I'm ready for the school carnival

I hate being poor but I'm glad I taught myself to face paint. Now I can dress up even if I can't afford a costume. It doesn't help that I have such excellent taste in costumes. The one I want is a black widow spider and is $75 - yikes. Maybe I can get it after Halloween 75% off and save it for next year. I did buy the black fiber with my Michaels coupon so I could make my hair falls.

I'm also going to a party tonight. I think I will keep the hair falls but may change the paint to sexy swirls or maybe a sugar skull on half the face. I have to be at least half way pretty. Which half is the pretty half is up to the beholder or beer holder as the case may be.

Some creepy creations

To be added to my Witches Cupboard Swap box. Image from Altered Pages.




A Frida button bat fairy. Frida stamp from Invoke Arts.




An homage to the gothic novel. Woman is from Stampland Chicago. Web is Stampin'Up!



An homage to Poe - the beating, the beating, the beating of his hideous heart. Heart is from Stamp Francisco.

Behold - the uterus of power!

Mixed Media Monday - Famous People

Here is my submission for MMM. The Marilyn stamp is from Stampsmith.

I need input

Ack! I haven't been creating as much lately and now I am indecisive. So what do you think flower in the middle? On the side? Or no flower? And do you think I should add some more embellishment to the crown or leave it alone. Help me!

Miss Minnie

I miss little Rylee Boo. I closed my home daycare and now am a work outside of the home mom. I like my new job. It's nice to be out of the house and with grown ups but I miss the kiddos. Miss thing was going to preschool anyway but I do get attached. I had her since she was eight weeks old and it makes me sad that they won't even remember me. Her little baby sister was the sweetest. I do love the babies. They just don't stay little, bitty babies long enough. Still, it was time to move on. I was lucky to have a job with the great benefits of hugs and being told you are loved for seven years.

Mama Mia here I go again

I just went to see Mama Mia and I can't stop singing Abba songs. It was so much fun and I had to sing along at the movies.

Woot woot! - First time published in Somerset Studio

I'm so excited. Though I have been published in other publications, this is my first time in the fabulous Somerset Studio. I just had to share my excitement. When you get your Sept./Oct. issue check me out on page 100.

Mixed Media Monday - Numbers

My submission for Mixed Media Monday Number challenge.

Wednesday Stamper - Keyhole

My keyhole submission for Wednesday stamper. I'm kind of wishing I would have went with my first thought which was the keyhole on a heart BUT I wanted to try something different. The chipboard bird is from maya road. I rusted it with EZ tintz (actually I think much better than my previous experiments). I stamped the autumn leaves swirls and the Stampin' Up! keyhole and added the quote. Fast and easy. I feel like I need to kick it up a notch but I guess it will do. Now I'm off to be wowed by everyone elses submissions.

Ack! Why are my photos so fuzzy! I need a remedial photography class. Photography for dummies. How can I always mess up when I just have a point and shoot. Aren't they supposed to be idiot proof? Okay since it's too fuzzy to read my quote says "have you checked your flight path". I'm off to read my camera manual. It's either that or I have to figure out where I put the scanner.

4x4 Friday - Statue

My first submission for the 4x4 Friday challenge. This was a fun new size and shape for me. The main collage image stamp is from Stampin' Up! and the swirl stamp in the corner is Autumn Leaves.

Pretty kitties

Some cute kitties to share. I've been out trying to drum up some face painting business. Hopefully I will be able to get some steady jobs rolling.

Rusting chipboard

I was inspired by the fabulous Audrey Hernandez (check her stuff out at Small Creations - the link is to the right under eye candy) to try rusting some chipboard. Of course, I don't have a rusting kit like she did. I did have some terra cotta glimmer mist and espresso adirondack color wash so my experiment began.



This is the chipboard sprayed with just the terra cotta glimmer mist. Pretty but a little too sparkly to look rusty.



I smudged some vintage photo distress ink which did help calm down the glimmer a bit.




Here is the chipboard with the espresso adirondack color wash. It was VERY dark. I added some glitter spray to it. I think my results are that I can call this altered chipboard but it really doesn't look rusty.

Here are a couple of cards I made with the finished product.



I love this skeleton stamp I got from After Midnight. I'm not crazy about the circles and the balance of this card but sometimes, you just have to say its good enough and walk away. It can make you crazy trying to figure out what it needs? if it really needs more or maybe I should take away an element? I guess that's what they call the creative process. Ack this one is horribly fuzzy too. I need to work on my photography skills. The quote on the circle says "can we hold eternity". That was the inspiration for adding the clocks.




