December

This is my December submission as part of the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp design team. It's a mixed-media piece that I created as the back cover for one of my journals. I used a variety of paints and markers, collage images, and washi tape, along with two Roc Nicholas rubber stamps: Bunny and Bird Lady (which I altered). Roc's stamps are great on their own, but they're also easy to cut apart and modify, which I like because it makes them so versatile. You can find all of her stamps here.

November

This is my November entry for the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team.
It is a 4x6 mixed-media postcard featuring Roc's Daisyhead stamp. You can see all her wonderful stamps here.

And the winner is...

Shari Trumbull!
Congrats, Shari, your name was randomly selected as the winner of my dog blog hop giveaway. I know  it will be happy in it's new home!
I will contact you for mailing info!

Dog Blog Hop

The Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team is featuring a "Dog Blog Hop," using Roc's DOG  rubber stamp. Hop around, and you'll find a few giveaways, including the magnet below.
To enter my giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post. And please, please, please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win, so that I can get your mailing address!
A winner for my magnet will be randomly selected on Oct 15. Be sure to check back!
To continue the hop, visit Roc's blog.

Going Coastal

Well, we've pretty much settled into our new place, and I was able to create a large abstract canvas inspired by the California Coast. It has a lot of texture, which doesn't really show up in the photo. It looks great on one of our dining room walls!

Update

I haven't done a great job on keeping up on the blog this year. It seems like we're coming, going, or...now moving! I am still in the process of unpacking my art room. Once we have everything in place (throughout the house), I am looking forward to getting into a regular art routine. I have so many things on my mind that I want to create.
In the meantime, we did break away for one day about a month ago because it was our anniversary, and we went to the California coast--one of our favorite (long) spots on the planet. This time we visited beautiful Bodega Bay, located about 40 miles north of San Francisco. You may have heard of it--it's where Alfred Hitchcock filmed The Birds. Fortunately, we only saw a few gulls and none of them were menacing!
We drove the scenic route through a bit of Napa and Sonoma. In fact, Bodega Bay's many beaches are actually part of Sonoma County.
We scored beautiful weather and enjoyed a serene day on the beaches and lunching on fresh seafood at the local marina. Later we had "dessert" when we stopped at the local salt water taffy store where we tried, and really liked, the maple-bacon flavored taffy. It was melt-in-your mouth fresh.
I've already posted some of these photos on Facebook, but I thought it might be nice to share them here, too.

Making a Mark

For my August project as part of the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team, I made a bookmark featuring the Roc Nicholas Scooter Girl stamp. I made the bookmark so I could participate in the
Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Altered Bookmark Swap on Facebook. (Click on the swap link to join the page so you can participate in upcoming various altered art/stamping swaps.)
I used pages I'd painted with acrylics, added some decorative paper, and then applied the Scooter Girl that I stamped on different paper, and then added a whimsical hat. I  then used various markers, pan pastels, and watercolor crayons to finish the piece. Lastly I added some vintage text and fun fibers.
I tried to use elements that represent the journey books take us on.

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