Frosted Design kit - Simply Sweet

Simply Sweet kit

So with each kit, you get to choose a messy or a clean option. Well, I am ALL about having messy options in life! This is the messy option!

I loved that the stencil was zen-doodled inspired so I couldn't help but hang some zen-dangles here and there :)

Want to see the entire project? hen please hop on over to the Frosted Designs Blog...love to have you visit!

Beauty all around

Create to Live May Challenge

I always take some time everyday to find beauty all around me, and I never have to look too far. Sometimes it's my friends, family or my art and sometimes it's right outside my window. Spring is blooming all around me so I took some time today to try and capture some of it's beauty in my art journal.

I love the colors that Susan choose for the Create to Live May challenge and incorporated some pink and blues and all those nature bits and bobs ended up translating into beautiful butterflies floating around in the garden.

I have been enjoying using my handwriting on so many things these days! My latest project was writing this quote around the edge of my patio table...If you don't have Joanne Sharpe's The Art of Whimsical Handwriting book....what are you waiting for?

( entering my table / journal page in the Moxie Fab - Hip for Handwriting challenge )

...because, you see, I do live right by a little babbling brook and I love sitting outside, listening to the birds and to my little stream!

If you want to see the video I created using the inspiration board then please hop on over to the Frosted Designs Blog to watch it. You can join me over at {my sweet earth} to play along in the Create to Live May challenge ♥ where you have a chance to win this!

Sundays with Sandee

Wonky handwriting is my favorite, I like it almost as much as I like saying the word wonky! Yeah, I know, I'm nuts, but that's why you love me! lol

 entering my card in:

Moxie Fab's Hip on Handwriting challenge

I love how spray inks used with a water brush really look like water colors.

There is something on my card that has to do with Joanne Sharpe's current homework which is p. 57....get your book and play along!

I am really enjoying using these little images which I fussy cut from Midnight Designs graphics, play along with Sundays with Sandee and show us your work over on the Face Book page for a chance to win!

This is a sneak peak for tomorrow's post that I am doing for Deco Art paints, I used my handwriting and their fabulous multi surface paints! Can you guess what it's painted on?

Visit Sundays with Sandee over on the Frosted Designs page to see the video on my "wonky" lettering! 

Sundays with Sandee

Do you love your lettering?

I admit that a year ago, I did not. I began seeking out others who could help me, like Joanne Sharpe, and if you need some inspiration, then she has a fabulous book to get you inspired.

Everyone knows that I sell my signs and I have been lucky to have some success with it, but lately I have started selling signs that use my own handwriting, and that really puts a smile on my face. Here are a couple of my wall hangings that recently sold where I used my own whimsical lettering style:

So, if you don't like your lettering then please join me every Sunday for some lettering practice, 

writing is an art style, 

the only thing you have to do, 

to get better at it...

is to practice!

Here is my latest wall hanging, I am sure you know the drill by now. If you want to see the video for creating this, then please hop over to the Frosted Design's blog and while you are there, you can leave me a comment...hint, hint...lol

I'd love to enter all my hand written signs into the Moxie Fab World's

Handwriting Challenge

but this is my newest one so I will enter "Advice from a mountain."

Color permanence

Refers to a pigment’s lasting power. Tubes and other containers of paint are sometimes labeled with a code indicating a color’s degree of permanence.

Letter code	Degree of color permanence
AA	Highest
A	Standard
C	Less than permanent, though fairly durable
C	Fugitive

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I don't even remember making the background on this art journal page, it was so long ago, but it sat in my art journal hoping to become a page one day. Frankly I wasn't sure that day was actually going to come at all...it sat, and it sat. I would flip through my journal and run across this page and shrug and move on....until today.

I had a couple of small scraps leftover from Susan K. Weckesser's Beautiful Daydreams and just couldn't throw them away either. ( A pattern is emerging, I don't throw things away very well, lol ) So, I fussy cut them out, pop dotted and doodled on them... and they seem to fit well on the abandoned page.

I also had some fabulous stamps like this one from Grandma's needle point and I thought she would be perfect for holding the kite, so I stamped her on flesh colored paper and then colored her in with some PITT pens.

I also have this very old stencil that just looks like a gust of wind blowing and it fit so perfectly with my theme using my Sakura pens to draw it in.

And for our lettering homework from The Art of Whimsical Lettering, I used p. 80, the Wonky Printing to complete my mantra. Joanne's book is full of great lettering ideas and definitely worth buying plus you get to play along with us and see everyone's wonderful lettering journals over on the FB page!

I am off working on my bear, the deadline is approaching!!

