Amazing Mail Day - Thank you, Lucy!

Just checkin' in to say what an amazing mail day I had.  Today I received my first ever suprprise RAK (Random Act of Kindness).  What fun it was to find something special just for me as I dug through the pile of junk mail.  A friend of mine, Lucy T.,  from ARTHaven Creations and Friendship (Yahoo Group) knew that I was having a hard time facing the 2 year anniversary of "the fall", and she sent a beautiful handmade photo card to cheer me up.   And cheer me up she did.  I wanted to acknowledge the amazing gift that Lucy bestowed upon me as soon as I could (which is why there is no photo of the card included).  When I send out the thank you card for this kindness, I will also be "paying it forward" and sending a RAK out to someone that I think could use a reason to smile.  If you receive the RAK from me, will you pay it forward?
Thank you, again, Lucy!

Journals

Yesterday I shared with you some Christmas cards that I made.  Today I want to share with you the journals 11that I made for my family.  With the wonderful assistance of my friends over at ARThaven I put together a journal for each of my immediate family members; my mom, husband, and two youngest kids; Andrew and Sheridan.

To make the journals I used plain composition books that I purchased from the local WalMart at the beginning of the school year for about $0.50 each.  For my mom's notebook I used DP from JoAnns and ProvoCraft CS.  The die cut images and letters were created using my Cricut Expression and Pooh and Friends cartridge.  So that I could get the exact colors that I wanted I cut the layers out of white CS and colored each piece with my Copic markers.  The inside covers and back were covered with bright red CS purchased a while back from Office Depot.  On various pages I placed small foil stickers of Pooh Bear and his friends, to that the entire journal was personalized for my mom who is a true fan of Winnie the Pooh.  Made to accompany each journal was a matching sticky note holder.  Again, this was not an original idea but one that I scraplifted from other creative sources on the web.

The sticky note holder were made using two chipboard coasters from Outback.  To hold the covered coasters together I used the Zutter Bind It All and wires.  Again the die cuts were cut using the Cricut and coordinating cartridge and the paper from PC and Office Depot.  Inside I adhered a stack of sticky notes for my mom to use.

For Doug's notebook and note holder I used Stampin' Up! CS, Cricut, Pooh and Friends cartridge, Provo Craft CS, Copic markers, and the Zutter Bind It All and wires, and coordinating stickers.

Sheridan's journal and note pad holder were made using: DP from JoAnn's (front and back outside covers), light pink Stampin' Up! CS (front and back inside covers), ProvoCraft CS, Cricut, and Dreams Come True cartridge for the die cut image and letters, Copic markers, Offray ribbon, ProvoCraft Terrifically Tacky Tape, Beauty and the Beast stickers from two different  Disney Princess coloring and sticker book, Outback coasters, Zutter Bind It All and wires.

Finally, Andrew's set was created using: black CS from Office Depot (all four covers on both the journal and the note pad holder), graphics found on the web, and a silver Sharpie Paint Pen, Outback coasters, Zutter Bind It All and wires. 

Sorry about the long post, I just wanted to get all of the journals and note pad holders posted together.  I appreciate your sticking it out to the end with me.   Thank you for visiting with me.  I pray that I was able to inspire you in some way.  I love to hear from you, so please take a minute and leave a comment.  Here's hoping to see you again soon!
{{Hugs}}

A Few Cards

I wanted to share a few cards that I was able to make and get sent before Christmas.  The first one has a graphic from Christy Croll at http://tiddlyinks.com/ .  She has some amazing art, my favorites of which are the fae.  You will be seeing more cards and other ART featuring her graphics.

 
The fairy is all decked out for Christmas.  All of the coloring was done with my Copic markers.  I am by no means skilled at their use, but I love the rich colors that produce.  Stickles were used on the main portion of her wings, with flocking as the final trim on the edges.  I also applied white flocking to the white layer of her dress.  After fussy cutting around the edges, I layered the fairy onto white  glittered cardstock, then offset it onto red cardstock which has been run through the Cuttlebug using the snowflake embossing folder, then onto the white card.  The last detail that I added was the word love set onto a scrap of the glittered CS, then tied onto very thin ribbon laces through two slips cut into the fold of the card.  My oldest daughter, Malachia, was the recipient of this card.  It was made especially for her.

The second card is one that was much simpler to make, but still made with love.  My oldest daughter lives with my cousin and his family, and I wanted to make sure to reach out to them, especially during this time of the year.

