art from the well

the giveaways are everywhere it seems (see my last post for info on the alpha stamps giveaway...).
THIS one is from vintage dragonfly and features an amazing domino book.  please click the link and check it out!

love to all.

time for the annual year-end giveaway at alpha stamps!

every day is another unique set of gorgeous items for your mixed media joy.  all you have to do is comment for a chance to win.  please sail on over there!

love to all.

some of my all time favorite Christmas card creations. 
love to all...
and happy pink saturday too!

how did it get to be december 22?  yikes. here are some more goodies.

images from magic moonlight studios.
love to all!

well, once again i got started rather late with holiday cards and didn't make as many as i'd hoped.  i had this idea that i should come up with one design with a stamp or with a favorite vintage image, make one or two excellent designs and then lather, rinse, repeat.  but of course i can't seem to do it.  so many images and stamps to love and use...  anyway over the next few days i'll be sharing what i've got.


images are from dezinaworld olde curiosity shoppe. the rest is random bits from here and there.

all of our design team members at the cheerful stamp pad wish you a merry christmas!  our challenge #32 is to post your favorite Christmas card or project that you created this year.  my DT piece is a nativity scene from a twisted papers christmas collage sheet.
unfortunately the sheet did not tell the painter of this scene; it has a renaissance feel to it.  i used red and gold card stock and some stars reminiscent of the christmas star.  if you celebrate christmas and have been making greetings please share one with us.  there is no prize this round but it is always a pleasure to just share your work with others.  i hope you'll post a greeting and i look forward to visiting your blog when you do!  the challenge will be open for two weeks.

love to all.

a couple more cards featuring lovely vintage images from clearly vintage.

i'm linking these up to pink saturday as all christmas-related posts are welcome there until new year's, pink or not!  and also to pearls and lace thursday.

love to all.

if you've never visited the clearly vintage blog i recommend it as Cora offers truly lovely vintage images.  here are 2 cards utilizing downloads from CV:
i'll share more in the coming days!
love to all.

hello dears.  as mentioned yesterday, the challenge for the rest of this week at the cheerful stamp pad is "a Christmas Greeting."  because of the special prize for the random winner -- 6 months subscription to Inlinkz -- Vicki (cheerful stamp pad blog owner) kindly said the design team members may enter this challenge as well so long as we provide an additional piece.  so here we go:
i stamped the sentiment by Impress on some festive green designer paper.  that is layered on some Christmas design paper and affixed to pale green card stock.  only a couple flowers and beads so as to keep the main focus on the greeting.

i'm wishing everyone lots of cheer and if you are already making Christmas cards with greetings as a focal point then you owe it to yourself to link up to the challenge!

much love to all.

it is week 2 of  the "A Christmas Greeting" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. the greeting is to be the focal point of your project.  here is my design team piece:

i love the "peace on earth" stamp by "stamps happen."  it is one of my favorite Christmas sentiments and represents my greatest hope for the world.  i stamped it on some nice scalloped card stock, colored it and applied it to some designer paper and then to red card stock.  since the goal is for the greeting to be central, i kept it simple.

THE PRIZE!  Inlinkz is giving away a 6 month subscription to a winner AND one month subscriptions to everybody else (who doesn’t have an account yet). After this month expires the winner does not have any obligation toward InLinkz and they do not need to extend their account. See the cheerful stamp pad for more details!

love to all.

thanks to everyone who sent lovely words about my grandmother.  the celebration of life last week was truly amazing and though i am still very sad i also feel incredibly blessed to have had such a wonderful grandmother.  hearing everyone speak about her confirmed that her life was full, rich, faithful and very giving.

i have 2 sweet things to share which i learned about after getting back into town.


first: there is a simply fantastic giveaway at PLUMROSE LANE.  there are 5 possible prizes, all delicious in their own way.  please visit, comment, and tell them michele of artfromthewell sent you!

second: our special blog friend and encourager CINDY ADKINS has a new online seminar and a new book!  the seminar is the AMAZING ART ADVENTURE, designed to jump start your creativity.  the book is Mixed Media Art: Living Your Passion and is full of additional projects.  an online book, it seems a steal at $2.99.

