QKD Challenge

One of my New Years promises to myself is to be more creative and have more fun doing it. One way to do this is to join more challenges. I found a great one over at Queen Kat Designs. They have a weekly challenge called the Triple Tiara Tuesday and this month the prize will be a $25 gift certificate from them. I only have a few stamps from QKD but have a wish list longer than my arm so why not join the challenge with the opportunity to win the gift certificate so I can get some of those stamps on my wish list!
I'm hoping to find some time to get another entry in for one of the other weeks but for now this is what I made for the week 2 challenge of "white". I used my brand new cuttle bug to emboss some swirls for the background and stamped this Just a Girl stamp from the Gorjuss Girl line over at Sugar Nellie. I used colored pencils and shimmer stickers, that's it! I really like the way she turned out, hope you do too!

January Blog Hop

Welcome to the January Smeared & Smudged members blog hop! Our theme for this hop is "New". So I've decided to use one of my new Smeared Ink stamp sets in my new art journal. I wanted a collage-like feel to this page using only the stamps from the As Death set.
I started with the text stamp in chocolate first and second generation stamping, then added additional images in chocolate, desert sand and cocoa. It was looking a little bland so stamped the lovely skeleton in vineyard berry. The image on the bottom right I stamped in black on desert sand card stock then colored with pencils and cut out to attach to the page. Spritzed some glimmer mist and found a quote I liked.
Make sure to hop on over to all the other blogs to see what "New" things all the gals have created and dont forget to leave them all some love. Blog list is on the sidebar :)

~happy stamping~

Creative Block

I was so excited the beginning of the year to do more to express my creative side. I’d just done a whole month of blog hopping with S&S and I was ambitious to continue along those lines. I thought about trying out for some design teams.  I joined in with Art Journal Everyday, got a new journal for Christmas and was raring to go. Sat down that first Friday and made my opening page for my journal and ICK!  It looks like a 5 year old made it, actually a 5 year old would probably done a better job. Ever since then I’ve been stuck L

I have fabulous ideas and plans and somewhere along the way the translation from my brain to my hand, it gets all messed up.   I realize that we are probably our own worst critics so that’s the first step in recovery right? I need to shut up my inner critic, I need to let go, art makes me happy so why can’t I just do what makes me happy and not tear apart the outcome?

We are 14 days into the New Year, so I’m 14 days behind in my journal. But you know what, that’s ok.  Today is a new day. Today is a new beginning. Today after work I am going to take a picture of my first page to post, I am going to grab my journal and my pencils and put them in a bag so I can doodle, draw, write, or do whatever I want tonight while sitting at my sons karate class.  I am not going to be afraid to try new things, I am not going to be afraid to share what I make, I will encourage my inner artist and I’m going to leave my inner critic by the side of the road and if she doesn’t shut up I’m going to back up my van and run her over.

Ah….. I feel better already J