Applying The Brakes...

Hello all you fabulous blog buddies!

Well, it's the end of the month and we are finishing up the personal challenges between Onion, Mitza Pitza and myself.  The final theme this go around was to 

Create 2 cards (Clean and Simple & Shabby Chic) Using Same Design or Colors....wow!!

 The above card is my Shabby Chic version using the below paper sent to each of us by Sue (Onion), our common element.  You'll find this paper in the flag and arrow on the left side of the fence in each card.

I thought it would be fun to repeat not only this shape and paper in each card, but the same main details as well and derive a completely different appearance in each; at least I hoped I would.

So next I "applied the brakes" and created my CAS version...

I had such an incredible time creating these projects with a few of my blog buddies and just as before, I cannot wait to see what Sue and Mitra have created for this doozie!

Thanks so much for your positive feedback and wonderful comments.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate you.

 Okay....it's a BUNCH!!!

Hugs n' Happy Stamping to you all,

Lisa xx

Counting Chevron Sheep....

Fabric Chevron Card 1

(Chevron pattern created using triangles layered on top of each other)

Besides knowing that I get to sleep in, Saturdays now have another fun highlight for me...it's getting to see and share the creations from Sue (Onion), Mitza Pitza (Mitra) and myself.  This Saturday's challenge was to sew a Chevron pattern on a card or project.  

The first card kept me up.  I kept mulling it over in my head, thinking I didn't much care for it. So I tried to ignore it and count sheep to go back to sleep.  Soon enough, little wooly chevron sheep were jumping the fence and running willy nilly into the pasture.

 That was it...I flew out of bed and created another cardstock chevron pattern with machine stitching.  

Not sure what it is about this one that I like better, but it was sufficient enough to let me sleep!

Scrap Cardstock Chevron Card 2

(Chevron pattern created using strips of scrap paper)

I thought it was a terrific way to use up scraps of paper too.  

I can't wait to see what my crafty buddies have come up with this time around. Hopefully they were able to sleep without being inundated with colorful trendy moxy fab sheep in their dreams.

Click here to see Sue's creations

and

Click here to see Mitra's creations 

Hugs n' Happy Crafting,

Lisa xx

Women Parts, Heart Attacks, Strep Throat and Bleach...

Well hello to you all! 

It's been a hell of a week so far.  

Absolutely love when my yearly physicals roll around all at the same time.  

Had to get my tetanus shot as it's been 10 years already, so had that in the left arm. Then the blood work was drawn for all the cholesterol and whatnot checks also in the left arm. While in the middle of thinking on this project, the phone rings and it's the hospital on the line and a very frantic and nervous woman asking me if I'm having heart palpitations and finding it difficult to move my joints.  No hello, no nothing, just instantly asking those questions. I said, "To be honest, I just started, right after you said that!"  She said, "You need to get to the Emergency Room ASAP, we think you're on the verge of having a heart attack."

 I said, "WHAT??? I'm not having ANY of those symptoms!"  

Apparently my potassium levels were red flag high and so I either could rush to the ER and have tests run OR I could go back to the lab and have the blood drawn again. I chose door number 2.

1 hour later, I'm back at home again, now with a completely sore left arm and a new puncture wound in my right arm, when the phone rings again.  It's the same lady from before; only this time, she's completely calm.  She begins by apologizing for alarming me earlier and then tells me that all my blood work is absolutely normal and my potassium levels are perfect; I am not going to be having a heart attack anytime in the near future.  Apparently, the phlebotomist  who drew my blood earlier, left the tourniquet on too long and that causes the potassium levels to rise.  I did not know that.... but now I do. 

Then it was off to have the boobies flattended...(Gotta Save Second Base!) 

So what does that have to do with me being a dork? 

Well, my arms are completely sore and my body feels like a human pin cushion, and when I went to the store to buy bleach for this project, I could barely bend my arms and this particular jar of bleach was the one I could reach.  

Our theme this week for Onion, Mitza Pitza, and Quirks this week is....

Use Bleach and Another Medium

Here's the ridiculous part.  After realizing that I wasn't going to have a heart attack, I set out to make a very fun and colorful tag filled with bleached stamped images. So, I stamped and stamped and stamped and guess what? Nothing! The more I stamped with bleach, the same the paper stayed. Eventually I finally yelled in defeat, "What the heck is the deal???"  That's when I spun the chair around to read the bottle and the jar I had grabbed was color safe bleach!!!! DORK!!!! No friggin' wonder it wasn't working. 

So now my poked and prodded arms are really sore as I've been pushing down with all my strength to get the bleach to take to the paper and nothing, not now, not ever....

But,

if you use color safe bleach on acetate, it really does give a beautiful charred brown appearance seen in the upper top right and lower left bottom of the tag.