i hope these are good tips for you. when i get my energy back and get caught up on a few things i'll be back to making and posting.

love to all.

greetings friends.  you have one more week to join the "who's wearing santa's hat" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. the challenge sponsor is bugaboo stamps. 
this card features a bugaboo digi which i've colored with pencils.  i used designer paper, red card stock, a red sharpie (for outlining), a red flower and a little sparkly blue bead to finish this off.  i do not use digis very much so it has been interesting learning to use them.  once i thought of it as being like coloring in coloring books then i knew what to do!

hope you'll find time to join the challenge.
love to all.

this fabulous stamp is called "the look" and it is from the stampsmith.  yep, a stamp not a photo.  if you are not familiar with the stampsmith products check it out.  it takes some doing to perfect the technique with these amazing stamps (and i have not gotten there yet) but it is worth the effort.  there is a challenge at the stampsmith blog.  hosted by the brilliant Lynne from adorn, the task is to use ribbons and lace.  i'm also linking this up to pearls and lace thursday.

i dedicate this piece to my grandmother who passed away this Thanksgiving weekend at age 91.  i've written about her before.  she was the light of my life from my earliest days.  her endless creativity as a seamstress, milliner, designer, baker and singer was the seed of so much of what i am.  i have many stories i could share but for now it was really important for me to finish this piece and post it in her honor.  i will miss her more than i can even express.  but she is singing and decorating with the angels now and that makes me happy. 

i have some other scheduled posts that will pop up this week but i'm headed to california soon.
love to all of you; cherish your dear ones.

awhile back i stamped this wonderful queen nefertari stamp from the cs designs solitaire series and colored with pencils.  i was drawn to her deep pink lips and decided to dress the whole thing up in pink for pink saturday.  i framed her in pink and purple papers and placed it all on card stock i decorated with pink, purple and blue inks.
i was all prepared to link it up and then observed that starting this week pink saturday posts are meant to be holiday related!  oops.  well luckily i have a christmas card i made last year with a fossil stone technique from technique junkies and the background is a pretty deep pinkish red.  so i'll post this too; time to start getting in the mood anyway, right?

the image on the card is from twisted papers.    as it turns out i've started doing inventory on supplies to begin making holiday cards anyway.  so you'll start to see them coming along.

well, pink saturday is great fun so consider joining in.  just remember to have a holiday theme!

love to all.

here is another card using the antique bookplate technique from the technique junkies newsletter.  this is a simple and elegant technique; i really like it.  i sent this card to my technique junkies "just one" swap partner for november.  the script is from mad rat rubber and the flower is from hero arts. chop stamps unknown.

love to all.

blog friends like Cindy from cindy adkins whimsical musings blog.  she sent me this lovely Christmas tag.
this came when i really needed a lift.  thanks dear Cindy!  please visit her blog if you never have before because her art is luminous and there are fun tutorials and all kinds of goodies.

i can't believe i didn't have time to make and send any thanksgiving cards this year.  i love doing it but i just could not pull it off.  it has been a really busy fall.  but i am thankful for life and health, family and friends.  so to those who celebrate thanksgiving i wish you a wondrous one.  if you don't celebrate i wish you a wondrous day, whatever it is, however you spend it!

love to all.

its time for challenge #30 at the cheerful stamp pad. the challenge sponsor is bugaboo digital stamps. so there will be a prize for the randomly selected winner!  bugaboo kindly offered up a couple samples for the DT.
this little sweetie is sharing the joy of giving.  i colored her with pencils and affixed her to some gift-wrap-like designer paper and added a couple shiny holiday stars.

truth be told i've done next to nothing in terms of holiday preparations -- making cards, gifts, anything.  i just shopped for thanksgiving!  but i'll get it all together.  and i promise to take my time and enjoy the moments.  the true beauty of the holidays should be the love we share with family and friends. 

so have fun, be happy.  love to all.

