SIMPLICITY

With this lay out, I used DCWV paper, crunched both pieces of paper into a ball, ripped the edges and then inked them. Glued them together, and adhered the vellum typed paper. Distressed and inked the edges of the photo and background photo paper, added trim, and glued it down. This paper is so beautiful with black velvet designs. I have such a hard time using this paper, due to it's beauty, but when I do, I realize that I can make a layout, without using a lot of embellishments. The paper does all the work.


We all have our own style, but it's nice to find simplicity in your paper.
I pray that you and your loved ones has a very blessed Thanksgiving.

Elaine

MY BABIES ARE HOME

When I send my art work off for submissions, it's scary, exciting, but most of all, it's wonderful to see it arrive home, especially after it has been published.

Here is my first baby, back home from The Stamper's Sampler. I loved making this card (see Hopeless Romantic post) and you might get an insight to my mind. My friend Lisa bought the chandelier stamp also, and some of the papers. Dare I say, she's got the disease also.

Both my MOO card submissions returned home last week. This one I love. What hopeless romantic wouldn't love the beach. Ok, my dear friend, Cracker, (Laurie) would prefer the mountain views, and that fits her perfectly.

And here is the final return, also published in The Stamper's Sampler. Great magazine by the way. If you buy a copy, I promise you will not put it down for hours! This card, Dream For You, is again, another romantic theme but I added some "green" in it. That flower is the bottom of a plastic water bottle, that I cut lines downward, and then melted them, added some inks and nail polish and adhered a button on it. Voila, scrapping and recycling go hand in hand.

So these babies are home. I have several more submissions out there, and it's just a waiting game. But the good thing about waiting, I keep myself busy with creating more and more and more...I love the arts!

Peace to all,

Elaine

HOPELESS ROMANTIC

Ask anyone I know, especially my husband, and two girls, they will tell you, I am a hopeless romantic. I watch Pride and Prejudice once a month, and every romantic comedy, I own! I found several pictures of my husband's parents, when they were dating, holding hands, I just cried. Yes, true tears. Hand holding, a simple gesture, but such a meaningful connection.

I used some more wonderful G45 paper, and had some fun making up flowers from an assortment of goodies I have in the studio.

Here's to all the romantics out there.
Blessings.
Elaine

NEW LOVE

Falling in love, during WWII. My husband's parents did just that. I've found so many wonderful photographs of their past. Many more lo's to make, but I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make them, to share with the family. I used G45 paper and odds and ends that I have collected. I found this old napkin at a tag sale and finally a chance to use it, as the weathered material in the background. I have a shelf full and love to just pull on some material and watch it all fall tumbling down. (Another job, can you say $$ for the daughter!)

Thanks for looking. Have a wonderful day.

Elaine

PHOTO CORNERS

Oh my! I cleaned out my studio, ok, my daughter did a majority of it and got paid to reorganize my containers. I found at some point in this addiction, that I bought every color of photo corners. What to do, what to do with these 100's of photo corners. Here's one idea. I put them together, ink distressed, lifted the edges up and voila. I now have only 487 more photo corners to use. But it keeps me thinking, what can I use this item for, besides it original intent. (Ok, to rid myself of guilt, of I bought this, what was I thinking? and now I have to use it.)

Hope you find use for all those last minute "I gotta have this" buys!

Keep thanking the good Lord for all your blessings.

Elaine

CARDS AND HEART

A few wonderful cards I received from a swap. The yellow is from my friend, Lisa, and it has the cutest bees buzzing around. The other is from Melissa and the bear is just so darn huggable. Thanks ladies, they are hanging on my studio wall.

And on to homeschooling and the anatomy of the heart. I asked my 12 y.o. to draw the heart and diagram it. This is what she handed in. I thought it was so cute. So what if it's not labeled. (She did it later on another piece of paper.) Just love it when kids do their own thing, straight from the heart! I know, a corny joke, but I couldn't resist.

Peace,

Elaine

John 3:30 says, "He must become greater, I must become less."

NEW ENGLAND FALL

To those who grew up in Texas, this foliage still take my breath away. I've snapped so many pictures, even my husband has that "enough don't you think" look. But I just can't get enough of these colors. And any camera, any canvas can not do God's colors justice.

