Mixed Media Piece (yes I am still alive!!!)

I haven't been on here in forever, nor have I done much creating!!  School is keeping me SO busy.  This mixed media piece is one I made for my niece Hedda for her birthday.  I fell in LOVE with Silks Acrylic glazes at the beginning of the year and started trying to get as many of the colors as I could.  This particular piece has a mix of 3 or 4 colors, lots of stenciling, some angel hair fibers (LOVE those too!), some seed beads, pretty little prima and recollection flowers and a sweet little prima butterfly from one of my Scraps of Darkness kits.  I wish I knew who to give photo creds to for the butterfly, I found it on google images.  If it's yours please let me know so I can give credit!

I cannot believe how much of a stash I have and also how much my heart aches to create, but until I finish school I cannot concentrate on anything else.  I am petrified I will miss something and fall on my face during a test.  Talk about pressure!  But, this too shall pass.  I can't wait to say goodbye to school and hello to caring for patients as a career as this is where heart is.  I miss talking with everyone but I will get back here soon.  Love, light and magick to all. 

--J

Scraps Of Darkness Tag and Card Trade

With as hectic as life is I realized I never posted these pictures from a past trade.  These two pieces went all the way to Belarus to the beautiful and amazingly talented Elena Olinevich.  Hope all is well is everyone's world, love and light to all!

It's The Paper Mixing Bowl Reveal Day

This is my beautiful niece Hedda.  She is so amazing!  For this challenge I have used my new Cameo for the first time and LOVE it!  The flourish and heart are files I downloaded from their site.  For the recipe I have our three colors, mother of pearl beaded ribbon, I also got "messy" with some ink drips, tore some paper and added a bit of stitching.  I have loved all the recipes we have created with and love even more that I have stepped out of my comfort zone and been challenged with colors I don't normally use!  Love and Light to you all and thanks so much for stopping in!

A close up of the beautiful prima flowers

It's The Paper Mixing Bowl Reveal Day!

This is my take on our beautiful Ambrosia Salad sketch this month.  I have used modeling paste, gauze  for nesting below the picture, butterflies and of course our three colors.  The papers are from my amazing Scraps of Darkness kit titled "Dayglo" along with the pretty pink flower.  The other elements are bits from other SOD past kits.  Please pop over to The PMB and join us in the challenge this month, we would love to see your take on this gorgeous sketch!

This photo is of me and my paternal grandparents whom I grew up not knowing.  I was adopted by my amazing dad who married my mother shortly after this picture.  It is such a sad and emotional subject, my grandparents.  My Grandfather died not long after this so I have no memory of him and did not know he had died until I began searching for my biological father and them when I was 16.  When I found my father and grandmother it was then that I learned of his passing as well as my great grandmother.  My heart is heavy with the sadness of not knowing them and not having time with that part of my family, but at the same time, my mother did what she felt was best for me and I had a loving family full of laughs and memories that I would never change.  I find myself wondering why things have to be a certain way, why my father was an alcoholic, why he chose that life over a life of family with me, why I couldn't have had my grandparents even though my father was lost, so on and so on.

After finding my grandmother and father, I had a few years with them and I am so grateful for that.  It was hard to watch my father self-destruct and at times I wish I hadn't found him.  But in the end, I suppose I am happy I did and as he took his last breath I held his hand.  I had one last Thanksgiving with my Grandmother before she died peacefully in her sleep and as I wept for her, she let me know in her own ways that she was with me.  I know that someday we will all be together and my heart smiles because of that knowledge.  I suppose I am lucky in some respects, not only did I inherit an amazing family through my adoptive dad, but I also have this side as well.  That's a lot of love.  Thank you for looking everyone, love and light to all.  -Jenny

The Paper Mixing Bowl March Reveal!

My amazing DH as a child here.  For this month we have "Corned Beef and Cabbage" to celebrate St. Patty's day and the Luck of the Irish!  I have titled this "destiny" since Jerry is my destiny, my soulmate and my one and only true love.  Thanks for looking and hope to see lots of you play along this month, this is a really fun recipe and the possibilities are endless!

Reveal Time at The Paper Mixing Bowl!

It's reveal day for us at The Paper Mixing Bowl and this is my take on the recipe for February. I am such a lover of all things fall so this pallet is heaven to me and so easy to create with.  I have used 4 pics of my husband when we was a child, one of which has he and his father.  The resemblance in him compared to our son is uncanny sometimes.  As a matter of fact, when I showed this LO to Caden he thought these pictures were of him.

I have titled this "A Glance" and it is followed by the sentiment "my true love".  The "glance" makes me think of the generations as the years come and go and how amazing it is to see my son in my husbands eyes.  Jerry has been and always will be my true love, my first and last love.  We dreamed of our children together more than 20 years ago, and here we are after so many years apart with an amazing son, a blended family and to many crazy days to count.

The pictures are resting on what is supposed to be a book.  I have layered the "pages", stamped them with a Prima Stamp with a script writing, distressed the edges and added some Walnut ink to give it a worn and aged look.  The various papers are from a past Scraps of Darkness kit that included the amazing Bo Bunny Weekend Market collection.  I made the flower at the bottom with a Donna Salazar carnation die, added the eyelash trim underneath for some texture and threw in some Holtz flourish die cuts.