the rogue redhead designs blog has an invitation out to"dress down" a creation by using only one sheet of designer paper.  this challenge is open until december 4.  you must use a stamped image but you do not have to use a rogue redhead designs stamp (but they've got some great ones so why not?).
i decided to make a simple creation to link up to pink saturday.  i truly kept it simple -- 2 rogue redhead stamps (from floriculture set), one piece of designer paper.
enjoy; love to all.

i've been exploring the antique bookplate technique from technique junkies.
the japanese script is a stamp by mad rat rubber. the sun stamp is from hero arts.  chop stamp unknown.  the magenta cardstock is from the paper temptress brown paper bag set.  i have colored pearls all around the sun and a wonderful lace leaf.  this was an early try at this technique and i'm still playing with it so stay tuned for more.

i'm linking this up with pearls and lace thursday.

love to all.

one more week for the trees challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. there will be a prize for the randomly selected winner, a treat from digi darla.
this is another tree stamp from stampscapes.  that company specializes in stamps for scenic stamping --something i've never tried but i have this one set that drew me because of the wonderful trees.  the background was colored with distress inks (antique linen). i stamped in black ink and had at it with colored pencils.  i ripped that and ripped that sheet and placed it on some lovely card stock from paper temptress, the brown paper bag set.  oh there is also a little chop stamp but i don;t know the company.

i hope you'll consider participating in the challenge.
love to all.

awhile back when i was playing with making magnet art for the gingersnap creations magnet swap (over with now, sorry!) i made this magnet as i was exploring the possibilities.  I'd sort of forgotten about it but it came to mind today and i realize it fits a couple challenges out in blogland so i am happily posting it now.  this is a 4x4 size if you're wondering.

it has an alcohol ink background, a vintage image from twisted papers, the ecstasy stamp from leslie altman designs, and of course some pearls and lace.

linking to PINK SATURDAY and PEARLS AND LACE THURSDAY.

love to all.

this is my DT creation for challenge #29 over at the cheerful stamp pad: trees.  you can make whatever type of creation you like, just use trees.  and there will be a prize for this challenge, thanks to the digital stamp company digi darla.

the base is some lovely pumpkin colored card stock.  the stamp is from stampscapes. it is stamped twice.  i inked the first time with markers and the second time with pigment ink and then i did some additional coloring with markers as i wanted that somewhat blurry, windblown feel.  the charm is a heart with wings.

trees are so magnificent -- beautiful, sheltering, a home for sweet birds.  perhaps trees inspire you and you'll be moved to join the challenge.  i hope so!

love to all.

please please go visit super-artist Lynn Stevens at her gorgeous blog trash to treasure art.  if you participate in her three-year blogaversary give-away you could win some of her amazing art, or awesome supplies or some sort of sure-to-be-wonderful surprise.  get on over there, i would not steer you wrong. 

 
i've been a little too busy for my own good recently but i'll have some art to post before too much longer and will be back around visiting all your delightful blogs.

love to all.

there is one more week to join the "1st thanksgiving" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.  I've made another tag to encourage your participation.
i started by using alcohol inks to color the glossy tag.  i used distress ink on some tissue paper and then stamped my lady cornucopia (mad rat rubber) onto that, ripped it and glued it to the tag.  i added other various goodies until i'd come to some satisfaction with the piece and then added a lovely ribbon.  
please consider joining the challenge!
love to all.

aha!  i just realized i had one more card i'd made which i'd never posted! here's another image from the wonderful june at dezinaworld:
enjoy the festivities and don't eat too much candy!  happy hallowe'en.
love to all.

i needed a bit of cheering today.  so i colored this sweet digital image from cs designs and made a little ATC for pink saturday.  i also included this piece in the faith grace & crafts pearls and lace thursday challenge.
enjoy; love to all.

vintage image from clearly vintage.
images on above two are from dezinaworld.
all the rest of the embellies are various items from the stash.
enjoy!

love to all.

it is time for another challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.  this time you may make any kind of creation representing thanksgiving.  use your own imagination and creativity to bring forth a creation representing the holiday of thanksgiving or your thoughts about gratitude.  i'll be making many more cards for thanksgiving in the coming weeks (after i get done finishing up my hallowe'en creations!) but for now here is my tag. 

