Distinctive Touches

For the LOVE of COLOR!

You know how when you find some cool new product and you want to tell your friends all about it?  Or you see a totally cool new technique and you can't wait to share it with others? 

That's how I feel about a class that I just took.  I can't wait to tell you all about it!  I'm SOOOOO geeked that I can't hardly sit still! 

You all know that I am a fiend for color; that my world is filled with aquamarines and fuchsias and periwinkles, a few drops of crimson and a dab of chartreuse, a touch of lavender and a hint of tangerine... but did you know that I'm not alone in this obsession? 

I mentioned in a previous post that I was taking a class with Teri Martin over at My Creative Classroom.  Teri is a tremendous artist who is known for her watercolor and text/calligraphy combinations.  Well, Teri is almost as crazy for color as me... and her class was all about color... and how to achieve a color pallet that worked together using just three basic colors!  

I don't typically work in watercolor, but I figured I would give it a go in her class because... well, because I wanted to learn something totally new and push myself to use a medium that I wasn't as familiar with (although she told me I could do the same thing with my acrylics). 

I learned how to make some wonderful and stunning color pallets... with all of the colors working together PERFECTLY!  It was amazing.  We also were prompted to make some mini-painting "studies" and while I was very nervous about those, I jumped right in.  This was one of my favorites that I did.  I really like the blue and purple background... and the text... well, let's just say that I'm going to be a VERY attentive student in Teri's future calligraphy classes.  LOL

I know a lot of my readers are color crazy like me... and I TOTALLY recommend Teri's class Understanding Color (I'm told she is going to be offering it again in the fall).

That's it for now...

Have a colorful day!

colleen

 

Sweet Greetings

I'm busy, busy, busy...

Now that I am starting to feel a bit more like myself, I've been getting back into the swing of life - and enjoying every moment. 

I started swimming laps on Monday.  I'm slow; I'm winded, but I'm SWIMMING...  Yippie!

I've also spent some time in my studio making a few cards to share.  I was on such a "coloring kick" that I sort of neglected some of my other materials... and I wanted to get back to some sweet but simple styles. This is one of my favorite "go to" layouts!  I've done zillions of cards like this... and love making them each and every time.

Here's the same layout... just skewed a bit.  These cards are also another great way to use up some scraps of your patterned paper.  (This is from one of my Basic Grey collections.)  These cards are super simple... super quick... and a SUPER way to showcase some of your sentiment stamps. 

Add a quick embellishment or two - a clear button with a blue bow and some faux stitching for the first one and some dots of liquid pearls and a velvety ribbon for the second one - and you have a great greeting to send to a friend.

Now to go find some friends to send these to...  LOL

Hugs to you!
colleen

What's Up?

Here's a springy little card to brighten up your day!  It was a card that I got published in Ready, Set, Create a while back... but forgot to post for you here.  The adorable chick tower stamp and matching sentiment are from Hambo... some of my favorite spring time images to use.  (They have their new summer stamps out too... check out the Hammock Pig!  Bwwwaaahaaahaaaaa!)  The layout is super simple... and a great way to use up some of those smaller scraps of patterned paper.

Speaking of spring...  it's FINALLY here!  Our record breaking rainfall has ceased and the sun has come out to grace us with FAN-TAB-U-LOUS temps.  Our lawn is growing like it's full of weeds... (maybe that's because it IS full of weeds...LOL)  and our flowers are glorious.  I can't resist leaning in and giving them a good sniff as I walk by.  (Good thing I'm JUST tall enough to not have to stand on anyone's shoulders to smell the flowers like those cute little chicks on the card...that bottom chick sort of got a raw deal - don'tcha think?)

And speaking of sniffing...(okay - that's a really poor transition... but I'm TRYING to tie this all in together...), I FINALLY got in to see the specialist and was fitted with a CPAP machine yesterday.  I can't tell you how THRILLED I am to have a solution to my mysterious illness!  It's been 6 months of pure HECK trying to get it all figured out... and I can honestly say that I don't know if I could have taken another day of it. 

The machine is going to be a bit difficult to get used to - it's a mix between a sexy scuba style and a disastrous Darth Vader sound...

(Whoooooo-Phshhhhhhhh... LUKE....I AM YOUR FATHER... Whooooooo-Phshhhhhhh)

but I'm willing to stick with it as I already see results! 

Hope you are having sunny skies and terrific temps... enjoy the long weekend!

Golden Oldies!

Just a quick post today as I am trying to put the finishing touches on the Ark my husband and I are building. 

(Just Kidding!)  Seriously, it is STILL raining here... and with all the rain our backyard has become a stream...  I'm waiting for the salmon to start spawning!  LOL

Actually, I've been busy painting color wheels for a class that I am actually TAKING (not teaching) at My Creative Classroom from Teri Martin...it's awesome!  You all know how much I love color... and that is the focus of the class... so I'm in a Heaven of Hues! 

 Speaking of color and classes... my current Everything Copic class is winding down and the students have blown me away with their awesome samples.  In fact, one of the fine ladies put some images in the class gallery that blew me away.  Besides being colored expertly, they were the funniest images!!  I had to ask where they were from... and of course, I bought one!!!  (The images are from the Golden Oldies collection by Art Impressions.)

Since my hubby is a golf fanatic (and until I can play again, I'm a golf widow...), I knew I needed this stamp. 

Here's a card I made with it for a friend's birthday...  It's not the best coloring job I've ever done, but I wanted to try for a bit of pizazz with the stripes and plaid.  Guess I still need to work on those huh? 