Here is the maple in our yard, overnight, it turned burnt orange. Amazing!

I love to garden, but I haven't a clue what this tree is, but every fall, this tree turns vibrant red, I see these bushes everywhere, so I call them red bushes. It works for me. It's like a firework exploding.

We open our front door to this majestic view. And this is after they fell a lot of trees. We don't remove our leaves from the ground immediately. We just let them sit a few days, cuddled around the tree trunk. Such a sight. I have many many more, but they are marked for scrapping.

Wishing you a wonderful day of creating and believing in yourself.

Blessings,

Elaine

All you need are friends...

You have friends and you have friends. Cracker and I have been pals for so long, elementary school and forward. We've traveled together, shared our dreams, sorrows, fears and tears. Life has blessed me with such a dear friend. I've mentioned in previous blogs, she passes on her vintage lace and quilts to me to use for my art projects. I feel like I won the lottery, with her friendship. Here's a layout using old vintage photo paper from the 1850's, vintage lace and some other odds and ends that she passed on to me. I am blessed by all the friends I have in my life.

Peace and blessings to you.

Elaine

SOME ART BLOG PICS

WOW! Time went by and I promised I would post. Now I am back and promising myself again. I have lots of fun things to post and am back in the studio. Here's on of our oldest daughter, and lots of G45 paper.


And who is this happy fellow? It's Queso, our turtle. We rescued him minutes from a moving tire. Tried several times to rehabilitate him, but it didn't work. He's fascinating to watch and what a personality he has. I didn't know I would bond with a reptile, but bond away I have. My family laughs when I talk to him.

Happy Times. A lot of scraps from G45 paper. I liked the way this card turned out.

A simple but sweet baby card, again, using some G45 scraps.

Off to upload some more photos for your viewing pleasure:)

Blessings,

Elaine

TIME FLIES

Time does indeed fly. I took a long sabbatical during my husbands surgery and post op recovery and treatment with prostate cancer. We are so blessed with the first follow up PSA which read undetectable. What a blessing. There will be continuous PSA from now on, but with faith, we will live each day to it's fullest. And talk about fullest, it appears days are more than full! The extended family went back to Texas and August in CT was hot, some days, hotter than Texas. We spent time together as a family, nurturing each other. And now it's back to work for Bill and some serious homeschooling for our youngest daughter. A lot of new lessons and more details into those core classes and the electives. Actually I am teaching an Art History course and learning the new PowerPoint on Vista. Our older daughter is loving her job as a second grade teacher. We are so proud of her!

Was blessed to receive an additional copy of the Stampers' Sampler and found out that I was published. In the past , I was notified with emails, but this time was a shock, I ran upstairs jumping and I mean serious jumping, I couldn't even read it, just saw my art work and turned into a hopping maniac. Once I showed my husband and younger daughter, and stopped the hopping, I was able to read what it was all about! Talk about an adrenalin boost. I was so very thankful for that publishing, it was my favorite card and was so hard to part with. I love the stamps from Impress, the chandeliers...so romantic!

My goal, now that life is back to a normal (what we would call normal) routine, is to hit the studios in the evening, since it's been all cleaned and reorganized. A job that the younger daughter did. Yes, for some good money. I didn't know how many flowers I really had. Flower denial I call it! Embellishment denial also. Paper denial, anything from the lss denial, that should cover it all.

May your lives be full of peace and blessings.
Love,
Elaine

"Cast your cares on Him because He cares for you"
1Peter 5:7

The Stampers' Sampler

Hey it's out. The Aug/Sep 2009 issue of The Stampers' Sampler. They published two of my MOO cards. Lots of wonderful art work in this magazine. Go buy one and check it out.

TFL!

Peace,

Elaine

A GIFT FROM DADDY'S GIRLS

While Bill was in the hospital, our girls made a belated Father's Day gift for their daddy. Here it is. A beautiful mixed media mural of the girls and Bill. They had it hung up, ready for viewing. When we entered our home, that was the first thing that caught our eyes, and tears flowed easily down our cheeks. We are so blessed with these two girls and their love for their daddy.

