Just a random ATC...

I was bored today so I put together an ATC. I think Im going to enter it into a lucky dip swap in Absolutely_Everything_Swap_Central :) I made the background using metallic liquid watercolor and blue cardstock, attached to an ATC made from a recycled box. I attached 2 tags together using fibers and a heart shaped brad. I stamped Togetherness on the larger tag. I added a flourish w/ blue ink to the background and a cute dragonfly stamp (purchased at michaels but unsure of who made it, its one of those foam stamps) and then I took a really cute image of a young boy and girl from a black and white wedding invitation sample that I had lying here. I colored it in with colored pencils :) AND WHA-LA! Just thought I would share :) Have a great weekend!

My lazy pooches...

I had to share these comical pictures of my dogs, Honey and Cooper. The first is of Honey, she is the oldest of the 2. She is a jack russell mix and she will be 5 years old on Halloween :) She is so spoiled. I took this picture today while she was sleeping on the couch, sooo lazy! She had her nose covered with her two paws, like she was saying 'something stinks!' HAHA. I dunno, thought it was pretty cute so I just had to snap a pic.

This next picture is of Cooper. He is 5 months old, and he is also a Jack Russell Mix. ((We love Jack Russells, can you tell?)) I took this picture today also. He is funny, its like he's saying 'what are you looking at?!' HAHA... Neither of my pooches like their picture being taken though. They always hide, or turn away from the camera, so I got them when they were too lazy to care HAHA... I just thought I would share :) Hope everyone is having a fun weekend!

Its definitely Spring :)

Spring is here, along with everything that comes with it! From gorgeous flowers, greenery, butterflies, and warmth to allergies, bugs, and spring chores :) I am actually really enjoying it so far. I havent had any problems with allergies or anything, and Tim and I did alot of yard work yesterday that needed to be done. One of those things that is going to start being a weekly chore again :) We've also been going to the park when we get the chance, and walking the paths and things. I wanted to share pictures that I took at the park, and then some beautiful pictures of butterflies that Tim's mom Candy took as well. Just a few reasons why I love spring!

St. Patty's Day Gothic Arches

This is another creation for a swap in Artistic-Creations. I took a scrapbook page for the background, added a few believe stamps here and there, and a flourish. I drew on some shorts on the baby in glitter gel pen, and added a hat to him. Then I added a pot of gold coloring it in w/ a gold gel pen and added a Luck word using my label-maker.... I also added ribbon, beads, a green jewel, a tag that I created, and also a feather and a bell lol. Its very very festive LOL... I added alot to it and got a weeee bit carried away, but I had alot of fun...

Here's another picture of the same arch showing the tag and other embels. :)

The second arch I made for this exchange was a little plainer but I still had fun creating it.....





I found the neat little clear letter stamps for $1 at Michaels last week and thought I would give them a try, I like them but they are a little hard to read. I colored in the little girls hair and took some paper flowers and added them to her hands, I colored in the center of the flowers and drew in the stems. It is simple but I wanted to do one simple and one a little more crazy lol.


I know its waayyyy past St. patty's day, but I wanted to share anyway :D

Why do you love music postcard

In my group Artistic-Creations we had a Zetti themed altered postcard exchange. This was my take on it. I used a Grey toned cardstocked stamped with a background stamp from A time to Stamp. Im not sure where the vintage girl image came from because I received it in a ephemera swap, I zettied her up with a hat, wings, and arm bands that I drew. I thought the little star stamp would add a cool effect to the background. Since the girl is holding a musical instrument, I thought a cool question like Why do you love music, would be something interesting to add. On the other side, I stamped simple lines for the receivers address and then stamped the definition of music using a stamp from Purple Onion Designs. I hope folks enjoy seeing this through the mail and the receiver digs my take on Zetti. I was going to put an explaination of why I love music but I ran out of space on the card. :D

Shower Creation

Candy (my mom-in-law) is throwing me a shower before Tim and I renew our vows in July. When we were first married, we didnt get to have a shower, so I really thought this was nice of her to do. Yesterday, we worked on the shower invites, and came up with this fun A-B-C shower idea... This is a picture of the inside of the invite, and then also the back of the envelope, (the flap that seals)... I blocked out private info because Im sure no one wants their private address, and phone number floating around the net, ya know?

Just thought I would share, part of what we created on our 'craft day' yesterday :)

A b-e-a-utiful sunset

Yesterday I spent a great day at my mom-in-law (Candy's) House... We usually try to spend at least 1 day each week together creating art and crafts. Yesterday was a gorgeous, warm, perfect spring day and we got alot done that we were hoping to do. We stayed for dinner and we left at around 7:30 or 8. Tim and I decided to take a nice walk around the park, and then headed home. Its about a 20-25 minute drive to our home from there, and the scenery is beautiful, especially at the lookout. (We live about 5 minutes from the lookout at the end of Bolt Mountain) We got to the lookout in perfect time to stop and watch the sunset and it was beautiful. The picture really doesnt give it justice, obviously, it was just luck that I happened to have brought my digi-cam w/ me :) Regardless, I wanted to share the beautiful sunset I was so able to witness with my hubby, it was a really nice, and peaceful moment for us :)

An Education about Art

I have been a freelance artist for a few years now, and have run into the same problem since day 1: people in general do not understand the cost or market value of custom artwork. I see many audaciously low bids for custom portraits, paintings, etc. and wanted to help educate the non-art public about commissions. For the most part I have a ridiculously hard time selling my pieces because of my prices.... First, custom work is made to order, and therefore is more costly and difficult to make than ready-to-go pieces or mass-produced department store prints. There are expenses such as canvases/papers (think up to $15 for a nice gallery-wrapped 8x10), paint ($10+ for a quality 4oz tube), brushes ($5 to $50 for decent quality), or graphites ($10+ for a good quality) and then time. You are purchasing an artist’s lifelong experience and skill, not just the hours they put into a piece. Would you ask your electrician to work for $5 an hour? There are certainly older pieces that artists mark cheaply just to clean out the studio, but you generally get what you pay for. Many good artists on Etsy and elsewhere on the net sell work for far below its gallery value. I consistently receive lowball offers for pieces already marked dirt cheap for the quality.Please be considerate of professional artists. Shop around to get a feel for appropriate prices for size, subject matter and quality of work. There are many people trying to get started that will work for little to nothing, I have been one of those for many years... A little advice for fellow artists out there ’starving’ for business like myself... stick to your guns and ask what you deserve for your artwork. That is the only way you will ever make a living doing what you love....its a hard thing to do and believe me I am working on doing that myself, but why spend all of your money on the materials, and then your time and passion on the piece.. to only sell the item for 1/2 of what you spent to create it? Its not worth it, is it? Dont give up... I’m trying not to!
For those that buy art, or are interested in commissioning pieces etc. Please take under consideration all that I have mentioned.... its hard to make a living at something that is your passion, and career when you lose money instead of make it.
Thanks for your time!