Mixed Media Monday - Bedtime Stories

I was just asking my Mom when I first became interested in books. She really couldn't remember a time that I wasn't. She told me that I was very careful with my own books and if a playmate deigned to treat one of them roughly they were immediately barred from further contact. So many parents tell me that their children are reluctant to let on that they can read themselves because they are afraid that they will no longer be able to cuddle with a parent and a book before bedtime. Reading to me is truly one of life's greatest pleasures. This is my entry for Mixed Media Monday this week.

Think Monday, Think ATC - Dream

Perhaps this little girl is dreaming of a life in the circus? The big top, elephants that dance on two legs, the flying trapeze, humans that breath fire......definitely fuels a child's imagination doesn't it? This is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.

Sunday Stamper - Living in a Box

Yes, it's confirmed....I'm a hoarder. I pick up little treasures with no real plan of what they will become and they sit around, sometimes for weeks and sometimes for years. Then one day, out of the blue, inspiration strikes. At that point, I'm not sure where I've stored the "perfect" item and I spend an inordinate amount of time searching for it. Unfortunately, sometimes my search is futile....the said item has not made the "cut" somewhere along the line. This wooden box is actually one of three that were nestled together. I lined the box with shredded sheet music and built a vignette complete with fairy and birds. This is my entry for the Sunday Stamper challenge this week.

Saturday Surprise Challenge - Christmas in Unconventional Colours

I confess, I do not like shopping so Christmas has always presented a bit of a challenge for me. Just thinking about malls and large department stores at this time of year makes me itchy. When I arrive to find that there isn't a parking spot in sight and that I have to trail around after other shoppers laden with parcels in the hope that they are leaving, I want to turn around and go back home (and I have). Then I discovered online shopping. You can surf around at your leisure, in your p.j.s if you desire, click a few buttons and await the arrival of your treasure. Let's just say treasures have been arriving on my doorstep all week. This is my entry for the Saturday Surprise challenge this week.

Theme Thursday - Christmas - Holiday Creations

Visions of altered tins nestled in my Christmas tree have been running through my head lately. This one was actually created for an ornament exchange that I'm participating in but I'm thinking that I should make some for myself. I have a tendancy to give all of my artwork away to others. Are you the same? This is my entry for the Theme Thursday challenge this week.

The Three Muses Challenge - Time

Can you honestly believe that we are coming to the end of another year? I remember when I was younger, the older and wiser folk would tell me that the older you get, the faster time flies. I don't think I really believed them then but now....A year can bring so many joys, sorrows, unexpected surprises, adventures. I always begin a new one with excitement and just a tiny bit of anxiety. This is my submission for the Three Muses challenge this week.

Wednesday Stamper - 3

When I think of the number 3, I think about fairy tales in particularly....likely because I am a children's librarian! Three is so prevalent in these tales....3 Little Pigs, 3 Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. Two would be two few and four too many but three is just right. This is my entry for the Wednesday Stamper challenge this week.

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Little Girls

I'm thinking that this group of friends are posing at a birthday celebration for one of them. Do you remember birthdays with your friends when you were young? I remember "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", goody bags for guests and of course chocolate layer cake with money wrapped in waxed paper between the layers. This is my submission for the Crazy Amigo challenge this week.

Created ByHand Challenge - I'm Blue

I'm very taken by these German dolls from Retro Cafe Art Gallery. This particular one is from a sheet with a "nature" theme. I decided that she needed a crown of pressed flowers, a pine cone to hold and a smattering of mica flakes to coordinate with her "egg" dress and the fact that she's standing in a nest. This is my entry for the Created ByHand Challenge this week.

Think Monday, Think ATC - Blue Bird

Our backyard is in essence owned by the sparrows of the neighbourhood. They arrive about 8:00 a.m. seemingly from nowhere to pillage the birdfeeders. They flit in and out of the blue spruces in the garden and take turns bathing and drinking out of the water sititng on top of the pool which has been covered for the winter. I could honestly sit and watch them for hours because they are both humourous and intriguing. In honour of the birds in my life, this is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.

Mixed Media Monday - Playing Cards

I participated in a very interesting swap. We were all sent two playing cards from the same deck and were asked to alter them and send them back to the host. She, in turn, copied them and distributed a set to each participant. These are the two that I altered and are my entry for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge.

