A Blog Post WORTH Reading

I took the time yesterday to read a very important blog post that needs to be read. With the author's permission, I decided to post the link here, and in place of my own blog post, I'm inviting you to read it... No, not inviting you. Compelling you. Please, take the time you would have taken to read mine and read this. You'll be glad you did.

Hospitality Lane

Contest Time!

I haven't done a giveaway in a while, so I figured now is as good a time as any! I have been working on trying to revamp the overall look and appearance of my Etsy shop, including my photos, but in so doing, I've also been creating more :) It's inevitable!

That being said... I created two ACEOs with the same theme. Please take a look and let me know which one you like better... that's it! Easy peasy :) Leave a comment here with an email where I can contact you by next Thursday, June 21, and the winner will win a custom ACEO (Art Cards, Editions, and Originals) made especially for you!

Interested? Come and tell me which one you like better! :)

Thanks, and I look forward to your comments!!! The winner will be contacted by me and will get to choose what kind of Art Card they want me to make! How cool is that?

Practice Makes... More Learning! :)

Hello everyone! I was practicing with my blog. See, I know basic html, and I DO mean basic :) But when blogger recently switched up it's format with how you add a picture, it came with a lot more pre-formatted html than I was used to, and I was having a difficult time figuring out how to make the image clickable to a web site. After fussing around with it, however, I've now figured it out :) So please take advantage of my practice and enjoy some of my friend's listings. Simply click on the image and be brought right to the listing!

This technology isn't going to hold me back... :)

Lazy Summer Dayz

I was at the beach today with my two little children, and my 3 year old, Kyle, came over to the bench and sat down next to me, cuddling with me, and I looked at them and realized AGAIN how blessed I am to be able to stay at home with them during the weekdays... I couldn't imagine missing these days with them, and worse yet, someone else being the one who got to participate in taking them places, spending time with them, watching them grow...

Here they are, playing at the beach playground.

I would also like to take the opportunity to share with you some fellow artists from ETSY

http://www.etsy.com/listing/99909078/coffee-photo-collage-5x7

http://www.etsy.com/listing/100641230/photograph-card-iris-watercolor

http://www.etsy.com/listing/101161746/believe-original-mixed-media-painting

Check out those artist's shops if you get the chance... and have a great weekend!

Why Are We Here?

I have been listening a lot lately to contemporary Christian music. It is very inspiring, and I often find myself crying as I listen. It's wonderful to have on in the background as you go about your day... keeps your mind more on the things of Christ, as it were.
One trend I've found, however, is that many songs sing about what we, as Christ's body, are doing, or rather not doing. That's gotten me thinking, and I drew this ACEO (the one above) today. It's titled "You Are With ME??"
Many people know Jesus exists, but many (due to the enemy's influence) feel that they are not "good enough" to turn to Him. They feel that they have to work things out first, or get "better" first, before they can go to God... but they don't realize that it's only by turning to God that they can get better!!! How are they ever supposed to know this if we don't help them?
We don't have to stand out on the street corner, shouting hailfire and brimstone. That, in my humble opinion, scares people away, and quite frankly, makes them think you're wacky. That's not what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to LOVE them, not jam the gospel down their throats. WE show the love, and then they become open to God working in their lives. Whether God chooses to use us further in helping the people come to their salvation is up to God. But we have to be open and listening to God's direction, and what we are called to do.
Or else... why are we here?

CASTTEAM Promotion!

I am blessed to be a part of a WONDERFUL group from Etsy called the CASTTEAM. We are all Christians who bond together through friendship and prayer, lifting each other up and lending our ears to one another. I am very blessed to call them my friends, and am honored to show you some of their work up for sale. Please, take a look and visit the TITLE links to the pictures... you'll be glad you did!

Pear!

Coffee!

Wreath!!!

Flip Flops!!!

2T Dress!!!

Adorable Buttons!!!

HaPpY WeEkEnD!!!!

Art Is Diverse... Be Art!

I have, at last, completed my entry for a local Call to Artists contest. I will not name the contest nor say anything about it at this time, as I have yet to photograph the piece with the appropriate camera and send the entry in, but I'm so happy that I finished it today, and wanted to share it with you. :) Be honest!!! What do YOU think?

