Pumpkin Fairy Pennant

Pumpkin Fairy Pennant

It's Gothic Arches' 2 year anniversary and they're offering several challenges and one of them is the Gothic Arch Pennant - Challenge #4 that spoke to me. I used a fairy off my Halloween II Collage sheet for it.

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Home is Where the Heart is!

This week I'm hosting the Gothic Arch challenge.

The theme I chose is

"Home is where the heart is."

Please feel free to join the challenge and fun just

click the link above and download a template to use.

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Gothic Arch

This week's Gothic Arch theme is an Open theme. I created a mermaid theme which is a favorite of mine!

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Gothic Arch Challenge

This week's Gothic Arch theme is Rainbow inspired...we were suppose to choose 2 colors from the rainbow, but I couldn't resist using more then two....well truth be told I was naughty and didn't read the challenge all the way through :::sheepish grin::: I just bought some fun paper clips and thumb tacks from Staples to use in my art. I was thrilled to find a use so quickly for them!

I took a picture of both the paper clips and push pins to show you. Staples has a fun selection of office supplies that can be used in your art so check it out the next time you go there.

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Springtime!

Yet another Gothic Arch....Spring is the challenge for this week!

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Gothic Arch

This week's Gothic Arch challenge is Mother & Child.

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Gothic Arch and The Partridge Family!

It's been awhile since I participated in the Gothic Arch challenge. This week's theme is Pink & Brown which I couldn't resist.
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(click to enlarge)
I've had more fun making these paper birdies! I made a template and cut them out then painted their faces on. I'm not really sure yet what I'm going to do with them I started out making them for someone, but now I can't part with them! For some reason when I look at them they remind me of the Partridge Family intro....I know, I know I'm dating myself and I'll even go as far as admitting I was one of five million other little girls in love with David Cassidy!...come on now fess up I can't be the only one!

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Gothic Mermaid

I'm slippin' in my piece for this week's Mermaid themed Gothic Arch Challenge , enjoy!

Gothic Joy!

Hey blogger friends I was hoping to have more art posted sooner, but you know how real life has a way of getting in the way, especially when chaos has a way of rearing it's crazy head the kids are home for the summer! The theme is still "anything goes" for the Gothic Arch Challenge while it's on a little break. Here's my entry for this week. I used deli paper and Color Mists for the background along with some rub-ons and of course I couldn't resist using more of my colored paper flowers . The bird I downloaded from the following wonderful site: http://www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Christmas/Christmas.html

if you haven't visited this site it's chockful of freebie templates!

Best laid plans of a Gothic arch...

I was excited to see the theme for the Gothic Arch Challenge was anything goes. Since it's been warm here my muse immediately thought of a beach theme.

I dug through my stash and found a background I had already started (I like to start backgrounds and then put them away to use down the road). I had used a piece of off white weathered paint paper from OTM's pastel paper pack (it's hard to tell but the pack really does have some cool papers that can be further colored and altered) and then used chalk inks and inked around the shape of a bird sticker and then removed it.

I decided I just had to play with the glass bead medium again, so I created some faux sand using it. See my process below:

Faux Sand

Add glass medium in a small container

Add 1 drop of 2 Drops of Nickel Azo Gold, 2 drops of iridescent Copper (light), 1 drop of Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, mix well.

Add extra fine iridescent glam glitter as desired and mix well again.

Spread peanut butter looking mixture onto card.

I added a piece of bamboo trim I found and cut the end to fit.

Embed small shells into wet mixture and allow to dry.

Finished Arch!

Here's the saga story of my arch...

As I began using the glue stick on the back of the image the glue was a bit too sticky and I it just ripped her head right off her body...yep, I had a headless beach babe LOL shoot, I thought I really wanted to use this Vintage Beach Babe image! Then I thought hey, I'll just add another head from a bird or something like that...yep that sounded good! Off I went to go through my bird images and then I got ready to print out my sheet of heads, and for two days I tried to get that sheet to print...nada! There was some kind of corruption problem between the software and the printer. Dang it! I thought, I just want to finish this piece! So early this morning as I was sitting there caffeine deprived waiting for my coffee to be done. I had a brainstorm looking down seeing the head staring up at me and then the flowers, and the piece FINALLY came together Whoo-hoo!

Send in the Clowns!

Ahh finally some art time! This week's Gothic arch challenge theme is "Clowns". I have to say this all went together fairly easily since I had the background already half started and just happened to come across the clown image already cut out in my box of fairy making paraphernalia.

The wording on the card in the background reads "10 reasons to smile" which I thought was appropriate for the theme and image I used.

Put your own flourish on things...

This week's Gothic Arch challenge is Flourishes so in the process of making my challenge this week I got to thinking how the altered artist in me can't help but come out. I tend to look for things that are versatile where I can put my own flourish on things so to speak or alter it if you will to what I need at the time.

Recently I was gifted by my buddy Kris with some fun paper flowers. Of course I couldn't just leave them as is so I misted them using my Color Mists using Copper Kettle , Monterey Bay and 22 karat gold . I then dried them with my heat gun and watched them puff back up which was very cool!

Here they are all dried .....if you click on the picture you might be able to see their shimmer.

Check out the paper beneath the flowers I sprayed them on, I thought it turned out very cool looking it will go in my stash to use later.

Next I decided to ink the edges with chalk inks (love chalk inks because they dry so quickly, I think they're would probably be one of those supplies for me that I wouldn't want to be without them, I use them that much!). I then added some rub-on flowers to the centers of the paper flowers. Along with the flowers I altered I also altered the chipboard letter "B" by adding inks and rub-ons and also the bird, it was originally light aqua and I used brown chalk inks on it to change it's color. So the moral of this long winded post is don't be afraid to add your own touch to embellishments.

Happy Altering!

Viva la France!

Here's this week's Gothic arch challenge the theme is Viva La France. I used a Vintage French wine label for my background.

Lottery and Challenge

This week's Gothic Arch challenge is Chair.

To all the wonderful and supportive people from the Gothic Arch challenge and others you've been very kind to go out of your way to take time to look and leave comments here

THANK YOU!

This month's lottery theme

is making fun of "Men" this seemed appropriate.

I'm so glad GI JOE didn't mind posing for me

to use him on this over-sized tag ;-)

Gothic Arch Garden Fairy

This week's Gothic Arch theme is Garden Fairy. For my base I used cold press watercolor paper sprayed with my Color Mists , I then stamped with white gesso. The fairy I pieced together since she didn't have legs and added the dress from some tag board dresses I've had for awhile waiting to use them on something.

Gothic Arch Challenge

I've been continually inspired by my friend Karen Owen's entries for the Gothic Arch Challenges, so I finally took the plunge and created my first Gothic Arch challenge for the theme My Doll and Me. Here's my first Gothic arch piece (my apologies for the blurriness, I probably should have used the digital camera since my scanner doesn't do 3D well).