ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: "TAKE IT, MAKE IT" FEBRUARY CHALLENGE (1)

The February theme for the Craft Stamper Magazine "Take It, Make It" challenge is TEXT ME!  One can submit up to three pieces of art for each monthly challenge, so this will be the first of three posts from me today.

I cut a piece of beige cardstock slightly smaller than my cream card base and ran it through my Sizzix Big Kick using a Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Script." Next, I used a Tim Holtz sanding block to remove some of the color from the raised script. I adhered this piece to my card blank. 

My flower was cut from a scrap of patterned paper from the DCWV "Mariposa" stack. I added a bit of interest to the blossom by using a brown watercolor pencil, then blending it with a water brush.  The stem of the flower was adhered directly to the card, but the blossom was adhered using a pop dot to add a bit of dimension. My sentiment is from a set of cling stamps by Tim Holtz. To keep the brown-ish theme going, I used Walnut Stain ink.  I used that to edge the sentiment, as well.

Thanks for coming by today to check out my cards.  I hope you will take a moment to leave a comment.  I hope, too, that you might find some time to create your own artwork to submit to the Craft Stamper Magazine "Take It, Make It" challenge this month. Details can be found here.

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (02-07-16)

Anne from Mirella Crafts is the host this week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge and she has asked us to ADD A CHARM to our postcard.  I immediately went to my "metal/junk" box and found a metal butterfly.  That led me to my DCWV "Mariposa" stack where I found some perfect background paper!  A bit of adhesive and instant postcard!

There is still time to play along with this challenge.  You can find the details here.  

Thanks for stopping by and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are appreciated!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (01-31-16)

Deborah is our host this week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge and she has chosen ORANGE as the theme.  While a color challenge may seem simple to some, I always find it somewhat difficult--and orange was once my most feared color! Years ago, a challenge just like this one forced me to get outside my comfort zone and just do it.  Since, I actually have come to like orange--especially as a background color.

For today's project, I began with a piece of Ranger Specialty Stamping paper, cut to 4x6".  Using my craft mat as a palette, I squeezed drops of Archival Re-inkers in Monarch Orange and Pink Peony.  I added just a couple of drops of Archival Ink Mixative in Gold, then sprinkled lots of rubbing alcohol (surgical spirits) over everything.  I mixed this lightly with a plastic palette knife then dipped my paper repeatedly in this mixture until I was happy with the coating.  To add a bit of speckling, I sprayed more rubbing alcohol onto the card and laid it flat to dry.  

My focal image is one called Dream Girl from Unity Stamps.  The text stamp is from Stampers Anonymous and is called Handwritten Thoughts.

I hope you will find some time this week to play along with Deborah's challenge at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge site.

Thanks so much for visiting and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  I read and appreciate each one!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (01-24-16)

Deann is our host this week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and her challenge is a doozie:  Man in the Moon!  Not until I decided to make a hybrid postcard did I come up with the perfect combination.  

I have used a free digi image from the internet for my background along with a stamp from stamp designer Carol Porter, author of the DAILY ART TANTRUMS blog.  The stamp is called "Son and the Moon" and is available at Carol's Etsy Shop.  Carol shares a video on her blog showing the creation of an adorable card using this same stamp.  Check it out here.

I hope you can carve out some time this week to participate in the Sunday Postcard Art challenge.  Thanks for stopping by today and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are appreciated!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (01-17-16)

Mandy Chilvers is the owner of the Sunday Postcard Art site and today also serves as our challenge host. She has chosen FIRE/FLAMES as the theme.

The fire image I have used was found on Pinterest and is credited to DeviantArt. I don't dabble much in digital art, so this was a fun "make" for me this week. I printed the image on both a 4x6" index card and glossy photo paper. Both had good qualities, but I like the glossy finish (here) better.

The quote I have used is by Michelle K. and is both short and simple, but I think speaks volumes.

Thanks for visiting today and for taking a moment to leave a message so that I will know you were here.  I hope you will find some time this week to play with us at Sunday Postcard Art.

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (01-10-16)

It is my great pleasure this week to be hosting the Sunday Postcard Art Challenge!  I love art and I love humor, but what I really love is humor in art--so it follows that HUMOR/COMEDY is the theme I have chosen for this week!

