Gotta Love the Bunny!

With this little creation I am entering three challenges. These sites are first-timers for me.

The challenges are:
Creativity Challenge #15 at The Play Date Café;

Monday Sketch Challenge #124 at MoJo Monday;

and, Spots and Dots challenge #98 at Cute Card Thursday.


I so hope this passes for the Monday Sketch Challenge. When I started out everything was going fine until I realized that the main image is hiding the sketch design. Just take a closer look and you can see the sketch (maybe squint). The Play Date Café Creativity Challenge is with color and I feel like I hit that okay. The beautiful color combination was chosen by Sandi, a retiring member of Play Date’s Design Team.

This is my first Tilda that I have colored with Copics and to actually finish a piece. I tend to color a lot of the images and then let them set. These little angels are perfect for Prismacolors and Copics.

I purchased “Tilda with bunny” several months ago from Diana, a US-based online store of Magnolia stamps. In my opinion…Diana’s store and customer service is top notch.

In this picture I am trying to show you my work with the Copics and all the paper punch work.

Take a look at these MAGNOLIA-licious blogs. They have a few challenges you may be interested in. Here’s the list of a few blogs that have caught my attention: MAGNOLIA-licious Highlites; MAGNOLIA-licious; MAGNOLIA-licious Christmas All Year Long. There is also a MAGNOLIA-licious Yahoo group you can join.

Thanks for coming by again. Hop on over to the blogs that I have mentioned and take a look at what other talented artisans are creating. I hope everyone has a fabulous week of creating!

See you soon,
Aletha

Challenge #41 for The Sweet Stop

Hello again! This is my third sketch challenge to enter. I don’t see me slowing down either. This challenge is for The Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge Blog (my first time to enter with this site). Go check it out, get inspired, and join in the fun. I know I am. These challenges are really keeping me on my toes. And I am creating something about every other day.

This little cutie is titled “Thinking of you”. The image is from a Miss Anya collection purchased from Die Cuts R Us.


The Copic Markers I have used are:
Hair: E13, E17, E19;
Skin: E00, E02, E21, RV21;
Dress: R14, R27, RV000, BV00, R59;
Bows & Shoes: R14, R59.
I have also used Spica Pens in Red and Clear.

Go to The Sweet Stop and check out all the other participants and their eye candy.
Thanks for stopping by! See you again in 2-4 days.

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #38

Boy, am I on a roll! Two blogs in two days! I told my husband that this weekend is all art, no bills, housework, laundry, and he’s cooking. He said fine. Aren’t I lucky? Yes, I do count my remarkable blessings. We’re not going anywhere. We have finally ended up with around 10” of snow and ½” of ice under that.

Again, I ramble.

This little piece of art is for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge. I am so in love with Copic Markers, which you all know by now. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to really dive in, but now that I have, I want all the colors. A word of advice…when you buy a pen…buy the refill. There is nothing like being right in the middle of a project, everything’s going great, and your color goes dry, not a good feeling!

The main image is Miss Anya Love Connection from Die Cuts R Us. I used Copic Markers for the coloring. All my paper is from Stampin’ Up and Outlines Rubber Stamps. I have aged the stock with Tim Holtz’s Distress Ink purchased from Addicted to Rubber Stamps.

This close up is really to show the tatting and die cut. I have aged the tatting with the Distress Ink in Broken China. I just purchased several pads of the Distress Inks and I am really going to town with them. The photo corners are from a Cuttlebug die, but cut on Spellbinder’s The Wizard. I was not satisfied with the way Cuttlebug was cutting their own dies so I purchased The Wizard. I am not sorry that I invested in this little machine. I also like all their dies.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend is going good. Mine is!!

Two Challenges with One Card

Finally, I am going to post something. We are having a snow storm right now in Oklahoma. It started last night with freezing rain and sleet and finally turned to snow around noon today. So far we have not lost our power. I am keeping my fingers crossed and saying a little prayer that we don’t. The last time we lost power due to freezing rain was in 2007 and we had no power for six days. Ugh! And this time around I am on oxygen 24/7 and I certainly need the electricity.

Any way, I am posting a little Valentine’s card that I came up with due to a challenge on “Any Stamp Will Do.” Really two challenges for the groups Sketch Challenge Mondays and The NEW Color Challenge (just one card for two challenges). This is a fairly new group on Ning. Come on over and check us out. We have some very talented people to chat with and exchange ideas.



