WOYWW #393

Well, GOOD Wednesday to you all my crafty friends and HO, HO, HO!!! I'm supes excited to be posting today, especially considering it has been since October since I last posted! What??? Yup, it has been a skinny minute!

I have been having some health issues that really needed my attention and took me away from my beloved "art closet!"   It has been sad not to be doing one of the main things I love to do lately, but it was a needed adjustment to take care and focus on my health. As a result, I have jumped into another venture that I am so excited about! Not only is it a venture, but it will also be a change in life and health management for me.

I am now an Independent Distributor for Young Living Essential Oils! I have long loved essential oils and believed in their promotion of physical and spiritual wellness, but during the last couple of months of imbalance in my body, I took the plunge to go full on essential oils for dietary and cosmetic uses as well as household usage and medicinal wellness. It has been a great two months and I look forward to a true lifestyle change.

Where am I going to fit that in with my full-time job, kiddos, parent care and miniscule art time you say?  I don't know! LOLOL However, I am trusting God to make it all marry together for the health and wellness of my body and my family! I have gone out in faith and I know Father God will bring it all together for His purpose in my life! If you are interested in Young Living Essential Oils and want to know how they can be a benefit for you and your family, feel free to get in touch with me!

Well, I actually DO having something on my work desk today and I am so loving being back in the saddle! Not sure if it will be major projects yet, but I am doing a few little projects for Christmas gifts!  Today I want to share this cute, cute project that I was inspired to do by Sara of My Serenity Crafts over on her YouTube Channel! She actually got the idea from another gal, Tracy Moreau over on Facebook and it is just the cutest project and I couldn't resist! She is quite crafty!

The project is a painted Santa pin that is so simple and easy and I plan on giving them to my co-workers and some friends for a little holiday cheer!

Tracy calls her project a "Random Act of Kindness," and I love that for sure! Mine won't necessarily be random because I will be giving them to specific people I know, but I will be giving them in kindness! :)

I didn't have any wooden or chipboard pieces in my stash so I ordered them online and them I have started adhering some beautiful book page, hymn pages and even some german pages on the pieces with mod podge. I came by all those gorgeous papers through RAK's from some of you lovely ladies online! Thank you so much they have come in so handy and are perfect for this project! I have then filed them down because of splinters, etc... and then covered on top with mod podge and filed again just to make sure those pages were set good.

I took some tracing paper and traced the Santa that Tracy provides on this pdf that you can download from her Facebook page that I linked to up above. The santa is the exact size of the wood piece. I then took some carbon paper and traced the Santa onto the wooden pieces! That is as far as I have gotten folks, but I will be painting tonight and then the plan is to glue pin pieces on the back and add some bling for "sparkly" Christmas effects! I will hopefully post some finished pieces! :)

I hope everyone has been doing good! I am sooooooooooooooo behind on everyone's posts and I hope to catch up in the coming month! I have missed seeing everyone's projects and especially Christmas projects. They are always so inspiring at this time of the year!

My girls are taking mid terms this week and will be out for the holidays and then we will have to get on the Christmas lists! LOL I haven't started....like AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL It really has been that busy for me! I make most of my gifts, so that is a save for me, but there are still some of those that have to be store bought! I have NOT been a very good elf this year! LOL I hope you are better on down the road that I am and have been having some wonderful holiday cheer!

If I don't make it back to WOYWW until the first of the year, I wish you ALL a Very Merry Christmas and a VERY, VERY BLESSED New Year!!!

Merry Christmas! :)

WOYWW #384

Happy Wednesday and WOYWW all my crafty friends! Well, we are all trying to get back into the swing of things here on the east coast after disastrous Hurricane Matthew! He was a booger bear and left a lot of damage in his wake! I'm so thankful all my family members made it to safe ground and had little to no damage on their homes! We were all blessed to be sure and I pray all of you other east coasters were safe as well!

Today is desk reveal day and I do have a smidge on there right now. Having finished several choice projects from last week that I shared, I have been able to focus on monthly challenge projects now. I have finished my ATC Swap Challenges (I can't reveal yet) and waiting on my marching orders and am currently working on my Tag It Tuesday Challenge as a part of the Facebook Group by the same name. If you want to play along, come on over! 

So, without revealing too much, you can see some of my goodies that I will be using to incorporate to this month's challenge. The only set in stone requirement to the challenge was to use the Pantone colors here:

Sheri, who is our fearless leader, has been using Pantone colors each month and this month, I really like the colors this month! I didn't have the exact Pantone colors, but you can see from above that I am matching as best as I can! I have some ideas about what I want to do with the rest of the mumbo jumbo on my desk, but we all know that our plans and what actually comes out on the project don't always look the same! LOLOL I'm ok with that because sometimes it turns out better than in my crazy mind! LOLOL  I will reveal the finished project maybe next week! :)

That's really all I can show right now my friends! I hope all of your Wednesdays are bright, blessed and fantastico! :)

Happy WOYWW! :)

TGIF!!!

