Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

If you google wacky holidays you will almost certainly be able to find a holiday for any particular day of the year.   Today is no exception because it is Inspire Your Heart With Art Day.  It also happens to be the birthday of a friend of mine who is an art teacher so, although we haven't seen each other much lately, I thought it would be nice to make her a card for her birthday and for the "holiday" of the day.

She is a nature-lover so I knew that I wanted to add a bird and this new stamp set - Take it to Heart provided me with an image with a bird in a heart.  How perfect!  I stamped it in Basic Gray onto Naturals White cs and then used my aqua painter and ink to watercolor it.  I have no idea what bird this is supposed to be so I stuck with browns.  On the background I used a number of stamps from Creative Elements.  I colored in the viney one with my SU markers and sponged the edges of the panel with Marina Mist ink.  

That blue flower happened to be on my work station for a while and I'm glad that I finally found a place to put it.  It's stamped in Not Quite Navy on Marina  Mist cs. I popped up both images adding some Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose ribbons underneath and on the side.  

This was a lot of fun to "Create" and certainly did inspire my heart.  Happy Birthday Friend!

Sunday Zentangle 1-29-12

Happy Birthday Chickadee!

I hope you get this before you see it here.  And I hope you have a wonderful day!  Maybe those chillies will have brought YOU some candy today.  

Jingle Belles JB12:02 - Sketching Through the Snow

Yes, it's a sketch challenge this time, brought to us by the lovely Kirsty Vittetoe at Homemade Little Things.  

I must admit that I was thrown a bit, not by the sketch in general, but by what looks to me like a butterfly.  I kept trying to look past that to put Christmas in it and it really was challenging.  I guess you could say that I was trying not to interpret it too literally.  So I pondered what I would like in that focal point.  And I pondered.  And I pondered.  (Strange word "pondered" - I digress, it's late.)  Then I started scrounging around on my worktable to see what I might have going that I could use.  

I spotted a couple of die cut doilies that I had been playing around with using the new SU doily die.  It was too big for the card - drat.  

But then I saw it.  I saw how I could cut it up and make, not a butterfly with wings, but an angel.  I die cut a brand new one out of Shimmer paper and then mounted it on Glossy White cs.  The center of the die became the head which I covered with a punched circle and then a jumbo sticky pearl.  The halo is just another circle of the same size mounted in the halo position. 

I used metallic gold paper for the card base (which unfortunately is showing up mustardy in these pictures), embossing the sentiment in gold also.  The "stringy" ribbon is something I found in the holiday ribbon section at Michael's back in November or December when they were on sale.  The floral paper is again something that I picked up at Mike's just because it looked so pretty with the gold and silver metallic highlights.  

I tried to achieve some balance by adding the white punched lace border and the pearls.  Don't know if I'll get a second card made for this challenge, but at least I have one to show for it.

I peeked in the gallery and there are quite a few pretties there!  Click here to check it out.  

Sunday Zentangle 1-22-12

If I turn it on the side can you see the bird?

Throwing in one more picture for the week.  A parent brought me this little flower arrangement on Tuesday to thank me for helping her daughter after she missed the bus one day.  It's sitting on top of a Tiffany box that held a mug and was given to me by one of our teachers whose sister is in marketing and was cleaning out her closets.  Please ignore the rest of the mess in the background.  That is my "flea market" desk!

Saturday Snow Day

Our first "winter" snow.  We had a snowstorm in October - still the fall.  This time the trees were ready for it.  And so were the bird feeders.  These were taken through the kitchen window while it was still snowing so they may appear a little gray.

This woodpecker had the responsibility of dropping some of that suet cake as he was picking at it for the birds that were waiting underneath.

Then he heard something that made him fly off.

It was the Blue Jay come to take his share.

While the cardinal not-so-patiently waited in the tree for his turn.

Oh, but he wouldn't be alone.  A junco came to take his turn.

Enough, said the cardinal and off the junco flew.

Just as well.  Look who also came looking for some seed.

Can you find 7 deer?  From the window I actually counted 14 in the yard, but there are seven visible in this picture if you look very closely.

Teapot Tuesday 181

What a wacky teapot, huh!  She's definitely doing the "I'm a little teapot dance" but what about that bird???  Crazy!  But fun too, don't you think?  I think that might be the elusive boobie bird.  And speaking of boobies.......

We've been instructed to be funny this week.  Our destination is a young lady who loves to giggle.  Well, just looking at this teapot would give her a giggle I think.  But I took my cue from the patterns in the black and white dress and found a bird of my own.  Not the elusive boobie bird, but then again, if you look carefully you might see three sets of boobies. 

With the sentiment from Word Play that says "Laughter by definition is healthy" I had to do something to try to get a laugh, so I put the front panel on upside-down deliberately so the card opens on the top.

And on the inside I stamped this................

What's sdoo you say?   It's actually OOPS upside-down.  Well, if she doesn't laugh out loud I hope she at least smiles! 

Time to go check out the gallery.  Click here to join me.