Inspiration for Mona's New Do.....

You know, I often write on this blog about the inspiration for my Artist Trading Cards as well as other works of art, sometimes the choices are conscious while other times I believe they are "twinklings" whirling in the back of my mind of something I've seen or heard in the past causing subconscious choices in my artworks. This trading card is one such "subconscious twinkling". While I have been recovering from hip surgery I've been watching old T.V. shows from the 70s and 80s on a wonderful website called hulu, mostly because there is just garbage on TV today. The shows on Hulu are free to watch and there is quite the mix, everything from The Bob Newhart Show to Mary Tyler Moore to Hart to Hart. You know Hart to Hart was my all time favorite show in the early 80s. My brother and I use to fight over the T.V. (I always won!) when it came on, I wanted to watch it and he didn't. Now that I look back on it with 41 year old eyes instead of 16 year old eyes, the show's concept is even more wonderful than I remembered .....a married couple that actually loved, respected and enjoyed each others company and carried on intelligent conversations with a touch of humor! I long for a TV show like that now but sadly the public only wants to see violence, fighting, blatent sex and rude borish behavior on TV shows. But I digress......remember Jennifer Hart's fabulous hair (I had the same gigantic hair in 1984!)? She was played by the equally fabulous Stefanie Powers. Well, I believe that as a result of all this Hart to Hart watching over the past 2 weeks I subconsciously created a Mona Lisa with a red Jennifer Hart hair style! It really didn't dawn on me until I was through with it. It is the first in a series of ATC Gothic Arches within my ATC a day for a year project. Funny how the "twinklings" in the back of the mind work! Do you every have a "twinkling" that you carry over into your artwork?

Pixie Give Away....

It's a Pixie give away! I made a series of 3 ATCs in a my year of ATCs project which are dedicated to the pixie. When I was a little girl my Gram had a collection of glass pixies on a shelf in her kitchen. I loved those pixies and had to hold them and play with them (carefully) everytime we visited. I have a big one sitting on a rock with a red outfit and a yellow flower hat from that collection (my Gram smuggled home for me). The pixies on the ATC remind me of her collection. They are all free hand and their faces are hand painted. If you would like like one of these be the first one to post a comment indicating which one you want and make sure I can reach you through you blog or email and I'll get back to your to get your address.

This is Pircillia. She likes pink fragrant flowers and playing Uker. The book text behind her is in Dutch from the Netherlands. I hand painted the flowers the text with acrylics.
This is Jasper. He like anything blue, gin and puppies.
This is Bo. She likes naps, truth and the American way.

So that's the story of the Pixies. Which one would you like?

Mini Domino Necklace.....

I had a bag of these mini dominos and started to play around with them last night started to collage decorative papers on them and then stamping them. They are then sealed with 3 coats of shiny glaze. The one that says "pax" means "peace" in Latin. I was inspired to make that domino as my mind was drifting to a time when I was in Assisi, Italy visiting the basilicia of St. Francis.......when you came out of the lower grotto to the outside there was a huge garden and "pax" was spelled out in green plants. That got tucked away in my mind to resurface 7 years later on a dominio. It's funny what sticks in the old noggin! I loved Assisi, it was so beautiful nestled in Umbria (means "green heart") countryside at the base of the Appennines and surrounded by fields of wheat and sunflowers. The sky was so blue and the air so warm with the windy scent of the fields. Sometimes I can close my eyes and I'm back there standing on the upper wall overlooking the countryside.

This is a necklace I made for a dear friend with one of the dominos. I like the green beads! This is a long necklace, about 20-22 inches.

Altered Altoid tin started......

A wish for a trip to the beach......................

Hmmmmmmm, I started on an altered Altoid tin last night and here's what I have so far.

Can you guess the theme? Yes, that's right it's a beach theme. I went to one of my favorite color combos, aqua and red. My dear friend Jacque sent me the "Wish" ticket and I knew I wanted to use it in this project somewhere. Seashells are a must in any beach themed creation. I like to call these little girls "the Seashell Sisters"!