Good Friday all my crafty friends!! Here is this coastal state of Georgia we are very happy it is Friday! We are at work here in my town, but there are many evacuees here from the coast! I'm so thankful to be enough inland that we are relatively safe from Hurricane Matthew! Please pray for those who have fled the storm and the safety of those who have decided to stay and wait it out! We, who believe, KNOW that God is at work in the midst of the storm! Blessings to all those.

I thought I would FINALLY share my September Pick A Stick Challenge ATC!!! LOLOL I had it done in time for the challenge, but as I have been so extremely busy, I didn't have time to post and share! It would seem that is the story of my life! LOL

The prompts for the ATC challenge come from the Stick Pull in the Pick A Stick Journal pull! There are ten sticks drawn for the journal challenge and then there are 3 pulled from the ten sticks pulled for the ATC challenge.  The prompts for September were as follows:

And here is my ATC for the September Challenge:

As always, I had great fun doing the challenge for September. My journal that I have already shared for the challenge started out with a blank space, but then quickly fell into place and then the ATC was quick and easy from there! 

I began with a coat of gesso and then added my black marker around the edges to fulfill Step #1, which was add black marker or pen. Step #2 was add collage printed tissue paper or wrapping paper and I added the same tissue paper from my wonderful online friend Sue Marrazzo who gifted it to me with our ATC Swap! Thanks Sue!!! And then I just proceeded to use various acrylics to "cover up" the gesso along with black acrylic on the edges to "cover up" to fulfill Step #3.

I then had this really beautiful vintage photo that I simply fussy cut and layed down with Mod Podge and then simply embellished with things in my stash can. Pretty simple huh? I thought so and loved how it turned out!

Well, I was better late than never and I look forward to my October Challenges now that many of my promised projects are done and I can breath! LOL I encourage you to come play along with us in October over on the Facebook Group, we have lots of fun, enjoy the challenges and all the lovely art from other participants!

I hope you all have a lovely Friday where ever you are here in the states or abroad and remember to pray for those associated with Hurricane Matthew!

Have a blessed day! :)

WOYWW #383

Good Wednesday and WOYWW #383 all my crafty friends!! Wow, I have been out of commission for a bit! I was unable to play along last week due to many projects that I had committed myself to along with a very hectic week at work! I was so busy that I didn't even get to play along with some of my monthly challenges! I like being busy, but I don't like forgoing my art challenges. They make me happy and so when I don't get to participate in them, I'm always a little sad, like I missed out on something with all my pals! So I am going to play a little catch up this week with a project or two and some photos of "what's a been a happenin" in my life!

First off and foremost, my sweet baby girl turned 16! Woop, Woop! She couldn't wait for her birthday like it was some magical number whereby you receive some magical powers with that coveted day! LOLOL I guess I felt the same way, I don't remember, but it tickled me so! We have always celebrated our girls' birthdays with little get togethers for them, usually at our home with a big cookout and bonfire, but she noted to me that this was special and she wanted it to be different! "Oh the fates......" as they say!!!

Since I work for our Municipal Government, one of the perks is being able to use a venue for free.....score! So we decided to have her party a this beautiful historical venue downtown. Our downtown is so cute, quaint and beautiful at night. So, of course, being a little crafty and a little short on cash, I wasn't about to let someone else decorate or cater the party.....little did I know that I will have bit off more than I could chew! LOLOL So for a month I have been crafting everything from the invitations to the actual decorations and then deciding the foodies. It was a whirlwind let me tell you! I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I am SOOOO glad it's all over with and THANK GOODNESS her sister, who is 13, said "mama, I just want a cookout at the house!" Phew!!!! LOLOL

We had a blast at her party and I wanted to share a few pictures today, that really turn out to be bragging rights about my beautiful family!  :))))

My beautiful family!

The venue was an old library that has been beautifully restored to host different types of events from out Downtown Development Authority. I was blessed to have it! We had the party after 7pm so that it could be just goodies and not dinner.....thank goodness! LOL I decided to do different sized glass containers with all the foodies inside. I did another table, which is to the left where I put two cute containers of tea an pink lemonade and then the cake table to the rear. I was still setting up when I took this photo, so it's not finished. The photographer took way better picture of the setup, so I can't wait to see them!

If you will notice the decoration on the walls,,,,,there were thin cable lines that are on a track that
hang down that you can hang signage and pictures on for different functions. As it is a historical building, they will not allow you to put things on the walls. So what I decided to do was interchange hanging decorations on one line and all sorts of photos from the time she was born until now on the other line, in between, all the way around the room and then when the party was over she could then take the pictures and fill a photo album! It turned out soooooo cute!  We also had a popcorn bar, a photo booth room where they could dress up with crazy props and take pictures and my nephew's band came and played for the party along with photographer hired by my sister-in-law to take photos during the party to add to the photo album! We had a ball!

