Spring is here

Baseball is starting, the weather is warming up, the ice plant is blooming, the rain is tapering off, everything is green everywhere you look... Spring is here!

To get into the spirit of the season, we had a pennant banner swap on Paper Traders.  Here is a picture of the one I made (which is now winging it's way to Linda)...

... and I was the lucky recipient of Darlene's beautiful creation which I will be hanging up in my studio to get my creativity blossoming  =)

Beeswax & Butterflies

So, these are boring.  I was having trouble regulating the temperature of my beeswax and the layers not building and I'm not thrilled with the results.  BUT, I am hoping to learn how to do this technique properly and then maybe I can stop fighting with the medium long enough to let my creative muse out to play... next time.  Moving on...

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.

Fashionistas

Recently I hosted a "Fabulous Fashionistas" canvas swap on our Paper Traders group.  For these, I used a pre-printed texture paper background and then I glued printed napkins over the top using PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive).  When everything was dry, I used some rubons for added details.  The ladies' clothing is a combination of papers and fabrics and lots of glue  =)

Congratulations to my OWOH winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by during the One World One Heart event.  It was so much fun visiting everyone.  I hope I will have a chance to go back and see everyone's blogs and spend a little more leisurely time the next time around.

So now, it's time to announce my winners.  Drumroll, please....................
...................................

Winner #1 is Mitz!  As the first name drawn, Mitz will get first pick of one of my books.

mitz said...

... this is ** book-a-riffic** great give-a-way.. thanks for the opportunity mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

Saturday, February 12, 2011 3:24:00 PM MST

And Winner #2 is Shawkl!

shawkl said...

I love crafty books...and love fabric boxes! So, your prize is super for me! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Happy OWOH! When you have a moment, come visit with me...and I'll be back here again too! Kathy www.shawkl.com

Monday, January 31, 2011 4:27:00 PM MST

Congratulations to you both and thanks so much for playing along!

One World One Heart offering...

http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart-1.html

Welcome to my stop on the One World One Heart worldwide blog event!

This blog is my "home" on the worldwide web... Here, I share a little of my personal life and a lot of my artistic one.  I am a member of Paper Traders, an online artists community and most of the projects I do are for swaps with my fellow group members.  Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope you will come back soon!

For my offering, I will be giving away one book to each of TWO lucky visitors - either The Wreath Book or Making Decorative Fabric-Covered Boxes.  Just leave a comment on this post and I will select two random winners on February 17th.  If you have a preference for which book you would like to receive, please indicate that in your comment.  Also, make sure I have a way to contact you if you win!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED... WILL BE ANNOUNCING WINNER SHORTLY...!

Valentine Steampunk

 Utilizing some of my recent swap meet finds, I completed these Valentine Steampunk assemblages for Cathy's swap on Paper Traders.  These were a ton of fun to make!