Shrine Contest Entry:) for Retro Cafe Art:)

Hello Everyone:)

Well, in my last post just last Thursday,

I had stated that I was attempting to get

some quality art time in my art room this weekend.

I'm pleased to report, that here it is

Sunday morning, and I can honestly

say I've worked hard 

in the art room since Friday night:) 

Matter of fact....I haven't been to sleep

since Saturday morning!

Yes, I've pulled a 24 hour art

marathon!

(Husband and dogs quite happy watching any movies they want, eating tons of treats, and dozing whenever! What a great trade off for some quality art time!)

(I'm sick of coffee at the moment, grin).

But for all the effort, to finish up my

latest project, I'm quite pleased to show

you my entry for 

Retro Cafe Art's Shrine Contest that

Kristin Hubick is hosting!

Yes, the Contest Diva is having another

wonderful opportunity for all of us

to enter into another fun contest!

Go to Retro Cafe Art's Blog Gallery

(Link in my Favourites List:)

and there's still time for you to enter!!!

This is one of Kristin's big Shrine Kits

by Coffee Break Design

called 'La Guardarropa Shrine'

and you can purchase your own kit at

Retro Cafe Art:)

I painted the masonite kit, once I put it all together with 

Claudine Hellmuth's ,Studio Paint, Charcoal Black.

Then I took plain computer paper, used my favourite 

selection on script stamps, and used Distress Inks

 for the base paper covering the shrine. I again

used the same coloured Distress Inks, on computer

paper I had run through my Tim Holtz Vagabond, with

a 5 x 7 Cuttlebug Embossing folder, to create the paper

for the door panels.

The 'knobs' are Tim Holtz 'Hitches' that I like to

use as feet for these kits, but this time I also used

them for the door knobs. I used Glossy Accents

to set them into paper lined mini shrine pieces,

(also from Retro Cafe Art:).

Embellished the top of the shrine with 

a vintage watch face, and the word 'wish'

with Red Lead Alphabet beads:)

Then on the inside...

I took more of the embellished paper and made

bottle caps using the paper lining, to spell out

my 'wish':)

Further embellishment from Retro Cafe Art,

Masonite gears, (LOVE these!)

A small birds nest with a pearl, 

(suppose to be for wisdom, LOL),

and more of Kristin's new brass charms!

I love these charms, the great Brass Frame and Bee

from Kristin:)

(Vintage watch face with Tim Holtz 'Game Spinner'

and Red Lead's Beads:)

Also the cool Rusted Tile and the 

Brass Bird from Kristin:)

Then the back of the shrine...

I had so much fun making up these little

brass frames, that I decided I'd sign my

piece a bit differently this time:)

So now that I've finished my project and

posted it on my blog for all of you to see

something new....I'm off 

to enjoy some 'Husband and dog time'

for what is left of the weekend:)

Maybe even get a little nap in, and

watch some movies, and eat some treats:)

If 'they' left me any:)

Enjoy!

Old and New:)

Hello Everyone:)

So this week I'm posting a little earlier than Friday as I have great hopes of being in my art room all weekend:)

In this household with all the pets, you never know if there will be time to grab for some art time, so I find if I announce that I'm scheduling time, usual the husband will take note and deal with the 'motley crew' and other creatures in our zoo:)

First off, it's become apparent to me, that all over

the Internet, Halloween projects are popping up.

I've even seen Christmas projects already being

posted, now usually I wouldn't get on the 'early train', 

but from an earlier post of mine, I've had this little

pile of goodies sitting on my art desk.

I tend to 'pile' things on my desk, in an effort

to get 'inspired' by usually a group of things

that don't quite make sense to me. It isn't until

I add something, or find something that triggers

an idea, that it begins to make sense. All I knew a few

weeks ago, is 'Halloween' when I saw this little group...

So, I purchased this little cardboard ornament from

Chris and Sharon at Red Lead a while back.

(Link to their wonderful shop in my Favourite's List).

I painted the ornament with Claudine Hellmuth's 

Studio Paint, Charcoal Black.

Using one of my favourite tools in my art room,

Glossy Accents by Inkssentials,

I glued the ribbon all around the outside edge of

the ornament.

I then took a plain mini paper doily, and used

Tim Holtz 'Distress Ink' Wild Honey and Walnut Stain

to cover the entire doily.

I used a paintbrush to cover a thin coat

of the Glossy Accents over the face of the

cardboard ornament, and placed the doily

on the painted ornament. Used a quick 

brush with my brayer to make sure that

it was sealed. After it was dry....

