Greek Mosh Pit... tee hee

I participated in a challenge this week in which the theme was "Rosey Cheeks".., I finished my project and then realized that the blog this was supposed to be for is SMALL WORLD OF INCHIES & TWINCHIES. hee hee, my bad. This is no way an inchie or twinchie, but I still wanted to post it because I thought it was a funny take on rosey cheeks,. There are all kinds of rosie cheeks on this. The wonderful painting is from an art magazine that I had, but I can't find the artists name, otherwise I would have given them kudos... Beautiful colors .
Anyways, back to the studio to make another "Rosey Cheeks" entry, but this time it will be on an inchie... stay tuned :)

I was "nurturing as a child"

At Creative Therapy blog Catalyst #110 was "How would you discribe yourself as a child"

As a child I think I was several different things, from a drama queen to day dreamer to outgoing, but the one thing that stands out the most is how much I wanted to be a mommy when I grew up. So my baby sister told me the best way to discribe me as a child was "nurturing".

I am the oldest and always loved caring for my brother and sister. Cleaning the house with my mom... (yea I know crazy huh)... cooking ( think I got my first cookbook at the age of 8), and playing with dolls... Just always thought that being a mommy would be the best thing ever.

A game my mother would play with me, is she would take my tricycle and turn it upside down, then I would peddle the wheels and she told me I would be churning butter. That is what I am doing in this picture. See at the age of 2 I was already cooking up something for the family.
I was finally blessed with a wonderful daughter and being a mommy was the best thing to happen to me. BUT... now when I grow up I wanna be a Grandma :)

THREE MUSES CHALLENGE "Hats & Crowns, Wings & Things

There are some amazing digital artists over @ Three Muses blog. I haven't got involved in digital art yet, but the challenge encouraging anyone to participate. This week's theme is "Hats & Crowns & Wings & Things. My 2 x 2 canvas features the Queen of Hearts wearing her crown. Both Alice and the queen are having a bit of an "tude"....Hope you enjoy

Royal Ladies Challenge

A really neat challenge blog that I am new to is Small World of Inchies and Twinchies. Now if you don't know what an Inchy or Twinchy is, it is something that is either 1x1 or 2x2 in size. At first I was a bit intimidated because of the size but oh so fun :) The theme this week is "Royal Ladies", and my lady (if you want to call her that) is The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

The canvas was painted black first then I made hearts with rubber cement and let it dry in order to cause the next coat of paint (which was lime green) to resist. Once the green paint was dry I rubbed the area with paper towel and the rubber cement came right off as well as the green paint. Sprayed with Watermelon Tattered Angels and added a coat of modge podge to the entire piece to provide a protective coating for the playing card (which my sister gave me from a box of Cracker Jacks back in the day). Shawn thank you for saving everything .

Hope you enjoy :)

GOTHIC ARCH CHALLENGE "Eggs"

Hummmm eggs??? Got to get my creative juices going for this one... lol... Gotta love Gothic Arches Challenge. They always seem to come up with a topic to stretch your creativity, and I love that.

I was able to try out my brand new die cut from Tim Holtz and used Picket Fence crackle paint to give it that aged look. The bird is also a part of the die cut and I watercolored this. The eggs are made out of large dew drops that were painted and then tinted with Pumice Stone Distressed Ink. The nest is made from some wonderful antique tinsel.

The background, I got a little literal and used egg shells and modge podged it to my arch. I really love the look.

And now to all the women out that they have made a difference in a childs life... "Happy Mothers Day"...

LOTS TO DO CHALLENGE "Alcohol Inks"

Over at "LOTS TO DO" the challenge this week was to use alcohol inks on a project.

