Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Color Throwdown #181

Love these colors from the folks at Color Throwdown.


I chose to do a birthday card for my mother whose birthday is next week. She loves shabby chic and all things pretty.


I used paper from Basic Grey's Sweet Threads pack and Lost & Found's Rosy pack, satin and grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone and pearl cabochons, a brass tag stamped with "joy," clear embossing powder, and Cricut cartridge Damask Decor.

The Things Found Series: The Fridge

Art House Co-op is hosting a series called The Things Found. Here is the info for this week....

Volume One: The Fridge
The Things Found Series is the beginning of a new photography series that encourages participants to capture an image of a common space. This week, we’re challenging artists to shed a little light on one of the most personal spaces of all… the refrigerator. Open your fridge and take a photo of the inside in all its glory. Don’t worry if it isn’t beautiful! We’ll create an exhibition from the photographs we receive that reveals the substance of our community — one everyday space at a time.

Here is my entry.

 I opted for black and white so that the typography becomes the focus. It's funny looking at this photo you would think we were obsessed with dairy products!

Happy Leap Year!
Marnie

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Meal

"Nothing makes us feel connected quite like sharing a meal together. On February 24th at 12pm Eastern Standard Time, thousands of strangers from around the world will sit down for a bite in unison and capture a shared experience at the exact same time. Take a photograph of yourself with your meal and mail it back to us. These simultaneous snapshots – self-portraits of people and their foods – will be exhibited in our storefront project space and made available online. Our aim is to inspire a feeling of community across geographic and cultural boundaries. So wherever you may be on February 24th at 12pm, keep your camera handy and something delicious nearby – and remember that thousands of strangers, both near and far, are sharing that meal with you." - Art House Co-op

This project is intended to being awareness to world hunger. It is too late to participate in the exhibit but it's is never too late to participate in the solution! If you want to make a difference visit Action Against Hunger to find out what you can do.

I don't do self portraits very well so I only took a photo of my meal. I thought what would be more interesting is a photo of an empty plate so I took one of those too.



Thursday, February 23, 2012

Another "weekly" journal page done!

Yay! I finished another page for my Art Journal All Year project. Second one today....I am on a roll! Now let me see......that makes 5 more to go and then I will be caught up! Crossing my fingers I will get some time in the next few days.


"Weekly" Journal?

Okay so "weekly" is just not attainable for me! We are in our 8th week of the year and this is only the 2nd page completed for my Art Journal All Year project (find out more about A Beautiful Mess and this project by clicking the link). Oh well! Anyway here is my "Introduction" page. I really love doing this one. Enjoy!


Color Throwdown Card

It's Color Throwdown time again! Originally I wasn't very inspired by this week's colors, but once I started digging into my paper stash I really liked the combination. Next, I needed to decide what to do with them.
I have always been one to choose cards very carefully, selecting ones with just the right sentiment. My son is turning 20 in a month so I decided I would make him a non-traditional birthday card. He is a "man" now so flowery, or showy, or wordy cards are not appropriate.

He has had a difficult past few years making a series of bad choices and sort of floundering when it comes to life goals. Last year he joined the National Guard which did wonders for him, but he is still struggling with what to do with his life when he is not on duty. So rather than the typical Happy Birthday card I decided the sentiment "write your own story" was not only appropriate for him, but also a good life lesson for any parent to pass on to their child.


Happy Thursday,
Marnie

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Lotto Challenges

This month's ATC lotto challenges on the ArtChix Yahoo group were super inspiring for me. This first one is called "Mystical." If you know me, then you know I love all things mystical and witchy! Here are the results.
 The background is from a CD insert (yes, I owned CD's back before iTunes took over the world); the moon, raven, candle, and girl are all ArtChix Studio images.


The second lotto theme is "Going Green." The challenge was to use recycled items, not necessarily green ones. When I think of going green my mind often thinks of water first. Keeping the oceans and drinking waters clean is such a vital part of saving the planet. 


I used left over book pages from a round robin book exchange, a tissue box image for the seaweed, a CD insert for the waves, a found feather, an ArtChix image, and an eco shape bird embossed with Shabby Blue Vintage Embossing Powder.

