I know it is Sunday and usually I don’t do big posts on the weekend, but I am so in catch up mood.  My real life keeps getting in the way of my creative one.

Actually, my real life is getting more and more opportunities to be creative.  I am still working with my elementary choirs, and we just started a new semester’s project, so there is all that set up.  Love it, but the paper work can become a bore.  However, this week the paperwork should settle, and the fun choir part should be at full mast.

Then there is the art program I have been working on at the elementary school.  I am at the point where the grades are about to shift again, so the work is adding up.  In about three weeks I will find my new groove, and that should settle again.

Finally, I’ve been picked up by a middle school choral group to do some choreography work…my first love(dancing, not choral).  This is so satisfying, to be back in my comfort zone, but I find my mind constantly focused on the music and the movement.  It is a joy, because I think the kids like what I am teaching them.  They are surprising me daily, and trust me when I say, these kids are really talented.

But with all this other work, plus the redetermination to push out more art journals and canvas work, my time management skills are really coming into question.  If only the house didn’t need clean, laundry could do itself, and my children stopped wanting something like food.

Alas, the whining and explanation is over, here is the little bits of art.

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First up this morning is a color challenge from the gurus of color over at Color Throwdown. It almost feels like spring is in the air over at CTD, with their spring like colors of pale pink, pale blue, and pale green.

I pulled out some Stampendous stamps and a bit of watercolor paper and started stamping out the little outfits using a combination of Distress pens and Spectrum Aqua pens.  I masked off the outfits and then stamped out the heads, hands and legs of the little critters in some Archival black ink.  I pulled out a watercolor brush and started spreading the watercolor pens ink through out the outfits.  I added a bit of watercolor for the grass, and then trimmed up the card stock.  I snagged a bit of textured black card stock and trimmed it to fit an A2 card.  I pulled out a Stampendous sentiment stamp and stamped out a sentiment in some white embossing powder.  I added two pink pearls, and called the card done.  I know the black card stock makes the card less spring like, but I am just not ready for spring yet.

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Up next is the this and that challenge over at Fusion Card Challenge.  This week the yellow floral theme picture is for the Aussies celebrating Australia Day, and I was drawn in by that bloom.  However, I have always tried to complete the fusion, so I studied the sketch carefully.

I pulled out an old (one of my first stamped sets every) Inkadinkadoo stamp set and stamped out the mason jar using my Spectrum Aqua pens.  I then pulled out a secondary, Inkadinkadoo stamp set with wisps of floral and fauna. I colored up the stamps with my Spectrum Aqua markers and stamped out the images, occasionally adding water where need to soften the edges.  I trimmed up the water color paper and pulled out some floral vellum.  I trimmed the vellum up to match the sketch, and adhered them to the back of the water paper.  I pulled out an Inkadinkadoo sentiment and stamped it out in some soft brown Aqua pen.  I added a few black pen marks around the sentiment to help it stand out.  Finally, I added the watercolor paper to a thick sheet of kraft card stock.

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The crew over at Catch the Bug Stella Says Sketch have a really fun sketch to play with this week.

I pulled out a JJ digi stamp from Bugaboo and printed it out onto some card stock.  I pulled out my Prismacolor colored pencils and colored in the image.  I pulled out some pretty blue and white printed paper and trimmed it up to match the sketch’s basic design.  I adhered the printed paper and the JJ image, and realized, the card was absolutely blah…  I pulled out four little heart stamps and stamped them out on the top and bottom of the card and colored them in with some pencils.  Finally, I pulled out my gel sparkled pen and touched up all kinds over area with extra sparkle.  I finally grabbed my white gel pen, and detailed the printed words with a bit of white.  I do love the juxtaposition of the hearts on the boarders of the card and the sentiment.  They just don’t quite go together.

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Over at Muse Card Club, this week we have been give a beautiful floral inspiration card with a polkadot printed paper.

I pulled out an Essentials by Ellen stamp set and stamped out the floral image and two leaves onto some scrapes of card stock.  I colored them in with an ink water brush, and softened the colors with a bit of water.  I fussy cut out the stamped images and set them aside.  I pulled out a off white polkadot printed paper and trimmed it to fit an A2 card.  I die cut out a star using a We are Memory Keeps die.  I adhered the paper to the card stock and using some dimensional tape, added the flower and leaves.  Finally using some green Archival ink, I stamped out a Inkadinkadoo sentiment.

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Over at the clean and simple group Freshly Made Sketches a new sketch has shown up that allows for a bit of freedom and fun.  Those circles being labeled as any shape, makes me all kinds creative.

I pulled out a Paper Smooches stamped set and stamped out the apple, peach, strawberry, and blueberry.  I colored them in using some watercolor pens and highlighted and low lighted the images.  I fussy cut out the images (for reasons I can’t explain, I forgot I actually have dies that match this set.  Going to have to redo the storage so I can remember this and not have to fussy cut).  I trimmed out a strip of glitter paper to match the bar of the sketch.  I adhered the fruits, adding a bit of dimensional tape to the front ones.  I pulled out some purple Archival ink and added the sentiment.  I found that the card was B.O.R.I.N.G, so I pulled out the little three bit circles and started adding them everywhere.  That solved the boring problem and I think made the card a bit fun.

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Finally, we have a color challenge from the design team over at Catch the Bug.  The pallet of colors is such a lovely pallet of winter hues.

I on the other hand, didn’t go with a winter scene.  No, I pulled out a Stella stamp from Bugaboo, and printed it up onto some card stock.  I colored the image in with my copics, trying to get the markers to match up with the colors in the challenge post.  I trimmed up the card stock, knowing I wanted to make the card a little off center.  I pulled out a text printed paper and trimmed it to fit an A2 card.  I added a bit of grey ribbon and a bow to the bottom of the Stella and adhered the picture to the card stock.  I love how fun any stella image turns out, and no sentiment ever seemed truer.

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That is it for today.  Hopefully, I can find a way to organize my time to get back on track.  Till then, have fun creating.