Pickle Post #26 - Catch up with me...and my He-Art Journal too!

Hi there! Welcome to my new followers - I am always happy to have new blog buddies!

Life catches up to you, even when you run like crazy! This past week has been super nuts - I was involved in a hit & run car accident  - thankfully I'm OK and my car has very minor damage, but I was so angry with the person who did it. There were many witnesses but one actually followed the car and got the license number. I tried to chase them too (yes I am THAT crazy lady...), but the driver was under the influence of something and just hell bent on getting away. They were FLYING through a residential area, over speed bumps, etc., so it was hard to get close to them. THANK YOU, JOE for calling the police and helping me - you are a fabulous young man! :) Chivalry isn't dead, people!

Then my ex mother in law passed away after a lengthy fight with Alzheimer's and all of the health issues that follow. I was very close to her - I have known her since I was 15 years old. My girls are so sad, but we are thankful that she is now at peace and resting with my ex father in law. She has never been the same since he passed away in 2002. Bless her heart - my thoughts and prayers have been with her even though I haven't see her in quite a while.

Last but not least, I have been considering a part time position and possibly going back to work. That has been a crazy mix of do I really want this or not? Interviews, paper work, phone calls, resume...you know how that goes. **Update - I GOT THE JOB.**

My mojo has been lacking because I am exhausted...but I will catch up on my art journal. Not my best work, but it's something creative. I am NOT a mixed media artist - you can tell I am a stamper through and through LOL! So here are my last four assignments.

Week 6 - Text Me:

I decided to stamp a lot of sentiments that I love on the left page and a wonderful list from galadarling.com called '100 Ways to be a Love Letter to the Universe'. I wanted this page to be something I could go back to and read for inspiration! Truly words to live by! :)

Week 7 - Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining:

I LOVE this quote so I made it the border around the pages.

I used crumpled tissue paper for the clouds - on two clouds I painted with diluted blue and white Gelatos and Iridescent Medium and on the other two I used glue and ultra fine silver glitter. The raindrops are glittered with Stardust Stickles. Week 8 - The Power of One:

The assignment was to use one word and create from there. This one highlights my absolute LOVE of dance...between salsa with Hubby and 4 1/2 hours of Zumba a week, this IS my power of one! It is truly my energy, my happiness and my fitness routine all rolled into one.

Just a close up of my tiny dancer - and I look just like her! I WISH LOL! I used pink and purple distress inks and iridescent medium for shine on the background (oh how I LOVE that stuff!). She was colored with Copics.

Week 9 - Cut and Paste:

This assignment required that we take a facial image from a magazine and create a body for it. I liked the way this turned out, but I am not super keen on the background. It's green but looks kinda yellow - and I wanted it more uniform. I guess that's what happens when you stamp after midnight LOL! The girl with the paper pieced flower dress was the highlight for me. I stamped a zillion roses, cut them out and layered them.

The supply list for all of these would be a mile long...if you have any questions, please e-mail me!

MORE NEWS! **PLEASE STOP BY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 - I am going to be part of a HUGE blog hop benefiting Operation Write Home for World Card Making Day! There will be giveaways along the way and a showcase of oodles of creative holiday inspiration that will be sent to those in the armed forces to share with their loved ones here at home! I hope you will stop by and leave some love along the hop for all of these wonderful crafty artists who are committed to this cause!**

I am so glad you stopped by today - your kind comments keep me creating through all of my crazy! :)

Pickle Post #20 - He-Art Journal Week 5

Hi there!

I just realized I didn't post my last TGF He-art Journal pages! Sheesh I am always playing catch up! :)
I was playing around with larger font on my last post...I am not sure if I liked it so I am back to the smaller font. Who knows - it may be back LOL! Anyway, back to the journal...!

The theme for last week's assignment was "Pieces of Me". Paper piecing and layering were encouraged. So I took the 'pieces' part and ran with it. :) Here is what I created.

Week 5: Pieces of Me

I paper pieced a zillion small pieces of patterned paper :), adhered them to white cardstock and die cut the puzzle pieces. I laid them out, connected some and others I left apart. It represents my life, my goals, my blessings and family - some are close and connected, some aren't too far away, some aren't connected at all. Physical and emotional distance, relationships, personal goals...all open to your own interpretation! The black text paper background has all kinds of text about life, creativity, friends, love. The main sentiment reads "Pieces of me color my world".

Here are some close up pics that show paper details and the sentiment from a different angle.

Stuff I Used:
Lotsa Paper - Basic Grey Offbeat, Marjolaine, Out of Print/My Minds Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky, Life of the Party/Echo Park Walk in the Park, Springtime, Summer Days/SEI With All My Heart, Corrine/7 Gypsies Classic Paper/Pink Paislee Sweetness/Sassafras Happy Jack/Stampin' Up White CS
Sentiment - Bliss White Thickers, Me & My Big Ideas 'Fresh Botanicals Colorful Life'
Other Stuff - Cuttlebug 'Puzzled' Die

Working on my assignment for this week TODAY. I am praying for extra energy and massive mojo! :)
I am so happy you took the time to stop by today!

