Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Grand Theft Auto....with Squirrels



Uh-Oh. I lost track of time. I couldn't help myself!!! I just wanted to do ONE more entry into Impression Obsession's challenge "Shades of Fall".   

Not that this will matter to my 8-year-old...he knows I read books to him EVERY night. Without fail. Because I'm too scared to fail. That kid can exact revenge like no other. And he's upstairs now...plotting. The last time I pulled this, he insisted on the same Marley the Dog book for 3 weeks i a row. By the end of it, I knew every word and found myself trying to have conversations with adults in which my voice would shift into the different voices I used for the characters. It wasn't pretty. Neither was the intervention.

So...without further ado, here's my watercolor piece for Impression Obsession. Whom I love, but my fear of my kid and dog books far outweigh my need to write more.

Love ya, mean it, MWAAAH!


Impression Obsession
Pumpkin Pair E9419
Cover A Card Clouds CC091 
We Gather Together CL406
Clouds DIE068-A
Wheat DIE085-X
Classic Truck DIE218-I
Squirrel Set DIE213-D
Grass Border DIE060-I
                                  

Friday, October 24, 2014

IO Challenge Shades of Fall

I feel like it has been awhile since I've done any challenges. I've been uber focused on things that don't need said focus...like Ebola, ISIS and the kids.

Oh, I'm just kidding!  Of COURSE I know to be focused on Ebola!!!

Anyway, this marks the first time I've entered a challenge with a 3D project and I LOVE it! I've not used paper in my tins before...only plastic and other materials. But I wanted to enter IO's "Shades of Fall" challenge so, here it is!

I used alcohol inks to create the colors for the leaves. Butterscotch, Rust, Crimson and green (which didn't quite make it to the party) and cut several sets. Shaped them on the mat with the stylus and let loose with the glossy accents.

I made the tree prior and let air dry for 24 hours. Then painted it brown. I trimmed the tail on the cardinal to make it fit.

I colored the deer with pan pastels, the tree with Distress Paint and cut an additional piece of glossy paper with alcohol ink for the lid area. The sentiment went on with Staz-On and it was DONE.

Now that I've realized the time wasted worrying about Ebola and ISIS (who really should think about dropping by...I'm hot flashing like a nuclear reactor and I would REJOICE at having someone to give me some target practice with my new S&W .380 w/ laser sighting) I'll try to get back in the game.

As for worrying about the kids, that remains pretty useless. See, they're ALWAYS doing something that is worrisome. I'll wait until they stop all of that and settle down to be normal.

THEN I'll start to worry.

IO Products Used:

We Gather Together CL406
Deer Trio DIE080-N
Leaf Cluster DIE066-C
Birch Trees DIE079-U

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

VOGUE II

How I LOVE the advent of the shadowbox! This is the companion piece to the first piece I made for my mother, which has 2 ladies from this 1960's Vogue sewing pattern. I coped the women, fussy cut them, then put lots of crystals, pearls and sparkle. It's a quick project with lots of personality!

Whatever happened to the A-line dress, anyway? For chubby girls, like yours truly, who carries LOTS of fat in her stomach area but still has decent legs, the A-line was a great female equalizer. Why? Because EVERYONE who wore the dang thing LOOKED pregnant!! I could've held my own in the 1960's A-line. Granted, they still make them, but not usually in sizes larger than a 2. Oh, well.

This makes a charming, 'thrifty' gift for friends OR for your own craft room or laundry! Thanks for stopping by!


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Vietri for IC Challenge

 I have emerged from my self-imposed exile, where I spent days upon days in my 'art studio' (aka 'junky space where I craft') meditating on my first projects as a member of the Dirty Dozen and what I could improve on.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh, Lord...I barely got through that one without crying so hard the tears ran down my legs (TY, Susie, for teaching me that one!!)

I've been in the old craft room, yes. But ruminating? Meditating? Only if those words came to mean "Eating ho-ho's while doing some online shopping with the new credit card my DH has no clue exists." If that's the case, then by all means, yes...I was DEFINITELY 'meditating.'

The IC challenge was Vietri. My aunt Ruth owns a shop in Manteo (the Outer Banks) and has sold a few pieces here and there. I've loved this brand for a LONG time. Here's my inspiration piece http://www.vietri.com/natura-acorn-large-oval-platter.

