this is aRt - Stamper's Sampler Dec/Jan 2010

I'm honored to have my card creation in the December/January 2010 Stamper's Sampler. Each month there is a template published in the magazine, your challenge is to create your "take" on the template and send it in for possible publication. This one is sort of "out of the box" for me.  The corset image is not one I would have come up with myself, but that is what is so fun about the templates. You try creating in a new way. Thanks for looking.

Surprise

So.....does this pass for surprise? That's me with my big brother, Jim. Maybe that's shock, or fright and not surprise? Posting an "echo" for Chrysti and Susan. Tell us what you think, or post your link to your "surprise".

The Merriest Christmas

The template was in a Stamper's Sampler magazine in early summer of 2008. A house shape. It would be published in the December/January 2009, I was sure a holiday house would be a hit. I was disappointed when it wasn't in the magazine. It seems the magazines feature fall/winter holidays in their October/November issue. But here it is in the Winter 2010 Somerset Studio Gallery. I am honored to have my work featured in Somerset Studio Publications.

The project features Daisy D paper scraps and Catslife Press and Mrs O'Leary's rubber stamps.

I have another item featured in the newest issue of Stamper's Sampler. Which will be the topic of my next blog post. This is indeed exciting. I have been trying to reorganize my life/activities/time/space, to make more time for art. I was feeling a bit discouraged, not so much that I wasn't having things published. You have to send "stuff" in to get published. I wasn't  making the time to do it. I was beginning to feel like it wasn't worth the effort to continue to try. These wonderful magazines showed up in the same week.

Abundance

Playing again. I have an abundance of photo apps for my iPhone. With the camera that came with the phone, I have 13. Also flickr and photobucket. Does that make 15.

I am reponding to Chrysti's and Susan's "echo" challenge with my photo "echo" of the word of the week, "Abundance". Abundance is well....abundant in my life. I have all that I need, lots of what I want. It's hard to complain. ( I still manage.)

The photo is a shot of campaign buttons that were on display at the JM Davis ARms and Historical Museum. We stumbled across this museum on Old Route 66, our way home from Galveston, Texas, last week. There was an abundance of campaign buttons in this photo.(I of course used my new photo app, that Chrysti turned me on to, Cinema FX, using the WWll setting.) However, the musuem has a collection of more than 20,000 fire arms. And that was just the beginning. Mr. Davis's collection was abundantly unique. There was a lovely display of Sunday School pins and certificates, and just around the corner you would find a striking display of hangman's nooses complete with black hood and a newspaper article about the convicted felon's atrocity. Around the corner from that you find a local high school exhibit and then in the next row a collection of weapons confiscated by the local police. 1,200 beer steins lined one row. Another display showed an extensive collection of vintage western movie posters and collectibles. ( I loved the Bonanza coloring book.) And more!!!!

It was unique, interesting, disturbing, thoughtful and amazing.

This week I received two free magazines from Somerset Studios....more abundance. I have a card in the new Stamper's Sampler, and a card in the new Somerset Studio Gallery. I dabble with art, and if you have read previous posts I am in the process of reogranizing priorities so that I can manage my time in a more productive manner. I was feeling a bit like it wasn't worth the effort, and voila, the magazines showed up with my work published in them. A little positive reinforcement is a big motivator.

More on my cards in the next post.

Decorate

Our church group took our annual mission trip to eastern Kentucky. We worked on various home improvment projects. But one family had the greatest lawn decorations. I love eclectic yard decorations.

You'll find this very cool vintage bike in my yard, boasting our street address. But I'm loving the plastic rocking horse that was wedged on this fence in Kentucky, amid a shrub of some sort. There were two horses. I had a horse like this as a child. Now I am searching for one, to wedge on the fence and grow shrubbery around it. My neighbors will no doubt freak.

So, "Echo" my attempt at decorate. Join Chrysti Hydeck and Susan Tuttle and company and play along.

