Art for All 2011 - ATCs for All

I am so excited!! Last year ATCs for All had a "convention" in Oregon and I was not able to attend.  This year they are meeting in Hurst, Texas, which is not far from where I live.  If you love to gather with other like minded artists, do art, and just have fun; then this could possibly be for you!

You can check out the information for Art for All 2011 here.

I am going with my friend from Grove, OK.  Hopefully one of us will have a car by then!! LOL  I'm starting to save up for the trip now and just can't wait to meet the people I've met while a member of ATCs for All over the past 2 years.

There will be workshops and just plain old making ATCs.

They are also having a contest to design the logo for the gathering.  Whoever wins the contest will have their artwork printed on printed materials, registration, signage, and some swag for the weekend for participants.

Perfect Pearls Mist

I just got in my two bottles of Perfect Pearls Mist and had to try at least one of them out.  These ATCs were created for the 2011 Project 365 and I had alot of fun making them.

I used some images that I found in a 2001 Engagement Calendar that I purchased last Summer in a little antique shop around the corner.  I cut the images down to size and then burned the edges.

Next, I took my new Colorbox Pigment block and outlined the edges.  I also used the Colorbox around the background paper.

I sprayed the background paper with the Perfect Pearls Mist and let it dry.  I really like the cool effect the Mist had when sprayed over the Colorbox; it gave it a kind of marble look.

Finally I put it all together and came up with four amazing ATCs.

February 7

February 8

February 9

February 10

Alcohol Ink & Citra-Solv Backgrounds

I am finally conquering my fear of alcohol ink and used it recently to make some backgrounds for my ATCs.  I have both Adirondack and Jacquarad Pinata Color inks and added them to my Mini Misters to "spray" on glossy cardstock.

I then took my white gel pen and doodled on some black card stock that I tore into pieces.  Next, tore the Citra-Solve paper into strips, glued it to the alcohol ink background and then placed the torn black cardstock onto the card.

Finally I cut out some images, went over the images with a black .01 Prism ink pen and glued them onto the cards.  They turned out rather well and I like the effect the different techniques have as a background.

These cards were posted for 2011 Project 365 for the following days:

February 4

February 5

February 6

Snow-Lady and Icicles

We are done with snow, at least until tomorrow, and my Nephew helped my daughter build this awesome snow-lady!  She is complete with pink scarf and hat!

I also thought the icicles that formed off of the house were incredible, so, I decided to share those with you as well.  The ones I had on the front of my house were knocked down by my teenager!  i guess she didn't hear the warning about knocking them down or else.  I was watching to see how long they would get.  The ones on the side of the house were just as amazing.

We received approximately two feet of snow and have another three to six inches headed this way sometime around tomorrow or Monday.  My sister-in-law drove me to Wal-Mart today and they were out of flour, sugar, eggs, and bread.  We couldn't believe what a mad-house it was and were so glad to get out of there.  We even drove the Hostess Bread Market and they were out of bread as well and so was the only other grocery store in town.

It's kind of ok, though, I can bake some if I need to!

Wherever you are; I hope you stay safe and warm and don't forget the hot chocolate.

Winter Storm Warning; I mean Blizzard Warning!

So we moved from Winter Storm Advisory to Winter Storm Warning to a full out Blizzard warning.  Ok, I've seen this before in Colorado; I mean NO big deal.  Well, it was a big deal with our city shutting down because the snow plows couldn't keep up with the snow.  The kids are out of school for probably the entire week.  I pulled something in my back shoveling the 16" of snow to make a path for whoever would be brave enough to be out in this stuff.

The only thing about working from home is when you have days like this you still have to work!! LOL  I was inspired to grab my camera and take some shots of the snow and thought I would share them with you all here:

Back Yard

Husband's stuck Mustang!  He had to get a ride from someone at work and will be there until they can clear the roads for him to get home.

Steps coming off of the front porch.

The snow is still piling up.

Neighbor's truck with snow drifts.  Snow drifts where between three and five feet.

Front porch.

Tree stump almost covered to the top.

I am sure there are many other places with much more snow, but this happens to be a record for our area.  We are looking forward to more this weekend and really cold temperatures.  To those others braving these severe winter storms I can only say: Stay safe and warm!