" pink houses" tag for the music prompt at#onelittletag"

Hello my friends!
We are actually done with the music prompt at the one little take craft challenge, and on to a new week. But I had already started a few more tags for the music prompt, which I had tons of ideas for! So I am still going to finish off those tags, just because it's fun! This tag is based on John Mellencamp's song Pink Houses. First I created my background using distress ink.

I did some random stamping with some white ink and an inkadinkado stamp. The white ink did not show up very well, but you can see it. I also did a bit of random stamping with a local King rubber-stamp and a prima stamp using some distress inks.

I used a My Favorite Things die to cut out the little houses and accessories from some pink cardstock. A lot of little pieces!. I cut some out of white cardstock as well. I use distress ink to color the trees, and I watered down some distress ink and dragged the houses through it to just add a little bit of texture. I also use the Prima stamp to stamp the houses once they were dry just to add a little more interest.

I used a We R memory Keeper's die to die cut out the Sun from some yellow cardstock. I did some edging with some distress ink and a little bit of doodling with my white gel pen. I splattered some water on the background, because I love that water reactive quality of the distress inks. I use a glue stick to adhere everything down.

I used my label maker to create my words and I used an edge punch from my stash, I believe it is a Fiskars punch, to create the grass in the foreground.

I use distress ink to color and edge the grass, spritz with water and when dry I added my words which I also colored with some distressing. Once I glued that down to the tag, I punched out some flowers from some scraps and adhered those to the tag as well. Once everything was assembled, I glued the tag to a black net to finish it off. I once again enjoyed the whimsical quality of this tag. It took a while to put together with all the little pieces, but it was fun to do.

I hope you enjoyed my pink houses tag, thank you so much for stopping by to have a look! I will be back soon with more tags. I may have a couple more inspired buy some song titles, just because I like doing them, and I will be also creating some tags for the new prompt of the week which is wings!

Have an awesome day and I hope to see you back here soon!

Kim xo

" Castle on the hill" tag for music prom a t#onelittletag

Hello my friends!
As you can probably tell, I have been having a lot of fun with the music prompt atThe One Little Tag Craft Challenge Facebook group.  I created this tag based on Ed Sheeran's song "Castle on the Hill".

I created a back ground for my tag bye blending on some distress ink in blues and greens, creating my hill.

I die cut my castle from a spellbinders die set.

I positioned my castle on the hill without adhering it to determine where I wanted my pathway to be.

Then I created a mask ask for the pathway. I use low tack shelving paper to cut my masks from. It is inexpensive, I get it from the dollar store, and it works well. I did tap it on to my clothing before adhering it to make it even less tacky. I'm positioned my pathway with the mask and then blended some darker green at the edges of the path and splattered on some red and white dots. I use distress ink, which I smooshed on to the craft met and added water to for the red dots and I used my opaque Copic White, which I also watered down to splatter on the white. I also splattered on some clear water droplets because I love that effect with the water reactive distress inks. Then I removed the mask for the pathway and use the negative sections to create a mask for the hill leaving the pathway open. Then I blend it on various brown distress inks and added some water droplets and a little bit of water on a brush to create some horizontal lines, which ended up getting blended  out for the most part. I also splattered some gray ink and white dots on my castle, and did some edging with some distress ink as well. I used the distress ink and a pen for the castle door. And when I had everything out, I also splattered some distress ink and Copic white on some gray card stock that I cut down to use as a mat for my tag. I wanted it to look a little bit like stone, too match the castle.

I adhered my castle, and I used a little punch to punch out some flowers from some scrap cardstock I had. I used my label maker to print out the words. I edged those with some distress ink. I also used a little punch to create the butterfly from some scrap paper I had. I adhered the little flowers and butterfly, as well as the words, which I printed with my label-maker, to my tag.

I used a couple of my faber-castell Pitt pens to add some shadowing as well as my white Posca paint pen for some highlighting details. Once everything was assembled, I glued my tag to the gray mat that I had created, and then to the final black matte to finish it off. I really like how Whimsical this tag turned out to be, which was actually my intention!

Well I hope you enjoyed my castle on the hill tag. I really enjoyed creating it. Thank you so much for stopping by and having a look and I hope to see you soon with my next tag. Have an awesome and creative day everyone!

