March 8th Weekly Post

Greetings on International Women's Day!

 And it's also the first day of Daylight Savings Time here.

The weather here is perfectly dreadful, everything is dripping with humidity, rain clouds through tomorrow, then a few days of respite, then rinse and repeat.

The theme at Sunday Postcard Art is INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY and is hosted by Mandy.

I used official Frida Kahlo Corporation stamps on this which came with Issue 120 of Creative Stamping Magazine. I stamped them with Nocturne Versafine Clair ink and heat-embossed with clear powder. I colored the images with various Promarkers and Tombow watercolor markers and accented with gel pens. I used Twisted Citron Distress Ink and a Bare Branches stencil from A Colorful Life to add the background. Frida used thorns to represent her pain and broken crippled body, so I thought it an appropriate motif. I then ink-distressed the edges with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and after it all dried I scanned it into PSE and added the text and dark grey frame.

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I went full-on Frida Kahlo for this and let me tell you why.

There is a new traveling exhibit at Houston's Museum of Fine Arts called "Frida: The Making of an Icon". What it is not is just a retrospective of her works. What it attempts to answer is how she became a worldwide pop culture icon. It's based on THIS BOOK and is curated by the book's author. It began in January and runs through May, after which it goes to London. And the curated shows are all completely sold out, but I am lucky to know someone who has volunteered there for years, so I got to watch a DVD of the curation. They filmed a dress rehearsal to make sure the curator could be understood and also to help the docents understand the exhibit and the ushers know when and where to move the crowd. That's pretty cool that they do that nowadays. Anyway, my friend invited me over to watch it with her. Thanks to my friend who lent me her copy, I'd already read the book, so no real surprises really, other than the size of her artworks. Some I had thought were huge were really small and vice versa. I don't know if this link will work for you because The Houston Chronicle has a pay wall. I subscribe, so I am sharing their sneak peek HERE.

After I came home from watching it, I was inspired to create this art journal spread in my Little Book of Wisdom journal. (I have 5-6 spreads left to finish). I would share it over at Art Journal Journey, but I would feel bad not visiting the other entries and I just don't have enough time for that right now, unfortunately. Plus, I swore off challenges in order to create more art time and that has worked for me. Vicious circle, it is, no matter what.  

I used Dylusions and Tim Holtz stencils with black and white paints, a few stickers from my Antiquarian Sticker Book, painted die cut flowers, enamel dots, my handwritten journaling, some grungy black paint smudging on the edges and a printed quote of hers.

This is how the spread looked when I began, previously painted with a gesso base and then leftover acrylics. I chose this one because it reminded me of the Mexican flag and their colors. Frida was a tireless advocate for Mexicans being proud of their indigenous heritage and unique qualities. She grew up during The Mexican Revolution and its aftermath, and there was a movement to rid or at least mitigate the European influences in their culture (which many newly liberated countries attempt in order to develop their own national character). This is why Frida dressed the way she did and even why she grew her unibrow and let her mustache show, because those were symbols of Mexican indigenous feminine beauty. She saw herself and husband Diego as ambassadors of a new self-governing indigenous nation whose people did not look like their oppressors, the refined fair and blonde Europeans (nor Americans, for that matter). 

For my focal image, I used this very old napkin. I have no idea anymore where it came from so if you want to save a copy, go for it.

The book is not a biography; it's more of a study of her posthumous influence across generations and genres. It really helped me understand her motivations and ambition better. I learned quite a lot from the book I linked, but I really cannot recommend it because it's $60!!!! I'm really lucky that my friend got a huge discount on it (the author is a resident curator at MFA Houston).

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Well, that's all I have today.

Next Sunday is my week to host Sunday Postcard Art and my theme is Flowers for UK Mother's Day.

See ya then, and thanks so much for the visit!

XXO

March 6th Weekly Post

 Hello, Hello!

Hope this has been a good week for you.

Our weather here has been horrible for aches and pains, all week long.

😒

Dear Daughter has been feeling it and so have Honey and I.

I follow Chief Meteorologist David Paul on Facebook. He serves up his forecasts with a side of advice for human barometers, like us. Here's what he posted for March 6-12:

"For you human barometers out there, some notable pressure shifts across the US over the next week could really impact how you'll be feeling.

Starting Friday (March 6), a deep low around 995 mb/29.38" digs into the Central US (Plains to Midwest, like Denver to Chicago), with falling pressure there likely ramping up migraines (sinus swelling, vessel dilation), fibromyalgia pain/stiffness/fatigue, autoimmune flares, or vestibular dizziness/vertigo as the system approaches. Highs hold in the West and East, so rising/stable pressure there might offer some relief.

By Sunday (March low pressure (991 mb/29.26") will extend across the North and Southern Canada, with falling pressure expanding eastward towards the Great Lakes - potential symptom spikes there - while central areas see rising pressure post-low.

Tuesday (March 10) brings another deep Central US low (991 mb/29.26"), so renewed falling pressure in the Midwest/Plains, rising a bit along both coasts.

