40TH ANNIVERSARY: Thank-You's

It started with a VW Bug idea during Junelle Jacobsen's Art Retreat.....and grew into an idea for my parents' 40th Anniversary gift. (well second gift)

After the sketch, I copied and glued in the vehicle into my book (yes the easy way out, but I didn't have the desire to redraw something I liked on the sketch)

painted it in with some Daniel Smith's watercolors (can't really see it, but there is a shimmer to the yellow parts of the car)

I made a few copies in case I needed them to cover up a mistake.  (probably wasn't the wisest idea to do this idea on a book page...yet, I will get to keep the original for life or simply rip out the page)

I played around with ideas to fill in some of the white space...and with colors I wanted to use.

I thought about an orange, but I think it made the photo too busy and took away from the vehicle, but I loved the year in the background.

I thought about a simple heart with the date...but it just wasn't right.

Then it came to me while looking at inspiration online to add a bird with a Thank-You card next to a mailbox with the day of the month of the anniversary.

I then painted in various elements with beachy/pastel tones...and other areas with more watercolor.  I highlighted elements with a sharpie pen and uniball white pen.

-also whitned out some words that weren't the most flattering on the book text but left some that were complimentary to the occassion. Originally, there was the word husband coming down from the car handle, and I thought to leave it since the "Bug" was my dad's car....but again, it seemed too busy.

Added some reds and orange to the mix on the mailbox, but after a while, the colors were a bit too bold.

So I added some pastel paint and lightened them up.

adding in details again...

and signed and ready to develop into a card.

Since the page was in a book, scanning it was not really my first choice...so I waited for a sunny day and took a picture I liked....then headed over to Shutterfly to create the card.

To see the final card design, you can go here:

40th Anniversary Thank-You Card

RUBBERMOON: Watercolor Marker Magic

What's a quick and easy and almost mess-free way to use The Ultimate Red Rubber Palette?

Watercolor Markers and RubberMoon stamps, of course.

(the stamps arrived in great condition, but once I started playing, the ink got on the wood)

The RubberMoon stamps  include:

sprinkle moondust spread magic, lucy, art set, and girl with star string.

Before I began, I had no clue what I was doing, but just wanted to play.  

I simply used Artist Loft Watercolor Dual Tip Markers directly on the palette.

Used any wet brush and applied water on the palette, not too much but enough to move the colors and blend together.

Then simply took pieces of paper and smashed down on the palette to create these beauties.

I used thick cardstock, but watercolor paper would have probably worked better.

I used those two pieces to create a few Project Life cards.

And then I was obsessed with this process and created more. 

I repeated the first few steps and then placed a stencil on top before making a print.

And the start of a card was created.

Taking the watercolor markers and applying directly onto a stamp created the cover image.  I also added some doodling with a simple mechanical pencil.

Then stamped words in the inside.

Next I tested out a striped pattern.  LOVE!!

(another Project Life card)

Used Lucy and stamped directly onto wet palette with some color left from a previous print.

A little foggy, but it feels serene to me. A good image to add a quote or poem onto. 

I played some more with Lucy.... 

Lesson learned: applying a stamp using markers onto a wet surface will bleed the image.

Waiting for things to dry + me = don't get along.

More stenciling and stamping fun:

For the smaller art set stamped card, I used the markers on the stamp, then on a wet brush to create the splatter.

Take a chance and try something different today. Art is all about the adventure.

 I didn't know how this would turn out...and now I have a new love, a new watercolor tool, and a new obsession.

Hope you enjoyed my adventures with RubberMoon as much as I have.

creativeGIRL: And It Goes On & On & On

My love for the "Anatomy Of" aspect of Danielle Donaldson class continues. 

WHAT A DAY: July 26, 2014

The tattoo obsession continues. I love my ambigram one but wanted to "girly" it up a bit. And what better than flowers. So I chose one of my parents' flowers from their wedding. A yellow daisy. 

The look I was going for was watercolor or rather with not so many hard lines. So we chose one and began. 

Paris Tattoos is so neat (and below one of my fav restaurants Tupelo Honey Cafe). Cody is an amazing artist. He has his watercolor works displayed in his corner. 

Cody took the design and did an amazing job. It went from this...

To this...

And this...

To this...

The coloring and lines will fade a bit in some areas so I'm excited to see the healed result. And who knows what is yet to come. I'd love to add an orange rose as well. I love it!

It reminds me of life coming and growing from the words. Very symbolic to me. 

aKa: Summer 2014

It started at A Beautiful Mess with "Sister Stuff" and then Elise Blaha added her spin to it with her daughter.

So I thought I would venture out creating a comparison with my sister (Angie), my mom (Kathy), and me (Ali). Ideally, I would like to complete one per season, but not sure the other assets to the post are as willing to cooperate. :)

We all live in different states, plus we are all at different stages in life.

So here goes...mine is on left, mom in top right corner, and Angie on bottom right. 

Outside My Doorstep...

Working On...

Drinking...

Reading...

Just For Fun...

What's For Lunch...

Shoes On My Feet...