i used some packaging materials for the background, some decorative paper, vintage images from paula's kits club (no longer in business) and a raffia bundle.  autumn is a lovely time to enjoy the wonderful squashes and root vegetables, to bring out your sweaters and to cuddle up with hot tea. it is also a good time for crafting!  please consider joining this challenge.

love to all.

p.s.  i just learned of a wonderful gothic arch giveaway at martinas stempel gewerkel blog.  you must check it out!!!

we're playing hallowe'en creations for one more week at the cheerful stamp pad.  you can make anything -- card, ATC, wall hanging, whatever, as long as it is about hallowe'en.
this time around i did some stamping.  the marching jack-o-lantern is from american art stamps and the cat on the jack-o-lantern is from 100 proof press.  the rest is layering of colorful seasonal stickers and papers.  feel free to join the challenge!

love to all.

in my quest for fun spooky seasonal images i visited another favorite website, june's dezinaworld.  dezinaworld has wonderful vintage images at reasonable prices plus lots of cool freebies on the dezinaworld blog.  i'll be sharing more hallowe'en cards with dezinaworld images over the next little while but let's start with this:
love this scary creature! poor little trick or treater! and this:
all the images on these two are from dezinaworld sheets.  the background contrasting paper came from a martha stewart set.  other stickers and bits are random items.
i'm linking these up for 2 challenges: cupcake craft challenge #163 "halloween" & forevernight challenge #12 "trick or treat."

i'm doing some stamping too, stay tuned for that.
enjoy and love to all.

if you stop by this blog much you know i am a cindy adkins fan.  in addition to her wonderful BLOG she has done an online blogging free seminar and she is also an incredible artist, encourager and friend.  in the process of her designing my blog button based on my original art we had this email dialogue going about being an artist and she was very helpful to me. later while browsing her etsy shop i found something that was directly on point to my artist's journey.  i'm going to show you that little treat LATER.  for now i'm sharing 2 pieces of art she sent gratis with my order.



delicious, yes?
more hallowe'en goodies tomorrow.
love to all.

they're pretty much all over blog land now -- hallowe'en challenges everywhere.  here's another place to share one of your fun or spooky creations:  the cheerful stamp pad. double double toil & trouble and cook up whatever kind of hallowe'en creation you'd like then please link up to our challenge.

here's my DT sample:

this is another image from gecko galz. i've used colored cardstock and other goodies from k & company for embellishment.

enjoy hallowe'en and if you're making cards anyway (you know you are!) come on and join this cheerful stamp pad challenge.

love to all.

over the past few days i've been gathering interesting hallowe'en images.  then yesterday morning i had a delightful time searching through all my goods looking for embellies and papers and such that speak "hallowe'en."  so get ready because that's mostly what i'll be making and posting over the next several days!
this gecko galz image is actually a vintage hosiery ad! i suppose a witch might value smooth legs though i myself prefer to stay away from it.  what a hassle! simple black cardstock, coordinating paper from a martha stewart set of h'ween papers and a few other seasonal goodies.

i'm linking up to pink saturday (hey, she's wearing pink --such a fashionable witch!) and also to the drunken stampers hallowe'en challenge #76 and finally, a new one for me, the 2 sisters challenge blog #60.  for both of the challenges any hallowe'en creation counts so check it out.

more to come.
love to all.

here are the four beautiful encouraging words magnets i received last week per the recent gingersnap creations art swap.  i got two inspiring pieces from my blog pal vicki romaine from the cheerful stamp pad.

i understand from vicki that she got one of mine too though i do not know which one.
the next beauty is from paula akers.  you can find her wonderful art at her blog..

what great words for those of us who create! now last but not by any means least, a beauty from deb corder whose lovely works can be found at freckle face printworks.
this swap was great fun.  check out gingersnap creations to get in on more of the fun.  special thanks to ali manning who coordinated the US players for this swap.

love to all.
p.s.  please grab my blog button at far right and link back to my blog! (yes, i know, i'm so excited about it...)