is determined to be in the olympics one day.

Here is Step 2....the horse and girl are my paintings and the other is a mixed digital I played with....

Good Morning World! The sun is shining and it is warm and beautiful outside. That alone should make us smile.

Step one

Well this morning I revamped the technique on the paper towel that was on youtube...when I was pulling the top layer of napkin off it was going okay but one little area caught and made a hole...and the bottom layer of towel was stuck to the cardstock...didn't like the fact that I was wasting a piece of cardstock so I decided to try it this morning without the adhesive and just with tape....here are the pictures of doing it this way....came out perfectly and I can resuse the cardstock.....

I am so excited!!! I love new techniques and on one of my art lists one of the members graciously shared this video with us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF1zIweCBPI&feature=uploademail

Here is the one I tried...I am sorry I don't remember the blog I got the tags from but they were so pretty I just downloaded them for inspiration but the blog url is at the bottom of the printed page..  You can see the blue tape at the top of the page and the pulled back area off the cardstock and the two pieces that you can separate...this is just way too fun.....there goes my day.....

This is the second and third step in my mixed media. You can see Justin is gone.

This is the next step and as you can see I changed a lot on here...my muse told me too. I also brought back Justin's eye..hehehe...I think I might write something in the blue over his forehead.

Board book cover. Mine is on birds...

This is the beginning of my mixed media canvas.  I had to add a napkin picture of Justin for my grandaughter. What young girl isn't in love with him? too cute. I added fibre, tissue, burlap stamping, newspaper, scrapbook paper and even a drawing I am doing in Carla Sonheim's workshop where you have to look at the picture and not at what you are drawing...it was quite funny, wallpaper has been added also....hmmmm I antiqued it a bit...so now to the next stage of developement...bye bye Justin....

a page in the altered book swap I was going to do..it was on Melancholy....

here are some of the toilet paper tubes and tags that go inside of the tubes...what fun!! If you haven't tried it you should....

Wow I can't believe it has been a month since I posted...am I bad or what...the days seem to just go so fast; I know, no excuses...
Well my muse has been with and we have been creating so that is a good thing isn't it?
I have some art to show you and having so much fun in my studio.  My life partner put up another table for me so now I can mess that up also. I now have a laptop down in the studio as well as my computer in the guest bedroon so there should be no excuses now I guess.

I have been working on an altered book swap but my partner that wanted to swap has not sent her book so I am thinking she doesn't want to do it now...I guess just too busy so I will carry on with my book myself...we were going to send to each other every month so we would complete pages for each other...
I am doing a fabric swap with another group...and when completed with fabric sent to each other we will compile our books and looking forward to that one.
Also working on toiletpaper tube journals...did a swap already and now doing another....I love those as they are so much fun and on one believes you when you tell them these are toiletpaper rolls...
Board book swap in the works and tags and atcs...so see I am busy...oh yes also doing a mixed media collage on canvas...which is fun....

This is the cover of the journal for my step daughter Lori's birthday.  I really hope she likes this...Her favourite colours purples and dark pinks....

Family page for photos and notes. I had a glare...I took pictures away from the light sources so I don't know.....

This is the back cover and it doesn't show up either but the little girl represents Lori and the witch represent me as I have always, since Lori and her brother were tiny, called myself the "wicked Step Monster." and that has always been our joke...I couldn't love either one more than if they were my own blood...all my kids are special.....

this page shows twice...they are campers and I thought this was a cute page for pictures and notes.

Pictures go behind the wagon which again didn't show the red as it should have...grrrh...a little tag above held with a paper clip for journaling. The doll was a material yellow doll and it doesn't look appealing at all but it is...the wagon and doll represent Lori's two kids (my grandkids).

This page, the lace paper doesn't show up as pretty as it really is.

this was the prettiest page in red and pink roses and th tag doesn't show up ...just a big white glare.

The lace was dyed with a distress spray and the picture of the lady and bird was a beautiful envelope sent to my by Mary Ann a dear friend and outstanding artist in a swap from one of the lists I am on...I kept that envelope because I thought it was so beautiful and this page called for it......so...I cut it down and used it. Check out Mary Ann's blog..it is beautiful.

http://www.plumcat.blogspot.com/

Inside cover with envelope att'ched.  In the envelope is a poem about my step daughter.

I just finished a journal for my step daughter's birthday and off it went to her...I took pictures but I am really disappointed in the way they turned out...A photographer I'm not I guess!! I hope you can use your imagination to visualize some of the colours...they were vibrant and I guess too much so for my camera...hahaha.  This is the cover and the only one, I think that turned out properly...her name is Lori so the L is on the cover and her favourite colour is purple and pinks come next.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

I have a new group that I am participating in and boy it is filled with the most amazing artists. The swaps are fantastic and I am so excited to be a part of these talented artists.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediaart/

I can't believe a month has gone by since I last blogged. I hang my head in shame and will pull up my socks and get some art up here....

I am working on journals, and a golf painting and swaps so there will be much to put up as well as some techniques and hints...

I am excited and looking forward to the coming months.

I will leave you with this smile:

We'll be friends until

We are old and senile

Then, we'll be

New friends.

Good Morning Everyone. I hope all of you are finding ways to stay cool.  It is going to be very hot today and a history record breaking "hot" on Thursday.  I must look up Worker's Compensation and see how hot it has to be to stay home....trying to get hubby to stay home tomorrow but he says that is not fair to the other drivers; they are telling him to stay home also....hmmmm does  that mean we're old and the heat is too much for us? hahahaha.

