Cre8ive Juices

Watercolor Portraits

2011-06-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

These have been done for awhile now, but I realized I never posted them here...I am ever so proud of them

The last one is my absolute favorite! They are all done in watercolor and I chose to do a different color for each person....LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out!

Day five

2011-01-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

So here is the latest....and boy do I like her MUCH better! It pays to push through the block :)

I am really excited about the way that the drawings are progressing...I just have to remember that it will only continue to get better.....and doing art makes me happy :) I have been much happier this week since I have been committed to doing this every day!!! Oh, and I got my first commission of the New Year today as well!!!! INTENTIONAL....that is what I am choosing this year!

The good, the bad and the ugly...

2011-01-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I must confess that my art is not always successful :{ But surely I cannot be the only one who has this problem......can I? Today's submission for Creative Everyday is less than successful. But, being true to the nature of what I am trying to do, I will nonetheless share it.

So, I think that the right eye is a little wonky. On a plus, the mouth is pretty good for being an open, smiling mouth. The hair is a little off as well. I don't want to scrap it, so I will date it and continue on tomorrow...who knows, I might be able to use part of it in another project :) Day Four .... CHECK! I think that I am well on my way to creating a habit!

Creative Everyday - Day 3 :)

2011-01-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

Here is the before:

And here it is done:

This was such a fun painting to do :)
Lesson learned....paint the background first! I struggled a little trying to put it in after I had the girl done, but luckily the texture on the hair worked as a dam to hold back the paint. Next time I will do all of the background first, and then add the girl. I also think that it will add a little dimension as well. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to go for it this year and state my artistic goals publicly in order to try and be held accountable to them! So, here goes:

   1. I am an artist and I need to start living it! I have decided to join the Creative Everyday Movement and do something creative each and every day!!!! Yes, time is of a premium...Yes, I am still working full time and helping to run a consignment shop...Yes, I am a mom and wife....but YES I AM AN ARTIST!
   2. I was ever so graciously given the gift of an online class over the Holidays. I will be participating in Soul Restoration http://bravegirlsclub.com/onlineclasses.html starting January 11...the day after my Birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME :) There is still time to sign up...take a look at it, it sounds really amazing!!!!!
   3. By the end of this year I hope to have a little stockpile of artsy goodness on hand that I can show somewhere....no, I will have a portfolio of items that I can use to represent my work :)
These are my resolutions...or "projects" as Suzi Blu calls them. They are intentional and will happen!
   A lot of the artists that I most admire lately have chosen words to represent them this year...mine is INTENTION!

Red :)

2010-07-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

So here is my latest painting....I am not sure about the nose, but I will continue working through it :)

After showing my hubby, he wasn't impressed with the background...he thought it looked too violent. I think his exact words were : "It looks like something that should be hanging in an abused woman's shelter"...ah well, to each their own. It is also going to have some words...I am thinking "Listen to your heart's whispers". If you look closely you will see vintage sheet music in the background...I LOVE IT!

I have been addicted to doing faces since I took a couple of Suzi Blu's classes. http://suziblu.ning.com/ They are awesome! She is so quirky, it is a blast to watch the videos! I have actually been caught giggling, no, flat out guffawing while watching :)

I have also been working through the book "Taking Flight" by Kelly Rae Roberts with a friend, and have made the journal from chapter one. I love the way the pages turned out, and have been digging pretty deep for the content. My creative wings include selling my work and using it to fund Mission Trips. Today, I met with a woman who is interested in opening a consignment shop with me and using some of the proceeds for Mission work!!!!! Is that not God speaking or what!? Although we are in talking stages, September is when she wants to open. There is A LOT of work to be done, but I have told her I have nothing financial to bring to the table, only my time and talent and she seemed VERY interested still! Please say a few prayers that God will make His plan known to me....this might be the FIRST STEP that I have been waiting for.

2010-05-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest and greatest creations...it was a productive day :)

These are all for sale in my Etsy store....and I just opened a Zibbet account to try and sell there as well. I am trying to use the talents that God gave me to fund the Missions that I am feeling called to go on. We shall see if it is meant to be.

Latest and Greatest

2010-05-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

So I have been pretty creative lately, this past weekend at the Mega Meet only fueled me on more! I had such an amazing time hanging out with the girls, helping out in the classrooms, seeing (and touching) all of the new products out there...oh yeah, and MEETING TIM HOLTZ!

I was pretty bummed out when I found out I didn't get into any of his classes because I was waiting to see if I had been accepted as a volunteer for the show. Then I found out I would be a floater...which meant I wasn't assigned to any particular room, just going where needed. Well, on the first day, I was LUCKY enough to get to to into HIS class and help out for the first hour....nothing else mattered!

I am happy to say that he is a truly great guy...down to earth, EXTREMELY talented (like I didn't know that already), and FUNNY! It really was awesome. Anyway, here is what I have been playing around with lately:

Help for Haiti

2010-01-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hello out there to everyone in Blog-Land! I am very excited to be writing this to share my newest goal :) As you can probably tell from the title of the post, I have decided to listen to the call and go to Haiti. Maybe I should start at the beginning. Last year, as many of you know, I took the BIGGEST leap of faith I have ever taken and committed to a mission trip to Zambia, Africa.
Now this was no easy feat, as my family and I are by no means wealthy....we are among the many that live paycheck to paycheck. After hearing about the work that our church, DAYBREAK, was doing there over the past few years, I couldn't get it out of my mind! In fact, it took a full year to finally take the leap and decide to go! The deal was, if I could RAISE the money to do it, I could go. So, being that here in Michigan we have been in the middle of the downturn in the economy, this was not going to be easy. Still, the impression left on my heart was great. I began what was to be four months of intense fund-raising, which included two Craft Days (by far the most fun), a Bake Goods Sale, a sub sale, and door to door pop can drive (definitely the most humbling). After all of these efforts and some generous donations from friends and family, I was still almost $200 short with about two weeks to go! I had no choice but to believe that it was in His hands and wait for him to make it happen! Make it happen He did, and I spent 10 Life-Changing days among the most awe-inspiring people I have ever met in my life! I thought that I was going to change the world, but I think in the end the world changed me! My heart has always been soft for people that need help, and it has only grown more so. Please follow this link to view some pics from the trip.
Fast-forward to today and what I hope to accomplish in the next few weeks and months. What I plan to do is use the talent that He has given me and make an altered item to auction off to fund this next mission trip. Here is a link to our Church's website that goes into detail of what we plan to do while in Haiti.
http://www.daybreak.tv/ (click on Haiti Relief or Experiencing Haiti)
LET THE BIDDING BEGIN! At the end of the bidding, The winning bidder will be directed to my church to send the payment there (bonus...this will make it tax deductable!) and I will ship out your lovely picture :) Thanks so much for taking the time to listen to my story, and I'll see you all soon :)

Portraits

2009-11-29T17:32:00.001-08:00

So here are the finished portraits that I will use to make the commissioned paintings with....LOVE LOVE LOVE the way that they turned out! I have also listed them on Etsy...not these exact ones, but these were perfect for an example!

2009-11-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Wow....I am soooo not good at posting on here....I think that FACEBOOK is the reason :) Anyway, here are some of my current projects that I am working on.
*I decided to go in on a Craft Booth from now until the end of the year with a friend of mine. I am making Paper-Flower wreaths that I saw on the Fancy Pants blog :) They are really turning out cute!
*I took an online painting course from SuziBlu (That girl is FuNkY! I LOVE IT!) and just ADORE the results!
*Because of said class, I was asked if I can paint boys. I had never tried, so I decided to try some sketches of my boss' sons and LOVED the results. So now she has commissioned me to do two paintings before Christmas :) :) :)
*From the same painting, I am working on another piece for a friend!
*From the sketches, I am working on a few other surprises for a very close personal friend....MUM'S THE WORD on these :)
THE CREATIVITY IS POURING OUT!!! Maybe it will continue into the new year and help me reach my creative goals...same as last year...1. Make a design team (Look out Memory Works....I am gonna try) 2. Attend a Creative Conference and 3. Maybe get a new Digital SLR Camera. I have to make enough CREATIVE MONEY to do these, so HERE I GO! And with that, I will leave you with some Eye Candy :)

2009-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I have decided that the only way to get out of the creative rut I seem to be in lately is to create! I have made a commitment to make or do at least one creative thing each day, so here is what I did yesterday:

Not sure that Purple was the right choice, but it is done, and now everything else will be easier than taking that first step....I HATE FEELING CREATIVELY BLOCKED!!! What do you do to overcome it? I'll keep up with doing one thing each day in hopes that I get the creative mojo back :)

My Africa

2009-07-07T17:51:00.001-07:00

These are some of my images of Africa. The pictures tell the story so much better than I can! I hope that you enjoy!

Africa

2009-04-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

So I am just shy of three weeks before I leave for Africa and am getting VERY excited about going! I have my shot appointment set for tomorrow....ick. I also will pick up my anti-malarial pills and motion sickness patch tomorrow. It has been a long road since I first decided to go, but what an amazing experience it will be! I have had unbelievable support from friends and loved ones, it is really cool to watch everyone coming together to help me accomplish this! All of my fundraisers have been successful! We had two different Craft Days, a Baked Good Sale, a Sub Sale, and a Bowling Party set for this weekend. I am still short by $800, but I have faith that God will provide!!!! Here is a link to the church where we will be able to blog while away on the trip: http://www.daybreak.tv/crossculture/international/spring-team-2009/

New Etsy Listings

2008-10-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, I finally finished my altered tins for Etsy! I am slowly taking the steps towards my creative goals. Here is what I have listed, they are all mine, except the Butterfly which, I am proud to say, is my daughter's!

Taking a new step

2008-09-15T16:24:00.001-07:00

So the creative roll that I was talking about before has really kept going! I sold the second owl painting that I made (the first was a swap), and got an order for a mouse one. Although this seems like baby steps, they seem HUGE to me! I actually SOLD something that I created! Now, I have a goal to get to with these creations. I have wanted to attend a Creative Retreat for a few years now, but money was always an issue for me. My goal is to put the money that I make with any art that I sell away for a retreat! My wonderful hubby is on board with this idea, so I am off on my next creative journey! To celebrate, I bought this amazing book that I have been coveting for a few weeks now:
I intend to first savor the ENTIRE book, and then use it to expand upon what I am starting to feel inside. Think of me as I go into the next step of my journey!!!! And wish me well :)

Painting

2008-09-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have a new creation to share. I signed up for a painting swap on Swap-Bot and loved the way it turned out!!!! It is really simple, and another example of my owl obsession, but here it is:

Yes, I am a winner!? :)

2008-08-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I just found out that I won a contest over at MMCA Marketplace! It is an online collaboration of artists selling their goods! Click here to see the wonderful prize that is on it's way for me to play with!
http://mmcamarketplace.typepad.com/mmca_marketplace/2008/08/congratulations-regan.html?cid=127738514#comments
I cannot wait to start playing with those papers....my fingers are already itching to touch them :)

2008-07-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

I am really on a roll lately! I have so many ideas floating around, and not nearly enough time to put them into action! Ah well, I will write them all down in my journal and do what I can for now. So, here is the latest that I did today! I went shopping last night with my sister and bought the base for this and came home from work and immediately started on it today :) This is the end result! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!!!

Altered Fairy Tin

2008-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

So here is the altered fairy tin that I made for my sister's birthday. It opens up and is the perfect size to hold a gift card :) I used alcohol inks to color it, and I think next time I will play a little more for better coverage. The spoon is a cast off from goodwill. The wings are made from a fake flower stem and the arms and legs are just twisted wire with buttons! I am considering making up a bunch of these as tooth fairies for my Etsy site.....time will tell :) Anyway, enjoy!

