hope blooms...

started this canvas on monday night, as i was watching along with tracy weinzapfel and mixed media monday.  i didn't get a chance to finish it until the end of the week.  by then it took on a completely different feeling for me.  had a rough patch lately, so this is a reminder to see past the not so good and see the better.  i usually put more of a twist on the project that tracy does, but i loved so much how hers turned out. 

hope blooms

supplies:  gesso, acrylic paint, archival ink, crackle paste
font:  kg pdx bridgetown

strong...

so i always have a hard time picking my one little word for the year.  last year, i was going through a rough patch and my #olw came to me in a flash.  i had no idea when i picked brave as my word for 2015 exactly how brave i was going to have to be during the year.  more than i have ever had to in my life.  maybe the words pick us.  for a reason?  this year, i'm facing the beginning of the year with an uphill battle.  so my word came to me pretty easily again this year...  i just hope i can live up to it.

peace...

it's been a few months since i've entered tracy's monthly creative dare. and it took me until the very last day to get it done.  the hardest part was trying to find a word, but i finally settled on one.  hopefully this word will carry me through the year.

 peace
stamps:  unity
other:  acrylic paint, sharpie paint marker, bubble wrap, mod podge

beautiful girl...

i can't believe it.  it's june 8 and i am way ahead of the june creative dare deadline.  usually i'm finishing the night before!  i skipped may entirely.  so i'm pretty happy to be done with june.  if you aren't familiar with the creative dare, here's a little info.  tracy weinzapfel does a live show each monday, mixed media monday.  if you haven't joined on a monday night, you should.  it's a riot.  and she makes awesome projects.  each month, she puts out a creative dare.  it gets you thinking way outside the box (and your comfort zone sometimes!).  it's very good for me. here is a link to the creative dare for june.  we had to incorporate powerful truths, or things that you just sort of need to remember all the time.

i chose one of the daily truth emails from brave girls club.  i used the email as the background, then selected a few thoughts that i need to remember. i even went straight to canvas with this so i can hang it up in my room and see it all the time.

beautiful girl
stamps: donna downey
ink: jet black, island indigo
other:  acrylic paint,  gesso, india ink, decopage
font:  fzm old typewriter

here is a link to the original post from the brave girls daily truth email. the background says:

Dear Beautiful Girl,

You have plenty of time to figure it out. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Remember that most of us are alive for nearly 100 years, and in those 100 years we will have lots and lots of opportunities to get things right. It is never too late, and you can start over again every single day, for the rest of your life if that's what it takes.In the years of our life, we can count on the fact that we will continuously fall on our faces, make mistakes and take the wrong paths sometimes. We just will . . . all of us. It's part of the deal.

You are absolutely spectacular, no matter what your mistakes have been, no matter how many times you have had to start over, and no matter how many lessons it takes for you to learn valuable things. You are just an awesome student of life. You are the fun one! You are the one the teacher makes the lessons for in the first place!

So sweet friend, cut yourself some slack. Do better tomorrow. Count the victories you HAVE had. Look how far you have come, and especially, look deep into that pure and beautiful heart of yours and see that THAT is who you are. You are not your mistakes or your wrong turns or the weaknesses that you are STILL working on overcoming. That is your human part. You are the BIG BEAUTIFUL spirit part, the one who keeps trying, every day.

So keep it up. Kiss yourself in the mirror and tell your cute self that you are doing just fine.

So much love. . .
xoxo

believe v.2013...

here it is, the 26th of january.  i mention the date because i have been meaning to get my january creative dare done since, oh, the day tracy threw it out there.  i can't believe it was january 9th, which was more than just a few days ago!  the dare is to make a piece of art using our "word" for 2013. i haven't necessarily been putting it off, i've had the canvas sitting on my desk since the dare was announced.  i just haven't been inspired to make it yet.  then, while doing my sketch book a few weeks ago, i did a page that has to be my favorite page, maybe ever?!?  and i wanted to do something similar.  and i think the size difference made this a little more of a challenge but i'm happy with the result. now to start living it!!  done with 5 days to spare!

believe
stamps:  stampin up
materials: acrylic paint, gesso, india ink, mod podge
embellishments:  drywall tape, cardboard, white gel pen

thankful heart...

happy thanksgiving!  

there isn't enough space to list all the things i am thankful for so i'll just say my heart is very, very happy.  i hope you have a happy heart, as well!!

thankful heart

stamps:  unity

material: canvas, book text, vinyl

paint: gesso, acrylic

tools:  silhouette (phrase, leaves)

live in the moment...