For my postcard today, I squeezed three colors of alcohol ink onto my craft mat and spritzed quite a bit of water onto that. I used a 4x6" index card to mop up the inks, dried the card with my heat tool, then repeated the process until I was happy with the background that I had created.  Because the index card became so flimsy with all the liquid, I let it dry overnight. The heart and circles were cut with my Cricut machine and the text stamp is from Stampotique Originals. The image is a digi from Kenny K Stamps.

I hope you can find some time this week to play along with us at Sunday Postcard Art. You can find the details here.

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking a moment to leave a comment. Both are important to me!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Rubber Dance January Challenge

I was invited by my friend Gail to participate in this month's Rubber Dance art challenge. The challenge is "anything goes" as far as a journal page, ATC, card or whatever, but the entry must include black AND white in addition to one color of the artist's choice. I hope you will find some time this month to play along, too!

Every once in a while, I create something, step back, take a long admiring look and hear myself say, "That's just awesome!" It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's really affirming. One such piece was a tag I created, then gave away. I did scan the tag, but the original is gone.  

I decided that I wanted to recreate those rare pieces in my journal so that I would always have them. I removed the page from my journal by using a craft knife to slice between the rings.

For my background, I cut strips from black cardstock in varying widths and adhered them to my journal page.  I also used some washi tape.

I used two stamps from Stampotique Originals, Moth Fab as my focal image and Tenticurl to ground her.  To keep these images "crisp," I left a small white margin when cutting them out.

I decided to use red as my third color and simply used a Sharpie to fill in the heart on the purse as well as the hair and shoes of Moth Fab.  I did the same with the circles on the grounding stamp.

The inspiration for my original tag was a quote by Maya Angelou (1928-2014).  Before you scold me about the language here, read a bit about this American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer!  Wikipedia shares that Angelou "recited her poem On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration."  So, when Maya speaks, I listen!

I created my quote using my computer printer, then used a blending tool to add a bit of black archival ink to the edges of the quote to make it stand out against the background.

After using my craft knife to recreate the page openings obscured by my cardstock and washi tape, I replaced the page into my journal.

Thanks for visiting and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are appreciated!!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (01-03-16)

Linda is our host this week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge and she has chosen the fun theme of Men in Hats.  This was a fun challenge for me because I recently purchased the stamp set from Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) called Time Travelers and it was ready to be inked up for the first time!

My postcard (4x6") was cut from a new piece of patterned paper by Marion Smith called Timekeeper.  The map was cut from the reverse side of the same paper.  The number stamp is from Stampotique Originals and the title from Tim Holtz idea-ology "chitchat" sticker book. The washi tape (top right) is from my stash. To add a bit of interest to the background, I used a design cube, also from Stampotique Originals.  I used my Copic Markers to color the focal image.

I hope you will find some time this week to play along with this great challenge.  You can find the details here.  

Thanks for stopping by and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are appreciated!

Cheers!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (12-20-15)

The Sunday Postcard Art challenge has been posted and Constance has chosen the holiday theme of nutcracker.  This was indeed a challenge for me, but Google images saved the day with a perfect nutcracker image for an artist!

I cut a scrap of patterned paper to 4x6" for my postcard.  I "altered" the image somewhat by using PSE, but remained true to the basic image.  The wording at the top was created using fonts available in Word; the bottom wording was leftover from a Christmas kit long ago dismantled.

Glad you took a moment to stop by today.  If you have not already done so, I hope you will join as a follower and then follow by e-mail so that you don't miss an update!

I hope you can find some time this busy week to get crafty and create a postcard for this challenge.  

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

ART FROM THE MAIN HOUSE: Sunday Postcard Art Challenge (12-13-15)

Hazel is the host this week at Sunday Postcard Art, and she has chosen the theme of Holly and/or Ivy for our challenge. The submissions for this challenge are amazing, and you can find them here.  

For my postcard, I began with a scrap of patterned paper cut to 4x6" for my background.  I used one of Dyan Reaveley's stamps for my ivy element and used Copic Markers to color it.  Copics were also used to add color to one of my favorite Stampotique stamps, Moth Fab!  The text stamp is from Tim Holtz.

I hope you will take some time this week to create a bit of postcard  art (4x6") for Hazel's challenge.  Anything goes as long as it has to do with holly and/or ivy!  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are important to me!