PROUD MAMA

Today I am going to share the card I made for a very special occasion today.  Today is my eldest son's 3rd Anniversary of being clean and sober.  I am so proud of him.  He is only 22 years old.  He has been growing and changing for the better since, and this year especially he has made some great strides, moving to his own apartment with a friend.   He shares his story at meetings, has chaired meetings and done a lot in AA and has made some wonderful friends that are also living right.  It has also been a good example for my younger son who once told me during Robert's active addiction...'Don't worry Mommy, when I get to be a teenager I won't put you through what Robert put US through.' 

I chose sketch #381 from Mojo Monday.

 

I normally only do an outside, but tonite I am going to share the inside as well.

 

 





 

I am also entering this into Sketches4all Stacy's January 2015 Card Challenge - Something Blue or New and Word Art Wednesday challenge #167 Anything Goes.

 

And, I have another reason to be proud...I have been selected to be on the Design Team of Soul Scrappers.

 

 

 I will be sharing my first challenge on February 2nd.  My topic will be Using Up Scraps.  Hope that you will play along.

 

 

 



A BIT OF ART JOURNALING, QUOTES AND A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE GREAT ROBIN WILLIAMS

Over the last few weeks I have created a few art journal pages.  2 of them I had done the backgrounds and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but now they are completed and ready to share...

The first uses this great diecut eye that was an advertisement I picked up at a museum I went to last summer. The background was started with coloring my page randomly with acrylic paints which I dripped on, spread with a credit card and smeared with my fingers.  I added some Glitter Mists which gave it some nice sparkle. I then took my favorite choice for molding paste - DryDex spackle and a few different templates and went around the page randomly with those.  It worked out great as some of it remained white and some picked up some of the color from the inks.  Then for more added texture I added dry wall tape.  

I added the diecut and then a thought with chipboard letters which I traced around with my favorite black Pitt pen to really have them jump off the page.

My next page was done with several Adirondack Spray Color Washes.  I also sprayed with water and lifted the journal upright and upside down to get some interesting drips.  The other day I finally found a quote I wanted to add to it which I did with my favorite black Pitt Pen.

And finally, the last one I am sharing was done with a variety of acrylic paints spread around with a credit card.  Then I splattered two other colors randomly on top.  I really liked the color combo and didn't know what I was going to do with it. This week the world was rocked with the news of Robin Williams suicide.  He was such an amazing performer - he could do comedy, he could do drama, he could do it all.  I don't think I saw anything with him in it, from the television series Mork and Mindy, to the films Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and of course Hook (which I saw almost daily for several months when my youngest son was really young) that I didn't love.  I also suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and have often had suicidal ideation.  It is a very hard place to be.  Even when you realize how much you have to live for - your loving family, children, friends, and in this case a large public following and lots of fans that demon called depression is a powerful one. The pain is devastating, often far greater than physical pain as it hits you mentally and spiritually and then it adds physical dimensions of fatigue, migraines and more. Often you see no way out. Or worse - you see death as the only way out.  I found a quote on humor by Langston Hughes and added this to my page in memory of a man that made me laugh and made me cry on several occasions who shared that demon of depression that I too suffer with.  I pray for his family who are certainly the most gravely affected by this.  He will surely be missed for a long long time and will live on through his films, tapes of his stand up comedy, quotes and more.  This demon stole a great man from this world.  If you or anyone you know begins to exhibit any of the signs of depression please do something to try and get them help. Whether they will admit they are depressed or not, when it's someone you are close too you will surely recognize those subtle signs if you truly listen...and that is what we need to do for our loved ones...REALLY listen.  

I am submitting these pages for Anything Goes challenge #145 at Word Art Wednesday, Outlaw Women Artists Art Journaling, 4 Crafty Chicks challenge #207 Pink, Turquoise and Lime and Flying Unicorn Mid Month Mixed Media challenge.

Thank you for stopping by.  Let me know you stopped by and leave a short comment.  All comments are greatly appreciated.

LOVING THE LEAVES

For the Colorful Creations Favorite Things challenge this month you needed to do a layout about something you love about Fall or a Favorite Fall Activity.  I love to watch the changing colors of the leaves and to take rides to see how they have changed.  Being a few hours south of where I used to live, the leaves don't change quite as fast, in fact they are only getting started now.  I wasn't able to get photos of any of the actual leaves but I took a few more of the October photos of me and Michael and put them on a wonderful patterned paper of fall leaves and also accented them by putting some silk leaves on pop dots which I added some sheen to with Perfect Pearls. I distressed the edges of everything with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.  The instructions also were to use warm Fall colors of brown, red, yellow and orange. To create the layout I started with Creative Scrappers Sketch #252.

The Sketch:

I finished it off with some twine and lots of orange bling.  I am also entering this layout in Top Tip Tuesday challenge #113 about the Seasons, Pink Elephant challenge TPE223 for Distressing, Party Time Tuesday #144 Anything Goes, Divas by Design Use some Orange, and Word Art Wednesday #104 Anything Goes.

My Layout:

I am also going to link up at Link up #4 with The Memory Nest.

I have a real crazy day today - layouts to finish, challenges to prepare for November, errands, laundry and getting some odds and ends for my son for Halloween.  So I am off and running.  Have an awesome day and thanks for dropping by.

GREETINGS TO START THE WEEK!

Happy Monday!  Tonite I am working on cards.  The first one I created was for challenge #245 at Flutterby Wednesday using a sketch and butterflies.  I used the color palette from Party Time Tuesdays PTT125 and the repeating shape circles for Shopping Our Stash challenge #106 Geometric Shapes.  Also submitting this one to Word Art Wednesday challenge #85 Anything Goes  and Colorful Creations Creative Monthly Project Using Shapes.

The sketch:

The color palette:

My card:

My next card uses sketch #211-122 from Sweet Sketch Wednesday and the color palette #31 from Sunnyide Up Creations.

The sketch:

The color palette:

My card:

So now it's off to bed for me!  Thanks for stopping by again tonite.  Sweet dreams.

SPECTACULAR SATURDAY!

Today was a wonderfully productive day.  I went to a crop in Maryland with my friend Maraline and was able to complete 5 cards and 1 layout.  And here they are for your viewing pleasure:

Card #1 - Always Playing with Paper Merry Monday Challenge #66

Card #2 - Mojo Monday Sketch #297, Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #214 color palette

Card #3 - Sweet Sunday Sketch #186, The Color Room Palette #152,

Card #4 - Shabby Tea Room #170, Paper Secrets June Card Sketch, Word Art Wednesday #84

USING BLUE, PINK, WHITE (OR CREAM) AND FLOWERS

Card #5 - Kaboodle Doodle #175, Get Inky Challenge #6, Use It Tuesday #57 - usingpaper scraps, an old stamp and rhinestones, Tuesday Morning Sketches #202, Tuesday Throwdown #151

Layout #1 - Come and Get It Challenges Sweet Summer Hues, Page Drafts Be Bold, Colorful Creations Plus Challenge

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope that you are enjoying your weekend.  All comments happily welcomed.