My photo booth shot with my sister!

Dancing crew!

Since NONE of that was actually on "my work desk," LOL, I will show you what actually was on my desk this morning and FINALLY finished and given to the recipient this morning!! YAYYYYYY! LOL If you will remember some time back in this post a project I had been commissioned for by a friend for her sons wedding, well I finally finished it!! The wedding is not until December, so I knew I could take my time doing it, but I was really ready to finish it and get it to her so I could have that off my mind! I have had sooooo many things going on my my life that I wanted that to be one less thing to worry about! LOL Not in a bad way, mind you! So here is the finished product:

Not a great picture mind you because of the size and my unfortunate lack of technology!! I was pleased how it turned out, considering I had never done a canvas that big before!! The idea, if you will remember, was for the wedding couple to use this for the guests to sign their name on as they arrive at the wedding! I hope the happy couple likes it and they will enjoy this little keepsake for years to come as a reminder of their beautiful day! It was definitely a learning experience for me, again considering the size, and I am not sure that I want to ever do one this size again, but I did have fun and was so very honored to do this for them!

Well, I will let that be it for today my friends! I have a day cut out for me and I need to get busy! LOL I hope you all have a crafty rest of the week and a wonderful Wednesday! Hope on over to Julia's blog, Stamping Ground, and check out all the other work desk posts for the week! You might even want to play along!

Happy Wednesday! :)

WOYWW #381

Happy WOYWW all my crafty friends!! It's a glorious day to be alive isn't it??? In spite of whatever is going on around you, whatever your circumstances, you can still have amazing joy and a song in your heart! That's my story any how and I'm sticking to it!! LOLOL

So what's on my desk? A TON of projects that I have to get done for various people and events! I love it! The more chaotic for some reason, the better I do! I'm running around with hair on fire, mind you, but it always seems to work best!!! That being said, I will share a couple of things with you today! Woop, woop!

As a part of the Pick A Stick Challenge over on the Facebook Group by the same name, I will share my September Journal Challenge today! This month, Lizzie pulled the sticks for our journal challenge and they were as follows:

My September Journal spread was oh so fun for me and turned out pretty good, I think! :) By the way, this is what came out of last weeks "Help!" WOYWW #380! You were right ladies...I just slapped the paint on and look what happened! LOL

I always start my pages with a coat of gesso and then for step 1 - Use a color you never use, I had a Paperartsy Fresco paint that was gifted to me that I had never used! Not because I didn't want to or not liking the color, I just had never used it! Now sad part is, I don't have the color in front of me, so I can't tell you what color it is, but at any rate it is a discontinued color, so.......LOLOL  I combined using the "mustard color" paint with step 2, which is use a non-tool to apply on my page. My non tool was a cork from a wine bottle! I had it on my desk for some reason, so I simply dipped it in the paint and dotted it all over both pages.

Step 3 was to add acrylic paint using your fingers.  That was an easy one because I LOVE to get fingers all up in that paint! So much fun, right? I just used assorted and various acrylics that I love and thought would go ok with that "mustard color" paint from Paperartsy. Step 4 was to add waffle paper. I don't even know what that is folks, so little ole me just used some corrugated cardboard pieces that pops up off of your journal and "could be" waffle looking! LOL Step 5 was remove paint through a stencil. As Fresco paint dries pretty quickly, I had to improvise. So I just blotted paint here and there and then pulled it back up with various stencils using a baby wipe and the residue turned out pretty cool!

Step 6 was collage printed tissue paper or wrapping paper. My ATC swap partner Sue Marrazzo from last month gave me some GREAT papers to use and so as an ode to Sue, I used them in my journal! I loved the paper. I believe it was clothing pattern paper that she had stenciled or sprayed on! It was yummy! Step 7 was cut out a word or phrase from any printed source and I had an old magazine lying around that had this "blown away" title in it and I thought, hey that little pop of color would be cool!

Step 8 was use something from the opposite season. I thought oh, dear, what to use from winter? Then I remembered I had these wooden snowflakes that I had in my stash that I use during Christmas time that would be perfect! So I painted them using the same paints in the background and then used coordinating Stickles on them to make them pop! Woop, woop! LOL Step 9 was use black gesso/paint to cover something up and so I simply used black acrylic to cover the edges of the phrase I had stuck down and shade it. And finally Step 10 was use a black marker or pen. I actually used both. I took my Faber Castell Big Brush Pen in black to edge my journal and then simply took a black Micron pen and doodled here and there on the pages! Voila! Turned out pretty good after all! :)

One of the other projects I will share with you today is the making of my daughter's 16th Birthday Party Invitations. I simply refuse to buy invitations when I can clearly make them myself. This was a fun p project with a mandala stamp I had and great discount paper and "party invitation" stamp set that I found in the bargain bin at Michaels! Can't beat that! I also used some Distressed inks and

different color Micron Pens and there you have it! It's just way too simple to NOT do! We will be having her big birthday bash next weekend and she is so very excited! I am doing all the decorating and catering myself and a sweet girlfriend who bakes on the side is doing her cake! Hope to share pix from the fun soon! :)

