Happy Thanksgiving….

Today in the 

United States is Thanksgiving.

A day for all of us to gather with our families and friends,

and give thanks for all we have.

I wanted to share an Art Journal

page I did a while back.

The quote seems especially appropriate right now.

We are supposed to be thankful on this day,

we sit at our tables and bow our heads praising all that we have.

We are lucky.

Yet my personal philosophy.

We need to be thankful EVERY day

Each new day is a day to count your blessings.

So today enjoy your friends, family, food, football

and maybe even shopping.

Be thankful for who you are and what you have.

And when you wake up tomorrow morning….

Count your blessings again.

Wishing you all a special day.

Selfie Nation

Sharing a layout done today using the

November kit Beloved

from Swirlydoos.

Every kit comes with a sketch and challenge based on that sketch.

This is this month's sketch designed by the very talented 

Beggahuna.

This is the layout I created using it.

Almost everything on the page came from the November kit

which is featuring the fabulous Rustic Harmony collection by Kaisercraft.

The sketch was a wee bit tricky

and I did change it up slightly to work for me

but in the end I was happy.

I have lots of teenagers roaming my house,

and anyone with them knows their love for their phones, their cameras, and taking photos of themselves with their camera phones.

I caught this in action on July 4, 2014 and too me it just epitomized the age & times.

Their is a large piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard covered with 

Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powder in

Geranium Coral Blush.

The flowers are Prima and the pearls are Kaisercraft.

Lots of little die cuts also from 

Kaisercraft tucked in and around the photo.

Doilies popping up here and there.

So that's my take on the sketch.

Make sure to stop by the forum and see how others have worked with it.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Sketch 127 at Sketchabilities…Live a Beautiful Life

Sharing a layout today that was created using the

new sketch from 

Sketchabilities.

This is sketch 127...

and this is what I created...

The background was an old piece of scrapbook paper covered with Gesso 

and Modeling Paste spread through a 

Crafter's Workshop stencil.

When it was dry pieces of drywall tape were added for even more texture.

Color was added first in the form of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists

(Antique Brass, Crushed Shell & Latte)

Once the mists were dry 

Liquitex Acrylic ink in Turquoise Deep was dripped on then misted with water.

Tipping and tilting the paper allowed the color to go all over.

Dry again and then randomly swipe the paper / paste with VersaMark embossing ink, cover with 

Byzantine Bronze embossing powder from 

Lindy's Stamp Gang and melt.

The leaves are all Kaisercraft wood pieces covered with the

same Byzantine Bronze powder as what is on the background.

The little sparkly blue balls are from Petaloo pull apart clusters.

I went one step further, pulled apart and then cut.

Here you can see the texture from the paste, tape and embossing powder.

I am in love with how the acrylic ink is playing with the raised texture of the background.

Might need to do this in my art journal next!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Make a Mess..an art journal page.

It's another day of playing without and end result in mind.

This page was inspired by Song Li on 

the Flying Unicorn forum.

She created such a fun bold piece that immediately caught my eye and had me wanting to create.

This is what I created today.

I covered my page with Gesso and let dry.

Then using a spatula I spread Gel Medium through a Crafter's Workshop

diamond stencil.

The medium will act as a resist for the water based mists I was planing on using once it is dry.

I used 3 coloring mediums here:

First I randomly misted with Heidi Swapp's ColorShine in Georgia Peach.

I love how the mist looks on the Gesso, almost mottled in appearance redder in some places, orange in others.

Making sure to dry the page completely before the addition of more color.

Then I dripped Ayeeda Ink in Sky Blue onto the page & misted with water.

The Ayeeda Ink is water based so the addition of more water caused it to drip and pool in places.

LOVE IT.

You can also see in spots where it traveled around the Gel Medium texture.

After drying the piece completely again I misted in spots with Tattered Angels Plain Jane Baseboard mist in

Plain Daffodil.

The yellow added an extra pop of color as well as mixing with the previously applied colors.

