Friday, May 31, 2013

ICAD




Tomorrow brings a new challenge - ICAD. An index card a day for June and July offered through Daisy Yellow Blog.  Tammy will be offering prompts as well.
It is  the daily creating of a card that enhances your art.  It can be collage, watercolour, sketching, etc. Have fun and just create. Join in the fun!
Check here for more info.

I have my index cards, and my stash of gelli papers - this will be a great way to use them up.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

ABC Wednesday - T



This week at ABC Wednesday,  it is letter T.

T is for

text 

and

Typography

This definition comes from "Artlex" the online art dictionary.

"The design, arrangement, style, and appearance of type matter constitute typography. Among other things, students of typography learn about the uses of various type fonts, including serif and sans serif, capital and lowercase letters, boldface, italic, and condensed type, letter spacing (and kerning), point sizes, and the various factors affecting readability."
 
 
I created this ATC using different lettering and text.
 



Be sure to check here for how other challengers solved the T quest.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Glue It Tuesday




Glue it Tuesday is forcing me to create a collage a week - just for fun, with no expectations - just create. It is the journey not the destination that is important.


                                                            "Don't Be a Pawn"

(I used scraps of gelli papers and then added a few images. )

Monday Mantra - Surrounded




The power of words. They can build one up or tear us down. One word is all we really need - LOVE. With it we can do all things, be all things. Without it, we are lost.

I have recently discovered One Little Word's focus on a word at a time.  This past week the word was "surround" .  As well, Mantra Monday focuses  on quotes and thoughts each week - what has been inspiring you.
Putting the two together resulted in this piece:


I truly believe that if we could all love one another, there would be peace and no need for war, for hate, for poverty. We are our brothers' keepers.


Linking with

OLW

Monday Mantra/ Inspire


Creative Every Day

Inspire Me Monday


Saturday, May 25, 2013

Shadow Shot Sunday



IT is a lot colder today but sunny. Can't believe we had frost the past 2 nights! Our poor tomato plants had to be covered. Hopefully everything will survive from our planting last weekend.

Here are a few shadows from this past week:







Had to include this last one - I heard him before I saw him, hidden in a neighbour's tree. Had to zoom in to catch him.





Be sure to check here for wonderful shadows from around the world.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

2 Collages






Tonight I was able to take some time for art. Finally!

I created 2 collages for 2 of my favourite challenges. I used gelli papers for both backgrounds.

Collage Obsession:

This week the theme was "Use 1 word"
I chose Love  and tried the stencil technique Carolyn Dube offered through an online course (a must do!) 
For me, my Mother epitomizes Love. Next week will be the 5th anniversary of her passing - I still miss her so much. This was in honour of her.













Tuesday, May 21, 2013

ABC Wednesday - S is for Sketching



This week at ABC Wednesday, S is centre stage.

S is for Sketching - something I am trying to do more of.

Here are 4 ATCs of some sketches.




Be sure to check here out how others around the world focus on S.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up




I have finally had a couple of days of being able to create some art. School and sore eyes (anyone got a cure for red, swollen, puffy eyes??).
I have worked on a few challenges and some cards.

Collage Obsession



This past week the theme at Collage Obsession was "Steps and Staircases". I wasn't inspired until today when I came across this staircase in a "homes" booklet. Then I found the quote and it fell into place, with a gelli paper background.


 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
This is the collage I created for "Glue It Tuesday". I used collage bits from my gelli papers  and just glued - a fun thing to do!
 

 
 
 
  
 
ATCs
 
I created 2 sets of ATCs today:
  
 
Home and Heart
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Monday is Victoria Day here in Canada so we have a lovely holiday. The weather was gorgeous today and even if there is rain, our flowers are bought and they will grow.
 

Happy May 2 - 4!

 
 
 
 
Linking as well with:
 
 
and
 
Inspire Me Monday (Create With Joy.
 





Saturday, May 18, 2013

Shadow Shot Sunday



Shadows are much easier to find on a sunny day and the past few days were lovely. Here are a few shots I took recently:



Lovely trilliums, in our garden, for a brief stay.


Our chimney, etched on the neighbour's wall.

Be sure to check here for some great shadows from around the world.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

ABC Wednesday - R



This week at ABC Wednesday, R is our focus.

R is for Red  -   Repetition  -  Rubbing.

We have started a unit on money in my classroom and today the children were creating rubbings of the coins to help identify the two sides. This was the inspiration for this week's ATC.



The rubbings are of a special quarter from 1999 and the design is repeated 6 times.


Be sure to check out how others have approached R this week  here.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Slice of Life Tuesday



Last week we ended Education Week with our own "Poetry Café". Lots of preparation but such an enjoyable time we had.