I'm not sure if this picture came out clear enough to share but it's here anyway. This one is using another stamp from After Midnight, the mermaid. She's a sexy pinup mermaid. Well I am back to creating.

Manga Me

I just had to share the cutie manga me created at www.faceyourmanga.com.

Taggerific

The couple stamp is from Eclectic Omnibus and the rose is from Stamp Camp.

Altered Playing Cards

I love retro images and I adore the bright colors of these playing cards. The soft colors of the baby images isn't usually my thing but it's fun to try something different every now and again.

Style - Mixed Media Monday

My first contribution to Mixed Media Monday. I love these challenge and inspiration sites. It always helps get the creative juices flowing to have a new theme each week.

Cowgirl Collage

I just wanted to share this cowgirl collage I made for my Keno gift this month. I love how it turned out. The Cosmo Cricket papers are so fabulous. Elizabeth Shea had used them on some submissions in Stampers Sampler and that inspired me to pull them out. Almost all of the stamps are Oxford Impressions. I think there is one from Queens Dresser Drawers in there. It's on a 9x12 canvas.

One more

I have been visiting blogs tonight (my gang is gone and I'm trying to stay busy) and it has inspired me to try to kick mine up a notch. So that's why I went from never posting to a gazillion in one night. This is miss pretty princess. That's all for tonight but I am going to try to jazz up my site and post more regularly. Thanks for looking. Comments are appreciated. They make me feel special.

Me as a calavera

Snazaroo, which is the brand of face paints I use, is having a skull face painting contest and I thought it would be fun to try. I don't think they are contest-worthy but I still had fun trying some new designs. I think I definately need to black in the hollow the cheeks on my glamorous skull. I actually ended up wiping the wipe off below the hollow with a baby wipe but I didn't take another picture after that.

Domino pendants

Ack! Why is this sideways? It's not sideways on my computer. I need to learn how to make my blog all fancy and beautiful or at least how to have pictures come up the right way. Well everyone tilt there heads and check out my domino necklaces I am making to put in my soon to be opened etsy store.

My morning after clowns aka Jokers

I was so excited to see the new Joker was smeary because then I thought even I can make it look right. I love face painting but I wish I could kick it up a notch. I see so many fabulous painters on the net and want to be as good as them. I guess it just takes practice. I regularly promise myself that I am going to practice every day but sometimes I go weeks without painting. Still the kids all seem to enjoy it and that's what it's really all about.

Grapevine Stamp Show

I did make it to the Grapevine Stamp Show. I think this is the first time that my friend Alisha and I made it there without getting lost. One time we ended up in Midlothian. I think that was the same trip that I was heading into Dallas and was like - OH NO! I am turning around. I can handle driving in Fort Worth but Dallas is just too big city for me.

I did get to meet one of my flickr friends, goodygoodygumdrops. She recognized me because I told her I was going to be making a crown. I didn't make a new crown but I had some from before that I dug out. Not as fabulous as I wanted it to be but still good. We got our picture taken in the parking lot and were going to be the stars of someone's blog so I felt special. It was kind of funny when it's "are you locamama" "yep" "I'm goodygoodygumdrops" Too funny.

I also got to see Elisa, a stamper that I met previously at Imprints. I HAVE to mail her a card. I have the best intentions in the world but my follow through needs improvement. I did some shopping though no where near what some were doing. I got an adorable princess stamp from Lost Coast. From Stamp Camp, I got some calaveras, a woman and a quote. I won a $10 gift certificate from Stampland Chicago - woo hoo. I got a globe, quote, shoe and chrysanthemum (sp?) from them. From after midnight I got some mounting supplies, a mermaid, a compass, a fabulous skeleton that I adore and some ultra thick glaze. I think that was it for my purchases. There were some fabulous purses that you could put your own artwork in but I didn't have the moola for them this time. Maybe they'll be back. I missed Invoke Arts and wish Stampers Anonymous would come back.

Now I have to put all of these fabulous stamps to use.

Cardboard Testimonies

ATC's to trade at Heirloom Stamp Show in Grapevine

Coming soon to CHA and a store near you

I try and try to say that I will use what I have and not keep longing for and buying new supplies. BUT I can't. I love all of the new adorable things. Here are a few things that I am going to be waiting longingly for. Aren't these panda's from Prima fabulous? Yes, they are. I think I should plan a trip to China just so I can make a fabulous scrapbook of my trip featuring adorable Panda's. Maybe I could go to the Olympics. Ha - I just get to fantasize. Someday I will see more than my backyard though. I adore the gradation of color in these beautiful leaves (also from Prima). Oh they are just calling to be used in a fabulous project. I love their Hello, Spaceboy paper too.

