perfecto mo manning...

Story and I just returned from another muggy walk. We walk in the evenings when the sun is low and not as busy in the neighborhood. I discovered a few months ago that walking to close to cars near main roads, gets him excited and he wants to chase them! I think he thinks they are just loud toys, haha 

Daddy brought him home a pool and I can't wait to get him outside to try it out, he LOVES the hose and playing in his water bowl, walking in and out of the tub, shower.

Enough about the pooch! 

Here is my latest card...I love her, love her! She is a Mo Manning image that I downloaded a long time ago. I don't know what her name is but she was a digi. The 'perfecto' was cut out with my Vagabond and a sizzix font.

I am a little torn right now, because I have my coloring stuff out on the table, yet I want to get some more canvases going for mixed media yumminess.

My Etsy store is getting some sales and I want to keep new stuff flowing in there...and it takes me a while to get things completed. 

I think I told you that I put a new floor in Jordan's bathroom and now I am putting the same floor in my bathroom.

Hey, I think I'm gonna color for a while, so I will be back soon!

:)

maira's fairy...

Dear Summer, welcome to Michigan! Be a sweetie and keep an eye on that humidity level. I'll let today slide.  Thanks!!

Yep, I think the summer has officially been let loose around here and schools are out. It doesn't seem possible, but I keep seeing pics and posts on Facebook that say it's so. I was pretty miserable a year ago, I knew my Niki boy was not doing well and I was going to have to say goodbye, for now. We now have this huge puppy who keeps us entertained and has the most kissable face.

Right there, on top, between his nose and his eyes. 

This poor boy will be getting his walk when I finish writing this post. {remember, I said it was humid out there?}

I finished a card for a friends at word, for her adorable, dark haired granddaughter. I started coloring it a few months ago and I finally pulled it out to finish and get turned into something suitable for mailing. haha   I got my picture loaded onto my laptop, then decided to see about syncing my ipod. Major FAIL, I deleted all of my songs!  It took a while to get them all loaded back onto my ipod so I worked on another card. All was not lost, right...I got another card almost finished! 

Here is a Mo Manning image that I downloaded from her Digital Pencil Too website. It was a group of 4 fairies. 

I think for this photo,  I goofed up and 'enhanced' it, when editing, and it turned the little girls hair more reddish. But really, her hair is darker, to match Maira's hair color. 

I used some new Basic Grey paper, called Kneehigh. I bought two pads at a scrapbook show, and it's been AGES since I purchased a pad of paper. I pulled my Vagabond into the kitchen and cut the name out with a Sizzix alphabet die. 

It's nice to color a little again! I have missed my pencils and my bottle of gamsol. {and on a side note...I sold my copics off. They are still living in Michigan and making someone very happy!}

I want to get another card finished tonight, it's another Mo image that I downloaded a long time ago. She has been colored and filed away with other unfinished images...time to dust her off, because she is gorgeous, if I say so myself!   

i was in the mood to make a few cards...

The weekend is almost coming to an end and today was one of those quiet days here, doing a little this and that. Today actually had me in a mood to do a little coloring, yikes! it's been a long time. I have a birthday card that I owe someone and I colored it last year, yet to make it into a card to give her. lol. What I colored was a really cute princess digi, that I bought from Mo Manning's Digital Pencil Too. 

I am not finished with my princess project, so I will show you that next time. But, here is a birthday card, colored with a Mo Manning image from Stamping Bella.

This is the 'cupcake thief' and the sentiment that I stamped on her is from a set by The Cats Pajama's. 

If you could see the state of my stamps these days, you would understand why I'm lucky to have found a sentiment to match, at all! I am down to one drawer in my IKEA dresser, that's all the space I allowed myself when I had to downsize because of my craft room situation. {situation being, large dog crate in my living room, large roll top desk in my small craft room}

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

Here is card number 2...

This is an Uptown Girl image from Stamping Bella, colored last year and also finally made into a card. I went with this blue paper, not my usual color choice, but it's from a newer pad of basic grey, Mint Julep.

This past week has had me finish up another one of those poppy watercolors that I shared last post. This time I finished the 12" x 12" wooden canvas one. This week I need to get some more She Art girls started and I have a floor to install in my daughters bathroom. {it was supposed to be today's project, but I wasn't going to pull the toilet out, myself}

Here is another picture of Story, with my new Nikon camera. see you soon!!

poppies or lips...

maybe I shouldn't have put the thought into your head, because lips are all you'll see now! lol But when I was working on my larger wooden canvas, one looked SO much like a pair of lips, I couldn't stop looking at them. {needless to say, after a major fail on that canvas, thanks to Linda...I had to redo that first attempt.}

What we have here is a online workshop from Donna Downey, called Canvas Create, June.  Linda suggested that when we got together again, we do this...she wanted to make art for her bedroom, I think. We layered tape, used Golden's absorbent grounds, got out our watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils. We watched the video and tried to listen to our teacher, we stopped and drew poppies and then we laughed at our hot messes. Linda was the first to decide she messed her flower up and gesso'd over it all. I was right behind her when she handed me a color that was not included in our set of neocolor II crayons. I scribbled the color all around the edge and pretty much at the same time, we realized...it did NOT blend. Oh, look Linda, you purchased the right color, Payne's Grey, but it was a neocolor I. I never knew what a neocolor I was, until saturday...it's not water soluble. I wasn't keeping that, so I did a couple gesso layers and then the absorbent grounds and started over. blah, I didn't like the white layers getting rid of my background. I tore all my tape off and started over, after Linda left. It's almost done, but I thought I would share this thinner version. 

