21st Century Pillow Book

Greetings! I am so excited to have been asked to join in on the SCACD Digi and Rubber Stamp Hop! You should be arriving from my friend Alaine's blog . I was really touched to receive the Phoenix, as that's my son's name. I decided to make a layout featuring photos of him from our annual summer party. I had a wonderful time coloring the phoenix. I used watercolor markers. Here's a closer look... Isn't he majestic??? I took inspiration from the Asian style of coloring a phoenix. Lots of bright colors, not just those of fire. I had my Phoenix write his name down the side of the page. I thought that would be a nice touch. And he was happy (as always!) to participate in some crafting. Then I doodled a border around the edge and pulled out my watercolor markers again for some pops of color. I chose the buttons that I did, because the buttons on Phoenix's shirt (which was made by my sister Pam) are all different. And they are these colors. Now for all

Hello! This is going to be one of my shortest posts ever...sorry about that! But I have run out of time today! I'm lucky I even got my Day 4 page finished for Smeared & Smudged's Kickstart Your Art. The prompt today was "Growth." I watercolored the page, and added a couple of crows from Smeared Ink's Holy City, and a sentiment from Bombshell's Growing Hearts set. "Even in death, you can grow a garden." I don't know where that came from....but I just thought of it as I was painting. I hope you like my offering. I promise I will start hopping to you other art journalists!!! Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Hello there! I have a new Art Journal page for the 3rd prompt in Smeared & Smudged's Kickstart Your Art. The prompt is "Found Objects," and I went with Laura's fab tutorial to make my page. Plus, we are celebrating a Wacky Holiday over at the Bombshell Blog . It's Inspire Your Heart with Art. I have all the details about this cool day on the Bombshell Blog . I should have probably gone with some deeper tones, but I was working only with Glimmer Mists...so they tend to be a bit translucent. I really need to get some of those Dylusions sprays. I used some buttons, paper clips, and a couple of other things all over the page and sprayed the heck out of them. After the page dried, I stamped some pretty flowers from Bombshell Stamps ' 'Till Death set. So as I was looking at the page...thinking about the prompt and wacky holiday, I realized that even the ordinary can be extraordinary. Nothing is mundane....everything can hold even a little bit of mag

Hello and welcome! It's the last Wednesday of the month so it's time for the first Bombshell Stamps Hump Day Hop of 2014! Also, since it's Wednesday, I have a new Wicked Wednesday ATC to share, PLUS it's Day 2 of Kickstart your Art with Smeared & Smudged. I combined the S&S piece with my Bombshell project. This month's Bombshell Hop theme was Animal Instincts. I wanted the participants to use at least one of the many animals Bombshell has to offer, or one of our animal patterns. There are many sets that could have been used this month! As you can see, I used the animal prints from Bombshell Patterns . Those patterns plus the prompt from Kickstart was my inspiration. The prompt was "Hearts." So I decided to combine the two ideas....love is primal to me. I am deeply in love with my husband, and I totally can feel the animal instincts kicking in with him sometimes. ;) In addition to the Bombshell Patterns set, I also used Madonna Woodcut (th

Hello! I am excited to be a part of Kickstart Your Art with Smeared & Smudged . For the next few days, there will be an art journal prompt that we need to complete within 24 hours. This prompt was to use primary color drips. I decided to work with my kids on this. I dripped my paint, and the kids and I blew the legs for our funny little monsters. We were excited about the next step, so I used a blow dryer to dry the paint a little faster. Then came the doodling! We decided to name our monsters, put some describing words, and wrote out a couple of general things about our monsters. We also each signed the page, since we all worked on it. And here are my happy kidlings with the finished page. They really enjoyed making this with me. Depending on tomorrow's prompt, maybe we will make the Day 2 page together. Looking forward to the next prompt! Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Hello! I have a new Wicked Wednesday challenge to share with you. This week, we are sponsored by Kenny K, and the theme is "Team Colors." Here's my ATC. We received these really cute hockey images from Kenny K,so  my team colors were clear. I'm from Long Island, so I had to use the colors of The Islanders! This fella was colored with alcohol markers. The "Ice Man" was made with a Just Rite alpha stamp. I smeared some white ink on my orange cardstock to give it an icy look. The black lines were done with Stickles. There you have it Please be sure to visit the rest of the Wicked Wednesday team. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Greetings! It's time for the latest Chromatic Craze challenge. I love the colors that Laura chose for us this month. Take a look. I am pairing this challenge with this month's Bombshell Stamps ' Sketch Challenge. For my card, I used Koi Tattoo , and a sentiment from Ahoy Sailor. I love me some paint chips. So when I saw the sketch, (you'll have to visit the Bombshell Blog to see it), I knew I needed to use one. And I really thought that the serene colors of this months Chromatic Craze challenge worked really well with this stamp set. I usually see this koi in orange or another bright color, so I wanted to give it a different look. I used Copics and Spectrum Noir Markers for the focal image. It was fun to work with this muted palette. Won't you play along with both Chromatic Craze and the Bombshells ? Please be sure to visit both blogs for the rules and more ideas. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Greetings! I have a new Dilly Beans challenge to share with you. For the next 2 weeks, you can use "Mardi Gras Colors" to play along with us. Here's the card I made. I used Nutmeg Framed. I've used her before, and I just love her. Her hair is just so fabulous. I colored Nutmeg with watercolors. I had a blast. I love painting with watercolors. And the Mardi Gras colors are so vibrant and fun! I hope you will play along with us. To see some more inspiration, please be sure to visit the rest of the Dilly Beans gals over at the challenge blog. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Hello! I have a two-fer for you today. It's the 15th, so I have a new Desert Islands Crafters Challenge , plus since it's Wednesday, a new Wicked Wednesday Challenge as well. We are sponsored by DICC by Just Some Lines. The itinerary is as follows: 1.Your favorite color combo 2. Use Metal 3. No Flowers 4. Ribbon 5. Paint 6. Not a Card 7. Make it a Tag 8. Don't Color Your Image 9. Journal It 10. Sparkles I used #'s 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10. I chose to work with Show Me Your Future for my journal page. I picked one of my favorite color combos...I have many! I also used a Thinking of You stencil from Dreamweaver Stencils . I got to play with my watercolor markers for this! Yay!!! Have I mentioned recently how much I love playing with Dreamweaver's Stencil Paste? It's fantastic. This week at Wicked Wednesday , the challenge is Hearts and Love. And we are sponsored by Crafty Sentiments Designs. I used Winter Hoodie for my ATC. She&#