I have colored the main image with Copic Markers and it is from The Greeting Farm Miss Anya Love Collection. I purchased it from Die Cuts R Us. The sentiment is from the Unity Stamp Company. I have also used two techniques, Cuttlebug Highlight and Out of the Box, from the Technique Junkies Newsletter. If you have not subscribed to this newsletter yet you are truly missing out.



That’s it for today. I hope you have a great weekend. And I hope you enjoyed another one of my experiments with whimsy and Copic Markers. (I am really enjoying those markers!)

Happy 2010 and Happy Pink Saturday

Welcome to 2010!

I hope everyone had a marvelous holiday season! Mine was fantastic. We did have a Christmas Eve blizzard so that caused our family Christmases to be moved to New Year’s weekend. All in all the holidays were great.

I am really embarrassed to say that I have not blogged in almost three months. That is terrible! So why not have my first one for 2010 be a Pink Saturday.

The past two months I have had some health issues, but hopefully that has all been resolved somewhat. I am on oxygen 24/7, but it is temporary. Hopefully, I can start rehab sometime this month. I have had COPD for a while now but I picked up a cold virus that went straight to my chest. I went to my doctor, my doctor in turn sent me to the hospital because of my breathing (or I guess I should say my “gulping for air”). They immediately put me on oxygen. This is where I jumped up and sang “I can see clearly now, the rain has gone.” (If anyone knows who originally sang this, please let me know.) There I had chest x-rays and they found emphysema in the top lobes of my lungs. That’s where the rehab helps…I get to teach the good part of my lungs how to really breath.

Anyway, while I have been recouping I started thinking about my art. I decided to teach myself Copic Markers and take a completely different turn with my art. I love the markers! And the turn I am taking is going to be more fantasy and whimsy. I am going to have fun during rehab and not worry about monetary things. Maybe I will have so much made I’ll be ready to add them to my shops. Unfortunately, with this oxygen I can clean house now. Ugh!

I thought I would share a few of my creations with you.

The first one is my husband’s fairy god mother. I made this card for him to celebrate our late Christmas and New Year's and to let him know that she wished upon us that 2010 would be a lot better than 2009. The image is a digi stamp from Mo’s Digital Pencil. Her illustrations are so detailed and truly imaginative. They cried Copics. This is also a technique from a Technique Junkie Newsletter.


The second one was really my first experiment with Copics. This was for a contest (I didn’t win) and the digi stamp was a creation of Michelle Perkett’s. You need to check out her awesome talent also. Michelle also has some of her images created into greeting cards.


That’s it for now. Have a good week and work on your New Year’s resolutions if you have any. I usually write mine down and never tell anyone.

I hope you drop by Beverly’s blog and check out all the other participants in Pink Saturday.

Balsam Ponds with a Passion for Paper

Carol of Balsam Ponds describes herself as “a city girl living and designing in the deep woods of Minnesota.”


After I read her interview I feel like that a very large portion of her creative inspiration comes from her family. She was raised in a large family (eight to be exact). In fact her ArtFire studio is partnered with her brother.

Carol is a very active member of the ArtFire Guild “Passion for Paper.” And in her already busy schedule she has started a new venture in her art career. She has begun the process of reproducing her designer cards. Her goal is to make her designs and her love of art available to all people. I have picked out a few examples that I liked best. I feel like the “art selecting” is the most difficult in writing a blog. I usually like everything that a particular artist is creating.

Visit Carol’s studio and leave a comment here about your favorite.


How did you get your start in the world of art?
I was an artist, of sorts, since I can remember. I was not overly social so I spent most of my time drawing. My mom, on a trip, gave me a colored pencil kit. It awakened me to art. After that I was crazy for every media for drawing.

Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
I say a little prayer and sit quietly as the talent he gave me awakens. Then and only then am I ready.


What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
Both, but the creativity is often trumped by the finished project. Mostly, because I am so involved creating, I arrive in the end with something I love. Even when in the middle of it I fear a failure.

What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
At 57 years old that is a hard question. Every stage was totally complete. Drawing with chalk, graphite, on any
paper I could get my hands on. In high school jewelry making, mobiles, and sewing. Working years, graphic designer, brochure designer, trade show designer. Touched into the world of interior design, but didn't want another career. So, now it is paper designs in the form of greeting cards. My new adventure is reproducing my now designer cards to bring my designs to all.


