Another Mixed Media Sneak Peak

Hello Friday!  Is it just me, or do the weeks seem to pass by quickly? I'm all for slowing things down a bit!

Here's the sneak peak. This is about the bottom third of the painting I'm working on.  What I'm lovin' so far are the happy accidents - the layer with the flowers rippled and then was torn in places....but, the white paint I scraped (yes scraped) filled in those spots on the left bottom side of the pic below. Really interesting look!

I'm debating whether or not to add a sentiment to this painting.  I do have one in mind, but does it need it - I don't know yet.  Soon.  Maybe.  Hahahaha...eventually I'll decide.  No rush.

We're about to head outside to enjoy the mild temps today.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!


Sand

Be You

I'm just back from a walk in a local park.  There were lots of mucky paths, downed trees, early signs of spring and with the sun shining on our backs and the wind blowing, it was perfect!  The walk today reminded me of the beauty of nature, and that soon we'll be admiring spring flowers!

My painting today kind of reminds me of spring.  It's bursting with colours - the yellows, oranges and pinks are intense.  In contrast to the vibrant colours, I used a paper lace doily, ivory paints and some muted colours.  I'm super proud of this piece!

I had a message in mind for this painting, but was a wee bit unsure. For a second opinion I turned to Lolly.  Two thumbs up - yay!  And here you have the finished painting. Love!

That's all for today.  Thank you for stopping by!

Peace & Love

Sand

Feel the Calm

In the early days of learning mixed media painting, I never thought I'd get so much enjoyment playing with colours, textures and techniques.  I wish you could see the layers and details that my camera didn't pick up - it's truly amazing.

My favourite piece so far!

I have a few paintings on the go - some really vibrant and multi-coloured, others very soft.  I go with how I feel on the day.  For this painting I decided on four colours - 2 shades of purple, white, and a transparent green. You could say I was 'keepin' it simple'.

There are times when I can't decide what message I want for my paintings.  I really struggled this time, however, my diary of thoughts and feelings certainly came in handy.  When I look at this painting I see a magical forest with a wee bit of light shining through.  The words in my diary popped out at me - Breathe in. Breathe out. Feel the Calm.

How does this painting make you feel? Did you take a moment to take a thoughtful breath in and out? It really is so calming.


Thank you once again for stopping by.  Your comments are always welcome.


Sand

Birthday Shaker Card

I learned how to make a shaker card at a team meeting a while back, but have been dragging my heels on designing and making my own.  Soooo, I finally sat myself down and ta-da - my first shaker card! Yay!

**New** - Facebook friends, Enter my draw to win a free Shaker Card class for you and three of your friends. The attached blog post shows you one of the shaker card styles.

How do you enter the draw? It's easy! Like this post, then share this post with your friends. Want a 2nd chance to win? Go to my blog and comment on a post. I am a new Stampin' Up! demonstrator, so what I need is workshop practice. This will be a really fun class! No selling.

The winner will be drawn on April 9. Good luck!

I gave the card a shake, then quickly took a pic so you could see the tiny sequins. They`re called Sprinkles Embellishments.  I'm lovin' the sweet balloons in the Carried Away DSP, plus the bling in the ribbon, 'rhinestones' and sequins - this is a fun birthday card!  Pssst....I got the silver ribbon and the pack of Carried Away Designer Series Paper free and you can too!  Ask me how.

I'd love to teach you and your friends this technique.  Book a card class with me!  Message me here to book or for my Facebook friends, please message me there.

There will definitely be more shaker cards in my future and I`ll post them here on my blog.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Crafting!


Sand

Fun-Fold Card - Congratulations!

Each month, Tri-City Stampers, under the guidance of Leena Girsa meets either in person or virtually for swaps, games, ideas, info sharing and more.  Last night we met in cyberspace for a fun-filled evening and shared our fun-fold cards. I'm excited to show you a card I made for our team swap.  Be sure to read to the bottom of the post to see some of the products I used for this card, and how to book your very own workshop!

Okay....here we go!

I finally broke into my pack of Falling in Love Designer Series Paper (DSP).  Love it - it's sooooo pretty!  How awesome is it that the DSP coordinates with the paper!  To add texture, I embossed a piece of Blushing Bride cardstock with my Falling Petals TIEF (textured impressions embossing folder).  The dragonflies are die cut and I only adhered the body, leaving the wings 'free'.

Perfect for wedding, anniversary, or graduation card. 

For the inside card, I stamped a couple of flowers from the Special Reason set.  As you can see, the image is very light, which is achieved by inking up the stamp, then stamping it on my grid paper, then onto the cardstock.  The actual term for that technique is 'stamping off'. 

From this angle, you can see how this card looks.  In a nutshell, it's a small card inside a large card.  There are so many styles of fun-fold cards, and I plan on making some in the near future.

Most of the products I used for this card are from the Occasions catalogue and are only available until May 31/17.  When you place an order, every $60 spent earns you a free Sale-a-Bration item, but just until March 31/17.  Free is good, right?  Psssst....order soon. 

