I've returned from my mini vacation to the Ann Arbor Art Fair. The fair is always amazing and always very warm, and this year was no exception with 94 degrees and 100% humidity. We did get rained on this year which was a relief from the heat. The art fair is held all over the downtown and UofM campus area and  is the largest outdoor art fair in the country. If you ever have a chance to visit, you definitely should.

This photo is just one section of the art fair. I've taken a few photos with my phone to give you a taste of the fair.

Are you ready for a little eye candy?


Amazing bookmaking going on with this artist.

I'm taking a mini vacation for the next few days to make my annual trip with my oldest, dearest friend, to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. We've been making this trip for many years now. I'm sure I'll return inspired...

Have a wonderful weekend...and Be Inspired.

The papers are from BoBunny, and the bird die cut was given to me from a friend a couple of years ago. I finally found a place for it. The butterfly is actually a button discovered at Joann's.

I hope you're enjoying a little Christmas in July! If you haven't had a chance to visit the Paper Artists Online forum, please come over and take a look at our little group. We enjoy all types of paper crafting and are quite enthusiastic about sharing our art with each other. There are always a variety of swaps, challenges and round robin projects going on.
This will be my final tutorial, and I decided I needed to share something pretty with you. This is another type of resist technique with stunning results using ink. Scenic stamping was really what got me interested in rubber stamping and this is a very simple scenic type card.

You will need a bright white matte finish cardstock with little to no 'tooth'. I am using Georgia Pacific brand 110# white cardstock. You can find it at Wal-Mart, it very inexpensive and makes a great stamping surface. Find your favorite Christmas tree stamp and Christmas saying. I honestly don't own a single Christmas tree stamp, but am using this stamp from Stampscapes. It has become a personal challenge to myself to use this same stamp in different ways each year for my Christmas cards.

Thanks for stopping by...and if I don't get a chance to see you again, may you have a very Merry Christmas!

When I was finished, I distressed the edges with a sharp pair of scissors. Again, I used an old paper bag that was also distressed to mat the image. The distress was highlighted by gently inking around the perimeter of the paper.

It's a Cyber-Crop weekend at Paper Artists Online. The theme is Christmas in July. I was asked to provide short tutorials for a few Christmas cards, so I thought I might as well post them here also.

We're going to use a Technique Junkie technique called 'Faux Designer Paper' to create these cards.


For the background we're using kraft paper. Your stashed paper bags are the great economizer in this technique.  So get out your paper and some pigment ink with a little sparkle. I'm using Brilliance Ink Pearlescent Beige. Choose a stamp for your background. Randomly stamp this image all over your paper, remembering to turn the stamp in different directions. At this point, we're just laying ink down.

The challenge this week at Studio L3 is to use Tim's  distress powder technique from his recent book 'Compendium of Curiosities'. I used several colors of distress powder on this image and the background is from his original distress ink technique.

I must admit, I feel like I'm cheating a little this week. This piece was done 2 years ago and has been sitting in various places in my home since. It's such a simple piece, but I still love it today.

There is going to be a Christmas in July cyber crop this weekend at Paper Artists Online. Several challenges will be offered; scrapbooking, card making and other paper arts. I was asked to prepare tutorials for a few cards and will be sharing them with you this weekend on my blog.

If you're looking for some Christmas inspiration, come visit us and join in. Thought I would put up a little sneak peek of one of the cards I'll be showing to get you in the Christmas spirit. It's a great time to start your card making, and take the stress off through the holidays.

I don't believe I have ever participated in a color challenge. Christy at Paper Arts Online started this challenge, and the only rules are that you have to use blue, brown and tan in your color scheme.





















I was poking around in my paper stash and found this paper that looked sort of like vintage wallpaper to me. It was paired up with this Paperbag Studios stamp. I love the saying on this one, Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.

Thanks for stopping by...hope you're having a wonderful week.

In summer, the song sings itself. An art journal page finished for a round robin I'm involved with on the Paper Arts Online forum. Using some of the same techniques used on my previous Shabby Chic post, I had all of the items still on my table, so I used them.

The stamps are from Tim Holtz and Rubber Stamp Avenue. You can always click on the image, if you would like to see it larger.

I hope you're enjoying your summer, if it's summer where you live. Our summers are so short here in Michigan, we have to take advantage of every single day.

This week at Studio L3, the challenge is complete a piece using another Tim Holtz technique, 'Shabby Chic' from his book 'Compendium of Curiosities".

The stamps are from Tim Holtz and Club Scrap. Peach Bellini acrylic paint was used to create this 'shabby' look.

As is usual for me, the piece didn't end up looking as I had first imagined. It took on a life of it's own.

If you have a minute and want to look at some great art, click on the Studio L3 link above, where you'll be able to view all of the pieces submitted.


Thank you Linda for continuing to host these great Tim Holtz challenges.

Cards for men are difficult for me, are they for you? I've had this Nick Bantock stamp for quite awhile and pull him out when I just don't know what to do. It's quite versatile actually. He has such rugged good looks.



More feminine cards come easily for me, perhaps because I have so many feminine images to choose from. This is an old Hero Arts image stamped on a background I made using oil pastels.

Orange seems to be a favorite color of mine this summer...what's yours?

Cherish Freedom...this is dear to my heart. I believe we live in uncertain times and should never take our freedom for granted.

This is another Alcohol Ink Monoprint background. I chose this particular one because it looks like there are flames coming out of the the word 'Freedom'.

Stamps are from Club Scrap.


I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday, if you're celebrating.

Happy Independence Day America!

Studio L3 is hosting several weeks of challenges based on Tim Holtz techniques from his recent book 'Compendium of Curiosities'. As a Tim Holtz fan, I purchased this book as soon as it came into print. The challenge this week is based on using the Alcohol Ink Monoprint technique from this book.




 This is the card I submitted for the challenge, using  Ranger alcohol inks in Denim, Stonewashed, Slate and Metallic Silver. The stamps are from Artistic Outpost, which happen to be one of my favorite stamp companies these days.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're gearing up for a wonderful holiday weekend.