The sand and sandcastle are actually textured. I got textured paint chip samples at Lowe's and stamped a castle on them. It's hard to see it in the photo but really looks like a real sandcastle up close and personal!

I'll post pictures later today of the finished project.........

Altoid Tin Swap.........

Altoid Tin Swap!

I'm hosting a decorated Altoid Tin Swap. So far I have 6 very crafty people signed up to participate. If you would like to join in please leave a comment so I can reach you and give you your partner information. You can use any medium to decorate your tins.....decorative papers, stamps, vintage bit of this and that.....whatever you want! The theme is up to you also! Get a jumpstart on a fall/Halloween creation or maybe a nice summer theme would be nice? Cut off to sign up is June 6th and finished tins should be sent out the first week in July.

Here are just a few tins I've done to jump start some ideas.....

Just a few tips from my trials and errors.....
Base your tin with Gesso, let dry then base with any color of acrylic paint (sometimes you need 2-3 coats). Gel medium works the best to adhere decorative papers to the painted tin. E-600 glue works very well when glueing on heavier items to the tin.
Hope to have you join in on the fun!

Flowers and Garlic and Being

A few flowers from one of my flower gardens......

Ah, funny story on this picture, I was sitting on the back porch snapping pics of my flowers b/c I can't move very gracefully with these darn crutches when I dropped the camera a "ta-da" the camera clicked and the photo below was created! I couldn't have snapped a better picture if I tried!

Large German Bearded Iris

Columbine

Oriental Poppy

Just look at all of these buds on this poppy......

So a few things I've discovered about crutches while regrouping from the hip surgery.....
1. You can carry a lot of different things in your teeth, however a coffee cup is not one of them!
2. It is possible to fold your pajamas and balance them on your head like the African Tribes women in order to get them from the bathroom to the bedroom or bedroom to the bathroom.
3. A crutches can be used like giant chopsticks to pick up things.
4. A crutch layed across the arms of a chair makes a great little table to balance your laptop on.
5. You can really stick a lot of stuff in the top of your elastic windpants to carry from point A to point B.....at one point I had a book, a magazine, a bottle of water, a cell phone, a regular phone and 2 pens.

These last 2 pictures show how quickly time passes. Gary and I prepared the garlic bed and planted them in on a beautiful sunny day in late October......

And here are the "garlics" of our labors a mere 7 months later. They will be ready to harvest the around the 4th of July! This was the first time I grew garlic and I must tell you it was so rewarding to look out the window in February and see something growing in the garden!

I'm leaving this post with this saying that I came across a few weeks ago....
"Be with those who help your being". No words could be truer.

House ATCs.....

I would like to thank all the friends in blogland who have emailed well wishes about my hip surgery and recovery! I've become quite the master with the crutches but can't put any weight on the left leg, it will be awhile before I can do that which means I can't do steps therefore I can't make it to my studio! It's driving me crazy. I get tired out pretty easy though! Luckly I created ATCs ahead of time. I've started a mini series of "houses" in my ATC a day for a year project.

Cat House - I bet this little girl got this kitten for her birthday!

Dog House - How about this little beagle puppy? Isn't she cute?

Green House - These two boy grew the most amazing flowers and herbs, although the one on the left always had the "deer in the headlight look"! The one on the right grew up to own a flourist shop called "Mr. P's Posey Shop".

How to remain calm.........feel the need to bead....

I had hip surgery this morning and all went well, in a meer 6 to 8 weeks I'll be cruising the neighborhood on my mountian bike hybrid like a flash but right now it hurts (pain pill time)! Anywho........Sunday night I was on the internet reading about the surgery I was having (busaectomy and tendon lengthening) and was starting to get a little weirded-out (I would not recommend doing this) so I went to my studio and did a little beading which had a calming effect. Art has a way of doing that, doesn't it?

My stash of goodies....... Blue Moon beads has a great new line of beads, findings and metal accents called "Lost and Found". I got them at Michaels.

The finished product..........
Bracelet made with beads from my stash and memory wire and black tubing. I just discovered this black tubing and love it!

Necklace with black tubing, glass and ceramic beads.......

