A Grateful Heart

The weather is wonderful here in Tulsa, OK. The Redbuds and Dogwoods have bloomed, along with all the Daffodils and Tulips. The Azaleas are now in bloom. And our grass has already been mowed. I am so glad that winter has left our state. And, hello Tornado season. Hey, I am not complaining. That’s what happens in Oklahoma. If Mother Nature decided to make it snow on Mother’s Day, I would not be surprised. I say that because on the first day of spring we received 6-8” of snow!

Anyway…my little piece of art was so much fun. I am so loving these Copics. I thought that watercolor would be my favorite medium for the rest of my life, but I feel that the Copics are taking over. What I want to do next is combine the Twinks and Copics together. And maybe add Zana Clark’s Color Wash Jewels for some background work; what if…

The background on this card is from Technique Junkies Newsletter. I have used the two techniques "Glimmer Mist Watercolors" for the background base and "Wisped Frames" for the sentiment. If you have not subscribed to the bi-monthly newsletter you can do so here. You are really missing out on some fun.

The image that I used is from Sweet Pea Stamps and the title is Nostalgia, from Sheet #8, plate #30. (Did you know that I have every one of ching-chou kuik’s fantasy art stamps and this is the first one I have inked? Shame on me!) I am posting this for a challenge with the Sweet Pea Stampers, All that glistens is gold!, but I am sooooo late.

For the time being, I will probably be late for a lot of the challenges. I am going to post anyway. I really don’t care if I am late, because creating is my sanity. The reason for this lateness is I am trying to figure out how to schedule my day for creativity. I have finally started pulmonary rehab for my COPD w/emphysema. This takes me away from the house for three days a week for two hours each time. In the mornings I try to get done what housework I am capable of doing. After rehab I am wiped out. I also have to get on the treadmill and do exercises at home on the days that I do not have rehab. I am really not complaining. I am walking for 30 minutes at 1.8 mph and I can leave off my oxygen up to 1.5 hours. I am progressing very well. This old woman still has what it takes! I guess I am asking that all these “blog challengers” have some patience with me and that I do not expect any kind of recognition. I got something finished! That is all the recognition I need.

Back to business…the supplies I used for this card are:
Cardstock: 80# gold cover, 80# Neenah solar white cover;
Inks: Distress in dusty concord, Memento in rich cocoa, tuxedo black;
Paints: Shimmerz in angel wings, Glimmer Mists in gold, bronze, burnt red, juniper,
Spellbinders Lotus Pendant Shapeabilities, Deckled Rectangles Nestabilities;
Sentiment stamp from Flourishes Poppy Patch Set #35;
Border stamp from Paper Wishes;
Spica pens: chocolate, black, gold, turquoise;
Gelly Roll pen: clear star; and
White gel pen.

The Copics are:
Skin: BG 10 & 72
Eyes & lips: RV 99
Tail scales: BG 10 & 18
Tail: RV 91, 93, & 99
Hair: BG 10, 72, & 75, and RV 93
Clothes: BG 000, 07, & 18, and BV 04
Sky: Y 0000 & 21, and BV 000
Background: BG 000, 07, & 18, and BV 04

I definitely wrote this longer than I wanted, but I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe next time it won’t take me a month to post something. But, I can’t promise that I won’t be as wordy. If you have any questions, please email me at ajsdesigns@cox.net.

Have a great week and weekend!

Aletha

Winter’s Song

First I want to start out and say THANK YOU to all my followers (to date 50) and to the ones that have subscribed.

I am going to try something a little different with my blog…self-promotion. During now and the middle of November I will be preparing for an arts festival. And with that preparation comes new creations.

This first creation came about as a result of one technique called “Terraza Tones” from the TechniqueJunkies Newsletter. Thanks to Terri with Cards and Moore by Terri for turning me into a TechniqueJunkie. You can find subscription information at http://techniquejunkies.com. These newsletters are fantastic and well worth your time. They will keep the creative juices flowing.

The beautiful Southwest stamp was created by I Brake for Stamps. Check this site out. Her stamps are creative, wonderful, deeply etched, and just the right size! I don’t need anymore rubber stamps! But my addiction is so strong and uncontrollable!


This 5”x7” greeting card was so much fun to make! The “Terraza Tones” is created using instant coffee. I had nothing in the house other than drip. I tried that and could not accomplish the depth in color that I wanted. So my wonderful husband went to the store for me and purchased Chase and Sanborne instant coffee. Much, much better. The close up photo below will show the depth. You can control the strength of instant coffee. All the brown in this piece is the instant coffee. I do want to try and find the Terraza coffee. This coffee is a high-end instant coffee and hopefully it will be in gourmet shops.

The base card is a gorgeous Stardream metallic oyster color card stock. Other stocks I have used are watercolor paper and metallic copper card stock. Color enhancements are optional, but I used Twinks watercolors, copic markers, and copper ultra fine glitter. I have even used an unbleached coffee filter.


The stamp (central image) is stamped with black pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. The piece of ivory stock that the central image is mounted on has been accented with copper pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

More self-promotion…I have Winter’s Song for sale in all of my online shops/studios. Here are the links:
Etsy-http://ajsdesigns.etsy.com
ArtFire-http://ajsdesigns.artfire.com
1000Markets-http://ajsdesigns.1000markets.com
Zibbet-http://zibbet.com/ajsdesigns

Thanks so much for stopping by! And I hope everyone has a good week!