Well, I am off to check out all my crafty friends work desks! I hope you have an awesome Wednesday and rest of the week with a joy and song in your heart as well! :)

Blessings

WOYWW #380

Hideee Ho all my crafty friends!! Happy WOYWW!! Wow...#380!!! I haven't been along for the whole 380 ride, but have enjoyed the ride since I have!!  Julia over on Stamping Ground is the fierce moderator of this journey and has made it available for ALL to participate and meet new friends and glean from their crafty creations!! Come over and join us, its free and fun!

This week, I do have many things on my desk that I am working on for various swaps and challenges!  Some are actually through, I stunned myself, but none I can really share right now because I am a creature of habit and like a certain order of things and how to do it! YES, OCD would be the disease that I have, but there you have it!  All revealed in good time!

One of the challenges that I HAVE NOT started on which is lying in wait is my Pick A Stick Journal Challenge for September! I have my prompts, my journal and...........nope....NO ideas yet! LOLOL As full proof, take a gander at the photo below!!!! LOLOL

LOLOLOL, How do you like them apples????? White pages are daunting aren't they? LOLOL I will get there, for sure, but at this particular moment, I can hear crickets! LOL Send creative vibes my way peeps! :)

Let me share another thing on my desk that I received in the mail on Monday...yipeeee! I love getting mail, don't you?  As a part of the Pick A Stick Challenge over on the Facebook Group of it's same name, I won a prize due to the fact that I entered my journal and ATC! I didn't win the overall prize, but I was so stoked to win an ATC from sweet Sheri Whitfield, one of the Fab Four Moderators! :) If you want to join along each month and have your own chance to win, hop on over to the group and ask for an invite! :)  Sheri sent me this CUTE, CUTE ATC based on last month's prompts in this beautiful card! Sheri's a card maker at heart, so I was super excited to get one of her cards! Thanks so much for the opportunity and the prize Sheri!: )

Well, I REALLY have to share ONE MORE THING with you on my desk today and it is a COMPLETE MESS!!!! Now, I always try to give products that I use their proper thumbs up and I like to share them on my blog so folks will give them a try too and maybe like them as much as I do! That being said, I don't think I have EVER shared a product that I DIDN'T LIKE!!! Well, TODAY IS THE DAY, my friends!!  Check out this shambles on my desk this morning!

I ABSOLUTELY LOATHE this glue gun!!!!! I implore with you (and I am sorry to anyone out there who works for this company and loves them) to NEVER buy this product! It is the worst glue gun I have ever had! I bought it after I read all these great reviews about it online, but let me tell you, that brings to mind to NOT believe everything you read!  See those BIG, HUGE blobs of glue? Such a waste!! I waste more glue than I actually ever use! This is EVERY time I go to use it! Thank goodness the gun didn't cost me too much, but the $3 gun I had before that last me for YEARS was ten times better than this gun! Too bad it finally bit the dust! Their other products may be good, but don't even bother with this guy!

All that said, if anyone knows a  REALLY GOOD glue gun that I can purchase that doesn't make this huge mess every time you use it, PLEASE, PLEASE share with me. I don't want to spend a whole lot, but I am willing to spend a bit more if it's good and will last me for years! Phew, glad I got that off my chest! LOLOL

Well my friends, have a MOST BLESSED Wednesday and rest of the week! Not sure if I will have any finished product to post this week, we shall see! I am looking forward to my weekend, whereby I will be having a girls weekend (which simply means me and my bestie and my daughter and her bestie) in HOTLANTA! Going to go visit my old stomping ground and maybe a show and some good foodies! Yippee for me! My daughter's bestie's mom is my bestie, so it makes it all cozy for us four to do things together, isn't that great? Hope you have great plans as well!

Blessings

Watercolor World

Good Thursday all my crafty friends! It is such a beautiful day here in good ole Georgia and I sincerely hope it is in your neck of the woods! We had some blistery summer days and then this past weekend Hurricane Hermine brought us some much needed rain! Unfortunately some in its path experienced damages to which I hope all make quick recoveries from, but we did not experience quite that much damage. All that said, it has brought us some cool mornings teasing us with the feel of fall! Oh how I would love for it to stay, but I don't think it's time for Father Fall to come yet! Sigh.........

Lately I have been so wanting to watercolor. Now, I am not a water color artist, but I am so fascinated by the art and definitely want to learn more. Unfortunately I live in a small town and as with most things I have done, I am having to teach myself the art. I would love to take a class, but YouTube seems to be my only teacher. I acquired a Koi Watercolor Set some months ago, which I had been wanting for some time, so I have been playing and enjoying!

