MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My stencil aliens and I wish you a very

Merry Christmas!

 

We hope your holiday is magical and joyous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowman - SNOW is a four letter word

Everyone knows I'm not a fan of the cold or snow. I live far from where I work so traveling in the snow really stinks.  The last couple of years sitting in traffic in the snow for 2 or 3 hours trying to get to work has made me now say that snow is a four letter word and shouldn't be said.

My daughter loves Christmas and the snow. She's like a little kid (she's 25) looking at everything in wonder every year.  She helps me get into the Christmas spirit but I still don't like the snow.  I tell her I do play with the snow but I get to stay nice and warm.  Of course my snow is on the card!

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Christmas Snowflake

Here is another card I made in Chicago over Thanksgiving. The snowflake is from Tim Holtz Christmas Blueprint stamps.  The paper is scraps of Christmas Paper from Teresa Collins.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Christmas Wishes

For this tag I used a TCW stencil called Winter Wonderland and white Dylusions spray ink. It looks great on the kraft paper. The rest are scraps I had on my table and I added some glitter here and there.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

 

Extra Envelopes and One Stencil

I usually cut my own paper for cards but sometimes I find packages of cards in the sales bins.  As I make cards there are mistakes and the card is thrown out. I now have extra envelopes.  With Christmas on it's way I need envelopes for gift cards so I'm using the extra envelopes. I challenged myself with one stencil, paints and brown kraft envelopes.

This is the stencil I'm using Twas The night.

 

I love to use washi tape and decided to use it for these envelopes. I'm liking pink for Christmas so I may be making more pink trees.

 

 

I did use the circle explosion stencil for the background to make it look like snow.

 

I'm not a gold person and usually any metallics on a project is silver but I love the way this one came out.

 

 

I now have three envelopes for gift cards. Two more to go!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Exciting News! A Guest Post on Ronda Palazzari's Blog

Ronda invited my stencil aliens and me to do a guest blog post.

I'm shocked and stunned that Ronda asked us and we are very thankful.

 

Head on over to HERE to see what I did with her picture perfect stencil.

Here is a peak.

 

 

 

She even asked for a head shot.

You don't want to know how many selfies I tried.

I will actually post a profile picture so stay tuned!

 

Thank you Ronda!

Thanks for stopping by here and Ronda's blog!

 

 

 

 



Peaceful

We have had sleet so far, snow is coming and it's cold.

Winter is not my favorite season.

But when I'm sitting cozy with a cup of tea it can be very beautiful.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

To Shrink or Not To Shrink

What is it?

Head on over to The Crafters Workshop blog and see my post.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

12 Tags of Christmas: The Funkie Junkie Challenge #7

Hi Everyone! Sorry haven't been around. I had a busy week. I made a tag for Linda's Christmas tag challenge over at The Funkie Junkie blog.  The one thing Linda had on her tag was glitter and that's exactly what I used.

 

The "25" is from TCW's stencil called Twas the Night. I used red acrylic paint then added the glitter and snow crystals. The background is washi tape.  It was a quick tag. I will have more because I challenged myself in using that stencil on more tags and envelopes. Stay tuned!

 

Don't forget to check out Linda's boutique! Her boutique is stocked full of supplies and she the fastest turn around time on orders!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Traveling with Art Supplies

 

Thanksgiving we were in Chicago to visit our daughter. She cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, we saw Wicked (excellent show), went to the movies and just hung out. It was a wonderful long weekend.

On our down time I can't just sit so I always travel with art supplies. I even bought a new carry-on with wheels so I can put what I need in it. I usually carry:

Art Journal

Faber Castell Pitt Pens and Big Brush Pens

Watercolors

Water Brush

Tags, Cards, Paper Scraps

Small Photographs

UHU Glue Stick

Unmounted Rubber Stamps

Washi Tape

Except for the art journal, tags and paper scraps everything fits in a small plastic case. I use the attached cover as my color mixer for the watercolors or the markers. This year my paper scraps were Christmas themed and I brought with me Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Christmas Blueprint stamps. I made these cards.

