Print Play

  Last Tuesday I mentioned the possibility of being away all day and promised to share what I was up to. So here we go...

 I went to my friend LuAnn's house for a day of gelli plate printing-and for the first time on deli papers too!!!

 

  We had a BLAST printing on paper, deli paper, tags, and envelopes. We had so many prints lying all over the place to dry that poor LuAnn even stepped on one :) Luckily her sweet cocker Ginger didn't though.

  Even my hands were printed:

  We did move things aside to have a quick lunch break since my stomach was crying for me to eat:

Simple turkey and cheese sandwiches and bottled water to drink. Then back to more print play!

 Those are some of my prints drying on the stove. This is why we had water instead of tea to drink :)

   Now to come up with some projects to use these prints:) Thanks LuAnn for an awesome day!! Linking to T Stands for Tuesday with Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

  The challenge for this week at Inspiration Avenue is "water". I think everyone knows of my love for the beach and ocean. Here are two cards:

 The base is a collaged, painted paper I printed. I stamped the image, colored it in  then cut and glued it to the paper. The pen and words were then stamped on it.

  For this card I glued a napkin onto watercolor paper, collaged and colored it a bit before making prints of it, then stamping the words on.

 The theme for the Simon Monday Challenge blog this week is "Five".  They listed several ways to incorporate the theme. I chose to stamp the same flower 5 times for this card:

                                  this Hero Arts poppy stamp is one of my very favorites!

 Products: large white note card (Canvas Corp); white, red card stock and patterned paper (the Paper Studio); flower rubber stamp (Hero Arts); sentiment clear stamp ( Stampabilities); Colorbox Fluid Chalk inks in Warm red, Rouge, Lime Pastel and Olive Green (Clearsnap); Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko).

 And I just realized I used  FIVE ink pads too:).

 With the weather improving and Mother's Day approaching I'm hoping to finally get out this week to buy my annuals for all my planters and flower boxes. I was always told that by Mother's Day it would be safe to plant everything. Off for a walk on this gorgeous sunny day in between visiting blogs :)

 Edited in: I am also linking this to Paint Party Friday since I didn't get any other painting time in. Busy week and weekend with Mother's Day :) Wishing all of you who will be celebrating this holiday in the US on Sunday a blessed day!

                      " Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature."  Gerard De Nerval

Friday's Mix of Art Projects

  Thanks to all who shared your favorite challenges to create for last week! There are so may wonderful ones out there I agree with Giggles who said "wouldn't it be great to have them all listed in one place?"

 Lots to share today so let's get to it. My completed calendar spread for April:

  I've just begun planning out May's and will post it another time. Linking to Kate Crane's 2014 Calendar Project.

 Continuing the Art of Whimsical Lettering practices:

And of course I'm also continuing the abstract art practices/variations exercise #30. You can get details, links and see the first practice here.

                                                 This time I began with a light oil pastel.

                                                                  Scribbled in color

                                           More mark making after smearing previous scribbles.

                                                                Completed practice.

   For this variation I used acrylic paints on a wet watercolor paper. You can see how buckled the paper became. I don't like this so much. These are meant to be exercises not completed art but I couldn't help giving this series a title anyways- Blurred Lines-:) They'll probably end up being cut or torn and used as background bits.

  My last bit is a card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge using the above sketch. I'm also linking this to the Simon Wednesday challenge blog (anything goes theme).

  With Mother's Day quickly approaching I thought it a good way to get my card done and apply  the challenge themes at the same time. Mom doesn't have a computer so I know she won't see this.

  Products: lg. white note card (canvas Corp.); soft pink patterned paper and card stock (the Paper Studio); Mother's words and dotted papers (DCWV); clear stamp (Stampabilities); Versafine Onyx black ink (Tsukineko); Grand Calibur die cut machine and Big Scalloped Circles Lg. (Spellbinders); crochet trim (JoAnne's); Diamond Stickles glitter glue (Ranger); paper flowers (the Paper Studio); pearl stickers (Queen &Co.)

 On a last note, I recently discovered (thru Missy K's blog) a free online class being offered  by Mindy Lacefield. I've always admired her art but have never taken a class with her. This is a special and beautiful offering. Just click on this underlined link for the details. Thanks for posting about this Karen!

  Would love to have you join in on all the fun (and amazing art) at Paint Party Friday too, a great place to be!

                               " Learning never exhausts the mind."     Leonardo da Vinci

Happy Colors of Spring

  With Spring and its glorious greens and flowers finally blooming I can't help but create art using cheerful colors. For this first project I created a small canvas for the Simon Monday Challenge Blog theme "not so mellow yellow".

                                                      Love Be Flowing  (3" x 3" canvas)

    Products: 3 x 3 canvas; yellow tissue paper; Mustard Staz-On ink (Tsukineko); music rubber stamp (All Night Media); red mulberry paper; image, sentiment collage sheets (ARTchix Studio); metallic thread; vintage buttons. I'm also linking this to Creative Every Day.

  Next up are two cards I'm linking to the Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog. Theme-"keep it clean and simple"-featuring Hero Arts products.

    Products: pink card stock (the Paper Studio); rubber stamp (Hero Arts); Versafine Balck Onyx ink (Tsukineko); fabric tapes, paper flower (Recollections); rhinestone.

   Products: pink card stock (the Paper Studio); rubber stamp (Hero Arts); Versafine Vintage Sepia ink (Tsukineko); paper flowers, fabric tapes (Recollections); tiny buttons (Gary Burlin and Co.)

