Something New--Stained Glass Dog Portrait

 Ever since COVID, I've promised myself to expand my comfort zone with new techniques and media. Today I tried faux stained glass painting. I pulled out a square shadowbox frame to experiment and I think it went well. This is our rescue dog, Honeycomb, Honey for short. She is a mixed terrier with a longish nose and long legs. When a groom is postponed, her hair starts curling. It is soft and fine and creamy white with areas of tan and brown.

I used my black Posca paint marker for the outlines and any leftover window paint for the rest. I had limited colors so I had to mix the white with the brown. It came out a lot more opaque than I thought it would, but maybe I just have a heavy hand. I had to remember to paint from the "front to the back" since the finished product would be the flip side of where I laid the paint.

I used a left over piece of Recollections scrapbook paper for decoration. My daughter loves it, so I hung it in the living room where she normally sits. It makes both of us smile. So I think I'll try another. 

Since COVID, some of the "new-to-me" art I have dabbled in include embroidery, jewelry wrapping, making earrings, outdoor decor, handmade wind chimes, flower arrangements candle making and novelty pens (with peacock feathers). Some were short-lived hobbies while others have sold or are being displayed in and out of my house and others'.

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? Be brave, be curious...you'll be surprised and feel a little empowered so I would suggest taking a stab at the untried...

 

Another Month, Another Birthday Card

 

I love the sentiment on this card. It's a two-part greeting. And it goes  perfectly with the image I chose. The image is from Lynn Stansberry of Squigglefly. I colored her with Copics and double-framed her. All the papers I used are leftovers from previous projects.

The inside of the card reads: "and on my birthday, you must tell me that I look marvelous!" Isn't this the perfect image?! LOL

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Can't Get Halloween Out if My Head (and off my craft table)

 

Hello, Halloween lovers! Today I made a square card featuring skeletons. The background paper featuring Mr. Skeleton is from the Dead or Alive Paper collection from Rucola Designs. The Copic-colored skeleton child is from Kenny K Stamps. I haven't bought cardstock in months due to a towering stack leaning precariously in my basement, so all papers are "leftovers".

I framed my card face with lacy die-cuts I made from a scrapbook crop (and I haven't been to one in years!).  It showcases the paper well, I think. After coloring my image, which is called "Skull Man", I fussy-cut him out to place under the outstretched hand of his parent. He's so very anxious to go trick-or-treating like all the little goblins and ghosts.

I had forgotten to print my greeting, so I used my circle punch and wrote on black cardstock with white ink the words Trick or Treat. The only other embellishment I used was the cloth Autumn leaf in the top left corner.

I hope you like my Halloween card today. I am building a nice new stack of cards to send out this year. Unless I find a craft fair before the holiday, and on make a little money (m-wa ha ha). All's fair in love and crafts, right? Don't forget to check out the challenge at Halloween Crafts All Year 'round

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

March Means Spring So Where Is It?

 

No matter, Mother Nature is off her meds anyway. So today I have a birthday card for you. After organizing my finished cards last month, I discovered I was very low on birthday cards. So I pulled out a small baggie from my magical file of stickers and die-cuts and held in my hand a plethora of circles.

I used to frugally make use of every inch of designer paper. If a scrap was big enough, I would bring out my circle punch until the paper looked like a skeleton. I think that was about 6 years ago (at least). Anyway, I decided to make rows of circles to "create" my own designer paper.

I also stamped and embossed several circles with a happy birthday greeting to goon card fronts. Now I have a box of circular greetings and deco's for quite a few cards.  Looks like I'll be filling that box of birthday cards sooner than I thought!

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Everybody ART - For a Boy/Man

Unicorn - For Boys/Men 

Sharing Another Two-fer Card Today

Last month I offered an easy way to create two cards at once by using the same materials for the card base. Both start with a piece of 8.5"x11", cut in half and folded to make my two cards. While decluttering and organizing my card-making supplies, I found my old crimper and it inspired me to put it back in circulation today. I crimped both card faces and chose a strip of designer paper to add to each, again giving each card a different orientation.

