My First Mixed Media Class Project Done!!! Part 1

With great trepidation and my good friend Electra, I ventured into the world of mixed media in October of 2012 with an Artfest put on by Dooreen and Linda at Treasured Memories in Edmonton, AB.

I was gently eased into the world of imperfection and new toys / tools to play with and was hooked.  It was a great learning experience re: techniques as well in learning to let go of the "perfect" piece.  Because of the nature of the artform, perfection is definitely hit or miss and I am learning to be okay with that and enjoy my artwork.

I present to you........some of the finished project from the UNDER THE SEA Artfest.

Porthole Cover....love, love it!

Using some of the ephemera generously given by other participants

Flying Fish....using one of my sky photos & stamps

Ruins of Atlantis....used Dreamweaver column stencil & fussy cut fish

My take on the catfish and dogfish

Direct to paper, inked and sprayed doily

Using the prompt...The Abyss.  My absolute favourite page of the book

Using a bagful of gems given as a giftie and added glitter as well

I hope that you have enjoyed the first look undersea and that you didn't get your enthusiasm dampened!

Until next time,

Carol

Completed!!!

I know how frustrating it is to take a class and come home with an unfinished project.  I have sent students home in that situation and can sympathize now that I have been taking classes in mixed media.  But in the spirit of getting things done, I am very proud to show you some of the pages from the Art & Sewl class I took in April 2014.

Tag page

Husband & wife page

Men rule the world
Women learn the rules of the house page

Gel Medium transfer page

Dollar store flowers from a lei, coloured with Tea Dye reinker, stamped on, layered and button added
Catalogue page

Front Cover

Back Cover

Used Gord's Nan hankie for skirt and her brooch for embellishment
Nan's Dress page

Hand sewed, blanket stitched and tufted the quilt
Quilt Page

Many thanks to Kim McCaskey and to Kathleen Sundby for putting on an absolutely fabulous weekend at Treasured Memories in Edmonton, AB.  I have shown only a few of the pages, but the book is done!!!!   Hooray!!!!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day filled with smiles.

Carol

Card box & card set class

May 11th @ The Over 50 Club, Airdrie, AB  from 10 am to 11:30 am

Cost:  $15.00 per person

Supplies needed:  none

Experience needed:  none

 Email craftratextraordinaire@gmail.com to register.  Registration cutoff date is May 9, 2014.

Complete set

Cards

Box and card

A long time....but projects are getting finished!

Thanks to my friend Patti and the group of Mixed Media artists in Edmonton, I have found a new niche.....mixed media.  I attended my first ever retreat in September 2012 and like most of us that attend classes, didn't finish my project and left it languishing in a corner.  Thank you to Linda, Dooreen & Kathleen for putting on this event and to the other participants for encouraging me to follow the yellow brick road.

 

TA DA!!!  It's done and I'm very pleased with the results.  I have picked five of my most favourite pages to show and tell with.

 

 

This awesome cover was designed by the girls that put the course on and I must admit I did not stray from the original design.

 

This has one of my sky photos as a background with trees stamped on the bottom.  Have to say I like the multicoloured ric rac on the outside edge of the page as it seems to finish the edges off.

My most favourite page....The Abyss was our prompt and all I could think of was "What lurks in the abyss?"  Consequently, the eyeballs peering through the cheesecloth came to mind.



Patti & I got together one day and created this beautiful mermaid. (The mermaid was orginally intended to go onto my Stampede parade float page....the long and the short of it...my girls & I rode a float dressed as mermaids for the Calgary Aquarium Society many, many years ago.)  She seemed to fit this themed book so well that I envisioned her playing a saxaphone.

At the time of this workshop, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was hugely popular and our prompt was the girl with the shark tattoo.  Using a graphic from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY and a shark tattoo found on the web, I created a book cover complete with its accompanying library checkout card.

I'm Back!!!!

After an absence of more than a year, I am back in the swing of things.  It takes a long time to recover from damage done by a mentally ill loved one and even longer to realize that the situation cannot be fixed.  Enough of my whining and on to my accomplishments......

In the last two weeks, I have finished over 70 cosmetic / shoebags for a local charity and have still more to go.  The pile is slowly getting smaller and that is all that matters.

I have finished a rag quilt for a co-worker who is celebrating the birth of his son.  Along with that quilt, will be a scrapbook made by moi for the little guy and a castle book for his princess sister done on the Cricut.

I am making great strides in my scrapbooking of our trip last May.

I have organized all my quilting material and supplies as well as my stamp supplies and papers.

I have joined a crochet a block a week group.  Beautiful blocks....if interested, visit www.lookwhatimade.net.  Her site is fantastic and you don't have to sign up to do the blocks.  Come join the fun.

I have made arrangements to start teaching again  -  something I thought I would never do, but hey.....let's give it a whirl.

As much as I miss my old job, I am enjoying the freedom to create again and the ability to enjoy my youngest granddaughter.  My oldest granddaughter is still having things made for her even though she will never receive them at the time the gifts were meant to be given.  I put them away in the hopes that she may come looking for her grandparents in the future.

Great progress...with much more to come.

Until next time........enjoy your life and every moment that you have with your loved ones.

Cheers!!!

CST cards, ATC's & tags

If you are a stamper living in Canada, you should know about Canadian Stamp Talk on Yahoo Groups.  It is a great place to meet other stampers and get your stamping mojo going.  I have belonged to the group for several years, but was not actively involved up until July of this year after a lapse of several years absence.  I am enjoying receiving snail mail and seeing other stampers' art.

Today I am sharing with you some cards and ATC's created by some of the members of the CST Yahoo group as well as an amended tag that I originally made 28 of in the incorrect size for a swap.  My apologies to the swap's hostess and to the other participants, but by displaying the images of the amended tags that took less than 5 minutes to fix...I'm hoping that I'm somewhat forgiven.

Here are three cards that I received in a swap:

Ruth's card

Tracey's card

Karen's card

Now for the ATC's

Maryanne's ATC's

And the finale....the fixed "P" Xmas tags by yours truly

Hope everyone has a excellent day and not too filled with the stress of the holidays.  I'm off to make my Christmas cards with the goal of getting them completed and out BEFORE Christmas!!!!  ROFL

Carol

Remembrance Day 2012

The moment of silence has past, but this day is not over.  I will never know what it is to experience military life and all that goes with it, but I do remember worrying and waiting for my brother to come to us safely.  He did, but not without some major emotional scarring.  For many others, they came home in the same shape and for some, not at all.  I can only honour my brother and other military personnel with a card that was designed with him in mind.  Thank you to all those who have served, fought and survived and to those who have served, fought and died as well as to those who have and are currently serving in the military now.

Here is my small effort to say Thank You.



For Brian and his family