Trees Tip-In pages

I am participating in the Tip-In Journal project over at Paper Traders.  This month, my assignment was to do a spread for Heather's "Trees" journal.  My first attempt was nice but just not quite 'artsy' enough for me:

This is one of my favorite quotes and the page is much prettier in person - metallic gold background with lots of texture and color variation, multi-hued glitter on the tree, etc.  Still, I felt that Heather deserved something better (as she is a very accomplished artist) so I went back to the table and created this:

It's very simple in style but I think the overall effect is gorgeous.  The background was made by reconstructing paper from little torn bits using Aleene's matte decoupage medium.  The colors are so rich - I love it!  I hope Heather will too.  But I'm sending her both sets of pages, just in case she wants the first set also.

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

The new blog challenge over at Paper Traders is to use a ship in your art.  Again, I used my new MyMemories digital scrapbooking software to create a digital collage.  I used elements from the "Brise Marine" kit by Mary89 as well as the "Poetry of the Sea" kit from Marie H Designs - both so pretty!  Once I had my picture created, I printed it out and layered it on some cardstock to create a little greeting card, complete with real seashell embellishments!

This was a really fun challenge.  Hop on over to Paper Traders and play along!

P.S.  There's still time to get $10 off your own copy of the MyMemories Suite v2 Software plus $10 in free products from MyMemories.com.  Just use my Promo Code: STMMMS53179

Round One

It's been a few years since we did a round robin journal project in our Paper Traders group.  They are a lot of fun but it can be heartbreaking when a book goes missing half way around the world  =(

After much demand, and setting some very specific rules and guidelines, we finally decided to give it another go.  We have two rounds going, each with five artists participating.  My journal theme is "Trees"...

front cover

ideas page (written on leaves inside the envelope)

sign-in page

The following spread was made by creating a background using a method loosely based on Jill Geraghty-Groves' "decaying background" technique as shown in the Mar/Apr 2011 issue of Somerset Studio:

first spread - left side

first spread - right side

I made this second spread completely from scratch...  the background was painted by scraping acrylic paints over the paper with a credit card and then sponging inks and paints over that using various stencils and punchinella (sequin scrap).  The circles were added by dipping my bottle lids in leftover paint and stamping them on the page.  The leaves took me DAYS AND DAYS to cut out!  I used japanese washi paper and cut all the tiny sections of leaves out by hand then layered them onto my tree branches.  Then I dabbed glue around haphazardly and sprinkled with several colors of Martha Stewart's vintage leaf glitter (love this stuff!).  I think it turned out awesome and looks sooooo much better in person than in this scan (you'll just have to trust me on that  =)

second spread - left side

second spread - right side

Catching up on the past six months...

Moving back to San Diego has been terrific although I still feel like I'm in my adjustment period.  It took me several weeks to find a new home and even longer to get unpacked... I still am not completely settled in but I'm getting there.  I found a cute duplex in the suburbs and am blessed to have a nice landlord, a friendly neighbor, my own laundry room, a garage, a yard, and the best part - a whole room to dedicate to my art studio/office!

I used my birthday gift cards to buy shelving for the studio and I am almost done getting everything put in its place.  I would have been done ages ago if I didn't keep hauling stuff out and making messes (along with art) along the way.

Shortly after moving into my new home, I discovered this nest of baby birds right outside my window.

I've really enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones since coming back to San Diego. 

Sadly, my best friends relocated to the Monterey Bay area shortly after I arrived.  I was lucky enough to get to spend a long weekend with them over Halloween.  On the way home, I took the scenic route down the famous Highway 1...

Being back in Southern California gave me the opportunity to attend one of my online artist friend's art showing... and to finally meet her in person.  Kate Carvellas was as sweet in person as I'd come to know her online and a talented artist too!

Although I went home for Thanksgiving, I spent a lovely quiet Christmas at home this year.

