...leaving on a jet plane...

but I do know when I'll be back again...

It is amazing how much I was able to fit in my one suitcase for my painting trip to France, including:
an easel
hats
a stool
pastel painting supplies
watercolor supplies
various papers
boards and all those little things we use when making art
oh, and some clothes...lol

our group has hired a limo
to JFK and I hear there will be wine and cheese to start our fun trip to France.

See you all end of May! 

she likes shiny things...

I've been experimenting with glimmer mist. I have all kinds of colors- I managed to get a whole bunch of bottles of it at 70% off (!!!) from a local store. I also made a few bottles. I also used Luminere paint and mica flakes- basically anything shiny.

The flowers are from paper that has all kinds of spray colors on it. I use the paper as a background for anything I am spraying and then I use the paper when it's all colored. I made the flowers using a punch, dies and that colored paper. The bird has mica flakes on it. I also die cut a small sheet of mica into leaves- you can see them if you look closely.

The background is embossing paste that i applied using a stencil of bricks. I also added cheese cloth for texture. All in all, I think it turned out nice.

...and the mess

Going to France...

view of Vence, France

 

In May I am flying to France (!!!) for a pastel painting workshop with a wonderful artist, Gayle Fedigan. We'll spend one week in Vence and a second week in the Per Pignon region of France, all in the South of France. I wont be in Paris (this trip) except to change planes. Two weeks seeing the South of France is a dream come true for me. It's on my bucket list. The lavender won't be in bloom but I may see poppies.

So I am starting to pack and gather and make decisions about what to bring and what not to bring. I like traveling light, but somehow I always manage to bring too much. Packing all of my art supplies will be a trick- we have to have an easel, stool, and all art supplies for plein air painting. I may not have room for clothes as I would also like to bring some art journaling supplies.

Gayle (workshop leader) and I are co-grandmothers to the same wonderful girl, Chenoa who is 12. She and her dad will be joining us for the second week! I am so happy about this. Imagine being 12 and spending a week with both of your grandmas in France. I am looking forward to making many memories with her. Hubby is staying home this trip; he did not want to travel to France with 10 women and I can't say I blame him. He is just happy that I am traveling with friends and family so he won't worry too much about me.

sneak peak of my latest mini photo album

Here are some pictures of my latest mini. I just ordered a larger memory stick for my camera so I can take longer videos for You Tube and that won't be here until Saturday. So for now, still images. I had so much fun making this mini! I love the G45 Curiosity Shop papers and used them for this one. For the hinge I used Katy Orta's hidden binding system, which I think makes a great mini.  These are not in order. When I get my new memory for my camera I'll make and post a video on this one.

I made the lion head out of paper clay-cover

 

 cover with window box and flowers. I made the tiny blue ones.
The rest are Prima flowers. The top of the window is a Tim Holtz die
and I made the rest of it by cutting up chipboard. I them painted and used
a crackle finish on it to give it an aged look.

 

 Glitter on the pig wings...love these!

 door that opens-behind it is a frame area. The door is embossed card stock
mounted on chipboard. I then rubbed on Gilders Paste.
I LOVE how this turned out!

 stamped bottles to make a pocket

corset with hoop skirt made from Tim Holtz bird cage die

 cover

the clock is a pocket - I only glued it on at the bottom,

so you can tuck items in the clock. I grunged
up the clock with different colors of Gilders Paste.


B2B - Cherry blossoms birthday card using embossing technique

 Using flowers that I made awhile back, I made this pretty card last night. The blue strips are washi tape and the rest is paper. For the blue background, I used an embossing technique. First I embossed the paper with clear embossing powder. Then I painted in the small flowers and leaves with watercolors. Then I used a brush and brushed in the blue color. Below is a red arrow that shows the embossed area.

Embossing is one of those techniques that I learned over a decage ago and haven't used for years. Lately I am getting Back to Basics (B2B), and embossing is one of those B2B techniques.

a view of the mess and my current project...

 

I just can't work on a project and keep my crafting area clean! I have this huge Martha Stewart table and the actual work area is about 12" x 12"...the rest being well, you can see what the rest looks like.

 

This is a photo album I am making that I will be selling. I am using the Old Curiosity Shoppe papers by Graphic 45, one of my favorites. This is the book- with out any embellishments. I made the book using envelopes and a 'stack the deck' binding I learned from Kathy Orta. I added a ribbon tie closure and the spine is covered with canvas for added strength. I painted the canvas with Lumiere teal colored paint. Now that the book is constructed, now comes the fun part- embellishing and decorating. It has 6 pages in side, each with a large pocket for pull out photo holders. Over all size is about 7.5" tall by 5.5" wide, so 4x6 standard photos will easily fit in this photo album.

More to come...

 

pretty little card

I feel like I have multiple personalities when it comes to crafting. I love the grungy, vintage look, I love steampunk, and I love pretty, frilly, shabby...what's a crafter to do when she love so many styles? Embrace them all!! So I do.

The is a card I made using the cherry blossoms I made. The little picket fence is from Paper Tray Inc, (thank you Elaine for turning me onto them!) I'll use a 1/2 thick box/envelope to mail it or the blossoms will be crushed.