Today, I will share three panels that I have finished that I will be making cards out of. I don't do snail mail much anymore, but when I do, I like to send a homemade card versus a store bought card because I really believe it sends another punch of love with it! Nothing wrong with store bought cards, but I love receiving something homemade from folks, so I
always hope others do too!! LOL

This first panel, I did all watercolor along with the tree stamp that I love from Unity and then the next two panels I started with watercolor and some stamping and then finished them out with pen and acrylics. I just really enjoyed playing to be honest with you!

I know there are sooo many beautifully, creative and talented watercolor artists out there and I would love to take some of their online classes, however, and no offense to them, they usually are a little expensive for me so I just comb the internet for "freebies" and hope I get the gist of it all!  One day I will choke up the money and treat myself, but until then, I will be winging it! LOLOL

A concept and spiritual law that I TOTALLY believe in is being a light to the world! Father God, from the foundations of the earth, needed to convey His great love for us, His creation, and so He chose to create man and woman that, that great love be shared to others. Our greatest testimony about who our Creator is, is loving others unconditionally! It's hard to do, we all have so many expectations in the world we live in today! But in God's Word it states that He is "no respecter of persons," meaning He shows no partiality when it comes to His creation! He loves us ALL, UNCONDITIONALLY! As we are to show forth His characteristics in all we say and do, we are to reflect that same love to others. 

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

Shine a little light today! Be that beacon of hope for someone that may just need a smile or a hug....I guarantee you IT'S CONTAGIOUS!! That's One thing you will NEVER mind catching!

Blessings to you today! :)

WOYWW #379

Happy Wednesday all my crafty friends!!! It's that time again.....WOYWW sponsored by Julia Dunnit over on Stampin Ground! I so love being a part of this online gathering! I have met so many lovely people and been able to gaze upon SOOOOO much talent and creativity! I'm just honored to be able to be amongst all those crafty folks!! Hop on over to her blog and check out this week's myriad of artsy creativity and join in! :)

This week there is not a lot going on my desk. Unfortunately my time has been taken up with my beautiful elderly father who has been in hospital! Last week he had a mishap to which we had to admit him into the hospital finding out he had a couple of strokes. My sweet father is 89 years young and has seen a lot in his lifetime, first and foremost taking care of his happy brood of 10 offspring! Phew....doesn't that just make you tired thinking of it! LOLOL He has been the best of the best!!! So consequently, I was busy last week at the hospital and not doing any crafting. Hubby, kiddos and I stole away over the weekend to clear our heads and start back a fresh week this week. My father is now in rehab and we are looking towards the future for his care. Not sure where it will be headed, but I know that God does! Keep him in your prayers my friends!

So all that being said, I WILL share what GLORIOUS, LOVELINESS, I do have on my desk!!! I have an AMAZING package from my beautiful overseas BFF Zsuzsa!!!! Woop, Woop!!! Zsuzsa and I have known each other a couple of years now (can you believe it) through our online art groups that we are a part of. She is just a precious, encouraging, inspirational, make me laugh out loud (LOL....hee hee), kind of friend. That seems like the best kind doesn't it????? Well, we have NEVER been paired up after all this time through various SWAPS that we have taken part in and so we just decided we'd swap because we want to!! So before I left for a couple of days this past weekend, my
surprise came in the mail!! I tell you what, I couldn't wait to get in the house fast enough to open my package!! My daughter, who has heard all about this Zsuzsa person over and over, kept saying "hurry up mom, geez you are so slow!!!" LOLOL And I'm like...."don't rush me, I can't rip the package!!!" LOLOL Can you just imagine the scene???

Would you look at ALL THAT GORGEOUSNESS!!!!!!! The package itself was AMAZING, hence why I didn't want to be rushed! LOL, but the goodness inside was just yummy! Zsuzsa had featured some of this goodness on her blog not too long ago, where I have to admit, I was looking on with envy, and then low and behold it is now mine to behold!! Yay me, right???? Each ATC had it's own lovely envelope whereby, I believe, they were geli printed, just like the big envelope. The paint she used was so lovely that they almost felt like fabric! Just gorgeous! And then to top it off were the gorgeous ATC's inside!! I wish I could say that one was a favorite, BUT THEY WERE ALL FAVES! 

Zsuzsa also made me a tag with the same gorgeous style and then take a gander at they beautiful card that she made as well! I have it displayed out where I can see it on my shelf because all that beautiful color with that "friendship" sentiment just plain makes me happy......can you see my HUGE grin from ear to ear??                                                                                                               Along with her homemade treats, Zsuzsa graciously gifted me with the cutest stamp set, that is oh so timely. I don't have tiny stamps per say, and I really needed these for some upcoming projects that I have slated on my desk!! In addition she had that gorgeous knapkin and digital prints that I can't wait to use on some projects!! Zsuzsa my wonderful friend, THANK YOU hardly seems adequate, but I do thank you from my heart! I love it ALL! Next thing on my agenda is to purchase some sleeves to put all my glorious ATC's in. I know some folks use baseball card sleeves to do so, so I will be headed to the Hobby Lobby before long to get the same!!!

