A Sketchy Debut

Oh My! The brainwaves seem to be darting all over the place within my mind, sometimes running one another over as they race toward the 'starting line' for the GRAND DEBUT of my blog; GOT PMS? Grab Papers, Markers, and Sketches and No One Gets Hurt!

In an effort to 'ease the tension' (headaches included), I've decided it is time to get things moving. I'm sure mistakes will be made but hopefully, given enough time and experience, better ideas will begin to formulate and take place . And so, this blog will be a 'work in progress'. This reminds me of a little chorus from Sunday School... one my girls used to sing and I enjoyed hearing. There are a couple of verses but the chorus goes like this:

'He's still workin' on me
To make me what I ought to be,
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and earth and Jupitar and Mars,
How loving and patient He must be,
He's still workin' on me!'

It is such a fun song reminding me of this important truth: Each day God is working on the canvas of my life, directing me toward His will and His purpose for my life. And as I often 'muddle the colors of paint' into one big mess, He remains patient, kind, and loving toward me. He is an awesome God!

OK....so what's in store for the Grand Debut?

A SKETCH CHALLENGE~~ courtesy of my fabulous friend, Micki Harper

see more of Micki's work by visiting her blog 'Artful Xpressions Captured in Paint, Paper, and Photos' at http://artfulxpressions.net

And a PRIZE for one lucky and randomly selected participant in the challenge!

If I am doing this correctly, you should see the sketch at the beginning of this post (clicking on the picture should enlarge the image). I will be back later with samples from Micki and myself using this fun and creative sketch.

For those participating: da D-Tails:

• You may use any stamp or digi image of your choice
• You may use any product and/or embellishments of your choice
• You may use any color combination of your choice

Go ahead....enter as often as you would like.....by posting to the comment section of this post.... a picture of your card OR post a link that will take us DIRECTLY to your card (this is done in an effort to help prevent spam... well, as much as I am able to do so....and... having learned from the experiences of other artisitic bloggers, I reserve the right to delete any and all links that do not link directly to a picture of your card, if you have any questions please email me using: barbgwv@gmail.com).

For prize consideration, your valid contribution for this challenge must be posted not later than noon (eastern time zone...think New York time) Saturday, September 19, 2009.

Ohhhhhh, but what is the Prize, you ask....Well....you'll have to wait on that little tidbit of information....Why, you ask....Well, because I forgot -- to take a picture ..... and since I don't have one of those fancy-shamancy 'lighting hoods', I rely on natural daylight for my picture taking and since it is now dark outside, I have NO light....But, I will get it done tomorrow and post the picture with the sketch samples....see, I told you this was all a 'work in progress'...Thanks for being patient!

And soooooooooo....You have the sketch and you have the D-Tails (well, most of them anyway)....the rest is up to YOU!

Until then,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barb g (WV)

Caleb's Creations

In the last 2-3 years my grandson's have enjoyed 'playing' with my crafting supplies whenever they were over for a visit. Because I didn't want them using my 'more expensive' products, I went to Walmart and purchased a plastic 3 drawer storage unit. In the unit, I placed stamp images I no longer cared for, inks, crayons, markers, color pencils, bits of ribbon, a various assortment of stickers and other embellies I didn't care for, along with scraps of colored cardstock and patterned paper scraps. I also included, glues, glitter glues, glue sticks, scissors, various rulers, along with other various items they might enjoy while creating. When the boys are over, they know they can play and create with anything from that storage unit. Well, recently Caleb was over for a little 'one-on-one' time with Nana and Papa (that would be my me and my dh) and we 'played' together in my craft area. He had a wonderful time creating and I decided the next day to take him out to the 'dollar' stores and purchase a bin to fill with all kinds of inexpensive items he could keep at home for his own crafting enjoyment. Needless-to-say, he was thrilled! I don't have a picture of him with his very own craft box (sure did miss an opportunity there) but I know he is putting it to great use. The pictures above are from our night of crafting together. I have a zip-lock bag filled with a variety of pre-stamped images given me by two friends from Sweet N' Sassy Stamp Designs: Sandy Domelle and Deedee Anderson....thank you soooooo much, ladies. I shared a few of these images with Caleb and this little 'duck' image is the first one he wanted to use and make a card for his 'soon-to-be adopted' sister--now isn't that just precious! I've decided to share a few of Calebs Creations here on my blog and I hope you will enjoy watching as he begins splashing into his own creative gene pool.

And by-the-way, I'll be posting my very first Sketch Challenge around midnight....hope you will check in tomorrow and participate in the challenge!