Saturday Surprise Challenge - From the Forest

A sweet and very talented friend of mine, Marilyn Rock, posted this photograph of an owl named Aries on her blog. This lovely bird had been injured and was now living in a sanctuary that kept him safe. It is so rare to have the opportunity to see an owl at such a close distance and to study his beautiful markings. Marilyn found herself very drawn to Aries. I decided to take a photocopy of the photo to the encaustic collage workshop that I attended in September at Southampton School of Arts. I learned how to use it to make a transfer onto a smooth surface of wax. I then embedded pressed flowers and leaves around the image and dripped a fine layer of coloured wax around the outside to border the piece. This is my entry for the Saturday Surprise challenge this week.

Theme Thursday - Lots of Colour Skinny

Yes, beeswax is my current obsession and I used it again on this skinny. I choose my background paper, usually printed in some way, then add a layer of stamped tissue. I apply the beeswax on the top with a brush then heat it to smooth. Very soothing to me and my art room smells divine! This is my entry for the Theme Thursday challenge this week.

The Three Muses Challenge - Keys

I have recently discovered the joys of using napkins with beeswax. I gently pull the layers apart and use the top one in my artwork. It soaks up the wax and just seems to become one with the paper beneath it. This image is one of my adopted relatives (aka a vintage photo that I purchased) . I was attracted to this woman's dress and can only imagine the time it takes to get into it in the morning and the swishing sound that it makes when she walks. This is my entry for the Three Muses Challenge this week.

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Paint

I used to be intimidated by paint. I thought that it was only used by those who could create portraits or landscapes. Then I took two online classes....one with The Altered Diva and the other with Paulette Insall and my thinking changed. I could use paint just to play and play I did. It has become one of those mediums that I reach for when I'm stuck creatively. I dig out my stencils, my sequin waste and choose a few colours that I think go together nicely and off I go. This circular round robin page is my entry for the Crazy Amigo challenge this week.

Mixed Media Monday - I Am Woman

I am always attracted to biographies of women who managed to do extraordinary things in times that didn't support them. In fact, society often made it very difficult for women to step out of assumed roles and be adventurers or leaders. I was in Toronto last week for a Reading Summit and I chose to walk from my hotel to the Royal Ontario Museum where the event was happening. As I brusquely strode up Queen's Park, I noticed one of the blue historical signs that Ontario erects designating a site of significance. It said that this had been the site of Mary Pickford's house. I stood for a moment and thought of what Toronto must have been like during the time Mary lived there and of all of Mary's contributions to cinema. She was one of the most popular stars in the silent film era. She helped to establish United Artists Pictures and was one of 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is my entry for Mixed Media Monday this week, a tribute to an extraordinary woman.

Gothic Arch Challenge - Stars

When I was young it seemed as though I worked for stars. Teachers would affix them to schoolwork that they deemed excellent. Sunday school teachers would lick them and add them to attendance charts. Music teachers would add them to sheet music if I had actually practised during the week and played well during my lessons. Not getting a star meant disappointment and guilt. I was thinking about these feelings as I created this gothic arch and added the stars to it. This is my entry for the Gothic Arch challenge this week.

Saturday Surprise - More Than One

This week on the Saturday Surprise challenge I'm asking participants to think in multiples. I was immediately drawn to this image of two little boys. They look to be brothers based on the way that they're dressed. They actually don't look very happy do they? Did your Mom ever dress you the same as a brother or sister? I know mine did, on rare occasins. I remember yellow floral dresses with fabric daisies that were pinned in our hair. We posed for the requisite photos that are still drifting around in photo albums somewhere.

Created ByHand Challenge - Remembrance

The week of Remembrance Day I always find myself feeling edgy, emotional, uncomfortable somehow. I listen to radio programs with moving stories of bravery, loss and sorrow and try to either attend a memorial service at a cenotaph or, at the very least, to watch a ceremony on television. On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour I close my eyes and remember the sacrifices that so many made to ensure that we have the freedom that we often take for granted today. This is my entry for the Created ByHand challenge this week.

Think Monday, Think ATC - Fruit

Peaches always remind me of sun-drenched summer days. Can't you just imagine the first bite with the sweet juice dribbling down your chin? Ah, summer....I miss you so. This is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.

Mixed Media Monday - Fashion

This round robin journal page is actually a tribute to "The Beatles". I spent quite a bit of time collecting images that portrayed the Sixites in some way. I definitely wanted to show the distinct fasion of the decade and this photo caught my attention. Don't you just love the striped short skirt, the boots, the hat and the gloves? This is my entry for Mixed Media Monday.