Sundays with Sandee - getting inky!

Hope you hop on over to Frosted Designs blog, I have a some great tips on using those Tim Holtz Distress Marker plus 2 ways to use your stencils!

And wait for it....an awesome way to use that Distress Marker spritzer, with NO MARKERS! HA!

See ya over there?

Color

A visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect; the visual response to the wavelengths of light, identified as red, blue, green, etc.; primary and secondary colors; warm, cool, and neutral colors, color value; hue; and intensity

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I am sorry, I know I have not been blogging like usual but I am just a little busy painting my bear for the Bearfootin' event for my hometown.

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Starting on yet another adventure....teaching.

I'm not over fond of teaching in person, there is no edit button when you are "live". lol But that won't be for at least another month and if it all comes together. Do you ever feel "called" to do something? Doing this class with my ladies from church has been on my mind a lot, so I figure it's something I need to do.

The heart shape I made from card board so they can trace around it easily and the wavy lines came from an OLD journaling stencil from EK Success. I used Dylusion Ink Sprays ( as a water color ) along with a water brush, and my pens are from my SAKURA-Pigma Sensei Manga Pen Set. Keeping the ingrediants simple and the journal small will hopefully keep the non - artistic ladies from getting over whelmed.

Autism awareness

The Autism Awareness Ribbon — The puzzle pattern reflects the mystery and complexity of the autism spectrum. The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of the people and families living with the condition. The brightness of the ribbon signals hope — hope that through increased awareness of autism, and through early intervention and appropriate treatments, people with autism will lead fuller, more complete lives.

Both of my background papers came from gelli prints using the new line of Deco Arts Media Fluid acrylics. 

They are a lot of fun to use in your gelli printing and this sign shows why. After putting my colors down on my plate, I lightly brayered them in one direction only. 

The first several pulls will give you a very bright and vivid background, After it dried I used a white pen to trace around some puzzle pieces to create the background.

 ( On a nationwide level, the Puzzle Piece symbol reflects the mystery and complexity of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Also, since every puzzle piece is different in some way, a puzzle piece accurately represents the diversity of the individuals affected. )

But it's the last pull that gets me, you know when you have dried bits of paint left over? Just squirt a healthy layer of water onto your gelli plate and press your paper down to get a dreamy soft swirl of color. Your paper will most likely curl after soaking in all that water, but just let it dry and then press it under some heavy books and it will flatten back out again.

Lettering completed with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen, wood butterfly from the Frosted Designs Moments in Time Kit.

Sundays with Sandee - “Emails are a poke, but letters are a caress."

As etiquette guru Letitia Baldridge advises, "nothing is more pleasant than receiving a beautiful letter", maybe we should extend that quote to include envelopes too!

In researching the decline of the written letter I came across this interesting tidbit which just made me smile, wouldn't the aristocrats would roll over in their graves if they knew about e-mail, texting and twittering?

"The decline of letter-writing far predates the Internet. “For many it started in 1840, with the first adhesive stamp,” Garfield writes. “The snobbish and well-to-do believed cheap postage would lead to the equivalent cheapening of an art form best left to the professionals.” In 1919, the Yale Review lamented that “the art of writing letters has been lost,” with blame cast on the telephone, the typewriter, the telegraph, even the train — for delivering letters too promptly."

I hope you pop over to the Frosted Designs blog and visit me there, maybe you will be inspired to...

celebrate letter-writing

Write a friend today or maybe an elderly relative a note, make a hand made card for them and embellish the envelope, who knows, you might make their day.  

Charcoal

Compressed burned wood used for drawing

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Here is my cover page for The Art of Whimsical Lettering with Joanne Sharpe online class. It's free if you have her new book :) I am using an old calender for my journal, that way I can hang it up to look at when I need the inspiration!

One of the highlights to my design was writing Joanne's name inside the spoon, and then wouldn't you know it....I had forgotten to add the e on the end of her name...lol So I had to go back and squeeze it in and added the small flower on the other side to hopefully balance it out.

The most tedious part was using a stencil to create the alphabet soup in the background, I had to make myself finish it cause I was bored, bored, bored. I have discovered I love the conceptual part of designing however I don't like coloring it in.

Dylusions journal, inks ( black, white )

Lindy's Stamp Gang - Starburst Spray Cocoa Bean
Koi waterbrush - small and large

Sakura -Pigma Sensei Manga Drawing Set

Faber Castel PITT Pen

Signo - white pen

various old watercolors, a letter stencil

Ranger Distress stain - silver

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and I am giving away a jar of Helmar Decoupage & Craft paste....those that visit my blog can earn extra entries by posting a project that you created during the "lettering to wall hanging" videos on the Frosted Designs FB page or by visiting me and I will give you ways to earn your extra entries.

