It's been a long, long time....

Ok.. so I can admit.. I let this blog go and haven't been here in what seems like forever. Life took charge and left me with little time to grab the computer and share the love :) I do want to change that. My art has grown leaps and bounds from the few examples I did manage to get on here! I'm learning to relax and "let go" and just let what's inside flow on the pages before me.

Over the past year I've spent a lot of time discovering various artists on You Tube and in blogs, etc that I'm not loyally following. I have my favorites and really admire some of the work being done out there! In time I hope to have links to their blogs and/or You Tube channels so anyone who happens upon my blog can enjoy their talents as well. It's all about sharing the love, right?

Enough of my babble. Maybe 2012 will be the year I turn the corner and let ART lead for a while :)

Pretty Little Boxes

I finally got this done!! My friends, Barrie & Carol at www.scrapadabadoo.blogspot.com put out a little challenge with a template to make up a box and this is my creation. Recently I bought some glimmer mist from Tattered Angels and wanted to see if I could use the mist as well as a Tim Holtz mask I had and was glad to see it turned out pretty darned cute. I also misted the lace with GM Old Lace so it would have a sparkle. Bummer it doesn't show in the picture so much... but I'm sure you get the idea. I also used some white Prima flowers and painted them with the glimmer mist.

I originally wanted to make a box in a box... in a box... idea but my printer has been a little stubborn lately and just wouldn't let me print as I wanted. I'm not sure what I'll do with the box... I was thinking I'd send it to my mom for Mother's Day with a gift card to her favorite restaurant so she can go out to eat.

My good friend Leslie also did the box challenge and you HAVE TO go check hers out!! She had a fantastic idea and crackled it! I absolutely love her design!! Here's a link to her blog entry : http://lesliecran.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/time-to-catch-up-and-a-little-rak/ Leslie is a very talented artist and does the most amazing things with mixed medium art!! You'll definitely want to spend some time looking over her other entries at all her amazing projects!!

Ok folks... it's off to dreamland for this gal. I have a few more projects I need to post as well as a page I made with the Tim Holtz die I won. I really should get better at this blogging craze!!

OMG I WON!!!

I can't believe it! I never win anything but today I did!! I made my way over to Scrapadabadoo's blog this morning and low and behold... there was a video posted of Barrie pulling a name from the fish bowl and I almost fainted when she read my name!! I got up and started to Fudderwack immediately!! (think Alice and Wonderland)

I was blessed to meet Barrie and Carol from Scrapadabadoo.com and joined their blog... and on their blog they were giving away this new die from Tim Holtz that he signed at CHA. How cool is that!! Barrie and Carol are the sweetest ladies ever! I have been a fan of Marion Smith for quite some time (thanks to my niece Stephanie) and have been enjoying her classes on her website and for Prima. During those classes we all get to chatting and that's where I've gotten to know Barrie and Carol better. It's such a great time and I even made an amazing friend in Leslie Morgan Cranwill on there too!! You sooo have to check out Leslie's work too! She is so talented! (I'll post her blog address in another post)

I'll have to make sure I put something together from the die as soon as I get it and post it for all to see! I'm so excited! I love Tim Holtz's work too! In this past year I have felt my artistic heart explode with inspiration from Tim, Marion, Carol, Leslie, Stephanie, Barrie.... oh heck so many to name... and not to mention some of the other work I've looked at through You Tube and links from blog to blog to blog. I'm so glad I've found something that lets me explore the images that come to mind as I live each day!! I wish I could spend every day scrapping and creating!

Stop by Scrapadabadoo.com and their blog at www.scrapadabadoo.blogspot.com/ and check out Barrie and Carol's store and creations!! Um... and by the way, that's Barrie in the video with her newly done nails :)

A Mini for Mom

So it took me a little bit longer than I thought to find the pictures I had taken of this mini. This was my very first mini album "from scratch." I had done a few kits I'd picked up from Michaels that were in a tin or a small little book that was all pre-made pretty much. I look back at those (that I thought I rocked at) and think... wow.. this looks like a little kid made them! :)

This mini started as a way for me to try some techniques I had seen online. The holidays were quickly approaching at the time and I had wanted to do something special for my mom. So... it is what it is :) It's hard when our parents get older to get them something they don't already have! So anyhow... knowing now, what I didn't know then.. I hope she was able to add photo's ok to the open pages because I glued those flowers down like there was no tomorrow!

Anyhow... as always, all comments are welcome! I have a few more older projects yet to post and also the latest mini I just finished from a kit.

Made for Moe

My friend Maureen is crazy about her nephew Jacoby so for Christmas I thought it would be neat to make a mini album for her so she could have it on her desk at work to show off her little sweetheart. I asked her to email me a few photo's of Jacoby and told her "no questions asked." Here are some photo's of the mini. I'm sure in time I'll figure out how to put up a slide show or something more fancy :) but for now... this is what you get. It was easy to make this album with such a gorgeous little face as it's subject!!

Oh and don't mind the whole "taking a photo on the lap" effect ... I did one of those "oh no! I didn't take any pictures of the album!!" .... needless to say there are a few of my projects I don't have pictures of that I wish I had!

First post

Drum roll please.... I am now officially part of the crowd! Look at me! I have a blog! I must have sat here for half an hour trying to figure out what to name my blog. I wanted a cool name... a creative name. Do you know how hard it was not to put "Brenda the Blogger" or "Blogging with Brenda" simply because of my name? (hmm.. I'm thinking they are already taken anyhow) Well.... I think I'm happy with what I finally decided on... feel free to comment with your input. :)

I hope to have a fair amount of time to keep up with this blog and post my projects as I finish them. Working two jobs and raising my children takes up a great deal of time... but I have faith that I'll find a good balance.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy!