"My Dream Is..."

And there is lots of time for dreaming now that summer is here.....

"The Time, the Place, and the Girl" 4"X4"

This gal looks like she has a little "spring in her step".

"Summer Friendship" Card

Today is the first official day of school being finished. I thought these two looked as though they were liking the idea of long, lazy days stretched before them. I made this for the Stamp and Scrap Canada Design Team.

Background Instructions

Quite a few people emailed me asking for instructions for the background on the "Roots" card so I decided to post it. It is called the "Faux Watercolour Technique". You can use liquid watercolours, coloured inks, food colouring, liquid or pearlescent acrylics or any type of water-based art colours. It is handy to have dropper bottles. Take a piece of 90 lb. hot-pressed watercolour paper and dip it into water letting the excess drip off. Lay paper down and drop colour on top at random. Cover as much of the paper as you would like leaving some white space. You can add a bit of gold or silver ink sediment with an unwound paper clip. A light touch is best. You can also sprinkle fine or coarse salt on top for a tie-dye effect. Take a piece of plastic wrap slight bigger than the piece of paper and use it to gently move the colour around until you are satisfied with coverage. Lay the plastic wrap on top and crinkle slightly. Leave to dry. Check out the book "Painting Greeting Cards" by Elizabeth Joan Black for other great ideas.

Here is another card that I created on the weekend using this technique.

"Fairyland" Journal Spread

I had to live in "Fairyland" for a while recently while creating a spread for Barb's round robin journal. We also had to ensure that we appeared somewhere in the piece. Can you see me?

New Header

I just have to say a special thank you to a dear Friend who designed my new header. What a fantastic gift to give to me.

"Roots" Card

I created this card on the weekend using a background that I created myself. This was a technique I learned at Haliburton School of the Arts. I took a course there on cardmaking techniques a few years ago. Can you believe that this gorgeous colour is created with food colouring? The images of the little boys are from PaperWhimsy.

"About Books" Pages

Thank you for letting me indulge myself by posting scans of my altered board book spread by spread. I very much appreciate all of your very kind comments on it. The last spread is based on a quotation about books and the places that house them....very near and dear to a librarian's heart.

"About Cooking" Pages

I hadn't really thought about the "essence" of cooking until I read this passage in a book. I did, however, have a sense that some recipes just seemed to "belong" to individuals. No matter how hard I tried to duplicate them, there just seemed to be something missing.....Mom's Gingerbread Cookies, Grandma's Shortbread Cookies.

"About Memories" Spread

This is by far the most personal quotation to me in the book. Quite a few years ago my Dad took us to visit his childhood farm. The barn and house were still standing but in disrepair. We were able to go into the house and there were dolls and other items left from people who had lived there. I found the experience very haunting. Both farmhouse and barn are gone now. This quotation just lept off the page at me when I read it because it captures the experience. The photos on the right are actual pictures of my Dad's farm and my Dad.

"About Women" Pages

What a beautiful description of all of those women in our lives who inspire us and nurture us in many different ways.

"About Passages" Altered Book Pages

Ah....time does pass by so quickly, doesn't it?

"About the Seasons" Pages

I thought this quotation from a book captured beautifully the "feel" of the seasons. All pages in this altered board book are created with beeswax collage.

"Book Wisdom" Altered Board Book

Have you ever been reading a book and stumbled across a passage that just stunned you? Perhaps the language is lyrical and beautiful or the meaning just seems to touch you in some way? Well I have been writing these passages in journals for years waiting for the day that I could do something with them. I was discarding a board book with tabs at the library and really felt inspired by it. I've been working on altering it for a few weeks now and will show you the finished product over the next few days. These are scans of the front cover, the whole book and the first page.

To Dads

Just a little artwork to commemorate dads. Happy Father's Day!

"Summertime Sweetness" ATC

Just thought this little girl captured the freshness of a summer day.

"Time Enough" Card

I think the quotation on this card says it all.....Instructions for it and many others can be found on the Stamp and Scrap Canada webpage www.stampandscrapcanada.com

"Believe...if you Dare" ATC

I'm not sure that I'd necessarily want to be in this little girl's place but.....

"Imagine....Play" ATC

Ah, childhood with its time for imagination and play.....I remember it fondly.

"Wonder" ATC

This little gal is from Lost Coast Designs. Their images of children have really captured my imagination.

"A Fairy Story" ATC

I was busy creating ATCs this weekend for various swaps I've joined. Here is one using a PaperWhimsy image.

Packing Tape Transfer Instructions

I had a few people write to ask about the Packing Tape Transfer technique. You'll be surprised how easy and effective it is. Here is a link to instructions:
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Photo-Transfer-With-Packaging-Tape

Packing Tape Mania

I have an obsession with packing tape transfers....yes, you heard me correctly....especially ones created with pictures of dogs! My secret is out!

A Grouchy Prince

I was particularly drawn to this grouchy little prince stamp which is part of the Tim Holtz line. We've all had those days!

All Dressed Up and Ready to Go

These collage images from Paperbag Studio really beg for a story to accompany them. These little girls are all dressed up and ready to go somewhere....but where? I created this card for the Stamp and Scrap Canada Design Team. Instructions to make it and lots of other projects can be found at www.stampandscrapcanada.com.

Rural Roots

I'm very attracted to rural scenes and often incorporate them in my art....a link to my farming roots. Check out the instructions for the first atc on the Stamp and Scrap Canada webpage:

http://www.stampandscrapcanada.com

Tribute to Women Friends

The theme of this altered journal is "paper dolls" with pink and brown as the colours. I decided to create a tribute to all of the wonderful women friends in my life and all of the aspects of them than enhance my life.

The Sea Has Its Pearls

These are atcs I made for a vintage swap that I host. Can you tell that I am looking forward to summer....and the beach?

Altered Playing Card

I altered these playing cards yesterday for a swap that I joined. It will be an amazing deck when all of the artwork is assembled! PaperWhimsy images were a requirement and that is always a pleasure.

CD Case Card

I was just playing around with an empty compact disc case and decided to make it into a card....with a "natural" theme.