Leaping into Inspiration

I was out walking Honey, my little terrier, and as I passed the house of a good friend and neighbor, I saw a rusty, older-than-dirt garden deco in the tiny patch of garden where the lamppost resides. He was one ugly toad, but he still managed a big smile. The "before" photo is below.

The photo above features the happy little frog after giving him a makeover. I sanded most of his surface and put on a layer of white gesso. The I pulled out my acrylics and gave him a healthy new look. I even painted the back of Mr. Happy (my name for him) so it would retard the rust. Then I sealed front and back with Gloss varnish and he now looks like he's leaping for joy. Below, he's pretending to be happy but I could tell he wanted a little help...

 Challenges I am Entering:

A Birthday Gift for My Daughter

 

My daughter is all about positive mantras and self-love (in a good way)> He birthday is coming up next month. AS a matter of fact, she was born on the 4th of July. She's into crystals, Ghibli anime and spreading kindness like confetti.

I chose to create a canvas for her. She likes mushrooms, hedgehogs, and all things dogs. An occasional frog will catch her eye. So I stalked Pinterest for some ideas and found a cute pin that included both a  frog and mushrooms. I drew my own take on the pin, using colors I thought she would like. 

I painted over one of my older canvases due to a shortage of canvases in my house! I have done a LOT of decluttering, but have not got rid of any canvases, so they're either leaving of their own accord, or I've been painting more than I realized! I used acrylic paints on a stretched canvas. I think she'll like it...

I just ordered something from EBay to add to my gifts for her, a little something she has expressed a desire for. And I plan to take her to her favorite restaurant to celebrate. How blessed am I that I am able to give her these gifts! That's about all for now. I'm working on a large metal wall hanging that will go out on my back deck, in addition to adding to my craft fair inventory for this Fall. Hope you'll come back to see the results!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Through the Purple Haze -  Anything Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything w/an animal Goes

Critter Crazy - Anything w/a critter Goes

Didn't Frog-get my Sister's Birthday

With the stay-at-home order in Illinois, celebrating birthdays is difficult --unless you have inspiration from Bugaboo Stamps!! My sister is just 6 blocks away from where I live, but we couldn't celebrate her birthday "together", so I used a digital image from Bugaboo called AKV Frog to show her we didn't frog-get her special day.

I printed several copies of this little hopper in different colors, cut out and laminated them (just in case it rained). My daughter and I taped wooden skewers to each and "planted" them in her front yard.

I also made a small poster telling her we didn't frog-get her, as well as a larger one wishing her a Hoppy Birthday. We did all this while she unsuspectingly sat a her kitchen table having a late breakfast. When we finished decorating her yard, we rang the doorbell and knocked hard on her door to get her attention.

She was very happy to see our work. as well as us (at a socially acceptable distance). One of her neighbors came out of her house across from my sister and yelled out birthday greetings to her while we were there.
This week Catch the Bug challenge blog offers an Anything Goes theme. You still have a couple days to join in the fun!

It's Birthday Time Again at Scribbles Designs!

Did you know that birthday calories don't count?! I didn't but Carl here, a digi image from Scribbles Designs, swears that it's true. I don't really know if I can trust him though. I haven't kissed  many frogs looking for my prince, but those I have remained frogs. Very untrustworthy (and slimy).

This month Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog celebrates its birthday, so their challenge theme is to feature birthdays. While Carl normally feasts on flies and other flying insects, I guess he couldn't resist a little zero calorie birthday cupcakes. After all, he is one of the original crew of images that Scribbles Designs started with.

Big things are brewing at the birthday celebration at the main blog. Along with the regular prizes there will be two or three additional prizes. Plus, anyone who leaves a comment on MY personal blog will have a chance to win the image I used on my project. So make sure you link your cards or birthday projects (anything goes) and check out this months posts. You don't want to miss any birthday goodies!!

While you can buy Carl in the Scribbles Store, the individual cupcakes I colored and used on my card are offered as freebies! One  more reason to check out the blog...

Challenges I am Entering

Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper - Anything Goes w/patterned paper

Digi Doodle Studio - Happy ANything

Happy Craft - Anything Goes

Love to Craft - Anything Goes

Anything Goes from the Outlawz Freebie Progressive Challenges

Hello, crafters! Today brings a new challenge from the Outlawz Freebie Progressive challenge. If you played in last month's Anything Goes challenge, using Elephant with Birdie from Gerda Steiner Designs, then you will receive the digi image I used above from Encino Stamps. It's called Freddie, and he is so much fun!
The rules are very simple: join the challenge, send us an email and then enter a project made with the image supplied before 6.00pm Outlawz Time on the last day of the month and you will automatically get the next image. If for any reason you don’t get your project made and you would like to rejoin us you can buy the image of the month from the sponsors store and as long as you enter it before the end of the month you will get the next one free and you will then get them automatically each month you enter a project.
I decided to take Freddie into a new color realm, since it ain't easy being green. Using leftover patterned paper from Basic Grey for my background, I cut a lily pad out from cardstock and Freddie hopped into place. I can't remember where I heard the words I used on my card, but it was easy to print them up on Microsoft Word. I drew the flies freehand (don't laugh). I tossed some very fine glitter over the lily pad, and used Stickles on Freddie. To finish my project, I added chipboard stickers and jeweled flowers, and finally a slim piece of ribbon.
If you missed last month's freebie, you can go to Encino Stamps and purchase Freddie and join in the fun. Just remember, you must register at the Outlawz Freebie Progressive challenge and link up your project in order to receive the next month's free digi. We have some wonderful sponsors set up throughout the year-don't miss the fun!! 

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Learning from Mistakes

Well, I created another water color, this one of a frog. I don't like it much, but I wanted to post it for two reasons. The first is that no one is perfect, and every creation cannot be a masterpiece. The second is that I've been challenged to face my fears, and my biggest fear is of embarrassing myself.
This is no masterpiece, but I can learn from it. I learned that I need to let more "white space" show when painting with water colors. I also learned to think about the colors I'm using, as the frog is practically hidden with all that green. I also need to pay more attention to shadows and highlights.
We all like to show our best sides, which also means we like to show our successes and not our failures. But art is not a science. And every time I pick up my brush I am practicing and improving something I enjoy doing. Should I show the good with the bad and the ugly? Why not if it lets me vent, forces me to evaluate, and possibly helps others in their own journey?
So, blushing, I show you not a masterpiece, but a part of my journey.