In regards to the "recipe" we have 3 colors, multiple photos, postage related paper, a "love" sentiment, 2 paper clips, layers and flowers.  Frosting or flocking was supposed to be a part of this, but it took on a life of it's own as I started creating.  All in all, I am so happy with this, maybe because I love my guys so much!!  Hope everyone enjoys our reveal and really would love to see you jump in and make a "Red Velvet Cake" too!!

A Donna Salazar Carnation flower here with some black soot inking on the edges, a little string wound in and out of the page, a ribbon as a bookmark and layering, love the layering!  Distressed edges add to the grungy style of the "book".

A glance at the pics, check out Caden's page on my blog, you will be amazed how much he looks like Daddy. The pic of him with his guitar is the funniest, if you look closely you will see a coors light bottle in his lap.  His father has such an amazing wit about him and this shows it off to the "T".

I thought I would show a close-up of the flowers and flourishes.  They are sitting on top of some eyelash trim I found at Hobby Lobby.  Love the wispy effect they give!

Time for Round Robin at Scraps Of Darkness!

 Good Evening Everyone. It has been a very busy day in Norman OK so I am delayed in getting this posted! This is my submission for round robin at Scraps Of Darkness this month and I am starting my team off with this LO using the Waterways Kit. The sweethearts you see are my daughters childhood friends and my daughter on the right celebrating her birthday. These girls were so close and the light of my life, we miss them so much since we moved and will always have a special place in our hearts. Hopefully we will all meet again someday and catch up. To me they are still this age, but in reality they are in high school, preparing for graduation in the next 2 years and planning their futures. It makes me so sad and joyous all at the same time!  TFL!!  Have a magical week!

New News for Caden

We have had a very rough night and day with Caden and things are looking better this evening.  We were up all night with chest pain and wheezing and ended up in the ER this morning.  There does not appear to be infection or fluid in the lungs which is good news.

The first guess is that he may be developing asthma, which most of you know goes along with eczema.  Before the label is placed, we are doing breathing treatments and steroid treatments.  It is possible this is has a virus, which is my hope since asthma can be such a serious and restrictive problem to live with.  He doesn't need anything more to deal with right?

Anyway, we are staying the night tonight and hopefully go home tomorrow with additional breathing treatments in house.  I will keep everyone posted as we learn more!

Hugs and magical weekend wishes to all,
Jenny (and Mr. Caden too)!

January Round Robin at Scraps of Darkness

From the Scraps of Darkness "A Long December" kit.  This is my Round Robin LO, following the talented Monica and Kathy this month.  I painted the DA chippies with TH acrylic white, embossed in white and added a little light blue bling.  The flower vines are from Cheery lynn and the leaves are spellbinders dies.  I also added some texture with modeling paste and the tile mask.  Hope everyone has a magical week and rides the storms out in this round that's headed in tuesday.  Hugs to all, J

January Paper Mixing Bowl Reveal!

It's reveal day at The Paper Mixing Bowl and here is the recipe card for the month, isn't it fun!!  I loved the color mix and "utensils" for this challenge.  So here is what I came up with, hope you like!  If you would like to play along visit http://papermixingbowl.blogspot.com/  We would love to see your creations and if you win one of the top three spots you can grab a badge for your blog to show off your talents!

A picture of my sweet Samuel on the beach in St. Petersburg, Florida.  This was his first experience with the ocean and was so hesitant at first.  Once he got in there was no stopping him.

I dug into my stash and found a Scraps of Darkness kit (Escape) from January of 2012 that I never touched with the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  They get me every year and I get nothing done creatively!  The G45 papers were a perfect fit with the recipe and photo I had.

I would love to see you all participate in the challenge for this month, it is gorgeous and can be interpreted in so many ways,  This is my first official design team reveal and I am happy and honored to be part of The Paper Mixing Bowl for this term, hope to see you all there!

A close-up of the paper roll, Silver Liquid Pearls masking, bling and glossy accents.  It is hard to see but I also glittered the edges :-)

Here I have clustered the flower with a couple of flourishes from Cheery Lane and Leaves from Holtz.  In  addition I threw in some sea shells, a silver dollar and a G45 chipboard accent from the Escape kit to finish off the requirements of the piece.  Thanks for looking and hope you play along!   Hugs, Jenny

Paper Mixing Bowl December Extension!!!

Good News from The Paper Mixing Bowl for anyone who would like to enter this months challenge.  The posting period has been extended for two more weeks!  The holidays have been especially busy for me this year I know, so I am guessing many of you are equally as busy!!  Hope to see your submissions for this amazing sketch and good luck!!  Hugs and magical wishes to all and a very Happy New Year to you!

Waiting for the show tonight?!!!

It's a new moon tonight and it's also the peak of the annual geminid meteor shower.  Should be spectacular, hope you're watching!

