Latest art...

I've been having fun making ATCs for personal trades and my own collection (click for closeups). What have you been up to this fine summer day?

Body Parts

ATC made for someone on GlitterGals & Guys Yahoo Group for the theme Body Parts. Isn't she cute?

EGGS - Wednesday Stamper

This past Wednesday Stamper challenge was 'EGGS'. I immediately thought of my great grandma who just died last week. She loved birds. Love watching and collecting birds. It seems lately all the gifts we gave her had something to do with birds. She had many bird feeders and bird houses in her yard.

I found this image that my friend Michelle included in a ephemera baggie she sent me, of a lady holding baby chicks. It was perfect. But what was MOST perfect was the caption. It said 'and life goes on'. Mom and I commented on the fact that when someone dies, you feel like the whole world should stop, no one should be working or traveling or playing or laughing. They should all be in mourning like you...

I made this piece for my great grandma Leverta (6x6" collage). Because she wouldn't want us to mope about. Life goes on...

(stamps used: Autumn Leaves 'Swirls')

Monday's Artittack

Artittack - n. when your brain is moving faster than your hand can create... (this word was invented by my friend Barb.)

I tried. I REALLY tried to stay on task all day and just clean my desk. But its just so hard when ideas fly at your brain. So I made a few ATCs. So sue me.




I'll clean my desk tomorrow after my 'lovely' jury duty. *eyeroll*

P.S. I'm enjoying my new Sakura 'Glaze' & 'Souffle' Pen sets. You gotta try these!

Very Long Week...

Can you say 'very long week' with me? 'VERY LONG WEEK!' How was yours?

A sad week as we lost my great grandma. She was a 102 and my youngest dd is named after her (pic taken a few years ago). The funeral was beautiful, lively (with my family, what else would it be? lol) and such a tribute to a phenomenal woman. My great grandma always wore pins on her outfits. Gorgeous pins. She had a lot of them. When we arrived for the funeral, all family members were allowed to pick out one of her pins to wear to the funeral and to keep, even the guys. It was so wonderful to see a piece of her all around the room. My youngest came up to me after the funeral, wide eyed. She said ' I know how I can remember great great grandma for always. I have a pin of hers and I can keep it.' I told her 'you have another way to remember her for always that no one else has.' 'How?' she asked. I said 'You have her name, no one else does'. She was thrilled to know she was the only one. It was a special moment. Great grandma will be missed.

Life continues on, even when you think it should stop for awhile until you get your bearings again. We had Vacation Bible School all week. While the kids went, I was able to work on a few things for swaps and just for me. Can't see my art room, but I've had fun and that is all that matters.

Last week I posted a teaser of card backgrounds. I've been working through the ATC Workshop book mentioned earlier. These are cards with 'gold leafing pen' (I used a metallic pen), stencils & then Inky layers. I haven't used all the backgrounds, but I'm working on it.





Last week I found a wonderful new forums board to play with: ATCards. You know how much I love ATCs. *wink* SO I've been having a lovely time there getting to know people, joining swaps and trading cards with individuals. Here are some ATCs I've made this week:



For a 'Striped Legs' Swap. Don't you just love her knobby knees! lol

A couple weeks ago I went to a fabulous church garage sale that is huge and found so much stuff! I won't bore you with a long list of all my finds but I wanted to show you these adorable little paintings. They are ALMOST ATC size and I was floored at the detail that someone was able to achieve on such a small scale!



It has inspired me to attempt, notice I said ATTEMPT to paint. So far, my 'paintings' tend to be kid like and 'coloring in between the lines' but I like them. So far. Maybe someday I'll take some lessons.



These are for a 'whimsical swirls' swap. Do you think I succeeded? lol



I'm tired and heading to bed. Next week looks pretty relaxed FINALLY except some more organizing/cleaning and Tuesday I have Jury Duty. Wish me luck...

(P.S. Just keeping ignoring the dust around here. I haven't had a moment to work on the blog.)

Excuse my dust...

As you can see, I'm highly inept at making the blog presentable. The darn header hates me. (If you know how to resize the actual box which the header goes inside - see that white line? That thingie..., then email me. I need help!) I had to mess with it because I was MESSING with it in the first place, simply adding new links. And somehow lost background color and shape. It was a sad thing... *sigh*

Anyway, ignore the mess. I leave you with some ATCs I've made in the last day or so...

Wednesday Stamper

This Wednesday Stamper topic was all about Polka-Dots! I'm in LOVE with polka-dots and don't use them nearly enough! In true Claudine style, I went with a Bingo Maven!

