Whimsical Mixed Media Collage

I havn't done much artwork this week but I did manage to get this pretty little piece finished for my Etsy shop. It's a gorgeous blue, almost wedgewood, and I used the blue to bring out the Paper Whimsy girl's eyes and bow, isn't she beautiful?
Take a look at the close up if you like by clicking on the photo, there is so much texture on this piece which I am experimenting with more and more lately. I used a 5x7" flat canvas for this, adding a lot of texture, there is also some textured paper on there and lace under the image, then I made a frame around the girl from tissue papers and gel medium, gesso over it and then paint. I have it hanging on white vintage seam binding..... so shabby cottage style!

Don't think I am doing any challenges this week, I have had a lot going on and am dealing with a head cold now. When my head is like this I just can't focus, but I have been overdosing on the vitamin C (more or less), so hopefully it will be gone soon.

Thanks for visiting, and I love comments, so please leave one :)

Altered Canvas Block

This is a canvas block I just finished, and I am happy to say nothing went wrong this time and I just love it :) Of course there is something about little girls with dolls that just melts my heart, and this Paper Whimsy girl does just that, she is beautiful.
The background is really textured and I just love it, I used old dictionary paper ripped in pieces and bits of paper doily all stuck on with gel medium, then a nice layer of gesso and then I think I used 3 different acrylic paints. I even finished off the back on this one.

Of course I love vintage doilies and pearls, and the button on the bottom was just the right shade. The frame is a Making Memories paper mache frame and it was already that color too I just rubbed it with distress ink.

I hope you all have a great weekend, I went outside with Cooper this morning and was hit by warmth, that was a shock since last night while he was outside playing with his new puppy friend we had coats on with our hoods up, it was so cold.

Paper Whimsy Challenge

Paper Whimsy Quote Challenge 2009 #2 Moss
Green velvet to look upon
Shaped and woven of tiny trees
Soft velvet to make a pillow for the birds
Or flowers when you go to sleep
Velvet rugs for the footsteps of the wind
(though he leaves no footprints behind him)
I too have felt that softness:
I have heard the wind pass and return
And stoop down to whisper
Among the trees of the moss forest.

~Author Hilda Conkling

How is that for a 6 year old? Isn't she amazing?
This is the second of 23 of the quote challenges at Paper Whimsy, and I have to tell you, that everything went wrong with this piece, oh I had a day with a few choice words, then to top it all off I dropped a black ink marker and it landed right on the girls face :( I tried to rub it off, what a mess, then I tried using chalk over the mark. Well not much better. I am going to see if I can get another girl just like her and redo it. It will be months before I can put the book together anyway :)

I decided to make a tag/bookmark with my ATC from the Melange challenge yesterday, thought I would show it to ya :)

Mix it up with Melange Challenge

There is a new weekly challenge which started today at Melange on Etsy
This week's word prompt is "Ticket" and so I came up with this ATC for this weeks challenge.

If you would like to join in, just give it a go, you do not have to make an ATC as I did, it can be anything to do with mixed media art. Come on, you know you want to :)

ATC background and two tickets are from Digital Collage Sheets
The Circus ticket was free online but I am sorry I don't know now where I found it, I have had it for ages and ages and was just waiting for the right time to use it. I also love this vintage clipart of the Circus couple which is from a CD I purchased.

Altered Wooden Heart

This very soft and romantic heart is made from very thin wood. The cherub is a Victorian scrap reproduction. If you click and look at the close up you will see the texture from the natural papers and the mica flakes I added.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my puppy, he is really happy to hear them :)

Puppy Love

Here is my baby last week playing outside with his quite large soccer ball :) He would not keep still for me or look at me while I was trying to take his picture, little monkey. I wanted to see his face but he wouldn't, just wouldn't!

He is sooooooo hard to take pictures of because he is so black so I took the opportunity to at least try on a sunny day last week. As you can see, the grass is still not green here yet, but probably soon :) Spring comes late here in my part of Ontario.

for those who have never met him, this is Cooper, he is part Maltese and part Yorkie, and he is now 7 months old. I just love him to death :)

Award

I just recieved the Breeze award from Gaby at Gaby Cajubrasil, and I want to thank you very much :)
This award was created by Peter Breeze and these are his words to describe it:

The coveted Breese Award is given to six inspirational individuals; since most blog awards cater to odd numbers, this particular award was designed for the more even keeled folk. These six should be a collection of bloggers that have helped you, either directly or indirectly, to stay creative.

