Mermaid Skinny and Clementine Design

May has flown by and the apple blossoms are floating away to make room for this year's fruit.  Yesterday it was time for me to start to consider my two skinny project exchanges for June.  One of the projects has an open theme, and the other, the artist has requested "Mermaids."  I had conceptualized a Mermaid collage months ago, long before the one project began but decided to tweak it yesterday and last night started the sewing and embroidery for it.  Mermaids haven't ever been a subject of much fascination for me, perhaps because I've grown up on the prairies!   So, I borrowed from Waterhouse, as his mermaid  painting is always the image that pops to mind when the word 'mermaid' is spoken.    And to me,  Boticelli's Venus seemed to be remarkably similar to Waterhouse's mermaid - so I'm satisfied with this concept. I'll post the cloth versions in a few days, hopefully!

 Image Credits: as noted above - Frame - TumblefishStudio@DeviantScrap.com, Fish and Key - www.PaperWhimsy.com

On another note, DeviantScrap had another new designer start last week - Clementine Design.  She  (Clementine) created this gigantic kit called Tommy Town - too many different images to mention here and too eclectic to even describe.  I was stymied to know what to create with her kit.  My muse must have slept in that day - or was MIA.  So I went completely off the radar and having found a photo of Dali in the Library of Congress archives, I decided to create a couple of dali-esque digital collages.

Image Credits:  Dali - Library of Congress, Elephant - The Thing Finder - HolliewoodStudios@DeviantScrap.com  All other images TommyTown by ClementineDesign@DeviantScrap.com

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Gilding the Lily.....

This weekend was a typical "May Long" - although there wasn't any snow, it was cold with temperatures sticking around the low teens....not really condusive to gardening....unless you have fur-lined gardening gloves!  So, instead of my plans to visit the greenhouses and pick up my annual flowers, I ended up spending more time adding beads and embroidering two cloth collages that I am creating for a publication that will be out in September.  Seems like such a long ways away, but they have to be sent off the first week in June.

Here's a few " macros" of what I accomplished....

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Crowabout Studio B - hang on to your sunglasses!!!

There's a new designer on the block over at www.DeviantScrap.com - Nancy Baumiller, a very talented Zettiologist who is well known to many for her magical journals, collage sheets and challenges.  I knew her first as the kind and funky person behind  'Something to Crowabout" !!  She says it best so check out  her shop opening  announcement  http://crowabout.blogspot.com/  

She has count'em ..... 123456 7 new packages for purchase, including a freebie.  Here is a sampling of  just two of them:

These images are a ton of fun to play with, and I spent a couple of days this past week creating a few examples.  I am a real newbie when it comes to this style and so don't judge me too harshly please!  It came as no surprise to me that Terri Kahrs of Pringle Hill Studio is also on Crowabout Studio B's Creative Team - so you may want to surf on over to Terri's blog here to see the fun collage work she created for Nancy.

And here's a few of my first attempts at using her 'parts' - they are both by hand and digital -

Crowabout Postcard

123

A Different Way

Zetti Eleanor

Image Credits:

Postcard Front - All from CrowaboutStudioB@DeviantScrap.com with the exception of the black and white background which is from the Art Dollies kit by HolliewoodStudios@DeviantScrap.com and the stars, Counting Crows sign and crow outlines by TwoDressesStudio
Postcard Back - Letters - TumblefishStudio@DeviantScrap.com, Borders - Katie Pertiet, Tree - Maya@ScrapbookGraphics.com
123 - All from CrowaboutStudioB@DeviantScrap.com with the exception of the crow, muted newspaper from Love and War by HolliewoodStudios@DeviantScrap.com and grass from Maya@ScrapbookGraphics.com
A Different Way - background writing and moon face - TwoDressesStudio, all other images by CrowaboutStudioB@DeviantScrap.com
Zetti Eleanor - a combination of images from CrowaboutStudioB@DeviantScrap.com and TwoDressesStudio

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Thank you for your prayers

for Chandler.  He continues to improve each day and both his Dad and his brother are with him now in Bangkok.  He has lived in Thailand for several years and also has loads of friends who love him and will be there to cheer him on.    Luck was on his side when he arrived at the hospital as a neurosurgeon who was trained at one of the best hospitals in Canada made his way through the battle area to be there to perform his surgery.   Time will tell whether any of his injuries will disable him permanently...so continued prayers are appreciated.

I haven't seen Chandler for 10 years,  but corresponded with him last summer to get a photograph of my cousin's dog to paint for her that I blogged about here.    He also granted me permission to paint any of his photographs.  Chandler is a gifted photographer and journalist with a passion to understand and inform the world of the on-going political tension and corruption in Thailand.  If this subject interests you, please visit his websites listed below.  And keep your eyes open for his film - A Land Apart which should be released later this year.

http://www.thethaifilmproject.com/
http://www.nationsstate.blogspot.com/

Once again THANK YOU!

 

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Please say a prayer tonight...

