Music....

I love listening to music, but have a terrible memory for who sang what and what the song is called! Music is the theme at CBH this week and I created an ATC using a music note stamp and some musical instrument peel offs. I stamped the background using distress inks first, then stamped the image again on paper and cut to smaller pieces to represent sheet music, I used distress ink to age the paper and then curled the edges to look like the leaves were blowing up. I finished by glueing this to the background and adding a few silhouette peel offs.

Dragons.....

are a favourite of mine. My Chinese zodiac sign is a Fire Dragon, so the theme at TMTA this week to create art using dragons appealed greatly. I have used a range of shades of red to create my ATC, putting down a base coat of distress inks and then using clear embossing powder on the top to stamp my dragon image in. I then stamped some lettering over the top of this, and to finish added some darker red shades to make the embossed image stand out and added some gems.

The Tribe / Indigenous People.....

is the theme over at CBH this week. So in the feel of the theme I have created an ATC using some Native American Indian stamps, stamping in stazon ink and using a masking technique to layer two different stamp images together. I then added colour using Copic markers and finished the edges with Memento ink. Having looked at other sites this also fits the TMTA theme of Red / Yellow this week too. I love the rich warm colours and how Native American Indians made the most of these vibrant colours.

A Chance To Play....

It was so good to get a lie in this morning and a chance to have a play around with Photoshop. ACF this week have a background to be used to create a piece of art. I chose to use a photograph I took of myself recently with leopard print facepaint and combined it with the background using layering techniques and digital brushes.

I have also had a chance to photograph some of my scrapbooking and altered art pieces which I have created over the year and just not had the time to share, so hopefully I will get a few of these uploaded this weekend. I hope you all have a relaxing time.

Wet and Windy....

is the weather of the week, so much for Autumn having crisp sunny days to watch the leaves turn golden! TMTA this week have the theme of Thanksgiving, looking for autumn in all its glory, so here is my ATC.

Dark Marie...

Great take on Marie Antoinette over at SPA this week, taking her as a theme and turning her into something spooky...... I guess halloween is just around the corner!

Art Nouveau...

is one of my favourite art movements, I love the detail artists got into their work and their fabulous portrayal of portraits and organic swirls. ACF this week have a great image of one of Mucha's portraits to create a piece of art with. I have created the following piece of digital art, using layers, opacity filters and brushes:

Odd Creatures....

There are plenty of odd little creatures in the world, and I love the idea of using them in a piece of artwork. Such a great theme from TMTA this week. I have a stamp with a row of odd little creatures on from Prima and just had to make two ATC's for this one. I collaged a background for one and stamped the other, then added colour using copic pens and distress inks.

Autumn Glory

It has definitely been more of a winter day today than an Autumn day - lots of wind and rain. I even had to put the heating on! So it was good to do a 6x4 postcard for SPA on Autumn. I chose to use a photo I took this time last year of the orange berries in my garden, added digital brushes and changed the opacity of the layers. Hope you like it.

Autumn...

is a great time of year, I love it when the trees turn golden and the berries turn red. Autumn is hitting early this year with colder weather than this time a year ago. Autumn is a great theme for making some art and is the theme over at TMTA this week.

I used a distress inks to colour the background, then added torn pages from a book and punched leaves and a fence to add to the ATC. I then cut out and added the Autumn wording and finished with hand drawn lines and some Viva gold, to add the shine of Autumn colours.

1950's Pin Up's

Is this weeks theme over at SPA this week. I have created a digital 6x4 postcard featuring a 50's Pin Up girl and some classic 1950's cars, layered it all together and added some filters and brushes to pull it all together. Hope you like it:

What A Week....

Well I am very glad it is finally Friday, but there are just not enough hours in the day at present to do everything I would like to do! But I have a card to share with you I made for a friends birthday. Anyone who knows me understands that I am not a cardmaker, I get a mental block with them and just seem to struggle to get the image to work, but I think this one turned out OK.

Bingo!