Finally, by Thursday (March 12), one low moves to the Northeast with falling pressure, while a new one forms across the Northern Plains (both around 996/995 mb/~29.38"). Falling pressure in these areas could hit hard, but rising pressure in the Central/South could ease symptoms mid-country.

If you're in the significant swing zones, prep with hydration, rest, and meds - stay strong, you're not alone!"

And oh yeah, we Americans (or most of us) also have Spring Forward Day on Sunday.

Changing to Daylight Savings Time and losing an hour.

Oh, that'll make us feel even better!

😖

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The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art is HORSES, hosted by Anne.
I literally have nothing big enough to fill up a 4x6 area except this digital stamp line art so I used it. My files say it's by Angie's Digital Stamps. If I am remembering correctly, this lady Angie was on a design team I was on, and she gave us her images sometimes. I think that is how I acquired it. At any rate, the image is somewhat endearing to me. I chose the text because it looks to me like a mare teaching her foal to obey human commands when to gallop or stop, so she is telling her to giddy up (and we think humans teach them to do this - HA!)

 Anyway, I saved it figuring I might someday need it and lo and behold! In PSE, image was resized and layered onto a 4x6 framed background. Text added and then printed out on white card stock. I colored it with Promarkers.
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Here's a birthday card I made for a girlfriend.
White A2 card base, K&Co. designer papers, Spellbinders Hem-Stitch Rectangle die used on the base paper and also the small diagonal square, MFT wavy lines die cut out of the red dp, Sunny Studio strawberry stamps and dies, Avery Elle margarita and lime dies, MFT stamped sentiment, Wink of Stella and Stickles on the glass, white gel pen on the strawberries.

Angle shot to show the glittery shimmer.

And the sketch I used.
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Okay, that's what I have for now.
I will definitely be back to post sometime on Sunday.
So, see ya then and thanks so much for your visit!
XOX

February 27th Weekly Post

 Hey there, everybody!

Hope everyone survived their weather this week.

Ours was Faux Spring complete with skeeters.

😒

Can you believe this is the first moment I've had to post?

Things are getting crazy here with all the packing, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art, hosted by Rein, is SYMPATHY.

I immediately had this picture in my head using my Pink Persimmon tea set stamps and my Cornish Heritage Farms cake on platter stamp and Tea stamp. In my head, things are grouped and there's more plates and such, but I didn't have the time for all that entailed so I lined 'em up instead and it shall have to do. I think the Sympathy stamp is Clear Dollar, not sure. The tablecloth border stamp is Crafty Secrets. Everything else is (lamely) drawn, and quickly. I colored with mostly my watercolor paints and stamping was with Versafine Clair inks. The pleats and the table were done with a Polychromos pencil and the dark chocolatey inside cake layers were colored with a Promarker. I used a green Sakura Stardust gel pen on the stamped tablecloth border and the word Tea. I used a pink gel pen on the teapot and cups.  The title was a sort of a play on words with the phrase Tea and Sympathy. I changed it a bit, just a tad. 

The base is 4x6 pre-cut torn-edge 300gsm watercolor paper. I bought 100 of them on Amazon last year. I'd also bought 100 pre-cut 4x6 card stock blanks from CutCardstock but I've only a few left. So I'll probably be using the watercolor ones more from now on. It's good paper, warps a bit but flattens out.

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Here's a card I made for a brother-in-law who turned 70. The hot phrase is "you turned 20 in the 70's and now you're 70 in the 20's." So I made that the inside sentiment and that's why I chose this Dr. Digi hippie dude for the card front. I printed him out on white card stock and die cut him using one of my arch dies. Same die set for the sentiment mat and HB die cut. Little peace sign stamp and a bigger die cut add to the details on Ciao Bella and Cosmo Cricket designer papers. SU card stock base. Oh, I used Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress Inks to ink the white card stock pieces after they were die cut, using a small stencil brush.

My sister-in-law repeated my entire inside sentiment word for word on her Facebook post to him, so I think they both liked it! lol

And here's the sketch I used.
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Another guy card, this time for a neighbor and high school classmate who turned 71 and I felt the urge to go A9 half sheet size. The MFT die cut sentiment took some time but the paper layering was easy. I printed out a front and back pair of images from Bow Arts Etsy and framed them both in blue. I die cut the sentiment twice out of the same SU orange card stock as the card base. Then I layered them with glue, let it dry, then went to town with my white gel pen (because just the orange got lost and now the white makes it pop). I also dotted around some of the trees to put more white for the eye to move around to. I also filled the die cut's flower centers with Viva Decor Pearl Paint Pens. Done!

And the sketch I used.

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That's all from me this time.

I hope everyone gets good weather for the weekend.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is my 70th birthday!

Smashburgers and tot crowns, chocolate cake and

from Dear Daughter, this beautiful orchid to enjoy before I somehow kill it. 

This isn't the first orchid she has sent me. I've come to consider them like cut flowers, lol. I'm hopeless and Honey surprisingly isn't any better with them. The instructions say feed it an ice cube a week (check!) put under direct light (check!) and keep away from drafts (do ceiling fans count?).