When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
Mostly get sleep and relax. I am stressful by nature, so artwork is where I get grounded. I also watch a movie, my favorite is a chick flick. Something to just make me smile.

What do you hope your art says about you?
That I am a real person who wants others to be happy even if only for that moment when they receive a card designed by me.


What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
Greatest dream…my card business actually starts paying back. Greatest fear…that fear of failure will win over my drive, and that the fact that I get such great reviews from others who receive my cards will not be enough.

What are your goals in art, and in life?
Goals, hum well, to continue to evolve into someone I can be proud of. I change when I feel the need, in life and art.


Tell us a little bit about yourself-where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
To many years to cover, but I am from a great family of eight, we are very close. I lost my Mom and Dad and think of them often. They are the reason I function so well in this world. My interest is growing as a person and being loved and respected by my dear husband.

Do you have an online shop or shops, a website, a brick and mortar shop, and/or a blog?
My blog at http://balsamponds.blogspot.com.
My ArtFire studio http://balsamponds.artfire.com; and my Etsy shop http://balsampondsdesign.etsy.com.

Thanks so much for stopping by and learning more about me!

Etsy Greetings Team Member Cara of Cara's Scrap N Stamp

One Etsy Greetings Team member, Cara of CarasScrapNStamp, is living life to the fullest! She is a stay-at-home-mom after a full career in Criminal Justice. I am really glad that she now has the time (or at least she makes the time) to share her love of art with the world. Her talents are abundant at this time in her life, and I know we are going to be blessed with more of her colorful creations.

I did not pick out my favorites from her shop (I like them all!) but I did try to pick an array of items. Hopefully this does showcase a portion of her works.

Enjoy this interview and please leave comments. Cara would be thrilled to hear from each one of you!


How did you get your start in the world of art?
I've always been surrounded by art, particularly paints and fabrics, as my mother is a wonderfully talented artist and seamstress. The start of my paper crafting adventure began when a friend brought me to a Stampin' Up party about 11 years ago. A few years later, my first son was born and then I started scrapbooking. Last summer, I opened my Etsy shop and love being able to share my paper creations with others.


Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
No, but if it's early morning, I like to drink flavored coffee while I create. My iTunes are usually playing softly in the background and my dog is always by my side.

What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
I enjoy both. The final creation is hardly ever what I first envisioned.


What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
At present, my favorite tool is my Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. It works with anything from cardstock to fabric, chipboard, plastic, even aluminum cans. It's just perfect for cards, scrapbooking, paper crafts and I like that it's compatible with other dies and embossers.

When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
When a creative block occurs, I clear the clutter. A few years ago, my cousin, a Feng Shui expert, did a consultation for me in my home. One of the first things I did after the consultation was clear out clutter. It's a great feeling to get rid of what we don't need or use. We donate the items in good condition and Freecycle the rest.


What do you hope your art says about you?
I hope my art shows that I take time to create unique, quality handcrafted paper designs.

What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
My greatest dream as an artist would be to have more of my handcrafted items sold in brick and mortar shops. I don't have any fears as an artist.

What are your goals in art, and in life?
My goals in art are similar to my dreams noted above. My goals in life are ever changing. My family, especially my young sons, are my main priority at this point.


Tell us a little bit about yourself—where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
I've been in New Jersey most of my life. I worked to pay my way through college and graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Criminal Justice. After college, I worked for MADD as a victim advocate assisting victims and/or their families before, during and after court proceedings. I then worked as a Litigation Paralegal specializing in Medical Malpractice and happily did that (really!!) until I had my first son. It's been a wonderful experience so far. I don't read, practice yoga and take long walks with my doggy as much as I like, but I certainly treasure the moments when I can enjoy a relaxing moment or two. When my husband and I get out together we love live music, good food, and some fine wine. I’m also on a design team for my favorite online store, Die Cuts R Us, and you can find me at http://diecutsrusdesignteam.blogspot.com.

Do you have an online shop or shops, a website, a brick and mortar shop, and/or a blog?
I have an Etsy shop where I sell handmade cards, scrapbooking items and paper crafts. http://CarasScrapNStampArt.etsy.com
You can also visit me at http://CarasScrapNStampArt.blogspot.com and http://facebook.com/CarasScrapNStampArt.