Artful Gathering 2017 :-)

Don't miss Artful Gathering online art retreat this summer!!

Session One starts June 6, but you'll find plenty of fun stuff on Zinnia's AG website to get you dreamin' & schemin' for summer...

Sign up for updates, join the Blog Hop, check out all the inspiring instructors and amazing online workshops scheduled for this summer! As always, there are wonderful things happening at AG.

Possibilities...

Apologies for being AWOL these past few weeks... other activities and passions took over my time and attention! I promise I will be back more often in 2017.

For now, I wanted to hop over and share this card created by Michele Storms for her son's birthday, using an image from Lunagirl African-American Images CD.

To see more of Michele's amazing work, visit her at
 artfromthewell.blogspot.com

Bring Your Wings...

"Escape" to creativity this summer... without leaving home... with Artful Gathering online art retreats! Or go ahead and wander... you can take your workshops with you online and enjoy them anywhere.

Registration for Session One is now OPEN!

I'm truly honored that Zinnia has asked me to sponsor again this year. AG is a great summer event for anyone who likes to create ~ talented inspiring instructors, unique workshops, and so much beautiful work to see! Lot of variety, something for everyone. Stretch your creative wings this summer...

The theme this year is Bring Your Wings. I hope Zinnia won't mind if I share this quote by 'anonymous' from the website:

"If you want to fly, 

give up everything

that weighs you down. 

Walk away, run away, 

dance away, fly away, 

just don't stay in the cage... 

Just when the caterpillar

thought the world was over, 

it became a butterfly..."

Gothic Inspiration for You

Shelby Pizzarro Sisterhood of the Muse

More wonderfully Gothic inspiration from the Design Team... "The Letter"... digital collage art by Shelby Pizzarro.

I hope you'll visit her blog Sisterhood of the Muse to read the story she shares to go along with this image!

The weather here in the Eastern U.S. (where Shelby is and also where I am) has been rainy, dark, damp and gloomy this week ~ the gray skies are a perfect backdrop for the leaves that are just starting to turn yellow and red, and also a perfect atmosphere for the Gothic mood of our challenge!

I don't know what it's like where you are, but I hope you'll get inspired by the DT creations, or a moody song or spooky movie... or a Poe story, or an antique object or image you come across... maybe just by a rainy day... and join us for this challenge.

Fairies and Mermaids, Dark and Light...

The fairies and mermaids are looking amazing for this challenge theme! Come join us in my September creative challenge ~ the many lovely entries so far, and the work of the Design Team, are sure to inspire you to get started. We have bright fairies, dark gothic fairies, flower fairies, and plenty of mermaids. Be sure to see, and link up your own. You can enter three times for three chances to win the random drawing and store credit at Lunagirl.com.

Mermaid Sea Star twinchie by Michele Storms
 Art From the Well

Beautiful nature fairy with birds, a message to "Let Go"
by Mandy Chilvers  Tag Along challenge blog

Fairy with a smile to inspire! by Vicki Romaine
 Cheerful Stamp Pad
Background by Gecko Galz

More fairies, in a magical night-time faerie world, by Corinne Marie
 Digital by Corinne

Tags by Mandy

 I'm pleased that we gotten several entries for the Autumn blog challenge already.  :-)

Here are two pretty "autumnal" tags created by Mandy Chilvers, to get you dreamin' and schemin' about your own projects!

Mandy says she has been addicted to creating tags lately ~ and it shows.  These are so pretty!  Check out Mandy's new challenge blog just for tags: http://tagalongchallenge.blogspot.com/

Garden Fairies are Back!

The colors in this are so perfect and cool ~ I love the soft greens in the background and the watermelon pink dress of the fairy Michele chose to complement the seed pack image.  So pretty!

"it takes a garden fairy to make our gardens grow and this watermelon seed pack from the lunagirl “summertime seed packs” collage sheet is getting help from a fairy from the lunagirl “fly away home” collage sheet."

This is by Michele Storms.  Check out her blog!
http://artfromthewell.blogspot.com/

Alice Inspiration from Vicki Romaine of the DT

This is so pretty!  A new Alice card created by Vicki Romaine of The Cheerful Stamppad and the Lunagirl Design Team.

Using the three images in this way does add to the depth of the card, especially that particular image where it draws your eye down into the hidden doorway behind the curtain.

