Be a work of Art

It was easy to fall in love with the Moxie Fab World Get Inspired by Fashion Challenge.  What's not to love about this houndstooth jacket? I just had to dress this fabulous B Line Designs 'Anticipation'
lady in Basic Grey houndstooth.  She's ready to head out for a luncheon with her gloves and hat.
It's one last glance in the mirror and then out the door.







The driftwood mirror over on the at west end website  inspired me to create her reflection in my shell mirror using reflective paper and free handing her jacket top.  Of course having that Oscar Wilde quote was the perfect accessory, wouldn't you say?

May you have time for artful pursuits this weekend and time to pause for reflection, too.

Blessings,
Susan

EYEing you...

I adore Inkadinkadoo's Kid's Quotes line of sentiments...out of the mouth of babes so to speak.  And this one from Cameron Koch, age 4 paints such a picture in my mind!  Can't you just image a pair of glasses with springs on the lenses, going boing, boing, bong back and forth?  So when I saw the  Moxie Fab World  Tuesday Trigger with it's colors, textures, and shapes...an idea was born.

I used Stamp Francisco's optical lenses image placing tiny hearts over the eyes and then using UTEE to make the 'glass'.  The cupcake liners in the challenge photo inspired me to crimp my pink/orange panel.
along with the white scalloped felt edges.  I added the pretty gold ribbon for a bit of elegance of that scrolled paper.  PTI's Sweet Blush is the card base.

The layout is Card Patterns Sketch Pattern 101.  My friend, Amy Tsuruta  inspired me to give the sketch a try.  I must admit, I find sketches intimidating!  I am thankful for her encouragement.

This card also fits City Crafter Challenge Blog #42  All You Need is Love, to include the word,
 Love or hearts on your project.

Last week I mentioned that my husband and I will celebrate 24 years of wedded bliss on Valentine's Day.  Well, Cameron's quip is exactly right...my husband will look up at me and that connection still
leaves me 'twitterpated'!  MY eyes turn into little hearts for him.

Thanks kindly for the gift of your comments.

Blessings

Ornaments of home

Happy Day all, we are slipping into the weekend and that certainly is a good thing. I can't believe how fast this week has gone! Tomorrow is a whole family yard work day, so I thought I better get my card posted for PaperCraft Star's Challenge #21 before I am off to work. This is a newer blog that does things just a bit differently. The readers determine the winner of the challenges with each one getting two votes. This will be my first time playing in the challenge, which speaking of 'good things' was a Martha Stewart photo inspiration. Some of my readers know I just love to recreate rooms on cards. And so it goes with this one!

I love the ethereal colors used in the retreat room. I can almost smell the ocean air and feel the sand around my feet. The colors are just what one would expect to see while you were strolling down the beach. I used Stamp Francisco's table image, stamping it onto a putty colored linen textured paper and embossing with SeaFoam White ep. It was cut and popped on dimensionals. My floorboards were created with the Tim Holtz ledger folder that I embossed in both directions to get the squares of the original. For the amazing day bed, I punched a strip from the Fiskars Eyelet lace punch and then used a Martha tag punch to make the pillows (paper is Mistletoe and Pear paper group Basic Grey snowflake pattern)...in creating those pillows with the tag, I just punched the rounded bit, not the whole tag...if that makes sense. The very cool cabinets under the bookshelves are small rectangles from Spellbinders that I dry embossed to look like raised panels. I cut 4 'door's. I used two vintage buttons for the door pulls. The 'walls' are papers from Memory Box 'Dewdrop' collection. The right side is tiny snowflakes and the left, a sponged pattern. I added the 'window' to minic the light you can see in the original. In place of the shelves which has those wonderful shells, I chose to use a Rubber Soul quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson "The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it." And those ornaments in the bowl on the table are cut from the overview sheet of the Basic Grey Mistletoe and Pear cover (never know when something might be useful!). I cased the 'shelves' in with white cs, used the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder under the quote and a tiny bit of white lace at the top of my card.