I love, love, love this new line of Vintage Embossing powders. I bought mine in a package of five from Archiver's (in store). The other colors are Aged Silver, Shabby Pink, Shabby White, and Aged Gold. Unfortunately I cannot find a brand as they were packaged especially for Archiver's. If you are into vintage you will love them.

Happy Wednesday!
Marnie

Monday, February 20, 2012

Block of the Month

Hi gang,
I have been a sewer since I was 9 years old (that is 33 years of sewing), and in that time I have made doll clothes, fashion and costume clothes, outfitted nurseries and children's rooms, and even some home decor items.

I have truly dabbled in a lot of sewing projects, but quilting has never been something I was interested in. I think it's because quilts seem country and ultra traditional, neither of which appeal to my style sense.

A few months ago I happened upon a site called Craftsy.com. It started out as a little group and has grown tremendously in just a year. They offer all kinds of crafting courses and workshops from jewelry to knitting and sewing to paper crafts.

At the beginning of the year Craftsy started a free online workshop called Block of the Month hosted by Amy Gibson. Each month she presents two easy quilt blocks for you to create at your own pace in your own time. At the end of the year she will show you how to finish it into a lap quilt.

This workshop appeals to me on so many levels! First, I love the modern graphic blocks, not at all the traditional, country vibe. Second, a "work at your own pace" schedule really works for me since my crafting time is randomly squeezed in throughout the week. Third, I have missed sewing for myself and thought this would be a fun project for my bedroom.

If you have never heard of Craftsy.com go check them out. You just may find something that interests you!

Here are my first 4 blocks....





My bedroom is ice blue and brown with accents of white and tan. This should look great in there if everything works out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Have a great week, Marnie

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Being sick is the pits!

How's this for a birthday present?.......Two days before my birthday I got a common cold and it lasted until this past Sunday! That's 9 days of laying around feeling like crap. The saving grace is that it wasn't the flu and other than congestion and absolutely no energy, it wasn't the worst cold ever.

The first think I did when I got out of bed was to clean up my studio. Boy, was it a disaster! Yes, this job completely used up all my energy but I am so glad I did it. There is just something so inspiring about a clean art space...don't you think?

Of course, now that it is clean it is time to mess it up again. (he he he) So I have been trying to catch up on some art group stuff.

Over at the ArtChix Yahoo Group we have a "Meet the ArChix Swap" going on. The challenge is to use your face and put it on any form and dress it up anyway you like on an ATC. We are to make one for every chixie that signs up. A whopping 16 of us took the challenge! I am very excited that so many people wanted to join in but that meant I had to make 16 little me's! Needless to say this was a daunting task but I think they turned out pretty cute. I call her "Marnie Fairy," she is the Fairy of Love and Flight.


I also worked on my ArtChix Fat Book Pages for next month so I could check that off my list. The colors are Gray & Maroon. The 4th oddball page with owls I did to keep for myself.


I have a bunch of school work this week so I am not sure I will get the chance to create anymore goodies but if I do I will be sure to post them.

Have a great week!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Away too long...

...for me anyway! Between dance conventions for my daughter, trips across country, and school work I have barely had a chance to breathe much less create! I still haven't adjusted back to my time zone but I have finally gotten things under control and managed to get a little fun art play in today.

Here's what I made...



Color Throwdown #177 features the yummy colors shown above. I decided to use the CTD colors in conjunction with this week's Studio L3 - Grungy Monday Week 34 Challenge using Tim Holtz's crackle techniques. The result is this Valentine's Day card (shown below) I made for my daughter.

 Card Front (left)    Card Inside (right)



This month, on the ArtChix group, the Fat Book swap colors are Red, Pink, and White. I approached the challenge a little differently this month. All the wonderful online classes and projects I have been doing have encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone. I played with layers, stamping, masking, collage, micro slides, ribbon, papers (my fave), distress inks, and even a crocheted doily.





 
"Be My Valentine" entry for the bi-monthly lotto on ArtChix Yahoo group


This is probably all I will post tonight, but I will be back at it tomorrow.