Kim xo

Pretty Tag made from scraps for #onelittletag

Hello my friends!
Well, Wednesday is usually an Art Club day (Ajax Creative Arts), but the weather did not cooperate, and we had a snow day instead.  That doesn't mean that I  couldn't have a crafty day, though.  I will confess, I did not leave the house and wore comfy p.j.s all day!

For those of you that are new to my blog, at the very beginning of the year, I created several background sheets using spray inks and stencils.  I call them my "spray play" sheets and I created them to cut dowm into tags, or collage or use as backgrounds for an art journal page (which I am determined to do this year!)

I have cut out several tags from these pretty sheets already. (if you scroll through my blog you will see many of those tags) and I have been saving some of the scraps to use later to create  a different background

Some of the offcuts just looked so pretty to me that I didn't want to throw them away.  I had little bits from other papers I had used as well and I decided I would save them and create a tag with them.  I glued them down to some card and them trimmed all around.  I edged all around with gold ink.

I also did some die cutting today.  I find die cutting therapeutic for some reason.  I think I get a certain satisfaction when I run a paper through my die cutting machine and it comes out as a beautiful and intricate embellishment.  Sometimes I will die cut for hours and never actually create anything. True story, a Mimi fact, lol.  A snow day is a perfect day to bring out the Cuttlebug!

So this tag has a lot of die cut elements.  I created the flower using some lovely vellum.  Now, here is the day coincidence.  The new prompt for OLTC had not been posted yet this week and it turned out to be "music", to be interpreted any way we like.  So this tag, with its music notes, qualifies although I had no idea when I was making it! I think I will have some fun with this weeks prompt.  Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I have been up to.  For those of you that are crafty, I hope I have inspired you to use up some of those scraps instead of throwing them away, and  create something!

Kim xo

New #timesup tag for #onelittletag craft challenge

Hello my friends!
It has been quite some time since I have posted.  There have been a lot of things going on in our life and it has taken a bit of a toll on my creativity and the time that I can dedicate to doing my blog.  But, I have to admit, I have missed this.  For any of you that have followed my blog in the past, you may know that I started this a couple of years ago when I joined a FB group called "The One Little Tag Craft Challenge".  The idea behind this group was to try and make a tag a day, even if you just wrote a word on a shipping tag.  The objective was to stay creative every day.  I didn't create any tags last year, although I did till manage to do a few new paintings (I will add photos to the Paintings page).  Well, the FB group, created by Jenny Barnett Rohrs of Craft Test Dummies, is still going and I am back to creating some more tags.  I don't know that I will be able to make a tag a day, but I am inspired to at least try and do a couple a week.  This year, should any of you be interested in participating, you can post whatever you have created, it doesn't have to be tags.  There are weekly challenges to help inspire you (but are totally optional) and giveaways!
I am going to start with the second weeks challenge, because I won the giveaway! The challenge was "black out" inspired by Oprah's wonderful speech at the Golden Globes and the "Me too" Time's Up  campaign.  Here is my tag that was chosen at random to win the giveaway.

The first weeks challenge was "doodling", so I did some very primitive watercolouring (I am not a watercolourist, by any stretch!), and then added some doodling to create my poppies.

The stamp I used was from a new set I just got from Michaels.  It is a "Kelly Creates" set with beautiful brush lettered words.  It is a large set and it only cost $4.99 (that is in Canada, so may be even cheaper in the US stores)  I wanted to mention this because I thought it was an awesome deal, which surprised me because I usually find things expensive at Michaels without the coupon.  There are 8 different sets, and they were created to help to learn brush lettering (which is now a new thing I have decided to try my hand at!).  There are several stamps in each set with some great words.  These are not in the usual stamp section.  There is a new journaling section, in the various local Michaels, anyways, that carries these stamps, brush pens, some new "letter it" Ranger products, journal mad worksheet. So if you would like some of these stamps, you may have to look around for them.  The staff weren't really familiar with them when I was looking for them.  I just thought I'd mention this because I love to share a good deal!

