Black Bean Salsa Recipe Card

In an effort to improve on my digital collage skills, I mustered up this recipe card today. Ever since I attended KC Willis' Collage Camp, my mind sometimes waivers towards the old country West. You don't see all that much art with cowboys, American Indians, and pioneers. I sometimes get in the mood for an old John Wayne movie, and often feel the need to scavenge through photos and art of the old prairies.

I love many recipes from this neck of the woods, and found these beautiful images from Scrapbook Graphics, particularly "A Pioneer Story" Kit designed by Lorie Davison. You will love spending some time checking out her detailed artwork. It is amazing!

Whee Haaa!

Artful Recipe Cards

A couple of years ago I was a participant in a artistic recipe card swap. Every month we made 12 cards for the 12 participants. I have missed doing this simple project. That is what inspired me to create this ultra easy digital collage recipe card.

This recipe might have a very short ingredient list, but has a big wow factor! Coconut happens to be one of my favorite tastes. Enjoy!

Credits: FRAME, INSERT, TAG, CLOCK AND ELEPHANT designed by DEVIANT SCRAP. COM, WINGED DOG designed by LISA'S ALTERED ART.

My Fair Lady File Folders

My desk is usually cluttered with all sorts of papers. In between working my regular secretarial home-based real estate job, I squeeze in a little bit of time each day to work on my art between normal business hours.

Some days the shuffling of paperwork can be just plain monotonous, so I thought to myself: wouldn't it be wonderful to create a few file folders to help me do my job more efficiently AND make beautiful art. File cabinets contain some really boring topics, and rarely see the light of day when we slip a piece of paper into the inside. These pieces of art look great just setting on my desktop. I feel they are just too special to hide away. I am hoping to complete a set of file folders that read, "To Do," "Mail," "File," "Urgent," and "To Be Paid."

These sweet gorgeous lady images were designed by Moonlight Journey. They are a digital pack set of over 25 images called "My Fair Lady." Each women's image measures from 3 to 5 inches. There are 12 women, 6 vintage ads, postcards, labels and more. I used a free motion stitch surrounding the form of each woman that was attached to tulle. Then attached the fabric to book text. The letters for each tab are from magazine article titles. What a wonderful way to "dress up" your workspace!

I really like how these file folders sprung from just a plain manila folder!

Angels Among Us

Last Monday was no ordinary Monday.

Half asleep, I groggily crept towards my office computer. The first thing I do every morning is click on my email icon. Was I reading this right? I re-read the first sentence.

"Lynne and I would love

for you to be on our Design Team

for Moonlight Journey."

Am I awake or dreaming? Pinch myself.....I realize that I am awake NOW. Just conceptualizing that the idea of doing this is so unbelievable, I am sent straight to Heaven by pure excitement.

I am extremely grateful to Becky Loyall and Lynne Tears, partners in the web-site, Moonlight Journey for this opportunity to make objects of art using their colorful collage sheets and for the chance to reflect publicly on my personal life and share my work.

I hope some of you who see these pieces will be inspired to create and share treasures of your own. I am so humbled by the fact that the Design Team includes artists I have respected and admired for a long time. I would also like to thank my dearest friends, Deb Abel and Terri Gauthier, for all your inspiration and motivation, and obviously guiding me towards this fabulous opportunity. You are the best!

Thank you so much for your faith in me to become a Moonlight Journey family member! I think I have finally grasped the meaning of truly "living the dream!"

Handmade "Moo" Cards

Want a different and fabulous way to share or promote your blog? I discovered this wonderful way called Moo (www.moo.com). You can easily make a card using snippets of your artwork. The company has an easy interface that allows you to upload your art to their template. You can choose any portion of an image and have it printed.

I, on the other hand, am always looking for ways to be economical lately, and thought that I could do this within minutes by using this awesome collage sheet designed by Becky Loyall and the group Moonlight Journey, entitled "Beautiful Women Microscope Slides." Each handmade "Moo" card measures 1-1/8" by 2-3/4". I added some reflective holographic stickers to some of these.

