100 day challenge cards 25-29

Plugging right along! Things around here have calmed down a bit - Chris is recovering well from his rotator cuff surgery, just being tortured in physical therapy twice a week lol! Megan is enjoying her job at the salon - hopefully her state testing will come through so she can move up to stylist instead of assistant. But she is gaining a lot of experience.
A little serendipidy in my life - I bought a brand new sewing machine from a person on Craig's list for $25 a few months ago. It has been sitting there on my shelf, mocking me that I haven't even attempted to learn how to use it. So a few days ago I was again wondering if I was brave enough to get it out to try, when what arrives in my mail but a fall catalog for adult classes at the local high school. And you guessed it - there is an 8 week sewing class for beginners for $55! I sent my check in as fast as I could write it, before I chickened out! I have seen my artist friends make some amazing projects with their machines, and now I can try too. Being creative seems to be just part of me now - it feels natural. I like it!
Okay - I have been wordy enough - here are the cards!

I used texture on this one with lace and string. I covered the whole thing with a layer of tissue too, but I am not sure you can see it. The word "discomfort" is purposefully upside down to make the viewer, well, uncomfortable!

I killed 2 birds with one stone with this card, as I used it to demonstrate a technique I learned in a collage class I am taking. It has been so educational and I love it!

This was another collage class card.

Fun with a circle stencil!

100 day challenge cards 20-24

I am actually doing a pretty good job keeping up with the challenge, just not doing so well posting them here! Here are cards 21-24.

I just got this new corner cutter - isn't it fun?? The rest of the card is just scraps of leftover paper and some cutouts.


I tried a crumpled paper, watercolor crayon background on this one. The clip I thought was a fun touch!


This was my "quick, what can I do when I am un-inspired" card! Just a hole punch and some paper scraps peeking through! Hey, it still counts, right? Ha ha!


Just felt like I needed some cheerfulness this day.


Used whatever was leftover on my desk to do this card, and I closed my eyes and picked a color to wash over it lol!

100 day challenge cards 16-19

I can't believe I am keeping up with this project! I have to keep telling myself that it is not a competition; it is just for me to stretch myself, try new things, and improve myself.
Chris is doing really well - he actually was able to drive for the first time today. Megan shampooed her first client yesterday at the salon so she is on her way! Carl will be coming home this weekend to see Megan for her birthday - I am so happy!! Haven't seen him in a month. It fills my heart when both the kids are under the same roof as me.
This card was made with a road map of Italy, a torn piece of scrapbook paper, stamps, and covered with a piece of white tulle.


I fouond the LOVE letters in a magazine, so I decided to base my page around it. This was a quickie, lol!


I experimented with stamping the background with a coffee holder - came out okay. I found the picture in an old gardening book. The gold ribbon was from the Christmas section at the Dollar Tree (peeve to rant about in another post - Christmas items in the store in August!!). Then I added cut out words.


Card 19 was a lot of fun. The flowers were from AC Moore, and I used pipe cleaners for stems and leaves. Background was a Crayola crayon, and then I stamped the words. Quick, easy, and cute!

Keeping our fingers crossed

This morning Chris goes to the doctor for the first time since his surgery to have his shoulder checked out and to see where we go from here. I hope everything is going according to plan and that he will be ready to start therapy soon.
I have been busy, artwise. I am continuing with the 100 day challenge (I just finished through day 20!), and I have joined 2 round robins. The first one I am allowed to pick any topic, so I need to get my thinking cap on so I can get started. The other round robin is for the "dark side" - with deeper and darker subjects. I am choosing Halloween as my topic - I think I will see some really great artwork in this book with a broader theme. I am going to start work on my part soon. I am also in an inspirational card swap that needs to be mailed every 2 weeks, and lastly, I just signed up for an online collage class. Whew! But it is fun, gives me an outlet for everything, and keeps me out of trouble!
Here is my latest inspiration card. I am very proud of it because I drew the cat in the hat freehand! It's the first thing I have ever drawn myself besides a stick figure. Enjoy your Monday, friends!

Date Night!