I chose one of my very favourite 

Vintage Photographs from my collection

You'll see these two girls from time to time,

as they're from my own collection, and they

print up on the printer really well:)

(A small project like this I wouldn't want to

use the original photograph. I'd only do that 

for a very special project piece).

I took a moon graphic and the 'girls' photograph

and printed them up, cut them out and placed them

on the doily along with picking out some head gear 

for them to wear:)

And of course, Fashion being what it is,

they also had to have other embellishments...

these are Kristin Hubick's new line of 

embellishment made by Coffee Break Design and

these were purchased from

Retro Cafe Art:)

(Kristin Hubick's Link in my Favourites List:)

(They're so fun to play with!)

I added a bit of Distress 'Stickles' to the glasses

'Picket Fence'

(Love the horn rim pair!)

And a couple of the pop out stars from the glasses.

(Even the salvage bits  can be used from these cut-outs!)

Next up...a greeting....

I LOVE THESE BEADS!!

Every time I place an order with Chris and Sharon

at Red Lead, I always try to remember to purchase

an extra couple of bags of these beads. If I could

afford it, I'd buy a case of them, as I love how

they make a statement in the black and white:)

So there you go, I'm officially taking the 

'Early Train'

on Halloween:)

I'll wait awhile before posting any more Halloween projects,

but then, Halloween is my absolute favourite of Holidays,

so don't hold me to that! :)

So that was the 'New' in this weeks blog post, and here's a bit of 

'Old' as I want to add more eye-candy for your enjoyment:)

It's been long enough now, that I feel I can post this past project that I did a few months ago.

We had a wonderful pet parrot named 'Connie' a few months

ago, pass away without warning. She's was a very special

pet of mine, as she was a gift to me soon after the loss of my mum.

We have had dozens of different species of parrots and other birds come through our home over the years. At one time we actually had 18 birds, 9 different species living with us.

Anyway Connie, was a Black-Capped Conure

And we referred to her as the 'Kitchen Conure'

as she was the only one that was allowed to live

in my kitchen, as she became a constant source 

of entertainment to me as she grew, and her vocabulary

was really out of this world!

(Most of our birds are rescue birds, and usually are difficult to be handled, but Connie was only 12 weeks old when she arrived, totally pliable and willing to learn).

I owed this little creature something really special

as she certainly was a main reason for dealing with

the grief of losing my mum.

So Connie the Kitchen Conure inspired this...

14x20 Mixed Media Canvas.

Caption says: 'Everyone who meets her,

marvels about her vocabulary.

What they don't hear or see,

is what she has taught me.'

I didn't know it at the time, that it would be just

a few months later that I would lose Connie as well.

Now, I'm so glad that she inspired me to give the canvas

a try, as it reminds me everyday of her, as I still

expect every morning when I go into my kitchen

to hear, 'wanna peanut!'

(Ok, so she was a little demanding once she figured

out the meaning of the words, but that's because she

was so brilliant!)

Anyway, now there's another parrot in the kitchen, our

dear old, (20+ year old), Chico who is a Maroon-bellied Conure,

and has her own vocabulary:) I figured it was time for

Chico to have a 'retirement' from the flock, and get real

one on one time. Now I hear, 'Kiss the beak' every morning, (grin).

And just so you know, the rest of the flock 

are actually in our living room:) 

We gave it over to the birds years ago, 

as we're suckers for a needy creature:)

So hope you've enjoyed the blog posting for this coming week.

It's a particularly long one, but hope you find it of interest:)

Have a great weekend!

Enjoy!

Saturday Night Quickie:)

Hello Everyone:)

I hadn't expected to do a blog posting

this weekend, but I've had a great

Saturday afternoon in the art room

and decided to take a break and

show you the latest:)

It's another ATC Holder from

Retro Cafe Art

that I've put together since I still had

all the wonderful bits and pieces out

from the last one that I made.

And of course....bird related:)

As you remember the previous one that I made

that all the entries in Kristin's Contest won!

I've had a slew of wonderful comments

on these already, and even a offer of a

commissioned piece for holding business cards!

I'm really pleased, and have great fun making these:)

And a quick Shout Out for

 Kristin Hubick

at Retro Cafe Art Gallery as

she's gone 'Bonkers' with

I believe 3 Contests going all at once!

Please check out her Gallery Page

(Link is in my Favourites List:)

for all the information!

Also, while you're there,

please check out her 

New Design Team

Jennifer

Gerri  and Bianca's

Wonderful examples of their

Altered Art!

What Talent!

