The Stamp Man Challenge: A Perfect Pear/Pair

A Perfect Pear/Pair

Hello and welcome to our fortnightly challenge: Pears or Pairs

So as The Stampman stocks a number of pear stamps -
singularly and groups stamps it seemed like the pear-fect challenge - groan groan.
So any pear is welcome Pear the fruit or a pair of anything hope you have fun!
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I decided to do with a 'pair' of wings... and paired it with a quote. ;O)
Card is 4 1/4" X 5 1/2".
Background and heart used are both parts from desktop background images.
Heart is coated in 2 layers of 3D Crystal Lacquer (picture doesn't quite get the 'poof' I had hoped). Background was sanded with an emery board then lightly Glimmer Misted.
Wings are clip art (Flickr group) Ink colored and Glimmer Misted.
Cardstock and Inks are Stampin' Up!
Glimmer Mists are Tattered Angels.

Simply Create Challenge #52: Let's eat some cake!

Let's eat some cake: Challenge #52

Hello everyone~
We have a new challenge for all of you: Let's eat some cake.
Be sure to grab those cake stamps or papers, and join us.
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Card is 6" X 6".
Cardstock all from The Paper Company.
Pattern Paper is Bo Bunny.Stamps and Inks are Stampin' Up!
Green Pearls from the $ store.

Freaky Friday Challenge #10: World of Hogwarts

Freaky Friday Challenge #10: World of Hogwarts

This week our Sponsor is...

BUGABOO

Store : http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

Catch the bug Challenge blog: http://catchthebugblog.blogspot.com/

Create a project of people or things you would find in the World of Hogwarts
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I made a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" card featuring The Owl Post.
Owl is paper pieces together using punch outs.
'Letter' is an actual Owl Post letter from Orlando as is the Map.
Textured Cardstock is Bazzill.
Pattern Paper (owl belly) is Graphics 45: Steampunk Debutante.
Cardstock, Punches and Inks are Stampin' Up!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC100

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC100

Welcome to Challenge #100!

Congratulations!

It is because of YOU that we are
celebrating this very cool milestone! Each week, you play and inspire us
to continue to bring you one of the
best color challenges around.
We've gone through a change or two, but
the challenge has always been the same...

to be inspired

and

have fun!

It's only fitting that we welcome back
one of our favorite sponsors to The Cafe on such a celebratory week.

Lawn Fawn
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I made a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" Card.

Vintage Image from The Graphics Fairy.

Pattern Paper from Basic Grey.

Cardstock and Inks from Stampin' Up!

Lace from my vintage auction stash.

Bling from Recollections.

Sunday Postcard Art: Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

There’s a nip in the air and the nights are drawing in. We want to take this week to celebrate all the wonderful colours that come with Autumn and have the theme of AUTUMN LEAVES.

Cannot wait to see all the wonderful artwork you all make using these beautiful colors that autumn leaves bring.

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Cardstock and Inks are Stampin' Up!

Pattern Paper by Paper Craftin'

Main Image is Clip Art.

Quote printed directly over Image.

4x4 Friday: Autumn Equinox

4x4 Friday: Autumn Equinox

Enjoy Autumn, friends!

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Clip-Art and the Reading we read during our Family Celebration of Alban Elfed (Autumnal Equinox). Cardstock and Inks are all Stampin' Up!

The Friday Mashup #25: Make it Masculine.

We're getting Sketchy with Friday Mashup #25!

Welcome back to another week here at the Friday Mashup!
We all need Masculine cards now and then so the theme this week is Make it Masculine.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Square Sketch below ".
2. Or Make a Project that has a "Masculine" theme.
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Square Project using the Sketch, with a Masculine theme".

We can’t wait to see what you create!
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Started with the Dino image from my clip art collection, I know my 4 boys love it.
Male approval, step 1! The rest just developed around it.

Card is 6" X 6".
Textured Cardstock is Bazzill.
Metallic Textured Cardstock is DCWV.
Pattern Papers are Graphics 45: Steampunk Debutante.
Both Gear background and Cycling Dino are Clip Art.
Gear Paper Punch and Inks are Stampin' Up!
Fabric trim from my vintage auction stash.
Sentiment Stamps from Kraftin' Kimmie.

WANTED: USED Hubcap Circa- 1930-1970's for International Art Project.

Bit of an announcement to make....
Best described by the email I sent out to my local Freecycle/Fullcircles group:

Hi,

I've been selected as one of the representatives for Canada in the Landfillart.org: International Artist Reclamation Project.