Hiya! Here's something I haven't been able to participate in for quite a while...the Smeared & Smudged Member Blog Hop! It's one of my goals this year to start participating in some of the hops and challenges that I used to love being a part of. Last year, many of those things got away from me. I hope to change that this year. This month, the challenge was "Anything Goes," so I had no excuse not to play along. I received my amazing winnings from the 31 Days of Halloween a few weeks ago, and I wanted to play with some of my new stamps. So I broke out the Occasions Grumpies and decided to use the spa Grumpie. Though it was a tough choice...I love so many of them! I colored my Grumpie with alcohol markers, and my background was done with watercolors. The phrases are handwritten and from the Occasions Grumpies set. I don't know if you have resolutions for 2014, but after relaxing with my family at home for 2 weeks...doing very little of anything besid

Hello out there in Bloggy Land! I have 2 projects to share with you today. The first is for Ms.January's Bombshell Stamps Pinup Challenge. Ms. January's challenge is "Puttin' on the Ritz." I used a set that I just added to my collection... Lucky Bride . So, I vamped her up a bit. A ritzy vamp, if you will. Tough to see the glitter in this pic, but you'll see it...... Sorry for the harsh lighting on this one. I had a lot of fun coloring her. The highlights on the dress were my favorite parts to color. Behold! The glittery goodness! Tiara Stickles to be exact. Fun challenge, right? Now....on to the next fun challenge...this week's Wicked Wednesday theme is "Friendship." And, we are sponsored by Crafty Sentiments. Well, that sure is different from the first project, huh? That's me...multifaceted. ;) I think this is a sweet and adorable image. She kinda reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake.... which is why I colored her the

Greetings! It's the first Monday of the month, so that means I get to share the latest Bombshell Stamps Muse Monday set with you. I chose to highlight Rose's Portrait this time around. I decided to make a tile. I haven't made one lately, and this set lends it so well to the 4x4 square that I use. I stamped my images on tissue paper, and very carefully colored them with alcohol markers.I think Rose looks so pretty with bright green eyes.                                          Then I just layer up the tile and images with Mod Podge and a sealer by Krylon. I also added a hook to the back to so it can be hung on the wall. The Rose's Portrait set will be on sale for the entire month of January! SO if you don't own it yet, this is definitely the time to get it. Please be sure to visit the Bombshell Blog each Monday for lots of wonderful projects featuring this set. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Greetings! I have some exciting news! I have been asked to join the Wicked Wednesday ATC Team ! Over the past year, I have been making more and more ATC's, and I am really enjoying them, so when I was asked if I wanted to be on the team, of course I said yes! Now, I know it's Saturday, but I wanted to get in on this week's challenge, which is Mardi Gras colors. We are sponsored by A Day for Daises , who I absolutely love. I used the lovely Fancy Hair Fairy . I colored her with my alcohol markers, and I did my background with chalks. I also added some Yellow Stickles to the flowers in her hair and the lower right corner. I'll be entering my ATC into the current A Day for Daisies challenge, which is Anything Goes. I am really excited to be a part of this wonderful team. I hope you will join us this week! Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Hello! It's Friday, so that means I have a new Dilly Beans challenge to share with you. This week, it's all about "Celebrations." I chose the Day of the Dead. Look! I managed to use my colored pencils!!! My sister Pam bought these special half-finger compression gloves that have a copper fabric....they make my hands feel so much better! They're from Tommie Copper , and I highly recommend you look into their many products if you have any bodily ailments, which I know many of you do. The fact that I was able to use my pencils for this whole image in one sitting without pain says a whole lot! That's my Public Service Announcement for the day. ;) Gotta love this trio of Sugar Skulls. I would love to print this out super big, and put it on a canvas. I thought this chevron paper was just perfect to go with all the colors I used in the image. It kinda makes it feels like the skulls are almost vibrating with joy. At least to me. :) Please be sure to visit

Happy 2014! It's time for a new Desert Islands Crafters Challenge , sponsored this time by The Stamping Boutique. Here is the itinerary. Please remember to use at least 3 items on the list of you want to play along. 1. Glitter 2. Ribbon 3. Die Cut 4. Airbrushing or Spray (perfect Pearls, Glimmer Mist, Dylusions, etc.) 5. Snowflakes 6. Winter Theme with Summer Colors 7. Stencil 8. 3 Layers 9. Pocket 10. Distressing I used #'s 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Now....I'm going to be honest. I hate how this card turned out. I had such high hopes...and my ideas were good. But in the end...this was a bomb. Now, you may say, why would I start the first project of the year with a piece that I don't even like? Because bad pieces can come at any time, and it's ok. You've gotta just accept it and move on. I am going to rip the whole thing apart and start over. It's an adorable image, but my color choices didn't work as I had wanted, and it went downh