Alcohol inks are probably one of my most favorite art medias to use. They are so versatile. I do alot of altering and use metal, acetate, etc. and ai's are just perfect for this. So of course they needed a special home to stay in. I purchased this inexpensive tin @ my local craft store and "inked" it up... I always get comments on this container. Hope you enjoyed :)

DRESS UP PROJECT...Jan, Feb, March & April

Still catching up on my "Dress Up Project 2010", I finished March and April dresses. I had already posted Jan & Feb dresses, but I will re-post them so all dresses are showing in the same post. Confused ??? yea, I know sorry....lol...
My March was in honor of St Patty's Day. The dress was simple with green polka dot chiffon and pocket, embellished with button used for broach
April's dress was a cute sun dress to welcome in spring time... . Little bloomers made from Websters lace ribbon, and butterfly's in flight were cut also from Websters paper.
Here is my January "New Years" dress which I discribed in an earlier post this week as well as February my Valentines dress...Check out "Dress Up Project 2010" for a fun monthly challenge. A little wimsy doesn't hurt anyone... :) Thnx for looking

GOTHIC ARCH CHALLENGE "Mini Arch on Tag"

This week in the "Gothic Arches Challenge" was to take your arch and add it to a tag. Here is my take on this challenge. . Taking time out of my busy schedule for creativity is a must for my sanity. Therefore my piece is called "Take Time to Create".

The arches were made on either side with my distinguished looking man popping up 3-d in the middle... A friend of mine said it looked like he was in a cuckoo clock which actually is good, means my theme was around "time". I have always loved clocks and so really enjoyed making this.

I base painted the foundation tag and arches with acrylic paint, then added "Mudd Puddles, a wonderful product that addes texture to your product. Very easy to use, like frosting a cake. The colors I used were Black Gold & Cookies and Cream. . Dripped alcohol ink "Stream" sporadically over the project for a pop of color. Added clocks of all sorts and beautiful colored fibers to finish off the tag. I really appreciate the different challenge blogs that are available out there on the internet. Sometimes you get a creative block and need inspiration. Gothic Arches blog is one of those that makes you want to "Take Time to Create"... thank you for looking....:)

Playing Dress Up

Something that helps my creative juices start to flow is a challenge and I saw this one earlier this year. Being the girly girl I am, and loving clothes I saw this challenge in January and knew it would be fun. I'm a little late in starting it due to my move and injury and well.... life. Dress Up 2010 is the challenge and you are to make a dress each month, you can also make a closet if you like and I liked (although I don't think it's going to be big enough ....lol surprise surprise ) So here are my first 2 entries as well as my closet ala trunk..

My January dress was of course a New Years dress coming equipped with a party hat. Dress made from black velvet paper and chiffon for sleeves and ruffle around the dress... Blinged it up a bit with gold and silver .

Febuary was a halter sweetheart dress in honor of Valentines Day. Bodice made from red felt with tutu made from red tule, added white ruffle and some little rhinestones because after all what is Valentines Day without diamonds. Now off to the trunk...

This was a fun project. Purchased a paper mache box @ Michaels Craft Store and decorated the inside of the box first. Added a little chain at the top for a hinge look. Punched holes in the sides of the box to add a dowl to hang the dresses. Ripped masking tape in pieces and applied all over the box to give it some texture. Used several different shades of brown acrylic paint with a little bit of black for depth and painted the entire outside of the box. I did a few coats (allowing drying time in between coats) until I got the color I was looking for. . Now to the fun part.... DETAILING.....I took a strong paper towel and rubbed across the paint to remove some to make it look like old worn out luggage. To give it some personality. Added little travel stamps and then modge podged the entire outside to give it a protective coating.

Alcohol inked grundge board hinges and key hole for the outside... Using, gold, copper and silver mixitives, they provide a antiquey (is that a word) look. Added leather belts to complete the trunk and waa laa...
... Now I just need to do my March and April dress and I will be caught up. On my blog I have listed some of my very favorite challenge blogs that I participate in. Check some of them out. They really do help you step out of your box and do something a little different. Allows you to try out new techniques that you can use in your scrapbooking or card making and helps get that inspiration going... Happy crafting :)