Sail Boat Thank You Greeting

Today I'm sharing with you a sail boat themed thank-you greeting card that I made for this month's Unity Be Inspired Challenge. 

I based my design on the card sketch provided for the challenge. The circular element had be a little worried, as I only have one size of circle punch, so any other circles would look 'wonky'...but then I thought, Why not just make them all 'wonky?!'  It took awhile for me to finally piece everything together in a way that I quite liked, I feel that it turned out very well. 

I really like how it ended up looking like the boat was sailing with the sun behind it. The Unity stamp sets that I used were: June Epic Moments SMAK kit, Sail Away kit and the Imagine, Create and Inspire Stamp Set. I also used paper from Glitz's Uncharted Waters (Love all the designs in this collection!), some white embossing powder and some alphabet washi tape. 

I used little 'bump-up' stickers to give this card crazy and beautiful dimension, and really make everything, literally 'pop' :)

My First Official Gallery Showing!

These two lovelies of mine were sent on their way to a gallery in Alliston, Ontario yesterday. They are going to be part of a special art show, showcasing women and agriculture. I come from a dairy farm background, so it is not unusual that some of my paintings have showcased fields / nature. 

They specifically requested these two paintings, Stormy Highway and Delicate. Others were listed in their request, but they had since been sold. Both of these paintings are 12x12", and painted in oils.

I'm very much hoping to visit the gallery while they are showing. This will be the first time that my artwork has been officially displayed in a gallery, and it's just way too exciting! Definitely a big step :)

Lazy Sunny Days

I spent the only sunny and warm day this past weekend on an old duvet lying on my lawn soaking up the sun with dear Oreo while I was nursing my ankle - can't do anything else, so may as well lie in the sunshine! :)  He 100% embraced the fact that he could not only lie outside, but on a comfy duvet as well.

You can't see it, but he does have a harness on. Yes, yes I know I know...crazy cat lady and all. Being that I'm somewhat incapable of chasing after a cat if he spots the neighbourhood feline 'friend', I wanted to be sure he couldn't get too far on his own if he made a dash for it.

This Sprain is a Pain

Late last week, I sprained my ankle going through a small hiking path behind my house, and I slipped / tripped on a bunch of loose rocks / branches and hurt my ankle. Of course, first thought since I could not put any weight on it at all was that it was broken. Luckily, it is just a 1-2 degree sprain - so slight ligament tear, but not full - Phew! Still, that being said, I am hobbling around on crutches and trying to get better asap so that I can get back to work at the hospital.

When people say things get worse before they get better, they are usually right. Above is my ankle the day after my dance with the trail: it was super swollen, but not too colourful.

Now: it's turning more vividly purple by the day, although I am able to walk around without crutches in the house; it is still a hobbling battle. Isn't it a lovely purple though? I think I would like it and appreciate the colour more if it was not a bruise on my foot.

On My Bookshelf Lately

I thought I'd take some time today to share some of the books that I have read in the past month, or so, with you. Let me warn you, the genre of these books are all over the map. I like everything, and so some books are just fluff (which are perfect for after a rough day at work), and some make you think a little bit more.

The first book, The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins was an interesting read. It is simplified science - and having gone to school for science, it was a bit of a repeat. But it had funny statements, and little facts that I never really thought about, and some of the topics did make me just stop reading and ponder if for a little bit. I especially enjoyed the subjects relating to space, as having studied biological / medical sciences, I didn't touch very much on astronomy.

Next we have, The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory. This is the author who wrote, The Other Boyleyn Girl. I love reading her books - as do I love watching all the movies about the royal families (whether they are true, or solely based on fiction).  This book was not directly about a women who ruled, the main character - Jacquetta, is a married into the position of 'Lady'. There is a lot of politics in this book, but my favourite part I would have to say is the touch of magic that is introduced - especially since this is a time when magic was not something people took lightly. 

The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood, take place in a distant (but maybe not too distant) future. It is the story of a society which has reached a sort of 'utopian' standard, but to have achieved that, not everyone can benefit from it. There are the very, very sociably high, and then the very, very sociably low. There seems to not have much of a middle class anymore. The higher side of society keeps playing with genetic mutations - trying to better everything, taking chances they probably should not. On the lower side, is a group called 'The Gardeners'. They believe that a sort of flood will come and cleanse the world again, a dry flood - since it was promised in their remaining literature (their Bible), that the world would not be flooding with water again. Everyone is controlled by a corporate government, but of course, this corporate government gives everyone the 'idea' that they are free - but they are just so easily bought off. 

The last book I'm going to share with you today is, Dead Ever After, by Charlaine Harris. This book is the last instalment in the Sookie Stackhouse series - which the HBO television series 'True Blood' is loosely - so very loosely - based off of. I did very much enjoy the earlier books of this series, but must say I was sad how the last 2-3 books were. I do fully enjoy the television series, and I must admit I'm happy that they have branched off from the book series earlier on, because that means I just get that much more story out of it. And now that this series has ended, and I see how she has ended it - I really hope it continues to branch of. In this story, all the loose ties are knotted. There is still some wit in the writing, but not as much of the 'romance' of the earlier novels. Everyone sort of makes one last appearance, and I suppose I'll admit - as much as I did not like how it ended, at least it ended. It wasn't some fuzzy ending where you are not quite sure what might happen. It's a very black and white ending.   

So that's some of what I read in the past month or so. Of the four, I'd say 'The Lady of the Rivers' was my favourite! 

Dancing Shoes

Just a quick 'Hello' before the weekend! I wanted to share with you this little tag I made for a celebration with friends. The 'legs' are from a full-sized girl stamp, but since she is far from fitting on a tag, I just used the part that went best with the sentiment "Put Your Dancing Shoes On"

I embossed the sentiment, and then used red glitter for the heels - since red heels are just too much fun! I think I might just be sporting hot pink ones this weekend...still thinking of outfit choices, hehe. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Unity stamps used: Fashionista stamp (Claire), SMAK kit (April 2013) and Sassy Pants Sentiments. 

The Key To Dreams Mixed Media Dimensional Artwork

"The Key To Dreams" - Available

Today I'm sharing my most recent mixed media art piece. In between working on commissions and going to work I managed to piece this dimensional art piece together, and titled it "The Key To Dreams"

I wanted to show you sort of how it started out - to really show how much you can alter and change random bits to create a 100% unique piece of art. I added more bits from my personal stash to complete the piece, but the bird on the fence started out as plain-jane. 

I love how the 'faux wood' turned out. The crackle paste with the gel medium worker perfectly and to plan! Sometimes crackle paste can throw you for a loop. I was able to wire the piece in the back as well, so it will be perfect to hang on the wall!

This piece is so very dimensional, and so very colourful! I wasn't quite a fan of the yellow / orange flowers in the package, so I painted them all red! :D I did some embossing as well on the piece with some of my Unity stamps, and used one of their texture stamps for the butterfly. 

And of course, a very mixed media project like this will leave quite the mess. There is so much randomness that I cleaned off my desk. 

This original piece of art is available for sale in my shop, here.