Our town has a beautiful old restored theater that is used for plays, musicals, and concerts throughout the year. Chris and I bought a subscription to this year's shows, so we could guarantee ourselves at least a few nights out a year! Tonight's musical is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I have never seen it, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing it. Should be fun!!
And speaking of fun, here is a spread I did a bit ago just for fun. It was just a silly idea I had after looking at page after page of swimsuits in summer advertisements.

Someone to watch over me

I received the sweetest surprise in the mail yesterday! I am on a wonderful yahoo group with incredibly talented women, and many of them have started blogs recently. When a new blog is created, a little blog fairy arrives to watch over you and give you a smile when you need one most. My little fairy came yesterday - apparently there is a colony of them in Canada, waiting patiently to visit bloggers throughout the world. My sassy fairy is hanging over my work table, giving me good luck and confidence and a feeling of happiness. I love her!
Other wonderful news in our home - Megan starts her job at a salon today! She graduated from cosmetology school last month and we are so proud of her to have found a job in her field already. She is nervous, but I am confident she will shine.
Have a great Friday, everyone!


Hanging over my desk (don't pay attention to the mess!)

100 day challenge cards 11-15

Moving right along! I am finding myself getting into a routine with the cards - I usually make them early afternoon after lunch. Just a little "me" time to have some fun!

Card #11 was made out of some magnets I got from a clearance bin at Michael's for a quarter.



Card #12 was just for fun! I had the googly eyes and I just thought I would be a little kid for a few minutes and this is what happened lol!



Card #13



CARD #14 is made from one piece of leftover scrapbook paper - I just cut out some of the designs.


And last but not least, card #15 was literally made from trash picked papers. I keep a little can next to my desk for paper scraps and I had this idea to cut out "inchies" from this trash to make a quilt. I like the way it turned out :-)

New Toy!

I have entered the 21st century and got a new cell phone woo hoo! My old one was no longer reliably receiving calls, which basically makes it no longer a phone lol. So off to the T-Mobile store we went. Megan got a new phone as well - she gets a new one about this time every year as a birthday gift (and on a different note, I can't believe my baby will be 19 in a few weeks!). I am having fun customizing it - there even is a light show when it rings (I am easily amused). http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/Cell-Phone-Detail.aspx?cell-phone=LD-dLite-Blue

Here is a spread I did for my first book. I saw this picture in a Smithsonian magazine and thought the poor guy needed more stuff attached to his head :-)

Sleepy Sunday

Hmm I have a new blog and already two posts are about my sleepiness lol! Last night our dog Cooper woke up at about one AM. I took him out to potty and then of course the little bugger was ready to play! So I gave up and just slept on the recliner the rest of the night so he wouldn't bother Chris. BTW, Chris is doing much better - his shoulder seems to be healing well, and now he is just restless. It will be a long August lol! Hope you all are doing and feeling tip top :-)
Speaking of Mr. Cooper, here is a book spread I did of him a month or so ago. Isn't he the cutest thing??

Being patient

I am going to have to use that word in 2 ways in this post. First, Chris came through his rotator cuff surgery really well. He is not in too much pain and is learning to use his left hand for everything. He has to wear an immobilizer on his right arm for at least 10 days until he sees the dr again. He always has a wonderful positive attitude, so I know he will be fine. My cute little patient!

What I need is Patience. I want to be able to create the beautiful and meaningful artwork that I see others create. I know I am doing well, and I know I am taking the baby steps (lol!) but I want to be this wonderful artist NOW! But I need to relax, tell myself that expressing myself is more important than the end result right now, and be happy that I have this ability at all (and 2 good hands to do it with!). So... here are days 6-10 from my 100 cards in 100 days challenge. Enjoy, and I am going to get ready to go out and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather!!!

Gonna be one of those days!

Today we will be running around like busy bees - DH Chris is having rotator cuff surgery tomorrow and will not be able to use his right arm for a little bit. Couple that with my bad back which keeps me from doing a lot of bending and stretching and we should be loads of fun in the weeks to come lol! So today we will be tackling household chores and a major grocery shopping as well. Thank goodness Megan will be here to help us old folks out! Tonight we are heading to my mother in law's for dinner, so that will be something to look forward to! Please send good vibes this way for quick healing, if you would be so kind.