yep.  another mixed media project.  but never fear...i've got some cards coming up in the next day or two.  this is another page in my september canvas art journal.  you can see the cover in this post.  you see, each monday night, tracy makes a page and we follow along via ustream.  or we just sit and chat while she creates.  this is my take on last week's page (week 2).

live in the moment
material:  canvas
paint: gesso, acrylic
stamps:  unity, american crafts
ink:  black staz on, india ink
embellishments: letter stickers, fabric flowers, buttons
other: pen

i am still having a love/hate relationship with the charcoal pencil.  i love to hate it.  maybe i'll see the light one day...but it's still dark now!

life...

another page/entry in my september dare gratitude journal.  (see the cover here) anyone who is creative and makes anything (be it painting, stamping, sewing, drawing, whatever) makes something they don't love.  this is one of those things i don't love.  but i am glad i did it.  and i'm glad it's in my gratitude journal because i am so thankful for life.  i made this page after a really crappy couple of days at work.  and i wanted to include something in my gratitude journal about life and how you shouldn't take it for granted.  so even though i'm not 100% thrilled with how it turned out, i do appreciate it.  i also played with some new products.  funny story, the orange background paint is semi-gloss.  as i was drying it, i kept thinking it was taking forever because it still looked wet.  then i remembered it was semi-gloss!!

life
material: canvas
paint: gesso, acrylic
stamps:  unity
other: glimmer mist, india ink, mini-burst template

don't worry, i haven't stopped doing paper crafts.  despite having the past few posts be all mixed media projects!  more to come soon!!

hope...

i love crafting.  it keeps me sane.  if i'm having (or had) a crappy day, i can craft and sort of escape for a while. forget things for a while.  which is what i needed to do last night.  i needed to get my hands dirty.  this is the end result.  a mixed media canvas.  i had an idea in my head of what i wanted to do.  this isn't exactly that idea, but i do like how it turned out.  i used a bunch of butterflies from a butterfly assortment from creative cuts & more.  it has a few different kinds of butterflies cut out of a bunch of different material.  all which are fun to paint!

hope
material:  canvas, grungeboard, velum, acetate, velvet
paint: gesso, acrylic
stamps:  susan weckesser/unity
other: bubble wrap, modeling paste, pen

gratitude...

september is here.  how excited am i about that??  well, many things.  i have a love hate relationship with fall.  i love the smells of fall, the crisp air, the cool nights and warm days.  i hate that the days are already getting cut short.  sepetmber is my birth month.  and there is a new creative dare from tracy weinzapfel.  all the info about the september creative dare is here. it's all about gratitude and being grateful, taking a few pieces of canvas and creating a gratitude journal with them. (tracy took care of the sewing, thankfully!)  so here's the cover of my gratitude journal.  can't wait to do the next page!!

gratitude
material:  canvas
ink: black soot, white india ink
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: bubble wrap, drywall tape, charcoal pencil
tools:  silhouette 

i am me...

fasten your seatbelts, kids...this will be a long-ish post.

so the past two months, tracy has thrown a monthly challenge out.  last month, i finished just under the wire.  this month, i have ten days to spare!!  when this dare was first suggested, almost everyone booed the idea.  here are the details:

1. Create a project featuring a photo/portrait of YOU!
2. Journal or use words to describe who you are TODAY!
3. Incorporate your own handwriting in your piece

now stop and think a minute...make something with a picture of yourself?? now you see why we all booed the idea. but as everyone has started doing their dare, they found it wasn't as horrible as they first thought!  and i found out the same thing once i got going!

i am me!
stamps:  unity, donna downey
ink: onyx black, acrylic ink
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: modeling paste, decoupage, plastic tape

i had no idea what i was going to do for this project.  and i couldn't find a great picture i wanted to use.  but i found one i do like so i printed it.  a couple of months ago, i was making a mess experimenting with modeling past on a canvas.  i wanted to play with texture.  well, i didn't love how it ended up, so i tossed it aside.  fast forward to yesterday...i was thinking about what i was going to do for this project again and  i happened to see this canvas laying in my stash.  i had a flash of brilliance an idea after seeing what lori did on her project  (check it out here)  and started getting to work.

i have also been stuck using the same color palate lately...but blue is my favorite color, so i wanted to use it here.  i ended up using a bunch of shades of blues.  once added the few stamped images and wrote my few words, i was trying to figure out what else it needed.

surely i couldn't leave all that space with nothing...but then i pondered, went and fixed lunch, came back to look at it and decided i was going to be done.  i didn't want to gob it up any more.  so i left it.

go check out the other peeps from the monday night get together and see what awesome things they did with the dare.  when was the last time you created completely out of your comfort zone? it's awesome.

call it love...