I'm looking forward to the new year and good things  =)

Altered Puzzle Pieces

I am hosting an altered puzzle piece swap on Paper Traders - the theme is Four Seasons and these are my entries.  I followed Barb & Bevlea's technique and it was a ton of fun!  I love the glassy finish you get from the Dimensional Magic - pretty cool  =)

Anniversary Shrine

Every year around this time, our Paper Traders group makes a special project to swap. This year we are constructing mini matchbox shrines. Because this is our fourth anniversary, the theme was to use the number 4 in some way - mine, obviously, is Four Seasons. The "leaves" on the trees are made using FlowerSoft - such a cool product! The text paper I used for the background came from an old book I got at a local thrift store that was printed in 1796. I love how they used an "f" instead of an "s" like we do now.

Water Journal

This is the spread I did for Joanie's "Water" themed round robin journal on Paper Traders. The scan really doesn't show how sparkly this page is... it has received a generous shot of Starburst Stains spray as well as some turquoise art glitter.

Random Observations

I know I haven't taken much time to write here lately... I have been so busy and so tired. But enough with the excuses - here are a few random observations I've had recently:

NATURE
During the last rainstorm, tiny rainbows were following every car ahead of me in traffic...
We had some black storm clouds one day that made it as dark as an hour after sunset...
Today there was a little ladybug resting on my car door...

WORK
Crushing on the handsome (single) soldiers who are transferring here...
Have had some super busy workdays the past couple weeks...
The boss is leaving for a three week cruise...

HOME
Finally put all my luggage away from my trip last month...
Bought new pants that actually fit - I'm down more than 3 sizes from a year ago...
Loving the "Genius" feature on my iPod...

ART
Found my muse - at least long enough to get a couple projects done...
Hosting a "Fun with Maps" ATC swap on Paper Traders...
Planning to attend a rubber stamp & scrapbook expo this weekend...

CHURCH
Dear friend's hubby was recently baptized - and her daughter will be doing so soon...
Attended the temple this month...
Making a personal commitment to go to more Single Adult activities this year...

SPORTS
Reserved my tickets to see the Padres take on the Rockies next month...
Excited for football season to start - Go Broncos!

Soul Journal Inchies

Continuing on with Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling prompts... Going back to yesterday's page, I trimmed out my soul armor with a gold foiling pen - it's a lot of bling, but I'm worth it =)

The next exercise was to search magazines for specific images... some were generic items, like "a bird" or "a flower" whereas others were more personal, such as "eyes the same color as yours" or "something you want (which is NOT the picture of money - LOL)"
Actually, one of the prompts was "something comfortable" which I couldn't really find any picture for... so I picked the money as "something I need to be comfortable" because, well, don't we all?

First, I made a wash of some dark purple acrylic paint (which turned out pretty light once I watered it down), then I spread it around and blotted with paper towels. When that was dry, I pasted on the inchies and applied another wash of a lighter colored paint (ochre). Lastly, Sarah had us add some words and draw around some of the inchies.

A few personal things here? Well, the "40 September" was my last birthday, the beautiful mountain scene is from right here in Colorado where I live now, the snowy branches are my "something you have" since I really appreciate having winter seasons again after living in California for twenty years. The banana bread is one of my favorites and reminds me of my grandmother; the hand represents my current round robin journal which is still winging it's way around the world; the aspen leaves are another Colorado specialty; and the purple swirl represents my favorite color (hence the purple background, too!)

The Artist's Palette

These are the pages I did for Connie's round robin journal on Paper Traders. Her theme was "The Artist's Palette" and she asked us to use paint and try to expand our abilities by challenging ourselves. Since I am still in the early stages of exploring my drawing talents (as in, do I have any?) and I am not very inexperienced at watercolor either, these pages were definitely a challenge. I found the water especially hard to do. I'm not sure if you can really see all the details in here or if the scan washed them out but there are swirly white places to give the suggestion of foam and spray.


I should have taken the quote to heart and exercised a little more patience in writing it out... my lines tended to slant upward and the handwriting is sloppier than I would have liked.