I took espresso paper and translucent embossing paste and a tree stencil and embossed the image on the brown paper. When it was dry, I covered it with 3 coats of acrylic white paint.

My original intent was to sand off the top of the embossing and let the brown peek through. Unfortunately, I learned too late that 3 coats of acrylic paint is a bit too much for my SU! sanding block to handle.

Never fear, though...remember that mama done bought herself a Dremel and that sucker not only has a sanding attachment, it's ELECTRIC!!!

Not ONLY did it make short work of sanding the top layer of paint off the embossed image, it ALSO does wonders on sanding down toenails, gel or acrylic nails and rough paper edges.

Ed. Note: While your paper edges will be smooth if you use the Dremel, there won't be much paper left after the fact. Not to mention the first 2 or 3 layers of skin on your fingers will join the scraps of paper fluff on the floor, as paper is a little too flimsy to be using a Dremel to sand it. If you do this then, like the author of this post, you deserve it for inventing crisis in which to justify your use of power tools. That is all.

At the end of it all, I tied a chocolate cotton (?) ribbon around it and ran a piece of copper through my big shot, over a leaf on the SU! Bigz die. I heated it with my heat gun (it would've been better had my DH approved my request for the acetylene torch I've been begging for, but it was not to be...at least for NOW-evil grin) and attached it with mounting tape.

I'm not sure how I pulled off 6-pretty intense-projects in less than 10 days, when it takes me 2 days to make a card and get it photographed for the IC challenge. But I AM trying to catch up as best I can, you can rest assured. Just be patient with me as I get my groove back.

Besides, you can only work so fast when one hand is constantly holding a ho-ho.



Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Color Challenge Guest Designer Redux

Oh, boy. What a day.

You know, there's nothing more in this world that irritates me more than a great day being constantly interrupted by need for parenting.

I have three boys. Every day, I leave them food AND water (hey...they have their own bowls!) and I have purchased every game system and handheld electronic ever invented just so I am free from parenting.

Don't look at me like that. You tell me a more thankless job than parenting. Go ahead! See? As a parent, it isn't possible for you to do anything right, understand 'what it's like' because 'it wasn't like that when YOU were my age' and last but not least "you wouldn't REALLY abandon us at Wal-Mart, would you?"

Wait. That one didn't belong there. But, for the record, I assure them that I would NEVER abandon them at Wal-Mart.

I'd make sure it was Target, or somewhere similar.

Every kid needed something 'this second' today. One broke a rule and didn't get to stay after school for one of his activities. He made it a point to skulk around and give me looks as if I had sentenced him to be drawn and quartered. The middle one wanted to show me magic trick after magic trick and every single time I looked for the youngest, I caught him trying to slip outside without pants.

SIDENOTE: The youngest is high functioning Autistic. For a long time, I thought (and was told) that autistic kids had a sensory aversion to clothes and liked to be naked. I don't buy that anymore. Because, if you think about it, who really WANTS to wear pants anyway?

Just as I was getting a handle on the color challenge, the DH calls and asks if I'm ready to go to the PTA meeting.

Needless to say, I was a little...okay...maybe quite a bit late in getting my card in. Which isn't the most polite thing to do since you happened to be asked to appear as a Guest Designer AGAIN by the challenge hostess.

I also might've been a little behind because I spent 2 days trying to figure out how to one-up myself after building a CAROUSEL!! How am I supposed to do that??? Sigh.

The colors were difficult for my card because I went the Christmas/Wreath route. Finally, in desperation, I sponged orange and yellow and a little red and stuck the wreath on 2 pieces of mounting tape and called it a day.

Thanks so much for asking me back this week!!!


Friday, October 3, 2014

Fabrege' Eggs


I found this tutorial here http://artfullymusing.blogspot.com/2...ge-making.html and she has some real beauties. She also made a 3D egg and, although there's no real tutorial, I'm going to try my hand at that as well. Her egg 'design papers' are collages and they can be purchased if you like. The rest was me finding out about (and falling in love with) Dresden gold ornaments and accents, as well as finally playing with changing the colors of metals that I learned here at SCS a long time ago and never did!! But I'm also dabbling in a little bit of mechanics and engineering with mixed media and I have to tell you...I'm simply enthralled.