stampsmith challenge "anything goes"

today i'm playing along with another stampsmith challenge blog challenge -- the theme in august "anything goes" -- so long as you use at least one stampsmith stamp.  i used a stamp from the mj hopper set at stampsmith.

i love this stamp and enhanced the stamped image with colored pencils.  i used origami paper, fun tape and other goodies to create my card.  the creations by the stampsmith challenge blog DT are pure beauty and style.  and stampsmith stamps are gorgeous.  check it all out.

love to all.

another steampunk tag

hello friends.  here is another steampunk-inspired tag featuring an image -- steampunk cinnamon -- from the octopode factory.  i'm providing miss cinnamon in hopes of enticing you to play along with week two of the "steampunk" themed challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.

i colored the digital image with pencils.  i made my own tag with some stiff cardboard and covered it with paper torn from a pamphlet advertising a WWII airplane museum.  in this scan you can just barely see the simply drawn airplane designs in the background.  i added some old-style newsprint with a steampunk feel.  finally i attached a wheel image which i embellished further with a silver sharpie.

come on along and join the fun.  a randomly selected winner will get a treat from our challenge sponsor...:

i'll also mention that the company often offers freebies on their octopode blog.  you're a winner either way!
have a wonderful week.

love to all.

owl ATC

here's an ATC for the "whooo loves owls" challenge at wicked wednesdays. 

the gorgeous designer paper in the background was painted by an artist and was included in a giveaway package of goodies i received long ago.   the owl stamp is from gray wolf graphics; i stamped it and did some coloring with pencils.  the rest -- leaves, eggs, dragonfly, and words are various stash items.  i chose the words since owls are known for wisdom.  as mother goose said:

A wise old owl sat in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?

love to all.

art deco birthday

every year about this time i make a deco-themed birthday card for a dear co-worker who loves that style.  here's what i made for her this year:

the main deco image was a free download from a lovely blog called artfully musing.  the music sheet "alouette" came from dezinaworld. the other simple embellies came from ye olde stash.

enjoy; love to all.

steampunk tag

we've got one last two-week challenge at the cheerful stamp pad before we go on hiatus for the rest of the calendar year.  the challenge is steampunk and the challenge sponsor is the octopode factory.  octopode factory has some wonderfully fun and funky images and plenty of good stuff for steampunk creativity.

i made a tag featuring octopode's "steampunk siouxsie."  the beginning of this creation is the tag background which i made by creating a digital collage with images from a steampunk set from dezinaworld.    since the background was already pretty busy, i kept things simple with the digital image siouxsie and merely inked her with yellow distress ink and outlined her in red marker while giving some additional accents with colored pencils.  i gave her wings by gluing her onto a flat wooden yellow butterfly. i confess i had no idea how this would all turn out but it was fun to do.

once upon a time i loved seeing steampunk creations but was apprehensive as to whether i could also create in this unique and fascinating style.  i urge you to give it a try if you are new to it or, deliver your steampunk greatness if you are already experienced.  creating in this style seems to use a different part of your creative brain and it is wonderful play.  i hope some of you will join our challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.   and no worries -- we'll be back again with bi-weekly challenges starting in 2013!

love to all.

coming up orange part 2

delightful orange is the colorful theme for the latest cheerful stamp pad challenge.  you have one more week to play along.  our challenge sponsor is lunagirl vintage images.  can you say "awesome?"  you will if you go check out their images.  a randomly selected winner will get some goodies from their shop.

i decided on a gothic arch for my week 2 DT creation.  to make the orange in this lovely lunagirl image pop, i cut my arch from some green designer paper.  the sheet was one i got in a giveaway some time ago and was hand painted or inked.  i picked embellies from my stash that had the same vintage feel and which kept the orange connection alive.  there's a bit of script tissue tape behind the image as well.
the color orange is bright and inviting my my view.  if you like it as well, please consider joining the challenge.

love to all.

thrinchie beauties from the mails

at long last i am posting the gorgeous 3x3 "thrinchie"creations i received as a part of a recent swap sponsored by unruly paper arts.  the theme was garden party.  unruly paper arts is a blogozine dedicated to discovering the messy and magnificent in your art.  i was lucky to receive 3 pieces each from 2 artists whose blogs i've long admired.  and now i have their scrumptious art in my own inky hands!

the talented shar briss from ill tempered ink was the co-mastermind (along with ali manning from vintage page designs) behind the gingersnap creations blog, (no longer active) and is the founder of unruly paper arts.  she is also the owner of a wonderful vintage-inspired rubber stamp company rogue redhead designs.  the three thrinchies above are her work and the stamp featured in the center creation is a rogue redhead designs stamp.  gorgeous, yes?  truly.  but wait, there's more...

these three beauties are the work of another wonderfully talented and inspiring artist and blogger, trisha too of easily amused hard to offend.  i just love the name of her blog!  she designs for numerous companies and constantly posts lovely art.  i implore you to visit both their blogs if you aren't already a follower-fan because either blog could give your mojo a serious boost.

whew!  company is gone, the house is almost back to its regularly messy state and i'm feeling okay.
enjoy; love to all.

Orange

The newest challenge at the cheerful stamp pad is an invitation to use the color ORANGE.

our challenge sponsor is lunagirl.  oh my friends if you love vintage and victorian images visit this site and drool.   i used an image from the mucha 1 sheet by lunagirl.  as it turns out. orange was my late grandmother's favorite color -- along with gold.  so those were the card stock colors i chose for this piece.  the shininess of the gold piece doesn't really show in the scan but it is very sparkly.   the image itself is so beautiful that i kept this design simple and used minimal embellishments. 

i hope you enjoy this card and even more so i hope you will join the challenge!
love to all.