Not Quite Summer

Another fun banner for a swap on Paper Traders.  This one is for Summer using half circles which were the perfect shape for some fresh watermelon slices!  It's difficult to tell from the photo but these are very sparkly - with glitter accents and generously spritzed with glimmer mist  =)

A couple more ATCs

Every month, our Paper Traders group hosts a "Winner Take All" ATC lottery.  It's a lot of fun - everyone puts in one ATC and at the end of the month, we draw a winner who gets all of the entries... and then it starts over again for the next month.  Entering just one ATC is not a big risk but when you win it's like a party in your mailbox! 

These are the two ATCs I made for March and February.  The latter is pretty simple but the first one took a couple of days to layer up the background.  This was a variation of Jill Geraghty-Groves' "decaying background" technique as shown in the Mar/Apr 2011 issue of Somerset Studio.  I didn't have the distress crackle paints she recommended so I used an all over clear crackle instead but I still think it turned out pretty nice.

The Sweet Fruit of Patience

Every year our Paper Traders group puts together an art calendar produced by CafePress. Here is my submission for the upcoming 2010 Calendar (I think this will be for the month of September). I'll add a link here once they're available for purchase - the calendars are sold at the cost of production, there is no profit on these.

I did the paper mosaic of the pear last year but then lost my muse and didn't really know how to finish it. One of our calendar participants had to drop out at the last minute due to health issues so I pulled out this unfinished piece, added the side panels, the leaf, and the words... and I'm much happier with the results =)

Catching Up on Round Robin Journals

Our Paper Traders group is trying to finish up last year's journal round robin... the books have fallen a bit behind and we're all working hard to get them finished soon. This week, I have completed my spreads in three journals...

The first one is for Keron's journal on Freedom. I chose Free Agency as my theme and included the lyrics from the hymn, Know This That Every Soul Is Free. I hand-drew and colored a picture of Eve and the apple using the new Coloursoft pencils I got from my Mom for my birthday - love them! Although the artwork is original, the idea came from another piece I saw awhile back on a religious website... however, there was no credit given to the artist so I don't know who to thank for this concept.

This second spread is for Abby's "American Idol" journal where we were supposed to feature an American that we admired. I chose Gordon B. Hinckley as my idol - he was a great man whom I admired and appreciated immensely.


Lastly, is my spread for Diana's "Doors & Windows" journal. We were supposed to choose a quote and illustrate it in some way. The door on this house opens to reveal another hidden image. Also, all of the flowers are heavily glittered to add dimension to the page.


So, I'm caught up on journals for the moment... although another one should be making it's way to me soon. I'm certainly looking forward to having my "Hands" journal to finally make it home, too.

Altered Dominoes

I made both of these altered dominoes for a swap on Paper Traders. Both of the images were sealed with crystal lacquer and then I dropped the gold items into the wet lacquer to attach them (the key, bow, and gold micro beads). The pear one has pretty little rub-ons around the edge while the key one has a ribbon glued around it.

Blue Is...

I am rushing to try to get caught up on several art projects with looming deadlines. This is the cover and my first page for my tip-in journal project for Paper Traders. I am asking each participant to use an adjective to describe "blue" and decorate the page accordingly...