2015 EDiM Day 26 - A Sign

Imagine waking up in a magical land where the signs in the park encourage you to keep ON the grass ... and where the dragonflies are as long as the proportion-challenged artist's arm! Duck, there are TWO of them! Agh!

EDiM 26 - A Sign; stamp & marker on craft paper

I now believe that stamping grass is easier and faster than drawing it. The lower two stamps are reuse from an earlier day this month.

EDiM 26 - Sign stamp

On the Desk Today

Here is the palette of happy colors that will end up in a make-believe garden I'm working on. I'll show the whole thing in a week or so. I love these colors!

2015 EDiM Day 25 - Apron

I had to get something together fast before I fell any farther behind. This is a motif from the boldly printed fabric from my apron. The fabric is actually black and white, but I exercised my artistic license. I'm fascinated by negative space and how it distinguishes itself, usually by accident, in all art.

EDiM 25 - Apron; stamp & colored pencil on craft paper

The tropical leaf stamp.

EDiM 25 - Leaf stamp

2015 EDiM Day 24 - Keys

I went with key concepts, since I went with literal keys earlier in May. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13 Thanks for all who have done this for me and my family.

EDiM 24 - Key Concepts; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, the three little tile stamps.

EDiM 24 - Key Concepts stamp

2015 EDiM Day 23 - Interesting Building Detail

We have interesting plant hangers on our main porch posts. This year, we have no planters hanging from them. I think they're decorative enough just as is. And, I don't have to remember to water them this summer!

EDiM 23 - Hanger; stamp & marker on craft paper

This stamp was not easy! The end.

EDiM 23 - Hanger stamp

2015 EDiM Day 22 - A Basket

This is the sad, empty basket that hangs on a wall in my studio.

EDiM 22 - Basket; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, here's the stamp under all that marker.

EDiM 22 - Basket stamp

2015 EDiM Day 21 - Where I Sit & Read

When I read, my favorite spot is on my front porch in an Adirondack chair. "I wish I read more, but there always seems so many other things to do." ~Jane Bennet

EDiM 21 - Sit; stamp & marker on craft paper

This was a fun stamp to make. And, look at the ink pad I used! It's perfect!

EDiM 21 - Sit stamp

2015 EDiM Day 20 - My Wallet

I bought this quilted wristlet at the Longaberger outlet store while on vacation last year. It was labeled as second-quality, which is another way of saying "imperfect." I always feel like I should buy imperfect products--like we belong together--'cuz I'm imperfect, too. The tag comes out of the pocket. See the comments for "the rest of the story."

EDiM 20 - Wallet; stamp & marker on craft paper

I know I'll use these versatile little stamps again! I thought the push pin on the tiny stamp was a stroke of genius. Is that bragging? :) And, don't you love the irony of the smudged ink on "IMPERFECT"? It made me chuckle when it happened. That'll teach me to brag!

EDiM 20 - Wallet stamp

2015 EDiM Day 19 - A Cupcake

I took this literally. Cake in a cup. What a good idea!

EDiM 19 - Cupcake; stamp & marker on craft paper

Little cup; big frosting.

EDiM 19 - Cupcake stamp

A test impression.

EDiM 19 - Cupcake test

2015 EDiM Day 18 - Lipstick

Since lipstick is a little out of my comfort zone (I rarely wear it), I decided to go out of my art "zone" with this, too. I have loved paper crafting my whole life, and this is my first attempt at decoupage. The lipstick is pieced scrapbook papers embellished with Pitt pens. Actually, the entire piece is made from little scraps from my paper stash. I save the smallest scraps just in case! I think I'm becoming my grandmother (like they had time for art journaling during the Depression!) There's a hand carved stamp in there, too.

EDiM 18 - Lipstick; stamp, marker, & collage

The heart stamp surrounded by scraps of paper for the next decoupage adventure.

EDiM 18 - Heart stamp

2015 EDiM Day 17 - A Measurer

I don't use canning jars to measure, but I could because they have volume markings on them. I couldn't decide which variation I liked better, so I included both color ways. Stamps are so good at duplication!

EDiM 17 - Jar; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, the baby Mason stamp.

EDiM 17 - Jar stamp

2015 EDiM Day 16 - Recipe Ingredients

I've been making this recipe for over twenty years. I can probably make it in my sleep. And, before anyone asks, no that isn't ketchup. The camera did weird things to the glossy medium I used.

EDiM 16 - Recipe; stamp & marker on craft paper

Two stamps that I will use separately, but probably never together again.

EDiM 16 - Recipe stamp

2015 EDiM Day 15 - What I'd Give Away

I spent a little time channeling my 13-year-old self while I drew this. There was such a long list of things THAT girl would have gladly given away: the glasses, the pale complexion, the invisible eyes, the red hair, the freckles. Now, I just want to throw away all the self-doubt from those years (and the part that still lingers 40 years later).