The Miracle of Support

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him who is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 God has put us here to love one another, and support is a fantastic way to show your friends that you love them. Let's face it... we all fall down, but with the support of good friends, we get back up again. We try again. We persevere. I keep seeing a commercial on tv which says that being overweight is a huge problem for far too many people. It is a significant problem that needs to be addressed. We need to start taking better care of ourselves. We need to start now so that we are less likely to have health problems later in life. We CAN change things and have healthier futures. I am so glad that Sue A began a thread for CAST Team members to come and talk, share, and learn from each other. Even if you're in great health, you should come by snd offer support to others. I feel very passionately about this new thread. I believe it is an outlet that can be used to change lives. Please drop in to the new thread today, and often! Together, with God's help, we WILL overcome! OK, lol, I'm crying now...

Illustration Friday, "Puzzled"

This week I decided to get back into doing Illustration Friday, and I'm glad I did, because the topic was perfect as my next art journal entry. I used Mixed-Media (everything from pastels to paint, chalk, gel pens, you name it, I used it). I am pleased with the overall piece, and what it stands for... most victims of abuse end up thinking (at some point) that it was their fault, because they have been manipulated by their abuser. Many are freed from these thoughts through healing and counseling... some are not. Either way, the emotional abuse that follows the physical is oftentimes as damaging.

I Always Thought We Had Forever

Days come, and days go. As time marches on, our days are decorated with splashes of color- sometimes vibrant, and sometimes... well, not so much. Whatever kind of days you have, or whatever colors you get "splashed" with... all combine to make art, as long as you let it :)

I decided to create this blog post as a sort of visual record of my latest completed art journal spread. From start to finish, I documented every step. When I began, I had nothing in mind but the title: "I Always Thought We Had Forever", and the emotions behind it... art is theraputic, they say.

Please enjoy my post and the artistic journey from concept to completion.

Here is my journal, eagerly awaiting to be created upon :) Hello, journal!


I glued a piece of ephemera down. It's just a piece of decorative paper from the many I have. I thought it would look good. Sometimes that's how you journal... you just, well, you just DO. If you think too much, you can "clog" up the creative process.


Note: Glue sticks RULE when you're journaling!


I then haphazardly apply some white gesso. Artists who journal LOVE gesso!


On a piece of white sticker paper, I sketch this girl.


Then I ink the sketch with a thin black Sharpie pen.


After erasing the pencil marks, I write (in pencil) over the girl with "spill words"... words written quickly with or without meaning. Some use words that have personal meaning to them, others use the words more for aesthetic purposes.


I color her in with water color crayons and pencils. See?


Then, I do the same with her hair, only I add some marker, too.


Hrm... her hair looks too dark... so, I gesso the hair a little. Then I enhance the black outline around her a little, and cut her out.


Sticker paper is great! I peel off her back, and down she goes!


Looking good so far? I think so. I choose a vellum frame, rub some water color crayon red on the underside, and glue it down over her.


A band-aid is pasted, and then I rub ink along the edges of both pages, and around the outline of a pink square of paper. I glue it down.


Time for stamps! Here are some butterflies in squares.


Sakura Gel Pens (Souffle) are used to decorate. Pretty! (I love these pens!!!)


Under our girl, I pasted a piece of Scotch tape and blog over and around with pink stamp ink, then I pull the tape off again.


A piece of the journal rips with the tape! I'll have to fix that later.


I stamp the title with letter stamps and black pigment ink.


Then, with larger letters, I finish the title and stamp "FOREVER". I spill words on one page to fill in the background. With a black Sharpie, I draw three tear drop shapes along the left hand of the spread.


Then, I spill words and fill up the other page.


More stamps, this time hot air balloons!


I use water soluble wax pastels and color in the drops, then the balloon stamps. I blend the colors in the balloons.



Add strips of paper randomly here and there, as long as it looks pleasing to you. I also used my white paint pen (Pentel Sunburst MED Gel) to outline the word "FOREVER".


I add gesso around the edges of the spread, blending with the ink slightly, creating a dull gray border.


I draw a line with my Sharpie to indicate a frame around the spread, then color outside of it with the pastels. I blend, blend, blend.


I section in different areas with water color crayons, and blend with water and a brush.


To decorate the border, I use my white paint pen and alternating shades of blue acrylic paint, and make bubbles.


I end up not liking the way the bubbles look in comparison to the whole piece, so I paint over the border with a shade of bluish-lavender, then I re-thicken the Sharpie black border line.


I accent the line with the white paint pen and spill write around the border. I like this MUCH better!


I glue down a piece of map tag to cover the spot where the tape had ripped the journal earlier, then color it a little with the same blue-lavender used on the border. I also drew an "I" and clipped it out, colored it, and pasted it over the spot on the title where I'd stamped a hot air balloon.


And here we have the finished product! It took a lot of time (this was not all completed in one shot), and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. The entire piece seems to blend well together. What do you think?