Anyway... I thought it was a stitch... and the sentiment (also from the same collection) just made me laugh. 

I've got to get back to turning out that Ark... who knows when the animals will start coming two-by-two!  LOL

Hope you have a "happenin' day!"

Who in the World???

Greetings blog readers... 

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine yesterday... unfortunately, it's supposed to rain again for the next few days... yup, right thought the weekend!  Bummer.

Speaking of bummers... I know many of you have been keeping up with my medical saga... and the story continues! 

I went to see an ENT surgeon on Monday to see if he could find the "obstruction" that came up on my sleep test results.  You know... a deviated septum or polyps or something...  and guess what?  Nothing... Nada... Zip!  He said... (and I am quoting his words exactly), "There is absolutely nothing physically wrong with you." 

Whaaaa?  Is he just telling me that there are no obstructions or is he trying to imply that this whole ordeal is in my head???  Luckily for me, my new "regular" doctor feels there really IS something wrong with me and he is going to continue searching until we find out what it is.  I go back to see him next week Wednesday and I think he is going to send me to a specialist to get hooked up with the breathing machine.  I'll let you know how that goes.

For now, I'm just feeling a tad bit frustrated and a whole lot of tired... but I'm still plugging along!  I refuse to get down-in-the-dumps - heck, I'd never get back out!  LOL

So to keep myself busy, I've been working on a new class for the fall over at My Creative Classroom...

Here is a sneak peek at a project that I will probably be doing in one of my classes...

can you guess what the class is about?  (And who in the world IS that???)  Any guesses? 

Well, I'm off to get back to work... someone has to pay the bills!  :)

Hugs,
colleen

It Makes a Difference!

Oh Happy Day!!!  The SUN is out!  Whaaaa-whooooo! 

It has been over 2 weeks since we have seen the sun here... it has been cool and rainy for so long that I was considering building an Ark.  I even started a list of who was coming on the party barge with me!  LOL

But... no need for that now; the sun is out and the earth is drying up.  (Well, it will take DAYS of sun for the earth to dry up enough to venture out into the yard, but that's okay... a little mud never hurt anybody!)

My flowers have been just waiting to burst.  Usually, they are in full bloom by the end of March... but this year the weather has just been so wonky!  A day or two with the bright yellow orb and they will pop open in a profusion of color... I can't wait!

In honor of the beautiful spring day today, I made this simple card. 

The image is from Elisabeth Bell with Sugar Nellie... and is just darling... and HUGE!  The image is the perfect size to stamp out, color up, and add a simple layer to make a very simple card.

I stamped the image in Memento (Tuxedo Black) on Georgia Pacific white and colored it in with my Copics.  I am so happy to say that I THINK I am about done with my collection... I have about 20 markers left that I want to purchase... for now anyway! LOL

I have a Copic class in session right now and I know they would be upset with me if I didn't list the markers I used... so here goes:

Grass: YG11/YG13/YG17
Shirt: G20/G21/G24
Pants: B91/B93/B95
Flowers: R43/R46
Hair: E30/E31/E33/E35
Tree: E53/E55/E57
Birdhouse: E25/E27/E29
Face: E0000/E00/E11/R02 (for cheeks)

I've been working on putting together some new classes for the fall... and I'll share a sneak peak into one of those tomorrow.  For now... I'm going to go and enjoy the sun!

Happy Hugs,
colleen

Color and Texture - A Painted Canvas

Hi again... are you surprised that I'm posting two days in a row?

I got some time in during the past couple of days to do some more painting.  I don't paint people or landscapes... or anything else recognizable.  I like to do more abstract idea painting... you know, the type of stuff that nobody but the painter really gets.  LOL

I've been doing a lot of reading on creativity and doing a bunch of "soul searching" exercises and then taking those ideas into the studio.  It's been a lot of fun.  I'm learning to just sort of let go and create. 

These canvases are some of my first creativity inspired works.  I can't believe they took me WEEKS to do... and I'm not real sure they are finished yet actually. 

I started with some stiff molding paste... frosted it on in some places and tapped in on in others to create a variety of textures.  (I LOVE texture in paintings.)  Then... I just started layering!  The fist session I added four or five washes (paint thinned down to create a glaze) of blues... from light lavender to dark navy.  I added the color and blotted some of it off with a rag... leaving more color in the various textured areas. 

The second session found me adding more color with opaque layers of navy and black and white... mostly dry brushed on.  I also added some sprays with Stream and Lettuce Adirondack Colorwash Sprays from Ranger.  They were a lot of fun to use.  I spritzed some water on the canvas then to get the colorwash sprays to spread and smear a bit.  I had to spray the surface with a fixative before moving on to the next step or the colorwash sprays would continue to react with my paints.

The third session had me stamping some background patterns in white paint onto part of the canvas.  Since it's textured, the stamp didn't stamp clearly... but that is okay.  I also added scraps of painted book pages for a collaged effect.  I glued these on with Matte Medium and then added some drops and spritzes of colorwash spray again over the top. 

The last session saw me adding the pieces of metal mesh and the white cup rings.  I don't think I'm done yet... each time I look at them, I see something else to do or I feel the need to add something.  I think it's going to be some sort of text or writing...  but I'm not positive yet.  So far...each of the other layers sort of "spoke" to me and I just went with it... so I'm trying not to force the next step... if there is one. 

It was so much fun creating this piece... totally a process adventure instead of a "final product" piece... which I'm having fun with.  I'm actually thinking of offering an on-line class at My Creative Classroom this fall that takes you through the whole creative process like this... but I'm not sure there would be interest... what do you think?

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Hugs!