For the Little Princesses in Your Life

 

 

In shades of pink Bazzill card stock as well as various patterned designer papers, this would delight any little girl in your life :o)

Indigo Dreams

 

Recycling some sample paint chip cards, I created this paper collage entitled INDIGO DREAMS ~ I just love the colour blue!

 

Our local hospital has a small gallery and since today was the day for new works to be hung, I took this in along with the following 2 upcycled paper collages done a few weeks ago --

NEW YORK FLUTTERING

created using recycled glossy B + W magazine photos of New York

 ELEPHANT WHIMSY

created using recycled *Little Bear Lost* 

a vintage childrens' book by British author, Jane Hissey

Busy Days

It's been FREEZING COLD here these past few days with temps that we haven't experienced in many years!!

I've been warm inside most of the time other than groceries and such because I've had ONE off the shelf Etsy sale as well as 2 Custom Orders to complete . . . other than the one pictured below in dual collages, the other was for FIVE - 5X7s of the LITTLE ENGINES THAT COULD

On top of that, I've had 5 enquiries regarding Custom Orders for people in different parts of the world and one of these was about my newly offered 16" X 20" natural wrapped cotton canvases covered with 125+ butterflies!  

I have to admit, that I'm enjoying every minute of all this!!

Eco Friendly is Beautiful Too!

I received an email this morning letting me know that my Spring Meadow Patchwork Heart Collage, 1 of a series all created from recycled quilt magazine covers, was being featured in a new ETSY TREASURY called The Eco is Beautiful Too Gift Guide. 

I was tickled pink, or in this case, should I say "Tickled Green?!!"

A lot of lovely items were featured and here are some closer views of the same Spring Meadows Patchwork Heart Collage --

Shades of Purple

Friends of ours are getting married later this month so I was given the honour of making a large 5.5" X 8" card for the bridal shower this evening so all the guests can sign it . . .  other than a couple of small gifts, most of us are putting $$$ in a joint envelope as per the wishes of the person putting on the shower.

Because the bride's favourite colour is ANY shade of PURPLE, I decided to create a heart collage for their special day using double-sided designer papers and Bazzill card stock.

I made 3 of the hearts a bit smaller and stamped their initials and the word always for the very center.

We wish them the very best always and many happy years together!

I'm Surprised and Delighted

I'm surprised and delighted to discover quite by accident that my Butterfly Whimsy Collage created from recycled, vintage Noddy books was featured on the following blog --
:: mon petit amour :: lovely shadow box nursery art::

Celebrating a Birth

I recently received an order from a relatively new Mommy who wanted me to create a circle collage of butterflies to commemorate her sweet little daughter's birth!

She wanted it to be 8" X 10" and for me to use mostly primary coloured card stock and make a few butterflies made from recycled, vintage Noddy books and this was the result :o)

Flutter By Wednesday #112

This week's Flutter By Wednesday has an OPEN challenge where anything goes as long as there's a butterfly, fairy or angel on your card or *project*.

Well,  my *project* yesterday was to create a larger butterfly collage with a watercolour wash background.

I had cut up 1 sheet of my husband's giant 140 lb Arches paper the day before and unfortunately not taken into consideration the TAPED EDGES I was going to need to hold my sheet to a board in order to soak it and stretch it.  That meant I cut the paper 11" X 14.5" virtually the EXACT size that I needed.

Needless to say, once it was painted it was NOT going to fit in the frame since it's new UNTAPED SIZE was only 10.5" X 14" :o(

Not wanting to cry over spilled milk and not wanting to wind up using it for something totally different, I  decided to crop the watercoloured background to 5.5" X 7.5" to fit one of my smaller box frames and to use it for this week's challenge. 

At least I no longer feel as wasteful :o)

The larger butterflies were stamped first with my new Hero Arts Antique Engravings set, watercoloured then hand cut :o)

Psalm 23 Bible Hearts Collage

As the direct result of a customer's request and with their input as to colour and choice of verse, I designed this collage yesterday and put it together this morning.

I've listed it in my etsy shop as an EXAMPLE because I'm now offering to do custom orders.

I trust that the Lord will bless both the givers and the recipients of His Word, in this format. 

Lone Star Patchwork Hearts Collage

A couple of months ago I noticed a big stack of discarded magazines at my local library and being an eco-friendly paper crafter, I took *almost* the whole pile home with me, sure that I would use them.

This is the 2nd collage in a new size that I've begun doing ~

• Outside frame measures 11" X 14"
• DOUBLE mat opening measures 8" X 10"
• Collage measures 8.5" X 10.5"

The magazine cover featured a gorgeous lone star quilt in shades of red, black, yellow and yellow and it was gave me just enough hearts for this larger size :o)

HAPPY WEEKEND Everyone!!

Floral Burst Butterfly Whimsy

After a few requests, I tried my hand at creating a larger version of the 5.5" X 7.5" collages I've been selling in my etsy shop.

This NEW larger version measures 8" X 10" and that means a total of 42 butterflies compared to 16 in the smaller size!  It's shown in an 11" X 14" black frame with DOUBLE white matting ~ the latter is very important because that bit of extra height allows for the 3D effect of the folded butterfly wings to be fully appreciated :o)

A New Collage and Climbing a Family Tree

This Butterfly Whimsy collage is made from 

a recycled vintage childrens' book Little Bear Lost by Jane Hissey.

It has been a very busy week complete with a trip to the city for a doctor's appointment this past Monday and then a jaunt into Michaels' with my 40% off coupon to buy a pair of Cutter Bee scissors ~ I heard recently that they are *a must have* for cutting out small indented areas and tiny corners, etc.

I've been tracing our joint family history since 1998 when we first got access to the Net and for the past couple of years have been doing it from my home for clients. I  always charge a very reasonable rate per hour and within the last month completed [as much as is possible considering families are ALWAYS changing] the family tree for a friend's husband as a gift to him for this Father's Day!

She paid me last evening and told me how excited he's going to be and I'm so glad that I was able to find his ancestry and fill in the links that have been missing or unknown for much of his life!

I always find that whenever I research anyone's family tree, that for the duration of the search, their family almost becomes my family and I'm so excited and thrilled about each clue that I'm able to find that leads me another generation back :o)

I'm off to visit some of my favourite blogs as well as check out this week's challenges to see if I can take part in any :o)

Two New Collages

 Baby Elephant Whimsy ~ For a Princess

Hearts Aflutter Collage ~ Shades of Blue

My husband had an extra day off work yesterday so I didn't do anything in my craft room.  Instead, I went for blood tests in the morning, then did some grocery shopping :o)

In the afternoon we visited an elderly friend who lives in a nearby nursing home and later went to another friend's home for supper.

This morning I made the above 2 collages for my Etsy Shop, and over the next couple of weeks I'll be working on a custom order I've received to do 30 Bridal Shower invitations :o)

More on that in coming days, including photos of the sample layout and then later, photos of the actual invitations . . .

My 1st International Customer!

I was so excited yesterday morning when I checked my email and discovered that I'd been honoured with my 1st international customer!!

A dear woman in Australia had purchased my Butterfly Whimsy Collage above which I called Spring Floral Fantasy ... and I'm delighted :o)

Tuesday Taggers - Give Us a Tag!

I've always wanted to take part in Tuesday Taggers but haven't really gotten into making tags ~ for some reason, they intimidate me!?  Go figure?!

Because this week's theme is simply Give Me a Tag, I couldn't resist and had no more excuses :o)

I made these CAS scallop-edged tags using my Marvy punch and deeply textured card stock along with my MS punch for the adorable elephants in Bazzill card stock and tiny pearls for adornment.  These tags are made to go along with my Baby Elephant Whimsy Collages which I sell in my etsy shop.

I'm So Tired

When you love doing something, it's always gratifying to know there are others *out there* who like it too!

Sometimes, like it enough to buy it and that was my experience last week when I sold 3 collages in 4 days ~ needless to say, I was delighted :o)

As icing on the cake, I was contacted by an interior design comapany in the state of Massachusetts for permission to use a photo of one of my collages for an upcoming article they're doing . . . I'll link to it once they tell me that it's been posted on their blog :o)

Because I'm not feeling well and am SO TIRED after getting up at 5 o'clock this morning from the deep, throbbing pain of gout in my right foot, I decided to take it easy and made the above 2 baby elephant collages this afternoon to pass the time since I don't feel up to going to town as I had planned.

Trust your weekend is relaxing for you and that you are surrounded by loved ones and find a little time to do the things you enjoy the most :o)

Beatrix Potter Baby Elephant Collage - PPA35

I just love creating butterfly and baby elephant collages with scraps of card stock, scrapbooking papers, recycled vintage children's books and old magazines!

Using tweezers, the tiny shapes are carefully set atop dimensionals and their little ears gently folded back to bring them to life and it's all laid out on cold pressed watercolour paper :o)

I used recycled some vintage Beatrix Potter stories for this Baby Elephant Collage and am entering it in this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge ~ which is Make Anything BUT a Card :o)

 There are so many wonderful paper crafts over there to enjoy!!

Butterflies in Flight

I decided to do some butterflies in flight for adults, rather than just concentrating on wall art for children and I'm happy with the way this early one turned out :o)

As you can see, it was a very sunny day when I took these pix but even so, the *shimmer* of the gold luxury paper doesn't show ...

My 1st Collage Sale

I've been missing in action for the past couple of days because I was away in the city for my 5th annual post heart transplant check-up!

Yesterday after all the tests had been completed, I took my Michael's 50% off coupons and because we have 2 stores in 2 different areas within city limits, I went to both, to maximise my shopping abilities :o)

At the 1st, I purchased Martha Stewart's ELEPHANT punch and at the other, I purchased her 3-in-1 classic butterfly punch ~ both of them are needed for the various collages that I've been creating.

Upon my arrival home, I discovered that I sold the 1st Baby Elephant Collage that I listed in my etsy shop a few days ago. Needless to say, I was thrilled :o)

I must say, I've really missed doing anything creative for the past 3 days so I'm off ... I've got all sorts of ideas in my mind that need to flow through my fingers onto paper . . .

Flutter By Wednesday + Creative Belli Challenges - Butterflies

I have 2 projects that qualify for 2 blog challenges this week :o) 

The 1st is a set of 2 cards that have watercolour wash backgrounds and in a couple of the photos I show them in frames just to take pix ~ next time I might purposely make some to actually FIT the frame!

 

The next is one of my earliest butterfly collages.  My husband told me yesterday that he was relieved when he came home and found that I finally did something other than a variation on one of these :o)  

   

Since it's an open weeik, all you that's required is a butterfly, angel or fairy on your project if you decide to join in the fun, please link to your project 'directly' on Mr Linky at Flutter By Wednesday blog.

These also qualify for the Creative Belli Challenge #85 [Butterflies and Dragonflies]