Since I am talking about Chris, I would like to share my literal altered book that I made him for father's day. I took an old Hardy Boys book which was in a big box of old books I purchased at a yard sale for $1. I hollowed out the inside with a craft knife and then glued and stained it. I decorated the cover with cardstock stickers, and decoupaged pictures of us taken in a funky old photo booth in Ocean City in the bottom. Lastly, I printed out the lyrics to "Upon the Journey's End" by Taylor Dane, which was our wedding song and decoupaged them to the inside cover. He absolutely LOVED it and keeps it right next to his computer. Fun to make and loved by the recipient - what more can you ask, right?




Hope you all have a safe and productive day.

Sleep is over rated

Ok - night 87 of getting no sleep ( or at least it feels that way). I fall asleep just fine, but I wake up in the wee hours, lay there looking at the clock, and finally give up and go downstairs. Thank goodness for my art room and my DVR! I have to admit though - I get my art supplies out, put some George Winston on the media player, and just go to town. Something about the peace of the house at that hour makes my creativity come alive!

This page I made last week at about 4 am. I found the background paper at Scrap This! and thought it was so perfect for me lol! My buddy Cooper (he's a Morkie - a Maltese/Yorkie mix) is a super sleeper, and when he curls up on my lap and takes a nap, he is just so sweet.

I hope all you dear readers had a great night and feel renewed and invigorated this morning. Enjoy your Tuesday!

100 day challenge!

I recently found out about an art challenge where you take a 100 package of 3x5 index cards, and then create soemthing on one a day for the next 100 days. I have never done a challenge like this before, so I thought I would give it a go. I think the original challenge was to decorate both sides, but I am just doing the blank side (hey, it's artistic license, right?). The idea is to not spend too much time on each one, and NO working ahead. Here are the cards I have completed so far.

On another positive note, the weather FINALLY broke and I was able to turn off the AC and open the windows - yay!



This one I did with scraps that were laying around my work desk lol! What better way to use them ,right?
I attempted to copy a picture of this beautiful bird from a sketchbook. Sorry, little bird!

A scrap paper flag!

What a sweet little girl

I saw the measurement picture on an old pattern, and the rest of the words were easy to find in a Seventeen magazine!

Life is beautiful

Good morning, everyone! Preparing myself for yet another over 90 degree day here in New Jersey - ugh! This summer has cosisted of heat, humidity, and terrifying thunderstorms just to break things up a little (groan!). Oh well, when we were getting 3 feet of snow last winter, we prayed for summer and we sure got it!

This page is out of my first book - I had gotten a mother's day card with the "life is beautiful" line, and so I took parts of that card to create this page. I was feeling peaceful and happy while doing it, and so my colors I hope reflected that. In art therapy, I used my altered art as a barometer of my moods and feelings, and so my altered books mostly represent my state of mind when I was working on it. The art has become my therapist!

As always, thanks for letting me share.

Broken wings

This is a page I did in my 2nd book. I let the materials and my mind lead me and it seems that angels are frequently something I gravitate towards.

Baby steps...

Well, I am not sure if this is a baby step or a leap off the cliff, but I am now a blogger! Not a very accomplished blogger, but a blogger nonetheless! I learned about altered books a few months ago in an art therapy program, and I will have to admit that I thought the whole idea was sort of silly. What's the point? I knew from back when I was a kid that I couldn't draw or paint, so doing anything artistic, would just be a waste of time. But I started a book, and slowly, slowly, I started to enjoy it. I first just worked on it in class, then I started bringing it home to work on. I stepped foot in AC Moore and Michaels for the first time to purchase supplies for my book. I was getting so excited by what I was doing - creating art and being able to express myself. I now have just completed my 3rd book, I have an art corner in my house (my "studio", lol!), and I have a whole new way of viewing myself. I'd like to share some of my work on this blog and share some of my stories too. I just joined a challenge to complete 100 3x5 pieces of art in 100 days - am I nuts? I also am in an inspirational card swap and will be joining my first round robin next month. let the games begin!!