coffre des affirmations

The New Year is looming before me.  It's a clean slate and I want to make the most of it.  I created this Chest of Affirmations to remind myself to be kind not only to others but to myself as well.

Whenever I feel sad or unsure of myself, I can open a drawer and pick out an affirmation - oh joy!

A base coat of gesso applied to 6 drawer chest then several coats of acrylic paint were applied sanding between coats; rubber stamped around the sides and top.  Wings made of a metal Christmas ornament - no easy task separating it into two pieces - but so perfect, don't you think?!  (I used Apoxie Sculpt for the first time and really like that stuff.)

The head is needle sculpted cotton t-shirt; alpaca for hair; crown made of paper-fabric and bling.

The drawers are stuffed with plenty of affirmations, ink-jet printed and aged.

This piece is a keeper - I love it so!

-Frames from DesignerDigitals
-Kim Klassen Textures

Linking to:

Pink Saturday
Texture Tuesday
Creative Exchange
Katherine's Corner
What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday
It's a Hodgepodge Friday
Inspire Me Fridays

Oh Christmas Tree...

I built my own Christmas tree.  (Actually I made several and gave them as gifts to dear friends.)  It was easy to do and they are adorable.

Drill hole in 2 inch wooden block.  Prime, paint and collage block; use E6000 to adhere glass pebbles on bottom of block for feet.  Attach assorted bits of paper, book pages, ribbon, lace, candy wrappers and the like on a 16 penny nail.  Build up layers and add a topper. I used a swizzle stick I saved from my recent cruise and added a bead.  Adhere the nail to the block using E6000 (insert in drilled hole).   Wait 24 hours for it to cure and voila! a Christmas tree!

The 12th Day of Christmas

This recipe may sound a bit odd, but trust me, it is absolutely delicious!  The combination of salty and sweet is an unexpected surprise.

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  (I used Kim's "Lola" texture.)

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture

Pink Saturday

What Christmas Means To Me...

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

I created a text collage at Wordle.Net and used Kim's new "More Magic" texture over top with screen blend mode.

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture
Katherine's Corner

Away in the Manger...

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

I added clip art, various filters, blending modes and frame to "Away in the Manger" sheet music.  I also used one of Kim's new "Lola" texture.

The Tenth Day of Christmas

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture

The 9th Day of Christmas

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

I created a headdress for this darling little girl; added a new background and applied Kim's "wonderful magic stars" texture over top.  (Below you will find the photo I started with.)

Some exciting news - I've been given the "Versatile Blogger Award". 

It was presented to me by Ann of Ann’s Art StudioHyde - Thank you Ann!

According to the rules, I have to:

1.  Nominate 15 fellow bloggers

2.  Inform the bloggers of their nomination

3.  Share 7 random things about myself

4.  Thank the blogger who nominated me

5.  Add the Versatile Blogger Award Pic to my blogpost

My random things:

1.  I am happily married and the proud mother of a daughter, son and two stepsons

2.  I have 7 granddchildren

3.  I have run 3 marathons

4.  I exercise everyday

5.  I spend 6-8 hours at least 6 days a week in my studio

6.  I am a self-taught artist

7.  I love to talk about, look at and create art!

My 15 nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

1.  Kia at Italian Cozy Corner

2.  Pat at Bailey Road

3.  Leann at The Old Parsonage

4.  Hanna at Honi-Soit

5.  Marilyn at Studio 274

6.  Leovi at La Fotografia Efectista Abstracta

7.  Johanna at Mixed Media Fun

8.  Alexandra at Wort Schmid

9.  Kathyrn at Listening to the Whispers

10.  Rosie at Rosie's Art Blog

11.  Synnove at Seraphina's Phantasie

12.  Dana at Sinderella's Studio

13.  LV at Thoughts from Meme's Corner

14.  Agnes at Magic of Agnes

15.  Kelsie at Our Country Home

Merry Christmas and Happy Blogging!

The 8th Day of Christmas

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

Photo of a quilt I made entitled "Just Another Day in Paradise".  I used Kim's "wonderful magic scripted" texture with screen blend mode.

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture

A Snowman in Naples

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

I used various filters on a photo I took of the Naples Pier; built my own snowman in PSE10 and added Kim's "more magic scratched" texture over top.

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture

Stone Angel Bearing Gifts

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  

I took the photo in the garden of the Nassau Art Museum (the Bahamas).  

What I did:

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture

The 5th Day...

Kim's 12 Days of  Texture Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  

I made this card for my husband.  I kept it simple since fussy is not his style!

Kim Klassens' "Zuzu" texture

Font:  Mountains of Christmas

Playing with Brushes texture

For more inspiration visit:

The 12 Days of Texture
Pink Saturday

Vintage Christmas Tag

Kim's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  

I used Kim's "annabelle" texture in combination with a tag from Designer Digitals and a photo of my daughter Jennifer when she was a little girl.  This is one of my favorite photos of Jennifer.

Visit The 12 Days of Christmas Challenge for more inspiration.

The third day...

Kim's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.

This little snowman adorns the Christmas wreath hanging on my front door.  I layered Kim's new "Cosmo" texture over top with multiply blending mode.

For more inspiration visit

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Faux...

Kim's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  

I live in Florida - no snow here.  I added snow to a photo I took in Freiburg, Germany last year.  Kim's new "Annabelle" texture was clipped to a photo frame.  The addition of a drop shadow to the frame really adds depth to this piece.

Visit Texture Tuesday for more inspiration.

First Day of Christmas

Kim's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge - use any one of the new 12 Days of Christmas textures on any photo.  

I took this photo while in Nassau, the Bahamas a week ago.  I was walking through a maze of shops when I espied this delightful antique store decorated for the holidays.  

Visit Texture Tuesday for more inspiration.

Portugal Pinks...

It's been quite a while since I posted on Pink Saturday.  Lucky me - I've been traveling!  First Spain and Portugal then the Caribbean.  I've been busy, busy since I returned home getting ready for Christmas. 

I took a picture of these pink and white beans at the Flower Market in Madeira, Portugal.  The fruits and vegetables were displayed beautifully.  I don't know the name of these beans, but they were so pretty I had to take a photo of them.  Surely someone will include these beans on their Christmas dinner menu!

more flower market pinks!

Go to Pink Saturday for more inspiration!

Divas at Sea

Is it possible to have too much fun?  My dear friend Tanya and I cruised for the first time.  Our destination - the Caribbean islands of St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau.  It was an experience I won't soon forget.  We enjoyed our time together on the high seas.  I'll share more about our adventure soon.

This week's Texture Tuesday challenge is to combine one of Kim Klassen's textures with any photo.  I used Kim's texture "shades of november".  The theme for this week's challenge is "celebration".  While our ship was docked in Nassau, I noticed the Celebration ship just outside our stateroom balcony - very appropriate for this week's challenge, don't you think?

original photo