You know, I LOVE how God blesses us with those who fill our lives with a purpose. We may not always know or understand, but God doesn't make mistakes and I believe "sets" people in our midst to bless us out of His great love for us! He knows our need before we do to fulfill His purpose and will for our lives! I don't take these things lightly and continue to be His grateful child! Thank you Father for your goodness and love for me!

I hope your Wednesday is fill with His abundant love!!

ATC Pick A Stick Challenge!

Well, Happy Friday again! I don't usually post twice in one day, but I had to post my Pick A Stick ATC Challenge before it was too late! As I noted in my earlier post......that's usually how I role! LOLOL Not proud of that mind you, it just is what it is!!!

The ATC Pick A Stick Challenge comes out of the Pick A Stick Journal Challenger over on the Facebook Group of the same name. Whomever the "stick puller" is for the month, in this month's case, Sheri, picks 3 sticks from the 10 pulled for the Journal Challenge and the rules are to follow in order of the sticks pulled for your ATC. This months challenge was as follows:

So with out further ado, here is my August Pick A Stick ATC Challenge:

Isn't he the cutest! We LOVE puppies in our home, so this little guys was just the cutest to me!! Firstly I prepped my ATC, for the sake of never knowing what will come afterwards. Having an "idea" of what I wanted to do, I took out my Koi Water Colors and did a outdoor scene. Then Stick #1 was add a photo. I had this cute little puppy photo, so I had to use it, which also coupled for my Stick #2, which was add a dog image! Hee hee. May be cheating, but hey, it worked! LOLOL

Stick #3 was add wings, so I found this cute little bee stamp in my stash and I stamped him on the card along with some grass stamping at the bottom to make it appear as though he were in a field. I have always loved the saying that I added to the card and I found it really by accident when I was thumbing through a magazine, so I knew it was for my card. I finished out by distressing the edges with Vintage Photo and voila! Cute, no?

I have been playing around lately with ATC's and I though I would share a couple more I have done that were sitting on my desktop as well. Both were so much fun to do! I love doing tags and ATC's! They both have collaging incorporated along with acrylics with credit card and/or stenciling and some stamping. I really loved doing the bird! I had this canvas piece that I got in a grab bag from Donna Downey's Studio when I was up there last year and I simply gesso'd it and painted using some wonderful new paints that I have gotten recently. It turned out better than I thought it would! LOLOL

Well my friends, I think that is it for my Friday! I have posted more in the last three days than in awhile! LOL I guess it goes in cycles!  I have some new projects on my desk and can't wait to get started on them! Some of the new challenge reveals will be today or next week and we get to start all over again! YAYYYYYYYY! Really....YAY!

Have a wonderfully blessed weekend my friends! Craft away! :)

     

Dog Days of Summer!

Happy Friday all my crafty friends! We have "dog days" in Georgia, or at least what I call "dog days!" You know those lulled "hot" times in between summer and fall when you are just WISHING for fall to hurry up and get here! Yep, that it! Georgia NEVER seems to have an in between weather season. It's always the extreme from one straight to another! Ohhhhh bother, as Eeyore would say. So, we just hurry up and wait! LOLOL But the bright side is that it IS in fact Friday and the weekend is here! :)

Today, I will be sharing my Tag It Tuesday, albeit a little behind, for the month of August! I have been running like a mad woman all month and so, as per what would seem my norm, I'm coming in at the 9th hour with my projects!  This month Sheri, who is the coordinator over on the Facebook group, picked this month's challenge from the Color Wheel using secondary colors (green, violet, and orange). If you are like I was when I first saw these three colors together, you were like, HUH??? LOLOL, But, as it turns out, they actually worked quite well together!

I was very happy with how my tag came out and, as I have noted before, I am loving these challenges more and more because it really forces you to think outside the box and helps your growth in creativity! That's a good thing for stubborn folks like me! LOLOL

This tag really was simple and quick to do. I simply pulled a bunch of scrap papers, whether it was jelly pulls or scrapbook papers (in the colors requested), and collaged here and there on my tag along with a piece of left over lace and then did a gesso wash over top. I then pulled out acrylics in the required colors and placed on my non stick craft sheet and then took out an old credit card, dredged through each of the colors and scraped on my tag here and there. Then as I still had some paint on my sheet, I took a background stamp and stamped in the colors and placed on the tag for more texture.

I keep old calendars if they have good pictures on them and I had one that had some pretty orange flowers on them, so I cute one along with a couple of leaves to put on my tag and then took one of my butterfly stamps and stamped on some card stock and heat embossed with some WOW powder in black. then proceeded to color with some of the left over paint. I had a cute little stamp I got in a stash one time that says "Bloom where you're planted" that is just so cute to me, so I stamped it on some card stock and sprayed with some Lindy's and distressed with Vintage Photo. I used some Aleene's to adhere along with some pop dots and voila!!