I think these cupcake stamps from Maya Road will be a must have. Well I'm not sure where they are going to show up on the page but you will find them. I have faith in you. Jenni Bowlin has some fabulous smaller bingo cards and apothecary labels.

Well I should go to bed. I am horrible about staying up too late. Tommorow I will start working on some ATC's for the Heirloom Pro Rubber Stamp Show in Grapevine. Plus I am going to make a fabulous paper crown. I made one for my friend Krissy today but I didn't get a picture of it. She loved it though so that's what really matters. Rylee wants a pink polka dot crown. My work is never finished.

Oh how I've neglected you

Here are some bam pop cards, I was working on. Some are on the way to Stampers Sampler and some stayed home with me. I just love that monster so much. I think he's my favorite from Bam Pop.

I have been neglecting this blog and I am going to start sharing more.

So what's new in my artsy life. Well I am going to the Heirloom Productions Rubber Stamp show in Grapevine Saturday. I am very excited and made myself a list of stamps I want to get. Unfortunately I don't have a large budget so I will have to be discriminating. I want a mermaid. I had wanted brains and a zombie but I may wait on that. I want a cutie cupcake. I would also like a toadstool stamp and an octopus too. I don't know if anyone will have them though. I want so much. Who knows what I need that I haven't even seen yet. I want some of the sticky EP, packaging for my imaginary etsy store that I really am going to start soon. Oh and I need some of the EZ mount dividers, can't forget that.

I have so much but there is always something new and exciting that I think I can't live without. I am going to make myself a beautiful paper crown to wear and hopefully get my etsy store going and include some kits there. I am hoping to meet some of my artsy craftsy flickr friends while I am there.

I am also considering going to a retreat called the Paper Cowgirl, an altered art retreat in Waxahatchie. Seadreamstudio is one of the artists on flickr whose work I adore and she is going to be teaching there. It will be fun. I hope I can make it happen.

What else? Ah, nothing else. I am tired but I will be back. If you stumble on this, please comment. It makes me feel loved and special.

We Like to Party

I love pink and orange. I also have been loving all of the fabulous party hats I have been seeing on Flickr so I decided to make my own. What do you think?

Wednesday Stamper

My first official Wednesday Stamper post. I have been lurking and occassionally stamping but I am really going to start participating. That was one of the reasons that I wanted to start a blog was so I could participate in these web challenges. This weeks challenge was stripes.

I am Ironman

This was my first attempt at trying to paint an Ironman design. I think I need to rethink the mouth because it ended up looking like a weird mustache. Also I tried painting on the eyelids for the first time which didn't work so great either. I'll just have to keep practicing.

Complete BS

You know that back with more excitement than you can handle? Well that was complete BS. I have been blog surfing and I want a beauteous blog like all the others I see. I want to be blogerific. So I will persist in making this a fabulouso blog.

Hey look I can add a photo. This is my friend, Alisha's daughter. Besides being a crafter/stamper extraordinaire I am also an aspiring face painter. I just had my first "real" job last Saturday. It was "real" because I not only got paid but actually painted for complete strangers. The kids loved it, I had fun plus they gave me a tip. Yay!

Woo hoo, more exciting news. I got my FREE Stampers Sampler Catch up issue. I have five pieces in there. Yippee. Now I'm all motivated to submit more. I actually have a little stash ready to go. It's ready because I missed the last deadline. I somehow convinced myself that it was April 15th but it was April 1. That is my biggest challenge is meeting the mailing deadlines. Anywhoos if you want to check my stuff out, and of course you do, I am on page 47 with here's my heart card and the reading is sexy bookmark. Page 69 (insert juvenile joke here) with my dare to dream bookmark, page119 with love and birthday squares.

TTFN, Amy

Well that was easy

Well I cancelled my typepad account but I miss having a separate blog for my creations. I love my flickr but I like to talk, or type I should say, too so here I am checking out the free blogger. Plus I changed my name to violet skies which will be the name of my etsy store if I ever get that going. Now my challenge is to figure out how to upload photos. That is the fun of an art blog, showing off your pieces and getting all of that great feedback from blog friends.

Okay I am clicking the add image button but I'm not able to browse the images on my computer. I am computer challenged. ack. Okay so this will be my first not so exciting post but I will be back with more excitement than you can handle.