Coffee Creamer bottles

Another great use for plastic bottles:
Angels

I love the look she got with this. I am going to try my hand at creating an angel with one of my International delight coffee creamer bottles. :)

Tutorial on After Midnight

I just posted a new tutorial at After Midnight Art Stamps. :)


These are a lot of fun to make. :)

Bear goes over the mountain

I just spent two weeks with a friend in Sonoita, Arizona.
She had another visitor to her house while I was there.



Bears are not common in this area. He had come down out of the mountains heading for the next mountain range. He was just passing through and decided he needed a place to take a nap.



What a great photos opportunity! He settled down in a tree just across from one of the upper decks of the house. Not wanting to disturb his nap, I took most of my photographs through the dining room window.



He didn't seem the least bit concerned about the people peeking out at him.



I have a few more shots posted at the After Midnight Art Ranch blog.

Alien Artifact

Had a friend over to play in the studio. She got some great colors and textures on an altered book cover she was working on. I had to try her paint combinations.

I've been playing with some papier-mache techniques. I'm working on an alien artifact. :)
My flip video came in a very cool box.



I put a layer of papier-mache over the outside to cover the seams. Then I started adding layer of paints and stuff for textures.



I haven't started working on the insert part yet. I think this will have some lights and stuff. I used spray enamels (a pearlised black and some hammered brass) with a coating of Radiant Rain sprays for the interior.



I used some Golden products- stainless steel paint, molding paste, micaceous iron oxide. Used a bit of Stewart Gill paint as an undercoat on parts and some Fresco flakes on top.

I also added some black hotglue bits and some Fashion Flakes for gilding and some metallic buffing waxes.

The cool part was overcoloring the whole thing with the Radiant Rain sprays. Wow- that stuff really gives an interesting finish. I used mostly one of the copper ones and the golden bamboo.



I scraped through all the paint layer for more texture in parts- and resprayed those areas with the Radiant Rain sprays.



I've gotten some very gnarly textures going so far.

I think I'm going to like this piece.

Fairy Child

Photoshop to the rescue (again)

This adorable child is constantly moving. It is hard to get a clear photo of her in low light. I was using the auto mode- and ALL of the highlights were totaly blown. :(
What to do?




I tried about a million things in Photoshop and finally got something that sort of works. I had to layer different filter modes and really work the image- but I ended up with something usable.

Bird Stamp

Tagged

I've been tagged by Scrappy Cat is how it goes:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here are my 7 random facts about me:

1. I don't like to drive.
2. I worked in a veterinary clinic for a few years when I was in my 20s.
3. I have a mix of old and new Fiesta Ware dishes that I use everyday.
4. I still have the last doll I got as a Christmas present Christmas when I was 9 years old.
5. I collect belly dancing garb even though I haven't danced in many years.
6. I once had a pet tarantula.
7. I love taking photographs, but I never let anyone take my photo.

Now, to tag 7 other bloggers:

1. Sally Niemand
2. Annette in Oz
3. France Chevalier
4. Cory
5. Elaine Barr
6. Burning Rubber
7. Annie

This is a card I received from Annette in Oz


I love it and had to find a way to display it. So I rummaged around and found some things I thought would compliment it. I ended up redoing an entire section of the wall and the top of my bookcase in the guest room. LOL

More Memory Mists

I am really liking the Memory Mist sprays from Stewart Superior.
I get them from After Midnight.

I'm working on a special project. This is a page for a book.


I don't usually put this much time into small paper projects, but this is for someone very dear to me. I hope she will like it.

I love the textures and color of the Memory Mists- and they coordinated well with some Radiant Rain pieces and some Ranger alcohol ink pieces and an Opals embellishment and even the shrink wrap bit done with Stewart Gill paints. LOL
This definitely got more involved than I expected. I even had to get out the craft knife, the screw punch and a small eyelet.
I spent some time with the button jar from my mom and grandmother too. That was pleasant. :)

SteamPunk try

Not sure where I'm going with this. It needs a new base- and the outside needs more elaborate embellishment.

The light changes color. I like the way it glows up through the rock crystal and continues up the tube to the crystal bead in the top section.

I want to cover the actual lighted base- the proportions are wrong. I need to be able to remove the top section so I can change the batteries when needed.


I think it needs more wire wrapping bits.



Pretty colored lights. :) I need to decide what I should claim this does...

Any suggestions?

Hummingbird on nest

My hubby spotted this nesting hummingbird in a tree in the parking lot at a local shopping center. He brought me back over with the camera.


The nest is so well camouflaged it took me a while to see it even when he pointed it out.


Close up of her bill- with the tongue sticking out.