I don't know why but when I heard the theme of the Three Muses challenge this week, I thought of the rhyme "What are little girls made of?"....sugar and spice and all that's nice.....soo I dug out these little girls perched atop cupcakes with sprinkles! All images are from Retro Cafe Art Gallery.
We are expecting a high of 19 degrees Celsius today.....woo, hoo! The earth is coming alive after a few months of rest. I see the birds outside busy with their mating rituals and the building of their nests. I look forward to watching the antics of the babies when they are born. I'm also noticing quite a few green sprouts in my garden. Now if I could just remember what they will be when they grow taller...hey, that's the joy of surprise. These atcs are my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.
This wonderful lady is one of my "adopted" relatives. The photo has the most lovely colour in it, subtle and warm, and I'm enamoured by the fact that the woman is captured with her violin. I've always equated the sound of music with nature and wanted to capture that sentiment in this piece. This is my entry for the Crazy Amigo Challenge this week.
Give me one papier mache house, acrylic paints and a variety of PaperWhimsy vintage children and I am in creative heaven. I have always been drawn to the haunting nature of the PW images and I'm thrilled that they are now available in digital form. This means that I can weave them into my artwork whenever I am in the mood. This is my entry for the Mixed Media Monday challenge this week.
The theme of Think Monday Think ATC this week is "all in a row". It immediately reminded me of picture day at school when classes would be assembled with their teacher to have their photos taken. I bet you have some of these in albums somewhere. I know I did. When you look at them, you wonder where everyone scattered to as they continued their lives. 
Whether they are our sisters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers or friends, our relationship with each of the women in our lives is unique and adds colour and depth to our lives. Here's a piece dedicated to all the "sisters" in my life. This is my entry for the One Powerful Hour challenge this week.
It's all about the men on the Theme Thursday challenge this week. I have envisioned lives for these two fine gentlemen and tried to capture my imaginings in the collage elements that I used. I love the layered backgrounds of gessso, gel medium and pages from the telephone book. They just seem to make the other elements on top of them pop from the page.
Marie is definitely incognito in these two pieces. These images of her fascinated me with their masks, fancy dresses and quirky accessories. Sure hope these houses inspire a story. They are my entry for the Three Muses challenge this week.
We have a microfilm reader at the library and people use it to access vintage newspapers to look for obituaries and announcements of relatives, to find out information about a particular day or year or to chart the coverage of an event in history. For people in this city, one of the most researched events is the day that Jumbo the elephant died in our fair city. Another is the sinking of the Titanic. It is fascinating to watch as the information unfolds day by day and to note the difference in the speed at which this information is revealed. I have used a print off of a newspaper from this time frame and used it as the background for this piece which is my entry for the Three Muses Challenge this week.
I always hope that girls are taught to follow their dreams and to believe that they can be anything that they wish to be. I credit the brave women who fought for our rights throughout the years with this privilege. This is a card that I created to congratulate a friend in my life who was following HER dreams and it is my entry for both the Created ByHand and Crazy Amigo challenges this week.
What a punch the colours black and white together give. I decided to use a subtle hint of silver in this artist trading card to not detract from the elegance of this very beautiful and stylish woman. This is my entry for the Mixed Media Monday challenge this week.
I imagined this fine looking fellow as a photographer. Can't you just see him cajoling children into smiles and arranging family groupings with hands on shoulders and knees together. This is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week with the theme of "metal". 
These two sisters are part of my "adopted relatives" collection of photographs. I love their solemn looks, the prim way that they pose and their beautifully starched dresses. I thought that they needed a vintage background for their home so I layered scrapbook papers, pages out of the telephone book and napkins with a darker coloured beeswax and used my Tim Holtz distressed ink to add a bit of distressing throughout. This is my entry for the Lots to Do Challenge this week.
Making space in my life for art and creativity has been more life enhancing than I could have imagined. I truly believe that it has helped me to see the world in a different way, to savour the sights and sounds, the colours and the textures as I move through my days. It has also allowed me to explore my inner world and to express it in ways that I never thought possible. Here's to art! This is my entry for the Theme Thursday Challenge this week.
I spent a lovely afternoon dipping shipping tags in a solution of coffee and vanilla extract. The aroma itself was captivating and I very much like the vintage look it creates once the tag dries. I added these sweet little Valentine dollies from Retro Cafe Art Gallery and voila tags to send to dear friends. These are my entries for the Crazy Amigo challenge this week.
Orange is not really a colour that I reach for above all others. However, I do very much equate the warmer shades of it with Fall. I used layers of beeswax and pressed leaves to create this artist trading card celebrating one of my favourite times of the year. This is my entry for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge this week.
I entered an enchanted world when I created these two round robin journal pages. The challenge presented was to show oneself in a natural world so I decided to try seeing nature from the perspective of a tiny fairy. Can you imagine flitting or scampering around your garden encountering sparrows and insects as you go. I used handmade papers torn into pieces to give a more natural look and real pressed leaves as well. This is my entry for Mixed Media Monday this week.