So, do you see lips, or do you see some delicate poppies?

Next up, I am working on a little project for my friends daughter. 

I came up with the idea to make a skeleton camera, and while I see a camera, I can't say anyone else does. I am beginning to think there's something wrong with me! It's a decoration to hand around a horse's neck, which is the schools symbol. Seniors can decorate this large cutout mustang, for their senior-all-night-party. Since this senior is going on to college for photography, this was my idea...lightweight and disposable.

Sunday, I painted my second bathroom. It took me a while to get it started because I needed to run ut and get new brushes. I totally forgot that the ones that I had, my favorite Purdy brand...were used on staining the deck last summer. oooops. Jim and I went to see Hangover 3, and that may have been the biggest oooops, though. Not the worst movie ever, but nothing like the first two.

I was pretty productive this weekend, and now I gotta finish that large poppy watercolor. 

holy moley....

...i'd ask where time went, but i know where it went when i look at Story! our puppy is now a whopping 9 months old, jim finished chemo in mid march & he is all clear now!! he is dealing with some nerve damage in his hands and feet and still going back and forth with his oncologist to get some sort of help. {i can't help but think it's an annoyance that is better than having a tumor lurking}

i did my round at the doctors and also went for a colonoscopy myself. my mother scared the be-jesus outta me, telling me that my grandmother had a tumor in her colon, way back when. since my mom also had a tumor and a portion removed...i fessed up to my dr. and she said it was best for me to get things checked out, well before i turn 50. poor jordan, she will have this on both sides and have to start this early. anywho, things are fine and i don't need to return for 5 years.

besides work, dog walks and all the normal house things...i FINALLY opened an Etsy store. all crafting is at my kitchen table and i have been busy. haha, so i named the shop 'busygirlart'! it's still new and going into the second month. learning, i am still learning.

funny thing is, i had been taking pics of all the stuff i was making, for posting on here, and i just never cracked open the blog to share. {if you are friends with me on facebook or instagram...then you have seen most of my projects.}

i have spent the better part of this evening, loading some new things onto Etsy so i will share my most recent downloaded photos, with a sampling of mixed media canvases i have just finished. oh, and a few pics of Story!

I'm back!!

i did some winter girls on canvas, so i figured i should maybe try some summer girls. i am also really partial to houses, maybe from my HGTV addiction!

here's our Story...

how can i come home and ignore this face? 

Christmas cheer...

Merry Christmas!!!

This Christmas day is finding Jim & I hanging out at home with Story and the cats. {Technically 1 cat, because Daisy will still not venture into the living room, near Story} Jim's chemo makes him feel crappy a lot of the time, so he stayed home with me, instead of going to his sisters. It's just a quiet day everywhere! Not so bad when you gotta work the next day though. hehe

As promised, here is the last of my Christmas cards. This one goes out to my east coast friend, Maria, who is one amazing dog lover and spends LOTS of time finding homes for needy pups. If I lived anywhere near her, I am afraid there would be no Story, I'd want to adopt all the dogs she posts on Facebook. Maria's dog-walker, partner in crime is Cindy! {mom to a house full of Yorkies...like my Niki} You girls are a true inspiration and the meaning of a giving heart.   :)

Here is a Stampin' UP throw back in time... Loads of Love and if you look really closely, the little dog at the back of the truck is Story. haha I have kept very few Stampin' UP sets, but this one was always a favorite and I bought the expansion set, so it's great for more occasions. 

I have some mixed media pieces to share but the photos still need downloading and I gotta get my kielbasa in the oven and get dinner moving along. 

Be back soon! Hope Santa was good to everyone!!!!

sunday morning sampling...

Good morning! Since the days are getting so close to Christmas, I gotta keep sharing my cards and holiday mixed media projects. {ok, the mixed media projects are snowmen, so they aren't just for Christmas!}

But here are some cards that I gave to friends at work, first up is a digi image from Saturated Canary.

Honestly, don't know what her name is, she just looked perfect for a zombie lovin' friend. I really made the surround of her eyes dark, for that reason. 'PEACE' was the portions cut out from my Silhouette machine. When you need multiple layers to complete an image, you use lots of colors and have plenty left overs. When you see the next card, you'll see what I'm talking about. hehe

This is my only non colored card this year. I saw this bulb as an image to buy in the Silhouette online store, and I purchased it. I cut it out three times, three colors. I was able to use all three of the 'PEACE' words. This is popped up with scrapdots, so it's not flat.

For two of my friend at work I made winter canvases. They are in the style of Christy Tomlinson's 'She Art Girls'.

This was my first snowman, 'happy', he's on a 6"x12" canvas. 

I also made 'sweet' and she's in bright colors and a thick square canvas.

I wanted to get them with their heads turned, looking up. I keep getting more and more used to the shabby process and as I go along, the latest is always my favorite. lol 

I still have at least one more card, and more projects, so I'll see ya tomorrow!!

Thanks for dropping in.  

:)