Here's what Vicki wrote:
I took three different colors and sizes of the same Lunagirl Alice image and put them together in various arrangements, but settled on this one.  Each is matted with a black piece of cardstock which gave the images depth.  Having so many layers on the card makes it very sturdy.


Check out my current blog challenge and link up your own Alice-themed creation! 


Below is yet another of Vicki's Alice creations.  Very creative!  Love the black diecut.

I treated  the Lunagirl image of Alice and the Dodo a little differently in this card.  I placed them in this lovely diecut by Cheery Lynn Designs.  I had to really shrink the Lunagirl image on this card to fit the diecut.   To carry out the colors in the designer paper, I used some twine and a flower enhanced with a flourish.

Steampunk Inspiration

What could be more inspiring than this great quote and pretty card from Vicki Romaine?

Steampunk Spirit

It's the second Monday of the Steampunk Girls blog challenge, and that means another bit of inspiration from the Moonbeams Design Team.  Michele Storms has created this stunning collaged image that is truly in the steampunk spirit:

"because jules verne is the father of steampunk i started this creation by going online to find a good photo of him and also an original book cover from one of his books.  the cover i used here is “voyages extraordinaire” or “extraordinary voyage.”  this steampunk girl is truly ready for adventure!  she has her luggage and her compass and she herself  is dressed to kill.  the hand and eye of fate in the corner above her suggest an element of danger but her patron saint jules verne is right behind her luggage.  what could go wrong?

the steampunk girl and the luggage are from the lunagirl “steampunkgirls” collage sheet.  the jules verne photo and the book cover image are from the internet.  the eye, hand of fate and compass are from dover publications and the background script paper is 7 gypsies."

Get your steampunk ladies and girls packed and ready to go for this challenge!

Bathing Beauty Cards & Tag by Vicki Romaine

The ever-fabulous and creative Vicki Romaine of the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team has shared three more bathing beauty projects!  How she finds time during what I know is a busy week, I don't know, but aren't these lovely?  Visit Vicki's blog and join her challenges as well!

I have always been very fond of this image.  Here's what Vicki says about her piece and process:
"Background was ... where I cleaned my brayer on another book page.  The background and image were both printed on grey cardstock so the colors would be a little distressed.  The image was again torn, but no distressing was done as the tearing around the image showed the grey cardstock.  Three blue stones complete the tag."

Woman image from Lunagirl Bathing Beauties 2 collage sheet.

  
Joyful card with a bathing beauty and charming little fish!
"The background was made by cleaning my brayer on a page from a paperback book.  The image was torn and distress with light cranberry ink.  The fish are stick on embellishments and finally a sentiment on acrylic."


Women's images on this card and the next from Lunagirl Bathing Beauties #4 digital collage sheet.

I think this is my favorite.  I like the simplicity, and the colors, and the fence... and that outfit!  Most of all I really like the great quote!

Vicki's comment:
"A very plain card.  Quote is from Quote Garden on the net."

It's lovely ... and my thought for the day!

Artful Gathering Online Art Retreats

Come check out this amazing event!  Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat is a great way to have some fun this summer and learn some amazing creative tips and techniques.  Online classes and workshops where you'll learn from the best and create some beautiful items, raffle prizes, and more.
Christina Zinnia Galliher directs this event, and it's not to be missed!  Lunagirl is proud to be a sponsor again this year (register to get our free digital collage sheet doorprize and maybe win our razzle prize: A set of FOUR ladies vintage photos CDs).
Join us for fun, creativity, and learning this summer.  Click on the banner to find out more or go to artfulgathering.ning.com

Ideas: Pumpkins "Uncarved"

FaveCrafts.com

I wanted to share this Squidoo page with great ideas for decorating pumpkins, none of which involve scooping pumpkin guts!

http://www.squidoo.com/the-uncarved-halloween-pumpkin

Visit the link for details on these easy ideas, and for links to the original websites with more great projects.

Pumpkins in black lace stockings! ShelterPop.com

Rick-rack and ribbons are easy, even for kids (marthamoments.blogspot.com)

a pretty line of verse I heard today...

Here is the beginning of a famous poem by Theodore Roethke, sure to inspire someone to create a lovely ATC or other little piece:
I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;