We have been writing poetry often throughout the year, as well as sharing poetry almost daily. April was Poetry month and we wrote  poetry often. I knew the children had done enough to create their own books. So we began to type up poems, create fancy covers and decorate all the pages. I laminated the covers and bound the books.

Then on Friday, parents, grandparents and other special guests were invited to attend our Poetry Café.


 The children decorated the room with balloons (the one time this year I almost lost my temper - but that is another story!), made flowers for centrepieces and moved tables to make 6 small groupings, complete with tablecloth and flowers.

As each guest arrived, their child met them at the door and got them juice and cookies (which the children had  brought in - we are still snacking on cookies!). Then they shared their books with the guests.
We then did a presentation of some of their favourite weekly poems we recited during shared reading. Bruce Lansky's "What I Found in My Desk" was their favourite - and they did it with such expression.

Then each child read one of their poems if they wished. We even used a microphone - a nice addition.
Everyone was so appreciative of these young poets and they were so proud of themselves.
It was a very special day.

Visit here to find special slices of life from around the world - created by Ruth and Stacey of Two Writing Teachers.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Shadow Shot Sunday




Capturing shadows can be a challenge on cloudy days - that's why I try to store up shadows from those days that are sunny. So, the shots below are from earlier in the week when the day was warm and sunny.










Be sure to visit here to view shadows from around the world.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ABC Wednesday - Q is for Quilt




This week at ABC Wednesday, it is time for Q.
I had just received some new papers a few days ago and one sheet had a quilt design, so of course -
 Q is for Quilt.

There is so much artistry in quilts - I am always amazed at the beautiful work that quilters create.
The Mennonites from the St. Jacob area near Waterloo, hold an amazing auction every May for the MCC - to raise money for their international aid work. The quilts for sale there sell for hundreds of dollars - they are always sought after.

For this week's ATC, I took the quote:

"Our  lives  are  like  quilts  – bits  and  pieces, Joy  and  sorrow,  stitched  with  love"
and used the quilt background to create this ATC:

 
Be sure to check here for how  other participants highlight Q.

Gifts Galore in the Mail!

It felt like Christmas when I arrived home after school today and found several packages and a box.
I had won a couple of  contests and was involved in a couple of  trades.

I received my book in the Spring Book and Bookmark exchange (through Jen at "Teach Mentor Texts") . I received:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene. Of course I had to start right away - I am enjoying it so far.

 
 
Thanks to Mary Klepper for the lovely book and 2 bookmarks! Love them all!
 
 
 
Jessica Sporn held a giveaway and I won her hamsa stencil. I can't wait to use it with the gelli plate! I love it!
Thanks Jessica!
 
 
 
 
I joined Paper Traders a shorty while ago  and have tried a couple of challenges so far. I took part in their bloghop  and actually won their first PT Blog Hop giveaway! Today I received this beautiful tag from Cathy Calamas.  I especially love the message!
 
 
 
Thanks so much Cathy!
 
 
One of the trades I took part in was for collage items through ATCsforAll.  Toni Cooper sent me a huge number - lots of images to use for art and collage.
 
 


 Thanks Toni!


Blogland is so full of wonderfully generous, and creative people. Thanks to all these wonderful ladies, as well to the people who stop by and leave such encouraging comments. I really does make my day when I read a comment or receive something special in the mail.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sunday Weekly Wrap-up and Color This Quote



This past week I was able to complete a few challenges as well as some ATCs.


Color This Quote


Artists in Blogland hosts a fun monthly challenge, based on a quote.
This month the new quote was from Pablo Picasso:
"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction." 

As I thought about the quote, I realized that whenever I do a collage I first must tear or cut up paper and images before I begin. So I used some gelli papers and tore them into pieces. then I created a sky/ground.


The image I then used was of a butterfly. Its metamorphosis is an act of destruction to create this beautiful creature.

 
 

 
Collages - I created 2 collages for 2 favourite challenges this week. Check them out here.


ATCs
I created several ATCs this week for different swaps:


Mandalas



 

 




A new swap  of a  hand - this was my zen henna hand


Joy Cards
I created 3 joy cards this week - 2 very simple ones, one with a message I need to take to heart.






Photography
With the lovely weather the past few days, I was able to get out and get some flower photos. Here are a few.








Hope you have a wonderfully creative week!


Linking with:

Artists in Blogland (Color This Quote)

Creative Every Day

and

Create With Joy (Inspire Me Monday)

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Shadow Shot Sunday



Another gorgeous day! Yesterday, the sun was shining and the weather was warm. A great day for shadows.
I had my camera at school and got some lovely shots of the daffodils out front as well as a few shadows (of course!)








Be sure to visit here for some stunning shadows from around the world.