Until next time:

Make time to create but always have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barb g (WV)

PS: I tend to take a conservative approach when posting pictures of my grandchildren, therefore I have and always will 'blot out' a portion of the facial area prior to publishing their pictures on my blog...thank you for understanding.

Tulip Testing.....Just a test.....

I'm trying to figure out how things work, so this is just a 'test'....learning how to post pictures....

Springtime tulips are such a beautiful sight...I love them and this is one of many I have in my back yard.

Enjoy,

Barb g (WV)






Now I'm going to see if this works...if not, I'll try again later....there is so much to learn, : }

Edited to add: I'm using this post for testing purposes....want to see how the 'editing' process works after a post has been published.

A Simple Introduction and Diving In...

Not into a backyard swimming pool, not into a beautiful lakeside of deep blue waters, not into the gigantic waves of saltwater found within ocean waters; but rather, diving head-first into the uncertain waters as are sometimes found within the world of 'Blogging'...specifically the world of rubber stamping and paper crafting within the Blogging World! At this time, I will probably be doing more of a 'splish-splash, barely get your toes wet' song and dance rather than an actual well choreographed 'deep-diving' routine...but none-the-less I'm 'jumping' in. I may swim, I may sink, but I will no longer ask myself, 'what if'.

Having made this decision, my heart and mind began to feel as if they were in a competition with one another. As ideas began formulating, my heart began to 'race' with the excitement of it all but at the same time, the ideas in my mind began to ricochet in a 'crazy-like' fashion. It reminded me of those long-gone PMS days (or so I thought). You know... those days, right before your TOM, when your emotions are in a constant state of flux.... laughing one moment, crying or screaming the next!

While this present stage of life has it's own set of challenges, I am so glad to have the days of PMS and TOM's behind me! My three 'Blessings of Life' -- AKA as 'the kids', are all grown and have kids of their own (and let me tell you, it is much more fun being the grandparent). My dedicated and hardworking husband has retired from one career and is now working on a second. And to top it all off, I have the blessing of not working outside the home--giving me time (although there never seems to be enough) to enjoy my church activities (which are many) and my crafts.

Stamping and paper crafting have become my 'therapy' of choice. The diversity of cardstock and patterned papers, the vast array of coloring tools -- COPIC markers, in my opinion being the 'best of the best', 'neater than red dirt' not to mention my personal favorite -- and the multitude of sketches available within the world of paper-crafting, are a wonderful 'jump start' and platform for getting our 'creative juices' flowing.

With all of this in mind, may I introduce you to my 'twist' on the idea of 'PMS-ing":

Got PMS?

Grab Papers, Markers, & Sketches and No One Gets Hurt!

(Well, their fingers may get stabbed if they try to take away my COPICS, LOL)

That's it! What do you think?

I hope you will 'stay tuned' as I hope to post my very first challenge not later than August 1, 2009... earlier if I can get it all together. It will feature an awesome card and sketch from my very first 'Cyber-Sister' --

Micki Harper!

For about 3 years, or maybe longer, I've had the fortunate opportunity to watch Micki 'explore and grow' her artistic talents. She will often challenge herself to step outside of her 'comfort zone' -- such as when she 'applied for' and was accepted to Design Team positions with a couple of different stamping companies. I've never known Micki to do anything she has committed to doing with a 'half-way' attitude. In fact I would say it's just the opposite, a "MORE" than 100% attitude....giving everything her best effort and doing it with a spirit of excellence ! On the few occasions something has failed to meet her standard of excellence, she has the unique ability to laugh at herself and post it anyway...which causes me to adore her all the more! I don't know about you, but I am encouraged when an artist is willing to share not only her 'works of excellence' but also her mistakes, mishaps, and/or 'less than perfect' designs. Where Micki is concerned, I believe the one area in which I've seen the greatest improvement is her coloring....Oh, did I fail to mention that Micki is 'certifiably certified'?....LOL.....That is 'COPIC CERTIFIED'...and let me tell you, ever since receiving her 'certified' papers , the girl is TOTALLY ROCKIN' the world!

Want to see for yourself? Go visit her blog: "Artful Xpressions -- Captured in Paint, Paper, and Photos"

You can see it by clicking on the following link:

http://artfulxpressions.net/

So, until next time,

Make time to create, but always ~~~ Have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barb g (WV)

PS: Since I'm new at this 'blogging' thing, please be patient with me...especially with my grammar, punctuation, spelling and any other imperfections you may notice.