MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE (APRIL 2/14) EASTER (OR FLOWERS)

It's time for the 1st of Heather's monthly challenges at MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES !  Make sure you check out what Heather, Helene, Carol and Shea are doing for this challenge - I am working with such a creative group the ideas just keep coming!

Have you been to Heather's Etsy shoppe?  Run over there and check out the goodies!  It's a great place to shake out those "crafty voices" you are hearing!

I love crafting holiday projects and chose "Easter" as the theme to go with.  I had to do a "spring twist" on the Christmas themed peat pots I have started doing.  Vintage of course!  You might notice that I get onto doing a particular project and twist it every way possible until the next project captures my imagination.  And as luck has it the Vintage Dragonfly Easter swap is altered peat pot baskets, so my little bit of fun already has a home.

I used Heather's Vintage Easter Eggs to create the main focus in my basket.   Each egg is double sided, I stuffed them with a tiny bit of cotton batting for dimension.  I used Glossy Accents Crackle and Distress Ink to age them and Stickles around the edges for more sparkle.

The base is a 3" peat pot which I painted with white gesso as my first step.  Make sure you let it dry, the peat pot will be doing the job it is supposed to do and sucking up the moisture LOL  I cut an embroidered doily apart for the next layer.  I used DST (double sided tape) to adhere the doily and ribbons.  At the bottom are two layers of trim; ruffled gingham topped with a pansy trim.  Next I punched the holes on each side (Crop A Dile) for the handle which is two chenille stems twisted together.  I trimmed the top edge of the pot with some mini purple tinsel garland (E6000 glue) for a little bit of sparkle to show through the crocheted doily which I then lined the pot with.

I have stuffed my basket with white waxy paper grass (more like the Easter grass from my childhood) some tiny speckled eggs, a chenille chick and tiny flocked flowers.  A satin ribbon bow finishes it off.

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES (ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS) CHALLENGE - MARCH 16, 2014

It's time for the second of the two monthly challenges at My Artistic Adventures!  On the 16th of the month Heather offers a Christmas Challenge, the theme this month is "On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me" and you must use three of something.

I hope to have 12 peat pot ornaments by the years' end!  Basically I have set myself a challenge within the challenge LOL  For this project I have used Heather's Vintage Angels collage page.  She has incorporated all of my favourite elements into this sheet; a sweet vintage image, music paper and birds!  Heather gets wild and crazy creating new sheets so be sure to check on her Etsy shop often!

My project was created using a 3" peat pot painted with white gesso as the base.  I have covered the pot with bits of lace and trim, topped the rim with antiqued silver tinsel trim and used an "evergreen" tinsel stem for the handle, which will blend in with the green of my tree making the ornament appear to float.   I have filled the pot with satin and pearl flowers (liberated from a bridal piece), light blue vintage stems and blue mercury balls from my stash of vintage Christmas bits.  I used a plastic snowflake as the base to build up the stars (each one is popped up with foam dots) as the background for the angel image.  Two of the cardinals are wired to "fly" in front of the stars.  I have used Stickles on all the edges of the images for that extra vintage touch.  Bows front and back are the final touches.

Note:  I have a large stash of glitter products but the one that I go to consistently are "Stickles" from Ranger. The fine nozzle  allows me to lay down a nice edge, which is my preferred look and I find that less glitter drops off  than when using other products.

Come and play along with us, check out the lovely projects from Heather, Helene, Carol and Shawn!  See you there!

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE - (MARCH 2/14) ST PADDY'S DAY!

It's time!  Time for the first of two monthly challenges at "MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE" the theme is "St. Patrick's Day or Spring".  Do check out the challenge and some outstanding inspiration from the design team members!

FAILTE  (IRISH FOR WELCOME) WREATH

I adore the green & pink shabby chic goodness Heather created with some of her image sheets for St. Patrick's Day, so different from the classic Irish green but she has those too!  I have been creating these paper ribbon wreaths for most holidays since taking a class last summer and learning the basic build.

The base is a 7" styrene wreath form.  I dug through my paper stash to find an assortment of soft green patterned papers and cut 10" x 1.5" strips, depending on placement it takes about 24.  I put double sided tape down the outer inside edges of each strip, placing each strip one by one around the wreath form. 

I have used Heather's Shabby Chic St. Patick's Stamps as my focal image, layered (with pop dots) that onto her Dark Green Traditional Stamp Base  and then layered again onto a Swiss dot card stock which is the same I used as the base for my banner.  I built up dimension on the banner message by layering different colours of Stickles, letting each layer dry between the adding the next. A technique I created trying to cover up a mistake but now use quite often.  Isn't that the way LOL  The gold/silver metallic trim is from May Arts. The glittery shamrocks are from Michael's, the wild roses are Martha Stewart.  I used Dew Drops in a light green mix on the ends of each of the paper ribbons.  Final touches are a swipe of Platinum Stickles on the edges and a vintage pink/rhinestone button on the bow.