I used my heat gun before the last mist could reactivate the others too much.

Some stamping with a check stamp and StazOn ink.

The title was created by placing stickers down, tracing with a Sharpie marker, and then removing the stickers.

Using a fine tip paintbrush and Gesso I colored in the letters.

I had to go with this title, as I was playing I definitely made a mess, 

but it was oh so fun.

So go ahead…make a mess :)

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge 20…BOX IT UP!

Welcome back!

It's half way through November (and 5 1/2 weeks until Christmas EEEKKKK)

and time for another challenge at 

Craft Hoarders Anonymous.

Challenge 20:

BOX IT UP

Create some sort of altered box.

You can create a box from scratch or alter a pre-made one.

Your box can be made of paper, wood, chipboard, plastic or metal.

As long as you dig into your hoard to decorate your box you meet the requirements.

The box may be a decoration, a gift, a gift holder…whatever you decide, just

BOX IT UP!

This challenge the Design Team was given wonderful boxes by

Eileen Hull

          Eileen is a Designer member of the Craft and Hobby Association and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Designer Council. Eileen is from the Washington, D.C. area where she and her husband live in their empty nest. The newest member her family is a vintage camper, which she is driving cross-country, teaching and crafting all the way.
      Eileen has designed a signature line of ScoreBoards™ Sizzix dies, which includes the every popular Artist Trading Blocks dies.
     Her tenth Sizzix collection was released in February. 2014!

This is the box I created using one of Eileen's boxes.

All sides are covered with art, hearts and little inspirational phrases.

I even dug into my hoarded stash of Gelli Print scraps to finish it off.

I can rotate it on a whim, always changing what I am sharing.

Feel free to scroll as I have tried to share photos from almost all sides…

Supplies:

Eileen Hull 3x3x3 box

Liquitex acrylic paint

Washii tape

Book text

Gelli Prints

BoBunny stamp

Solvent ink

Distress marker

Word stickers

This month we are also sponsored by

Heather Hudson.

One lucky winner will receive this

If you haven't checked out Heather's store, make sure to do so.

Her collage sheets are awesome!

Last but most definitely not least, make sure to visit the rest of the

Craft Hoarders Anonymous Design Team

to see what they have done with the challenge.

Amber Milone
Christy Butters
Debbie Seyer
Donna Idlet
Ginny Nemchak (on vacation)

                                                                      Glenda Brooks
                                                                     Gloria Stengel 
                                                    Jan Marie Ennenga (on vacation)
                                                                    Karen Zueger

                                                          Kathy Clement (on vacation)

Pam Bray
Wendi Robinson

After you have visited everyone head back to the Craft Hoarders Anonymous blog

and link up your box creation.

You have 2 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Be You…BE BOLD!

Sharing another art journal page today.

This one was inspired by a challenge over on the

Flying Unicorn forum.

The Art Journal challenge is held every month and is always a favorite of mine to play along with.

Song Li is hosting this month and her challenge was to

GO BOLD.

Love it!

This was the first piece I created.

I combined Paint, Mist, Stamping, Modeling Paste, Stencils, Pan Pastels,

old felt flowers, cheesecloth, doilies, and last but not least dry wall tape.

PHEW….

I also thought I would share a bit of step by step as I went about creating.

Keep on scrolling to check it out.

To begin I adhered doilies, felt flowers,

cheesecloth & tape to my page.

I then covered everything with a layer of Gesso to give a neutral base.

Once the Gesso dried I misted the page with Vibez Jeni B Blue 

by Shimmerz paints.

Using a wet brush I spread color over the whole page,

then misted more to get some drips.

Did some large splatters with Liquitex Acrylic ink and a dropper.

As I dried the ink I blew it across the page some more.

Once all the ink was dry I stamped randomly with 

StazOn and a check stamp.

Modeling Paste through a Crafter's Workshop stencil.

I then dried the paste with my heat gun to give it a bubbly texture.

When the paste was completely dry I colored it with Orange Pan Pastel.