You can read all about this great Art Initiative here:

http://www.landfillart.org/index-1.html

International Artist is code speak for:
BYOHC (Bring Your Own Hub Cap) ;O)

so...

In need of a Hub Cap Circa 1930 - 1970's... Not dirty but I would *love* it to look 'older and used'.

I do not plan on going with the 'primed white option' for my Art Piece, would like my Hub Cap Canvas 'raw'.

Would however prefer to pick-up close to home if possible, I'm mere minutes past IKEA.

Thanks so very much!

Sarah Cooper

I am deeply honored to have been selected for this unique opportunity and am really looking forward to getting into the nitty-gritty of the making.

ok... now I can *Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!*

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 121

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 121

More sh-tuff related to organizing the maaany things coming at us in the next few months than 'Art' today. *pout* Hubs is off today and we've got the calendars out, cross checking days and trying to figure out when best for him to take his last 2 floating vacation days before 2012. Buuuut... Everyone higher up on the food chain seems to want to the same days... lol. Go figure.
It's a Pile Day:
Top left:
Papers and sh-tuff ready for The Stampman, Play Date Cafe, and Friday Mashup Challenges.
Under that:
Art Journals 3 of 'em all on the go.
The Planet You, Techniques and A Year in the Life of an Art Journal.
Middle:
To-Do List Book and 'The Big Yellow Family Bible of Life' (aka my Mommy Daytimer)
...and the usual mess of tools and supplies that likes to live on my desk. :O)
Bonus today:
Naproxen 'cause it's been one of those intolerable pain weeks. ugh, but c'est la vie! :O)
Venti Starbuck's Salted Caramel Mocha Latte... ZOMG, 1st time trying it... soooooo yummy!
Below is not my 'desk' but it is what I was finishing up this morning:
Posters for the boyz school's Spirit Week. I got Volun-told I was doing "since you're an artist". yaaaa, ya...
God-Bless Clip-Art! ;O)

Now head on over to:
Stamping Ground
Peek in on what everyone else is up to!

A-Z of Me

Not so crafty day here, spent in a meeting, running to the school to give meds and... and... and... So I'm going indulge in a bit of whimsy to make up for the lack of posts.

Thanks for Kaere's posting. :O)

A-Z of Me

A. Age: 36

B. Best friend: Greg

C. Crafts you love: Mixed Media Art, Collage, 3D Collage, Stamping, Scrapbooking, Soapmaking, Candle Making... I used to love Embroidery and Tole Painting but I can't flex my fingers enough to do either anymore.

D. Dogs or Cats: Cats can kill my, allergy is too strong, so I'm kinda sh-tuck with Dogs, even if I love Cats too.
E. Essential start to your day: Prayer, Candle Lighting and min-Meditation. Followed by COFFEE and Blog Reading.
G. Gold or Silver: Copper or Brass! Or anything rusty... (mmm...steampunk)
I. Instruments you play: haaaa.... haaa.... haa.... oh? You were serious! I'm totally unmusical.

J. Job title: MOM, Wife, Mixed Media Artist

K. Kids: 4 boyz ages 13 down to 6 yers old.
L. Live: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

M. Mother’s name: Barbara

N. Nicknames: Sketch, Button, Sawah (Greg ONLY)
O. Overnight hospital stays: Me: Galstones leading to a pancreas infection (4 nights), after emergency c-section with son #1 (6 nights) and 2nd son's birth (1 night), after cat allergy attacks 2X (each 1 night), My kids: son #4 needed a body cast (1 night)

P. Pet peeves: Dirty socks left in the living-room, especially if they get kicked under the couch and I find them a week later... stiff. yuck! Neighborhood kids playing IN the parking lot.

Q. Quote from a movie: "One is glad to be of assistance." Bicentennial Man

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: 1 brother, 2 years younger

U. Underwear: uh... yeah.

V. Vegetable you hate: Mashed Potatoes... make NO sense I love them any other way: just.not.mashed.
W. What makes you run late: My weak-faulty bladder, hey! I have had 4 kids. ;O)

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, Head, Spine, Hands, Chest, Abdomen, Right Foot.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Christmas Cookies is the one I'm *really* known for.. 8 kinds, every year!

Z. Zoo animal: Cougar

Feel free to copy and repost your own list...
and link back so I can go check out Your List!

Collage Obsession: Number 13

Collage Obsession: Number 13

Numbers have many different meanings in various cultures - magic, secret, mysterious, superstitious. One of the most famous numbers is certainly number 13, the unlucky number in our culture.

