32 YEARS?!?!?!!

 Well I haven't posted for a while and I'm feeling quite nostalgic because my husband and I were married 32 years ago TODAY!  It doesn't seem possible that it's been that long but in some ways it even seems longer!  (In a good way MOST DAYS!)

We've been through a lot like anyone who's been married for longer that two weeks but today it seems so worth it all!  (see the card above and that will explain it ALL!) To see our kids doing well (most of the time!) and see them starting their lives with spouses and babies....it's WONDERFUL!  

I know that I have someone who will be there for me when I need him. He's the one I call when I am afraid or upset or angry or happy about something that's happened and I just wanted to publicly thank him for these years!  I could'nt have made it without his patience and strength! 

 

Well before I wax TOO poetic I'll give you all a few more tips for ATC's!  I'm still having sooo much fun!

 

NOW WHAT DO I DO?

After I’ve glued all my images on and am happy with the card I make sure it is all trimmed up nicely (from the back) before I start sealing it.  I also like to trim the corners off with some sharp scissors.  Of course this isn’t necessary but to me it makes it look a little cleaner.  Just use your eye and trim the tiniest bit to make the corners round.  I put one coat of mod podge on the front and the “sides” BUT be sure to clean up the back before you lay it down to dry.  If you have trouble getting a perfect finish try purposely using short quick strokes for a “painterly effect”! I usually lay it on the top to one of my acrylic paint bottles but you can also lay it on a plastic garbage bag. When it’s dry I give the back a coat and repeat the process if desired. Sometimes I put as many as 4 coats back and front but 1-2 is all that’s necessary. It all depends on the look you like.  Mod podge will make your card flexible and IF it has curled or warped you can gently…..GENTLY…curl it back into shape.  

 

Love you ALL!

Becky

Ebay

My Website

Etsy

 

 

One of the best days of my life!!

Good Morning everybody!

 

I had the BEST day yesterday! 

 

One of our sons called and wanted to know I wanted to go with them to the pumpkin patch we used to take them to almost 20 years ago!  Him and his wife...my sweet daughter in law named Jacquelyn...have a new baby and they wanted Grandma along! YES Hugo is going to be a BUMBLE BEE for Halloween!!

 

 

It's a cheesy little farm about 45 minutes from Portland and you have to ride the ferry to get there!  The ferry only holds about 6 cards and it literally only takes about 2 minutes to get across the "river"!

 

It was a GORGEOUS day!  Crisp and clear and cold BUT sunny!  Just PERFECT!

 

There's a little "train" to ride to go see some farm animals and then ON TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH!  Hugo is just about the sweetest baby any Grandma ever had and of course he is ADORABLE too!  I've lost my heart to him!!!  Here's a picture of Grandma "stealin some sugar!"

 

When we got there we saw my sister and her family.....just by accident and hung around with them for the rest of the day!  What a blessing the entire day was!

 

 

 

I begrudgingly (not really) let my sister hold him after she gave him a teensy tiny pumpkin she bought for him before we got there!  (take a look at Hugo....I'm pretty sure he's thinking....I WISH GRANDMA WAS HOLDING ME!) tee hee!

 

This last one is of Hugo amongst the pumpkins!  I miss him already!

 

******HUGE sigh******What a WONDERFUL day that was!  One for the memory books!

 

Ok here are a few more art tips! 

 

GROOVY MOD PODGE BABY!

 

I have lots of people ask me what kind of collage medium I use.  I LOVE plain old mod podge! 

 Remember it from the 1970’s? Well it is available in any craft store.  I like the matte finish and I HATE the gloss but try both and see what works for you!   I know a lot of my fellow artists use “Goldens” and I HAD tried it several times without much luck. I recently tried Golden’s again and realized it works much better for gluing images on. It’s much thicker and doesn’t make your paper wavy like mod podge does. Now I use Golden’s to glue the image on and then seal them with Mod Podge.  I tend to use my finger as a “paint brush”.  Since we’re dealing with such small spaces a finger full of collage medium that has been rubbed on the card works better for me than fiddling with a paint brush. 

 

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL artful day!

 

MUCH LOVE!

Becky

 

 

Ebay

My Website

Etsy

I NEED TO GO TO BED BUT....

.......I just can't!

Partly because I'm feeling so creative and partly because I had 2 or 3 DIET COKES!




Before I get my butt to bed I thought I'd share a few more atc tips with you!



GLUE then CUT?