Vicki earns an extra entry by using her tracking skills as a border on this colorful page and posting it over on the FD FB page.

Here are the totals so far for the extra entries:

Tamiko - 3

Sharon  - 2

Vicki L. -1

Vicki ( SB ) - 1
Janis - 1

Frosted Designs Kit Challenge

Sooooooooo....if you happen to visit my blog then you might know that our March kit is out, called A Moment in Time, which is gorgeous!! And to think kits like this can be delivered right to your front door! Does life get any better?

Which brings us to the Kit Challenge !!

We are going to stick with a recipe as it gives you, the subscriber, more control over which items you would like to use.  Remember: ANY TYPE OF PROJECT is acceptable so long as you use at least three of the following items from the kit:

~ Black Background (Can be solid cardstock!)

~ One Word Title 

~ Chipboard or Wooden Die-Cuts (At least ONE piece!)

~ Flowers (At least ONE!)

~ Ribbon

Fell free to use other items as you normally would...  Just be sure to include three of the above on your project to be entered in to win a fabulous prize! Check out the Frosted Designs Blog for details!

And here is what I created using: 

1. black background

2. wooden die-cut

3. flower

other products used:

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive, Liquid Scrap Dots, Tacky Craft Glue

Signo White Pen

Sakura Gelly Roll pen

Ranger Distress marker, Crackle Paint

Brushwork:

The distinctive technique in which an artist uses to apply paint with a brush onto a medium, such as canvas.
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I went down to South Carolina to see my great-nephew Pierson, he is such a little cutie pie and I love his Superman poses! But then I think this kid may be Superman as he is already lifting his head, rolling over onto his side and tracking the movements of people. Yes, I saw all of this while I was down there, amazing for a month old baby to be doing all of that so soon!

Being away for 3 days I had to immerse myself back into drawing as soon as I got home. Some of my group have been doing Becca's doodle girl drawing and it felt great to do a fun project like this.

I used the left over Magicals to create a wash for her skin tone. So basically I cleaned off my brush each time onto her face. With all that colored hair it seemed unusual for her to have regular color skin! lol

The Sakura pens wrote over all the Magicals extremely well, I am continued to be impressed with this pen. Sometimes it is hard to find something that will write over micas and shimmery things without messing up the tips. 

entering my journal page in:


I used Magicals : Cotton Candy Pink, TiffanyLou's Blue, Milk Chocolate Brown, Dark Chocolate Brown, Ponderosa Pines Olive

SILKS Acrylic Glaze - African Jade

Twinkling H20,s - Dragonfire
( Comparing the Twinks to the Magicals: Both have fabulous shimmer but you don't have to wait for the Magical pot to dry out, or have to worry about the cap of the pot adhering itself to the rim if it gets tilted while drying out...the winner is Magicals! )

Sakura - Gellyroll pens

Loyal friends

FRIENDS

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

― Helen Keller

Hi everyone, I am so happy to be a guest designer for {my sweet earth} today. I just love all the projects I see over here by the fabulous design team, so it thrills me to be among such wonderful talent!

 I love the papers and stamps by Susan K. Weckesser, which have a delightful, whimsical mixed media look to them in bright cheery colors! Plus they are made from 100% recycled paper made in the USA! Bonus!

This is my card that I created:

Two of my favorite things to do are outlining and fussy cutting. The outlining just makes everything pop and by cutting out my pieces I get to create some fantastic layering and dimension.

I love this Unity Stamp by Susan called Insta-Cute. I admit I am addicted to all stamps that include cameras and Polaroid frames but these red rubber stamps are large, which is just awesome to work with! I stamped the frame onto the Live, Love, Create paper and then cut out the inside and glued it over the top of the Bouquet paper with the bird on it. Perfect fit.

Then I used the Crafters Workshop Live in Color stencil to create a fun border on my envelope along with the smile sentiment from the  Insta-Cute stamp, I think a little mail art is fun for everyone: recipient and postal carrier alike!!

Susan K. Weckesser Live in Color  papers:

 Beautiful Daydreams ( sun ) 

Live in Color - card base

Bouquet - ( bird )

Live, Love, Create - Polaroid frame

Susan K. Weckesser & Unity-Insta-Cute Stamp 

Susan K. Weckesser and Crafter's Workshop Live in Color stencil

Sakura - Pigma Sensi pen

Helmar Adhesives