Sweet Dreams

The Path of Positivity challenge blog offers a new theme this month--DREAMS. My DT project is a mini album...well, actually, it's the cover of a new mini album I am making!

I got to play with products from Scribble and Scrap. They have awesome digi paper packs, vintage photo sheets and images.
I printed out two papers from the Elegance Paper Pack #1 to create my base. I also printed out a photo from the Vintage Photo Sheet #1. Isn't that photo of the little girls' tea party adorable? It focuses on the dreams little girls have of their lives and their futures. And using the photo sheets from Scribble and Scrap is a lot easier than searching through musty old photos at antique stores!
The rest of my album cover consisted of looking through my collection of cast-off jewelry, leftover paper pieces and lace. I used Tim Holtz' Distress Inks to age my photo and paper doily, and added a little bling with sequins. I found some netting to tie the album covers and pages together and I have a new/old place in which to scrap (or paint or journal). I finished it off with the title "Sweet Dreams Are Made of These."
I am also playing in the new Anything Goes Challenge from Scribble &Scrap.

So, while surfing one of my favorite inspiration sites, Pinterest, I found a cute parody of the Eurhythmics song "Sweet Dreams Are Made of These" on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect to share along with  the Path of Positivity theme of DREAMS.
Sing it with me, peeps:

Sweet dreams are made of CHEESE

Who am I to diss a BRIE?

I CHEDDAR the world and the FETA CHEESE

Every body's looking for STILTON...

Now if that hasn't put you on the floor rolling with laughter, at least it put a smile on your face, right?

And just to show you how much I love all you crafters out there, here's the first recipe in my notebook:

Cheesy Bacon Monkey Bread

2 tubes Pillsbury rolls (regular)

1 jar Cheez Whiz

2 TBSP butter

1/2 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled

1. Melt CheezWhiz & butter together in microwave. Stir until smooth. 

2. Pour into greased loaf pan

3. Cut up biscuits into quarters and place on top of melted cheese.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. Place a serving plate over the cooked loaf and invert. 

6. Remove pan, allowing melted cheese to drip and spread over loaf.

7. Add crumbled bacon and serve.

You can slice this after it cools a bit, but my family just likes to tear off the "bumps" of bread.

Now that I have whet your appetite, here are the delicious details of the Path of Positivity challenge this month. Please note the changes starting this month:

• For Challenge 16, prizes will be the following:
• £15 voucher from Scribble and Scrap, for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Three digital images from Ike's Art for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital Stamps for each person chosen as a DT Delight.
• There will also be:
• One digital designer paper from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky voter who leaves a comment.
• One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge. 

Christmas in July

I have a very good start on my Christmas cards for December, and I owe it all to the DigiStamps4Joy Progressive Christmas Card Challenge and this month's Christmas in July challenge over at SBP Challenge Blog.
Today used FREEBIES (don't you love freebies?!). My image, called "Irresistable Bling"  was given to me by DS4J just for joining in their progressive challenge last month! You get a free image each month you link up your card with them using their last image given out.
My paper is another free giveaway from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles offered as incentive to create for the SBP challenge. DDD is this month's sponsor and she's giving away some great digital papers, sentiments and embellishments to FOUR lucky participants!
So after I printed out the paper and created my card base, I printed out my image and colored it with Copics. Aren't those mischievious cats cute?! My sentiment is vellum from Daisy D's and I used some leftover rub-ons to frame the words, then colored in just the holly berries to coordinate with the colors in my tree as well as the baker's twine I used to embellish my card.
Want to get a headstart with your Christmas cards? Join in the SBP Christmas in July challenge through July 14 for some great prizes! Don't forget to check out the DS4J progressive Christmas card challenge, too!

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.

I Found My Wings

I thought it was about time to mix my new passion for water coloring with my steadfast passion for mixed media and create a page in my art journal.
I water-colored a background on homemade paper. After it dried, I cut it and attached it to my journal page.
Next I brought out my butterfly die and my folder of butterfly stickers and wings flew here, there and everywhere.
My sentiment says it all--I found my creative wings to merge two of my favorite techniques into a nice work of art.
Have you found your wings yet? I am constantly on the prowl to get up off the ground in new and exciting ways. Who knows what may come next--all I know is that my heart and eyes are open to every possibility out there.
Keep your eyes open and happy crafting!!

Happy Birthday Wendy!!

Today we celebrate our daughter's birthday with parades, fireworks, picnics and carnivals. She was born on the fourth of July. While fireworks dazzled overhead and the crowd shouted "ooh" and "ahh", I was looking out the window of the hospital shouting "OOOHHHH and AAAHHHH!!!
Wendy was the first baby born on the Fourth of July in Chicago, and a news crew came out to interview me and my firecracker baby. It was also the hottest summer in decades with temps reaching past 100 degrees for days on end. While her brother was born out of state and grew up in five different towns, Wendy had the luxury of growing up in the same house she came home to as a baby.
Wendy was my gift from God, to even out the loss of my dad. He died of cancer and she was born in the zodiac sign of Cancer. He never got to meet her, but I'm sure he would be proud of the way she has matured into a thoughtful, beautiful, generous and talented young lady. I know her dad and I are!
Happy birthday, Wendy!!

Pot Full of Posies

I'm getting the hang of this water coloring thing! I just finished this pot full of posies and signed my name to it! I painted the vase and shadow first on dry paper for the sharp lines, then softened them with water and a small brush.
The posies came next, then the greenery. Still need to work on dimension, but I think I'm coming along. Let me tell you, good paper and liquid watercolor paints make a big difference!
I'm keeping my paintings in a watercolor art journal that measures about 6x10, so I can get two "canvases" out of one sheet each time I paint.
I sometimes keep the paper whole so I can hang it up if it "works." What size paper do you work with? Do you keep your paintings in a journal or hang them up or what? Inquiring minds want to know!!

It's Christmas in July at SBP Challenge Blog

Get ready because it's Christmas in July at Your Scrapbook Place challenge blog. Don't let the name fool you! Cards, layouts, altered art, canvas, decor--the sky's the limit, peeps!! Get out your reds and greens and candy canes and jingle bells. Set your iPod to your Christmas playlist and let's get crafty!
This two-week-long challenge is sponsored by Decosse's Dynamite Doodles:

 

Lisa has generously donated the following prizes to up to FOUR lucky people:

• One random participant will receive the full mini kit.
• One random person who leaves a comment will receive both paper sets (patterned and textured).
• One random follower of the blog who leaves a comment will receive the word art set.
• One random player who uses the following FREEBIE digital paper (Click here for the link) from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles will receive three embellishment sets (frames, ribbons/lace, brads)

I got to play with CANDY CANES digi paper and the MERRY CHRISTMAS digi sentiment from Lisa. I absolutely adore all the digi papers in her Christmas Paper Set. Of course, I had to add some bling, and the snowman comes from a Christmas pin that was just too heavy to wear.