2008-06-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

So it has been ages since I have posted on here, but here goes. Lately I have been addicted to swapping. Add to that my obsession with owls and you have my latest creation. Hope you like it :) After reading this poem, I instantly thought back to a favorite song from my teenage years "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche. I just love this little house :)

2008-02-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

So I have a slight owl addiction as of late! I don't know what it is about those cute little fellas, but they are ALL that seem to be inspiring me right now. I have added a few new links that I like right now as well. One is for Scrap Mojo, I have entered the Iron Chef competition on there and have moved to the next stage! WOO HOO!
The second addition is for SwapBot, and both my daughter and I are loving this one! We have signed up for a few swaps, and are enjoying doing them together!
The final site I am hooked on right now is Faith Sisters! This is not a new one, in fact I am a few weeks behind on the challenges, but I still LOVE this one!
Everyone has FINALLY gotten well around here, and THAT is reason for celebration! That is it for today, enjoy my Rond one entries for Iron Chef :)

Scripture Challenge #4 WAIT

2008-01-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

So, you guessed it. It is week four of the Scripture Challenge. The word this week was Wait. This one was a little difficult for me because I am not very good at waiting. I am the kind of person who wants what I want NOW! After searching through a few verses, I read this one and it jumped right out at me! It is Psalm 40:1. It reads, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry." God hears every prayer that you make to Him. He listens to every concern you have, and IF you are patient enough, and IF you wait for Him....He WILL answer your prayer. It may not be the answer that you are expecting, but it is the one that you are meant to have! So even though I am not patient, I will wait for the Lord!
As a little side note, my daughter had decided to join me in this challenge, but was struggling to make them all. I am very happy to say that tonight she cleared a spot right next to me and worked by my side and got herself caught up! After I get her permission tomorrow, I will post her take on these challenges.

Scripture Challenge #3 BeAuTy

2008-01-25T19:41:00.001-08:00

The word for the week was Beauty. My verse comes from 1 Samuel 16:7. ..."Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the Heart." It has a piece of metallic paper that is reflective, so whoever looks at it is reflected back. It is to let everyone know that they are beautiful in His eyes. Thanks for looking!

Week Two of the Scripture challenge

2008-01-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is my second week's rolodex card! I love how it turned out :) I went to an all day crop on Saturday and got a TON accomplished! The weather all day was terrible! We were two cars behind a 14 car pile-up on the highway! We helped push two cars out of the ditch and then ended up waiting on the highway for one hour and twenty minutes for the wreckage to be cleared away! After all of that, the relaxation was a welcome relief! I ended up getting eight pages done while I was there :) I also won a bunch of magazines in the drawings!!! Did I mention I am a magazine ADDICT!? Anyway, we will get to do it all over again (minus the 14-car pile-up) in a few weeks at my mom's house. I cannot wait! It is so nice to have a crop to look forward to :)

Faith - my first of the scripture challenges

2008-01-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

So here is the first challenge. I decided to take a different take on it than I think most people will. I chose two verses from Genesis 9:16-17. It says "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the Earth. So God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on Earth."

After reading the word and the verse you may not see my line of thinking, so let me explain. I think this verse speaks to God's response to our faith. He was rewarding Noah for his faith. He entered into a covenant with the entire Earth, and the rainbow was a sign or a reminder of that.

My dad passed away a few years ago. It was obviously a difficult time for us. My Aunts told my children and my niece and nephew that every time they saw a rainbow it was Grandpa smiling down on them. Now I know that that little platitude had more truth in it than perhaps they knew. This Bible verse says to me that whenever I see a rainbow it is our Father smiling down on us!

2008-01-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

Another busy day here. I was going to go and scrapbook all day with the lovely ladies from sistv, but alas life popped up again! Spencer and Dominique tried out for the Civic Musical "Cheaper by the Dozen". The auditions lasted for three hours. All I can say is I am very glad to have brought my knitting! I got about a third of the way done on a scarf I started the night before. After the auditions we went to get some things for a science project for Nika and then proceeded to spend the next few hours building it. It turned out pretty good, and after a few last minute adjustments, I think it may even crack the egg :) That is all for tonight!

2008-01-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

We went sledding today...or rather Sara dragged me sledding :) I have to admit that I really had a great time! All of the kids came except for Lauren, and the favorite part was the jump. Here are some pictures to enjoy :)

Christmas Time :)

2007-12-28T07:38:00.001-08:00

So I know that it has been forever since I posted, but lots of cool things have been happening here. Spencer and I were working hard on Luminere for church. What is Luminere? Let me tell you...it was our Christmas production. Think a Cirque du Soleil style telling of the story of Creation...through till Jesus' birth! It was unbelievable!! Mark Courtney, our creative director at our church is amazing! I will try to put a link up with some pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22962&l=7878c&id=505691175
Spencer was in the production (as the Moon Pilot)

and I helped with make-up and made the costume for the Dark Angel. After obsessing about the head piece for almost a month....it turned out perfectly

