A Brand New Challenge

Linda has conceived a new challenge over at Studio L3. We've finished all of the Compendium of Curiosities and have moved on to any and all of T!m's techniques. For the inaugural week, she has chose this lovely creation from 2008 to inspire us:

Along with this challenge, my sister Jennifer and I have decided to challenge ourselves by theming our submissions using Songs as inspiration. She is choosing to limit her choices to the solo and collective works of the Beatles. I'll be placing no such limits on myself, but I will be trying to use songs that mean something to me (altho i may have a random odd choice here and there :) )

My song choice this week is Elusive Butterfly by Bob Lind. It's been done by Dolly Parton & Cher, and I'm sure a number of other artists as well. I was fortunate to be raised with a great appreciation of all kinds of music. My mom and dad always seemed to have music playing and they had varied tastes, so I am thankful that I do as well. This is one i remember quite well, but i won't be surprised if you don't!

Across my Dreams with nets of wonder;

I chase the bright, elusive butterfly of love.

I am also submitting this for:

-The Flutter by Wednesday challenge #48 (use a button and a bow)

-Pals Paper Arts PPA#86 challenge (embossing) - correction: I'm 2 late for that one! maybe next time!

paper: graphic 45 and Club Scrap (Poetry & Adobe)

stamps: butterfly/magenta

Sil cuts: inspired by Tim's gears

distress inks: broken china

other: copper shimmer memories mist,

club scrap copper foil embossing powder,

pearlescent watercolors

netting (bath puff!)

Another Christmas Card

I managed to eek out another Christmas Card tonight using the Comics kit from Club Scrap. I also managed to meet a couple more challenges. I created the hat cut in my Silhouette, drew the details on and colored and glittered away! This is similar to one of my St Patrick's day designs. I think I may do one for every occasion with HATS! That brings me to the challenges:

Simon Says Stamp & Show: Hats ( i know this isn't really their style, but I hope it's acceptable!)

Christmas Card Challenge Week #17: No Stamping

G'night...off to watch Idol from last night!

Hello

Just a random card I made to meet a challenge at The Color Throwdown blog

As almost always, I've used Club Scrap Paper. 3 kits, Comics red & black, yellow bookplate is from Poetry and the cream card base is from Hearth & Home (i think?). The yellow butterflies were just white cardstock (cut with my silhouette) inked with mustard Seed DI and sprayed with Pearl Glimmer Mist. I've also been wanting to try this embossing technique for a while and i really like the results.

2 challenges 1 card

In between more laundry and homework, I've been working on some Christmas Cards using the Club scrap kit called Comics. This kit isn't a favorite of mine i'm sorry to say, but they can't all be, right? I'm just totally turned off by the graphics, but they make funky Christmas cards, so I'm keeping my promise to myself of completing at least some Christmas cards before December 2011! This particular one also follows the sketch at Clean & Simple stamping blog (a new discovery for me that I love). I'm really not into 8 layers with dimensional adhesives all over the place. Makes for a very mailing unfriendly card and is just a bit fussy for my simpler tastes, so this blog suits me fine!

Club Scrap - use components from 3 2010-11 Club Scrap Kits

FTL 133 from Clean & Simple blog

5 challenges 1 card

This card was created to meet a few challenges:

Club Scrap - use components from 3 2010-11 Club Scrap Kits

Play Date Cafe Challenge #74 - Teal, White & Purple/lavender Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #96

Flutterby Wednesday - Include a fairy, an angel or a butterfly

Little Red Wagon - Challenge #73 - use butterflies in your project

Hoping to get a few more done tomorrow. G'night!

PSL Week 7 - Mojo Monday Sketch #183

I've been slacking on my contribution to the PSL (Pro Scrapbooking League) challenges going on over at Club Scrap, but I did manage to eek out a few cards today using my new favorite medium pearlescent watercolors and the gorgeous Lotus Pond collection from Club Scrap. The challenge at Club Scrap was to use components from any three 2010-11 kits which i have done by using Lotus Pond's greetings-to-go along with a dark green from All That Jazz and a sheer organza ribbon from the Sonoma collection.

In addition, I've followed sketch #183 on Mojo Monday. Sorry my photo is so bad, i was losing daylight.

Happy Friday all. It's sure been a long week for me and I'm looking forward to some quality creating time this weekend.

Kit/Papers: Lotus Pond G2G, Sonoma purple, ATJ Dark Green

Ribbon: Sonoma
Other: Follows Mojo Monday sketch #183 Pearlescent Watercolors on LP designs (pad, frog, flower)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I made these and the next set for Club Scrap's PSL Mixed Kit Week Challenge

Paper: Club Scrap-Common Threads green, Memoirs brown and white. Dotted is old stuff from my stash
Fiber: Club Scrap-Ornamental
Bling: clear gems colored with Bic Mark It, ultra fine glitter applied with quickie glue pen & perfect pearls (on one only)
Design: scraplifted from Mariana Grigsby
but hat is my own design cut on Silhouette.
Stamp: years old shamrock from stampin up

Paper: Club Scrap-Memoirs kraft and green (inked with peeled paint distress ink to darken), Pure&Simple white (or black)

Fiber: Mirror, Mirror
Celtic Knot cut on Silhouette, Martha Stewart punch used for scallop border.

