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Showing posts from 2010

I love that my family knows me!

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Look at the cool sparkly paper I got in my stocking for Christmas!  Plus awesome stamps from my son and his girlfriend!  Too fun!  I am one spoiled artist!  I don't know what is with the picture.  This sort of thing only seems to happen with my desk top computer.  I am sure it is not the camera.  Weird. Now I am off to play with my nieces and cameras!  Love it.  Hopefully I produce some worthy pictures.

filigree kaleidoscope

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I am really glad that I bought the filigree templates for the Kaleidoscope Kreator.  Look how pretty  this one is!  I took a photo of some loose beads and then imported it into the Kaleidoscope Kreator to get this.  I think it has a lot of potential. 

meandering book

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These are two pages from my meandering book I created a few weeks ago.  I may never complete the book!  I really like the backgrounds that I have created and that makes it difficult to continue.  I don't want to screw it up.  I hate when that happens.  But really, what else am I going to do with it? I'm sorry for neglecting my blog.  It is such a busy time of year.  I will try to post again before the end of the year but I make no promises!   Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas.

it is cool to be recognized as an artist

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Last night at the local camera club I was given the award pictured above.  I am so very pleased to receive the honour.  I come across as a pretty confident person but I was shaking in my boots when my photo was being judged.  I believe I will enter more photos in our next competition.  The way the ribbon is present it quite nice.  They have all the pertinent information to the right and a thumbnail of the photo.  I am inspired and encouraged!

snowflake kaleidoscope original

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I know that this is a template and therefore someone could create a very similar snowflake.  But this started from a photo of a bead journal page I made this past year.  So really it could not be duplicated exactly.  I am thinking ahead to the 2011 bead journal project.  I have created 12 snowflakes all from the same photo.   They are all similar in color - my favorite.  I plan to bead each of those 12 snowflakes in a different way.  I am thinking that at the end I could sew all the bead journal pages together and have a beautiful quilt.  I have good intentions but I may get bored with it and lose interest.  I have improved over the years at finishing things but...

kaleidoscope

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I can spend hours playing with the Kaleidoscope Kreator program.    Here is gift from me to you.  Feel free to use this kaleidoscope.  If you do I would love to see your piece! 

bead journal project for December

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Well, that's it.  I have finished the year long bead journal project.  I used a watch face as the focal point on this piece.  I made the background fabric with bits and pieces of scrap fabric and fibre.  I really would like to do more beading next year.  The pieces I made this year just didn't call for being encrusted.  My intention is to do at least one encrusted piece next year.

snowflake kaleidoscope

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Can't you just see this snowflake encrusted with beads?  My printer isn't working properly at the moment otherwise I would have this printed and I would be stitching on it!  Maybe it will be my bead journal project for January. 

Kaleidoscope Kreator's new templates

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I think everyone knows that I like playing with the Kaleidoscope Kreator program.  This week I purchased the snowflake and filigree templates.  Above is a snowflake I created with a flower photograph.  The possibilities are endless with this program!  I plan to print this onto paper and adhere it to fabric.  I then plan to bead and stitch it. 

gingerbread house

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 We had a ton of candy left from our gingerbread houses for the auction.   So we decided to build another one at home.  This is the fruit of our efforts.  I should have taken a picture of the back because it is equally fantastic.    We had lots of fun and everyone is anxious to eat it! 

Gingerbread houses

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I count myself extremely blessed to be a creative person.  I get into a blissful state when I am creating.  Even better is when my creativity can be used to help or bless someone.  My husband and I work with a young adult group in our church.  We decided to build gingerbread houses and then auction them to raise money for a group of kids that are going on a mission trip to Mexico on the Christmas break.  The auction was held this morning and raised $215.00 The house that I helped build is the top picture.  I have to brag.  That house sold for $100.00  How cool is that! Everyone had a lot of fun the evening we spent building the houses.  I think it was a win win situation for all involved.

bead journal project for November

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I've actually had this done for a while now.  I just didn't have time to post the picture because I spent so much time on my journal.  The top picture is a bit dark.  The close up shot is closer to the real colors.  I am looking forward to finishing December project and therefore completing the year.  I feel like I can say I have finally learned to finish things. I have joined the Bead Journal Project for 2011.  I am hoping to improve my beading skills.  Having a deadline each month gets me working. ps I forgot to say that I also incorporated the sword stitch in this piece.  I learned it from Sharon B at the Pintangle blog.  I love learning the new stitches!

fun photography

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I was at workshop with GRIPS on Saturday morning.  What a great way to spend a morning!  Too fun!  I learned a lot and found out I have a lot to learn!  I was not surprised.  Here are a couple of cool shot that I got.

last page

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Well, that's it.  I'm done with posting this journal.  Doing a journal from scratch is a lot of work but it is certainly worth it.  If I do it again I think I will start with a theme in mind.  

bits and pieces

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The fabric page on the left is quite dark.  I needed to really cover it with paint to hide the brown stripes that are in the fabric.  I cut a piece of woven garbage bag that we had painted.  It didn't take the paint all that well so it was pretty light in color.   I stitched some buttons on the edge of the right hand page.  This has been a really fun journal to create.

almost finished

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The fabric page on the left is painted and stamped.  It still needs something else though.  The page on the right has punchinella stitched on the edge.  I think it definitely makes for a sturdy edge!

simple pages

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I took these pages to a cemetery with me so that  I could do some rubbings.  There are some really cool images that you can get!  On the left is a butterfly that might be a bit difficult to recognize.  On the right is a flower.