Halloween 1956

Fairy Princess and Witched Witch get ready for Halloween 1956. This was taken at our house at 4143 Juniata in St. Louis. That's me and my big brother, Jim.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!

Emerge

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”
Helen Keller

Gazing into the mist.
Watching what emerges, 
Or, waiting, with faith,
to see what or who comes your way.
Imagining the "great cloud of witnesses" who came this way before
what did they see, what did they find,
what treasure did they carry home
to remember the day
they were emerging from the mist.
bonniebluedenim

Susan Tuttle and Chrysti Hydeck have started an exciting challenge on their blogs. Every couple of weeks they "echo" each other's photos which they have jointly posted on their blogs, and they have invited us all to play along. This week's echo is "Emerge" .  Here is my echo.

The person emerging from the mist on the beach at Assateague Island National Seashore is my husband Rick.

The wild horses were amazing. I was using my small pocket digital camera, and it was hard to zoom in and of course, sharpness was lost in editing. It was a beautiful misty day. Chilly, windy, I love those kinds of days. Great photo opportunities. And it sooo makes you appreciate the sunshine.

Shadows

Check out the Digital Photography School, each week they have a new assignment. It's free and fun, you just need to sign up. This week was "Shadows" I took this last March, I wanted to draw a 'simple ' shape of a scottie, what better way than to get an image from the shadow of the real thing. Your contest photo has to be taken during the week the contest is posted. Maybe next time, I'll get it right. This weekend's challenge is RED. We'll have to see what we can come up with for that one. (Actually taken this weekend.)
 http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/digital-photography-assignments/79027-assignment-shadows-sept-16-sept-30-a.html

Change can be difficult

A fun page for the "So you think you can scrap" challenge at " Sisiversary 2009" Participants were assigned one of three scrap styles. ( See below) I was assigned the Graphic Dance. Here is my interpretative graphic dance. Three large color sections, no printed paper, no flowers, all text is cut from magazines. iPhone photo, editied with Camera Bag and Art Camera apps.

The text speaks for itself. As for being flawless.....well....it's more about accepting who/what I am.

Artsy Fartsy Dance
You MUST include paint.
You can use Glimmer mist (you don't have to.)
You cannot use more than 1 piece of patterned Paper.
You CANNOT use letters (thickers etc.) You can however use them as a mask, or paint your own words, or write. Just no premade stickers.


Graphic Dance - In honor of Jen Geigley.
You MUST use 3 Big, bold, swatches of color.
You CANNOT use ANY flowers.
You cannot use ANY patterned Paper.
You can use plain colored cardstock (but you don't have to).
You MUST use some sort of advertising, tag, or page from a magazine, or something of the sort.


Frilly Folk Dance
You MUST use at LEAST 5 Flowers, the bigger the better.
You CANNOT use ANY bright colors, you must use pastels.
You CANNOT print, you MUST use script/cursive if you write.
You MUST use some sort of lace/ribbon.

Donna 4 Squared

I've been playing this weekend over on http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/ They are having an "sisiversay" celebration with fun tutorials, on-line classes and challenges. I found the photo scavenger hunt to fit it best with my current art pursuits. But all is fun there. You may need to sign in to get to the forums, but it's free.

http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/forums/39_33939_0.html this is the link to the scavenger hunt, there are lots of other challenges as well.!

My photo was taken with the iPhone and modified with the Art Camera Application, I then adjusted the color a bit to pull in some more orange. The challenge was to take a self-portrait and in your portrait incorporate each color of the rainbow...in any way you choose. I have a large star, each point is a different color. I thought it would probably show up in the Art Camera application, as assorted colors. It did!!!

More iPhone Fun

Marco Island Rainey Day, i Phone/photo app fun!

IPhone Photo Fun

I reloaded these photos in a larger format!

Fun Photos taken with my iphone and edited with assorted photo applications.

The President Talks to Students 9/08/09

You can watch the live stream, below, on Tuesday!
Civics Live!