Monday, April 28, 2014

House of Cards Sketch Challenge Reminder



Hi Everyone- I am here with a reminder that there is still time to join us at for an awesome Sketch challenge at House of Cards!




Saturday, April 26, 2014

Fun Photo Challenge at Just Us Girls




This week has been crazy for me. It is my week to host the challenge at Just Us Girls. I spent so much time making sure the post went in right that I totally forgot to get my own post done. So here it is Saturday morning and i am scrambling to put it together!

I just loved the photo I found on Pinterest but I had trouble with a card myself. You all have to check out what the other designers came up with. Some very clever interpretations!


Please join us and show me what inspires you in this photo challenge at Just Us Girls.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Outside my comfort zone



The new challenge at Simply Create Too is called "Stack 'em Up". You must use at least two layers. That is so not me these days. I am all about simplicity. I dug deep and went way back to my roots. I also tried an old technique called spotlight stamping

I used a stamp from Memory Box called On the Lake F1770. I stamped the base image on kraft paper and spotlighted areas with with card stock colored with copic markers.

Here is another great guy card. I have been on a roll with them lately. Good thing I know lots of guys!!

Please join us at Simply Create Too for this layered challenge!


Monday, April 21, 2014

Float my Boat

This month at House of Cards, we have an AWESOME sketch challenge!  

As some of you have read, I have trouble with sketch challenges. But I am learning to see beyond the layers and to the underlying simplicity of a sketch.

I used one of my new Avery Elle stamps sets- Knotty that I got on my recent trip to an actual Stamp store One Little Spark. I just love, love, love the simplicity of this card. Sometimes CAS cards are not so simple, but this one can be created in 15 minutes or less!

Please share your sketch creations  with us at House of Cards!


Saturday, April 19, 2014

Oh splat!



I just made this card for the color challenge this week at Just Us Girls and I thought- Wow it should have said- "oh splat!! I forgot your birthday!" Oh well a day late and a dollar short. I have no time for making and photographing cards since Easter is tomorrow and I have a gazillion things to do!

This is still a fun card with the bright bold complementary colors of blue and orange.


I hope you will take time out of your busy holiday weekend to join us for this week's color challenge at Just Us Girls.


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Homework




Do you know the saying- "saving the best for last"? That's how I feel right now. My last class before I graduate was a one credit art class. The class was two days and involved a lecture on the Wyeth family and watercolor techniques, with hands on instruction. The next day we went to the Brandywine River Museum.

I have never taken any "formal" art classes and while this class was geared to the completely inexperienced person, the class was full of useful information on watercolor technique. By the end of the first class we were asked to choose a painting from either N.C., Andrew or Jamie Wyeth to replicate. This was rather daunting since none of us were really artists. I know my limitations so I chose Long Limb by Andrew Wyeth painted in 1998.


We were given a rather large sheet of watercolor paper to work from. The first thing I wanted to do was cut it down to card size! I didn't, but there was no way I was going to fill that 12x9 sheet of paper, so I just worked in the middle. I think I missed the yellow aspects of the original, but I think I at least achieved the same tonal qualities on my representation.

The next day we toured the Brandywine River Museum. I am fortunate to live in the back yard of the Wyeth's and to have a museum dedicated to the Brandywine School of Art within driving distance. Our teacher took us on a tour of the museum and talked about the various works of art and how to look at each of them. I thought I knew about art, but I learned how to really look at a painting from the movement to the use of color and perspective.

Half of our homework was to create another painting from a Wyeth painting. As usual I bend the rules. I decided to stick with "Long Limb" but to recreate it in the four seasons. I really wanted to pull out my branch stamps and leaves etc etc, but I stuck to my own art work. I used ink and watercolor  and brought it into my world by making a card set.

Here is a picture of the start of the process. The well loved and used watercolor set in the lower right corner I have had since I was a kid. I will be bereft when it is used up.


I began with creating the four season backgrounds.


Next, I laid in the branches for each season. I wasn't completely happy with how they looked, so I  pulled out my copic liner 0.1 and accented the work with ink. It just seemed to add the definition that the work lacked. 

Winter



Spring

Summer


Fall

I am pleased with all of them but summer. Summer just seems to lack the verdancy one sees in summer and the patch of flowers seems rather blob like. I have to remember I am new to all this and practice makes perfect. Winter I added splotches of paint by flicking paint onto the work to mimic snow. You can really see it in the photo, but I also added some Mr. Huey's white spray ink.

I hope you all enjoyed my watercolor explorations and might be tempted to try them yourselves.

Now off to write yet another paper!!


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Life is Sweet




This week's challenge at Just Us Girls is to create a water color background. Of course I never read the directions. i thought we were suppose to just use any watercolor technique. So, I spent last Saturday making these really cool watercolored flower cards. Then I noticed today the challenge was for a background! There I was scrambling to remake my challenge card.



The good news is I used the same technique for today's card that I had on my other cards. I took the background flower dot pattern from Hero Arts and sprayed it with water and scribbled it with watercolor crayons in blues and greens. I spritzed it lightly again and stamped it onto watercolor paper.
I used the same technique with the flowers from Simon Says Stamp. the saying is from My Favorite Things.  

Check out this tutorial to see how I made this card.

I will post my other cards soon showcasing this same cool technique. Please join us in this great technique challenge at Just Us Girls!


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Think Outside the Box!



I am going to make a confession to all of you. I really don't like sketch challenges. Usually they involve to many layers of paper that I really don't do anymore. But then I realize I always take these challenges too literally. I think it it has to look exactly like the sketch. As I have said before it's a challenge because it's a challenge- get it? So my personal challenge was to make a CAS card with minimal layers BASED on the sketch. I wouldn't deviate so much that you you would not see the sketch in my card. 

This is the sketch challenge this week at Just Us Girls-


I found myself with a free Sunday last weekend and I took a road trip down the shore with my favorite peeps to the only remaining stamp store within a days drive- One Little Spark. I am supposed to be on an austerity budget, but to be in an actual stamp store, well forget that! One of the sets that I bought was from Lawn Fawn- Happy Easter.  Such fun bunnies in this set! 

So I am issuing you a challenge, think outside the box with the sketch this week and be sure to share it with all of us at Just Us Girls!!

Friday, April 4, 2014

Some bunny? Yes, the Easter bunny!


It's not like me to purchase something and then never use it. I always try to use what I buy within a month of the purchase. But this poor little bunny die from Papertrey Ink must have got put away and never saw my BigShot.

I was so happy to see that today's challenge at Simple Create Too was featuring bunnies! I saw this photo on Pinterest and there was my inspiration for today's card!  I immediately pulled this little guy out. I die cut him three times and using a new stencil from Memory Box- textured mini dots sponged some Eastery colors. The bunnies wee tails were die cut from felt and colored with orresponding copic colors.



What a fun clean and simple card! I think this will be the card I send out this year!!

I hope you will share your wonderful creations over at Simple Create Too! I love seeing what all of you do, it always inspires me!