I would love to hear what you think about "MY" room. And have a marvelous Autumn weekend.

Blessings,

Susan

trust me,

would you? Well, maybe me, but Humpty? Pam of 365 Card Blog challenged us today to create a card that made her laugh. Hope that's the case with this 'lil card of mine. When I found this nursery character over at Stamp Francisco and the GREAT wall of China...well, I couldn't resist! Double good was the sketch on SCS...#236.

I used PTI poppy red for the kickstand base. GP white cs for the images, inking them with Nick Bantock's Charcoal Grey. I colored Humpty with Copics and popped him in the heavens. Right in front of Basic Grey's awesome cloud paper from the Mellow Collection. The trust is from the Just Rite Little Stampers and the ME is a Making Memories rub on.

So tell me true, did I make you laugh, cajole, snicker, grin...inquiring minds want to know!

patterns of living

Hey, out there gals! Hope your Tuesdays' going great. And you had a fab birthday celebration. We're not so bad for 233 years, are we?

I'm playing in the Cornish Heritage Farms Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge. It's 5 weeks of different techniques and this is week 2. Paper piecing~~~my favorite! I just had to bring out this totally cool Tim Holtz pattern collage to use. I managed to piece 7 items on the main panel and the 3 lipsticks. The hand mirror (Museum of Modern Rubber) was stamped, embossed, and I used CHF's Mona Lisa Moments Abraham Lincoln quote in place of the mirror. It is held in place with a piece of vintage velvet trim. The oval mirror on the right side was 'hung' on the wall with a bit of teal chiffon ribbon. I added the sentiment 'effortless beauty' on the bottom. My lipsticks rest on top of a button from my grandmothers' button box. The lipstick image is a Stamp Francisco one. Cornish Heritage Farms fab fishnet backgrounder flacks the main panel.

Thanks for having a look, and do check out the details over at CHF.

Happy Wedding Day

Once again, I've left one of the 365 Card Blog challenges till the last minute! Oh well, you just can't rush the muse. I actually had a invite on FaceBook today from a friend of my son and amongst her pics, I found the photo to use on my 'keep it to yourself: Wedding Card challenge'.

She noted on her page that it was a month and counting now. So I am on top of this card! Yipee!

Pam asked that we not use any sentiments on the front of the card. I used this delightful

cherubs carrying a gilded mirror image from Stamp Francisco. I stamped it twice, once in Memento Tuxedo Black and again the mirror frame embossing with Platinum ep. I PSE'd the photo to make it black and white, and the right size for the frame. The very cool springy collage paper is a Memory Box pattern. I added a layer of lavender on the GP white Kickstand card. And finished it off with a double satin ribbon, saved from a gift. Oh, a I used a piece of packaging, embossing with the Diamond ef from Cuttlebug. The inside Wedding sentiment is from SU inked with Memento lovely posies

I would love to know what you think...

Life short...art long

The challenge today on the 365 Card Blog is ONE stamp and ONE sentiment, no patterned paper (yikes). Actually, I think this is a fabulous challenge as there are so many images that can stand alone in their impact and beauty. Amy Tsuruta's card is one such example. I wish I had more time today to create other cards, but this one will have to do.

I chose the famous Katsushika Hokusai wave painting from 1831. And while mine is nowhere near the masterpiece of the original, I love the power that comes through in the monochromatic scheme. The image is from Stamp Francisco and the sentiment is from a local craftsman who is, sad to say, no longer doing rubber stamps. I used two colors of ink, both from Nick Bantock. Cerulean Azure and Deep Turquoise.

I love art, how about you?

it's a freakin' party

Oh, do excuse my slang today, but we're havin' a bit of a party over at MotherMarks. She's celebrating her week 52 teapot challenge and well, you know how it can be when the gurls gets together. MotherMark has even lined up the Queen to teach proper teapot etiquette~~~which of course is polite social behavior~~~who knows what this bunch of gurls will do! I hear she's even brought in those big brown hatted guards just in case...