I hope to see you playing along with us at the My Artistic Adventures Challenge!

Note:  I have entered the following challenges;
Just Inspirational Challenge - Anything Goes,
Divas By Design - Make It Sparkle,
Creative Corner Challenges - Green,
Crafty Cats - Anything Goes,
Craftin Desert Divas - Glitter
Challenges 4 Everybody - #39 (always Anything Goes)
Totally PaperCrafts - Make It Shine

Really Reasonable Ribbons - Show Me the Green and Ribbon

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES (ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS..) CHALLENGE -FEB 16/2014

It's time for the 2nd of the two monthly challenges at My Artistic Adventures!  On the 16th of each month Heather is offering a Christmas challenge, this month the theme is "On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.."

I have chosen to stay the traditional course with "two turtle doves"!

This is a 3" peat pot which I covered with white gesso to start.  Make sure you let this dry for 24 hours as the peat pot really holds onto moisture...like it is supposed to for it's "real job" LOL  I adhered some vintage looking silver tinsel around the top and attached an evergreen tinsel wire for the handle.  The pot is covered with a piece of vintage hardanger needle work and a bit of fancy trim along the bottom.  A plastic snowflake sits behind my Victorian scrap lady, the two plastic white doves are wedding favours.  I filled the "basket" with white millinery pieces, vintage silver mercury balls and used white batting as the filler.  I reduced and printed out Heather's Victorian Vintage Calling Cards collage sheet to use as my print image (two turtle doves).  The finishing touches are bows both front and back.

Note:  looking for white embellishments, think wedding supplies.

I have had the idea for a set of these rattling around in my head for a bit but I was inspired to get on with it when I received an ornament built in a peat pot from Michelle of Nook and Cranny in a holiday swap.

How about you check out Heather's Challenge at My Artistic Adventure and join in?  Do go and see what the other design team members have done, I am fortunate to be included in such a talented bunch!

Note:  I have entered this in the first Craft Hoarders Anonymous challenge "What's Your Style".

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES "ANYTHING GOES" CHALLENGE (Feb 2/14)

Valentine's!  I can't get enough red/pink/vintage/glitter splendor!  Heather makes it so easy to keep the ideas coming with the versatility of her images. She is busy building her inventory at My Artistic Adventures Etsy adding banners, bases, alphas, colour variations, everything you need in your own inventory to create your own artistic adventure.  Heather also produces videos to demonstrate how you can recreate her fabby projects and these are linked in her Etsy shop along with her images or find her at  My Artistic Adventures YouTube .   Heather is making it as easy as possible for the creativity to flow!

Join us in the twice monthly  MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGES , make them part of your own adventure!

I adore chenille figures :)  For me they add just the right nostalgic touch to a projects or perfect little gifty bits for the grands..even girlfriends.   I used Heather's Shabby Valentine Cupid Tags  for both the head of my figure and the medallion on my "Key to My Heart" Valentine Candy Basket.  Pink bumpy chenille stems, hearts and key from my stash and a bit of white feather for wings.

The candy basket started life as a 3" peat pot which I first painted with white gesso.  The gesso makes a nice finish inside and is easier to cover on the outside.  Next step should be to create your handle and attach before you cover the pot with crepe paper.  I used a red chenille stem with pink ribbon twisted around it.  I laid down a strip of DST (double sided tape) around both the top and bottom of the pot and created gathers in the pink crepe paper as I went.  A row of gathered red tulle trim around the top really made the colours pop.  I added a sweet and sparkly pink trim along the bottom.  Then more sweetness in the ruffle edged ribbon bows.  I cut out the smaller version of the tag to use as the medallion, popping it onto a plain white scalloped circle punch.  Glitter, glitter, glitter!  My favourite..Platinum Stickles and a bit of Ruby Slipper and Fuchsia!  Hope I have inspired you to create a sweet and easy basket of sweets of your own.

Note:  I have entered challenges at; ABC Challenges "E is for Embellishment",  Natalie and Amy's Challenge "Love is All Around", Really Reasonable Ribbon "Anything but A Card", Rhedd's Creative Spirit

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGES (JAN 16/2014) - "ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS"

Yippee, it is time for the 2nd  "My Artistic Adventures Challenges"!  Heather has made it so easy for us with her "On the First Day of Christmas" theme.  If you are just getting your head wrapped around crafting in 2014 check out this new crafting challenge rules here!  She has put together an incredible design team, you will certainly be inspired!  I feel so fortunate to be working with this talented bunch.