I challenge you to make a piece of art (digital or manual or whatever) which deals with the number 13.

What comes to your mind when you see this number?

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We just celebrating Alban Elfed (Autumnal Equinox) in our house so the #13 had my brain going straight to the Celtic significance...
The 13 tree/moon calendar/zodiac.
I created my Collage using a quilt, clock and tattoo design images as well as adding the Trees and Dates from HERE.
Bonus: Now I have a pretty chart on hand. :O)
Measures: 7" X 7"

Welcome to Planet Sarah...

I've missed almost an entire week of challenges and will be missing a few days more, this is part of the reason...

Started Planet You, a journaling workshop on the 16th. Kinda gettin' into the 'meat' of it a bit late; it's been *hectic* here with med appointments, bloodwork and various tests for juuuust about everyone who lives in this house, all this past week. Better to git'em done together than try to remember who's done what over the year.
The wonderful thing about this course is you can start when you want, do what you want (or not) because after all: It's Plant YOU.
Have a few pages done and a few done-ish to share...
I won't be sharing all the pages from this project, some of 'Planet Sarah' is either private or family only, as one would expect. :O)
Decided after taking my 1st assignment 'on the road' to create 'Planet Sarah' in a small 4" X 6" travel size journal. I've taken all the journal topics for Week 1 and set up pages that can then be journal on no matter where I wind up... Not sharing the actual assignments just a hint of the topics because, well...
Just, GO take the course yourself! It's awesome. :O)

Main Title Page:

Assignment #2
I'm NOT going in order, just 'cause:

Assignments #1 & #2:

Pages set up for Journal Prompts about being Happy/Sad:

Pages set up for Journal Prompts on having a day/color:

Page set up and one finished for personal adjectives:

Page finished for personal adjectives:

Pages set up for nicest thing/meanest thing:

Pages set up for who loves/scared:

Pages set up for someone else/comfortable:

Pages set up for proud:

See Ya Monday!

There's been no work coming out of the studio for a few days due to preparations and subsequent celebrations...
and it will be a few more still. :O)

Tomorrow Greg and I celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary!


It has been a very blessed year both for our marriage and for our family.
Much of the talk during our Alban Elfed (Autumnal Equinox) celebration Friday evening with extended family centered around this. We are indeed very Lucky.

600th Post BLOG CANDY DRAW!

Sorry I'm later than I expected to be tonight...

Here we go!

*drumroll*
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Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2011-09-24 01:41:48 UTC

From: http://www.random.org

Comment #3 was:

Tracey ~ GardenOfGrace said...

Congratulations on 600 posts! Wow, you have come a long way!! So cool that you've gone back to your art roots. I don't have art roots to go to, but see scrapping as an artistic outlet. Documenting family history is a nice bonus. :-) I'm a follower. Thanks for offering the blog candy! ~ Blessings
http://gracescraps.blogspot.com

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Please send me you snail mail and I'll get this off to you.

sarahccooper@rogers.com

The Altered Alice CHAPTER 7: Text as Nonsense

CHAPTER 7: Text as Nonsense

Alice didn't dare to argue the point, but went on: `-- and I thought I'd try and find my way to the top of that hill -- ' `When you say "hill,"' the Queen interrupted, `I could show you hills, in comparison with which you'd call that a valley.' `No, I shouldn't,' said Alice, surprised into contradicting her at last: `a hill can't be a valley, you know. That would be nonsense -- ' The Red Queen shook her head, `You may call it "nonsense" if you like,' she said, ` but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!' -- Chapter 2, Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

Using text as pattern is a trend right now that I really love.
Your challenge is to use text as nonsense
- not to read but as pattern on your project!
Of course you can still have words or sentiments,
but we also need to see text used in a non-reading way.

Our sponsor is Stamp Attack.
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Altered a wee birdhouse for my project...
Finished it sits aprox:
6" wide, 4 " deep, and 5" tall (without the bird)

There are 'before' pictures near the bottom. I rescued this from the 2nd hand store for a mere 25 cents. It was put together all wonky and the paint job was... interesting, but I saw potential.

I decided against repainting it altogether, instead I worked with the color it already was: Nice Shiny Copper. I used papers from the DCWV: Once Upon a Time line. I used sheets from the 12X12, 8X8 and the Photo Mat stack. So the lettering is all consistent, yet all different sizes... I love that. :O) Papers were glued on then sanded around the edges for a shabbier look. I also covered 2 of the 3 birdholes... 3 seemed a bit 'airy'. ;O)
Bush is part of a Christmas Village holly bush with ribbon roses, 1 white the rest red, added on.
Alice and the White Rabbit were found in a Flickr Collage sharing group. Printed, glued to cereal box board and then cut out.