Ok, well a lot of bloggers I have met since I started my blog not long ago have been very helpful and inspiring, and so I have chosen the six of you below because you all have gone out of your way to be caring, helpful when I ask questions, and also have really inspired me in my journey with mixed media which is now a passion of mine , thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

Rachel at Creative Flight

Patty at Magpies Nest

Rosie at Rosie's Atc Exchange

Linda at Blue Eyed Girl

Jan at Jan's Journal

Lisa at Lisa Lectura Creations

Have an art filled day,

Lynn

There's A Blue Blog Party Going On

Before the night is over I just have to get to the parteee at Etsy Cottage Style :)
It is a Blue Blog Party Event and I wouldn't miss it for the world, because Etsy Cottage Style is so near and dear to my heart and always will be. Thank you to Marcela who runs the blog and has set up this party. Please put on your party shoes and get over to the ECS blog to see who else is participating, and maybe join in yourself because it will last for a few days. Hey.... we do know how to party you know?

So the thing is we are to post pictures of Blue things on our blog from around our home, our garden, or blue creations we have made recently. Anything blue basically, it's all for a bit of fun :)

About 6 years ago, before I moved to our present home I had "everything" blue and white, and my entire house almost, had blue walls, but now, it's all gone. Hubby asked when we moved if we could get rid of all the blue LOL, so I agreed to try new things in our new home. SOoooooooo, I went around the house today to find what I had in blue, and I did find a few pretty treasures to share with you. I also made these beautiful tags a few days ago in blues and golds from a digi sheet I purchased at Paper Whimsy.


Then I have a new creation to share that I just finished today, which is in beautiful blue shades. This is a wooden house shape I altered, also using images from Paper Whimsy.
While I am here I will also let you know that both these items are listed in my "new" Etsy shop which is named "Koupie" (don't ask LOL). I already have an Etsy shop to sell vintage things, so now I have two. Am I crazy or what?



I am also a collector of tea cups, although I have stopped being so obsessed with it now, I have had this beautiful tea cup and saucer for many years which was gifted to me by a family member. Don't tell, but I forgot which one... It has dainty blue Forget-me-nots , which I just love, and that grow all over my garden, BUT, nothing is blooming yet, or I would have taken a photo of them for the party.

I also love vintage hankies, but they have to be really special ones now, the type I really want to display.

This beautiful hankie and gloves are displayed in my guest room which I call The Rose Cottage because it is decorated in Cottage Style and I have a beautiful sign purchased on Etsy which says "The Rose Cottage" hanging on the wall over the bed.

The hankie and gloves were also purchased on Etsy from my friend Karen at Cider Antiques. I have to keep away from her shop, it can be dangerous :)

Also on the wall in the guest room is one of my very favorite artist plates. You remember these plates and frames right? I used to have so many of them. This plate I cannot part with, and the frame is beautiful, so I painted it white. You just have to view the close up to see this little girls face, she is soooooooo beautiful.

The only other item I have with blue is this pretty vintage bowl. I have a set of 3 and keep things in them througout the house.



So there are my Blue's, I hope you enjoyed your viewing and will leave a comment, then go visit the other bloggers at the party, maybe have some punch and a nice chat, it's a fun girl's night out :)

Lynn

Theme Thursday Glamour Girl

This week Theme Thursday's Challenge is Glamour Girls.

I made an ATC with this beauty. Her hair is done in finger waves, which is something I had to master to pass my hairstylist exam, many moons ago. That certainly brings back memories, I have not worked in the field for about 24 years now.

Head on over to the Theme Thursday blog to see what everyone else is doing, it should be a fun challenge, there are so many beautiful images of these gorgeous women to play with. This lady, stamp and pen on paper is from a collage sheet at Digital Collage Sheets, the background paper is designed by Gail at Shabby Cottage Studio.