EDiM 15 - Younger Me; stamp & marker on craft paper

The subtle little stamp that was used above is actually one I created for Day 2 and reused here.

EDiM 15 - Younger Me stamp

2015 EDiM Day 14 - Something I Use Every Day

Keys...when I can find them.

EDiM 14 - Keys; stamp & marker on craft paper

These took a ridiculous amount of effort, but I love how they turned out...and they're reusable!

EDiM 14 - Keys stamp

2015 EDiM Day 13 - Last Thing I Bought

I bought lunch from the drive-thru (don't judge), and the fun graphic on the bag spoke to me. I knew it wanted to be a set of rubber stamps. What? Your lunch bag doesn't talk? Pity. The craft paper makes a pretty convincing lunch sack, don't you think? :)

EDiM 13 - Lunch; stamp & marker on craft paper

I look forward to finding ways to use these shapes for non-burger purposes.

EDiM 13 - Lunch stamp

The inspiration for this piece...

2015 EDiM Day 12 - Stairs

Leave it to me to INTERPRET the challenge. "They couldn't have meant ordinary, boring stairs. I'm sure they meant spiral stairs. Or just spirals. Or just a spiral." After years of being the compliant child, I've become a bit of an old rebel. It serves the art better!

EDiM 12 - Spiral; stamp & marker on craft paper

This is a big ol' stamp!

EDiM 12 - Spiral stamp

2015 EDiM Day 11 - A Hat

Anyone up for an obscure theatrical reference? "Look, I made a hat, where there never was a hat."* Congrats to all the grads who have proudly worn the world's goofiest hat recently.

EDiM 11 - Hat; stamp & marker on craft paper

This was a quick, but useful little stamp that I used for the "board" part of the mortarboard above. I stamped the diamond four times with brown ink and then embellished heavily.

EDiM 11 - Hat stamp

*The reference is to a song from a stage play that was filmed back in the 80s. It's called "Sunday in the Park with George," and it's a fictional backstory of Georges Seurat's most famous painting.

2015 EDiM Day 10 - Something You Can Turn On and Off

Creativity turns on when fear of getting it wrong turns off. Deep, huh? It took so long the carve the stamps for this. I wonder if I'll ever finish the alphabet...or just think of all the words that can be made with these eight letters.

EDiM 10 - Creativity; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, here are the seemingly random letters carved from rubber.

EDiM 10 - Creativity stamp

2015 EDiM Day 9 - An Interesting Label

Mint generosity is a tricky business. "Would you like a mint? Er. Um. Not that you NEED one!" Better to eat mints in absolute privacy.

EDiM 09 - Label; stamp & marker on craft paper

It's not obvious that this started as a stamp, but it did. I put down a white "frame" first so the colors would pop. The stamp is the actual size of an Altoids tin.

EDiM 09 - Label stamp

2015 EDiM Day 8 - Has a Handle

Anchor chains, plane motors, & train whistles. I'm with ya, George Bailey! I love those sounds!

EDiM 08 - Suitcase; stamp & marker on craft paper

I can see a use for this stamp in the future.

EDiM 08 - Suitcase stamp

2015 EDiM Day 7 - An Envelope

Remember when the postman knocked? Yeah, neither to I.

This piece is interactive with the rest of the quote under the flap. I love this saying!

EDiM 07 - Envelope; stamp & marker on craft paper

Lift the flap, and...

EDiM 07 - under flap

And, the stamp is just a border design.

EDiM 07 - Envelope stamp

2015 EDiM Day 6 - Bristles

I thought of brushes. Rainbow brushes. Indigo, as a color, has always been a puzzlement to me. I guess Roy G. Bv was just too hard to pronounce, and the rainbow needed another vowel.

EDiM 06 - Bristles; stamp & marker on craft paper

This was a fun little stamp that I know I'll use again.

EDiM 06 - Bristles stamp

2015 EDiM Day 5 - Something Hot

Twelve years in New Mexico made us into chile snobs. We are always on the lookout for the pleasantly hot Hatch chiles we fell in love with in the southwest and that we rarely find in the northeast. Rarity makes them extra special.

EDiM 05 - Hot; stamp & marker on craft paper

Today's stamp--it's a big one!

EDiM 05 - Hot stamp

2015 EDiM Day 4 - Bottled Herbs

I like one herb way more than all others. I like Simon & Garfunkel, too. I could have put thyme in a bottle, but that's another song entirely!

EDiM 04 - Herbs; stamp & marker on craft paper

These stamps were really easy, and I love them! I think I'll be using these again.

EDiM 04 - Herbs stamp