Winter Wonderland

Someone must have been dreaming pretty hard of a white Christmas, because we got one LOL

I also took pics of the little squirrel feast I left him for Christmas -- and a kitten I've been calling Thunder.

Ethereal Urania

Yippeeee! This has been slow RR, but it is finally complete. The longer between mailings, the harder it is for me to keep up my momentum.

This looks better in person than my scan does. I painted on transparency and boy was that fun! I'll be doing more of this -- too cool!

On the 12th Day of Christmas ...

I received this magnificent beaded ornament from Vicki!

Thanks, Ladies -- this has been a fun swap!!

On the 11th Day of Christmas ...

I reced this cool domino pendant from Santa! I love the funky fibers on this!

On the 10th Day of Christmas ...

I received another glass ornament with a seet vintage girl in it from Peggy!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas ...

I received this cool beveled ornament with altered art! Thanks, Lori :)

Let Me Always

I just loved this image -- it took me a while and some mistakes to figure out what I wanted to do LOL

This is an art piece for Inspire Me Thursday.

Precious Friend

Isn't this a cool background? It was a paper I got back in a painted paper swap. It seemed kind of Christmasy to me, so that's the direction I went!

Stop Listening

Here is another journal page for Terry's Leonardo journal. I printed a pic from the Leonardo da Vinci Dover clip-art book and used in the rusted metal frame. Don't ask what the frame is -- something that fell off a bus is all I know LOL

This is my piece for Inspire Me Thursday.

Aspire

I admit this was another cheater page LOL I couldn't think of what to do with the background, so I printed an image on tissue thinking the underlying image would show through -- but the page ended up with more black than I intended and the original pic is pretty faint.

Joyous Dancer

This was a simple and fun journal page. I used a dyed paper towel for the background -- from my generous local art group friend, Nancy!!

Am I a Bull-Dozer?

I would say the art part of this page is not necessarily my best work LOL I did draw the bull-dozer myself based on some clip-art though.

Someone at work called me a bull-dozer this month and it got me to thinking. I don't perceive myself this way, but perhaps I am. I've been working with this contractor on some software development. He is not quite qualified to do the work assigned to him -- and he follows in the footsteps of the best developer we have ever worked with, so this is no easy task for him. He is often less-than-honest too and that really gets under my skin.

I commented that at meetings he sounds kind of smart -- but when we discuss issues with our project he'll start to get tongue-tied and in general -- he just sounds dumb LOL Someone said he is intimidated by me and that I bull-doze or steam-roll right over him. I don't necessarily think of myself as an aggressor -- but I suppose I am in some respects.

Yesterday, one of our IT managers e-mailed him privately about an issue with our project -- asking him to troubleshoot a data issue and I only found out later when they finally got me in on the conversation. I had to step in and steam-roll everyone before our project got off course. Troubleshooting data is my area of expertise -- 12 years worth -- and the contracted developer has no real knowledge or experience with our data -- and he has very specific tasks assigned to him -- this not being one of them. I'm afraid I hurt his feelings, but hopefully he will thank me later, as I just lightened his workload LOL

African Bingo Page

I was running out of ideas for journal pages, so I decided to salvage another art piece that didn't quite work out. I had a bad transfer and lopped part of the bingo card off LOL I know Terry likes things from Africa, so I decided to use it in her calendar journal.

On the 8th Day of Christmas ...

I received this fun book ornament! Thanks, Liz!

On the 7th Day of Christmas ...

I received a fun and whimsical partridge from Kris!! Now all I need is the pear tree

On the 6th Day of Christmas ...

I got these fabulous altered ornaments from Kathy!! I love the texture of the glass glitter on the sparkly star!

On the 5th Day of Christmas ...

I got nothing LOL It was my turn to gift my fellow swappers. I found a link to some scrap crow dolls made by Kelli Perkins earlier this fall. When she published an article in CPS on them and included a pattern I knew I had to make them. I had no real vision for them, but I decided to use some of my favorite sheer fabrics. I did a lot of layering and embroidery -- although it's not always apparent in the photos.

I hand drew the eyes and used a satin stitch to add color. I just made a bunch of eyes and hoped I made the right size. They are a little over-sized, but it gives them more character LOL These are thumbnails, but you can click on them to see the larger size.

On the 4th Day of Christmas ...

I received a delightful fabric journal from Joanne. I love the style of this little journal! It is beautifully made with a cool acetate pocket inside.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas ...

I got a fabulous pair of earrings from Darya!! She does such a beautiful job with jewelry -- I am envious of her skills.

Wreckless Heart

Here is another art journal page. I just felt like doing some fun bright colors, so I started out with one of my scrap paint papers. This is also for the weekly prompt on The Altered Heart.

Leonardo Goes Metallic

Here is a fresh look for Leonardo LOL I stamped some images on metal tape and adhered over a thin layer of light molding paste, so I'd get more dimension when I embossed the lines with a stylus.

Mona in the Bastille

This is a journal page in response to Mixed Media Monday's word prompt. I altered a picture of the Mona Lisa in a calendar journal. My first thought was to put her behind a brick wall -- but I've done a lot of molding paste brick walls already, so I wondered if I could simulate a stone wall. The thesaurus listed bastille as an alternative word for imprisonment, so thus the word Bastille.

I'm feeling a bit trapped by my workload lately -- being carless isn't helping either LOL

On the 2nd Day of Christmas ...

I got an awesome altered composition book from Chris! I've never had an alterted comp book before and I think this is so cool! I'm going to use it for my meeting note-taking at work and when it's full I'm going to go back and alter it LOL

On the 1st Day of Christmas ...

My true Diva friend gave to me ...

A beautiful handmade ornament with vintage trimmings! This was made by fellow Diva Cat. What a wonderful piece of nostalgia this is for me! It reminds me of the handmade ornaments my parents used to decorate the tree with every Christmas-- each and every one holding its own precious memeories of childhood. Thank you for the wonderful gift from the heart, Cat!!

Contrary to Popular Belief ...

I have not fallen down the rabbit hole LOL I didn't mean to abandon my blog so long. I was immersed in making my gifts for a 12-day Christmas exchange for 2 weeks and then I was appoaching burn-out.

My work schedue has also taken its toll on me. Long hours are not uncommon for me; I'm just feeling overwhelmed -- being pulled different directions -- one by my real boss and one from what I hope to be a future boss. Balancing this house of cards gets tougher every day LOL

Boy what I would not give for a cruise right now!!