i guess it's mixed media week on my blog!!  a certain little one year old just had a birthday. i know her she loves pooh, so i wanted to make something along the lines of a wall hanging with a quote because she used to have her hospital room covered with cute quotes.  my friend sally helped pick the quote. i think it's perfect!

call it love.
stamps:  ippity
ink: jet black
paint: gesso, watercolor crayons, acrylic
embellishments:  muslin, buttons, twine
other: bubble wrap
font:  mtf playtime

and don't forget that it's friday friends with flair time. check out the unity blog for all the fwf stuff. plus it's a little wishes sale...angela had customers email their favorite stamps and she put a bunch of them on sale. how cool is she? some {ippity} goodies in there as well!  and freebies of course!

canvas swap...

ack!  i haven't blogged in five days?  oh that's right...i've been in bed for the past four days...sicker than a dog. but i'm hopfully on the mend.  so moving on...

i decided to host a challenge over at the shack to spread my new found obsession crafty love.  the swap: a group of us signed up and picked partners (well, i assigned partners), then each person makes a canvas for their person and sends it to them. whatever theme they want.  this is the canvas i made for christie.  and she told me she has received it, so i'm going to post it!  and the one i received from here was amazing!!!

not a hobby

stamps:  christy tomlinson

paper: tissue paper, glitz pp

ink:   jet black

paint: gesso, acrylic

embellishments:  muslin, glimmer mist, buttons

other: decoupage, bubble wrap, gel medium

font:  rough typewriter

i took the ideas from a few places.  i know i used this quote from pinterest last week on my art journal, but i love it!  i also tried the cool transfer technique again.  you can't see it very well, it's very subtle in the corner...a bicycle with flowers in the basket.

and talk about button heaven!!  then i got the stacked canvas idea from tracy's ustream class last week.  talk about open a whole new set of options!!

another cool technique i tried was printing on tissue paper.  if i print on regular paper with an inkjet printer, the ink smears when i use mod podge.  but i read that if you print on tissue paper, it doesn't.  so i tried that  and it totally works!

so if you get nothing out of my mixed media posts lately, get this...just try something new.  you never know where it will lead you.  if you would have asked me if i would have loved this so much, i would have laughed.  so just go out and try something new!!

hope.dream.believe

i had an idea in my head to make a trio of 4x4 canvases as a set.  but then i decided to make them individual.  here's how they turned out.  i used my favorite bubble wrap on them.  i cut out a butterfly on the silhouette from vinyl and used it as a stencil to paint.  the trail from the butterfly is india ink that i drew.  the words were painted with some stencils by folkart.

hope.dream.believe

ink:  india ink

paint: gesso, acrylic

other: bubble wrap

tools:  silhouette (bug)

night owlie...

so i have been off work for the past four days.  it's been great.  the mister has also been off work.  we were going to go away on vacation, then decided to stay home and just hang out.  so we've done a lot of just relaxing.  he found a new game he likes (he's a little bit of a nerd, but who isn't?) which works for me because it gives me lots of time in my craft room!

i was obsessing over discovering new things on pinterest the other day and saw a cute owl canvas that was adorable.  so it gave me the idea for this  8x8 canvas.  consequently, this one looks nothing like what i thought it would, but i'm still happy with how it turned out.

night owlie
stamps:  unity
patterned paper: lilybee designs, authentique, we are memory keepers, american crafts
ink:  shabby shutters, walnut stain, seedless preserves
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: india ink-black, mod podge, modeling paste, bubble wrap

i have had a few goto places for insiration for all this mixed media madness. i have to credit my friend, cindi, for prodding inviting me to monday night ustream with tracy weinzapfel.  that pretty much started the spiral down this path!  so kuddos to tracy and cindi!  i also love things by donna downey and christy tomlinson.  those women are so crafty!!

a few people have asked to see how i do my canvases.  so i made a little video of one.  i made another butterfly canvas that i used from the mystery project to show what i do.

and if you are still with me after all of that...don't forget tomorrow is the {ippity} new release blog hop.  i have to say, once again, that i love this month's release!!  so stop on by tomorrow at 6pm mst (that's 7pm cst) and check out the new goodies!  there might be a prize involved!  

and don't forget i'm giving away some unity goodness with this post!

you fill my heart...

another week has come and gone and it's friday again.  but that means it's that much closer to monday night!  i know, you are asking yourself, "who looks forward to monday night?"  well i do!!  because it means i get to hang out with tracy weinzapfel and the other monday night crafties at ustream (i use the term hang out loosely...not really getting together in the same place rather getting together at the same time online!)

