Altered Dictionary - U

This time around for the Alpha Challenge the letter assigned to us for word illustration is U

 

I've selected the word Ulster. 

A great benefit of this project is learning words I've not ever known before.

 

 

 



 Never before have I ever read practically every word in any dictionary...who does that?!  But when this project reaches it's end, that's exactly what I will have done!  Who woulda guessed. 

 

xoxo

Annie



Sissy and Missy...

...are very large face stamps.  And not so easy for me to be crafty with.  A couple of posts back I mentioned that I love Renee's creativity with Sissy.  Renee's creations are on large envelopes but I'm not sure of the exact size.  I wanted the face to appear quite large, so I used 6" X 9" envelopes (and because I have lots of them).  A meager beginning, but a beginning none the less.

 

 

 

I got greedy and thought I had to have both sides of the face.

 

 

 

I don't know why now.  I hope to find a good reason soon.  Not that it really matters.

I need to work on how to work things out at the top of her head.  Renee solves that problem with 3-D accessorizing.  But I want things flat for mailing, so I'll have to muse on this for awhile. 

 

My first stamping, of course, went awry and was crooked on the envelope, blah blah blah.  Rather than toss the envelope, I cut out the face, colored it and added it to my blog/flickr friends journal that I add art to here and there. 

 

Maybe the solution for the top of the head is to keep it at the top of the page or envelope.  Hmmm

And of course I had to add a "face" to my altered dictionary.

 

 

These large face stamps that I've been addicted to lately have me intrigued and stumped at the same time.  I hope that's only temporary.

 

Off in search of more play time!

xxx

Annie 

Art Calendar Journal - June

June

has made a warm entrance into California's San Joaquin Valley.  Warm weather makes me happy!

 

When I picture the "bad boys of summer", those nerdy boys are NOT the ones that come to mind. 

 

 

 



But they're "bad" in their own little way, I bet.  I wanted to help them out with a bit of adventure here.

 

May is complete!  Carol and a couple of others have filled my month with so many wonderfully good mail days!  Although fun mail is about the most fun part of my day, I had to force myself to find a few other pleasantries to write about.  Just to break it up some.

 

 

Happy month of June to you!

Annie



Postcards To Mail

I have a small stack of

POSTCARDS

that I will be mailing out...

 

 

Indulge (Fabric)

Live the Life (Paper)

The car is made with actual cancelled postage stamps.

 

Air Mail (Paper)

The bird is made with Washi Tape.

 

012 House (Paper)

The house is made with Washi Tape.

 

Cuppa Love (Paper)

The teacup and saucer are made with Washi Tape.  "Love" is attached with mounting dots.

 

Now, my problem is where to mail them. 

 

If you see one you'd like to find in your mailbox, leave me a comment about it, and in a few days I will choose recipients and get your mailing addresses.

 

Wishing you a Good Mail Day!

Annie 



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 fop.  This 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

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.

Renee's Envelope

Another of Renee's Envelopes

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

 

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

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



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 



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