Here is a little piece of altered art I put together to send out because my swap partner has not received her inspiration card from me yet...I love the mail!!! Don't know where it is but there are two that haven't reached the destination so I will send another and one will surely appear sometime....The little girl in this piece came in on a piece of advertising mail for steam cleaning...I took one look at her and knew I had to use her in my art....the paper is graphics 45.....Hope you like it.

My Miss Cali Cat has decided she is going to critique the painting.....sigh.....

I just finished a painting using Bob Pennycook's  pattern.  Jo Sonja paints and textured medium.  I think though I will add something else to it ...maybe the words tulips or something. It just looks unfinished to me. Bob's doesn't but mine does....

I want to share with you one of my absolutely favourite artists....she is having a giveaway right now and so you should run over and join in.   I watch everything Steff does and she is my biggest inspiration in journals...amazing young lady....plus she always makes me smile...

http://withagrin.blogspot.com/

I just love her work and can't praise her enough....also check out her videos on you tube..you will learn lots....

Good Morning Everyone,  Beautiful weather again today...so far...had a lazy day yesterday which was nice.  I spent most of my time catching up on my email lists and watching workshop videos I signed up for....but today I must be productive...physically productive...

I found the blog that I learned to do the Pinesol transfer from.....it is http://harmonyroadstudio.blogspot.com/2011/05/another-inkjet-transfer-tutorial.html   Lesley does great art and shares with all of us on her blog...well worth sitting with a cut of tea and exploring.

I should tell you that buying inkjet transparencies here in Canada is very expensive and so I brought cases in to sell at a very reasonable price to my Canadian friends....I'm here if you need me....I use so many transparencies in my art that it was well worth it to me and I thought it would help you out as well....

A girlfriend sent me a piece of material with cats all over it because she knows how much I love my cats. I photocopied the material (inkjet) on to cardstock and then I put it in my journal using pinesol....it came out pretty good I think....so there you have it....transfers are so much fun!!!

This was done in my journal with an inkjet transparency and water...it even does the colours where the glossy paper does not....I got three transfers  from this one photocopy in my transparency....if you look above at the transfer in the journal with the two pages below on the left hand side of the book you will see the large part face with eye and below that in the green paint if you look closely you will see the hand with the finger pointing up...that is the third try with the transparency...it shows up better on the book than this picture but it is faint but you can still tell it is a hand with a pointed finger.....

This transfer is done with glossy photo paper and water..so easy....

I have been busy painting again....gave up doing some swaps so I would have time for me to create; so many things to do and so little time to do it in....My muse came back to me with a vengence and I am now working on a golf painting for my darling partner in life and a canvas painting for me and a couple scratch art pieces...no I can't just do one thing at a time....isn't that an illness? lol.

Well today I broke to play with some transfers and these are just too easy and too much fun to do...

This transfer (right hand side) was done with pinesol and the book is an altered book I am doing with a partner...I will work in my book for a month and then we send it to the other one and we will work in each other's books for awhile...my friend picked the topic "Melancholy" and I froze at first, but once the thoughts started coming I just can't stop...I picked an old book on Paris and it has so many little sentences I can use right on the pages...it is so much fun.

Struggling with background colours to fit the painting....but GulfSprite did it!! Enjoy the video....from you tube

Hot and muggy today folks...the sun and overcast are battling it out to see who'll win....Doesn't matter to me which of them wins...I love the heat and don't mind rain....

I did a couple journal pages ...one is called Work in Red which I did from a workshop with Pam Carriker. I have pretty well done all Pam's workshops. She is an excellent teacher and an amazing artist and I always learn new things in her workshops.

this one is from the group I belong Art For The Creative Mind...It was a weekly challenge in our journals of masks and stencils.  I used watercolour, acrylics, daubers, watercolour crayons, distress inks on this page. It was just a fun thing to do.

I made these tags for a swap in California...what fun I have doing this!!

I guess I haven't been totally lax as here are a couple of  atcs I made of my cats for a swap called 'Cat in the Hat', of course.

This one is called Spirit

An Inspiration Card I did for a swap this one is Solitude

Oh my gosh, I really can't believe I have let my blog go this long. I apologize...just wasn't up to talking or painting of any kind...but back now and feeling good.

I will be posting lots more work in the days to come because my head is bursting with ideas so I will be spending my days in the studio trying to get my must to take them from my head to canvas, paper, journals and clay.....I know I should focus on my thing as my darling partner in life keeps telling me but I can't do that....I am too eclectic or a flibbergibit (spelling)....and perfer to think I  am more eclectic...sounds better don't you think?  (big smile here)....

Now this is my beautiful loving talented grandaughter...need I say more....that beautiful smile makes the world stop stop and stare for awhile...she is truly amazing just the way she is.

Sunday Spring NOT, 2011

Well it started off with snow then sun, then snow again like a minnie blizzard and now rain and the wind is whipping around.  I think we have really "teed off" the heavens....

I bought the Memories Slice Machine this week and I couldn't be happier with it...I am having a blast.
I am off to my studio downstairs now to do some creating, laundry, pouring molds ...that should keep me busy so I won't be dwelling on the weather.

I belong to a group called Journal Techniques and our last challenge was to go to a website and click on 4 buttons and up came four colours....you then had to create a page with those colours on it...I got too involved and ended up having two pages...it didn't have to look pretty it was child's play and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed just taking colours and adding on the pages...scrapbook paper, prima flower, glossy accents with white glitter power; watercolour crayons, fiber and torn pages from old and new books.  It is all done in my recycled Journal book my hubby gave me...each page holds a quotation so it is fun to use...My colours were white, cream orange and brown.

This Inspiration card is called Growth.  it is wallpaper with add ons and watercolour pencil and a tiny wooden embellished (blue) flowerpot....giving it the 3d look.....