I Have Such Exciting News To Share!!!

Hello!

Welcome to INSPIRE!

I am so excited to share with you

that I have been chosen to be a part of the 

AMAZING Rita Barakat Design Team!

http://ritabarakat.com/index.php/2018/08/20/2018-2019-design-team/

Visit Rita Barakat's blog, to meet the entire team!

Just follow the link under to photo for all the details!

Be sure to join the Get Creative With Rita Barakat Facebook group, where you will see what Rita and the design team are creating.

GET CREATIVE WITH RITA BARAKAT

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1987734151505493/ 

And tune into GCWRB Facebook live every 

Monday evening 8pm CST, to see new products, and to learn tricks in mixed media creating

with Rita!

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Until next time.....

Blessings!

My Nifty Fifty Birthday Bliss & Creative Fun Too

Hey y'all!

Welcome to INSPIRE!

Is it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted.

August marks my birthday month, and on the 14th, I turned the 5-0!!!!!

I had been full of dread about that number for a couple of months prior. I mean 50!?!?!?!

I am not sure where in my mind, that I thought this was not a good thing.

I feel relatively healthy (aside from the problems that can come with Type 1 Diabetes), only minimal aches & pains associated with growing older.

 I started embracing the idea that this is a new season of my life. A new season to test my boundaries, to try something new, to be bold and unafraid of what life has in store.

So 50....HERE WE GO........

The celebration of my birthday began early, last weekend, as my hubby surprised me with taking to a more local crafty event that happens every August,

Stampaway USA.

OH MY!!!!!

I had never seen so many stamping, mixed media & innovative products in one place!

Companies like Art Impressions, Gina Marie Designs, Heartfelt Creations, Stencil Girl & Technique Junkies to mention just a mere few.

Oh, and STAMPER'S ANONYMOUS!!!!!!

OH MY!!!!

You know what that means? Yes, the one, the only, the phenomenal, the extraordinaire himself....... 

TIM HOLTZ!!!!

I was stunned in my tracks when I seen him sitting there demonstrating fabulous techniques using his broad range of products!!

For an hour and a half, we stood, we watched, and we, yes my husband and I learned, lol.

At the end of one demonstration, my husband spoke up and I hear "Mr Holtz, my I ask you a favor?" With his huge smile Tim replied "Sure".

I stood there puzzled.

Then my wonderful hubby said..

"We are celebrating my wife's birthday today,

is it possible we get a picture of you & her together?"

WHAT?!?!

Again with that smile, Tim said "Why sure".

So I made my around to where he was and then there was this moment!

My smile says it all!!!

And he signed a tag he had made in a demo, wishing me a Happy Birthday.

A birthday momento from Tim.

Couldn't be any better.

Easy to say, turning fifty has been my best birthday ever!

Before leaving the Stamper's Anonymous booth, we stopped in, and for my birthday, my hubby purchased me a set of the Distress Oxides Tim had been using in the demo.

I hadn't purchased any prior, and was so excited to finally get to play with the product, putting to use some of the techniques Tim used.

I decided to do these on Artist Trading Coins I had cut from mixed media paper, started small so I could really get a feel for how to do these techniques on a smaller scale.

After finishing, I used a variety of stamps to add design, and I am absolutely in LOVE with these!

Thanks so much for letting me share this most wonderful birthday moment with you today.

Before you go, I invite you to head over to the Chattering Robin's blog today, where the feature is a project I created using Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest.

https://chatteringrobins.blogspot.com

Join me again soon as I share inspirations in creativity. and life in general!

Until next time.......

BLESSINGS!

Paint Brush Transformation With Products By Finnabair

Hello there!

Welcome to INSPIRE.

Whew...what a busy summer I have had. Busiest one I can recall in a very long time.

Have been enjoying time spent with family, running here and there for household, cleaning a (new to me) classic Land Rover that my hubby traded his classic Harley Sportster for, nursing an injured hip, and preparing for fall home improvements, helping my future sis-in-law plan her & my baby Bub's fall wedding............

Think I need a vacation lol 😉

My Land Rover 💖💝💗

She needs a new bumper, and ignition (on it's way) but other than that, she is perfect! And she is an automatic, which will not irritate my hip as my standard Jeep Compass has 😒

I have always loved this particular design. And thanks to my generous & loving hubby, I now have one 💓

But lately I have been able to get in some crafting, of the non-committal variety. I FINALLY got to use my Finnabair Art Alchemy products my hubby blessed me with for our anniversary, in February.

First project, converting a very used and once loved paint brush into a little piece of art.

I absolutely LOVE these metallic paints & wax! The colors are so vibrant and rich, and very, very concentrated.

Literally, a little dab will do.

And I love the end result. Next will be doing a mixed media canvas to mount the brush on. Will share those pics when it is done!

Anyways.....I certainly hope all of you are enjoying your summer or winter depending on geography.

Until next time......Be Blessed!

How To Add Transfer Foil To A Creative Project

Hey there!

Welcome to INSPIRE!

Today I wanted to share the link to 

my latest canvas canvas project, created using the innovative products of ScraPerfect.

Head on over to the ScraPerfect blog

for full details following this link:

https://scraperfect.blogspot.com/2018/07/boho-inspired-foiled-feather-canvas-how.html

I also wanted to share some fun I have had these last couple of weeks, spending time with a couple of my nieces, and share the art they created, using many tips (and auntie's supplies) that I had taught them.

These girls AMAZED me!! So dedicated to the projects, seeing them through to the finish.
They did this auntie proud!

We also took an afternoon to visit an art district in a local community, unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot going on that day, the gallery was even closed 😞, but I did find a new art store for many of the art supplies I use, at more reasonable prices 😃 so it wasn't a complete wasted day.
Played on some of the local artisan metal sculptures too.

Made one of the nieces smile big, finding a book that has been selling out fast since it's recent release, as an early birthday present for this August baby.

While in the art district area, we also visited a boutique, "Made To Love" featuring hand crafted art, jewelry & apparel, to aid in giving children of Haiti, an opportunity to go to school.

Statement from their website:

WE BUY HAITIAN MAKE ITEMS FROM LOCAL ARTISANS MARKETS AND CO-OPS. THIS CREATES LONG-TERM, WELL PAYING AND SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT. WE THEN SELL THOSE ITEMS IN OUR STORE LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN HAMILTON (LINK TO THE CONTACT US/GEO MAP PAGE). AND, THE PROFITS GENERATED IS USED TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR HAITIAN CHILDREN.

IT’S A FULL CIRCLE CREATING TRUE GENERATIONAL CHANGE THAT WILL LIFT THESE FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY AND BUILD HOPE WITHIN COMMUNITIES.

The art & merchandise is sensational, the stories, truly inspiring. Check them out at:

https://www.made-to-love.org

And to finish the week, we gathered my "mamma", and went to see "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again", being that I have been a fan of ABBA & of the first movie, couldn't miss out on this!

If only we had danced in the aisles......

Thanks so much for stopping by today, an letting me share with you my busy couple of weeks.

Hope to see you again real soon!

Until next time....... Be a "Dancing Queen"!

Featured Today Over At The Creative Studio

Hey y'all!

I wanted to invite you to visit 

The Creative Studio (blog for Canvas Corp Brands)

where today, one of my latest projects is featured

using a variety of paints, mist & washes from Tattered Angels.

For full details on how I created

this farmhouse style wall decor,

visit The Creative Studio at:

http://blog.canvascorpbrands.com/farmhouse-wall-art-with-tattered-angels/

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya again soon!

An Exciting New Release Blog Hop With Rita Barakat!

Hey y'all!

I am so excited to be with you today!

Today is the 

new product release of Rita Barakat's latest

stamp designs for Technique Junkies!

And I have been asked to be a guest designer for the new release blog hop hosted by the 

Rita Barakat Design Team.

What an honor it is to take part in this exciting event!

The hardest part, was choosing which design to use.

Rita is an incredible artist, and I just fell in love

with her Floral Mermaid & Jellyfish stamps!

I love the ocean as well, the beauty and mystery that lies within, well it can certainly spark the imagination

of any blessed to witness it.

So I decided to make a 6x6 card, featuring my favorite in this collection, the Floral Mermaid & Jellyfish. (okay, so I love them all these are the ones I chose to use 😉).

I used a selection of colored & watercolor pencils to color my mermaid. I love the turquoise & emerald shades together, so I chose these for the mermaid tail, adding dashes of pink & purple closer to her torso.

I also decided to use this same color combination to  color her hair, doing the whole "ombre" blending color to color in layers.

For the jellyfish, I decided I wanted a bit more transparency of color, so I used Faber-Castell Gelato's slightly diluted with water and applied with a small brush.

My final touches to the Mermaid and Jellyfish, was using a variety of glitters throughout the stamped images, because naturally mermaids and jellyfish shimmer, using a thin layer of 

Best Glue Ever by ScraPerfect applied with a brush.

Using my Cricut, I designed a layered cardstock seashell to serve as the background for the Mermaid. 

I added each layer of the shell using double sided tape & dimensional squares.

I also decided to use the word "Imagine" as the greeting, cut out from cardstock.

In finishing, I added my Mermaid, Jellyfish & word, along with adding a flat back pearl in her hand, as her treasure.

I also used a few Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest to add a bubble look to the corners of the card & to the Jellyfish tentacles.

A simple card, with loads of cheerful color, and delightful stamp designs!

Thanks so much for stopping by, please leave a comment below letting me know you visited, and for your chance to win a prize!

And don't forget to visit the 

FABULOUS Rita Barakat Design Teams blogs

and do the same with their new release project post's too!

Rita Barakat https://wp.me/p47OIs-HA
Betz Golden https://scrappycafe.blogspot.com/…/princess-mermaid-shadow-…

Jenn DuBell - https://yvonnebijouxcrafts.blogspot.com/ technique-junkies…

Karen Jiles- https://stampinakapalace.blogspot.com/…/technique-junkies-r…

Yolie Burke - http://www.justyolie.com/…/technique-junkies-rita-barakat-h…

Stephanie Eaton - http://inkedartist.com/?p=1971

Details can be found at  https://wp.me/p47OIs-HA and will be announced on Friday the 6th on the blog at RitaBarakat.com

And don't forget to visit the Technique Junkies to see their July New Releases as well!

Just follow this link:

http://techniquejunkies.com/july-2018/

For the Rita Barakat Stamps I used in this project

visit these links:

http://techniquejunkies.com/jellyfish/

http://techniquejunkies.com/floral-mermaid/

Until next time.....

Get Crafty!

How To Create A Flea Market Inspired Vignette Part One

Hello there crafty folks!

Welcome to INSPIRE.

I have an absolutely new obsession.

How I NEVER really checked this, or the folks behind it out before, is way beyond me.

That obsession? Fixer Upper, 

with Chip & Joanna Gaines.

Have I been living in a cave?

Her farmhouse style, mixing vintage with elements of modern, BLOWS MY MIND!

So, in an effort to spruce up our homestead, just cosmetically of course, without emptying our pockets, I am finding thrifty ways to make some changes.

Ways to bring new style to old space.

First spot to work on, our entry way.

I have a mini dresser there, that was given to me, and a while back instead of replacing the drawer knobs, I altered the existing porcelain ones that were already on the drawers, using clay, rose silicon mold & paint to create a "vintage" look.

You can follow the following link for photo's and the full details on how I did this using products from Canvas Corp Brands.

http://blog.canvascorpbrands.com/for-the-home-drawer-knob-re-hab/

So now I have decided to try my hand at a "flea market" style vignette, to add to the top of the dresser in the entry way.

 My first project, a galvanized can to hold greenery.

All I have is larger cans that once held beans or tomato sauce, so naturally this is my base.

In my stash, I had received an unopened package of corrugated card stock in a grab box, so I decided to use it for the "rippled" look so many home decor tins have these days.

First I measured and cut the cardstock, I glued it the can using wood glue, for extra strong hold. Once cured, I added clear gesso, followed by white gesso.

After the gesso had dried, I used a metallic silver paint, applied lightly with a brush, and for the final step, I added Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallic Wax in Brushed Iron, applying with my finger, randomly over the surface of the can, to give a "washed" looked to the surface.

Add a couple of silk greenery picks I had on hand, and I have the perfect first piece towards creating my flea market style vignette.

And the cost? NADA, as I had all these things on hand.

Thanks for stopping by today. Check back again soon, as I will be sharing this project in stages, trying to use from my current stash, to stretch dollars as I go along.

Until next time......

Get Creative!

Returning To My First Creative Love

We all have one, that first creative spark

that absolutely thrilled us with the end results.

Mine, was working with canvas, Whether it was painting

or drawing, work with canvas has truly been my greatest

creative love.

Turn some music on to inspire me, and I am carried

away, leaving behind the troubles of yesterday, and transported 

to a place of peace & beauty.

That is where I was with my latest canvas work.

My favorite, peaceful vacation spot.

With waters in hues of turquoise, deep blue & pale green,

I reminencsed of the fresh salty air, and the sounds of the gentle waves.

Only one way to relive that moment in time......

A piece of canvas art.

With Faber-Castell Gelato's & Aqua Pencils, and a with little help from Jane Davenport's Inkredible Inks too, I did just that.

I love the blendability of the gelato's, and how well the aqua pencils worked for adding depth and detail.

Using the ink applies with a brush, just enhanced the depth of color.

I can not wait to use ALL of these products again soon.

So today, I challenge you, especially if your creativity is in a holding pattern

(as mine had been for far to long) return to that first creative love, maybe using products that were not available before, and watch your creative heart bloom again!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time.....

Keep On Crafting!

*I was in no way endorsed by Faber-Castell or Jane Davenport/American Crafts.