Enjoy!

Quick Post this Week:)

Hello Everyone:)

Just a quick post this week, as I'm up to

my ears in projects, for some fun posts

to come.

As you can see from the picture above,

my husband suffers with no meals

being cooked these days:) 

(Thank goodness for take-out!)

(Although those who know me, know that

this is a farce my having a new stove, as

I haven't cooked for so long, I rebelled

a while back, and so far it's worked!)

My brand new glass top stove seems to

be an extension of my art room, as I 

was busy last night tea staining tags,

and having my half finished canvas

placed to dry undisturbed....

He knew I was an artist when he married me!

(LOL)

Anyway,  what I can report of new projects,

is this canvas in process, as I've been continuing 

to play with my printer and tissue paper.

Unfortunately, the other half of this canvas

turned into a blooper, but my art pal Leslie always

says that there's no mistakes in art, just lessons,

so I'm currently figuring out how to 'embellish'

the other side of the canvas, which you will

see in a future post.....wart's and all! (grin).

The process of printing on tissue paper you

can find in an earlier post on my blog, and

I encourage all of you to cross your fingers

with your printers and try this medium as

I've found it to be quite a bit of fun!

Here's another hint of a project, and as you

can see from the colours, I'm thinking 

Fall and Halloween.....but since it's only

July, this will be a post later on, but I do

love the colours already! 

Must be our weather!

Ok, so this is to show you, that it's good

to recycle!

All of these containers I wash out after use 

and save and 'repurpose' as storage for my

art supplies. They are furnished by a group

of individuals that seem to go through

tons of these containers hence why I 

decided to find uses for them instead

of disposing of them.

This group I refer to are a motley crew who

take up a huge part of my art room, (and

are quite a distraction at times:)

First I would like to introduce you to 

Oliver Howard

our soon to be 10 year old Spitz.

Then there is Our Dear

'Mr. Ted'

a.k.a. Mr. Teddy, or just plain Ted:)

Mr. Ted is 15 years old and wonderful!

And this is our poor 'Moth Eaten' elderly poodle

Sidney Matisse Laptop

(yes, he's actually registered with that name:)

And, yes he is a purebred poodle....LOL.

Poor baby has had a rotten year of medical issues,

after a lifetime, (15 years) of good health.

He's the toughest one of the bunch and has

amazed us with what he has gone through

this past year, and pulled through...he just

looks like he's been attacked by moths!

So there you go, you've met my 

'Motley Crew'

who reside with my husband and I, along

with currently 9 domesticated and wild

birds in our home.

I won't make you suffer through meeting

all of them!

(grin).

Enjoy!

'Flounder Brain' Week :) :) :)

Hello Everyone:)

As you can see from my last post,

 (seems like forever since!)

I'm having what I am going to refer to as

'Flounder Brain' Week:)

I should elaborate...

Do not confuse the reference that I use occasionally

'Hamster Brain' with 'Flounder Brain'.

'Hamster Brain' is when you have dozens of ideas

for projects running around in your head, like a 

hamster in a wheel, but you're unable to 

pick one during this episode, so you become

overwhelmed with choices.

(Personally, I think it's a very creative state

of mind, and I don't mind those moments:)

Then there is 'Flounder Brain'!

I describe these moments, and in this case it's

been a week of them, as being like a 

flounder (fish) out of water.

You're on a dock, out of the water, only

knowing that you have to slap around trying

to find the water, until you finally find the

edge of the dock and fall in.....

The outcome of this, is that I have been

unable, to figure out what is my next new project.

I have a few to finish, but have been unable

(thanks to the real world), to find the time

to be in the art room....

So as not to make you all suffer from my 

episode of 'Flounder Brain'

I am posting this week a few pictures of

some past projects that I'm in hopes that

you'll find interesting:)

This is one of my collection of metal dress forms.

(With which I'm up to 5 of them, including one

life size model:)

And as you can see from her 'skirt' I had a 

flurry of creative moments making

bottle cap necklaces a while back:)

I do not profess to be into jewelry making,

but I do occasionally make these and a

few other items so I can play with the

vast collection of graphics I've purchased

over the past couple of years.

I'm also, as I make them, picking out

my favourites of each batch to assemble

a bracelet for myself:)

And as you can see, many of the one's I'm

choosing are bird related, (grin).

I figure over time, adding bits and pieces

it'll be a fun piece to wear:)

I encourage all of you to try this medium,

as it's a fun way to create in a mini version

for quick creative time:)

This is also a piece I made out of Tim Holtz

products, and some vintage bits for an

assemblage for myself:)

Also for anyone's interest, this is my latest

purchase to add to my wonderful collection

of dress forms.