Pickle Post #18 - He-Art Journal Catch Up

Hi there! Blog posts from me...it's feast or famine sometimes. So enjoy the feast while it lasts LOL!

I haven't posted my TGF He-Art Journal entries since my Week 1 assignment, so I decided to play catch up. I am VERY hard on myself when it comes to this journal thing because it's VERY out of my comfort zone. My Type A quest for perfection makes me hesitant to post my assignments, but my blog sense says sheesh, just post them already. :) So here we go!

Week 2: Sandy Sunshine

We were encouraged to use texture in this assignment, so I decided to do a paper collage full of embossing. The sun is embossed and painted grungeboard. Everything else is created using cardstock. Added to the texture mix is pearl embossed and stickled waves and sparkly fluffed and rocky sand. I wish I could fully capture in photos the true shine of the sun and the sand and wave details - it is a sparkly tactile fun page. It makes me super excited for my anniversary trip with Hubby to the beaches of California over Labor Day!

Week 3: Gratitude

This page just brought to mind all that I love in life and my continued blessings through good and bad times. Life's twists and turns take on so many layers and shapes and colors, but if you have love, you have EVERYTHING. That is the inspiration for all of those colored hearts. Along the edge of the pages I wrote down the people and blessings I am so grateful for each and every day. I can read it over and over. Color my world...

Week 4: The Girl in Me

This assignment required hand drawing and using mediums I don't use often. I am NOT a drawing artist, but I dug out my Prismacolor pencils and just started sketching an artistic vision of me. Yes, I do have a lot of hair LOL! It was very therapeutic to draw and shade this one. I added a multicolored tiny heart background to the left side and added some of the girly qualities I feel I possess. Personal and thought provoking for me...

There are a TON of supplies for these pages - stamps, ink, markers, colored pencils, embossing powders & folders, glimmer mists, Stickles, Sparkly Fluff! To add all of them in a list would take forever, so if you have any questions about what I used, please ask!

Thanks for stopping by today to check out my ever growing journal! Only 19 more assignments to go...

My crazy life ... and a look at my Heart Journal

Hi there.

Just another busy week in the Pickle household! I started 3 new Zumba classes and a salsa dancing class with Hubby. SO MUCH FUN. However, tweaking my schedule and adding that to everything else on my plate - well, let's just say I am forever running. :) Always living La Vida Loca LOL!

I am working on some FUN stuff for the week. I will have more crafty pickleiciousness posted in the next few days! Stay tuned...

Now onto my artsy fartsy journal! Art journals are all the rage right now and The Greeting Farm offered a free He-Art Journal class.

Since I don't have enough to do - I signed up! :) Every week for 23 weeks, we have an assignment based on our artistic interpretation of a theme. Last week, the theme was "Spread Your Wings". We were also encouraged to step outside of our creative box - if we are neat crafters (yep, that's me), we should do something messy. So I decided to fingerpaint. Like a kid in kindergarten. :) What's messier than fingerpaint? Not much, I say. What's more fun than fingerpaint? Cleaning up, I say LOL! Here is what I created.

Week #1 - Spread Your Wings:

I started out with the 'Beautiful Fairy' digi from Karber Stamps. She looked dreamy and thoughtful. Perfect for what I wanted to do with these journal pages. I wanted to color her with darker colors to remind me of night. I used my Copics and added some fairy bling to her wings, wand and eyeshadow. I embossed my sentiments and dreamy swirls with white embossing powder so they would show in the midst of the kaleidoscope of color. I used Gelatos (paint in a chapstick tube - FABULOUS!) to scribble color onto my paper and then dipped my finger in water and smeared it. Serious fun! When I was done, I kept thinking of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat LOL! For the finishing touch, I covered the pages with Iridescent Medium to give them pearly shine (so hard to see in the pictures, darn it).

A close up view of the fairy  - and I LOVE that sentiment.

Stuff I Used:
Stamps- Karber Stamps - 'Beautiful Fairy' Digi, Layers of Color - 'Joyful Noise' Stamps (large swirls & large butterfly), AMuse Studio Stamps - 'Ornate Elements' (smaller swirls), Marvelous Marigolds (small butterfly), Inkadinkado Stamps - Chelsea Alphabet (fly), Friendship (believe), The Rubber Cafe Stamps -'Vintage Treasures' (Do you ever sit and dream?), Stampin' Up Stamps - 'Bliss' (bird, small butterfly w/text)
Cardstock - AMuse Studio Sugar CS
Copics - Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 / Hair: C1, C3, C5, C7 / Dress: BG01 bridged w/ BG05, BG07
              Wings: RV10, R85, BG000, BG02 / Wand: 100, BG10
Faber Castell Gelatos - Every color in the rainbow and white
Nesties - Scalloped Ovals
Other Stuff - Versamark Ink, SU White Embossing Powder, Stardust Stickles, Iridescent Medium

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!  You make my day! :)