and friday is friends with flair with the unity folks.  i used both unity and {ippity} stamps on this canvas.  a cool background type stamp from the may 2012 kit of the month and the sentiment from the {ippity} kit let your heart take flight.  this is a smash up of two of the monday night ustream techniques i've learned.  i used tissue paper to give the hearts dimension.  love the effect!!  and last monday, tracy made this using a stamp on part of the edge.  love it!!

you fill my heart
stamps:  unity, ippity
cardstock: white
ink:  onyx black
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: india ink-black, tissue paper

fly...

this may be a long one, so hang tight!!

fly
stamps:  phyllis harris, unity
cardstock: fancy pants pp, book pages
ink:  jet black, pacific point
paint: gesso, acrylic, gelatos
embellishments:  prima flowers, muslin, glimmer mist
other:  sharpie marker, india ink-black & white, modeling paste

most people know i'm a pediatric icu nurse. nine years ago, i started in the icu as a new grad from nursing.  it was both terrifying and amazing at the same time.  every day i go to work, it still can be both terrifying and amazing at the same time.  but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  i love what i do and i can't see myself doing anything else.

i have a lot of people ask me "isn't it hard?" and "how can you do work with sick kids?" or "how can you not get attached to the patients?"  the answer the first one is yes it is hard at times. devastating at times.  and at other times it's awesome.  i can ask nurses who take care of adults the same "how can  you work with adults?" thank god they can, because i couldn't!!  that's the beauty of nursing...there is something for everyone.  

the last question is an interesting one. yes, it's easy to get emotionally attached to your  patients.  you have to find a balance.  some kids (and their families) just touch  your soul in a certain way that you can't explain. but not all of them, luckily...or you would go crazy. there are many patients and families that i will never forget.  but for whatever reason i've had two patients that have left such an impact on me that i will be lifelong friends with their families.  i have blogged about my little angel, luke, before.  

this is norah.  she is one of those patients. and she has touched my life forever.

she has been a part of my work life for the past almost several months.  i would always get to peek in and see her smiley happy self every day i worked. and some days, when i was having an exceptionally rough day, i would go visit her for a little norah-sunshine therapy to remind me that things would be ok. i think her and her mom, shuana, were actually more helpful to me than i was to them over the past few month!!  but she took a big step last week.  so i wanted to give her and her family a little going away/graduation present.  and now that she is no longer a patient, it's officially legal for me to hang out with them!

i went to hang out with the two of them the other day.  we went to lunch, then went back to norah's room and crafted the afternoon away.  i loved that as soon as shuana opened the gift, she said, "well, we need to hang this right now!"  and grabbed a pin from the bulletin board and hung it on the wall!

one shot...

here's another installment in the mixed media file.  on monday, tracy threw down a challenge.  she dared us to do something out of our comfort zone.  we had to create something using this quote, "let go of whatever holds you back and no longer serves you because you only get one shot in life."  check out her blog post here.  i saw a mixed media canvas the other day while surfing the web (my guess is on pinterest!) and of course can't find it now to save my life.  but what i got out of it was inspiration for this.  and i thought the quote went well with it.

strength

stamps: hero arts

cardstock: fancy pants pp, basic grey pp, authentique pp

ink: burnt umber

paints:  acrylic, gesso, gelatos

embellishments:  glimmer mist; cardstock stickers-october afternoon, authentique, dear lizzy-american crafts

other:  india ink

here's a little more detailed view.

you should join along with the dare!!

white flowers...

i know i've mentioned once or twice how much i am loving this whole mixed media thing.  and i wouldn't have ever realized this unless my friend, cindi, wouldn't have convinced me that i needed to watch a ustream thing on monday night with tracy weinzapfel.  a few weeks ago, tracy made a vase of flowers in her journal.  i loved the idea so much, that i wanted to make one to give to my mom on mother's day.  so i held my breath and went straight to a canvas instead of doing one in my art journal first.  here's the finished project.

white flowers 
supplies:  acrylic paint, gesso, charcoal pencil
embellishments:  flowers

tools:  silohuette

strength...

i know, two posts in one day.  must be a record!!  but i had to post this before the deadline.  it's my entry for unity's contest from national scrapbook day.  and no, i'm not a scrapbook-er, but you could make something other than a scrapbook layout.  so  i made a mixed media canvas.  i also used two of the new {ippity} sets released yesterday!

strength
stamps: unity, ippity
cardstock: watercolor paper
ink: worn lipstick, burnt umber, tumbled glass, walnut stain
embellishments:  muslin, staples, glimmer mist, distress markers
tools:  acrylic paint, gesso, molding paste, silhouette

here is the sketch.

i used my silhouette cameo to cut out the banner and the butterflies.  i used the new tim holtz distress markers to ink the butterfly stamp.  i'm starting to like the markers a little more.  here are a few close ups of the canvas.