Simply Sunday " Magical" Halloween

Do you remember when you were a kid and Halloween was the most magical time! It still is for many adults being able to dress up in your fantasy costumes, have parties decorated in full fantasy and cast with magic. At our house part of the magic includes passing out candy to excited children running around in their costumes, eyes light up, waiting for that handful of candy. The magical treat for us is seeing all the wonderful costumes and happy kids. Even our daughter Sammie loves to pass out candy it is half the fun for her. We usually pass out candy for half the time and run around the neighborhood the other half. We leave a bucket of candy at the door when we leave and hope they only grab a handful~ and what is great is I think they do as when we return there is always some candy left in the bucket. So if you have time to create a journal page today or this week our prompt is "Magical" you can draw an illustration, write about your favorite magical time as a child or maybe the party you went to last night & what made it so magical~ For anyone that celebrates Halloween have a safe and magical time~
What is your favorite part of Halloween? What is magical to you?
The real secret of magic lies in the performance~ David Copperfield
A piece of writing is like a piece of magic. You create something out of nothing.~ Susanna Clarke

Vendors Craft Apron Tutorial

Vendors Craft Apron Tutorial PDF

I came across this vendor craft apron tutorial and since I know a lot of you not only create arts & crafts but some do art & craft shows, well it just seemed fitting to share. This is easy sewing. I am not big on complicated or expensive patterns. I am sure if you are crafty, have a sewing machine this might be one tutorial you would like to try. I sure think this will be one I try this fall & I know the perfect place to get some fabric in our small town.
Are you artsy crafty? or just artsy? Hope you are inspired to sew & enjoy the tutorial!

Do You Ever Want A Do Over & A Cupcake?

Welcome to my little pity party:

I could of used some magic! Sneak peak~

So festive with our Martha Stewart stickers!
Happy we actually got them done!
Wish you were here to have a cupcake and coffee with me! Hoping for a better weekend!

I have been a little quieter than normal this week. I had several days with a migraine & just all round thumbs down. I guess I am having a mini pity party today, so hope you bare with me!
I thought it was just me but Sammie was having a not so good week too. #1 indication: Going to school with your jeans on backwards and not being able to figure out why your pants are falling down all day! * must admit I got the biggest laugh from this when I figured out the problem after school!! #2 being so extremely tired on another day that you have a melt down on the way home from school #3 helping your mom make cupcakes and you crack the eggs in a separate bowl but forget to put them in & mom doesn't notice!

My indication #1 migraines for two days straight #2 so drained on third day and all house work backing up #3no creative time #4 not seeing the cupcake batter didn't get the eggs. (all batter in liners back into bowl and try again! +eggs and stir, into new liners) * should of made a funniest home video!

Then today arrives at Sammie's school to deliver the cupcakes. I parked and we walked over, bell rings at the inside of the entry way just as it rings, we were stopped for a tardy slip! No grace period at this school!! Not even 1minute~ Wait for it to be written, go with Sam to class deliver the cupcakes for the party & see her off. That was the icing on the cake for the week! Any how saved you a cupcake and sneak peak of new art for Sunday~ Hope your week was better than ours! Did you ever just want a week done and gone or a do over?? Here's hoping for a better weekend and wishing you the same!

Note to readers of my blog (s)

*note to all who have commented (in the past) : I have sent out emails in response and found out that some were undelivered! To anyone who has left a comment and thought I haven't responded I apologize!

I have read and been so thankful for every one's comments and appreciate the time you take to leave me a note or response to a question I have asked!

I will be leaving a comments on the blog & will try to continue to email all who have linked emails. I found out some of my followers have unlinked emails and weren't getting delivered ( I was emailing all responses previously). If you have ever encountered this you know what I am talking about. & the worst part is not knowing as I email early am or late night and didn't catch that until reading someone else's blog & the encountered the same thing. Live and learn!!

Do you comment on your own blog? or try and email your readers? or do both?

Fabric From Paper

I just wanted to share with you some fabrics I am making from paper. These are three different ones. I may continue to layer more onto them. As I am not sure if I am happy with all the results. I am learning how to create these art fabrics from paper when they dry the results vary & may need changing. After the fabric is made then to create an art quilt from them. I hope to have time to work on more this week. I will show you the progress as I go along.
Have you ever tried making your own fabric? or creating an art quilt?

Today I am trying to complete my snowmen for a contest from Styrofoam & The DYI Dish I have to complete them today and photograph them. I promise to share. If you haven't seen them you can hop over to my other blog and see their bases in progress. They are almost ready now. The final touches, staging and photos next! Busy, busy creating and cleaning up messes~
But it sure is fun! What projects are you working on?