 As you can see I am thoroughly enjoying using the new washi tapes I talked about the last few posts:)

 Just for fun I played around with origami and made this cute little owl:

 And for T Stands For Tuesday with Bleubeard and Elizabeth and friends:

 I took my pot of Tulsi tea and cup up to my art table to enjoy while doing more drawing lessons in my journal. It was completely safe to have my cup there as I took the brush rinsing jar away and wasn't working with anything other than pencil and pen:).

 This is a journal page I had done about the tea:

 I had done this a few yrs ago (before blog). The tag in pocket explains about the tulsi (holy basil) leaves and properties.


  And I want to thank Dawn-whom I believe I first "met" through Elizabeth's blog for sending me this sweet surprise for Easter:

                      How could this adorable ATC not keep you smiling? Thank you Dawn!!

 I may be away from the computer most of the day (and if I am you'll soon know why:) but will eventually be around to visit. And thank YOU for stopping by. Have a great Tuesday!

     " Love is not something you think about, it's a state in which you dwell."      Christopher Moore

ARTful Challenges

    I love a good art challenge, don't you? There are so many challenge blogs to choose from that it's sometimes difficult to keep up so I end up checking out the week's challenges and if something immediately comes to mind I go for whatever I can complete.
                           Do you have any favorite challeges? And if so please do share :).

    I'm always looking to have a variety of cards on hand for any occasion so first up are some cards and the corresponding challenges I will be linking to.

  Sketches are such a great and quick way to put together a card. The DT at Freshly Made Sketches not only provide you with a sketch each week, but they also each make a card using it! This is the card I came up with using this week's sketch:

 Products: large white note card (Canvas Corp.); white card stock; patterned card stocks (Mediterranean Café-DCWV); rubber stamp (Hero Arts); Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko); Grand calibur die cut machine and Standard Circles Lg. dies (Spellbinders); paper flowers (Recollections); rhinestones.

 I am linking this to Freshly Made Sketches, Simon Monday Challenge blog (theme is "big stamp"), and Simon Wednesday challenge blog (theme is" keep it clean and simple", featuring Hero Arts although it's not necessary to use Hero Arts products).

 The next two cards are also for the Simon challenge blogs although I can only link the same post once.

  Products: turquoise card stock (the Paper Studio); clear stamp (Think Big Favorites #1-Papertrey Ink); Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko); paper flower and fabric and washi tapes (Recollections); tiny button (Gary Burlin and Co.).

  Products: yellow card stock (the Paper Studio); clear stamp (Think Big Favorites #3-Papertrey Ink); Staz-On Stone Gray ink (Tsukineko); fabric and washi tapes (Recollections); tiny button (Gary Burlin and Co.).

  In this post I shared my new collection and storage for the washi tapes and I've been a bit obsessed about using these pretty tapes :)

  And for Paint Party Friday I'm sharing an abstract practice project. The beautiful art of the PPFrs, along with Jane Davies and Jo Murray have gotten me really longing to go back to it! I've been putting most all my time this year into my drawing classes and lettering practices  and I am enjoying it, but I'm finding my real passion is in mixed media abstract and wabi-sabi painting.

 I went back to a book I had gotten quite awhile ago Painting Abstracts by Rolina van Vliet. Do any of you have it? It is an EXCELLENT book filled with so much content about composition, mediums, color, texture, movement, etc. etc.. There are hundreds of projects and practices to try along with some directions and many examples- I LOVE this book.

 Here's what I started with:

 This  was Exercise 30 about rhythm, design, and repetition using oil pastels only. I used a piece of  8 1/2" x 11" Strathmore  Texture paper for the effect of texture with the pastels.

 

  After adding color I used my fingers to smear/ rub the colors around. The white circles were added after I was finished smearing. Then I decided to rotate it all four ways. Do you like one way better? Do you even like it at all? Any thoughts? Advice? I have another practice I'm working on and have a few more in mind I can't wait to get to! I have discovered I NEED to do that which I TRULY love and must make time for it despite whatever else I'm working on.

 Thanks so much for your comments and input as always. Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to!

   "Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't mean it as a compliment, but it was." Jackson Pollock







 

Tapes!

   of the washi kind that is. And it's all JoAnne's fault! In one of her classes she recommends lining the journal page edges with washi tapes-for reinforcement and for added color. I have had a small bunch of washi tapes for awhile but didn't use them as much as I thought I should. Not any more! Matter of fact, I got super lucky and the day I went to Michael's they had a 60% sale off their washi tapes. Since I am now also lining my comp. book lettering journal pages with tapes I certainly felt justified in purchasing.

  The whole top row and first three in the second row are the new ones-some paper and some fabric. I bought them along with this perfect container to store them in for-get this-under $15!!! The right set in the second row are designed by Aimee of artsyville. I had won those in a giveaway. I love the designs and colors!

 Here are some of the pages I've been doing in my comp. journal book using lessons in the book The Art of  Whimsical Lettering :

                                                          inside cover and intro page

 

     I did these pages (as if you didn't guess) when I was at the beach. I never thought a plain ole composition book could be so much fun!! What I'm doing is making each lesson /prompt page on a separate comp. book page then pasting it in my comp book journal with the washi tapes. I do this because being the paper is so thin many of the markers and paints etc. bleed thru. I'll be posting a bunch more later this week if you're interested.

  Speaking of the beach I'll share the other two dinners we had during our stay. You can visit last week's pics and post about it here.

 On this eve Trina made tuna steaks, asparagus and a green salad. Drink of choice I believe was a pinot noir.

                 On the last night I made a chicken piccata. This is at the end of preparation. To see the plated dinner go here.

  And today my drink of choice is a large bottle of filtered water which I fill (or almost fill) each morning and drink throughout the day. A great way to keep track of how much water I drink :)

  Linking up to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Stands for Tuesday. I'll be around to see what everyone else is drinking...

  " We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to top ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."        Ray Bradbury