Next bit of good news....I SOLD MY FIRST ART PIECE! I have a small Etsy site, and right before Christmas I sold my first piece! I cannot tell you how thrilled I was! My goals for next year included selling some of my artwork in this way! I am ahead of the game :) This is what I sold:

Lastly, we had a wonderful Christmas! Here are some pics from the wonderous day:

2007-10-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

OK, so today was Homecoming for Chris, and I have to say that I have had a REALLY hard time with this! I have to say though that the boy has taste! He chose his whole outfit himself (Goodwill even!!!!), and the first girl he asked said yes! Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out as he expected, as she had a different idea in mind when she accepted as going as friends. Oh well, it opens up the playing field if you will for the dances tonight :) He is a little heartbreaker....if I do say so myself!

2007-08-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess that I am not great at keeping this updated, about once a month it seems :) Oh well. Saturday I got to spend some wonderful time scrapbooking with some fun and amazing women! The ladies at Sistv got together for a MI crop and had a blast! I am trying to take some pics of the results of the day, but my batteries are dead on the camera....argh It seems every time I go to take pics that happens. Anyway, it was a blast, and we are already planning the next one! That's it for today.....until next month :) Oh, how about some pics.....these are from Nika's b-day party!

2007-07-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my sister's birthday and I decided to make her this about three months ago! I found the base on clearance at Target and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.....and waited until the night before to make it! Story of my life :) Anyway, after a quick trip to the store for the pictures on the day of, it was pretty easy to do. Like I said, I already knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it. I took it and gave it to her at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. She LOVED it! We had a great time at the relay too! Cousins Scott(ina) (D)Norkoli and Ian came, and were there with us, along with Mom, Sara and David, and Ashley. I am wiped out completely, but it was a great time! What a great weekend! Now to get Chris ready to go to New York for camp!

Newest art work

2007-06-30T19:17:00.001-07:00

Well, here is the finished product that I worked on all day today! I bought this old spice rack at a yard sale about a month ago, and finally decided to do something with it! I painted it with acrylic paint. I just put a very thin coat of white on it so it looks older. Then I added some cool paper inside and out, and on the bottles of course. It could be used to store stuff for scrapbooking, or jewelry making, or even for spices again. I am going to try and sell in my etsy store. The butterfly shoes haven't had a bite yet, but these things take time I guess. I'll keep plugging away, and one day I won't have to stress about it! Enjoy the pics :)

Summer days and Baseball

2007-06-06T18:13:00.001-07:00

So today we spent the evening at the ball field! My niece and nephew each had a game, and we went to watch! It was great seeing them enjoy themselves so much! Baseball, while it is the All-American Sport, is a little boring to watch. Soccer is always go go go! As you can tell, I am a Soccer-Mom :) Anyway, we had a great time watching them, and I had fun taking some pictures! Let me know what you think of the shots.

E-bay and Etsy listings

2007-06-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have put my very first listings on e-bay and etsy today. Please look here for the links:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220118976066
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6121468
They are similar pieces with distinct differences. I am trying to actually make some money doing this thing that I love! I also went out on a limb and tried out for the Rusty Pickle design contest. Even though it was disappointing to try and not win, I am proud that I actually tried! I'll keep trying and one day I'll get a yes! That is all for today, I will leave you with a few of my recent favorite pictures!

Hello again :)

2007-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it has been awhile since posting on here. Time does tend to get away from me :) I have submitted two cards for a card challenge on paper crafts magazine website...I will find out Monday how I did. Here is one of them:

Butterfly

2007-03-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of a Soccer Shoe that I altered into a butterfly! It really turned out great...one of my favorites so far! Leave a comment!

Here Goes Nothing :)

2007-03-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, here is the first installment on my very own Blog! I am intending to use this to share my current projects with whomever chooses to look, and hopefully meet some like-minded artistic souls in the process. Here is a card that I made earlier this week. It is a shadowbox card that I got from a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. I made it for my hubby's Grandmother's eightieth birthday. I just sent it out today, hope she likes it! Feel free to tell me what you think!