Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Altered Dictionary - F

 F is this fortnight's letter for the Alpha Challenge at The Craft Barn and it comes with the twist to choose a word between Fe through Fr.
 
I have chosen the word fopThis is not a word I previously knew, but it's a dandy.....literally!
 
 
Again, I have printed the images onto tracing paper, cut them out and pasted them to the page.
 
I'm trying to pull myself back to basics with this project.  Lately I've gotten carried away adding more to a page than I originally intended.
 
 
Fop is my word for the alpha challenge, but I couldn't resist altering a couple more pages.
 
Flourish
 
and
 
Fountain Pen
 
 I think I've known a fop or two in my days.  I just wish I had known the word fop back then!  :-)

Happy Day to you!
Annie

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Meet Emily and Renee

There was a day when I would never have braved working with a large face stamp.  But I'm older now and have less sense..........  Or maybe just fewer inhibitions.  I've recently discovered Renee's blog, Bolton House where I find lots of inspiration.  Namely and most prominently are these two envelopes designed by Renee.

Which have inspired me to try my hand at large face stamps.

6" X 9" envelope turned sideways

I was pretty impressed with myself for creating this little bit of artsy work here.  I knew immediately what I would use this for (as the gift wrap for a hospitality thank you I will need in July), but I also knew I didn't really want to part with it.  So, when that happens, when I get an idea or design I like, I like to get more mileage out of it by using it up and wearing it out.

So I created another version for my journal where I collect blogger and flickr friends and their mail info and add a bit of artsy stuff on a page here and there.



And then another version on an envelope for Carol.


That was so satisfying!  Renee helped me find the very large half face she worked with, so I'm pretty excited now to see what I can create with it myself.

In the meantime, the idea for Carol's name on the envelope above  was so fun that I had to use up and wear out that idea too.



And THAT was really fun to create!  I'll be using this style on everyone I know.  LOL  The little yellow squares look a bit funny because they are done with a glitter pen and are reflecting the lighting.   Sadly, the photo doesn't show how awesome the glittery ink looks.

 To see all the fun envelopes that Carol has sent to me, click HERE to go to her flickr photostream....where you'll see all her fabulous artwork.
 
I try very hard to get some sewing in between envelopes, but every time I go to my work space, it seems another envelope insists on being designed.  But, that's how I roll... crafting what most interests me at the time.  And right now, what interests me most is sending fun snail mail to unsuspecting characters in my life.
 
Wishing you a Good Mail Day!
Annie
 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Dress Form

The dress form stamp I used in my Altered Dictionary post has gotten a few special mentions in comments.  So I wanted to share this photo I found surfing the web a while back.  Isn't this a great photo?!  So funny!

(If I knew who took this photo, I'd be happy to give credit and include a link...or even remove it if necessary.)
 
xxx
Annie

Monday, May 13, 2013

Altered Dictionary - K

The letter K is our letter to illustrate for the Alpha Challenge at The Craft Barn this new fortnight.
 
 I have chosen the word Kit to alter in my dictionary, with a sewing kit.
 
 
The dress form, thread spool and tape measure are stamped on tracing paper, cut out and glued to my page.  The yellow measure is washi tape.  The zigzag stitches, buttons, pins and words are rubber stamped.
 
I know a dress form in a kit is a bit large, but really it's light weight and I can manage it under one arm. :-)
 
My dictionary is getting pretty fun to look through now!
 
xxx
Annie


Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Alpha Challenge letter this time is
A
The word I've chosen in my altered dictionary is  
ACT
 

 
 
This fun image is cut from a stamping magazine.  I highlighted the word act with chaulk, added the stamped words DONT WAIT, connected them to the portion of the definition, do something and connected that to the image. 
 
xxx
Annie 


Thursday, May 2, 2013

Art Calendar Journal - May

May
has arrived!
 
I love starting a new month in my art calendar journal project.  I went a bit bird crazy for this month.  Birds just seem to add lightheartedness to life.
 



After all the many pleasantries in April, that will be a tough act to follow.  I'm actually looking forward to a more relaxed month of May.
 
April having been my birthday month and following my many posts of mail art in one form or another, I had a whole bunch of really amazing mail days to fill my little daily blocks with.
 
 

 I've blocked a couple of days that I wasn't wanting to share.  But other than that, I'm a boring open book.

Have a wonderful month of May!
Annie