After you’ve initially cut out the image you want to use try NOT to cut it any further before you glue it on (UNLESS your already begun design requires you to!) Sometimes just putting part of an image on is more effective. When we’re working with such small sizes it’s important to make the most of every little bit and if you can convey your thought with ¾ of a Victorian lady then all the better! What I do is cut the image out completely out and lay it on the card (don’t glue yet) judging as I place my image on how much I need for it to still look “right”. I either use my hand to simulate where the border is or just lightly run my finger over the edge of the card and the little bend on the paper will show me where the edge is. That way I can judge just exactly where I want it. Sometimes you have to sacrifice an arm or part of a dress so that you can have more room for more STUFF! Also that little bend tells you exactly where to cut IF you need to cut part of it off to fit into your design! BE BRAVE and glue it down! When it’s dry I trim off the edges that are lapping over (from the BACK) with some sharp scissors. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell exactly how much you want on there so positioning it, gluing it, and THEN cutting it later works better for me! Remember to wait until your glue is DRY!

Nitey nite!

Becky

Ebay

My Website

Etsy

Monday is a great day for ART!

Good Morning everybody!

I've found that Monday is a GREAT day for art!

It raises my spirits and gets my creative juices going for the rest of the week!

Just tell yourself "I don't have to get anything done right now....I'm just playing...

You might just find that art will help your Monday Blues too!

In the meantime here are more great art tips for YOU!

GLUE then CUT?

After you’ve initially cut out the image you want to use try NOT to cut it any further before you glue it on (UNLESS your already begun design requires you to!) Sometimes just putting part of an image on is more effective. When we’re working with such small sizes it’s important to make the most of every little bit and if you can convey your thought with ¾ of a Victorian lady then all the better!

What I do is cut my image completely out and lay it on the card (don’t glue yet) judging as I place my image on how much I need for it to still look “right”.

I either use my hand to simulate where the border is or just lightly run my finger over the edge of the card and the little bend on the paper will show me where the edge is. That way I can judge just exactly where I want it.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice an arm or part of a dress so that you can have more room for more STUFF! Also that little bend tells you exactly where to cut IF you need to cut part of it off to fit into your design!

BE BRAVE AND GLUE IT DOWN!!!

When it’s dry I trim off the edges that are lapping over (FROM THE BACK) with some sharp scissors.

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell exactly how much you want on there so positioning it, gluing it, and THEN cutting it later works better for me! Remember to wait until your glue is DRY!

Take a peek at what I did this weekend for EBAY!

I hope you all have a wonderful artful Monday!

Much Love....Becky

Come visit me at my website for more FUN!

AND

My ETSY shop!

Artist Trading Cards ROCK!

Happy Sunday everyone!

I can't believe how much FUN I'm having with my new ORIGINAL artist trading cards!!

I especially like the freedom I feel in just "playing" and not having the art feel too serious!

You need to give these little gems a try

If you'd like to take a look at what I've been creating lately click HERE

In the meantime here's MORE atc tips for YOU!!

CHECKERBOARDS ANYONE?

I love black and white checkerboard borders but for some reason I couldn’t find black and white checkerboard art paper. Then I happened upon some black and white striped paper. I realized that was actually better because when I cut off strips it looks like checkerboards AND I can cut them as skinny or as wide as I want without worrying about staying right on the line of actual checkerboards! If you want a double row just cut two strips about the same width and glue them on side by side staggering the colors to form your checkerboards!

Brilliant huh?!?!?

Here's a couple more links JUST FOR FUN!

My website

AND

My Etsy Store!

Have a BEAUTIFUL Sunday

love you all!

Becky

Friday is a great day for MORE ATC TIPS!

Good Morning everyone!

Here are a few more artist trading card tips for YOU!

WHO THOUGHT SKINNY WOULD BE SO HORRIBLE!

I like skinny little borders around the edges of my cards but they are murder to glue on. I just use regular art paper and cut a strip off and use that as a border BUT I cut the border twice as wide as I actually need and just glue “half” of it to the edge to my card. It’s a lot easier to deal with that a tiny ¼” wide strip! Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly straight! Sometimes that makes the card more interesting and when someone comments on “how cool it was that you used that slanted border” you can just act like you meant to! Then I can just trim off the excess with some sharp scissors (from the BACK of the card) and it’s a lot easier to handle.

My hubbie and I are starting NutriSystems today! (notice the artist trading card above!) I've lost 40+ pounds this last year but need to lose more and am sort of stalled! Hopefully this will get me going again!

Wish us luck!

Love to all!

Becky