Nuts

Are these little stinkers cavorting in your backyards?  They are so darn funny, they look at you in challenge and glee, they hop, scamper and chatter.  I do love watching them play.  We should take lessons.  Hot hot hot here today, stay safe and cool, hugs

Summer Blooms

Happy Friday, I have a busy busy day here, temps predicted high, trying to get house cooled down before Sunrise.  Playing with my flower stamp image and decided to do this card using three colors, varying shades of orange/yellow, black and white.  It just seemed cool to me this morning.  I was really looking at the butterfly wings and decided they would make a neat photo corner.  I also like the uncharacteristic placement of the colored butterfly in the black and white flower.

Stay cool and safe, Hugs

Heaps of Blessings

Good Morning and a Happy Sunday.  I am counting my blessings this morning, to have wonderful neighbors is definitely one of my constant blessings, but to have neighbors with fabulous gardens and yards is one that just never stops giving.  You can see why I very rarely leave my house around here without my camera in tow.  When I got home and printed this bougainvillea out, I was intrigued with the flash back, the color is almost surreal, the entire plant just sparkles with color.  So I used it as a background and added a few Monarch butterflies, they just fit right in.
Hope everyone is safe and Happy today, Hugs

Summer Frolics

Tomorrow is the first day of summer, first day of Summer?  Did I go into a coma?  What happened to winter and spring?  I guess mostly it was the entire computer crash drama.  Still not completely over that entire issue but it is getting better.  I am adjusting to windows 7 and most of my little pesky issues are corrected, 1 or 2 more and we could almost call it normal.  A new flower today, it is in two sizes and the larger size is 3-D, don't have it down to a perfect science yet, but working on it, I am expanding my knowledge in point editing with my Silhouette and it is an amazing tool.  Stay cool, be safe and have a wonderful weekend. Hugs

7/4

Happy Thursday, one and all.  This is my July 4th card for my son, he has wanted to join the forces since he was 18, certain life choices, marriage, etc. have put this decision on the back burner and it has slowly worked its way to the fore front over the years, it has now become a decision due to his age (27) that he make up his mind, and he has pretty much moved to the decision of becoming a reservist.  Even if I, for perfectly selfish reasons do not want him to do this, as his mom I support him 100% in his decision.  There are a couple things I have asked him to consider as he moves forward and this card is a gentle reminder, even though I know it will be received with a raised eyebrow and a firm "Mom" uttered.  I am very proud of him.
I used my woven background, perfect with the blues, but even the more so with the weave of all the decision making and emotions involved. The flag with tag is a plant stick I created for a neighbor's patio table, it cried out to become an element before it was gifted. Hope all are safe and sound this week as we head into yet another week-end, Hugs

Every Day Magic

Every day magic has to be one of my favorite happenings.  I have been known to use some pretty quirky things in my studio, nothing is safe if the idea presents itself.  See that woven background?  I was watching TV an ad came on for a company named "Spider", you may have seen it also, a couple people are piecing together something from a shredder, then you realize a dad at work has shredded his daughters drawing, as he pins it to his bulletin board, they walk in, she flies into his arms and is delighted to see he has pinned it.  At that moment I had an idea, went into my husband's office and brought his shredder into my studio, the hardest thing about doing a woven background for me, is cutting the strips.  Not anymore, I just printed out on of my backgrounds and ran it through. I got 28 strips, I lined up 14 of them and attached them with a piece of packing tape to my table, then took the other 14 and began weaving.  I was only concerned with getting enough weave for a 5.5"X4.25" block to use on an A2 card.  With that done I scanned it in and cropped and printed it out.  I now have a new tool in my studio, love it.

I will be doing a lot more woven backgrounds.  Hope your Wednesday is filled with everyday Magic, hugs

Monarchs

One of my favorite butterflies with one of my favorite flowers.  The Monarch is endangered because of our world's use of pesticides, these fragile species travel thousands of miles in their lifetime to pollinate flowers and trees, it breaks my heart to think some day we may never see them again.

A new background today, it is the spray sheet from my play with raw pigments last week.  Have a fab Tuesday, hugs

Happy Father's Day t

I have come to understand, organizing is a constant endeavor for me, I tend to make a mess as I work, pulling out of an idea or project for me, is just not an option.  So I am always rearranging and reorganizing. The other day I was looking for some raw pigment and could not remember where I had last put it, finally I managed to unearth this treasure and put it aside to try out some ideas.  Raw pigment is just that, it is ground, powdered color, no binder, so if you add water to it and then brush it on your paper, when dried it will just brush off.  It is great stuff to work with because you are not backed into using it with a particular surface, you add your binder - water, alcohol, liquid polymer, etc, as dictated by the surface you are painting on.
For my Pussy Willows, I took a piece of 90lb watercolor paper, I put some of my raw pigment in an old, empty spice jar, sprinkled it onto my paper and then misted with water, I let it dry and then went in with brown ink and a pen and sketched in the pussy willows.  I let all that dry and then added in my little bit of sky with Copic Markers.  The last thing I do is spray the piece with a fixative especially for watercolors.  The hummingbird color was done with a copic base and intense ink pencils over.
Have a wonderful Day, Hugs

Delight

A lot of time this week in the garden, with tritple digits, the blooms demand my morning attention, talking and misting, and removing the blooms that just did not make it in the heat.  When I am not in my actual garden, I am inside with my alternative garden created with color, movement and joy.  I decided I wanted my hummer to have two wings, so here they are frolicking in the blooms.  Stay safe and cool my friends, Hugs

A Favorite

A card becomes a favorite for me when it consistently makes me smile.  I feel that these hummers capture the essence of pure joy.
Copic Markers, Intense Ink Pencils, PhotoShop6 and Silhouette Design Studio helped me to turn them into an element.
We head to triple digits again today, so wherever you are and whatever your temperature, have a good one. Hugs

Hummer Antics

A very dear friend has fallen in love with humming birds and I told her I would do one for her, as it began to take color and shape, I knew I wanted to add it to my previous card.  They are all a twitter in our neighborhood yards and when outside I break to watch them in their antics.  Colors are a copic marker base with intense ink pencils over.  Stay cool \they are predicting 106 for our area today, definitely an inside day, hugs

Happy Day

Johnny Jump-Ups and Pansies, delightful characters in our gardens and on my cards, I love the vibrant colors and perky petals.  I added just a strip of Chevrons to give the card some motion for the butterfly.  Card blank is Craft Cover Stock.  "Happy Day" rub-on is by "StampinUp".

We have a wonderful start to the day, house is all open before we begin the ascent to triple digits.  Happy Weekend everyone, hugs

Everyday magic

Good Morning and Happy Thursday.  I love everyday magic, what is "Everyday Magic"? Those serendipitous moments when an object is found and sparks a design idea.  I was shopping with a friend, we were walking out of the store and there on the ground was one of those keys you find on the bottom of a tin can in order to open it. I reached down picked it up and put it in my pocket.  It finally made it to my scanner, I was not sure it would yield a scan that would enable me to turn it into an element for my cards, but it did.  The background was painted with acrylic directly onto my card blank, I then added a corner pocket to tuck the tag into,  photo corners by EKSuccess, word from a Tim Holtz packet, heart is just a line drawing - color by Copic markers.

Embracing my imperfections is my learning ground, it is where I do my hardest work and it is what makes me stronger, it is what hones my faith.  Hugs