Lynn was our project hostess for December and she had us making these adorable chapel ornaments.  They are covered in glitter for sparkly and beautiful results.  A candle inside reflects through the tiny windows for a soft flow.  They are adorable and certainly reflect the season.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"Magical" was one of the most fun projects I have finished.  There are so many interpretations for this technique and I was able to get photos of some of them.  Most of my shots didn't do the project justice so I  hope to capture them at another time.


Below are photos of a few more by Debbie, Linda and Mindi:

Our hostess, Debbie, prepared textured canvases for each of us with a photo of our choice already adhered.   The object is to apply elements to cover the entire canvas for a project Finnibair style per the photo below.  (Anna Dabrowska a polish artist aka Finnabair) 

At our local September DIVAS art group, we created what our hostess, Bobbie, referred to as BITCH BOXES, and the gals were very creative.  Because hubby doesn't like to go out to eat or he is unable to go out, I called my shadowbox KITCHEN CLOSED INDEFINITELY.  The boxes were 4-inches square with a depth of about 1-1/2 inches which we could fill with an image, trinkets or whatever.  Bobbie came well prepared with a great variety of  images, papers, trims, verses, etc. 

I have a digital blog; however, I could not link my second take of this portrait to the Digital Whisper Challenge so I posted it here to use this blog link.  For this piece, I added a filter by Topaz Labs called IMPRESSIONS.  To see the first version, visit my digital blog and scroll down.

The project at our circle of friends, Artistic Souls, was to make a paper bag book -- that's right a book made from paper sacks.  Whenever I bring home a creative project hubby always asks, "What do you do with that?!!"  Many projects are created for the artistic beauty and satisfaction of making them by hand.  WELL . . . this time I actually created a project that is usable -- A COUPON BOOK.  I like to clip coupons for the craft stores and grocery store items.  Now I have a perfect little book to put in my shopping cart and will actually have the coupons with me when I shop and not sitting at home in a drawer.

I attached an elastic cord that wraps around the book to keep the contents in place.

Today was the day to create cards for Fathers Day.  My fleet is finished and I wanted to share it with you.

When I heard we were going to alter mouse traps at our monthly DIVAS art club, I couldn't even imagine doing such a thing.  Now I'm hooked and have finished four of them.  Below are the two using the themes I selected at club, hosted by Mindi who supplied the traps, papers and elements.  Thanks Mindi, I really had fun with your project this month.

I am not a photographer and merely take shots of pretty flowers or unusual scenes around the yard.   These photos are HUGE for me because I have been trying to get my orchids to bloom for the last 6 years.  I tired every tip given to me.  I put the plants in the bathroom where there was more light and moisture; I put them in a dark closet for a week; I fertilized them; I misted them and moved them from room to room.

Around Christmas I decided to give up and moved them upstairs to my craft area in front of an outside door facing west.  It just so happened that I keep a night light on in this area so that I can see to walk to the stairs when I turn off my computer and desk light.  LOOK WHAT HAPPENED....my orchids bloomed.    I am really happy and my orchids get a reprieve from the trash bin.

Lots of layers for this weeks challenge.  It provided a great opportunity to use up bits and pieces from other projects.

Both cards started out the same way with alcohol inks swirled on glossy cardstock and daubed with a sponge for the final effect and when dry, the image stamped on top.  However, for the bottom card, I applied glue and attached wrinkled clear plastic wrap to the background.  When it was dry, I stamped the butterfly collage on acetate and attached it over the polished stone.

I really liked this layout and made another card very similar to my first.

The photo of these cards does not do them justice as the background paper was embossed which did not photograph well.  I used chipboard for the teacups and covered them with paper. 

This would have been more effective if I had used a larger image.  The layout required one piece of card stock for the main design, no layering, masking the strip where the words would appear.  I colored the lotus blossom using chalk.

I joined the weekly challenges at OSA and below are the cards for the last two weeks.  The first one required a quilted shaped center with ribbon and the second challenge required the use of mizuhiki cording which is found in numerous Chinese and Japanese decorative knots of all types.  I am not a puzzle person so making my knot was definitely a challenge.

The technique challenge for January is to use strips of paper left from other projects and make a card.  When I pulled out my washi paper, I had numerous pieces and selected blue.  One had a pretty design on the front but I turned it over and used the plain side for emphasis, and between the layers I used strips of gold mizuhiki cording.  The crane image is from Shadowhouse Stamps. 

I used a sheet of background paper from Bird Song and made all seven cards using a basic color theme including the stamped images.  I can't tell you what fun I had making these cards.  I was able to pull out materials that had not seen daylight for many months and it felt really good, and it put a smile on my face all day.  I have always had a passion for oriental themed art and decided it was time to get out my supplies and make some cards for this challenge.   My friends at OSA have been missed too.