Autumn Splendor

This is the spread I made for Keron's tip-in journal on Paper Traders. I spent a long time trying to decide what to do for her... she's such a talented artist and I want so badly to create something up to par for her book. She had asked for something with neutral, muted colors in the genre of a nature guide or diary so that was my inspiration for this page. Originally I had planned something totally different but it just started to look too "scrapbook-ish" and I set it aside and started over. I hope that she likes the final result as much as I do =)

Fall Color

This morning, I got up early and headed into the mountains to see the fall color. I love this time of year and many of the leaves will be off the trees in another week so this was my best chance to see them. I drove from Colorado Springs up the back way to Victor and then around to Cripple Creek and back down... for those not familiar with this area, it is near Pikes Peak on the southeastern range of the Rocky Mountains. It was really so beautiful and some of the most breathtaking sites were not in a place where I could pull off the road to take a picture. Regardless, photos don't do justice to the real thing. I have an album on my Flickr with the photos I took today... you can see them all (both the good and the bad shots!) here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elysian68/sets/72157600648611493/

Rainbow Tree

A friend sent this to me this week and I could really relate to it so I'm sharing it with all of you...

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Discovering Hands

This is the first spread in my "Hands" round robin journal for Paper Traders. This one is called "Discovering Hands." I really wanted the hands to be a little more prominent but I just loved these images and just had to use them! The photos of the children came from a recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens. The child's hand with the butterfly is from ArtChix, as well as the butterfly on the vellum - his wings lift up off the page so that he appears as if he could flit away at any moment. The discover stickers are from Colorbok. The vellum lifts up off the page so that you can see the image underneath:

First Snow

This huge thistle plant has been growing next to our office and, even though it's a noxious weed, I thought it was so pretty and I had to take a photo... two days later, the property maintenance tore the plant out. I managed to catch a busy bee harvesting the sweet pollen:

On Friday, we got a very cold storm, bringing some wild thunder and lightning and tons of rain. Last month was the driest July on record so we really needed the moisture. It has been constantly rainy and cloudy since this storm rolled in, but this morning it cleared enough to get a glimpse of the Peak. This is the first snow of the season and means that Autumn is right around the corner - my favorite time of year!

Wyoming Wildflowers and Landscape

I literally took several HUNDREDS of photos on our camping trip this past weekend. We went up into the Beartooth Mountains in northwestern Wyoming (and a bit of southwestern Montana). Not all of my photos came out great, but here are several that will hopefully give you an idea of all the beautiful stuff we saw...


This little chipmunk moved so fast, it was hard to catch him with my camera...

A portion of the panorama at the top of the Chief Joseph Scenic Bypass - you can see the switchbacks leading down to the valley below and, in the very far back on the right, the mountains where we camped...

Tiny little alpine flowers (Lupine?)...

Many of the flowers hadn't even started blooming yet - summer is slow coming in the highest mountain peaks...

Here's a busy little bumblebee, hard at work...

Some hardy little alpine flowers - seeming to grow right out of the rocks!

The flowers were everywhere - growing in even the most unlikely of places...

More little alpine flowers...

Indian Paintbrush...

Beartooth Lake...

A waterfall along Beartooth Creek - this is looking across a steep, wide canyon - that's a LOT of water!
Tiny little Forget-Me-Nots...

Even more alpine flowers...

Long Lake near "Top of the World"...

These are some of the smallest flowers I have ever seen...

An interesting snow melt...

In the distance, Pilot and Index peaks...

Hard to tell from this photo, but there is so much water coming down here that the creek has overflowed its banks and is pouring down the mountainside in a wide, foaming rush - that white in the background is not snow - it's water!

These pink (Wild Geraniums) and purple (I don't know what kind?) flowers were everywhere we looked...

Even the pine trees are blooming...

If you want a little perspective on this photo, check out the people standing on the bridge in the distance - the force of the water coming down here is phenomenal!

At the tippy-top of the Beartooths, looking down onto alpine lakes and glacial canyons - still a lot of snow up there for the middle of July...

These pink flowers are called Shooting Stars and they're my Dad's favorite! If you know how tiny Forget-Me-Nots are, then you'll realize that these rocket-like blossoms are only about an inch long...

There was a whole mountain meadow filled with these blooms...

A cute little visitor...