Birdsong!

"Song Bird Collage"

I license a lot of design work to a recyclable tote bag company, whose bags are sold in Kroger affiliates nationwide. The design, above, was for the Easter/Spring season, and is in stores right now.....

This was a fun one to design, since I love all things "bird" (I'm from Portlandia, after all...."put a bird on it!").  I found quite a few of these beautiful vintage images on The Graphics Fairy site, as well as many other sources, and they all came together nicely for my collage.

Creating it made me think of an artists' retreat I've been wanting to attend for years, Karla Nathan's "BIRDSONG" event at her home in Lawrence, KS.  Yes, that's a long way away from Oregon, but I've made that trip MANY times because we have tons of family in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. In fact, my daughter even attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence (ugh-- the out-of-state tuition about killed us!), and I'm pretty sure I know exactly where Karla's home is!  But the timing of her art events never seemed to align with my visits back there for school, family events, etc.  Until this year!  I need to go back to see my mother-in-law for her November 5 birthday (she's turning 92) and Karla's event is November 10 and 11....so, if all things work out, I hope to finally attend one of her crafty, fun soirees. And, finally, actually get to meet Karla in person....even though it seems like we've been "virtual friends" for years!

These bags seemed perfect to bring along for the other attendees to use to stash all their "swag", so I offered to be a sponsor for the event.  I managed to find a store locally that still had enough in stock, so I grabbed enough for everyone.  I had to go to 4 stores to find them, because....good news for my tote bag client (and me)....they were all sold out at the first 3!

Kansas, here I come......fingers crossed, anyway!

Springtime in Paris!

Another ATC swap with Kim at ArtJoyStuff...this time it was themed "Springtime in Paris".  

A beautiful Christie Repasy painting of a bicycle with a basket of flowers became the basis of my design, seeming to me like the ideal romantic image one might see on a stroll through the streets of Paris.

The basket bouquet was made 3-D by building up different levels of the same image:

And of course, I can't do anything without adding glitter and sparkles:

Here are the final three:

Ooh-la-la!

Here's My Heart, Valentine!

Sending out lots of love into the universe.....

 

Have a love-filled Valentine's Day!

I forgot how to blog.....but Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi to any followers still out there! 

It has been ages since I did a blog entry, and I had to remember how to do it!

I've been very absent from the whole blog scene for such a long time, not adding to my own, and rarely checking in on my reading list.  I don't know why.... I guess glimpsing Facebook and Instagram updates has been satisfying my need to see what many of my favorite bloggers have been up to.  And I think that is the case with many folks out there in blogland.  It just isn't the same as it used to be. 

AmIRight??

It has also been ages since I did an ATC swap.  So I joined in on "Pretty and Pink", hosted by the uber talented Kim at ArtJoyStuff.  I'm SO GLAD she recently decided to reinstate her fun swaps!

Here is my little creation, done 3 times for a 3 x 3 swap:

 

 

 

I've also been busy designing reusable shopping totes for one of my regular clients.  Just finished were several Valentine designs, and they will be shown to the buyer next week (for Kroger affiliates nationwide, and Fred Meyer here in the Pacific NW)....so you get a sneak peek!  There's no guarantee any will get chosen for printing....it's always a crap-shoot for these spec designs, but my fingers are crossed.  I went with three very different design styles, hoping one, two, or all three (!!) will appeal to the buyer. Designed a year in advance, these would roll out January, 2018 if selected.  Sorry about the big copyright notice, but I have to protect these since they are not 'out there' yet.

 

 

 

And, in keeping with the Valentine 'theme' of this post, look what i found at the beach this weekend!

I 'm always on the lookout for heart-shaped pebbles and rocks, and this one was a doozie!

It's HUGE!

Hope you all have a 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

and thanks for stopping by!

Sadly, no more swaps...

Sad to say, Kimberly's "Linen and Lace" ATC swap will be her last.  She's no longer going to continue her blog, nor host her wonderful little swaps.  I support her decisions, but it's still a little sad.

So, here are my last contributions to the artJOYstuff swaps:

"LINEN AND LACE"

I embellished an extra card for Kim, to thank her for her generous hosting:

This was a lovely theme to end on.  I can't wait to see the treasures I get in the swap return (I've really enjoyed the handiwork of Kim's regular participants, so I'm sure this month's ATCs are all beauties)!

On another note...

My turquoise-haired daughter (see previous post) now has short fuchsia and cobalt blue tresses!

Never a dull moment....wonder what color is next!

 

Dress Up

This month's prompt was 

"DRESS UP"

for Kimberly's ATC swap.

(about a 180-degree turn from last month's "grunge" theme!)

 

I went with a frilly little dress interpretation...wonder if some will choose 'dress up' to mean 'costume' or 'make believe'.  Hmmm, we shall see.

I found this line art image (here) of an old paper doll set:

 I lightened it up a bit and printed to some old blue paper, folded it and added washi tape to the side edges to form a nifty little pouch for each card:

 

A paper clip shaped like a tiny wire hanger seemed apropos for the theme--

(amazing--and a little ridiculous-- what I can find in my endless stash of crap laying around clever crafting supplies!

And guess what....my daughter now has blue hair!

She kind of matches my little ATC's!

It started out more teal-green (like Ariel, the Little Mermaid!):

This was right after it was dyed...very intense!  It has softened up considerably in the weeks since.

This next photo was taken last week when we went to the Street of Dreams home show.  I was in love with that little turquoise bench.  Her topknot totally blends into the painting.......great camouflage!

After 2 years at University of Kansas, she's back home now, and will be attending Portland State University starting next month. She's happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest, at least for a while.

We're gradually getting used to the hair.

Grunge Style

So Kimberly's ATC challenge this month was

 "Grunge (Tim Holtz Style)".  

Here are my cards for trading:

 

I smashed some bottle caps and thought they'd make a nice grungy surface for stamping.

Ancient metal buttons with worn-off paint were added, 

along with a few sticker embellishments 

from the Tim Holtz product line.

Paint, rubber stamping, pencils, and stencils added to the grunge factor.

(Kathy, thanks once again for that sequin scrim you shared with me!

Love it for adding the dot texture!!)

I paid a bit of homage to Tim Holtz for the back of my card, below,

in this little splattered and grungy composition I made in Photoshop:

I've loved that guy ever since I first saw him 

make guest crafting appearances on the old Carol Duvall Show, 

YEARS ago, long before he was licensing his trademark style.

Anyone remember back that far??!!

The finished cards got bundled up in old pattern tissue and TH button stickers--

This was one of my favorite swaps to date.  

Not surprising...

all things old and chippy, rusty and grungy, tattered and textured,

really appeal to me!

Tim, you're a guy after my own heart.