Stamps used include a homemade big circle stamp (used on middle trim) and a Ma Vinci 'Rough Estimate' Stamp Sheet. The 'flowers' are actually bingo chips if you couldn't tell. (Measures about 7 1/2 x 10")

Illustration Friday

I played around a bit and made an ATC for the Illustration Friday subject of 'Suit'.

I rec'd an order of new supplies to play with this week. Fluid Acrylics and Liquid Watercolors. I'm looking forward to figuring out how to use them. Has anyone played with these yet? I need some inspiration...

BLING! and more Art

Ohhh, I'm in love with my new necklace (to the right)! And I haven't even touched it yet! lol JessicaJane made it specially for me. Isn't is fabulous? I bought the pieces below at valentines for my SILs and my mom, as well as one for me (last pic). Go visit her shop and buy!

I've been working through the Artist Trading Cards Workshop book this week with the ArtistOfTheRoundTable Yahoo Group. You should go see the wonderful cards being made there. I'm a novice compared to some of those people. I just did backgrounds and only completed the intuitive ATC, for now.

More to come. Just completed backgrounds with metallic pen (used a copper one), glaze/ink backgrounds & layered stencils. Here's a sneak peek of some.



What are you working on today?

Wednesday Stamper & Summer Fun

Gosh, I love summer! The freedom to do art all day, run off to the store for a slurpie if I want or just laze around and watch the squirrels eat up my bird food. Occasionally doing some dishes & laundry or playing Slingo, and its a perfect summer!

This week's Wednesday Stamper challenge was 'Flowers'. You know I'm all over that! I love flowers. 6x6" caCollage says, "Flowers may beckon toward us, but they speak toward heaven and God. - Henry Ward Beecher". (Stamps used: SeeD's clock, MaVinci's latin? Can't remember what language.)

It seems summertime has afforded me more freedom in my creativity. Or maybe my brain just works better, now that its not stuffed full of homeschool thoughts. I've made a few mini books for a swap out of smaller bingo cards (3X4"), filled with sketch paper, vellum and ledger pages.



I also played around with a matboard collage (about 7 x 9 1/2").

Youngest DD runs off to camp this week for the first time. I'm a little worried, as mothers always do, but DH is going to camp as well. She'll see him at meals and game times so I won't worry and I'll pray that its a rewarding trip for her.

Edited to add: Another piece of artwork for Wednesday Stamper just completed (stamps used: flower: Making Memories, Script: Stampin Up French Script). Maybe my DDs will say this someday...

Probably the last piece for a couple days. DD and I have movies to watch, homeschool used book sale to sell at, bowling, art to do with friends and maybe a Borders visit in our weekend plans.

Park Fun & Altered Book Page

Beautiful day out today. The kids and I went to the park for a little homeschool gathering. They got to see friends for the last time until fall. My youngest DD immediately discovered the creek, a dead possum that 'you can see all his bones and stuff still, mom!' and a beaver dam, complete with beaver. I want to send DH back there with her so she can explore it more (I'm not really the outdoors type. I'm more the 'let me stay home in my nice air conditioning and play with my artsy stuff' type of person.)

** disclaimer - if you're Debbie F from my altered book club, turn your head, click off this blog until after tomorrow afternoon. *wink* **

Okay, now with Debbie safely shooed away... I finished up my spread in her altered book this evening. I sense a theme in my head. I must love royalty or something! lol Her topic was 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' and I was super stumped. Everyone had already covered the shopping, clothes, makeup, girly girl stuff. I'm so NOT girlie girl. I own one pair of shoes, I hate clothes, makeup or shoe shopping. If my hair is brushed, I'm good. But an idea popped in my head yesterday about girls wanting to be princesses when they're young, and maybe queens when we grown up? lol So I went with that.

The ''castle' is actually a beautiful cathedral from my wonderful book 'Great Cathedrals' by somebody Fry. Oh, Plantagenet Somerset Fry. Do you think that is actually someone's name or a company? Anyway... The chair. Oh, I love that chair. It's from a chair book I have called 'Chairs' oddly enough. lol It has from ancient to modern chairs with all periods in between. Fabulous book! It was a lucky find at a thrift store. Both books were finds.

(Click for Closeup)

Okay, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow holds a lot of fun. A scrapbook sale (I want embellishments!) A twins birthday party, altered book club. And then some thrift store shopping. I always look forward to that. Hopefully a little art in the evening. Hope your Saturday is as fun as mine!