Then, I received a card from her in today's mail with a gift card. Gifts from my child always makes me feel extra special!

Til next time,

XOX

February 17th Weekly Post

 Howdy everybody.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Lent begins tomorrow, so I hope we all got all sinful shenanigans in by now!

I am going to try to not oversleep for Lent.

Sounds weird, I know, but if I can force myself not to sleep as much when I feel bad or have an arthritis flare, I think it would actually be helpful to not be so indulgent in that respect. Try, anyway. I may find out that I have to have the sleep, we'll see. Honey thinks I need the sleep I need, which means he'd rather me not mess with my sleep. He's never minded when I mix up my days and nights or sleep 12-13 hours. I really could not ask for a more understanding spouse. Plus, he took us to get haircuts this afternoon and then eat some Tex Mex at a favorite restaurant, so he is definitely on my good list this week.

Not much interesting to report on the new house, just two old frugal farts struggling to finally use sprinkler and alarm systems for the first time in our lives, lol. I would say formerly frugal, but that's gonna be a struggle as well. Ha!

The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art is hosted by Mandy and is LAVENDER.

I have no lavender rubber/clear stamps but I did have this Power Poppy black and white digi in my files.

I printed it out, trimmed it and layered it onto a 4x6 purple card. I used a brown Micron pen and a ruler to draw the table line. I made a mask for the planter, adhered it and then stenciled the wall using an Indigo Blue stencil and Old Paper Distress Ink. Next the tablecloth using a Tim Holtz Layered Doily stencil and Brushed Corduroy DI. I colored the image using Promarkers, Pitt Artist Pens and a green Micron pen. I cut some purple scrap card with a Spellbinders Labels 9 die and handwrote the French sentiment with a white gel pen.

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This card was for our mail lady. I used an A7 Recollections card base, K&Co designer papers and a Spellbinders Heirloom Legacy die cut as the frame for the Whimsy stamps focal image on white card, which is colored with Promarkers and Sakura Stardust gel pens. The sentiment stamp maker is unknown.

And here is the sketch I used.

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My last card to share today is for our youngest great-nephew's first birthday.

Once again I used a digi stamp (from Di's Digi Stamps) that I had in my files. I printed it out, trimmed it down and colored it with Promarkers, layered it onto some SU orange card stock and die cut a length of ric rac (MFT) and a round seal (Avery Elle) on which I stamped the Creative Vision sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder. The dp is Basic Grey and the card base is SU.

And here is the sketch I used.

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Well, that does it for me this time.

I always appreciate your visits and comments.

Thanks for hanging in with me.

Seeya next time!

XOX

February 9th Post

 Hiho! 

I'll be here when I make it here from now on for a while.

Closing on the house went like clockwork and now the real fun begins.

My busy weeks have begun.

So I thought I would go ahead and post my card for Sunday Postcard Art this week. Marion is hosting and her theme is ALL THINGS ALICE. SPA was forced to move to blogspot when Wordpress just locked them out. I knew they were closing the free sites and another friend got same treatment. So I wanted to get my card in to show solidarity for continuing on in our new place. 

Now the materials I've used are simple. I happen to have Yana's Crafting Etsy's Alice in Wonderland Complete Digital Collection and found this image in the papers. I added the text, the top line was created in PSE and the quote is included in the collection. I love her expression. I've always been fascinated by the story. I never snapped to any of the drug imagery as a preteen when I first read it. But Lord Howdy, it's there! 

I printed out the focal image and found a green that went well for the 4x6 base, then I glued them together. And then scanned it back into the computer to share. Ha! I really resisted the urge to tweak anything because I love those vintage-y shades as is.

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Birthday card for a sister-in-law. Recollections card base. The label going across with the Stampin' Up sentiment stamped on it is a Cuttlebug embossable die that I ran a green ink pad or a Promarker maybe to darken the raised areas. Other than that, all Spellbinders. The cover plate cuts out the oval for me (I cut another in white), then I used a coordinating stamp for the flowers, stamping in both directions. Colored with Promarkers. I used a yummy golden SU card stock for the cover plate.

And the sketch I used.

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I have a cowgirl girlfriend who met her hubby at The Crosby Stomp about 45 minutes north of me, back in high school. Many of us went sometimes. It was on Saturday nights and in a tiny little shack - when they played the music it shook, when the dancing began it shook more. Just an old time country and western dancehall where you do could the Cotton-Eyed Joe, the Two-Step and The Country Walz. So I figured this theme would work for her. I was at a loss otherwise.

There's a lot on this card. The inchies on the vertical band are Queen's Dresser Drawers stamps and I colored them and cut them with a Spellbinders postage die. The card base is Kraft, the next light yellow layer is Recollections, then kraft again, then some Farmhouse dp (also top layer of the vertical band). The floor is a Scrollswork stamp and both the dancing ladies and the sentiment above their heads are Art Impressions. An Amazon Happy Birthday vertical die cut on the left.

  

And the sketch I abused, tilting to its side and stretching it to an A9 half sheet card.

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Okay, so thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great week.

Until next time, 

XOX