For this card I stepped away from the traditional colors for the focal image, even though I could not resist returning to them for the ornament! I am not certain where I acquired the wonderful graphic for this card, but when I am able to pinpoint theARTist whose work it is, I will be certain to give them their due.   For now, let me say that it is NOT my ARTwork, and that I will make every effort to find out whose it is.  Once again, all of the coloring was done with Copics.  I popped the eyes and the ornament with Atyou Spica pens which are produced by the same company as the Copics.  Once colored and trimmed, I adhered the snowman to turquoise glitter paper, then onto a standard white card.  As the finishing touch, I cut a block from a sheet of glittery word paper, stuck the word Believe on both the front, and then again on the inside bottom edge of the card.
Thank you for stopping by to visit.  I hope that you have enjoyed the cards that I had to share, will leave me a comment, and come back again real soon!
{{Hugs}}
Andrea

New Year, New Hopes and Plans

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  I have many hopes and dreams for the year ahead.  First and foremost I plan to be as agressive as possible in regaining my life as I knew it before my fall 2 years ago.  Secondly, and of more interest to anyone who may stop by, I am planning to actively work on my ART and my blog.
Currently, I have a few completed projects to share with you, and then I will be pursuing new ART on a daily basis.
First, I am off to celebrate my birthday with my family, and then I will be back to share those last prjects from 2010.  And then on to the new in 2011.
Once again, Happy New Year all!

Thanks a Bunch!

Happy Belated Independence Day!
I hope that everyone had as wonderful of a time as we did. Doug (my DH) and I were invited by a friend of his to come to the coast for the holiday.  Even though I require some unconventional accomodations we found that we were excited to accept the invitations.  The trip over was slow and easy, or rather as easy as an extended trip can be for me.
We stopped at the Moreno Valley Wally World to buy the Charlaine Harris Book Dead Until Dawn.  My Mom started me on the series, but left out the first book, so we scoured 3 WM's until we found it.  Then, we stopped at the Careml Mountain Chevy's and ate some of the BEST Mexican food that we have had in ages.  They made the guacamole at our table, and the tortillas on a machine just behind our table, within full view of the restaurant, so we knew that the tortillas were hot and freshly made.  YUMMY!!

Then, the real reason for our trip, hanging out with friends, and celebrating the Fourth of July.  We made it up onto the roof of the building, and watched fireworks from ALL over the San Diego area.   There had to have been at least 9 different fireworks displays that we were able to see.  I got pictures from three of them, but the best came from Sea World.

Our trip home was long and hard due to some construction, but I must say, it was worth it.  We went to hang out with a friend of Doug's and left having spent time with great friends to both of us!  What an added surprise.  Anyway, the trip was soo wonderful, I had to make a Thank You card.

I used two Popcorn the Bear stamp sets, the main image from the Smile set, and the sentiment from the Thanks A Bunch set.  The card was embellished with glitter, and Popcorn has Fun Fur added to his edged to make him fuzzy.  Finally, a ribbon was added beside the sentiment.
I hope that Mike and Mimi, or friends, enjoy their card as much as I enjoyed their company and appreciated their simple invitation.  Thanks a Bunch, guys!

Cinderella Shape Book - Picture Heavy!

I was perusing the Cricut.com message board recently and came across a beautiful shape book made by Pam at http://www.thebugbytes.com/.  Her book was so incredible that I had to try one out myself.  Again, I used my Cricut, white provo craft paper, my copics, and a few touches from a clear At You Spica pen.  The cartridge I used was Disney's Happily Ever After.  The book is bound using a Zutter Bind-It-All.  Pam's book showed Cinderella as a scullery maid, dressed for the ball, and dancing with Prince Charming.  I added one last page to my book, Cinderella in her wedding gown facing the prince. While this is still a work in progress, I wanted to share it with you all.  I have a few ideas about what I want to add to make the book feel more complete, but then I am also still questioning what the final touches will be.  I would love to hear what you think!

This is the front view of the Cinderella Book

I used complimenting patterned paper on the page faces, overlayed with the Cricut cut characters.The patterned paper comes from DCWV paper stacks.

In this picture you can see the clear At You Spica pen that I used on the wedding gown and veil. 

This is the final page of the book.  I am concerned about the precarious perch that the Prince has on this page.  I am looking for a way to stabilize him so that the does not get torn off.

Thank you for stopping by, I would love to hear what you have to say about my ART.

{{Hugs}}

Happy Father's Day

I pray that every dad everywhere had an incredible day.  Even though my kiddos are off touring the country, I wanted to make sure that my DH had a great day.  I also wanted to help my son's girlfriend make the day a little bit special for the dads in her life.  I am so excited that I got to be the one to initiate Britney into the world of ART!   The scuba divier card was made using my Cricut, my Life's a Beach cartridge and my copics - I cut everything out of white paper and colored each piece individually.  The card has some 3D elements to it.  Needless to say, my DH, a master scuba diver LOVED his card.

Britney's step-dad loves anything that goes fast...  Fast cars, fast boats, fast motorcycles...  you get the idea.  He also likes to hang out at the river, relaxing!  So, while I am the proud owner of the Cars cartridge for my Cricut, I felt that Paul needed a card that was a bit more mature.  So, once again I used my Life's a Beach cartridge and cut white paper and colored the individual pieces, once again using my copics.

Finally, Britney stamped Popcorn the Bear from Crafter's Companion and used Bic markers to color her ART.

From all reports, Britney's cards made a great impression on both of her dads.  Who can resist a hand-made expression of love?

Happy Father's Day!