Since I knew I would add more layers I quickly sprayed the page with workable fixative.

This allows me to continue to layer but preserves the Pan Pastels as it is.

I took watered down purple paint in needle nose bottle 

and scribbled across the page.

My letters were covered with black embossing powder,

melted then outline with a Montana Acrylic Paint marker

A few closeups….

And that is how I went bold today.

Make sure to stop by the forum and see how everyone else is doing.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Swirlydoos and the Treasured Yesterdays sketch

Sharing a layout today using the 

Treasured Yesterdays kit from Swirlydoos 

as well as the sketch.

This was the sketch included in the kit.

The sketch challenge runs until Nov 15 so I'm doing a happy dance.

I never get the sketch's done in time.

I did this month…whoo hoo!

Here is my layout.

Almost everything used came in the kit.

I added some mists, stamps, and in from my stash.

The background paper is from Prima's Epiphany collection.

Some misting with Trunk Bay Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels.

Black ink through a Dylusions stencil and stamping using a BoBunny & Kaisercraft stamp.

The large chipboard circle is from Blue Fern Studios

I colored it with Aqua Stained Glass medium from Tattered Angels and then misted with Slate Glimmer mist.

Holding my heat gun close I managed to make it bubble up a bit for more texture.

The flowers, wood pieces and clock stick pin all come from Prima as well.

Some lace was layered under the photo

 along with some journaling cards from Prima.

Prima sparkly gems were scattered across the page to finish it.

Some torn Fancy Pants corrugated cardboard was layered with the Prima papers 

for a pop of color.

Make sure to check out the the thread

on the forum to see other interpretations of the sketch.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Art Journal page with Bister

Sharing another Art journal page today.

This was created by first gessoing the page and then

pulling out my Bister stains to play.

These are so fun to play with.

By varying the amount of water you add you can alter the opacity of the colors.

Plus you get awesome drippage

Once the background dried I added some random stamping with a script stamp

and black Staz On ink.

The upper part of the page I added more stamping  to create 

a sort of brick wall.

The flowers are another old foam stamp.

Using black Gesso with it I stamped all over the page.

I needed a thick paint so when I used my white Faber Castell Pitt Pen it would't reactivate the Bister.

Using the Pitt Pen I outlined all the flowers and stems to make them pop a bit.

I am going to enter this in the 

Mixed Media Monthly challenge

where this month's challenge (#6)

is to use stamps.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

It's all white now….and it's harder than it sounds!

So while I was checking out the challenges this month on the

Flying Unicorn Forum

I came across one hosted by Denise called

It's all white now.

Ok

My interest is peaked.

The rules:

 Your layout must be all white. Off white is ok and so is ivory but no color!
 You must use a black and white or sepia photo. No color pictures.
 You must use a stencil
 Must use Gesso, molding paste, or white paint.
 Must have at least 7 flowers.
Must have at least 1 embellie

I knew no matter what other challenges I did this month I HAD

to do this one.

It really is a challenge!

First off I had to find some white paper. 

Seeing as I apparently have used every piece of printed white paper I created my own background design on a piece of Bazzill Basics.

Using a large crackle stamp by Impression Obsession and white

embossing powder I created an all over background pattern.

My 7 flowers were a combination of fabric ones cut off a strip of tulle

and some Petaloo ones. 

The center beads were gold and I repainted them White with 

High Impact paint from Tattered Angels.

Modeling Paste through a Club Scrap stencil.

I heated it with my heat gun to get a bubbly sort of grunge effect to go with my photo.

You can see the embossing really well in this shot too.

The Moments title is a clear Prima sticker.

more embossing and paste.

You can also see where I melted the edges of my photo in spots,

started as an accident but was a happy one.

The melted edges so fit the photo.

Lace was layered under the photo 

and 2 stick pins were added as embellishments.

And this is my all white layout.

It was most definitely a challenge once I got going.

This girl needs color!

Make sure to check out the challenge thread 

and see how others are going all white.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!