handmade stamp on a journal page

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This page is painted with any layers.  I stamped the circle shapes on handmade paper and glued them to the page.  I made the stamp myself with cardboard.  It will make an interesting addition to a page once it has loads of layers of paint on it.

pocket fabric page and more

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These pages I added some gesso through a stencil.  I covered cardboard letters with foil and colored them with alcohol ink.  The gesso worked well on the fabric.  I will definitely use that idea again.

two fabric pages

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These pages are both in need of something more.  I really want to do something fabric/bead related for these pages but the inspiration has not come.  It is not the end of the world if I don't come up with something.  I could just add some words with a Sharpie.  Until the inspiration comes these pages will just have to wait.

another fabric journal page

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I really enjoy working with both paper and fabric.  I think it is cool to have a journal that combines both.  I will likely do this again.  The fabric page on the right started off a beige and brown print with a lot of texture.  I really didn't want those colors in this journal so I used layers and layers of paint to hide them.

different materials for journal pages

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The page on the left is paper towel adhered to a fusible stabilizer.  There's a slight problem with that though - only the first layer of the paper towel adheres.  The second ply separates.  I think I added a coat of matte medium to make sure that the second layer didn't come away totally. The page on the right is many different papers torn in strips and adhered to wax paper with a watered down white glue.  Both sides of the wax paper is covered with  the strips of paper.  When it was all dry I ironed it.   It was originally going to be the cover for this journal but it wasn't big enough.

illuminated letter journal page

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These are more simple pages and I like them so much better than the busy pages.  The illuminated letter A is not your typical illuminated letter.  I let go of the need to make it perfect and that allowed me to make it my own.  Good lesson.

mixed media journal page

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I used a shell slice, an agate slice, a skeleton leaf, vintage lace and a piece of transparency.  I don't think I could have used so many dimensional items in a regular journal.

art journal pages

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This fabric page holds a small book.  The other page is paper with layers of paint, stamping and more paper.  I used some vintage lace trim as a border on the right.   All the layers seem pretty busy to me.  I guess I'm a simple girl at heart.

and the next journal page

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This is a fabric page that was painted and stamped.  I then did rubbings of the angel wings.  I am thinking about doing some writing along the top edge of the wings.  I think I will use a white metallic marker that I have.  I just don't know what the words should be.

art journal pages

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The left hand side is paper the right hand side is fabric.  The fabric has a layer of paper towel adhered to it that gives it a wonderful texture.  The pocket is holding a small book and an ATC.    Having a fabric page is a great idea.

journal page again

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Bring on the glitz.  I added sequins on both of these pages.  Really, what journal of mine would be complete without some bling? It might be a bit tough to see but the page on the right has a circular hole cut out of it - well the hole isn't tough to see.  Possibly the metallic threads that crisscross the hole are hard to see though.

journal, journal, journal

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I intend to post all the pages of this journal as I have invested a lot of time and energy into it.    Again, there are layers and layers of paint and paper on these pages.  It is a lot of work just for a background but it is worth it.  At least I think it is. have a sparkly day

journal page again

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This page has some nice texture.  I used modelling paste through a stencil.  I also used water color crayons to doodle and add visual texture.

journal page again

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I combined two photos by weaving them together.  I think it is a cool idea but I am not sure that it really works on this page.  Oh well, it is there now and not every page has to be a master piece.   I keep telling myself that but I don't really believe it!

and the next journal page

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I used fusible web and embossing powder to decorate the butterfly.  Definitely a nice look.  This page is a little more simple than the last even though there are a lot of layers of paint.

art journal page

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I may have posted this page before this but I believe I have added to it since.  It's okay but not great.  Oh well they can't all be masterpieces nor do they need to be.

the next art journal page

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This page is loaded with paint and layers of paper.   I think this page is pretty good.  It's got  a lot of layers but I think the blend together pretty well.

another journal page

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I don't seem to be able to do busy pages very well.  I really like busy pages done by other people but not my own so much.  I guess I am just a simple girl at heart.

more of my journal

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I love the colors in this journal.  I am pleased with the way it has turned out.  Not every page is a totally terrific but I will post them any.  I used a watch crystal to trap a leaf sequin on a tag.  I used a disposable paint palette to make a pocket to hold the tag.  I stitched silk and beads along the edge of the page.

macro photography

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I I have a fantastic macro lens.  I really enjoy shooting macro photography so it was worth the big bucks I paid for it.  Check out this close up of a peacock feather.  I am thinking I should print it on fabric and then do some beading on it.

photography workshop with Andre Gallant

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I spent a wonderful weekend learning and being inspired by Andre Gallant.   The top image is a panning shot it is too dark on the top but I am still learning.  The bottom image is a dreamscape.  A dreamscape is two images of the same subject combined.  The first image is in focus and over exposed one stop.  The second image is exposed properly but slight out of focus to give the halo effect.  I can combine two images in my camera but this can be done in Photoshop Elements as well.  I am really excited to learn these cool artsy techniques.  I hoping to incorporate these images into my stitching.  So much fun!

one more collage

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This piece is a bit big for a card but I don't like it well enough to frame it.  I guess I could put it in a journal.

more paper collage cards

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Here are more cards I created yesterday.  I really enjoyed stitching on the beads and button.  It's a cool idea for a card.  It's great to have some cards ready made and ready to go.

paper collage cards

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I created these collage cards today in Sandra's workshop.  What a great way to spend a morning.  A lovely creative atmosphere is good for the soul!