J is still having 2 naps a day, so while he was down this afternoon I had a chance to make two cards with my new Sweet of You stamp set (yes, I admit it, eBay again!).

Recipe: SU Sweet of You, Curvy Verses stamp sets; Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory CS; Basic Black, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana inks; Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon.

Recipe: SU Sweet of You stamp set; Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory CS; Basic Black, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana, Bliss Blue inks.

I often stamp a whole bunch of images and color/cut them in advance of making cards to save time. Well if you do this you'll know that you end up with a big pile of stuff on your table. So this morning during J's nap (1 hour) I decided to see what I could do with some of these odds and ends. This is what I came up with. But first a little history.....

I really like the flower in the SU Be Happy set but realized that it was similar to the one in the Love Without End set minus the words. So I thought I'd make my own version by stamping the By Definition over the top of the flower. I cut out the flowers and stuck them to the tags using dimensionals for a 3D effect. I also used versamark with the repeat flower in Pocket Full of Posies to create a background on the tags.

I'm saving this one for my mum as green is her favorite color! This way I'll be prepared for British Mother's Day in March instead of missing it like I usually do :(

Love Without End Mother Day Card
Made with: Love Without End, Pocket Full of Posies, By Definition SU Stamps; Anna Griffin Happy stamps; Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Whisper White SU CS; K&C PP; Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa SU Inks; Versamark; CTMH Sweet Clover eyelets; Pretty in Pink SU Buttons; SU Dimensionals.

Love Without End Friendship Card
Made with: Love Without End, By Definition, Curvy Verses SU Stamps; Close to Cocoa, Whisper White SU CS; K&C PP; Celery, Close to Cocoa SU Inks; Celery Grosgrain Ribbon; Mellow Moss Button; SU Dimensionals.

So yesterday was the long awaited Tuesdays with Tina Art Show. It was a great hit with easily 100 people attending. There were lots of compliments on my paintings and I actually sold an 8x10 print of my painting of Idabel Lake for $30! This is the first thing I've sold and I was so happy that someone actually liked my work as much as I do. Thanks go to Dee and Carol that organized everything and did almost all the work! Thanks gals!

This morning I attended my first life drawing class at Rotary Center for the Arts in Kelowna. The Livessence group is a group of artists that meet twice a week to draw/paint from a life model. This is the first time I've done anything like this and it has taken a few months for me to pluck up courage to attend. At first it was terrible, the poses changed way too frequently for me to get anything down on paper worth looking at, but by the time we got to the 10 minute poses I was much more loosened up and able to work in the charcoal quite well. This sketch is from one of the 20 minute poses (I think, I don't really remember) and was the only sketch from the day that I thought was good enough to show anyone.

J has discovered the keyboard and loves it! K and J hammer on it (one at either end) making a hell of a racket but having so much fun. Hopefully one or both of them will have some musical talent.

This is my second mixed media effort. This one is also on 22x30 300lb rough texture watercolor paper. If the scene looks unreal then check out one of the photos that I based this on. You can just see the lighthouse (I have another picture taken at a closer zoom). Obviously the colors have been exaggerated but not by much!This painting will be exhibited at the "Tuesdays with Tina" Art Show on Saturday 26th August 2006, 3-7pm at 1701 Highland in Spall/Glenmore area of Kelowna, British Columbia.

I could have called the title to this post "My first mixed media" or "My first really big painting", either would have been applicable. This painting was done on 22x30 300lb rough texture watercolor paper. After drawing a rough sketch in willow charcoal, the mixed media process was started with mixing up the watercolor paints. The colors chosen were based on those used for a series of paitings in 1999 by a BC watercolor artist that I admire (Linda Frimer). Then the watercolor paper was soaked with water (literally poured on). Once good and wet, the watercolor paints were brushed onto the paper and because it was already wet, they bled quite a bit. The painting had to dry and I clipped it to a sturdy board to keep the paper from buckling. Pastels were used over the top in similar colors to define the wood fence, the wheel (which was made completely with pastels), texturize the grasses and add the flowers. This painting will be one of those exhibited at the "Tuesdays With Tina" Art Show, to be held Saturday 26th August 2006, 3-7pm at 1701 Highland in Spall/Glenmore area of Kelowna, British Columbia.

Father Pandosy Mission