Some Christmas Candids

Beautiful Beau in his Santa hat ... not really into hats it seems, he couldn't wait to get it off his head and into his mouth.

Nearly there ... I want that pompom!

Got it!

Finally, got it off!

Now I can relax ... someone thinks they're king of the bed!

Ferg & Di

Dad (Opa to Alexis) & Sylvia

Mum (Oma) & Alexis

Sister Sylvia & Dave (DH)

Brother David

Niece Alexis ... what a cutey-pie.

Oooh, there's presents under the tree ... Alexis discovers that Santa's been to visit.

Don't you just love the sparkles on my toes ... a gift from my beautician.

I love this time of the year, when the trees on our property lose their bark and the colour underneath is so fresh and vibrant.

Another day comes to a close.

"Each moment of the year has its own beauty ... a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Italian Renaissance

I started and finished my Italian Renaissance ATCs today for a swap through the Advanced Artist Trading Cards UK Yahoo Group because it was such a hot day today (39 degrees celsius I believe) and I just wanted to stay in my air-conditioned office instead of being outdoors.

I had so much fun making these ATCs ... I think the messier and dirtier I get the more fun I have. The image I chose is a painting by Antonio Pisanello called Portrait of Ginerva d'Este (1433-1438) that I found through Google Images to be on a page dedicated to "Head Taping". So the title of my card is "In Fashion - Head Taping" and then I used a free translator on the net to convert it into Italian and it became "Alla Moda - taping dei capelli". Now, I am not sure if the words or grammar are correct, but I think for the purposes of this card it'll do.

So in accordance with the Head Taping theme, I covered an arch shaped ATC in masking tape as my first layer, then painted with red and yellow ochre. I stamped a couple of definitions stamps of "original" and "create" in black and painted over this in a ruby glaze paint. Next layer is copper glaze paint dabbed onto sequin waste in various spots. I stuck down my words and embossed a flourish arch that covered the entire card in Alison Ellis Design Antique Sand embossing powder.

To finish off I inked the edges and a bit of the embossing with Timber Brown StazOn, added the german scrap and the image that had been painted with Crackle Medium.

I have to say I didn't have to wait long for each layer to dry ... in this heat I barely need to use a heat gun to melt the embossing powder ... ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
~Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Italian Painter and Sculptor~

The Lovely Kate Crane ...

The very talented and lovely Kate Crane in the UK has awarded me a blogging award titled "One Lovely Blog Award" ... thanks so much Kate, I love all those little pictures running down my blog sidebar. You can visit Kate's blog here - http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/ - there's some delectable art eye candy on this site for sure.

Like other blog awards, to keep them alive you pass onto 7 other bloggers. I love and visit regularly so many blogs and find it's so difficult to choose just 7 so feel free to click on any of the blogs I have in my list to the right of this post.

If any of you bloggers that are in my list are reading this post, please feel free to use this image on your own blog as I pass it on to you. I know some of you don't believe in accepting these awards, but as Kate said in her post it doesn't stop me offering it to you and if you want to feel free to pass onto 7 others that might like to receive this award.

While I'm on the subject of Kate, I just have to share with you the Christmas ATC she sent me. I am in loooovvveee with this card and keep looking at it daily, in fact it sits on a miniature wooden easel in front of my computer so I can see it all the time ... pride of place. There are so many layers to the background paint job, I can't stop trying to figure out how she's done it all. Anyway, I know I've already sent Kate a thank you email when I received the card, but I'm going to say thanks again because I can't believe she sent it to me after admiring it on her blog ... thanks so much Kate, you're so lovely and I'm treasuring this miniature artwork you've sent to me.

"Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together."
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German Poet/Dramatist/Novelist~

Bernie Berlin ATC Workshop #5 Swap ... more

My very first attempt at Bernie Berlin's Transfer Technique was a bit daunting initially because I just couldn't get the image to "transfer". Let me tell you that Epson gloss photo paper allows the ink to "stick" too well and the image just won't come off, no matter how hard you burnish it, whether with gel medium or onto watercolour paper with water. I dug around my office and managed to find a cheap no-name brand of photo paper and when I stuck it onto the wet watercolour paper, the ink just just came right off and transferred the image. Of course, I couldn't get the amount of water on the watercolour paper quite right so the images either ran too much or were too light ... either way, I'm pretty happy with the fact that my transfers kind of look like the image I started with.

Here's a couple of the ATCs that I'll be sending to Tammy in the US tomorrow as part of the ATC_World swap - the first one you can see the image has bled a bit and the second one you can see is fairly light and then I've added the original picture...

An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.
~Charles Horton Cooley, 1864-1929, American Sociologist~

Bernie Berlin ATC Workshop #5 Swap

I've finished a couple of ATCs for the next instalment of the Bernie Berlin Artist Trading Card Workshop swap through ATC_World. This time the techniques to be done are Fun Foam, Tissue Paper and Transfers. I have yet to tackle the transfers but here are the others.

Tissue Paper

Fun Foam

Nobody will believe in you unless you believe in yourself.
~Liberace, 1919-1987, American Pianist and Entertainer~

Wacky Chairs Swap

I finished my ATCs for the Weird and Wacky Chairs swap through the PaperArts Yahoo Group and sent them off on 22nd December. I made 11 of these and loved making them, although I was a bit over cutting out the little lantern part of the Genie. The background is painted with Making Memories Glaze paint in Emerald Green and then I've sprayed with a bronze glimmer mist and also a black glimmer mist that I dabbed off a bit so it wasn't too dark. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but there's a mist of Kindy Glitz rising out of the lantern and some embossing in the background with Lime Green and the Tim Holtz coffee cup stain stamp to add a bit of texture.

I love doing swaps with the PaperArts group because the quality of work is phenomenal and it has helped me improve so much. I can't wait to meet some of the members at the retreat next year.

Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers. ~William Penn, 1644-1718, British Religious Leader and Founder of Pennsylvania~

Merry Christmas ...

Where did the year go? Suddenly it is December ...... AGAIN ...... Christmas Day no less ..... and we realise that with giant strides we started in January and within a blink of an eye, 2008 is almost over!

A big "Thank You” for your friendship, mateship, laughs, creations and memories during 2008. Without you, I'm sure that 2008 would have been extremely boring.

I wish you all a magical festive Season filled with loving wishes and beautiful thoughts. May 2009 mark the beginning of a tidal wave of love, happiness and bright futures and I hope you get all that you wish for in the year to come.

And to those who want someone special, may you find true love;
To those who need money, may your finances overflow;
To those who need caring, may you find a good heart;
To those that are unwell, may you find health and happiness;
To those who need friends, may you meet lovely people;
Should you be driving during this time.....please take care and stay safe! And please if you win Lotto, remember who wrote this lovely note - "ho, ho, ho".

Merry Christmas and a have a wonderful and prosperous New Year!

So remember while December brings the Christmas Day, in the year, let there be Christmas in the things you do and say. Wouldn't life be worth the living? Wouldn't dreams be coming true? If we kept the Christmas spirit all the whole year through?
~ Anonymous ~