The go anywhere tag was created by painting a butterfly stamp with acrylic blue paint and then adding a painted layer of REGULAR bleach on top of that and then stamping it onto the colored cardstock and you can see here that the bleach worked much better.  

My initial inspiration was the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013 and the latest June tag here; which is why I decided on the dragonfly.  Upon further inspection, I really think the warped acetate and spastic coloring along with the sporadic movements and design, rather summarize the week I've had.

Next week I'm off to have my annual pap smear test run. 

 Last year, right after I had it done, they called to tell me that the results came in and I had strep throat!

Really????  

Thanks for letting me rant a bit...LOL...and for visiting. Be sure to check out what I'm certain will be the inspiration you're looking for over at Sue's blog here and Mitra's blog here.

Hugs n' Happy Stamping,

Lisa xx

Just Another Brick In The Wall....

I think Pink Floyd sang it best....

It happens.  We've all been there. 

The elusive crafty dead end, slump, rut, brick wall.  

But if you've been following the journey of Onion, Mitza Pitza and myself (Quirks), you'll know that we're like the Blue's Brothers on a mission from God. No, we're not putting the band back together, HOWEVER, we are challenging and inspiring each other by using a specific theme each week and then impatiently waiting to see what we've all done with it.  This week's challenge is our third and it's...

Create Project Using a Homemade Stencil!!!!

Here's mine.

Ohhhh boy, this needs a face lift STAT!

I'm no surgeon, but this is my patient.  Here's how I've transformed it.

Recycling a plastic lid from a previous purchase. 

This is the material for my homemade stencil;  very sturdy and easy to clean after.

Cutting off the sides to make a flat surface area

Selecting a specific mask overlay design from the Silhouette Studio, I chose a wavy brick pattern.

Clipping homemade stencil onto white cardstock. 

You can see here I'm in the middle of spreading Lightweight Spackling to surface area.

Here I've removed the stencil and allowing it to dry. 

You'll notice the lines from the putty knife; easily sanded off when spackling dries.

The very first picture, above, of the brick wall, is actually the backside of the journal book.

Here begins the transformation of the front.

White cardstock was used to form the brick background with an embossing folder and several shades of paint from the TH Distress Ink set.

Now, a torn centerpiece that will hold the sentiment is applied.

I also cut out an arched rock window shape on the Silhouette. Initially it was just going to be painted, but the surface area was too flat for my liking and I really wanted a stone appearance to mix with the brick.  Using Snow-Tex and TH Antique Linen and Wild Honey Distress Paint, I was able to create the raised, textured and aged stone color I was hoping for. 

Once the stones were dry I painted in and around them with various shades of paint to highlight them and then also painted the surface area for the sentiment; which was applied with Glossy Accents.

Remember the homemade wavy brick stencil?

Here it is!! 

I really wanted that to be the focal  point of the journal, so I've attached it to protrude out from the surface and spritzed it with vibrant Lemon Zest Dylusions ink spray.

Now, I realize that these aren't exactly the words of the Great OZ, but don't you think they apply just as well??

So, of course, raised in Kansas, I had no choice but to add the Wizard of Oz characters to the yellow brick road. ;)

And there you have it, a newly transformed old journal with an inspirational sentiment and quirky style.

So save that plastic and design your own stencils and get inky, sticky and creative!!

I'm so grateful for your visit and I hope you're just as excited as I am to see what the other ladies have created with this theme!!!

To visit Sue's (Onion) blog, click here.

To visit Mitra's (Mitza Pitza) blog, click here.

Hugs n' Happy Crafting,

Lisa xx

Energy Drink Inspiration....

Welcome back again to the inspirational journey of Quirks and Onion. If you remember, last week I posted a fork project that was the outcome of a group motivational process, well, WOW, has this trek ever been uplifting!  As promised, we have challenged each other again this week, BUT...there's even MORE good news.  Another amazingly talented bloggy buddy of ours has joined in the fun!  Welcome aboard to Mitra from Mitralee!!!  We don't yet have a nickname for her, but the wheels are turning, so beware of future postings from Onion, Quirks, and (to be decided!)

This week's personal challenge to ourselves was to use...

Metal!  

Here is my transformed Monster Java can that I've painted in Gesso.  In front of it is another recycled can that will later become the butterflies.  It also doubled as the evil nemesis to the tip of my pointer finger. No worries, the Mickey Mouse bandaid saved the day!

Once Gesso dried, a covering of Clear Crackle was added and then TH Distress paints of Broken China and Salty Ocean were then applied.

Recycled tin can butterflies using the SU! Embosslits Beautiful Wings

This sentiment comes from the Silhouette online studio and I found it to be very poignant.

Unfortunately I tore up the A in "that", so I had to substitute the wording with the TH Idea-ology Alpha Parts Newsprint.

To support the sentiment I used the butterflies as representation.  You'll notice the intentional puncture wound in the side of the can. I wanted it to represent the idea that they evolved and became intricate and beautiful; distinctly different from their initial state of silvery metal. You'll see the same concept in the drinking hole on the top of the can.

Here's a little shot of flowers and back of the can.

The flowers are also a cut file from the Silhouette Studio and the centers spritzed with Dylusions Bubblegum Pink Ink Spray

Sure, I could have just sent these little cans on to be recycled and they would have become something else; probably useful, somewhere else, but for me....they serve as a wonderful little quirky element sitting on my desk that makes me smile and reminds me daily to do just what it says. :)

Please stop on over to see what my friend's Sue and Mitra have in store...

I CANNOT WAIT to see them!!!

Thanks so much for your visit. I hope I've left you with a smile.

Hugs n' Happy Crafting...

Lisa xx

Until next week....OH boy, it's a good one too!

Challenges I would love to enter:

Path of Positivity - Challenge 2

Frilly and Funky - Sunday Share (Linked supplies are from The Funkie Junkie Boutique)

Meta'fork'ally Speaking?!?

Hello you wonderful crafty people! 

Today's post is a test of your creative minds and keen interpretation of art, as I may use the term, art, loosely. ;)

For quite some time, as I think it happens to us all, I was in a creative slump.  Sure, I could make stuff and plop it together, but my heart and soul weren't necessarily on fire when creating them. I was in the ever horrid rut. My muse was suffocated and my nails were way too clean for my liking. I needed a desperate kick in the pants.

Another fabulous bloggy friend of mine, Susan Butler at Scrumplescrunch had posted this fabulous make and while reading her words, I could sense she was paddling in a similar boat as I. Apparently, we were each equipped with a solitary oar and the repetitious circles we were traveling in had us going bonkers.  

Now for those of you haven't met Susan (Sue) yet, I affectionately nicknamed her Onion. When you look at her work, you'll understand why. She constantly strives to challenge herself and think outside of the box.  Her style is very shabby chic, but with all of her work, you'll see where she forces herself to venture outside her comfort zone and try something new; exposing yet another new layer to her creative repertoire; hence...Onion. :)

So, long story short....I threw out a suggestion to her that we should challenge each other to a make. Her idea mixed with my idea and see what we come up with. It felt like two seconds passed when she replied with a resounding summary of 'on board!' 

Here's the gist...

Sue picked "COLORS" As many as you like with a minimum of three.  

and I 'Quirks' (her nickname for me...) chose...ready for it? FORK!! (giggle).

I have had the oddest obsession with forks lately and I just had to see what we could do with this combination.

Here's the journey....

Nearly 8 months in my garage, sat this trio of frames that I purchased at a Thrift Store for $5.00.   

Notice the ever lovely orange felt like material that was ghastly old and well, in my opinion...horrid looking.

I took to parting the frame and then sprayed it with white paint. NOTE *Nasty orange vintage horrid material repels paint.* It would NOT play nice and no matter my attempts, refused to budge.  

See next picture.....

I fixed that wagon. Tore that crap right off!

Gesso, Crackle and white craft ink made the country vintage, eclectic look I was going for.

Original state of the frame.

And here is my up-cycled refurbished frame and art work...

with COLORS!

The fork was covered with Gesso and then TH Distress Paints were painted on in the fashion of

 'Roy G. Biv,' for those of you who learned this rhyming name for the colors of the rainbow.

So there you have it! Possibly the most odd creation I've ever made, but to me it speaks volumes.  It's intended to be interpretative.  I highly doubt it's worth millions, but who knows, after I'm dead, it could make me famous! ;)  The biggest compliment was that my kids love it and my daughter wants it in her room!

Anywho...the deeper meaning for me is that this piece of work is to remind me to let art 'feed' my soul.  To see it everywhere and in everything and find the beauty all around me; even in orange nasty old vintage material..okay, maybe eventually, but not just yet. ;)

I'd love to know your thoughts on this 'quirky' venture and don't forget to hop over to Onion's blog and see what she created using this criteria. She didn't even give me a sneak peek, so I can't wait to see myself!

Side note, we've also decided to keep this up and create something on a regular basis. I found this experience to be most refreshing and I'm happy to report that my muse and I are on speaking terms again. 

Thanks so much Onion for the kick in the pants!

So much I appreciate your visit and your time, you are TRULY appreciated.

May the muse be with you!

Lisa xx

Challenges I would love to enter:

Path of Positivity Challenge - Challenge #2 

Our Creative Corner - Anything Goes :)