Oh, Marie!

Last weekend I was creating in my studio and came across a couple of Marie images and decided that I wanted to play with them. I used a background provided from one of the Stampington magazines, some mulberry paper, and a few extra images from Paper Whimsy. The final touch after putting this all together was the hints of gold leaf and the pearl center for the flower.

My friend Jackie adores Marie....so I gifted her with it last night while we meet for dinner and to catch up. She's also an excellent artist, but I can't seem to get her involved in any of my groups yet.

I'm enjoying the weather here in Indiana this week....rather warm and enjoyable for this time of year. Hope you're all enjoying the same weather.

Whimsies in the Clover

Over at Paper Whimsy there's a Monthly Lottery going on. The theme for this month's Lottery is "Whimsies in the Clover". I'm kind of pushing it to the last minute here, and finally getting my ATC added to the album.

I've been using paint chips a lot lately. Why? Because they're FREE, because they give me the color I want, and because they're FREE! Because the paint chip I was using wasn't quite big enough for an ATC, I found a contrasting color and stitched the two together.

I'm loving playing with "different" color combinations....and really liked how these colors turned out.

What do you think of those tiny little clover? I found those in my front yard this morning. The are smaller than an eraser tip, and they're so darn cute!

Whimsy Word Journal Swap

Over at Paper Whimsy Land I'm hosting a swap to create hand-made journals. I originally was going to host an altered composition book swap, but then Gale saw the hand-made journals in Cloth Paper Scissors (which I had seen too) and suggested that we try those. So, this is what I came up.

I found wonderful pain chips at Walmart and decided that I would create my journals using them. I could pick the colors I wanted, and had the stability of a thicker cardstock. On two of them I used the strip pain chips and on the first journal I made, I used a beautiful piece of Mulberry paper I've had for years.

Each of these books has composition book paper in them...but I'm thinking of creating another one with "other" paper. Not sure what...but I'm thinking.

These journals are SOoooo easy to make. REALLY! If you don't want to hand stitch the binding, you could use a sewing machine...or even use rivots and ribbon to attach them.

I hope you'll head on over to Paper Whimsy and join me in the swap. While there is only 1 spot left...I'm sure that we can convince Gale that we need to add a second group!

Heart Book Pages

Last weekend while I was away at an all art weekend, I finished up my heart book pages for the swap I'm currently in. This is the second heart book swap I've been in, and I am really enjoying the fun and quick results from them.

These little hearts are about 4" x 4" so they're just the right size...not too big and not too small.

I really love the fact that everyone picks their own theme and that they're all different and a fun challenge.

Altered Composition Books & Journals

Over a month ago, I started noticing altered journals, and decided to have my hand at a couple of them. Every once in awhile I'll find a clerance sale that I just can't pass up, and I'm sure this journal was one of them. The journal has blank pages and has an elastic band that goes around the front of the book.

I took some mulberry paper that I've had for about 20 years and ripped it to the right size to use for the binding on this book. I ran it through the Xyron machine first and CAREFULLY pulled it away from the wax paper. This doesn't always work, as the mulberry paper is very fragile...so just be careful when taking it off.

I used Punchinella to add some interest to the material on the journal and used some Paper Whimsy images to embellish the cover with.

Don't forget to add fibers and charms. They add fun and whimsy to any creation.