 My cousin's son was seriously injured in Bangkok today while reporting on  the current conflict in Southern Thailand.  He was hit by shrapnel and is in ICU recovering from brain surgery.  PLEASE add him into your prayers tonight.  We are all just heartbroken right now by this news and are praying that he recoveries fully from his injuries.

Here is the lin to the news coverage -  Chandler Vandergrift

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One more envelope and card to add....

"Paris Night" - ATC Envelope and 2.5x3.5 inch note card - available here

I also made a second version without the A T C so it could be used just as a tiny note card and envelope - it has slightly different tones - 

 

Image Credits:  Lovely Tumblefish Studio@DeviantScrap.com  images for the angel, frame and cloud, Paper Whimsy for the hints of Paris.

And finally, one I finished making into a fabric envelope today next to the paper version -

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New ATC Envelopes and Matching 2.5 x 3.5 inch Cards

Well, I thought I'd 'play store' again today and created some, what I think are great little envelopes and matching cards for ATC artists now posted in Etsy!  (www.twodresses.etsy.com)

I love receiving mail where the sender has spent that extra bit of time to package things in a way that makes me feel like I am really and truly opening a present.  Know what I mean?  It just seems to make everything just sparkle a little bit brighter.

Here's a few snapshots of them.  I love how they turned out although I admit  I'm a little partial to tiny envelopes, I am hoping that I'm not alone!!!!  Can you tell I'm excited?

They print out so wonderfully well and I've tested each one to make sure the dots are all lined up and the images are of the highest quality as  possible for digital collage sheets.

Two of the three versions I created are specifically for ATC cards and are labeled just that as part of the design.  There is one that reads "4-YOU" so it could be used as a cute little card and envelope for any occasion.  And, considering you can print as many as you like, I think they're priced well.  I'm hoping so and if they do prove to be likeable, I'll keep at it and create more!  Thanks for looking.

"4-YOU" - Generic Envelope/Card 

ATC Envelope and Card - "Fleurs"

ATC Envelope and Card - "Violet Sky"

No surprise I guess, that I also felt compelled to try to create a fabric envelope out of the same design as the one above.  This will be sent out to a dear blog friend next week along with a sampling of each of the envee packs.

 

Cloth Envelope - cotton, beads and embroidery with felt lining and striped ribbon

Image Credits:  HolliewoodStudios@DeviantScrap.com for the floating flowers from Spring Faeries and Stripes from Stripes!  TumblefishStudio@DeviantScrap.com for the 2 figures (angel and round face) as well as arms, little hearts, letters,  cloud backgrounds and fish and to Kate Pertiet for the little tag and flowers.  Images have been color adjusted.

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Honest! I wasn't trying to be a tease!

Yesterday I posted a snapshot of a partially completed fabric collage.  I didn't post the whole collage only because it isn't finished yet and looks hmmm, well, yucky to me, not unlike my face after a bad sleep! ( insert giggle here please)

So, my apologies for appearing to  be a tease about it.  That wasn't my intention.  I  completed the digital composition for it though, so without further delay, here it is. 

This collage started out as a different size (as you can see  below) but I was curious to try my favorite 4 x 8 dimension  and this is the size I chose to transform into a fabric piece.  The snapshot yesterday is the bottom of the second image and is attached to the bottom.

Thanks as always for your comments!

"When Pigs Fly" and "We Believe In You"  - all digital collages

Image Credits:  

HolliewoodStudios@DeviantScrap.com - The Thing Finder - parachute, and overlay print on left side of first collage,  Love and War - arrow sign, Spring Faeries - striped butterfly

TumblefishStudio@DeviantScrap.com - Frames, Crown, pig and bunny wings, WE letters

TangieBaxter@DeviantScrap.com -  Black Licorce -  Bunny and first Pig

TwoDressesStudio - second pig, commercial purchase, backgrounds inside frames

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Work in progress - cloth collage

Here's a snapshot of a portion of a new fabric collage I started working on.  After I print the collage onto cloth and finish the machine stitching part of it, I usually work on the by hand elements in the evening as I find it quite relaxing and can also catch some TV if I am so inclined.  The deep orange eyelet is fabric from http://www.lusciouslayers.etsy.com/ and the vintage ecru applique is from Viola at http://www.saray-viola.blogspot.com/  Thanks Viola!

And, well, I couldn't resist taking a few photos of these beautiful StarGazer Lilies that are still blooming from Mother's Day - they fill the studio with their unmistakable fragrance!

Happy Weekend Fellow Bloggers!

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It's just my imagination....

Behind the Scenes - Constructing Spring - digital 8 x 10 inches

This is a depiction of The Magic Energies  working in collaboration with Mother AND Father Nature to Create the Season of  Spring.  Every Spring I am always filled with the Wonder and Joy  of witnessing   the Trees transform and  listening as the Silence slowly fills with the sounds of birds.

Image Credits:  Thanks to http://www.solalia.deviantart.com/  for the geese

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