Saturday, January 5, 2013

Bring On The New Year!

  Happy 2013! I hope you've had the time to catch your breath after all the festivities and are ready for a new and exciting year. Anyone make resolutions? I don't really, although I may set a few new goals for myself. I've already found very quickly that my main words for this year are "action" and "empowerment". The words have appeared to me and came into my thoughts enough that I needed to listen. Have you chosen a word for yourself for this year?

  My new year has begun on a very exciting note and I sure hope that's a good omen. First I received a complimentary issue of Just Cards! Winter 2013 in which one of my cards was published. The next mail day I received a complimentary issue of Somerset Studio Jan./Feb. 2013. They not only published the envie I sent but gave me a whole page showing the cards I submitted for the aqua theme!!! And it's Somerset Studio- a magazine I discovered in about 1989 and have  admired it
ever since, never with the thought that one day I'd be submitting and that something of mine would be in it. This was the first time in many years I actually sent something in for a theme, and there's definitely something to be said for a "feeling" you get when  you're really in the zone of creating  and just knowing it's "right".  I have the recent magazine covers on the sidebar and under the publications title at the top is a list of everything I've been published in. I may not submit often but it still brings me that same joy as the first time I saw something of mine in print. And after all these years I get the same kick out of seeing the names of the many talents I have come to know thru art too-way too many to mention individually!!
Here are the cards that were published:




  On to some gelli plate fun! It's been awhile since I took time to play with my plate and what a better time than now with Carolyn Dube and her wonderful series "A Colorful Gelli Print Party"! Carolyn shares videos and techniques and then allows anyone to link up their gelli print art. It's only a week long celebration but it is loaded with color and fun! Click on the badge on the lower end of the sidebar and check it out!

  You can find my first gelli prints on this post along with some very inspiring links. I chose to combine my gelli print play with the Fall Fearless and Fly Challenge #7. Here are this week's challenge prompts:

Headline Prompt: Future Imperfect: What is different about your life now than what you once expected it to be? How is the way it turned out perfect or imperfect. If your future turns out differently than you imagined in the first prompt, could it still be perfect?
Color Prompt: Yellow
Quote Prompt: "Existence really is an imperfect tense that never becomes a present." Friedrich Nietsche

  I went with the color prompt and decided to create some cards similar to those above. I started with a gelli print I made awhile back and added to it to make this background page:

   I stamped my hand carved stripes stamp and Dylusions Basic Backgrounds alphabet stamp  in black. A scrap of corrugated cardboard and red acrylic paint was then added. I used another Dylusions stamp form the Bordering on the Edge set with white acrylic paint. I then took another print and added to it:


  I used Balzer Designs Pomegranate stencil with Golden's Fluid Acrylic in Diarylide Yellow.
I then photographed both papers then printed them in various sizes. Here are two cards I made with these papers:


 I used one of the prints for the background, stitching around the border with black thread. I drew and cut out some hearts from the other paper, stitched around them and glued them down. Lastly I stamped, cut apart and added the quotes (also from a Dylusions stamp set). I love how these turned out! I definitely want to play with my gelli plate and fabric next!

 Hopefully I'm not late in linking up to these wonderful challenges: Fall Fearless and Fly Challenge #7, Art Journal Everyday, Paint Party Friday, and A Colorful Gelli Print Party. Blogger wouldn't let me upload pics for the last several days thru IE.It wouldn't work thru Firefox either-until today :) If any of these links don't work you can find links via badges on the sidebar.

 I'm happily off to link up and visit some other artists. I hope you'll join  me.

 On a final note I'd like to mention that if you love hearts and Valentine's Day as much as I do, please consider joining Nancy M. James at Sugarlump Studios who will be hosting and sharing a sweet project each day from Feb. 1st thru Feb. 14, 2013. If you have not seen Nancy's art, please check out her beautiful blog. These projects are free and you can be sure you will be completely inspired! See you there :)

"Those who say a thing cannot be done should not stand in the way of those who are doing it". Anonymous

29 comments:

  1. beautiful, so delicate, creative and precise cards.

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  2. Congratulations- 2 magazines at the same time! What a high! I love how you used the patterns and colors in your prints- then cut one into the heart! So glad the internet began to behave some and let you join the party!

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  3. Hi Linda Congratulations and well done on being published not once but twice! What lovely work you have shared this week. I clicked on the photographs to see everything enlarged ...and I am so glad I did! Love your hand carved stamp too!

