Come Sail Away with the Path of Positivity Challenge this month

 

I created a yarn canvas. After drawing my scene from scratch, I enlarged it and copied it onto my 16x20 canvas. To keep me on track, I colored in the different sections with markers. I then gathered up my cotton yarns and cording and spent over a week adhering strips of yarn onto my canvas. Every inch of my canvas is covered with cotton and I have the blisters (hot glue gun) and headaches (E6000) to prove it. LOL

Tis is my first time making one of these. I call it "Come Sail Away" and I chose to use it as my DT project because I've always wanted to travel. After I retired, I've visited Florida, Germany, Cozumel, Arizona, Massachusetts, Texas, Cancun and been on a 2-week cruise with my sisters to the Caribbean. Later this year I'm meeting family in Hawaii. I am achieving my dreams and goals, even if it's taken me years to finally be able to do so.

The lesson I learned is to never give up on your goals and dreams. Work on them. Plan how to achieve them. Save money if it's needed. And when your dreams/goals come true, know that you deserve to relax and enjoy them, and feel proud to have reached them...

The The Path of Positivity is challenging crafters to create something inspired by Dreams or Goals. I was inspired by the quote offered on their blog:

“Goals are dreams brought to life.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree

 It's their last challenge before taking a summer break. Any type of project is welcome, so I hope to see your creation there this month!

Challenges I am Entering:

 A Place to Start - Anything goes w/optional Anything but a card

 -Make my Monday - B is for...BOAT

Classic Design - Anything Goes w/optional Masculine

  Love to craft Anything Goes

Four Seasons - Anything Summer Goes

Come Sail Away with Me

 Caught the Doodling bug again. This time I went all out with sunshine, water and a boat. The sun has a little blotch on the right. I guess my glass of water got too close to it! 

I am filling up my art journal quickly. I have several more pages to feature on my blog. They were all drawn this month. Just when I think I've run out of ideas for doodling, I get inspired by the weather, the zoo, my home - just about anything! Are you that way? Do you find inspiration everywhere? For me, the problem is finding time to create from the inspiration!

Today's page was inspired by the travel plans I and my sister are making. We are taking a cruise together, which is no mean feat as one of my sisters lives in Germany. We chose to go to the East and west Caribbean. We tried but couldn't book connecting rooms, but we're close enough so we can pop in each others' rooms. Just thinking about the trip gets me excited... 

Summer is Sizzlin' at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog

My DT make today highlights friendship and summer fun. The Scribbles images that I used are slightly transparent and are behind and to the side of the words.Those images are called  #54 To the Beach, #848 Flip Flops. The designer paper is also from Scribbles Design, part of the collaborated effort of Scribbles and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. The paper is from the set called DDD SD Sizzlin' Summer, Burt patterned paper. Aren't those rubber duckie flotation rings quirky?

What could be better than drifting in the cooling water than with a friend? Sizzlin' Summer happens to be the Scribbles Designs' challenge theme. In order to win any prizes, your project must feature some summer lovin' in some way. I'd love to see you at the main blog, so don't forget to link your project for your chance to win free digis from the Scribbles Designs Store.

Challenges I am Entering:

I'm a Little Odd Myself...

At one point in our lives, everyone goes through an awkward period. Whether true or not, one feels odd, different from "everyone else". Well, you should know by now that everyone is a little bit odd, because everyone is unique. And that's what makes one special, talented, free-thinking. Just think of the world if everyone came from the same old. Where would growth, authenticity, genius, creativity come from? Everyone and everything would be the same, and the human race would become stagnant!
Luckily, we are all odd in some way, and I decided to create a card using my uniquely odd creativity with an image from Oddball Art by Lizzie Love. I adore her uniquely cute and/or creepy images. This one is called Image 467 Mummy Mermaid & Octopus. I used Photoshop to position it onto another image called #470 Dead Sea Bed. Then I printed it twice!
I colored my mermaid, her tiny mummy friend and the sea bed with Copics on both images, then fussy-cut one to place on the other with dimensional dots. I used glitter gel pen for the bubbles. To create a more underwater feel to my card, I crunched up aqua-colored tissue paper and glued it all onto a card base, then framed my image before popping it on.
Besides the sentiment (my own), I added some trim at the bottom of my image and my card is finished. The font I used for the sentiment is called "Be Perky."

Challenges I am Entering:

Oddball Art - Anything Goes w/optional Dusty Diamonds/Twisted Circus

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

That's it for now, crafters! As always, happy crafting!

Anything Goes at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog

I've been waiting for an Anything Goes challenge so that I can incorporate my two favorite crafting techniques into one project - fluid acrylic painting and digital image coloring. Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog opened the door to the canvas above.

I had just created the painting and started to varnish it for that shinier than shiny finish when I decided to use it for my DT make for Scribbles Designs. I thought the white paint looked like waves in a choppy sea, so I colored up "Sailboat 1" from the Scribbles Store with my trusty Copics. The sentiment is a favorite of mine, and seemed perfect for my canvas.

I used Liquitex Gloss Varnish (two coats) to seal the cardstock image and painted words. That sailboat just pops from the canvas, don't you think? It's 10"x20", so makes a nice focal point on my wall. I love how my acrylic paint flowed around my canvas, creating an intense background for my scene.

The sky's the limit at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog, and you have until the 14th of July to create and link up your cards and projects for your chance to win some awesome digis from the Scribbles Store. Hope to see you there!

Challenges I am Entering:

Worldwide Open Design Team Challenge - Anything made for DT Goes

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes

Classic Design Team Challenge - Anything for a DT Goes

Eclectic Ellapu -  Anything Goes

An Inky Mess - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Art*Journal*Journey - Inspired by...(I live just outside Chicago, which borders quite a bit of one of the "Great Lakes", Lake Michigan. Seeing the boats docked and others with their sails unfurled inspired me to try acrylic fluid painting, matching it up with a digi image from Scribbles Designs)

Guest Designer for 4 Crafty Chicks This Month!

Hey, crafters! During the month of July, I will be a GDT for 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge Blog! My first GDT project is a watercolor I created for their #306 Summer Challenge, which starts today.
While on vacation in May, I pulled my water color supplies and let myself be inspired by the view out our hotel window. The Muse hit me hard, so along with my painting, I also wrote a Haiku poem that describes my attitude during that sunny, sandy week. Haiku are difficult to write, as you only get 17 syllables with which to relay the message you wish readers to have. Most Haiku are about nature serious, but I like to slip in a little humor here and there.
I matted my canvas on the Paper Studio’s solid goldenrod cardstock. My poem  (copyright 2016 Pat Martin) was printed with LD Handwritten Greetings Font, matted with the Paper Studio’s teal cardstock. What's really cool is that I printed this up on glossy cardstock and made my friend a set of notecards for her summer birthday!
Now it's your turn to create with the theme of SUMMER. Don't forget to link up your card or project at 4 Crafty Chicks challenge blog by end of week. And tell them Pat sent you! LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

Sasayuki Glitter - CAS Cards

Craft Rocket Challenges - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes