Scraps of Color E:Spire is About To Launch - and I'm On The Team!!

I'm so excited to have been accepted as part of the first Creative Team!!!

I feel blessed to have been given this creative opportunity. I've always thought in colors, so they say ... and last year after many starts and stops - I found Tiare Smith online, an extremely entrepreneurial sister who is determined to let the world know that Sisters Scrap Too!!.

Tiare is the genius behind Classy Coordinates. I found kindred spirits on her Scraps of Color ning group, other women of color who loved to play with paper. LOL

Tiare is on the move again, launching Scraps of Color E:spire, and has offered me wonderful opportunity to share my art with you and my love of history. I hope you all take the time to join and become a part of this exciting adventure. I can't wait to share with you what I have in store for 2011.

Weekend Craftin'

I had a real burst of creative energy this weekend, and I've managed to finish every swap project that I had for Oct and Nov!!LOL I guess its true that when the inspiration hits you - it hits you.

All I have to do on Monday is mail out everything.

Santa's Sistah cards, using a print of a painting that I did over the summer.

Santa Tag Cards that I did using one of my favorite holiday stamps, called Stampers Collage.

These are calendars for 2011 that I did, love the colors and stamps. The stamps are from the now defunct ScrapGoods group ... but they were so perfect for this project. The flowers, I bought from Overstock.com - they come blank, and you color them yourself.

This fun little angel is on a 4x6 piece of watercolor paper. I used acrylics and glazing medium...and micron pens for the details.

Getting My Mojo Back

A little over a year ago, I was in such a funk that I didn't even have the desire to pick up a paint brush. So, like any crafty chick - I switched gears and turned my attention to the paper arts. Scrapbooking in particular. I had no supplies, so I joined some cool clubs like Studio Calico, Treasure Box, Unity Stamps ... and voila!! I was off.

But a funny thing happened on the way to being the perfect paper crafter.

The more I scrapped and made cards ... the stronger my desire to paint became. Every time I stamped an image - I wondered how long it would take to draw. Every time I looked at digital stamps, I thought of all the line drawings I had on my PC, that I could use instead of purchasing a digital stamp.

And then all the papers!!! OOOOH LA LA!!! There are some scrumptiously gorgeous papers out there ... and I'd think how wonderful it would be to be the ARTIST who created those papers.

And then ... slowly but surely ... I began to gravitate back to my painting table. Not with the full force that I'd had for so many years (over ten years) ... but enough for me to start to try again. Another thing that helped, was all the mixed media blogs and you tube videos. WOW. If you want inspiration, there are so many blogs and you tubers out there so willing to share their creative talents.

Don't get me wrong - I love to scrapbook. I love making cards too, but the pull to paint is so strong within me ... I guess I needed that break to make me realize how much I missed it.

In my perfect painting paper crafting world - I am able to combine my love of painting and my love of scrap-booking and card making ... and the fun of it wil lbe trying to get there.

Working Through Painters Block

I started this piece sketching on it freehand ... and after working on it off and on ...I got so frustrated I'd planned on sanding down the entire piece and starting again. I sometimes think I rush my vision, if that makes sense. I know the traditional way is to paint the background first - but I never seem to do that ... and I'm wondering if that is what is getting me into trouble.

I worked through some of the issues on this piece - its not finished, its still a work in progress. What I learned this weekend was to not force anything..that when I get to the point of frustration - I need to walk away.

Creative Columbus Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend ... and for my Canadian friends, I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was wonderfully spent with family and friends.

Me?..I had plans that fell through ... so I spent the last 3 days in my studio/basement going between my painting table and crafting table. I managed to finish all my swaps but one. Here are some of the cards that I worked on:

Last Weekend in September

I hope everyone is enjoying the last days of September. I have been doing lots paper crafting and painting. I completed my first Travelogue, and mailed it off this past week. The book I received had a Charmed theme ... and my page was about timepieces I collect.



I also sent out my ATC swap for Urban Scrappers. Every month everyone picks a letter - and we keep going until all the letters of the alphabet are used. This month, I got the letter "S". My ATCs are named Santas Soul. I really loved creating the background - and I used a Tim Holtz stamp.

Autumn Cards

I love the fall. I love the crispness in the air .. the beautiful colors of fall foliage ... and it was that I was thinking about when I created these Autumn cards. Now, I fully intended on adding some embossing to these, but BOTH of my embossing guns died over the weekend. They simply shorted out - which is surprising to me, as I hardly ever used them. So, the Autumn tag on the card, which I'd planned on using embossing powder, is actually a piece of acetate that I stamped. I love the way they came out....hope you do too.