The House of ?????

I'm starting a series of "house" artist trading cards (they measure 2.5 by 3.5). I'll be posting them in a few days but I just finished them and I really liked how this one turned out. It's the House of Blues! I love all kinds of music, jazz is my favorite but I also enjoy good old rock and roll. I was listening to The Ramones while I was making this card, specifically the song "I Wanna Be Sedated" hence the reference in the card to 24 hours to go, it's in the lyrics of the song. I liked the vintage picture of this little guy but he needed something........hmmmmmmmmmm...yes! A flaming pink guitar!!! So I drew one and it fit perfectly under his arm.

So in my "house" series of cards, so far I have a: dog house, cat house (no it's not what you think!), green house, House of Blues, beach house, bird house, the big house, boat house, haunted house. Can anybody give me any other "house" ideas? Hey, thanks in advance for you comments!

Highwire Act..........

Mildred's uncanny ability to balance on a hair thin wire was partially overshadowed by her bright yellow bloomer in her circus act. She loved to teeter high above the crowd where the butterflies would flutter around her, their wings clapping in a silent applause. She never felt more in control!

Sometimes life is like a highwire act, trying to balance home, work, hobbies, have to dos and need to dos with obligated to dos, don't you agree?

When I saw the vintage photo of the highwire woman I just knew I had to use it in an ATC. If you would like to win her, make a comment. I'll draw the winner tomorrow night!

Sunflowers.....

I've always loved sunflowers and I planted a few in one of my flower gardens. Sunflowers were my inspiration of this ATC. I got the wing stamp at Pat Cantans. It's one of those little dollar stamps but I just love it. How about the mullet on this little guy? It's a copy of a vintage photo, circa 1909.

Poppies and Beagles.....

I was inspired to do this card from the orange and red poppies in my back yard which are just about ready to bloom! I once had a beagle named Scout who loved to steal cucumbers out of the garden to eat and fetch tennis balls. He was a trip! The most good natured dog I ever had. This card is a tribute to all of the beagles and beagle lovers out there! My friend Sue has an adorable beagled named Elvis that I could very easily tuck under my arm and walk out of her house with it! I'm sending her this card so that she can use it as a book mark for summer reading.

The Cat is Out of the Bag!

Sometimes I like to get silly with the ATCs!

meow!

Bonsoir!

Good evening! or Bonsoir! I took 3 years of French in high school and can only count from one to ten and tell you that the train for Paris arrives at a quarter past 12! Ah, nothing like a girl and her doggie! Old yeller doesn't look too happy being mauled over by the baby! When I was little we had a collie that I'd torment with ear pulling, ear chewing (it's a wonder I didn't get a hair ball!), hair pulling and he would just sit there and let me maul all over him. Dogs are truely man's best friend.
Ever have days when you feel like this?..............

Hosta Inspiration.....

Inspiration to create art is all around us. I find a lot of inspiration in nature and especially in my flower gardens. I have a shade garden with all kinds of hostas. Below is a picture of one beginning to poke throught the ground and its leaves unrolling. I think they look pretty cool at this stage, like green fruit roll ups!

This is a close up of an Elephant Ear Hosta leaf. I love the color! It was the inspiration for the "Pear Bros." card below.
The vintage pear label in front of the boys is from Dover Publications of a book of vintage produce labels.

The first flower of the summer.....a Bachelor Button. This flower is super sturdy. When the flower dies I just cut back the whole plant, it grows again and blooms in about 3 weeks! The purple color inspired me to do a trading card with purples. I love Allium, I don't have any in my garden because they are expensive (about $15 a bulb for the giant ones) and I just can't see spending $15 on one bulb!

"Allium"

Experimenting........

I was experimenting with alcohol inks for the background on this one. I was done on glossy white photo paper. I got it to crackle here and there but not all over. Kind of like the effect.Experimenting with Lumiere paints on this card. This is the pearl white paint. It has slight shimmer to it. The moon face stamp is from Artful Illusions.

The figure in the middle is on of the Lost Coast Designs stamps I got at the stamping convention.