Well, thanks for taking the time to join me and please come back again soon.  Now that I am back to making some tags and feeling inspired to post again, I hope to have lots to share!
Cheers!
Kim  xo

My latest paintings, submissions to The 50th OAA Juried Art Show

"Tracks in Time"  24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Hello my friends!  Well, I thought I would share some of the things that I have been up to lately.  Thursday evening was the opening Gala to the 50th Oshawa Art Association Juried Art Show, on display at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.  We submitted our paintings the previous Thursday.  There were around 300 paintings submitted and room for 150 paintings in the show.  This is my first time entering this juried show.  It's just in the last year that I have decided that my skin is thick enough to attempt some juried shows.  It was crazy busy when we brought in our paintings, and I cannot tell how beautiful the artwork coming through the door.  On the way over, I was semi-confident, and thought I might get one or two in the show.  When we arrived, and I was surrounded by all those gorgeous pieces, I thought I might be out of my league!  We had to wait until Saturday evening to find out if we were in.  You could submit from 1 - 3 paintings.  I figured if I submitted three, I'd increase my odds of getting one in, lol.  How it works is that you get a phone call to let you know that you have a painting accepted into the show.  If your painting is declined, you do not get a call, and must pick it back up the next day.  I was on pins and needles waiting until Saturday evening.
Well, the call actually came Saturday afternoon and I was stunned (and I am not just saying that out of false modesty) to discover that all three of my submissions had been accepted!

"Identity:  mixed media on canvas
Some of you may already be familiar with this one!

 "RAW"  24 x 36 mixed media on canvas

Three completely different works, in three different categories.
I am thrilled to report that "Tracks in Time" has found a loving new home to go to at the end of the show.   That is another story that I will share if it is okay with my paintings new owner.  But I can say this, sometimes things happen for a reason and I think this painting was meant to find it's way to this person.
I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by and have a look at my latest paintings.  I hope you have enjoyed this latest post and I will be back soon to share some of  the other things I've been up to lately.
Have an awesome day!  xo

"Identity" A closer video look at my mixed media painting

Hello mu friends!  I have been making a few videos lately.  As you may know, if you have watched any, the are amateur as I am a newbie and just getting my feet wet.  Here is another very short video.  A closer look at my mixed media painting, "Identity"  I know  some of you have seen this painting already, but for those of you that haven't, please have a look.  For those of you that have, maybe you want to have a second look?
I have to say that I always feel a connection to my creations.  That doesn't mean I can't let go of my work as I know some artists have a hard time doing.  As a matter of fact, it really gives me a sense of joy and fulfillment to see one of my paintings, or cards, or tags or Gelli prints go into the hands of someone who loves them enough to take them home.  I know they will be cherished, which makes me feel wonderful.  The truth is though, that I do feel more of a connection to certain pieces.  For some reason, this is one painting that I feel particularly attached to. While I will certainly be ecstatic to see it find a loving new home, it will be bittersweet, as I will also feel sad to see "Identity" go.  Perhaps that is why I have posted it a couple of times and created this short video.
For anyone that likes this painting and is interested in seeing how I made it, please have a look at this post to see my process.
As for the videos, that is my goal for this year, to create videos and work on my YouTube channel.  There will be videos of my art, our shows, some haul videos and, hopefully my focus, art and craft tutorials.
If you like my few short videos and what I have been sharing here on my blog, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and give me some thumbs up!
And I know this is long overdue, but I am finally on Instagram for anyone who is interested. Find me  mimi.johnson358
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have and awesome and artful day!

"Paint What You Love" juried Art Show

Hello my friends!  There has been a lot going on lately. Here is something else I have been up to.  Ajax Creative Arts, , is currently showing a juried art show in the Kent Farndale Gallery in Port Perry, On.  So I have another video tour for you!  As I mentioned in my last post, I am no expert when it comes to videos, a total newbie!  But, I did a little editing with this one and added some captions.  Baby steps.  Well, I hope you enjoy it.  This is just a quick look at our show and certainly doesn't do it justice.  There is a lot of wonderful art and we are quite proud of our exhibit.
Kim Robertson won "Best in Show" and there were four awards of excellence that were won by Bonnie Lusty, Margaret Brackley, Wayne Prisque and Dale Cameron.  We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Kent Farndale, herself, at our reception and honoured to have her present Kim with the "Best in Show" award.
Our reception was buzzing with people and a great success.  Here are a few photos as well.  I hope you enjoy our video tour
Many thanks go out to the members that made this show happen.  Spearheaded by Margaret Brackley along with Rola and Chas Burke.  Many months of hard work.  And thanks to our juroist, Mirek Bialy, hoping he is feeling better!

These were my two paintings in the show

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed my video, as amateur as it is, lol.

 I am hoping to try some tutorial videos, so stay tuned!

Have an awesome and creative day!