I used an alcohol ink from Tim Holtz to color the grooves left from the crimper, a quick and easy way to add color to any card face. During my decluttering I found a lot of items I had made some years ago and I had thought lost. The shaker box made a home on my new card, as well as a cool Halloween rhyme (and a cute cat rub-on that I did just because he's so cute!)

For my 2nd card, I found an image from Ike's Art called Devil May Care. After coloring him with Copics, I decided to keep my card face white. It makes a stark contrast with my Devil. I added a flourish and a feather, on which I pasted on my greeting, cut out and framed in black. Easy peasy, especially since I didn't have to hunt down all the supplies.

Don't forget to check out the inspiration and challenge at Halloween  Crafts All Year 'round!

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Two Old Bats Halloween - Anything Halloween Goes w/optional mood board

Your Help Please

As many of my followers are aware, my husband was diagnosed and passed duhe to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. We were very blessed to have healthcare from the VA, wo supplied us with medications, supplies,  rehabbing our house, everything he needed up until the day he died. The most important part of his care was the knowledge that the newest, latest information, medications, tests and therapy were all available to us, due to the government's funding to expand access and activities towards ALS support and research.

With the new government cutbacks depleting "overly-unnecessary" funding, research and support in agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, families of people diagnosed with ALS, as well as other terrible fatal diseases, will be unable to support new therapies, drug treatments, and medical breakthroughs for these diseases. 

I happened on a FB post from the ALS Association asking readers to fill in a form that would be sent to each congress member asking to vote down any funding cuts. All you have to do is fill out your name, city and state and they will send it. Please think about it...

A hoax? I just received a letter from my Senator. Read it below:

February 19, 2025 Mr. Pat Martin Dear Pat:            Thank you for contacting me about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  I appreciate hearing from you.            Every year, ALS patients and their families travel from Illinois to my office in Washington, D.C.  These inspiring individuals demonstrate courage and hope.  In 2020, I co-founded the bipartisan Senate ALS Caucus to help raise awareness about the difficulties faced by ALS patients and their families and advance policies that improve their quality of life.               Last Congress, I cosponsored the ACT for ALS Act (P.L. 117-79), which would have created new pathways for faster and broader access to medical therapies for those most in need, particularly for people diagnosed with ALS.  This legislation would have facilitated access to new therapies, drug treatments, and medical breakthroughs for ALS patients.  It also would have bolstered an ongoing mechanism to share feedback and information between patients, physicians, federal agencies, and national organizations that facilitate care services to improve quality and access to care.  On December 23, 2021, President Biden signed the ACT for ALS Act into law.             On March 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47) into law.  This legislation raised the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to $48.6 billion, a $300 million increase from Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.  It also included $75 million to expand access and activities authorized by the ACT for ALS Act.   The NIH is the foremost biomedical research institution in the world and offers our best hope for treating and curing ALS.   This funding represents an important victory for medical research worldwide.             I am committed to advocating on behalf of ALS patients and their families.  I will keep your thoughts in mind as relevant legislation is considered by the Senate.            Thank you again for contacting me.  Please feel free to stay in touch.
	Sincerely,       Richard J. Durbin       United States Senator

Is It Too Early to Start Christmas Crafting...

 Happy February, crafters! After an overlong break from creating cards, I am again pulling out papers, images, Copics and more (oh, my!). Today I'm showcasing a holiday card, because, let's face it, it's never too early to start stacking up those Christmas cards.

My image is from Vintage Christmas Sticker Sheet from Conjuror of Dreams. It's one of several beautiful winter scenes. I printed two and after framing and adhering the first onto my card face, I fussy-cut two trees from the second copy and used dimensional tape to add to my scene. Since I am trying to declutter, all my papers are leftovers from previous projects and remaining sheets from raided stacks.

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING: