Short and Sweet

I went to visit my daughter at Texas A&M over the weekend, because I had a students' parent meeting to attend.  It was a very informative meeting, and I had a marvelous time visiting with my daughter.  Therefore, my studio time was curtailed, and I only have a few pieces to share in this post.

This masculine greeting card was loosely inspired by the Tim Holtz card on the Ranger Blog and his new Picture Wheel die cut, which I purchased over the weekend.  Yeah!  I began the background of the Inkssentials ATC, by dragging different colors of acrylic paint onto it.  Next, I created the coin embellishment by stamping the image on cardstock, embossing it, staining it, spreading some Crackle Accents over it, and cutting it out when it was dry.  When the ATC was dry, I stamped some other coins and used various Distress products/tools to finish the background.  Then, I decorated it with the mailbox letter, a Tim Holtz license plate sticker, baker's twine, and my coin.  I layered the ATC over a distressed cardstock print and a distressed cardboard picture wheel.  I am submitting this greeting card to Simon Says Stamp and Show: Background and Crazy Amigo Challenge - Backgrounds.

The art journal page above was inspired by several sources.  First of all, Jenn, at the Artist's Play Room #53, challenged the artists participating to use a color combo they liked and name it.  I did a little research into color meanings, and found that Green stands for "growth, harmony and nature," while pink stands for "unconditional love, nurturing and compassion."  Since I liked these qualities, I decided to go with this combination, which I'm naming "Verdi-Rosea."  I used these colors on the hand painted papers that I used to make my heart, as well as for the page detailing.  My journaling is an excerpt from Jeremiah 15:16, which was featured at WAW last week, so I'm submitting this piece to Word Art Wednesday #76.  I'm not crazy over the resemblance of the pen self-portrait sketch, but considering I did it in less than 15 minutes, it's not terrible.  I am also submitting this page to the Twenty Minute Challenge, What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 202, Paint Party Friday - Week 6 Year 3, Sunday Sketches, and Paper Saturdays.

Although not literal, the photograph above features another self portrait in the form of an assemblage.  I staged my photograph in an area in my studio where I have a vintage globe and typewriter.  The latter represent my traditional values and global views, as well as my love for writing and dreams to travel around the world.  The books represent my love of reading, especially the Bible which is prominently sitting on top.  Finally, I added one each of 3 different pairs of boots I own, to represent my eclectic nature.  The Western boot represents my family's ranching roots, the preppy boot represents my private school rearing, and the green Doc boots represent my artsy persona.  I am submitting this photograph to the 52 Photos Project: Gallery 52 {Self Portrait}, Orange You Glad It's Friday #34, and Mandarin Orange Monday #38.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute that I spent in my studio.  Although not much, I want to dedicate this post to the victims and families of the Boston bombing, as well as my Bostonian friends.  May the peace of the Lord be with them.