A Mélange of Arty Inspiration

  First I want to thank Carolyn Dube and Jessica Sporn, along with Artists in Blogland and the fabulous guest artists for hosting the Fall Fearless and Fly Challenge. It was such an inspiring experience. There were also prizes given out at the end of each challenge and I am thrilled to have won challenge # 7's prize which is a $35 gift certificate to LuminArte ! Their products are new to me so it will be great fun to get some new goodies to play with. Anyone have any of their products? What are the "must haves"?

  Here are the final challenge prompts:

Headline prompt:  Radical to Mundane and to Radical Again:  What once seemed new that now feels old and boring?  How can you see it as new again?  How do you "jump charge" creativity when you're feeling stuck?
Color:  black & neons - bold contrasts
Quote:  Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.  Bill Moyers

  I went with all three prompts. When I'm feeling stuck I jump charge my creativity by just playing, taking a blank page or tag and painting and/or spraying backgrounds. Eventually they become a finished product another time. Sometimes it's nice to have a somewhat prepared piece to add to.

Here's my journal page:

  A thin coat of gesso was applied to the page. The center area was sprayed with some Dylusions spray inks, then I did some mark making with bright green and yellow acrylic paints. I sponged Jet Black Staz-On ink around the edges and then overstamped with the same ink and a crackle pattern stamp. The quote was stamped on tissue paper and glued to the page after arranging the words where I wanted them. Lastly I adhered two feathers and a glittery chipboard bird on the side. Generally I don't like working with so much black, but with the added bright colors and that neon pink feather I was pleased with the result.


This week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue is all about valentines and love. Ok, they got me again. Valentine's Day has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember and it will always be since my son coincidentally was born on that holiday. (NO, I did not expedite or hold back the giving birth just for this day - Todd was already two weeks late and a BIG baby so I was more than ready anytime from the beg. of the month!) But how apropos, huh?


  Here's something I did last year (before blog) but I thought I'd share because it's a fun way to repurpose old calendar pages.

  For the hearts I cut heart shapes from cardstock, glued calendar pages to the fronts and trimmed them. I then sewed around them with either red or silver thread. Heart shaped Victorian scraps from ARTchix Studio were glued to the centers and fine silver tinsel hangers were glued in place. The little paper flowers were made from calendar pages also. I used two different sized punches, sponged on some Vintage Photo Distress ink, glued them together and added a chocolate metallic rose to the centers (also ARTchix Studio).
I've also glued torn pieces of calendar pages onto a journal page before painting over it as  in the background of this spread: (sorry you can't really tell in this shot):

  And for one more piece of Valentine inspiration I made a banner.

  I cut 5 flags from white cardstock. Glued French dictionary pages to the fronts and trimmed excess. Gesso was dry brushed on top. I printed out digi sheets DP49 and DP275 which you can find at  Retro Cafe Art .
Once I chose my images I cut them out and sponged Distress Vintage Photo ink along the edges. I also inked the edges of the flags. Images were glued on, bottom corners trimmed away. Stitched around the flags with red thread. Crocheted lace was glued along the tops and Stickles Icicle glitter glue was applied. I stamped and outlined the letters A M O U R (from Hampton Art alpha. set. The flags were embellished with a few flowers and vintage buttons. They were then glued to a length of cream rayon ribbon and to finish it off I tied little red and pink ribbons in between them.

  Here's a close up of one of the flags:

  Are you inspired to make something  for Valentine's Day? Please share if you do-I'd love to see.

  I'm linking up to Art Journal Everyday, Fall Fearless and Fly, Inspiration Avenue and Paint Party Friday.
See you soon :)

  " Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is."
                                                                                             Mary Anne Hershey