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!

A closer look at "Inner Workings" My latest mixed media painting

Hello all!  Thanks for joining me.  While I was at the reception of our show at Art Square last night, I took the opportunity to do a closeer look at my painting, "Inner Workings".  I know that some of you have already seen this painting on a previous post, but if you are interested, this is a little more true to life.  It is also, my very first post on my YouTube channel!  Yay!
For thos of you that  are interested in some close up shots and a look at the process and you haven't already seen my previous post, you can find it here.
Thanks so much for stopping by and having a look!

Here is a quick tour of our Art Show at Art Square, Toronto.

Hello my friends!  I thought I would share a quick little tour I recorded of our Art Show at Art Square in DT Toronto.  This is the artwork of Ajax Creative Arts and the show is in  collaboration with Artists Network.
It was a great reception, with a lot of people and I was happy to be a part of it.  Once the crowd died down, I thought I would take the opportunity to do a little video.  I am very armature, and this was impulsive,  so please forgive the shaky video!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and letting me share our artwork with you!

"Inner Workings" A new Mixed Media painting

Hello !  Today I bring to you my latest creation, a mixed media painting I have titled

 "Inner Workings"

This painting will be heading to Art Square tomorrow, a downtown Toronto venue close to the AGO, along with several other paintings done by the talented artists in another group I belong to, Ajax Creative Arts.  It's difficult to see all the details and texture of this painting in a photo, so I have taken a few close-ups.  I really enjoyed creating this piece.  I had an idea what I wanted to do, but at the same time this painting was largely intuitive and very personal.  I knew what colour inks I wanted to use, I knew I wanted to use gears and I had a vision of the basic composition.  I knew I wanted a lot of texture.  I didn't know how it was going to come together and the words occurred to me after I had already started..  I like the idea that they are part of the painting, but not the focal point.  They will be discovered as someone examines the painting..  I am very happy how this painting turned out and for some reason, I feel a real connection to it.  I hope you enjoy the close ups and at the end I have shared a little of my process as well, if you are interested.

I was already into the painting when I thought that I should document the process for my blog.  I had already added a lot of texture with modelling paste, beads and crystals. and established my composition.  Once that was dry, I painted over everything with acrylic paint.  Then I decided I wanted to incorporate some words into the background and did some stenciling with some white pearl modelling paste.

I created the gears using aluminum tape and I die cut them to shape.  Once my background was complete, I tempoarily added them to the background to give me an idea how I wanted to position them

Then I removed them, sealed them and aged them before adhering them to my painting

Now I was ready for the acrylic ink.  I added the ink in layers and moved it around with some water.  You can never predict exactly what result you will get when it dries.  While there was definitely a method to  my madness as I laid down the colours,  the ink does such wonderful things as it dries into the textured background that you cannot know as you lay it down.  I was excited when I awoke the next day to see how it had turned out.  I loved it!  As I move around the ink with water, there is a spray that occurs, which I like but It can be a little bit busy. So for my final touches, I muted some of the spray and recreated some quiet space.  I hope you like the end result

Thank you so much for letting me share my work, my process and my thoughts with you today.

Tag 9-15 "I can see clearly now" #onelittletag

Hello Everyone!  Here is another tag for the song lyric prompt.  Jimmy Cliff's "I can see clearly now"  I have always loved this song, something about it just resonates with me.

I wasn't sure what image i wanted to do to go with the lyric.  This ws actually a background I had created a while back.  I really liked it and have been waiting for the opportunity to ise it, and this seemed to fit.

I believe these are the colours I used when I crested this background.  That is a Tim Holtz stencil.  You may have noticed that most of my stencils are well used!

I hope you enjoyed today's tag.  here is a link if you would like to enjoy today's song, as well!

"I can see clearly now"

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a bright sunshiny day everyone!

Tag # 9-14 "Puppy Love" #onelittletag

Hello my friends!  I am back to making a few tags, lately.  The prompt at The One Little Tag Craft Challenge has actually changed, but it was song lyrics.  So my tag is based on a song lyric.

I recently got a new Tim Holtz stamp set, "Crazy Dogs"  and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use it.