Sketch from mojomonday.blogspot

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge Week 35

My submission for the final Compendium of Curiosities Challenge (#35) over at Studio L3 is a cover for my Letterboxing journal. What is letterboxing, you ask? I'll tell you more about that below! It's very addicting. Anyway, I've used papers from Club Scrap's To You With Love collection, Tim Holtz Lost and Found pack, Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante, and finally DCWV Travel stack. I've also added some grungeboard hinges and flourish which i've painted with bronze metallic paint. The other elements were done using T!m's design ruler. The center area is 4x6 and will serve as a mat for whatever photo I want to feature.

As I said in my post last week, the end of these challenges is bittersweet for me. I've learned so much and really pushed my boundaries which is awesome for any artist. The downside has been finding the time to do it and maybe not prioritizing what I should over it since i enjoy it so!

A HUGE thank you to Linda for being such a marvelous hostess and always finding something wonderful to say in her comments. In addition, thank you to all who have commented on my submissions; I truly appreciate it. Thanks also to all who have played along...you've given me so many great ideas for these techniques. Lastly, but definitely not at all least,

THANK YOU T!M.

You are an amazingly talented man and your art provides endless inspiration.

Hugs to all.

WHAT IS LETTERBOXING?

Letterboxing is an intriguing mix of treasure hunting, rubber stamp artistry, navigation, and exploring interesting, scenic, and sometimes remote places.

Here's the basic idea: Someone hides a waterproof container (box or zip baggie) somewhere (in a beautiful, interesting, or remote location) containing at least a logbook and a handcarved rubber stamp, and perhaps other goodies. The hider then usually writes directions or "clues", which can be straightforward, cryptic, or any degree in between. Often the clues involve map coordinates or compass bearings from landmarks, but they don't have to. Selecting a location and writing the clues is one aspect of the art.

Once the clues are written, hunters in possession of the clues attempt to find the box. In addition to the clue and any maps or tools needed to solve it, the hunter should carry at least a pencil, their personal rubber stamp, an inkpad, and his personal logbook. When the hunter successfully deciphers the clue and finds the box, they stamp the logbook in the box with their personal stamp, and stamps their personal logbook or journal with the box's stamp. The box's logbook keeps a record of all its visitors, and the hunters keep a record of all the boxes they have found, in their personal logbook or journal

Check it all out at:

http://www.letterboxing.org/

http://www.atlasquest.com/

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge Week 34

It seems this is the 34th challenge put forth by Lovely Linda at Studio L3. By my calculation, that means we only have 1 more and although i have THOROUGHLY enjoyed this journey, i will admit that I'll be a little relieved once i have posted my final submission. Maybe I'll focus more on work and school (but i doubt it, lol). At the same time, I will be sad to see it go. This has definitely made me stretch my wings and fly into some unchartered territory (at least uncharted by me!). For that I am so thankful.

The piece I did for the Dimensional Collage Fragments challenge (which is found on page 63 of this book) came together rather quickly for me. This is rarely the case. And, although i say quickly, here I am posting on Sunday AGAIN. But since I only came up with it yesterday, that's quick work for me.

I was flipping thru my mini reproduction of the Sears & Roebuck catalog for inspiration and came across this advertisement for a cure to make one stop drinking. Pretty laughable stuff. The old prospector image I grabbed online, but my family has a history with this particular gentleman. I grew up in Newport, Kentucky, which is where a/the Wiedemann beer brewery was located. Many of the men in my young life (Dad, uncles, neighbors) drank Wiedemann; some even worked at the brewery. I can actually still remember the smell of it in the air. Later in life, my Dad collected Wiedemann memorabilia and my sister purchased a reproduction of this image on canvas for him several years ago, which is now resides in my creative center and looks upon me with those watchful eyes.

So, that's my story and I'm stickin to it...much like my elements are stuck to this fragment, lol! The bottle cap image is mounted on top, but is only a place holder until i can lay my hands on one of my actual Wiedemann bottle caps.

This famous paper litho sign employed between 1890-1918 portrays a haggard gold prospector holding a glass etched with the words

"Wiedemann FINE BEER"

A white bill of sale in the prospector's pocket displays the name of

George Wiedemann Brewing Company, Newport, KY.

Cards for PSL (Pro Scrapbooking League)

The PSL is in full swing at Club Scrap and here are 4 cards i made yesterday for the Mixed Kit Week Challenge. The Design for this was completed scraplifted from Mariana Grigsby, although i did design/draw my own hat and cut it on the Silhouette.

Club Scrap Kits Used:

Paper: Common threads green, Memoirs brown/kraft and white, dotted is unknown from stash
Fiber: Ornamental
Bling: clear gems colored with Bic Mark It, ultra fine glitter applied with quickie glue pen & perfect pearls (on one only)
shamrock stamp from stampin up