Sunday Stamper - House of Fun

Yes, Hallowe'en has passed but this little girl hasn't yet parted with her costume because she loves it. She loves the way it feels with its velvet petalled skirt and she is very fond of the hat. Besides, her mother lovingly made it just for her. She wears it at home, at school, at the grocery store and even to bed much to her mother's chagrin. This house is my entry for the Sunday Stamper challenge this week.

Gothic Arch Challenge - Tickets

I was thinking about trips with my family as a child when I created this arch. My parents always believed in exploring our "neighbourhood" which in this case meant the province in which we lived. Mom would somehow find out about a town with an interesting museum or a place to pick apples or blueberries when they were in season. I am very appreciative for all of their efforts now that I am an adult and often set forth myself for a day trip to see a field of lavender or to travel to an area farm to sit outside for lunch surrounded by a garden of herbs. The world is filled with beauty and you don't need to travel far to find it. This is my entry for the Gothic Arch challenge this week.

Saturday Surprise - In the Round

Have you ever taken one of those personality tests that asks you to rate a variety of shapes? I remember the first time I was asked. My eye went straight to the circle and stayed there. The shape is very comforting and friendly to me. Perhaps because it is so symbolic and pleasing in its demeanour. Whatever the reason, it scores high with me on these tests and also in my artwork. This is actually a round robin journal page and my entry for this week's Saturday Surprise challenge. Can you imagine how amazing the book will look when it is assembled?

TGIF Challenge - Alice in Wonderland ATCs

The story of Alice in Wonderland certainly fuelled my imagination as a child. I found it enchanting and not a little frightening with all of its strange happenings and odd characters. The Mad Hatter was one of those unforgettable folks with his short dress and knobby knees in this case! This is my entry for the TGIF challenge this week.

Theme Thursday - Borders

I have embarked upon an artist trading card journey for an entire year with a group of amazingly talented artists. We have all committed to creating 9 atcs each month. The wonderful host swaps them out and then one magical day they appear in my mailbox. We always get one of our own back so if anyone would like to trade I'd be delighted. This is my entry for Theme Thursday this week.

The Three Muses Challenge - Pairs

Don't you just love this wonderfully wacky pair "cutting a rug" together? They've donned their costumes, pulled on their powdered wigs and they're off. This is my entry for The Three Muses challenge this week.

Created ByHand Challenge - Times Gone By

I was trying to capture a feeling of nostalga when I created this piece. I was attracted immediately to the background paper which had images of vintage fashion on it. I layered beeswax to give a sepia tone then added this lovely women with the pearls who, in my mind, was obviously fashion conscious. Touches of pressed flowers and buttons seemed natural to complete the effect. This is my entry for the Created ByHand challenge this week.

Mixed Media Monday - Opposites Attract

Ah the attraction between men and women is so often filled with an unnerving mixture of romance, conflict, excitement and in this case unwanted distraction. This tongue in cheek piece is my entry for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge.

Think Monday, Think ATC - Brown

One of the greatest blessings in my life are my friends. I can be feeling tired, weary, overwhelmed and downright ornery but some time spent with a good friend has the power to give me hope and to nourish my soul. On Saturday one of my girlfriends called me and told me that she was taking me to lunch. She chose a lovely little Bed and Breakfast in a lake town nearby and we were the only ones in the quaint place. We talked nonstop for three hours over bowls of baked potato soup and slices of fresh bread. This atc is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.

Saturday Surprise - Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time when I was a little girl I would wile away Sunday afternoons lost in the worlds of books. I can remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom, my legs stretched straight out in front of me and a book propped on my lap. Whole hours would slip by while I read about the adventures and lives of other children and otherworldly creatures in fairy tales and myths. Some of my favourites included Robert Louis Stevenson's poetry, Alice in Wonderland, Emily of New Moon, The Moffats.....What books do you remember from your childhood? I'd love to hear. This is my entry for the Saturday Surprise challenge this week.

Sunday Stampers - Snowmen

Yes, Hallowe'en is but a memory and Christmas is fast approaching....as is the snow. In my neck of the woods, it is almost like the trees held onto their leaves until this weekend then dropped them straight down to create a skirt around their trunks. Obviously Hels is thinking about those Christmas cards we all aspire to make for friends and family (and sometime never succeed in doing so....ahem....like me). The theme she has chosen for Sunday Stampers this week is "Snowmen" and here is my card. Now I just have to make 75 more.