Simply Sunday "Hope" For A Breast Cancer Cure

I have been meaning to post this journal prompt for some time & finally I can share it. My journal prompt for this week is "Hope". As it is still October and even when it is not we should hope for a cure for breast cancer not only in words but actions. I am putting a link up for donating to the cause directly~ Feel free to Donate this link takes you directly to the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Charity (Official Site).
My journal page above all in pink as a tribute to breast cancer awareness and added some thoughts beside hope such as women, pink, a cure for cancer & our future depends on it. I am sure there are many causes that come close to our hearts and for me this is one of them~
Is this a cause that touches your heart? Have you done your self exam? Self exam link
Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow.~ Albert Einstein
Hope is not a dream but a way of making dreams become reality. ~Author Unknown

Together lets hope & wish for a cure so one day our children can be free of breast cancer!

Spread Your Wings & Fly

Completed pages

Willowing is having a free e class Art, Heart & Healing. I decided to join her group & participate. She is being so generous to have her course up & allowing anyone to join at any time. It just started on Oct. 18th. Willowing is covering some basics of her style of drawing and also sharing journal inspiration, thoughts & prompts. I created for week one the pages Spread your wings & fly. I thought I would share it with you. At first my pages were going to be in light colors, peachy and then I just went bold with the girl in contrast to her wings and background. On the left side my journal writing is covered and on her hair it reads; Make your dreams a reality. I have put Willowing's button here & will add it to resources for others who don't see this post. I think for anyone starting out or wanting more inspiration this is a great opportunity to see someones process and gather more tools for your personal toolbox.
Have you ever taken any of Willowing's classes? Do you enjoy journaling? What dreams do you wish to become a reality?

Simply Sunday "Luminance"

This weeks "Journal Prompt is the word: Luminance. The condition or power of being luminance. The photometric measure of the luminous intensity per unit light traveling in any given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle. Today I chose this word due to how I was feeling. The weather is changing, light is changing and how it is illuminating the areas in which we live and work can affect us. As artists we constantly use light in how we interpret things we view, photograph and how our creations end up looking on a canvas or other medium. I don't think we often think about how much light can affect us, how we interpret our work and our working environments. We can change the luminance whether it be from angling a overhead light to using candles which then changes that measure of intensity. I often look at things in different light and angles when working on projects and it is amazing to see the difference.
Take a photo in different lights and see the differences it can make in your results. Print and tape these in your journal and write about what the differences were in your lighting. How it was effected? If you are interested in seeing about optics and the laws of Illumination just click here.. Fascinating, a bit over my head but I do get the basic concepts and its very interesting! I sometimes wish I had the capacity to understand more scientific jargon! But I will settle for a good photograph!
Are you affected by the change in light fall and winter brings us? Do you use a light box when doing photography? Do you look at your art in different light to see differences in how it appears?
[Art] first of all is optical. That's where the material of our art is: in what our eyes think.~ Paul Cezanne

Witchy Poo Halloween Illustration

Click photo to enlarge

I was able to to only take a few photographs of this collage on canvas that I did using an illustration that I made prior to my San Disk memory stick being full! I was hoping for better photos & to show you the original painting with collage elements but that will have to wait until after the weekend. I used these items in the collage; scrapbook papers, paint, my illustration, vintage dictionary pages, Martha Stewart's Glitter Glue. Sammie is swirling in Halloween activities pushing me to get up all the decorations and order up a costume for her. I am waiting for the days to get a bit cooler for a trip to the pumpkin patch as it has still been 100* during the day. So you can see Sammie's Halloween fun has influenced my thoughts with my Little Witchy Poo! Do you visit your local pumpkin patch during fall? Do they have a corn maze? That is always our favorite fun! What is your favorite pumpkin to pick out? Big, small, orange white, tall, fat?

Nature Photography

We went on a day trip to Creston, CA. and these are just a few of the photographs that I took. In the sky the clouds were forming, it was humid and a fall storm was coming but held off until our drive home. We took a walk around this lake and enjoyed nature and all her gifts, but when I came across these butterfly bushes I was captured in the moment and couldn't leave. I was so enchanted with the butterflies & soon to come hummingbirds I had stay and capture the moment in photographs. Leon and Sammie left me as they easily tired of waiting for me to capture that perfect shot. They even got a row boat and tried to sneak up on me, but I saw them coming. Patience paid off as I was able to capture more beautiful butterfly shots which was no easy task as they flew all around me as if to get me to leave their feeding grounds but I patiently waited for them to get used to me. I will share more photographs & telling s of our day later. So do come back soon~What was your favorite day trip lately? Were you able to capture any nature in the moment? *either by memory or camera.
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to the body and soul. ~John Muir

Simply Sunday "Frida Kahlo"

Frida Kahlo 1907-1954
These are some progression photos to show some of the changes made to the end result *Click on image to
enlarge

With working on my Dia De Los Muertos paintings and thinking of Mexico from Inspiration Avenue's Challenge. I decided to create a painting that was a tribute to Frida Kahlo. I am so inspired by Frida Kahlo, her art & her inspiration through other artists . How despite her many medical challenges she was able to work through her pain and create such amazing works of art filled with passion and color. Out of 143 paintings 55 were self portraits. If you live or visit Las Vegas, Nevada the Barrick Museum is having an exhibit of her works Oct.29- Dec. 10,2010

Today's journal prompt* is to paint, draw or write a tribute to someone who inspires you creatively.