Blue Fern Studios Giveaway and DT Call

A New Chippie Company is coming our way, Blue Fern Studios, and they are having a giveaway at their blog.  It's a must see!  They are also having a design team call for anyone interested!  Looks like an amazing selection!  http://bluefernstudios.blogspot.com/

I wanted to share this months Recipe for the Paper Mixing Bowl with Everyone and would love to see you  over there!  My Design Team term doesn't "officially" start until January but I have to give a cheer to PMB.  This is such a fun sketch and has so many possibilities!!  Be sure to check out the Design Teams inspiration as well!  Hope to see your creations and warm wishes to all!  Here's the link! http://papermixingbowl.blogspot.ca/

This is my Jerry and I with Jeff at Chimney Rock, NC on our wedding day. This was supposed to be for the "Taking on Technique" at SOD but I spent the entire day yesterday cleaning out the garage and getting the house ready for Christmas, so I forgot to post! I messed with this LO for too long, it made me crazy. It seems I had lost a bit of mojo, but in the end I found it and here is the result. It's so bright and cheery, where did that come from? Anyways....I did some modeling paste masking, some rub-ons, and made leaves, shocker! I have loved the "Karma" kit from scraps of darkness and I am getting down to the bare bones of it now. Just in time for new goodies to find their way home to me. Thank you all for the love and hope everyone is having a magical weekend!

This is for the card challenge that Lisa aka Raining is having for us at Scraps Of Darkness. I am a day late posting shhhh. I have created a 6x6 card and used my Inkadinkado kit I won in the Scraps Of Elegance Blog Hop a few months back. I made a little Salazar Flower and some flourishes to frame it. I also used paper from the "White Rabbit" kit we had recently. This is my very first card I have ever made and had a lot of fun. One of the most fun parts of being part of Scraps of Darkness/Elegance is the challenges the DT put together. It has been such a learning experience for me to take on new ideas and challenges and the artistic growth I feel I have gained from them is immeasurable. Thanks for looking and the hugs, I cherish them all! Magical Wishes to All!

My Design Team Toot

So, I am so excited to share that I was selected to be a Design Team member over at The Paper Mixing Bowl!  This will be a first for me and I am delighted to start with them, such a cool concept and challenges.  I hope to see all my amazing artist friends join in on the fun with us!  A big Thank You to Sarah for the vote of confidence in me, I am honored!

Jimmy and Marilyn LO

OK, so I used to be a smoker....before my brain developed and I realized I was killing myself. I quit, I started, I quit, I started. get the picture? Anyone who smokes or used to gets it. It's an evil I LOVED. It was MY time, MY solitude. MY break from chaos and I miss it. However, I do not miss the way I smelled, my teeth yellowing, the ick I tasted in the morning. So, when I came across this picture of Marilyn and Jimmy (oh, I love that bad boy!) smoking on the top of this building I was taken back to that time. You know it, it's that breaking point in the day where nothing is right and you RUN as fast as you can. My go to was outside to have that little break from crazy. "Treasure the Moment" was a good sentiment here for me and I did every time I lit up. On the flip side of this addiction I now know how wretched smoking was for me and those around me. The real eye opener for me was watching my bio father die slowly from drinking and smoking. There is nothing in this world more awful than watching someone die after years of smoking. There is nothing worse than the smell of their lungs dissolving in ICU. There is nothing worse than hearing their last gasp for air as they die and leave us behind to miss them everyday. Vivid and painful are those memories, but they changed my love for smoking into a ball and chain that I fought to be rid of for a very long time. I can happily say I won the battle, gained a few pounds and miss the "moment" frequently. With that said, I will never go back to it even if I slowly lose my sanity along the way (insert cackle here). This lovely set of scrap goodness is from our "Karma" kit at Scraps of Darkness and is just so lovely, join us, we would love to see you there! Hugs and magical wishes to all!

Remember This Moment

From the "Karma" kit from Scraps Of Darkness.  This is my submission for the Sketch challenge for Charlotte's (AKA Suepup) sketch this month.  Love this kit, lovin all the Bo Bunny!!  This is a pic I took of Caden last December when we were in Denver for his 2 week treatment at National Jewish.  After long days at the hospital we went on pancake hunts, it's his favorite!  Despite all the testing and long days we had such fun just he and I.  So Thankful he is so much better now and finally gets to be a kid!

2 New LO's!

From the "Karma" kit at Scraps of Darkness.  I used my new toy from Martha Stewart on this, the circle die cut tool.  Such an awesome thing that is, can't be more simple!

Jack Is Unraveling...can you see it?  This is paper from the "Morticias Wish" kit at Scraps of Darkness.  I colored up some gauze, and used some india ink that I made blood red for the drips.

ATC for Monica

I just realized I never posted this!  This is the ATC I made for Monica over at Scraps of Darkness.  We are having trades for ATC's and Tags and it has been so fun so far!  I love getting pieces of art from others to add to the ambiance in my scrap space and love making them for others just as much.  This was a blast to make, the base is a mix of red and purple alcohol inks with a few microbeads mixed in.  I then die cut the oval frame, embossed and then inked it with some barn door distress ink.  The raven has been "flocked" with black flocking and then an eye of silver liquid pearls.  He is hanging out on a little nest of black gauze.  Mr. Poe was fussy cut to fit and topped off with a black feather for a bit more texture.