"On the First Day of Christmas" I dreamt of snow falling and pretty little bluebirds eating the holly berries just outside my window.

Heather's Bluebirds Music Tags collage sheet is what I built this tag on.  I adore the serenity I feel just looking at this image, the perfect vintage holiday of my dreams.  I have carried over this inspiration from my own Christmas In the Bank post.

To start I covered a larger #8 manila tag with a Graphic 45 paper, then popped up the music background from the collage sheet and popped the bluebird image on top of that.  Tip:  create a lot of basic dimension when you want to go over the top with your embellishments.

Trims from my stash included the cream pom poms, silver metallic rick rack, silver "feather" rope, seam binding (bow made with my Mini BowDabra), feathers, a paper rosebud and vintage blue glass beads which I "liberated" from a strung garland.  Soft blue chalk ink on the rose and then blue, red and silver Stickles to finish.

In keeping with another of my goals for 2014, I used the pieces left from this and my Christmas In the Bank project to create two more holiday tags.  I will add ribbons when I use these, love building up my stash!

Note:   I have entered my tag in the ABC Christmas Challenge, Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGES (January 2, 2014) A VALENTINE SPOOLIE

I adore crafting holiday projects, so I am tickled "pink and red" that Heather's first My Artistic Adventures Challenge has a Valentine's theme!   What?  You missed the news...click here.

I have used her "Hugs and Pooches" collage sheet images for my Valentine Spoolie.  I printed the sheet out 2x so that I could pop up the pug (how many times can you say "pop up the pug").  Using the larger heart image, I traced around it onto the large music square to create a frame and used the same on the 2nd sheet to create a nicely finished back.  I did pop up the image on the frame, along with the "14" square I created from the scraps.  Lots of Stickles in pink, red and platinum - get your glitter on girl!

A scrap of the music paper covers the middle of the wooden spool, the edges are finished with a creamy trim and a fine red braid on top of that.  This all sits upon a base fashioned using a vintage heart shaped jello mold which I didn't intend to completely cover but you know how that goes.  Layers of pink trims create a sweet skirt. The final steps were creating the flower arrangements.

Tip:  I have been using E600 glue for mixed media pieces this last year and find that it well and truly holds even when I have sent projects through the mail.  It sets up fairly quickly and has substance which is often helpful.

This little over the top piece is destined for my red guestroom which has been newly "shabbified" with a LOT of pink rose garlands.

I hope you will feel inspired to come adventuring with us at My Artistic Adventures Challenges, come on over and check out all of the fabulous projects!

Note:  I am also entering this at Make It Monday and Really Reasonable Ribbons

Michelle of Pink Paper Paradise and DT member at Make It Monday chose this as her Pick of the Week!  Thanks Michelle!

A NEW ADVENTURE

Happy New Year with my warmest wishes.  Treasure all of the special moments of the past and set out to create many more.  I don't really set resolutions but usually find myself contemplating the past and next year in the quiet space between Christmas and New Year's.  This year has given me many "treasured moments" with family, friends and the opportunity to reconnect and strengthen bonds with childhood friends.   Crafting and the creativity, inspiration and connection to all of you has been sporadic in the last year as other parts of my life took priority.   That is about to change!

"A NEW ADVENTURE"

I first "met" Heather Hudson when I was on the design team for "Pages In Time" and then later "Bella Creations" several years ago,  her creative bent and enthusiasm delighted me.  Since then she has set out to make her dreams come true, part of which is working with images in her own unique vintage and sometimes prim style.
 
Heather "My Artistic Adventures" has asked me to be part of her design team as she sets out on her new path "My Artistic Adventures Challenges".   Heather has decided to host a challenge on her blog every 2nd and 16th of the month using HER Digital Collage sheets.   Click here to check out Heather's own post announcement about this!

Pretty please come back here on January 2nd to see what I have created using Heather's designs as inspiration for her first challenge.

In the meantime,  check out Heather's Etsy shop for inspiration and ideas galore.  She has dropped some heavy hints about the theme LOL   Do take advantage of the enticement to play along with us which includes a 15% off $5.00 or more purchase (coupon code: MYARTISTIC ADVENTURES).

And would you please post the challenge badge on your blog to help get the word out?

 

 

The html code can be found in the left sidebar at My Artistic Adventures  She also offers lots of YouTube tutorials including one on how to insert html codes on your blog.  Heather has been very generous sharing her technology knowledge.

 

I look forward to this newest Artistic Adventure; reconnecting, finding my creativity and inspiration and sharing with you.  Won't you join in and come "adventuring" with me...