I love all the details on this one:)

Although it's a different colour metal

from the rest of my collection

I just couldn't resist getting it as it's

so unique:)

So other than that, just some 'mindless' doodling 

this week....

So I hope you'll excuse my malay at the moment:)

I do want to acknowledge and Thank all

of you New Followers over the past week who

have signed on!

I really appreciate it!

And please feel free to leave me some comments

as I enjoy the interaction and really appreciate

your feedback on my projects!

Cheers!

Enjoy!

New 'Story Board' Thanks to Red Lead:)

Hello Everyone:)

Well it's a quiet, windy, rainy evening here in 

Victoria, B.C. Canada.

And I must say from watching CNN

each morning, that my heart goes

out to all of you down South

who are part of the 'Red' States on the

CNN Weather Map in the U.S.!

My goodness, how ever do you cope with

such heat!

I have a couple of air conditioners in storage,

as so far this season, they haven't been needed.

We're kind of thinking that we're going right

into Fall and Winter as it never even seemed

like we had a Spring!

Anyway you all keep safe, and cool!

So tonight, I thought I'd give a 'Shout Out' and

show a little project that I've been working on

in between all the other projects:)

I recently purchased these wonderful stamps

from Chris and Sharon at Red Lead

(their link is in my Favourites Listing:)

I LOVE their line of stamps, and have been

an avid collector for some time now. 

They also have wonderful Customer art swaps,

and although I haven't participated, due to 

mail issues up here in Canada, I've always

enjoyed seeing their Customer's Projects,

(and their own! Brilliant Girls!:)

So I encourage you all to stop by Red Lead

and have a peek:)

So, back to my project:)

I've been studying these two sets of stamps

since they arrived and I had a package

of these cut out chipboards that were

in the Kid's Section at my local 

Michael's Craft Store.

(Always check out the Kid's Section

for art supplies, as you never know 

what might inspire you!)

Now, to look at these wonderful stamps,

and this boring cardboard, (grin)..

who would have thought....

I've tried a few new technique's with this

project, first off, Red Lead's Acetate Sheets

that I've purchased with the 'Negative' Stamp.

Using 'Stazon' Black Ink, as it will not 

smudge, and stay's on, (grin) to the acetate.

I stamped the acetate with the 'Negative' Stamp,

then chose from my huge selection of stamps

anything small and nature inspired.

(And yes, there's that pesky bee again! I just love 

this little stamp from Magenta!)

Whoops, lost a step:)

The background of the cardboard, is computer

paper that I glued to it, that was inked and

I used one of my favourite script stamps along

with Red Lead's 'Honeycomb' Stamp:)

(Now back to my train of thought!)

(grin)

Then I tried a new technique I've just started

playing with using transparency sheets through

my ink jet printer.

I used this lovely graphic from 'Graphics Fairy'

(Thank you very much:)

And printed it on the blank transparency sheet.

I think this little bird is beautiful in it's design.

The original artist really captured all the 

details of this little guy:)

So, keeping in mind he's printed on the transparency sheet...

I then chose a sheet of beautiful scrapbook

paper to put behind the little guy:)

A few little touches here and there...

A tea stained and stamped tag, a wire hanger...

And a finished back side of the 'Story Board'

and again, a new technique for me, printing

paper tissue!

What a fun procedure that has been! You have

to try it!

Take plain artists tissue wrap. It's different from

regular tissue, as it has a side that has a faint

waxy coating.

Take a piece of computer paper, wrap the paper with the

tissue paper and with

scotch tape cover all edges so the paper on the 

back side, so it won't jam in your

printer. (Boy could I tell you stories of my experimenting

with my printer! Or should I say printer's plural!).

Tissue side up, waxy side down:)

Then take all of your paper out of the tray, and place

the sheet face down in the tray, push print with what

ever graphics you are using, and sit back, close your eyes,

and cross your fingers.....(ok, so that part you may not need

to include in the procedure, that's just me:)

Take the printed tissue paper, cut out your design, leaving just

a little edge of the paper around the design, then using 

gel-medium, you can carefully lay your paper on a coat of

gel-medium, then gently apply a coat over the top.

This might take a few tries to get the 'grip of it', as

the paper can tear easily, and depending on the amount of

gel-medium you're using it can be a bit fussy.

But a lot of fun to try!

Cheers for tonight!

Stay cool! Or dry, depending on where you are!

Enjoy!