I stamped the images onto some card stock.  I roughly sponged some distress ink over the images and went in and added a bit of detail with my distress markers and a white gel pen.  I had sponged over the eyes.  My intention was to add some "googly eyes", but do you tjink I could find them???  S,o, I coloured in the eyes with my white gel pen and added the pupils.  this actually worked out well because it allowed me to direct the dogs gazes.  

I used a background from my stash that I had created earlier.  I had used distress ink, a Tim Holtz stencil, some distress paints applied with bottle cars and some splatters (which I love, as you may know!)

I  cut out the pups (I don't have the dies, yet)  which is kinda tough when you can't see, so they definately are not perfect!  I also stamped the images on my background.  This helps to add detail back in that may get cut off, whiskers for example.  It's a good little trick if it's not something you do already.  I punched out my hearts and printed out the lyrics from Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love".    Am I dating myself, lol?

I inked the edges and mounted to black cards, as usual.

Thank you for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed my "Puppy Love" tag.

Have an awesome and artful day!

OAA Fall Art Festival follow-up and final photos

Hello all,  thanks for stopping by.  I'm so thrilled that there was quite a bit of interest in our Fall Art Festival, so I thought I would do a quick follow-up.  There are a few other artists who I got photos of on the last day, so I wanted to share their work as well.

(Cascade is in the bottom right hand corner)

I am happy to report that "Cascade", my waterfall painting, has found a new home.  So have a few Geli prints and several of the tags that I have shared with you here on my blog.  So I was quite happy.
Overall, I don't think there was as much traffic as usual, although it was still fairly busy and a successful show.  Normally we are at the end of September, so the change in date may have affected the attendance a bit, but it could not be helped.  As always, the organizers of the show did a phenomenal job and deserve many thanks!  The art was wonderful.  I really enjoy the shows completely aside from being a participant.  It is kind of a ritual that my father helps me set up for the shows, and pack up at the end.  He often says that, somehow, each show gets better and better, and he always notices improvements in new works.  I guess old dogs CAN learn new tricks, lol!
For some reason, I am always exhausted after an art show.  Any art show, whether with OAA, ACA , or on my own.  (Maybe because I have a habit of power painting at the last minute, pulling all-nighters!  But it works for me) Still. it's always sad, in a way, when the show comes to an end.  Everything is torn down and there is an empty room that just hours ago was filled with people and so many beautiful and vibrant works of art.  So sharing with you has kind of extended the show for me, so thank you for that!  Pleas enjoy the final photos from the OAA Annual Fall Art Festival.

Cheryl Wilson Bannister

Maggie Burgess

Joan Moss

Kim Robertson  (for those of you that enjoyed the Fun with Alcohol Ink post, notice the alcohol ink tiles that Kim displayed) 

Tony Johnson

Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share some more of the art from the Oshawa Art Association  with you.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.!  We are aready looking forward to the annual Spring Art Festival with OAA.  

  The next show for me is coming up in November with the Ajax Creative Arts group.  It is the 50th anniversary of the group, so it should be an extra special show for us.  I will keep you posted!

Welcome to the OAA Fall Art Festival! More phots!

Welcome my friends!  I thought I would bring a bit of our annual Fall Art Festival to you.  This is the work of some of the 70 or soo artists participating in the show..  The blog today is not about words, it is a visual story.  Enjoy!

This is my own artwork on display

This is the artwork of Bonnie Lusty

The artwork of Irene Leach

The artwork of Sandy McKenzie

The artwork  of Linda Cole

The artwork of Mike McGowan

The artwork of Betty McGowan

The artwork of Sharon Stein haus

The artwork of Shirley Heard

A closer look at some of Shirley's alcohol inks

The artwork of Gail George.   A painting was hanging in that empty space just moments before i came to take a photo!

The artwork of Chas Burke.  Chas has developed his own colour theory based on music and each of his paintings are representative of a particular key.

The artwork of Angela Hennessey

The artwork of Anne Labelle Johnson

I hope you have enjoyed viewing the artwork of some of the many talented artists participating in the show.  If you are enjoying these photos, check back for more this weekend.   Thanks so much for joining me today.  It warms my heart to be able to share our show in Oshawa (Ontario, Canada) to you wonderful people all over the world.  Thank you so much for looking and have an awesome and artful day!