Because of their small size, these cards can be used as business cards, invitations to special events, gift tags, and so on. I even thought I could make third generation art from them. By that I mean, what if you began with a piece of art and made a "Moo" card from it, and then go one step further and make art from your "Moo" cards. You can even use these tiny cards as embellishment.

You can even go in another direction by creating a "Moo" box, to hold a nice stack of "Moos," ready for sharing. I have been thinking it would even be cool to make little photo cards and then combine them in a unique photo collage. And how about a "Moo" card swap? There are a host of possibilities. Just let your imagination soar!

Wizard of Oz ACEO Swap

Ahhhh…..the beauty of the beloved movie, the Wizard of Oz!

This was the first time I ever went to the movies when I was a young girl. My mom said I clenched my teeth when the Wicked Witch of the West flew her bicycle down that graveled road in Dorothy's fantasy. I viewed that huge Cinemascope screen thinking back in awe and still remember that evil witch scaring me!

This movie has special thoughts for me, due to not only it’s glowing music, but I lost a favorite Scottie stuffed animal dog when we left the theater. Talk about a memory!That is why I have chosen the subject of using "ToTo" as my main focus in representing the Wizard of Oz "And ToTo Too....." in my very first online ACEO Challenge hosted by Kris Dickinson.

I guess, the movie is pretty obvious that the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion already had what they thought they were missing. Their respective problems were in misapprehending their own nature. That is a very powerful statement when you think about it! Makes me think about my own possible imaginary hangups.

I recall feeling emotional when the Scarecrow was showing wisdom, the Tin Man feeling deeply, and poor Cowardly Lion going far beyond his comfort zone when facing the flying monkeys at the Witches Castle in the Haunted Forest. His accomplishment was truly harder in his case. What “is” true courage really?

It is very touching to watch the Wizard of Oz at my age. It was wonderful to see Dorothy step from the black and white world of Kansas to the bright colors of Munchkin Land, almost like she was taking a voyage in self-discovery. The Wizard of Oz is learning about evil, friendship, and fallibility, and how we see this identical voyage repeated in our own lifetimes.

I often wonder if the screenwriters actually were tapping into our frustrations, our excitement, our dreams and needs, and our sense of wonderment. I wonder if they knew the impact this movie would have 60 years later!

I wonder if they knew that

their heart’s desires

were not that far from our own!

The main background and wing images are from Moonlight Journey. I Googled the "Haunted Forest" sign and "ToTo" dog. Then I added silver mini glitter stars and lastly embellished with a very light touch of iridescent Dazzle glue.

Gone With The Wind Art

GONE WITH THE WIND has always been one of my favorite movies. With my fascination with historical films and romantic aspects of the era depicting the saga of the War Between the States and the Old American South, I decided to make a fabric collage for my latest art group challenge.

Olivia de Havilland plays the character Melanie Hamilton. She is the epitome of an ideal southern feminine sweetheart. The film portrayed her personality with so gentle a voice, with never an inclination of rudeness or jealousy. It pained my heart to see a sister-in-law, quite selfish in nature, prey on Melanie's naiveness starring the famous character, Scarlett O'Hara. It is a film of both women in love with one man, but married to only one of them. And Scarlett, married to another, still longing for someone already taken. Then throw them into the sorrow of the Civil War.

I fall into this film every time I watch it again. So with that thought, here is my submission for a page in my latest art endeavor with the theme "Movie Stars of the Silver Screen."

I would also like to thank KC Willis, for presenting the opportunity to participate in her Collage Camp. The techniques I used for this collage were taught in her online class, and can also be viewed in her section of the book "Creating with Fabric," a Tweety Jill Publication by Jill Haglund. Both class and book can be purchased from the Lipstick Ranch, KC Willis, Proprietor.