Perplexing Questions about Mermaids

I forgot she was supposed to be in a Gothic Arch, but I like my mermaid anyway! This is a Paula Best stamp that I bought, loved and never used because I am an ATCer! So I tried the 4 x 6 postcard size format-and that is just right....This card is about the deluge of questions from two little girls fascinated with mermaids. I miss those days, now they don't think I know anything!

Stampin' D'Amour Weekly Challenge

This week I located a tutorial on SCS about Broken Glass. It is a simple background. You tear very narrow bits of masking tape and lay them on your background in a broken glass pattern. Then you tap the whole thing with a Versamark Pad, and rub some Perfect Pearls into the ink. Remove the tape and give it a spritz of matte sealer. I have one example of Halloween background I am working on, one with a gold/copper combo-that looked animal print to me, and one that I subbed silver EP for the pearls-then embossed. I love making interesting backgrounds! One really cool effect is to tear the edge-it acts like a cored paper then, providing a matte frame around the pearled surface.

Weekend Challenge-Make a Small Album

My friend,Phyllis Rollins, RAK'd me with a wonderful bit of goods. Some large slices of Basic Grey paper and a packet of 4x4 coasters-which I didn't know what to do with-until I saw a tutorial on SCS -that used the coasters to make mini albums. When I got the first one done (I made 3) I realized these were just the right size to showcase my Nickelbacks. Thanks to Kim Andersen, Phyllis Rollins, Dena Sawka, Tammy Whitney , Paulette Akagi, and Diane Teoh for the lovely art that graces my book. The tutorial is HERE. Ummm, Tammy did I get yours turned the wrong way?

Stampin' D'Amour Weekly Challenge

The weekly challenge at Stampin' D'Amour this week is Shadowboxing.
Create a frame, or partial frame and raise it up on foam tape to give your project some interesting depth. Hint: Anytime you run across dimensionals in black-buy them! I had some-don't know where I bought it-I love it. Usually I color the foam with a coordinating Sharpie marker so the white edge does not show. Thanks for looking and playing this week!

I AM Woman-and I Recycle

I challenge my friends every week on the ATC thread over on SplitCoast Stampers. This week's theme is about reusing some magazine pictures-and making a statement about womanhood. After I started reading some of the print that went with the ads-I was appalled at what passed for "advertising". So I am a middle aged woman looking at today's print ads with a jaundiced and
humorous eye-and making a little art along the way!

Pattern and Fancy Paper

I made this Badge protector album for the Created By Hand Challenge today. The challenge was to use Patterned and Fancy Paper. I used Basic Grey. Inside are all the ATCs I traded for on Split Coast Stampers Who's Who Swap-led by our fabulous Kimmie Andersen! Each person used a childhood photo and a present photo to create an ATC-then we traded. This is a fun way to make a quick album. The badge protectors were purchased at Staples -10 for $3.99. I need to find some binder rings to put this together properly-then I will add some more ribbon and maybe some charms.

Purple, Green, & ivory

This weekend's challenge on Tag You're It.
I decided the combo could be good for a Halloween tag. I was having a really bad day at the art table-two efforts for other challenges had tanked. I started this one and it was going well until I tried to stamp the witch-the EP on the spider webs had not all ironed away, and even though I was stamping with Stazon-you could still see the web. I thought really quickly and grabbed what I thought was the black EP-it wasn't. It was black flock, which led to a completely different look, and one I would not have tried! Who knew? I inked up some matching flowers-wait-does everybody know that you can make coordinating flowers with your ink pads? These I just applied direct ink-then dried them with the heat gun-then stamped with black ink. These flowers were already green and lavender, but not Shabby Shutters and Grape! So this is an example of a happy mistake and make do with what you have!

Four Bathing Beauties

I love the Queen's Dresser Stamps, and this is one of my favorites. You can tell that these ladies know they are radical! I distressed the paper with Old Paper, and Straw and spritzed it with some water and some pearl. Then I stamped in charcoal-then gessoed. I stamped the stamp and distressed the edges. There is double sided tape under the pic-that I covered with sand! Scrappers Floss holds the shell charm. I like stamping on uneven surfaces now-didn't used to. It is very freeing.

ATC + Pin

I am working on this combo for a private swap with friends. The idea is to take a profession and make an ATC and pin to go on it-removable for wearing. I picked "beekeepers". The pin is made from a domino. I am having trouble getting the UTEE to be smooth on the finished product. The domino stamp is from Red Lead Paperworks. The other bee stamps are from Paper Trey. The bee comb is from Stampers Anon. Butterscotch and copper alcohol ink from Ranger were used for the background. Tell me what you think-these are still in the design stage.

Monogram ATCs

I saw this idea of "Monograms" on one of the online challenges, and adapted it to ATC size here.

Play with Dolls Challenge at Stampin' D'Amour

Here are my two answers to Kim's Challenge.

The first one is rather sweet and is called"A Little Birdie Told ME".Lovin' that Two Scoops paper from Basic Grey.

The second is called "Vain as a Peacock" and is my spoof on Sex in the City. Notice the BIG shoe.

Breast Cancer Awareness

This card is dedicated to someone I love dearly, Judy-my beautiful Celtic Warrior Princess, and to Katrina who the monster defeated May 31, 2008.

Theme Thursday & Wednesday Stamper Challeges

Two for one today-had to work all day yesterday, and today is the hair/brow appointment-so being a modern woman-I condensed. This piece is contrived of scraps from my table-except the photo-which reminded me of so many pictures I have of my Grandpa-the great trout fisherman. DH is teaching himself to tie flies and fly fish-so this will probably go on the front of a Father's Day card for him.

Created by Hand Challenge

I created this ATC for the Created by Hand Tuesday Challenge.
The paper is Two Scoops from Basic Grey, the stamps are from a little set from INVOKE, the pic is from the internet. I used my white Ink Essentials pen to doodle and some water droplets from somewhere. I photographed this in my garden perched on one of the many bleeding heart plants that are trying to take over my garden. But I so love them! Does everyone know how to deconstruct the blossoms into bunnies and hearts and baseball bats and slippers? My Grandma Olive taught me how.

June Swap

Love at First Sight

I made this shaker card for a swap over on Stampin D'Amore. I always buy collage stamps. I'm attracted to them. I take them out of the postal package and love them. Then they sit in my studio. To just use one is sort of cheating-I like to make my own collage! So, I love bull breed dogs and could not resist this set from Artistic Outpost. One of the themes I could choose from this month was "Dogs". I looked at this stamp and wondered how I could alter the collage. So I cut the window of the telephone booth out-put in a piece of transparentcy, and went looking for something or someone to put in the window. I found a little stamp of a flirty flapper from 100 Proof that just fit in the window so I added her and a bit of large red glitter, popped everything up with Scotch mounting tape-layered some flowers and it was done. It did take me more than 8 hours to make 10 of these. Whew! Hope they go to good homes.

Gothic Arch Challenge

I made this Flamenco dancer for the Gothic Arch Challenge .

Kim Andersen's Vintage Red, White & Blue challenge

My Friend Kim Andersen is hosting a challenge on Stampin' D'Amore and this is my offering. I got the layout idea from Go Make Something . I am hoping Kim will help me link this cookie up to her challenge!

A Halloween Tag for a swap on SCS.
Inspired by Tim Holtz 12 Days of Christmas.

Art Police

I made this ATC -inspired by a friend who made an "Art Police" ATC in response to censorship on one of the boards we play on. I consider a lot of things more offensive than nudity!

So here is a little something for the Art Police to check out!