Crusade #13

Gotta love Michelle Ward's Crusades!!! This month, "get gothic" was a cinch for me...no problem here finding gothic Halloween imagery around my house!! Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my camera, thus making it impossible for me to share some of the spooky cool Halloween corners around my house. I just love this time of year. I wish it was always Halloween!
I put together these Halloween tags the other night...actually they were the first thing I really made this month...I totally overcomitted myself in September, and ended up with like a zillion deadlines for sept 30th. I was in the weeds to say the least. It took the joy out of creating my art, being under so much pressure like that. And then I went ona bit of a hiatus during October. So thank you once again, Michelle, for the much needed inspiration. I could not resist joining this particular crusade.
I was looking through my collection of free artist papers that come with Somerset Studio and Legacy (memories) - which by the way is the most awesome collection of papers!! I came upon These two sheets that Michelle designed a while back - they are done in nice rich Autumn orange hues - they were PERFECT to use as a base for my little Halloweenies here. How Cool Is That? Gawd, Michelle, what would I ever do without you?

GPP Street Team Crusade #12: Crushes

After a long and laborious thought process, I came to realize that I've got a crush on Michelle Ward! Yes, Michelle, I have a crush on you. (In a respectible way) I love her style. I feel as though I can relate to her. Her rubber stamp imagery really reaches me! Like, every sheet of rubber is something I surely cannot live without!! I admire her achievements as an artist, and she is so inspirational to me. Her influences are similar to mine. She's my idol I suppose! A little while ago I bought 3 sheets of her unmounted rubber stamps - and they are too cool for school!! I have been exploring all the different images, and using the hell out of them. I have shown you above a selection of my stuff using the Green Pepper Press stamps. All of them are from the last couple of weeks.

And oh yeah - I thought of another obsession of mine: ADHESIVES. My grandmother would be proud of my prowess in the ways of sticking one thing to another thing. I've got an adhesive for any occasion. You name it. If I had to name a favorite, I'd have to say Diamond Glaze - that stuff is amazing! Crafter's Pick "The Ultimate" is in close second.

GPP Crusade #12: OBSESSIONS

I've been thinking about the Crusade - the subject is obsession / infatuation / crushes. This one is very thought provoking, to say the least. I've been obsessing about my obsessions all month long. I realized that what DON'T I obsess on? I suppose I am an obsessive person. I am definitley that way with my food. I'll have a few things I love at the moment, and that's pretty much all I want to eat. Like for a while it was Lucky Charms...Instant Oatmeal...then there was those disgustingly fattening frosted sugar cookies (20 pounds later I got over them)...Creme Brulee Haagen Dazs...Tiramisu Haagen Dazs...and lately it's been the Krusteaz cinnamon crumb coffee cake mix. I can't get enough of them. Sometimes I will only be hungry for that. Thank goodness I cook for the fam, or else I'm sure I'd be so malnourished!

One thing for sure, I have always had an ifatuation with Jagermeister. It's the only alcoholic beverage I actually like the taste of. And I have definitely had a few love affairs with it over the years!

I would have to say that my current obsession, artistically, is TRANSPARENCIES. I can barely do a project without using something you can see through. I love the depth and layers. For a while it was chipboard - you should see my collection of chipboard thisses and thats! I think before that it must have been ribbon. I remmeber the ladies at Michael's would say to me, "see you tomorrow!" - when I'd stop in to look at the dollar ribbon rack to find that perefectly matching colored ribbon for the scrapbook layout I'd be working on. I've got so many spools of ribbon that storage is a serious issue for me. Let's see, what else....Ranger Distress Inks...buttons...the list goes on and on...oh yeah - ALPHABETS!! I've got like a zillion alphabets of one kind or another. Rubber stamps, chipboard, stickers - you name it.

One obsession that deserves it's own paragraph is my love for paper. I could just browse and browse through any selection of patterned paper! I love it so much that they are each in themselves a work of art - for under a dollar (usually) - all the styles and textures - I'm like a kid in a candy store. When I buy paper I really like, I'll always get an extra piece so I'll never run out of it! Needless to say, I've got piles of paper all over the place.

Another obsession of mine is magazines. I'm such a sucker for them. I have a zillion of them, in piles all over the place: upstairs, downstairs, by my bed, in the car...I have art mags, tattoo mags, scrapbooking mags, Stampington mags (my fave), gardening mags, food mags, Martha Stewart mags, and several miscellaneous ones as well.

Yes, I am very obsessive. But I embrace it. It makes me who I am. I have been known to obsess on things that may or may not be the best thing to get hung up on...but as I get older and know myself better, I am able to recognize these things before they get the best of me. Most of the time anyways...

Haunted House ATCs

A set of atcs for the In This House group - Haunted House Tryptych cards. They had to be attatched - a new thing for me. Nice little challenge. The group seems like it could be very enriching. I'm involved with so many other things right now, I don't have the time I'd like to devote to getting to know everyone there. All in good time. I've got another project going there as well - a haunted house collage, like the ones in the book except smaller. I've goten out all my creepy Halloween goodies to use - very fun indeed. I want to make something exceptional, but I'm trying not to be too influenced by the artists in the book. Although, that too is okay - being influenced by artists you admire - I think there is a fine line between that and losing your own personal style though. So I'm going to have fun with it.

New ATCs for Art Chix

Here are some new lovelies for Art Chix swaps: Mysterious Women and Sepia themes. I used the ladies from the Peek-A-Boo collage sheet. Very fun indeed. I especially like the effect of the Mysterious Women set. I used the new Marah Johnson (she is SO COOL) Intention papers for backgrounds. They are fabuluos to say the least!

Gillian's Fab Tag

This is a fabric tag I made for Gillian Allen. Back to that infamous swap...apparently not everyone in the swap got a tag from everyone else. For some reason we all ended up with 2 of our own back. Oh, I already got all in to that...sorry...anyways I felt compelled to make Gillian a whole new tag, because as i mentioned before, the ones I got back were my least favorite tags I did in that batch. Who knows, she might fall in love with it. So I sent her one from the 2 I got back, and then a new custom made one. I hope she likes it.

Artist

This is a favorite scrapbook page I've done. I did it as a submission to Skin and Ink magazine for an article about tattooed scrapbookers. I think. Anam Stubbington contacted me and asked if I wanted to send her something. She's got this way cool blog: Inked Scrapbookers. As soon as I figure out how to get her link here in my blog, I will put it in. I guess I have some homework to do. I'm no good with the technicalities...but I've got some stuff I want to do here so I suppose I have to get busy...

Adventures With Mica

I've been having a good time working with mica. For the longest time I had ni idea what was so great about it. Till i discovered the joys of transparent layering. I especially like the effect you can get by coloring it. The top ATC has the first layer of mica dyes with alcohol inks, and then the top one was tinted with walnut ink. So great how you can punch hoiles in it so easily. I'm sure stitching would be just as easy...These are among 9 or 10 that I made over the weekend, some of which are for a couple of trades I've got going. The wonderful and talented Belinda Schneider said yes when I asked her to swap atcs - how cool! I really admire her work so much! Also I am working on something for another artist I love: Gillian Allen. She is amazing. She did not end up with oneof my fabric tags from that infamous swap...so she sent me hers already - a masterpiece - and I am making one up special for her because I'm not all that thrilled with the 2 I have that I did. Actually they are my least 2 favorites from that whole batch. Funny how they both ended up back with me. I'm glad because that means the other swappers got my better ones.

I am looking forward to the first day of school next week.

Mermaid Collage

I made this for my mom.

Here's another good one...(Crusade #11)

Here is another of my favorite tunes.

Tattoos Are...

This is the journaling I wrote for a scrapbook layout I did - it was a contest entry - I wrote it about 2 yrs ago. I came across it the other day, and I figured I should post it - it's one of the coolest things I've written (in my opinion).

Crusade #11

Okay, I think I got it down...Here is my thing for Green Pepper Press' Street Team - Crusade #11: MUSIC. This was new and different for me. I chose Jimi Hendrix, because I'll always pick him. He is my all time favorite musician. His music moves me so much, I can't hardly put it into words! He is amazing and brilliant. This video, The Wind Cries Mary - was shot in 1967, the year I was born. Enjoy!!p.s. Thank you Michelle for getting me to learn this! It wasn't as hard as I thought!!

Fab Tags

Okay so maybe I overreacted a bit. Got a little extreme. The swap I was complaining about earlier finally came to fruition. These are 4 out of the 10 fabric tags I made for it. Secret Garden is the theme...this was a good challenge...I never did anything like these before. The tag book I got back is amazing. Really superior work on all of them. Well worth the wait. Now I feel bad about being such a bitch about the hostess being so late getting everything swapped out. She wrote a heartfelt appology to everyone, and I understood - these things happen sometimes. Actually I hosted a swap once and ended up being dreadfully late in returning too. It was right after my Dad died, and I was practically paralyzed for like, months. Not that it's a good excuse. I'm sure those women were really mad at me too. So I am sorry, and I wrote her an email and told her so.

I got some unmounted rubber from Green Pepper Press today in the mail. It was better than christmas! Three whole pages of amazingly inspiring imagery. Michelle Ward is the coolest ever! I'm going to experiment with a few different ways of mouinting these things. Should keep me busy for a while.

