Sizzix: Who Are YOU?

In case you haven't heard, Sizzix has a new campaign going on AND they want to know WHO you are -- you know the WHO, WHAT, WHERE's and everything about you -- and you could also WIN a HUGE prize just for sharing WHO you are with us! Click on the image above to find out everything you need to know to play along!

It's really hard to narrow it down to three words to describe who I am because any combination of three would do the trick but would they really give you a clear picture of WHO I am?

To start with, I think you already know I'm an artist. I love pretty much everything there is to love about creating art -- from the inspiration to the completed project. Even pieces that I struggle with -- because when I turn that ugly duckling into something fantastic it really makes me happy. That's not to say that I don't struggle at times, all artists do. But turning a blank piece of paper into a colorful mess that other people love is a talent I am pretty proud and happy to have.

I also have a pretty silly side, which I don't always show. And, luckily this photo covers three of the many aspects of me while only using up one of my words -- here I am being silly with my husband demonstrating how to use Pore Strips for our teenage son -- two of my other loves.

Nature lover. I love everything about the natural world that surrounds me -- even bugs -- except the biting kind. Nature has the most beautiful colors, textures, layouts and subjects and inspires me on a daily basis! If I need some inspiration for something new or different to draw all I need to do is go outside and look around me!

 

My favorite Sizzix project is this paper quilt using the Hexagons Bigs. This project came together so beautifully, if only I could quilt this good with fabric!!

Well, that about sums it up -- I'm a silly artist that loves nature -- my family and quilts. Make sure you click on over and to the Sizzix blog to see how you can play along - and I think you will love the SUPER COOL prize you could be eligible to win!

Have a great day and HAPPY Halloween!

Be Thankful for Chocolate

Check out the Sizzix blog today to see my post about these cuties and learn how I made the tags for them!

Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Make a Custom iPhone Case

Hello there, I know I've been pretty quiet here on the blog lately, but things have been busy I've not really been in the mood for blogging. The same questions I ask myself all the time. But, I'm back today -- thanks to the commitment yesterday to the Whatevers to finally blog.

But as a bonus,  due to my silence I thought I'd give you a little tutorial -- a little thanks to you for coming back to see what I've got going on.

Last week I stopped by Joann Fabrics and found this super cool CLEAR silicone iPhone case. It was on clearance for $5.00 -- and I immediately had an idea pop into my head. This would be perfect to make a custom case for my phone using my Art Gone Wild! Stamps. It was easy peasy -- and here's how I did it.

First I cut a piece of watercolor paper the SAME SIZE as the interchangeable designs included with the case and used the Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper to chomp a 1/4" corner on each corner of the watercolor paper.

 I also made sure it fit inside the case, since the paper was a bit thicker than the included design I had to do a little trimming to make it fit.

 When it did fit, I used a pencil to trace the camera hole on the case.

I used a combination of an x-acto blade and fussy cutting scissors to cut the camera hole out.

Then I stamped my black eyed susan stamp and Archival Ink to stamp my favorite flower on the watercolor paper. To add color I used my watercolor paints to paint the design -- but you could use any thing to color the design.

The result is a super beautiful custom iPhone case that i can swap out with any of my favorite stamps or designs from my Just Add Color line!

 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Who, exactly, was Oscar?

It's that time of the month -- when the Whatever Team comes out with our monthly edition of stories. In case you don't know what Whatevers is, a group of artsy friends have gotten together to give our favorite old photos a story. Each month we pick one photo (that we also provide to you, if you'd like to play along), of people who are in need of a story. You know, that long lost photo. One of those you might find at a flea market, or vintage shop. The kind that always makes you wonder.  Where do these people belong? You DO know they belonged to someone. We'll we give them a new story and now journey ... a new adventure!   We each create a page and story just for them.  As you can image, it's a creative journey that takes many different paths :)

You can see what everyone is up to this month by following these links:

Cuchy
Vic
Martha
Nat

Without further delay, here's my story for this month!!

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Cordelia knew that Winston was hiding something, she just knew. The story he had told her so far sounded far fetched and had a lot of holes and missing information.

As she waited for him to return from his “fishing trip” she looked through her old photo albums remembering the many happy times they had had.

The pictures from their modest wedding helped her remember how much they were in love – but the pictures of Winston as a boy on a farm with his mother and a cow made her sit back and think about the situation and how long he’d been gone and how much he had missed in Winnie and Newt’s lives.

In this picture, he’d named the cow Oscar, or at least that’s what it said on the back of the photo.

Mother and Oscar with Bessie.

No, wait. The Cow was Bessie. Who was Oscar? He looked just like Winston. Red hair. Cute nose. Blue eyes.

 And Winston’s mother looked old enough to be a grandmother not a mother to “Oscar”.

Who, exactly, was Oscar?

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Here is how it works

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Martha and I and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.

• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.

• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!

• There are no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
  There are no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER

• There are no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER

• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.


• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission

• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.

You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page