Pattern Paper from DCWV.
Chipboard Keyhole from BoBunny.
Ink from Stampin' Up! (around Keyhole)
Moss and 'bush' from the $ store.
Roses and Bird from my vintage auction stash.
Clock and Books also liberated from another 2nd hand store treasure.

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!

Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE

A Year in the Life of an Art Journal: Musical Musings Sept 15th

Musical Musings Sept 15th

THE PROMPT: Memory Lane
THE SONG: You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins
Written lyrics HERE
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: photo of a road
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So pleased I took this picture as we were heading up the main roadway, leaving the lower court of Old Fort Henry, this past summer. Was sure there would be a good scrapping/journaling use for a shot like this. :O)
Printed the picture off then put the paper back through the printer to add the lyrics. (Read: Not digital image/graphic savvy at all. lol ) Then the printed image was trimmed with my cr@py cutter. Saved this cutter even though it 'eats' paper because it does make a nicer ripped edge than I could ever dream of creating free-hand. Then the edges were sanded to fade them a little...
like a fading memory...
The back ground page was inked and distressed image glued over.
Then the journaling was added over top the image. Tried my best-est to follow along the stones in the walls.
Left is about how/why we take our Summer Family Trips.
Right is about tucking these memories away while we still can.

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!

Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE

The Friday Mashup! FM#24 Autumn is in the air!

FM#24 Autumn is in the air!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Create a project with an "Autumn" theme.
   
2. Or Create a project using shades of "Yellow & Orange".
   
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Autumn project using shades of Yellow & Orange"

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I made a 4 1/4 " X 5 1/2" Fall theme card.

Prefolded card base is from The Paper Company.
Leaf Pattern paper is from Deja View.
Orange pattern paper is from Scrappy Kat.
Vellum Quote sheet is from DCWV.
Brads from Keepsake Crafts.
Leaf and Bling from the $ store.
Inks from Stampin' Up!

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!

Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 120

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 120

The word for the day here is 'PILES'.
I have piles everywhere I turn that, um... I'm getting to. Honest!
My Desk has a pile of ATC backgrounds I've printed out just to have on-hand: creepy, dark or Victorian for Steampunk-y and Halloween-y projects. Under those the papers I use for backgrounds when I take photos of wee projects.
Below that I have reading I'm working on. ADD sh-tuff for myself and the boyz and the readings I'm preparing for celebrating Alban Elfed (Autumn Equinox) Friday.
Beside that 7 gypsies stamps that arrived from PeachyCheap yesterday. *squee!*
Then my LIST of project for the week, under that the lesson plan for this week from The Planet You: Art Journaling class (You still have til Sunday to register!)
In top of my lists are a bunch of jewelry acquired over the past few weeks that are set to be pulled apart (backings off, charms removed etc...) lol... yes 'on top' of my list both physically and task-wise.
The usual creative junk:
Some rubber stamps I dug out for a bunny project,
used canning jar sealers I want to do *SOMETHING* with. I have sooooo many. Still gathering thoughts and ideas...
Paint Beaker, Exacto Cork...
and COFFEE! of course.
Below that is my poor Carl Cutter: Fugly but oh so functional. With a mess of greeting card scraps I need to tidy up.
And beside that my 'getting to it' pile of paper that needs to be sorted back in to the right category files.

You can explore everyone else's lil'creative corners over at:
Stamping Ground What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 120

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!

Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE

4x4 Friday: Skeletons and Skulls

4x4 Friday: Skeletons and Skulls

Skeletons and Skulls make up this week's 4x4 challenge.
Enjoy!
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Alas my 4X4 is a day late for Talk Like a Pirate Day.
;O)
Crumpled the paper, partially smoothed it then did some ink work.
Completely smoothed before mounting it on the base paper.
Stamps, Inks and Papers are all Stampin' Up!

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!
Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC99

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC99

It's another fabulous week here in The Cafe.

This week, we are welcoming another

wonderful sponsor to The Cafe...

Paper Makeup Stamps.
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I made a 4 1/4 X 5 1/2" Card.

Cardstock is from The Paper Company.
Inks from Stampin' Up!
Flowers are from Prima.
Bling Brads from Keepsake Crafts.
Lace from my vintage auction stash.
'Pattern Paper' is a small piece of re-used birthday card.

Don't forget to check out my 600th BLOG Post CANDY!
Draw: Friday September 23rd.
HERE