This card for MotherMarks' challenge also fits the 365 Card Blog Challenge to paper piece and the Color Challenge on SCS. Girls, oh, girls is it ever fun to load up on challenges. I used Basic Grey's Two Scoops paper, I mean ya just gotta have balloons at a party and fancy teacups.

So have a look, join in the fun, and if you get a chance, tip a cup or pint our way!

Hope is the thing...

I'm back with another card for this weeks 365 Card Blog Challenge to use two colors on your card and the SCS Inspiration Challenge using book covers as a jumping off point.  I wanted to make a card to encourage a co-worker whose Mom has been diagnosed with advanced cancer.  I used Stamp Francisco's bird on a twig frame, stamping it twice, once on SU's very vanilla and once directly onto SU's retired soft sky.  The Dickinson quote, 'Hope is the thing  with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and never stops at all'.  I also stamped the wings several time so I could add dimension to the bird.  The frame is the stapled onto a piece of SU very vanilla.

in focus

Happy Friday, people!  Why is it with a Monday holiday, the week still seems to be endlessly long?   At least, it feels that way to me!  I am focused on getting a thank you card in the mail to my vision benefit provider who after much prodding from me, went the extra mile.  In this world of impersonal electronic messaging, I think a colorful, on point thank you is in order!  This card also fulfills two challenges today, the 365 Card Blog to make something with the word "EYE" on it and the Limited Supplies Challenge over on SCS...only 1 1/2 piece of white cs and only patterned paper, no coloring, limited embellishments!  

I hope your weekend is filled to the brim with all your favorite people and activities.  I know mine will be!

Yahweh

This is my 6x6 page for the His Holy Names 09 challenge, the name LORD.  I am totally blessed by studying the Bible and several reference books on the names of God.  Each one has allowed me to learn more about the character of God.   And after meditating on scripture, I get to bring the word to life.  

the courage to imagine

I am sorry to be long in posting here...it's been wildly chaotic lately...in the best sort of ways, but I am always glad when my life is back to a routine...I am much happier in that regard.  How about you?  Are you a fly by the seat of your pants or are boundaries more comfortable?  I am thankful I have people in my life that will hold me accountable and challenge me to grow in areas where I am weak.  It's that first step thinking...just get moving so I am excited for 2009 to begin...I've still got areas to improve upon,  I never want to stop learning.

I've felt the creative muse dancing on my studio counter top lately and I've let her play.  Don't you love it when you have the seed of an idea and all of a sudden, that idea has flowered into a piece of art and you stand there thinking, 'Wow, where did that come from?'   My dear husband says he like to just sit and watch me in the creative process as an idea takes flight.  So here's whats been flying at my house recently.   These all have been posted to my gallery  on SCS for various challenges.  

the doll's choir

Tonight, I'm asking the Lord to forgive me for taking for granted the greatest blessing any of us could have, our health.  This was brought home to me today with a request of cards to dear Hannah, a young girl who is dying of a very rare cancer. I held my sons a bit closer, thankful for the every wonderful and annoying thing about them! And for their wisdom, Andy saying, 'Mom, she's going back home' in his mind, HEAVEN. If you would like to read about Hannah and her request. please check this out. I think those baby dolls are singing the way, though there is always hope for a miracle...I don't think she'll be lonely.

I am also thankful for feeling fully the emotions of righteous anger, sadness, and hope...dear Lord be a healing balm no matter what.

where the naughty girls went

I love Saturday's Inspiration Challenge on SCS.  It really helps me think outside the box and I get to see textile, fashion, furniture, and magazine designers I might never be exposed to.  Thanks so much, Stef for bringing such interesting 'sparks' each week. I had to fire one last round in the Schirmcat naughty or nice list. For the details on my box in a bag, please look here. The resources forum is a fabulous place to find just about anything related to paper crafting. I really like how the tote turned out and will definitely be making others.

So where did the naughty girls go, SHOPPING, of course.  Have a wonderful weekend...throw some snowballs or cuddle up with a peppermint mocha and someBODY warm!!!