My Art Exhibit at Ajax Town Hall

Hello my friends!  Sorry for the long absence, I have been busy painting.  I have just hung  some of my artwork today at the Ajax Town Hall.  It will be on display until March 8th.  I thought I would create a short video so that I could share my exhibit with you!  Please note that I am not a professional when it comes to videos, so please be kind, lol!  I am actually quite proud of myself that I have managed to post one..  I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I should be able to post a little more frequently now with new projects, and if I am brave, maybe some new videos!
Have an awesome and creative day!  xo

New "Tags" page and up-dated "Paintings" and "Cards" pages

Hello my friends!
I don;t have a post for today, but I did want to let you know, for those who may be interested, I have added a new page to my blog, "Tags".  I did many tags last year for the One Little Tag Craft Challenge, all of which are posted on my blog.  I thought I would do a page of tags so that it could easily be scrolled through for anyone who likes tags or is looking for some tag or card inspiration.
I have also added some photos to my "Cards" page and my "Paintings" page.
Please have a look if those are of interest to you.
Have an amazing day everyone!  xo

Scrapfest Craft Haul!!!

Hello my friends!  Today was a fun day that I have been looking forward to all year!  SCRAPFEST!  Scrapfest is an event where several vendors from across the country get together in one place and set up shop for a couple of days.  Lots to look at, and lots of make 'n' takes. They also have a 2-day crop which is always busy and always sounds like a lot of fun, but something I don't participate in.  I have to admit, I am a shopper, not a cropper.

So my friend Lynn and I, were up early and on our way to Richmond Hill, with a quick Tim Horton's stop on the way.  Lynn has more restraint than I do when it comes to craft supplies, but she loves to participate in the make 'n' takes, and made some great things today.  We ran into our  friend Mary there as well.  We always make a day of it and end with dinner.  Lots of fun!

I have decided to share my treasures with you.  I did say in one post  that I don't typically do hauls, but since this is my third one, apparently I do!  I will not post every time I buy something crafty or artsy, but it is fun to share the special purchases.  Now, some of you may think this is a little excessive (and I guess some of you won;t), but this is an event that I save for.  It happens in the Fall and in the Spring, at two different locations.  The Spring Scrapfest s in Kitchener, On. and is the larger show but I don't usually make it to that one.  In the Fall, the sale is in Richmond Hill, On, a little closer to home.  I save up for the event because it's an opportunity to find some treasures that aren't usually easily available.  Let's face it, Michaels has a limited selection.  There are not a lot of Scrapbooking and craft stores around and with my vision, I cannot drive, which means sometimes Michaels is my only store

.Anyways, here is my haul, I hope you enjoy!

This store is a little out of the way for me, but if I am out that way, I will definitely visit.  Stephanie, the owner, came out to our club and did an awesome demo on mixed media with a make'n' take.

This stamp set was from Class Act from Oshawa, On.  One store that isn't too much of a hike from home.  I have been there a few times.

I had barely gotten in the door when I hit this booth.  She had Unity stamps, which I have never had an opportunity to get before, which was great.  She also had several LaBlanche stamps and I just loved the vintage images!  She had a lot of other things as well, but I was fixated on these.   There were several that I liked, and all the ones I chose were half-price.!  But I was reluctant to buy too much at the first place I visited.  I bought a few things and the vendor was kind enough to hold the rest for me.  I totally would have understood if she couldn't, but she did, which was super kind.  I did come back and get what she held, plus a few more!  Unfortunately, this store would be a bit of a hike as well, but if I am ever out that way, I will definitely visit here, too..

I just love that "ugly sweater" die!  So you can look forward to seeing it soon.

Another store that I have made it to, once before, and will get to again!

I was excited to find some foil!  It is not impossible to get, but not readily available and I have to purchase it on-line, usually.  So, happy find!

These dies match a stamp set I got last year with Local King Rubber Stamp from Vancouver, BC

I had a lot of fun, but I have to admit, this show seemed smaller than usual and I missed some of the regular vendors.  I'm hoping to make it to Kitchener in the spring.

So after the show, we headed home.  We went to Milo's for a nice Greek dinner and after that, on a whim, we stopped at Value Village (a second -hand store) and I found some vintage books whose pages will make it into some of my creations

(yes, that is vintage Nancy Drew and The Bobsey Twins!)

All in all, a great day!  Thanks, Lynn!

And thank you too,  for sharing in my Scrapfest fun.  You will beseeing some of these items soon in some new creations!  Have an awesome  day!