I really tried to take quality pictures, but I don't think I captured the beauty of their work. Debbie, from the Inspiration Station, a lss in CT, wrote about a photo workshop, and I think it's time for me to seriously learn about my camera!

Doo and Skibby, we are so proud of you!

BLESSED NEWS

I received notice that my submitted art work will be published in the August/September 2009 The Stampers' Sampler.

What a thrill this is for me. I love Stampington Company magazines and enjoying submitting my work to them.

I'll upload the picture when I received my magazine. A special thanks to my swap sistahs who always encourage me, Cracker, my girls, my husband {who not only encourages me, but $$ supports me in this addiction} and of course, the good Lord.

Peace to all.
Elaine

CREATING AGAIN

Off to a great start, creating is such therapy to the soul. The only thing {in my opinion} better, is walking the beach. Nothing sooths the soul like the sounds of the beach. And better yet, a beach house with a studio, sigh...
We are blessed, it's a beautiful Friday full of life. The dogs are catching sunshine from the windows, typical summer day. Thanks for looking.

Blessings to all.

Elaine

p.s. more trivia will strike very soon

A Million Memories

The wonderful web site, A Million Memories, chose my lo for new Monday Member.


Corien chose this layout because she, "loves the painted and crackled background with the fishing net."If you want to see more from Elaine check out her gallery here and be sure to leave her some love on this layout by clicking here. Stop by tomorrow for a Technique Tuesday with Wendela.I didn't find out this was posted on their web site until I came home from the hospital with Bill. What a blessing. I really like this web site, a great design team, great challenges, kits and shopping deals.

Special thanks to Joy, as she was looking for texture...that started my brain reaction. {Thanks Joy for always reading and asking about techniques and supplies.}

Blessings.
Elaine

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MORE SWAP TREASURES

Starting with Split Coast Stampers to Stamp or Not, this was fun, no stamping on the card. Some great Cricut cuts...always think of Carrie and how she finds these Cricut fonts and enables everyone else to buy them.
Here are some of the Card A Month cards I received. I have more to photograph, that are hanging on my wall. These are all so beautiful, and each with their own style. I just can't get over how creative these gals are.
TFL.

Peace to all.

Elaine

SWAMPED IN SWAPS

Taking time off means finding all those wonderful treasures that I opened, piled up in my studio, ready to be photographed and viewed again. Here, the Graphic 45 card and tag swap goodies. That was a fun swap, love to play with tags and cards.

Off to upload some more swaps.
TFL
Elaine

BELATED DAYS

Not that I forgot Father's Day, just that I took time off to be with my family while my husband went through diagnosis and surgery for prostate cancer. We are back home, our oldest daughter left {miss her dearly} and today, Aunt Sharon left {another one we are missing} but the good news is, Bill is healing from the surgery and we are blessed. There will months of PSA blood workup to follow, but my friend, Lisa L. Bemis sent me a beautiful plaque that her company makes in Maine. It says, "Cast Your Cares On Him Because He Cares For You." 1 Peter 5:7 and that is what we are doing. Living the life we were given. This was Bill's Father's Day card, simple, honest and sincere. I also want to express my love for my dad, Gene, for being such a wonderful father, always supportive, and there for me. I love you Dad! And for Ted, Bill's father, who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, we miss you and love you. Steve, what a wonderful step dad to Bill and a great "Wonder" of a man to all of the family. And to Hammond, another wonderful man called home, it was a blessing to know you.

...and the lecture, Bill is only 51, had some prostate screening, and thank goodness at 51 he had another PSA. Prostate cancer hits 1 in 6 men. Please make sure the men in your life get this blood test done. It's a prevention that can save your loved ones.

Blessings,

Elaine

MORE BACKGROUNDS

Still playing with backgrounds. Yes, even with all the paper I own, and I will confess, I have a serious paper addiction, I still like the background challenges. This was a hair style that I work on for around 30 minutes, for our little girl. It did turn out well, considering I am not in anyway a beautician.

I worked with zig zag stitching, stencils and glimmer mist of several colors, stamps and then crystal lacquer covered with liquid acrylic paint. And though you can't see it, I used different liquid acrylics to splatter on the lo. The chip boards were laid down after I played with some shadowing techniques. And some beautiful buttons from Courtney, who swapped them to me. Thanks Court. Love the colors.