I really was pleased with how it turned out! So my upside down smile ended up turning right side up!! LOLOL Step out and do a challenge today, you never know where it may lead you! :)

Make it a great Friday! :)

It's a Dog's Life!

Happy Thursday all my crafty friends!! It's a dog's life!!! LOLOL Woop, Woop!! Not really, but the dogs around my house certainly think so!!! They've got it made in the shade!!!! Well, to be honest, so do our kitties!!! LOLOL It's a virtual animal love fest at my house!! My girls would adopt EVERY dog and cat in the neighborhood if they could and I am just a "beast" when I won't stop on the side of the road and pick one up!!! Mean mommy, I tell you!! LOL Let's see how that works when they are out in the real world and it's on their own dime!!! LOL

So the title is all a part of my Pick A Stick Journal Challenge this month over on the Facebook Group page! Sheri was the amazing "stick puller" this month and if you missed the reveal video, you still have a bit of time to weigh in the challenge by watching the video here. As always, you have to follow the sequence of the stick pulls and have fun!! This month the pulls were as follows:

The main event for me on this journal challenge was the dog image (hence, It's a Dog's Life)! A little different for me because I don't usually do things like that, but I guess that's why it was a challenge!  I had fun in spite of some of the stick sequences!! LOLOL And you challengers know what I mean! LOL It get's better for me each time I do a challenge as far as thinking outside the box, so I'm stoked when I make it through without a hiccup! LOL

Ta da!! Yesterday on my WOYWW, I gave a sneak peek and here it is finished! As I said, I don't usually use animals, etc...in my journals, but it turned out pretty good I think! So, let's do a go through. First stick draw was to use book pages. That's probably one of my fave things to do, so that was easy enough. I have this HUGE old dictionary I found at a flea market that was falling apart so I bought it for 50 cents and now I have pages for eternity! LOLOL so I ripped em up and laid em down with Mod Podge and then stick #2 called for a rub on. I don't usually use rub on's but I just happened to have a few panels that I got in the sale bin one time so I pulled off the "LOVE" and added it to the bottom knowing that I was going to put the dog pic required on that same page. After that I gave the pages a gesso wash.

Stick #3 required we add a random sentence from a random book. I knew how I wanted to place the sentence on my page, so I temporarily put the dog pic on the page so that I could put the sentence around him so that later when I put the dog down it would still be there. The random sentence I chose from the random book was, OF COURSE, from the Holy Bible and the random sentence was Jeremiah 17:14 "O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!" I LOVE the truth of God's Word!!! Stick #4 was use a dog image. I printed off a free dog image from the internet and then decided to make it my own by painting him my way! I used my yummy new paints that I referred to in yesterday's post. It also said to draw, stamp or collage, so obviously I chose to collage. I only partially put it down because I wanted to add something to it late.

Stick #5 was add a photo. I had a cute photo of this beautiful lady and her pups from a magazine I had, so I tore it out and added it to the left panel with Mod Podge. Stick #6 said to add a quote, so I added the quote at the top of the page "Blessed is the person who earns the love of an old dog." I really like that! The Stick #7 was add paint with your fingers! Woop, woop.....my favorite part! LOL I used all quite a few of my new paints and just started spreading around trying to keep in these with the photo colors and the colors I painted my dog. Then Stick #8 was add wings!! So I did the same as with the dog. I downloaded a free picture from the internet and then painted them with my new paints and then I could add them to the dog that I had partially collaged down and then finished collaging them both together with Mod Podge.

Stick #9 was a bit of a stretch for me because I don't have fabric lying around...I DON'T SEW, so I had some doily pieces in my stash box so I pulled it out, painted it with one of the same colors in the background and glued it down as if it was his blanket. That's the best I could come up with! LOLOL and then finally Stick #10 was write the lyrics of a song onto the page. I used an old song by Dolly Parton called Cracker Jack about a dog! I wrote it around the picture on the left panel. I added some finishing touches such as stamping  stenciling, distressing, etc.... and voila, my August Challenge spread!!

Tomorrow I will share my ATC's as a part of this same challenge! Get her done......yep that's what I'm doing, albeit late in the game!! LOLOL

Have a wonderful day my friends! :)

WOYWW #377

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! :) What a wonderful day it is today in spite of WHATEVER may be happening in the world today or what may be going on around you!! Did you know that YOU could change the atmosphere around you! The enemy of this world HAS to bend his knee to the praises of God's people!!! He CANNOT stand amidst such glory! God's Word says, "And so it was, WHENEVER the Spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would BECOME refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would DEPART from him." 1 Samuel 16:23 I find it quite ironic and amazing that God uses the VERY THING that the enemy of this world used to use for God, against him!! Satan used to be the most beautiful angel of worship in Heaven before his fall! Now God uses the praises of His saints as the very tool to shut him down!! Don't we have an AMAZING Father in Heaven?