 

 

I thought I would show you some close ups. I really love the way these came out. They seem very modern and different.

 

 

Not all trees are green!!!

The scrap of paper I used for the background just happened to have the perfect quote and it fit the card.

 

My daughter loves Nutcrackers so this may be her Christmas Card. Maybe!!

 

Love this color combo.

 

I decided to use the ornaments for this tree.

 

I love to fussy cut. I can sit for hours in front of the TV and cut images out of paper. Its relaxing for me.

 

I have two  more cards finished but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them. I will put them in another post.  I'm swamped at work this week so I may not post again until the weekend but you never know what I may be able to squeeze in.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Karenliz

Free to Fly

Just a quick one today. Here is a 5"x5" mixed media piece I did.  Yes, stencils were used (stencil aliens you know!), modeling paste, butterfly images, lots of acrylic paints.

 

 

I love the colors. They aren't my usual combination but I think I may use them again.

Do you have a favorite color combination?

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

 

 

A Birthday Tea Party

This card is for a first birthday. I get asked to make birthday cards where I incorporate their picture in the scene. I actually love doing it. It takes me quite a few days to figure out what I want to do. It's nice when there is not a theme or a favorite character they like because them I'm free to do anything. 

I have tons of vintage images and found this one of a little girl and two of her friends having a tea party in a birds nest with curious little fairies watching.  I added the birthday girl's head and extra leaves in scene and around the card. I print two copies of the scense and cut out characters or other images to add for dimension. I always leave the inside blank so they can write their own birthday greetings.

{double click to enlarge}

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Moon Light in the City

This piece is not finished yet but I thought I would show it to you. I've been working on this piece for quite a while. I add color here and there then hang it up for days before I do anything else. It's hanging in my art room again and who knows when I will finish it.

 

 

This canvas started with the city and lots of bright colors then I added the trees with modeling paste. After that I spilled dark paint on it and it just worked.  The moon and the taller tress were added and I just kept going with it.  It will hang in my art room until I see something else I want to add or decide it's finished.

 

How many paintings to you have waiting to be finished?

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Brrrrr it's cold!!!

Here on the east coast it is very cold.

Way too cold for me.

I will be living in fleece until Spring!

 

Keep warm and cozy!

 

 

 

 

Thank You Stencil Aliens!

My stencils aliens always seem to talk me into buying more stencils but they do help me keep my mojo going. The last couple of days I've been working on projects here and there and they are all in stages. I'm either waiting for them to dry or I let them sit a couple of days to decide if they are finished or just don't have time after work to finish them.  This is when my mojo disappears and hides underneath all the stuff on my floor or table but my stencil aliens always seem to find him.

If you haven't used any stencils or have them and don't know what to do with them, just grab some paper, paint, inks, and just start making patterns on paper. It's amazing how your mojo shows up. After playing on scraps of paper with acrylic paints I found I was using only three colors and love it; gray, black and white. I decided to to this journal page.

 

Here is a close up of the bottom of the page. I found some glass beads and decided to add them in for some texture. I love the way they look. I will definitely be using them again.

 

What gets your mojo going again?

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

The Face with Stencils

Today I have a mixed media piece that I made on a 8" x 10" mixed media board. I love the way it came out. Lots of bright colors.  I used acrylic paints, paper and these stencils.

TCW408 Shattered Circles

 

TCW384 Well-Rounded

 

TCW413 Three-Quarter

 

As you can see on the profile stencil she has more hair but I decided not to use it. Once I finished the background and added her to the board I stopped working on it for a couple of days.  I found some great paper scraps that I used to punch circles and added that to her head. It sat for a couple days more until I knocked over some papers on my table and found a few pages of butterfly images. I think it's done for the most part. I will tweak it here and there and then I will frame it.

 

 

You can see all the paper circles here.

 

 

I didn't realize the butterfly on her neck had the same color combination.

 

 

You can see all the detail on the paper circles; lots of textures and I drew in the antenna on each butterfly.

 

Now to find a frame which will be hard to do because I don't want to flatten out the butterflies. I will post a picture of it when I'm done.

Thanks so much for stopping by!