As promised...here are some of the products I used for this card.  

That's my card for today.  What do you think?

Ready to place an order?  Book a workshop?

 I'd love to hear from you!

Email me - lollyandsand@gmail.com

Facebook friends, message me via FB.

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Happy Crafting!

Sand

Happy Birthday Wishes

Ah technology.  Sometimes a struggle for me.  I've wanted to add a watermark to my pics for a while and today I finally sat down and figured it out.  Apparently it's not rocket science - go figure!

My card today is quick and simple. I stepped out from my white on white comfort zone by using Blushing Bride cardstock for the base.  For the layer, I used Very Vanilla.  I wanted this card to have a soft look to it, which I think I achieved by using an embossing folder called Elegant Dots.

After adhering the layer to the base of the card, I stamped a few flowers from the Special Reason set, and added the sentiment from Avant Garden, die cut the ovals, and added the little bee.  Ta da, done. Super cute, eh!

As always, the supplies I used for this card are from Stampin' Up!  The link to the annual, Occasions & Sale-a-Bration catalogues are at the top left of my blog.  Please remember, Sale-a-Bration items are only available until March 31.  You earn one free Sale-a-Bration item with every $60 purchase from the Occasions and/or Annual catalogues.  Time is running out!  Contact me soon!

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend and that you'll stop by again!

Happy Crafting!

Sand

Monday Monday, How Lovely You Are!

I love waking up with a spring in my step, so after a quick and healthy breakfast, I decided to get messy.  Paint messy!

To change things up a bit, I used a plastic card to scrape and spread the paint thinly over the canvass, layering the colours.  What I found is they dried so quickly, I didn't have to wait for the paint to dry before adding more.  Is waiting for paint to dry like watching the grass grow? ☺ Hmmm, maybe, but patience is good.

Like my other mixed media sneak peaks, this painting has a long way to go.  At this point, I've used just four colours and added a wee bit of texture.  Overall, I'm liking it.  Not quite at the lovin' it stage, but again, patience is good.

Here'a a close-up of the detail at the bottom of the painting.  Pretty!

Interesting...when I'm inspired to paint, I'm inspired to cook. Off to the kitchen!

I hope you enjoy these little sneak peaks.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Crafting,


Sand

Celebrate

Dad described a car as four wheels and an engine.  I don't disagree....but.... add in a few bells and whistles and that would be the car I'm picking up today.  Yay!!

Here's a card I designed to celebrate.  The pink and grey - ah, love!  In this case, Smokey Slate and Melon Mambo. A clean and simple card.

 My Avant Garden stamp set (free from Sale-a-Bration) is getting a workout lately!  Amazing versatility!  Cards, scrapbooking, invitations, school projects, mixed media, plus oodles of Pinterest possibilities. The sentiment is from the Love Sparkles set, which is in the Occasions catalogue - available until May 31.  With a $60 order from the Occasions or Annual catalogues the Avant Garden stamp set is yours free! Please note - Sale-a-Bration ends on March 31. Be sure to click on the images on the left side of this page to view the 3 current catalogues.  To place your order, simply contact me.

Here's a catalogue recap:

• Occasions & Annual - available until May 31, 2017

• Sale-a-Bration - available until March 31, 2017 - one free item with every $60 purchase (before tax & shipping)

Inspired? Here are the Workshops I offer:

• Take a test drive of the products free.  Book a date & time, and invite 4-6 friends to your home.  We'll make 2 small cards using Stampin' Up! products. 

• Book a free workshop. Hostess invites guests to her home and provides simple refreshments.  I'll share what I love about Stampin' Up! products while we make a card or two. Browse the catalogues, orders are placed and the Hostess can earn Hostess Benefits - Hostess-only stamp sets and other goodies from the catalogues.  As an added bonus - when workshops are booked that day by your guests, they will get a free stamp pad and so will you!  And...if the orders that day are $400 or more (before taxes & shipping), you, the hostess will receive a stamp pad from me! Icing on the cake - book before March 31 and enjoy Sale-a-Bration freebies!  

Well, what a day!  I took a wee break from typing this post to pick up my car. Eeeeeek! This gal is happy! 

Have a wonderful weekend, and happy crafting!

Sand

Mixed Media - Times Two - Update

Happy Wednesday, and happy first day of March!  What a beautiful day we're having here in southern Ontario!  Amazing!

Here's another sneak peak of my latest mixed media paintings.  The process of mixing colours, layering, textures, and the transformation each piece fascinates me.  Painting with my hands - fun!  Finding household items to use for texturing - fun!

As usual, I don't have a particular end result in mind, so I'll patiently wade through the unfolding of wherever this takes me.
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From pinks and pastels to blues, greens, gold and more.  I don't think the photo does justice to the intensity of the colours.  Hands down, these are my fave paintings so far!


Check out how they looked a week ago....craaa---zzy, eh!

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Crafting!



Sand