my first Gothic Arch

i made my first Gothic Arch, there is something about this shape that i find really appealing and apparently i'm not alone, i found http://gothicarches.wordpress.com/ where you can download free arch templates to get you started, i found this address when reading the November issue of Craft Stamper, a UK magazine i just love!

anyway, i printed my own artwork, Oracle card "strength" onto this really thin newspaper-like paper, it went really well with my Canon printer, i dried the ink with my heattool cause i like things quick!

i beeswaxed my print with natural beeswax to a background i had painted and masked with Ranger Dabbers, Distress inks, papers and bits of bookprint, it turned out a touch dark so the next time i will keep my background a little lighter! i added some gold and bronze beeswax! i used my craft iron, melted the wax up against the iron and ironed it on straight away, i'd never done it like this before, i usually use the little spade on the stylus tool! this was quick! less accurate but fun because it left space for chance!

i added a dotted ribbon at the bottom, waxed it and dragged some bronze and gold wax across it, i addes some flowers with brads, i cut off the prongs a attached with Glossy Accents, Ranger, a inner watch piece, a rub-on at the tpo, some buttons, a found plastic object and a cool little piece of glass that i glues onto a piece of book page with Glossy Accents, i was so lucky to just pick up a piece that i had torn earlier for a diff project and the word "strength" just jumped out at me!

i also made soem of these cute little houses! i've been wanting to make some for ages and never got round to doing them, so now i did!

i like them, i want to make a whole bunch of them before Xmas ( i know! i love Xmas!!!!) they would look so nice all together like a little village, very nostalgic even.

i even want to make my own pattern for some house of my own, it's pretty easy really!

i love these ones mind!!!! they are by Julie van oosten.

Oracle card "Children"

here i want to show my second Oracle card, as i said before we were challenged by the adorable Suzi Blu to create an Oracle card, mine was Strength (posted in October) and now i decided to do some more so i researched Oracle cards and found soem i liked and could relate too and so now i've finished nr 2 of i thik 45 cards that i would like to make! note that i'm not promising to make them all! i want it to be something that i feel free to do or not! part of my new plan on saying YES to certain things and definitly saying NO to other things!

anyway, i'll explain my card a little seeing that i'm the creating artist :-)

this card represents Children, being the children in my life or at times my own inner child, therefor it is colourful! my children colour my life, they are pretty and sparkle with energy all the time and that's how i see them! fresh and bright and colourful and sparkled!!

lots of red gold and the tiny purple hearts were not actually part of my design at first! this morning my lttle five year old daughter decided to punch hearts instead of getting dressed for school! when i caught her doing it she replied (very cunningly, i might add!) that she thought they needed to be done because she loves me so much and i might need them today in my art! now that is an answer one can't be angry with! and so i used them today in my art! i have such a wise and smart little kid!

Strength

okay, i'm back again, wanted to share this with you: over on the Suzi Blu forum we were challenged to make are own Oracle card, now, i know nothing about Oracle cards really so i did a little research and through some link i found out that my personal card based on the answers i had to fill in, would be STRENGTH, now that got me thinking of course and i must agree, strength is something i have had to have the last years, well many years really, so i joined in the challenge and made my Oracle card STRENGTH, it was kind of good to sit and create and think about life, life as a mother to five( the birds represent my kids), life as an artist supporting her family, anyway, here is my card, 5x8 inch, nice big size, i like! just good to work on i think.

i'm not saying she is a work of art or she is a real beauty or anything but i like what i did and it was good doing it, so here you have it! STRENGTH, i wish you all strength in these uncertain days