    Karenx

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  4. Happy New Year Dear One
    AND
    BIG Congratulations to you on being published again and again...
    certainly a wonderful well deserved honor and thrill...

    Nancy is such a generous and talented artist...thank you for sharing her link

    here's to another wonderful year of heART, friendship, connection and more
    oxo

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  5. congratulations on your great news Linda. Loving the backgrounds of your cards. Happy PPF, Annette x

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  6. Congratulations on having your gorgeous work recognized! I love your style and wish with all my heart I could paint such free and happy paintings. The colors are gorgeous. Happy New Year! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  7. Congratulations on being published! Your work is gorgeous. I love the colors you've used, and your words are very inspiring.

    (p.s. thanks also for visiting my blog. I accidentally deleted your comment, and I apologize for that! I hit the wrong button and by the time I realized it, it was too late.)

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  8. Hi Linda, Happy New Year and congrats on being published!! I was so excited to see your art in the Somerset Studio again...LOVE it! Happy PPF and hope you are having a great weekend. xo

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  9. Congratulations and I LOVE your cards. I really like how you let a little of the black string trail along with those hearts. Happy New Year -- may 2013 be filled with lots of blessings!

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  10. Huge congratulations to you! After seeing your cards, it's no wonder why they published them. WAY cool! Good words for the year! Have a great one!

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  11. Such fun and colorful creations ~ very well done ~ Happy New Year and congrats on being published ! Wow!

    A Creative Harbor aka ArtMuseDog and Carol)

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  12. Your cards are colorful, bright and cheery. Congrats on the publication. I absolutely love the quote too-met a lot of people who should move out of the way in my life. Happy New Year.

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  13. Congratulations! What a great start to the year. Hope it just gets better and better :)
    Fabulous cards. Love the rich colours and clean designs.

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  14. Wow, your words for 2013 have energy! (I'm tired from a busy day with my little ones and right now a good word of the year for me sounds like "sleep." Lol, but my actual word for 2013 is "progression".)

    Congrats on the publications! Your cards are so beautiful and I love the creations for the FFF challenge as well. It's fun to see how people are using the yellow prompt-- seems like it's an often underutilized color.

    Happy PPF! :)

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  15. Congratulations on having your work published, Just love your colours and word.

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  16. Wow! Congrats on all the publishings. :) It's an awesome start to a new year. :)

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  17. wonderful, colourful art work and quotes, Linda and huge congrats on being published multiple times!!!!! Sorry for my absence here for so long . . . here's a hug!

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  18. Many congratulations on being published x2! I LOVE those cards, I like and agree with the quote on the first one, in particular.

    x

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  19. Congratulations on publication! Love your work! Happy PPF!

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  20. How exciting that you are published in 2 magazine for the new year.....your cards are just wonderful. No wonder they choose you! I hope you'll photograph the layouts for us to see!
    You've sure been artful this year already! And those GeliPrints seem to have found a way into your heart!
    Happy New Year, friend. May your creative muses take you far and wide!
    Love
    Jan

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  21. Hi, Linda! I just got my new laptop up and running now that I'm back home and I want you to know that I was just thrilled to see your "page" in the new Somerset!!! And, I also saw that you were published in Just Cards. . . way to go, my friend!

    Love your sweet projects in this post - Happy New Year, Linda!

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  22. love these..i borrowed a gelli plate to see if i wanted one :) Oh yeah...btw..love N. Max James..thanks for the hearts tip!

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  23. Congrats on the two magazines publishing something of yours. Thats Great. Always fun to see ones work acknowledged. What a way to start off the year.

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  24. Lots of congratulations, Linda. Wonderful to hear all your good news and even more enjoyable to see the gorgeous art.

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  25. Hi Linda,
    Congrats on all your publications. I really like this new card. The stitching intrigues me. I am unclear as to how you made the lettering with stamps. I find lettering for my journal pages to be the biggest problem I have. Getting the letters/words I want in the right size and color.

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  26. I needed the reminder of taking risk! Thank you!

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  27. Congratulations on being published! I love your cards!

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  28. such vibrant colours on your gelli prints and fab finished projects too.

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  29. Great composition using gel prints. Makes me smile!


    ;-> Felicia
    The Journal Junkie
    Blog: http://feliciathejournaljunkie.blogspot.com/

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Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!