So what's on my work desk?  Mainly a mess......not too much different from any week..hee hee, but also I will give you a snippet of my journal pages that I am finishing up as a part of the Pick a Stick Challenge over on the Facebook Group of the same name! I am usually finished by now, but hey, my right as a female is to drag things on and on and on......hee hee I also have to finish the ATC's that go along with that challenge, but they are out of shot of this photo!

I've just about got this puppy done, with the exception of a few last minute touches! I have SOOOO enjoyed doing these challenges because they TOTALLY make me stretch. You have to follow the draw of the sticks and sometimes it really makes you scratch your head....hee hee, but then it always seems to follow through! I need to stretch a little, maybe it will help get off those extra 5 plus pounds I have put on lately! LOLOLOL

The paints directly to the top, right are new ones that I bought that I went on a mad search for! I couldn't find them for a bit, but finally happened upon them. Carole Martine, whom I follow on Google+ and on YouTube has used these paints on many of her projects and I finally asked her what they were and she very sweetly shared with me! Carol has such a calm presence as she arts and I love her style and clean art! You should check her out! I love the paints, by the way! LOLOL

The mess to the top left is just that, A MESS, it is pieces of book page and emphemera and some finished ATC's and stencils, all just thrown in a heap! One day, I will learn to put stuff away instead of just pushing it around my desk.....it's really annoying, so one would think I would figure that out! LOLOL I KNOW none of you have that problem though! LOLOL

So that's really it for me today folks. I am finishing up a few other challenges, that I hope to post this week and still trying to get some swaps in the mail.....again with the procrastination! LOLOL I hope your Wednesday finds you full of creativity! :)

If you can't find your own praise today, you may want to take a look at this video from Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger, it will surely help you on your way! :)Let the EVERY breath you have praise God today and change your very atmosphere!

Blessings

WOYWW #376

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! I am amazed that it is Wednesday because I truly thought it was Tuesday!!! LOLOL That being said.....what happened to Monday? LOL I'm not kidding either! I really don't remember Monday, which of course, could present a problem!!! LOLOL Hope your day is starting off right!

Well, I missed last WOYWW. I have been very busy as of late with my job and the kiddos starting their first "real" week of school!  I'm so thankful that they have wonderful teachers and the school year seems to be getting off to a good start. My youngest decided she wanted to switch from the clarinet to the saxophone, which I totally encourage. She is so gifted in the music area, both of my girls are gifted in song, and I love the saxophone so I wanted her to have the opportunity to learn it if she so chose to. So that being said, in order for her to swap out instruments, we had to drive 2 1/2 hours away to do so! I was flabbergasted that the company would not just forward the instrument to the school (which was how they did it initially and would have been so much easier) but no, no, it was not to be! So this weekend, we had to drive out of town to go get her new fancy! So, all that said, I don't have crafts (of my own) to share with you this week!

But I DO have to share a wonderful package I got in the mail on Friday!!! I am in an ATC Swap group and my wonderful Tag Swap Pal Sue Marrazzo sent me this gorgeous package of goodies! Sue is an experimental artist who works in collage, mixed media, acrylic and encaustic painting, which just means.....SHES AMAZING! I have followed her art for awhile and just love what she does! I encourage you to go check her out!

Sue, just sent me a BUNDLE of goodies...I was blessed for sure! The package was decorated so cute as it was and then she sent me all sorts of goodies that could be used for collage and mixed media! THUMBS UP SUE, I was stoked! Sue also put in one of her postcards featuring a gallery event that stint that just wrapped up featuring her work! Wish I could have gone and seen her beautiful art! She also enclosed a note card that also featured her art! I'm sure it's meant to be used, but I just don't think I will be able to send that anywhere Sue! I will hoard it for myself! LOLOL

The main event, of course, were her collaged ATC's she sent me as part of the ATC Swap over on our Google+ Group-Creating and Sharing Mixed Media Art. I loved all the collaged pieces as well as all that yummy texture! I think Sue loves buttons because I have seen her work before with buttons and she also, SCORE, she sent me some buttons! Again, some of them, I won't be able to part with, so I will be hoarding those as well! LOLOL I know, I know, I'm terrible! Sue, I can't thank you enough, I just love EVERYTHING you sent me! I will treasure those ATC's!

Now, NEVER FEAR ATC Pal that I am supposed to be swapping with......I AM getting your goodies in the mail, I PROMISE!!! LOLOL I know I have needed to get the fire under my backside and hopefully get those goodies in the mail this week! :)

Well, as I noted earlier, that's it for my desk today! It's a sad truth, but the truth none the less! I hope you have a lot more going on, on your desk this Wednesday! I will be hopping over to check out many of your digs!

I pray that you have a WONDERFUL Wednesday and rest of the week and that you are walking in His light and love!

Blessings to you! :)