I thought I would try to change colors of fonts etc when blogging, but for some reason they will change color and sometimes they don't..so I give up this time. I think it's about time I had a new blog look too. I took the black background off at least but no idea what I want for a header yet, so the old one with have to do for a while. Sometimes you just need to have a change, I know I do :)

Hope you are having a fun art filled day, or out gardening or something you enjoy :)

The Key To My Mind

2009 Paper Whimsy Quotes Challenge #1 Click on photo for close up.

I recently joined the girls on the Paper Whimsy Forum, and have finished the first piece in the Paper Whimsy 2009 Quote Challenge.
In Gale's words " A Magical Journey with child poet Hilda Conkling in words and pictures".
I think this is such a beautiful challenge to be a part of and hope to do all 23 challenges, which include a poem by Hilda (age 6), and a limited edition collage sheet by Paper Whimsy.

For this piece we were to use a blue background, a door, a key, a flower, a fish, words from the poem and another Paper Whimsy image, and the poem should either be attached to the art work either on the back or as a spread like mine, so I can make a beautiful little book with them all :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter weekend, and what a beautiful sunny morning it is :)
I altered this postcard for a one on one swap. The background is water color paper, painted and randomly stamped.
The sheet music is from Robin's Nest
Bird and nest from Retro Cafe Art

Theme Thursday ~ Sewing ~ Fabric ATC

A Stich In Time fabric ATC for Theme Thursday challenge.



This weeks challenge at Theme Thursday is "Sewing".
I never know when I go to my room to work on a challenge what will happen. Last time I did a sewing theme for a challenge I had a hard time, so I thought oh no, here I go again, and yes, I fiddled with bits of paper and stamps and nothing was coming to me, so as I started looking for some lace I picked up this vintage table cloth in my stash that is for cutting and off I went, ending up with my first fabric ATC.
The embroidery was probably done by someones grandmother, but her table cloth was stained and ripped so I have been recycling it. All I did was back stitch the words, sew some buttons on and added the little charm. A little different for me but this is where my muse took me today.

I thought I would share with those of you who like vintage linens two other items I made from this table cloth which I picked up on a shopping binge at the local charity thrift shop. A year ago I was selling items on Etsy, both handmade and vintage linens, but recently closed my shop to focus more on mixed media and learn all I could about it.

This cottagey style pillow cover was fun to make with this vintage table cloth....

and so was this tussie mussie. That's a vintage earring you can see on the front too.

Doilies are great to pick up at the thrift shops, I get mine for 25c each, and if they are stained or torn that's fine , I just cut them up anyway. You can stick them in some tea and dye them too if they are not the right color, or paint over them. If you use them in mixed media work, on a canvas for example, the gel medium we use for our collages sticks them soooooo well.

Before I go, I would just like to thank all my blog visitors so much for your encouragement through lovely comments, I appreciate each and every comment :) Just incase I am not back I would also like to wish a Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate.

Mind Wide Open April Challenge

Altered 6x6 journal for this months challenge at Mind Wide Open

Another beautiful image created by Gail this month, which is actually mirrored on my journal because I used the gel skin method again. These little paper mache books are so cute and very easy to take apart to alter them. I found it at Michael's last week but in the Decoupage section.
I altered it with old dictionary papers, gessoed, painted, stamped a bit and scruffed up.

I am so glad I took pictures yesterday, WOW, we are having a very windy and wet storm which started last night, we had freezing rain through the night and now it has turned to rain. YUK!!! Some people are having snow too. Welcome to Spring in Canada... a great day to stay home and play in my art room :)

Awfully Big Art Adventure ~ Felt

Wall hanging collage from wool felt ... for the weekly ABAA Challenge.

Linda and Rosie always have fun challenges, and this week was no exception. We are to make something using felt.

I was on a felt kick a couple of years ago, so yet again, I got to use up some supplies that have been sitting in a box for ages :)

I started with 100% wool felt, which I love, then I needle felted a panel for the collage. I also had a go at needle felting a rose, and I am quite pleased with it. You can see a close up of the rose below, you might want to click on the images for larger pictures. The leaves on the rose are cut from a machine felted piece I knit. That was back when I was knitting a lot.

The beautiful image I printed on fabric is from a collage sheet at
Shabby Cottage Studio, and I printed a piece of music sheet on fabric too then tea dyed it. This was fun, thanks for the challenge girls :)

Theme Thursday Paris ATC

ATC for this week's challenge at Theme Thursday

It all started with the lady in pink, she just looks so French to me, well , from years gone by of course, but I went with pink and black papers, then gesso over that and scratched it up a bit. Then I used half a stamp and cut some black paper on a punch to trim it.

All images and papers are from Shabby Cottage Studio.