It has been a while since I have Blogged! Lots of other things have taken up my time, and inspiration had been a bit off. But here goes with some new work and things I have created over the last few months to follow.

So to start today is an ATC I have made for TMTA this week on the theme of Bingo!

I hope you are all having a good start to the week.

Snow Challenge...

Well, this snowy winter certainly has caused disruption this winter, we still have a lot of snow where I live and without the sunshine to melt it, it is lingering. Scrapbook Sisters set a challenge for this winter whiteout to create either a scrapbook layout or a card and incorporate the word SNOW. Below are my two entries, please visit their site to see all the other wonderful creations entered.

Newspaper....

is the theme over at TMTA this week. I created this ATC using strips of text on the background, adding chalk eye over the top. I then stamped the flower images onto the background and an extra one on a separate piece of text, this was cut out, chalked and applied to the background so the petals could be bent. I then added the hope ticket and butterflies punched out using a Martha Stewart punch.

Turquoise

The challenge this week at Gothic Arches is to use the colour of your birthstone as the basis of your design. My birthday is in December, so my birthstone is Turquoise, which happens to be one of my favourite colours too. I created my arch using a clear embossing powder on a stamp for the background, and rubbed turquoise distress ink over the top. I then stamped the tree branches and birds over the top using Azure Stazon. To finish I added gems to the centres of the clocks, and used the new Martha Stewart stamp and punch butterfly punch to add a 3D element.

Longing for warmth.......

Longing for summer warmth now, this icy chill and snow is seriously losing its' appeal! As much as I love the snow and enjoy the crisp white world it creates, a bit of warmth would now be great - so today I share some warmer days in these two layouts I finished using photos from last summer.

Vintage Mix

It has been a long time since I have had the chance or the creative flair to complete a challenge. So it has been good to do this one to start the New Year. I have used the vintage photograph given at ACF and have created a digital picture with it. Enjoy.....

My Sister...

Carrying on using the same papers, I also completed a layout using the words found on one of the papers. I drew around part of the letters with a pen and then added glossy accents to make them stand out more. They describe my sister to a T!

A Trip to the Zoo....

Back in November 2009, I spent the day at Colchester Zoo with some great friends. It was a day filled with laughter and a few antics, playing around on the elephant sculptures there, and seeing some amazing animals. So here are a couple of layouts documenting my visit.

Let It Snow.....

More layouts finished! Again using some of my many snow photos! These are layouts started at classes held at Scrapbook Sisters and have been sat in my UFO pile for a while now, so it was about time I started to dig these out and finish them, maybe the finished pile will start to win.....

I finally got around to finishing some layouts of my last Christmas in the Algarve, Portugal. I have missed that warm sunshine this Christmas! Christmas Day on the beach and paddling in the sea - definitely not here in Kent, that would mean a case of frostbite I'm sure. Boxing Day spent in a great villa with views over the hills and down to the sea, with a great BBQ spread.

My Snow Cat

As we seem to be in the middle of a really cold spell here, I think it is time that I got all those snow and Christmas photos and did something with them! So here is a layout I completed using the same papers as my snow book, but using recent photos of Hugo and I:

Welcome to 2010

January 1st 2010 - it's been a while since I have blogged! Where does time go? I cannot believe it is 2010 already, just seems like yesterday there was all the hype about starting a new millenium and it turning the year 2000. I am quite glad to see the end of 2009 for many reasons, but there were great moments there too! So I am sharing the first snow day I had back in February 2009, I finally got around to finishing my Snow book: 

Below are some detail images:

I do love snow when it is fresh, deep and white! We had a second heavy snow load just before Christmas, and to start of the New Year we had a dusting of snow! I have decided to start a photo blog this year, to try and record at least one item daily - well, we will see how well I manage that, but I aim to share my slant on the world around me as I see it through the lense of my camera, please take a look - day one, and I have photos to share:        http://realmofvision.blogspot.com/

I hope to find myself again this year, and find time to be creative for myself........so, Happy New Year to you all, may 2010 bring you all you desire. x x x