New scrapbook layout - Priceless!!

I belong to a ning-group called Your Paper Pantry (YPP for short) and there is an amazing group of artists there! Everyone there is so open and sharing with ideas and techniques, it's so much fun to belong! Every month there are myriad challenges, swaps, and other fun stuff. I created this LO for a challenge - the February Sketch Challenge in the Challenge Layouts group. It's fairly simple; I used the fabulously distressed background paper to  it's full advantage - it almost didn't need any embellishments. Just a bit of Stickles! I cut the title "priceless" out with my Slice in 2 different sizes and layered them; they don't match, but I liked the offset look it gave. 

Long time, no update!

I've been busy with work and getting back to the "routine" after the holidays, and haven't posted in weeks! But, I've been very busy, scrapping, making cards, and making art! I participated in an online workshop sponsored by Strathmore Artists Papers this month. This workshop was taught by mixed-media art journaling artist Pam Carriker, and was absolutely fabulous! We learned collage techniques, shading with charcoal pencil and oil pastels, stamping and stenciling with really cool household objects, and journaling techniques, among other things. It was really an eye-opening, artistic-muscle-stretching event.

Here's my first page I created; the 1st version from Week 1

Then here it is after the next "layer" of pencil and oil pastel - Week 2 version

Interesting, isn't it? I don't have pics of weeks 3 and 4; I was getting ready to take pics of week 3 when one of my precious babies mistook my sketchbook for their litterbox and ruined these designs. (If I could figure out which one it was.........ggrrrrrrr!!!)

The good news is, the 3rd page that I was working on I was wanting to change. Since I was already more than halfway done, I wasn't going to go back and do that......SO......now that they are ruined, I get a do-over!!! This is the collage/artwork I am going to re-do in Week 1 stage:

and the same page in Week 2 stage; where it will live forever, lol!

Now; off to see what I can do to it now.....................

I also made some cute cards and a layout about my boys - 2 of the dogs and 1 of the cats.......I'll post them later. Thanks for reading all the way through this!!

blessings,
cindi

Excited about possibilities in 2011!

I am so jazzed today; one of my fav bloggers and artists, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer wrote a post today and she showed work from many great artists who will be joining her in an Art Journal Every Day challenge for 2011. I was shocked to see she chose one of my works to comment on!!! She showed this one, and challenged everyone to try getting paint on their hands!

Another artist Julie highlighted, Melanie Kisr, had a fabulous hand-carved leaf stamp that she used on her page. Julie encouraged us to create our own stamp.....and I just so happened to have bought a stamp blank at the International Quilt Festival in Houston last month!! So, I drew and carved this:

Then, I took this page in my art journal that I had painted with a credit

card and acrylic paint in September, and stamped it!

as it was:

and newly stamped with my new stamp!

oohhhh.....now I have to go find some more carving material...........don't I have some potatoes in the kitchen?? LOL!

Please go check out Julie's blog

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2010/12/art-journal-every-day-inspired-to-begin.html

- and even if you don't think you have time, join her Art Journal Every Day challenge. Even if you only can do some of the time, it will inspire you to create - and that's what it's all about. Make Art Every Day is one of Julie's favorite sayings; it feeds the soul and gives us and others a lift.

A BIG THANKS to Julie Fei-Fan Balzer for hosting this journey and to posting my work; and for the lovely comments she made about everyone's art. She is a kind and generous soul, and a great artist.