Getting Ready for the New Year

Getting ready for 2009 which looks to be an exciting year for art and my art groups! Look for exciting things happening in the Latest Trends and Arttechniques!
Working on our second volume of the Latest Trends book series is keeping me busy.
I hope to have some time to play with more of my Layers of Colors stamps also.
In Arttechniques, I need to make 75 Winter-themed Skinny Book pages. Of course I had to sign up for all 3 groups of 25!! I may use this quote from Albert Camus (one of my favorite quotes):
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."
Albert Camus
And 120 pages for our second mammoth fat Book swap on techniques- this time with a recycled emphasis.
Wishing you and yours a blessed New Year filled with good things!

Ready for Christmas??

Hope you all are nearly ready for Christmas. Did a lot of wrapping today; raking leaves before another rain storm comes in, and working off Christmas goodie calories by doing cardio and weights at the gym. If any of you are contemplating joining a gym in the new year, I highly recommend it. The endorphins that flow when you exercise really make you feel energetic and happy!! I also recommend working out with a personal trainer who will hold you accountable and keep you progressing. Off of my soapbox now..... :)
We are planning on lots of great activities and swaps in the Latest Trends and Arttechniques yahoo groups. There is also an ATC group connected to Arttechniques that always needs more ATC swappers! If you haven't joined them, do so, and be a part of great camaraderie and encouragement for your artistic journey. Links are on the side bar of this blog. Be sure to also check out, http://www.thelatesttrendsinmixedmediaart.com/. We will be starting a monthly newsletter in January.
I am currently working on page layouts for the second volume of the Latest Trends book series. Lots more fun projects from Cindy, Lesley and I, along with fantastic projects from contributing artists as well.

Thanks Michi for the Blog Award!

Michi (rhymes with peachy!), nominated me for the Marie Antoinette Real Person Award, so I am going to award some fellow bloggers the same award. Michi is a FANTASTIC stamp artist in southern CA, and a genuinely nice person! Check out her blog at: www.michirhymeswithpeachy.blogspot.com.
My nominees are:
www.cynthiapowell.blogspot.com
www.flatwoodsfolkart.typepad.com
www.mystoryart.com
www.stephaniechavez.com
www.breadandcircuses.typepad.com
www.theartfulmama.blogspot.com
www.thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com

Holiday Banner

Just wanted to say I used the December Premiere digital graphics from www.scrappersguide.com for my Christmas banner. I am still practicing on my Photoshop program so that I can make Volume 2 of The Latest Trends in Mixed Media Art even more fantastic than the first volume! Digital graphics are such fun to play around with. Will post more practice pieces as I get the time to create them.

DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE LATEST TRENDS BOOK ON YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST!

Visons of Christmas

Visions of Christmas

Sharing some photos from my tree this year. Enjoy!

Fred Mullett Play Day

Susan and I had a Fred Mullett (brand name of stamp line) Day today. Susan had taken a workshop from him and she showed me how to do a couple of his techniques. (The butterfly tag is NOT a FM stamp). We struggled a bit with the bleaching, because my bleach was a gel bleach, and it must have been several years old and had lost some of its oomph! I had better luck with the watercolor and over-stamping technique, but, I still need to practice and practice! Susan made some beautiful pieces. She has a really cool shrimp stamp of Fred's and her page of shrimp turned out wonderfully! Susan and I always have fun together, yet, she is getting to be an expensive friend! :) She told me that Fred was having a blow-out sale on his unmounted stamps, and to go to his site right away and order before they all sold out! (http://www.fredmullett.com/). I ended up ordering all of the sets he had left (won't say how many!) His stamps are based on his own nature prints, mostly plants and fish.

Thanks, Susan, for a fun, albeit expensive day!!