ATCs: some new kinda stuff

Here are a couple of atcs I've finished this weekend. The one, "Gothic", is a bit different than I usually do. I love the outcome though. The other I used mica - which I also love. I stamped on a piece of the mica, then laid the collage image, then used another piece of mica dyed with walnut ink over the top. I am having a lot of fun with layering and transparencies. Don't know how I ever got along without using these clear elements.

Tattooed Bettie Page

Here is a fun altered card I made last night. I tattooed the beloved Bettie Page with rub ons and then masked her off to stamp the background on. My little stilletto high heel shoe rubber stamp matched perfectly! I used the mask for the envelope too - a cool set - I sent it to someone whom I think is wicked cool. There's nothing that says, "I think you're wicked cool" better than a tattooed Bettie Page!

ART SAVES LIVES

This is a rolodex card I did for an Art chix Studio swap. I made 33 of them. It actually didn't take too long to finish them. I love that slogan. I saw it in a CK or MM magazine - someone had a photo of it graffitti'd on a rock with spraypaint as part of a scrapbook layout. It's always stuck in my head. It really applies to me. Art definitely saved my life in a big way. I know I wouldn't have much success in my recovery had I not started doing art again a few years ago. I especially dig the swap thing too. Its so addictive. my atc collection is so rad! Artists from all over the world. I've ended up with collections from a few people. So full of inspiration! One thing though, I could do without some of the problems that happen like sending out a bunch of my creations that I put my heart and soul into... entrusted a complete stranger with my priceless items, only to have them end up M.I.A. Like this fabric tag swap I joined - the deadline was over 2 months ago - the extended dealdline - and nobody's heard from this lady since. A few people have inquired, only to recieve a lofty, bitchy, and sanctimonious reply talking about how bogged down with responsibilitied she is and we're all going to have to wait for her to fit us in somehow. I was on the alternate list for that swap - got in at the last minute - I had exactly 2 weeks to get 10 fabric tags done, and I did, I was able to fit it in among all my responsibilities. I mean, how long does it take to lay out all the tags, divvy up all the piles, and get them in the fricken mail? Come On Now! And then, what am I supposed to do? There's no art swap police to report them to. I even feel weird posting a complaint at the group because I don't want to come off as too uptight...well, I guess I'll give it another week or so...

Ashley's birthday card

this is my daughter Ashley's birthday card. She just turned 19. I'm very proud of her - swhe's becoming a really respectable young woman. She always gets a good card from me.

GPP Street Team Crusade #3 - Tattoo

I was getting together my version of the #3 Crusade about tattoos. I printed up pics of my 2 favorite tats, and I put them down on my desk...next thing I know, I look over, and this is how they looked where I set them down on top of eachother. To quote a very wise person, "How Cool Is That?" What a wicked cool image, if I do say so myself! The sun, on my upper thigh, is one that I did myself back when I first started getting good at tattooing. The wings - inside my biceps - I got those from the artist I replaced at Skin Deep Tattoo in Maui, circa 1992. That's what brought me out to Maui to live - an enticing job offer at the oldest tattoo shop in Maui. I worked for this awesome woman, Taunee Beekman. She is a very down to Earth lesbian tattoo artist and shop owner. She was really great. Actually, Maui overall was really great. I was there for a whole decade, and I do miss the island lifestyle...although, it does get pretty isolated out there in the middle of the ocean. Hawaii is a DOT in the middle of the ocean.
For me, being a tattoo artist has been such a life enhancing experience. Before that, I was a fine dining pastry chef. I excelled in my career. I was published. Worked at a world class restaurant, under an ingenious executive chef who gave me a lot of creative freedom. But still, every day as I punched in at the timeclock, I found myself wondering, "is this all there is??" When tattooing came in to my life, I gained so much more self esteem and confidence. Also, the nature of the job - ever changing challenges - is just what I needed to find fufillment. Tattooing has brought me to many a place, far and near. It had given me incredible discipline as an artist. My clients will request a certain design, and it is my obligation to come up with the best design possible - for it will be on someone's body forever. I consider this an honor and a priveledge, and a great responsibility. I have a very spiritual approach to my tattooing. I connect with my clients. I probably don't charge enough for my tattoos - that's why I leave the pricing up to my husband - that way I walk away much happier (in the pocket).
Tattoos are definitely not for everyone. But me, they make me who I am.

Mail Art

I have been wanting to participate in Michelle Ward's Green Pepper Press Street Team for a while now. She is so cool! I find myself identifying so much with her imagery - she inspires me in a wicked way! So here is my interpretation of Crusade #10 - Mail Art.