Who inspires your creativity? Who are your favorite artists? I would love to know~

Painting completed my life ~ Frida Kahlo

The only thing I know is I paint because I need to, and I paint what passes through my head without any other consideration.~ Frida Kahlo

Mexico Challenge

Inspiration Avenue has challenges and this past weeks has been "Mexico" The two paintings on the left are partials & I just created them. The one one the right is what I created last year. Dia De Los Muertos is a Mexican Holiday that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.
I have wanted to create a painting each year in honor of my mother who passed away & found this celebration is the perfect way to honor her memory~

Here is more detail of the mixed media one I did

Here are some photographs of my painting in progress that isn't finished. It is larger and I can't wait to share it with you when its done.

Little Red Riding Hood Mixed Media Painting

Here is Little Red Riding Hood complete with some close ups for you to view~
I really enjoyed making this painting. Playing with the layers of paint. I actually took colored pencils and wrote a lot of the store on the painting. I was going to take out the word red but or try and mute it in the painting but then in one point I was thinking it is a bold color, this is a bold fairy tale, it evokes thinking of blood without creating a blood scene & all the wolf could see was red. I don't know if I was being over analytical or just being bold. I left it in~
I don't know when I will try another fairy tale but I would like to do another try at painting an illustration of one. What fairy tale would you read today? Have you ever tried to illustrate a fairy tale? I hope your long weekend allows you time to pick up a book and get lost in it~

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. C.S. Lewis

Little Red Riding Hood Mixed Media

I thought I would continue the work in progress photos with a collage to make it easier to view. I hope you enjoy seeing the transformation of this painting~ You can click on the images to enlarge them.


You can see I illustrated Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf~ & then used painting over collage elements and scrapbook papers to create the different effects. There are quite a few layers of paper and paint in this painting.

This is an image of the painting almost done. Right here I was debating whether to completely hide the word red in the background or bring it forward. I guess you'll have to wait to see what I did until the next post. Hope you have enjoyed viewing it so far.
Who was your favorite fairy tale character as a child? Do you enjoy reading fairy tales?

Red Riding Hood Mixed Media Painting

Beginnings of Red Riding Hood ~ A mixed media painting

I thought you might enjoy seeing some photographs of a painting in progress and the transformation that occurs. I will have to post this in a few posts as there are quite a few photographs~ I started out with my Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf and it sort of took a twist in the forest. I hope you will enjoy the end results when they are posted.

I also have a painting on wood that I am doing for a challenge which I will share more of later. I am trying to limit my time on the computer right now and really buckle down on focusing on creating art and crafting. I hope to really push my focus and growth. When hubby took Sammie to piano the other day he brought home an artist post card of an artist who does en-caustic & photography combined and gives classes. I will check it out when I have the chance and let you know about it. It is local and not online but you may like to check her web site and work. I love inspiration from everywhere~ Don't you?

Well I must go for now and pick up Sammie from school and then back to painting~ What are you focusing on lately? What mediums are you working with currently? I would love to know~

Simply Sunday "Free Journal Prompt"

I am sharing a calendar I made with you in mind that has my photography and artwork on it. I hope you enjoy it. It is at a file sharing site and will make it easy to use or share. I hope you enjoy it! PS. my newsletter is ready to send out this week, so if you are wanting to receive it hurry & sign up is on the sidebar. It is bi monthly and has images, links and inspiration~


This weeks Journal Prompt* Scan some flowers from your garden and then you have a photograph that you can add to your journal. You could even dry some flowers and paste them in and write a little about nature.
Here is a link to how to capture an image without using a camera from Gardening Gone Wild they have some amazing examples and also a contest going on in October!
I am definitely going to have to give this a try as I love flowers and the images I have seen from their web site ~

Also don't forget I still have a fall link up so if you have any Autumn or Halloween items / posts be sure to drop your link in! I put the link on the side bar for easy access~ Lets inspire others and show them what we are creating.
Are you decorating for fall yet? Creating any fall inspired art work? Doing any fall inspired photography?