Green Eyes

I bought myself a bunch of new stuff for my birthday.
This is  one of the new silicon stamps by LaBlanche. I swore I would not buy  another mounted stamp and when it is a Robin, I cave.
The two leggeds have  typical dark beady avian eyes, and I create in my own image and give them sparkly green ones. It's a sign of the tribe of medicine and fey people. Green eyes.
I got a Fiscars stamp press- so far I love it.  Line up your stamps and pick them up with the removable clear plates, then put that on the press and position it before you stamp down. If you are making mulitples, you can get  stamp over and over, and remove the plate and put another one on for additional stamping. fun!
I put the quote stamp on the card and lined it up where I wanted it, picked it up with the press, inked it up and thermal embossed clear.
I lined up the silicon stamp and over stamped Versafine Sepia wiping off  some of the text that would obscure the quote ( I sampled this first on scrap). then I had fun painting and shading with Distress inks.
The outer card has a layer of embossing, and the blue layer is Distress broken china- water spritz- and when dry, the new Ranger Perfect Pearl Mist- heirloom gold. These are resin- not water so the ink doesn't react. And they are pure pearl- no pigment so you just get the glitter and your color shows through.

This weeks challenge theme is Birthday/Balloons. I punched and stamped some balloons and they didn't find their way onto this card.
Another in the simplicity series. Even with the layering, this card took less than an hour- including chasing the squirrel off the bird feeder.

My answer to the question is some days 30, some days 60.
Leave a comment with your own age or wannabe, and any questions you might have about this card, the challenge, and anything else on your creative mind and spirit!

I don't do Halloween and...

.... can't wait to get my ink on these stamps!
Check out Quietfire for pre-order info! and watch this space for creative inspiration soon.

Love the flourished bat!

Mixing

There is a book on color mixing called ' Blue and Yellow  don't make green.'
Well, they do and they don't. At a certain point anything you mix turns to mud. In more things than paint!
Once again I,m keeping it simple here inspite of a learning curve.
I used acrylic inks for the first time, and learned that they act as a resist once they are dry. More play time is needed to learn how to use their properties to my advantage. I'm more of a water color girl, still I'm teachable!
This weeks theme at Created Byhand Challenge is Red +Blue= Purple. Red brought me to the flourished hearts , stamped in red and thermal embossed clear.
The quote was stamped in versafine deep lagoon- a new color to me-I love it!-a good mixing color, thermal embossed clear.
the background is a wash of acrylic inks-that dry really fast so no thinking!
The little hearts are a small punch with a dot each of stickles and liquid pearls.
This would make a good thank you card with a gift, and possibly a sympathy card if you're not sure what to say.
Mix it up.  if you can't make a mess you can't make anything!
Thanks for reading, your comments and your color!
To read what is on my heart please visit Still Waters Refuge

What's the Point?

I often say:
I am allergic to black.
Draw 15 minutes everyday
People are dying to be heard.
What's the point?

Laziness(?) has me turning to zentangles for my 15 minute creativity drawing session when I think I am too tired to do anything and that has lead to thinking in black and white.
This weeks Created Byhand Challenge is, What's the Point/ Triangles. If you have listeed or watched any news in the past year, you may be wondering What's the point<>.
I cut a shaped card with the largest Spellbinders Pennant -position the die off the fold so it doesn't cut through- and stamped with the harlequin background. Went down a size for the quote- altered a bit to fit ,stamped black and thermal embossed clear.
I shaded ever so lightly with some silver ink and outlined with Distress Black Soot- use a light hand with the blending tool. 
Embellished adding some Liquid Pearls and Stardust pens .

This card is dedicated to all my friends who have graced me with their listening- even when they had a lot to say. I love you and thank you for your friendship.

Thanks for visiting, your comments and posting your own entries in the challenge.

STH continued...

 The finished sock knit from Eileen Hallman's easy dye cotton- dyed by Lesie at Nice Threads.
Lovely fit and easier than pie.

Teaser-the padded heel is on the needles- curvy and cushy.
Come on in and learn how to make a pair for yourself- you know you want to.
The pattern is here.

May the soft peace that
rises through knitting wash over you again
and again, until it is the fabric of your life.
Cat Bordhi

Sweet Tomato Heel

 Locally grown!
I hope you can see from these photo's what a beauty these heels are.
and EASY!
Yes you do have to purl and knit a short row, and I can teach a confident knitter to make this heel in about 15 minutes.
Cat Bordhi is the creator of this heel and the Insouciant sock.
I have run out of superlatives to describe her knitting designs.
Start with amazing and brilliant and go up from there.
Please go here to buy her books, and then come see me if you want a hand to sit by you.
I promise this will be a knitting and grinning experience.

Rainbow and Wings

I'm in a rainbow, wings, birthday mood.
I love the feeling of awe and wonder looking at rainbows, birds and insects in flight and beautifully wrapped presents (hint hint).
This weeks Created Byhand Challenge is Rainbows/ Multi-colors, Wings.
I love this flourished birdhouse stamp- and I put a bird on it! I swore i would never buy another wood mounted stamp and if it's a Robin I can't resist;and shout out to my LSS, A Stamp Artist Place 
for continuing to tempt me and supply me with the best supplies at great prices and fun classes and stamping community.
 The bird and the Happy Birthday I thermal embossed to make them stand out.
The wings are the small dragonfly stamp. {after thought-the wings look like finger wave peace signs}
I used the ink blending tool to shade with Distress Antiqued linen.
Here and there some stardust pens.

Every rainbow is a reminder of the Covenant- Make an art Covenant with yourself- be creative everyday- and share it with us by posting your entry each week in the Challenge-we only give put ups-no put downs!
Thanks for your comment and for being colorful.

Change

The only thing constant in this world is change. and hopefully new art supplies.
I had to take my new to me car in to the dealer for a recall- a 1/2 hour repair and you have to leave it there for the day- and Michaels was in walking distance and I had two coupons! so I got this new EK double edge butterfly punch.
Pretty fun. It's a bit big for ATC's and the off color of this scan makes the bottom edge look even bigger. In real life it is a light peridot green with patina Stickles. I also got some more Liquid Pearls( on the tag) and some clear gesso. I remember reading on someones blog or one of the lists a great way to use clear gesso, and now I can't remember!. Leave me a comment if you have any ideas. It adds a lot of texture- I can tell you that.
This weeks Created Byhand Challenge theme is Peridot/Shades of Green.
I stamped the quote  Versafine black and thermal embossed clear.
I painted the card with Twinkling H2O's and stamped the butterflies with Bundled Sage Distress.
Added some Liquid pearls, Stardust pens, and the punched butterflies-made sitting in the Dealer Service Lounge-their glossy auto adds punch nicely.
Change it up! thanks for your comments and for reading and for entering your fabulous creations in the Challenge