Trying to do more challenges than swaps right now. Challenges push me towards new discoveries. {And leave my studio a mess}

Peace.

Elaine

TIME FOR DAD

Father's Day is approaching, and time for me to make those cards and some fun lo's for my hubby. Here is one with our oldest daughter, and daddy, a few years back. It's always important to me that the girls have time with dad, alone. The girls get date nights with daddy. Quality time is so important.


TFL.
Elaine

WILDERNESS MENTALITY

I've followed this web site for awhile, reading the catalyst and finally decide to join in on catalyst 65.

http://creativetherapy.wordpress.com/

My journaling states Eleven days, not forty years. In some areas of my life, I want to stop running around lost in the wilderness , and just use my faith to go forth and achieve my goals, no more lost and found in the wilderness. Time for a new journey. The eleven days push forth.
Peace. TFL.
Elaine

SURF ADVENTURE

A trip to Aunt Sue's in Ocean City, NJ was a hit years ago. My little surfer girl was trying so hard not to get wet, but daring to run in and out of the waves. Holding those shorts high, but sigh, at the end, they were wet. Now, when we go to the beach, just to walk, I bring an extra pair of clothes and towel, since I know we will end up in the water. Surfs always up in our world.

I created this background instead of using the tons of paper I had. Mixed media challenges me, and I love to find things to add to a picture.

Thanks for looking.

Peace,

Elaine

Old, New, A Layout Coming Soon...

Oh the joys of living in the New England area, where snow plows exist for reasons, and destroy for other reasons. Here is my old mail box, that Lisa has a perfect name for. And voila, our new mail box, untouched by the snow plow for now. Hopefully, I will not be showing you a picture of the new box with duct tape, bungee cords and cracked studs after the winter of 2010. I'll have a layout coming soon. Need to finish my swaps first.

Peace.
Elaine

Dogs...

Oh I am indeed a dog lover. But after my precious Sedona passed away, we went a few months and ended up adopting two labs from a rescue organization. They have been a loving headache.

This is Miley Elizabeth, she is nothing but a brat, who thinks she is a cat and rules the world. When she is sleeping, she is the cutest thing in the world. And the places I find her sleeping and her positioning makes me smile. She is so cute in the picture, asleep with her front arms tucked under. Ahhhh...too precious.

And then there is Kota Bear, the big black lab, who is not allowed on the sofa. But when I leave, he sneaks up there and when I walk back in to the room, he slides off in guilt. Obviously at this moment, he wasn't feeling much guilt.

I do love my dogs, regardless of all their lack of manners at times.

Blessings.

Elaine

ANOTHER CARD SWAP

I joined a no stamp card swap and this is my card. Using the Big Shot background folder, then hues of the colors for flowers, ribbon and pearl alphabet letters, adhered on a back card of distress edges. Still working on design and dimensional. I do love the elegance of monochromatic schemes (leaves excluded) it is such a clean color scheme to play with.

Hope your day is full of love.

Elaine

Monochromatic colors are all the tints and shades (called hues) of a single color. Using these hues, the result is subtle, peace, due to a lack of contrast. Using monochromatic colors can be boring, unless you use diversity with your design.

DREAM

Another card for the monthly card swap. I'm trying a different approach, no distress, vintage, a clean simple style. Incorporating dimensional and items I have hidden deep in the drawer, drawing the focus on designs. Hope your dreams come true.

Have a blessed day. Dream, believe, create, live.
Elaine

Change your background

Backgrounds are always fun, and even more entertaining when you make your own. Here I used glimmer mist, stamps, ink, Stickles, grunge board, crystal lacquer, partial piece of paper and then a matchbox that I made. And keeping to my purple passion. Grab some paper, and make your own background designs, it's refreshing in so many ways.

Peace.

Elaine

And even more...

Sea horse...

Lady at the beach...

I miss you...

Happy thoughts...

Thanks for looking.

Blessings.

Elaine

Art history trivia: When Monet was older, he settled in Giverny, and painted his pond and water lillies. Amazingly, he was nearly blind and painted very close to his canvas. Water Lillies is an example of one of his finer paintings.