Cherished Friend

I made this ATC for a special friend. I just threw it together pretty quick but I think it turned out completely lovely... The word is glittered and those are real Swarovski crystals on the corners (I found them in the clearance bin!)

Acorn Sketch

A few years ago, while visiting the Puget Sound, I went to the Seattle Temple. While there, I saw thousands of acorns on the ground under an oak tree. I searched and searched for one that still had its cap on and, when I finally found one, I saved it as a memento of my trip. Later, I was so sad to realize that as the nut dried, it shrunk... and the cap came off! But I still have kept it in my little jar of keepsakes.

I decided to use it as my model for a sketching exercise. With the positive response I got on my drawn animals, I thought that maybe it was time I got over my fear of drawing.

Sunset: Precursor to Darkness

This is the spread I created for Stefanie's "Darkness" journal in the Paper Traders Round Robin. The buffalo is another one of my hand-drawn animals cut from textured paper and colored with markers and chalk. I guess I'm getting over my fear of drawing just a teensy bit. I made the fireflies by drawing their abdomens with my gold leafing pen so that they shine when the light hits them. The sunset was taken from a preprinted piece of scrapbook paper but I hit it with a Moon Glow Starburst Stain (Alpine Ice Rose) which has a gold shimmer in a pink watercolor base.

I recreated the scene from a photo of Pikes Peak as seen looking through Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs where I live. Just trying to draw a little inspiration from my everyday world =)

Ice Ice Baby

Yesterday we had freezing fog and rain and it coated everything in ice. The trees looked so pretty with each branch and tiny twig coated in ethereal light. In the afternoon, I had to run an errand and saw how prettily the trees were lit up by the emerging sun. The warming rays of the sun and the gusty breezes were causing the sheets of ice to rain down in bursts on the passing traffic below. It was really very neat although a guy in a van almost sideswiped me trying to swerve around a rush of falling ice!

Another Twisted Paper Doll

Here's my second paper doll - an african giraffe. I thought it would be fun to try to dress my animals for their native country.

This one also has movable limbs, attached with brads. I drew the giraffe freehand and, again, used markers and chalks to color it. The mane was made by unraveling the edge of a gingham ribbon (a trick I picked up from my mom). The native dress was cut out of some cool wrapping paper I had saved.

Twisted Paper Doll

Teri Calia, in our Paper Traders group, is hosting a Twisted Paper Dolls swap... the object is to create two dolls with animal heads.

This is my first creation. The panda head was drawn freehand and colored with markers and chalks. The legs and fan are attached with brads so they are movable.

Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture

If you've got 10 minutes to spare, this is worth the time:
Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture