Christmas 2021 …. how about some Christmas Elf Dolls ? Holly, Cinnamon and Star are ready to be printed and played with … have fun giving them each their own stories
As our planet becomes one we need to recognize that we are all important … no matter what our skin colour or our beliefs. Education, understanding and empathy for all humans towards each other and our planet itself needs more work. If you put one person from each country on this planet you would realize that we are a rainbow of beautiful shades of colour from deep ebony to light ivory. Let’s celebrate that. These three dolls are wearing their 1970’s fashions.
It’s Christmas and I have new paper dolls. Mrs Claus is now playing and working with Santa in the workshop and the elves are doing the cooking, cleaning and laundry. No more sooty clothes for Mrs Claus because she is curled up with a hot chocolate getting ready for her own long winter’s nap
Little Red Riding Hood is wearing her best dress and red cloak to go see her grandmother. Imagine her surprise when, instead of her granny, she sees the Big Bad Wolf sitting in her chair and wearing granny’s nightgown and cap of all things … don’t forget the glasses … “All the better to see you my child!”
It’s been awhile since I have posted a new paper doll, but here are two new dolls to play with. Apricot and Jade love to snuggle up with a good book in their leisure clothes, play outside in their jacket and jeans and of course they are always ready to party when they wear their new dresses
This year’s Christmas paper dolls are Bell and Gina. They have Godey Girl dresses, one each for day time to work through all their chores and a beautiful lace and brocade for the ball next week.
Here are two more little girl dolls to print and cut out. I’ve also included one doll that you can print and colour. You can use the clothing templates to create your own designs. Have fun.
New dolls for everybody. These dolls are able to hold hands and share their lives … I think it is time we celebrated our differences and uniqueness and tried understanding each other better in this world ….
Two dolls with a vintage, Audrey Hepburn style look … I thought Valentines and February asked for it. Think of all the adventures these two could have and who they may meet this day of romance … have fun
These next challenges were fun but at the same time took some thought to put them together.
I loved my bike. It was my constant companion every year from spring to autumn, brought me peaceful moments when I would ride for miles down roads to adventure.
This piece is a statement of what children in North America used to do instead of being children. Imagine having to work these horrible, backbreaking, spirit breaking jobs for most of a day without much time even to sleep or eat. This is still the state of hundreds of children in other countries. It has to stop.
This little seed cluster was in my wild flower garden. It was so pretty, sitting there in the green of the grass and giving off this beautiful glow in the sun.
A photo of some herbs in the garden in Almonte and the window is from the mill in Almonte as well. Love it when I can take two pieces that don’t really belong and place them into a whole.
This is a book cover for a favourite book. Fires of Spring is my all favourite book ever and I have read it over and over again.
Although summer didn’t arrive until September in the Ottawa Valley this year it will not last much longer and we will be shivering in mitts and boots. This set of paper dolls has costumes that will go from hot sunny weather to chillier, snuggle up weather … where’s that hot cocoa 🙂
Challenge 11 is a challenge of three that sit together and tell a story of this Blue Heron who, once he had his fish was visited by a few buddies hoping he would share.
These dolls love their pretty gypsy coloured clothes. If it’s a chilly summer evening they can don their pretty shawls and a night on the town could include a fancy dress, skirt and boots.
I have begun one of my bucket list items and that is to join AWAKE. This has been on my list since it opened and I am very please with the course itself. It is set up much like a university/college course which includes coaches. If you are on the fence and wondering if you should join then feel assured that it is worth every penny you spend on it …. if this was a university course it would cost you thousands of dollars. I can sit in my cozy little home and work at this course when it is ‘my time’.
Here are the next 4 pieces I did for the Photoshop Artistry course challenges.
I love this vintage rose image which I found in an old book. Robert Frost is one of my favourite poets. When I was a young girl in Toronto I can remember my mother pointing him out when he was in a Christmas parade. I was only 5 but I remember that time well and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered who he was and his work but that event has always stuck in my mind like it was meant to be.
Dragonflies mean summer to me and it’s always a pleasure when those iridescent and delicate bugs land near me and take my breath away. These dragonflies were gleaned from an old book.
These crows and the sunrise were captured one early morning. The crows are a pair that had been with us for several years and we knew each other well. Now we have moved from our country place and I wonder if they became attached to the new people who now own our old house … probably not. I think it was a once in a lifetime relationship.
You may recognize my little dragon from other posts on my blog. Arty for short has his own story and will appear time and time again as our adventures continue and he grows into a full grown fire breathing dragon.
I have had a love relationship with Photoshop since PS6 and when I first heard about the Photoshop Artistry course I knew it was going to be the first step of creating great digital art. The AWAKE course will be starting July 1 and I will be there. These pieces were created using the challenge prompts from the course. If you are interested in this course there is a link at the side. You do have to enrol in it before you can move on to the AWAKE course but it’s possible to do both at the same time. Here are the first four challenges I did for the course
Loved this little lizard and his rust and bits of paint as soon as I spotted him on the back shed at our new house. That was several years ago and he gets rustier every year and more beautiful. I did two pieces for this first challenge.
This Canada goose gander was watching over his flock at an Ottawa River park. I loved how he strutted and kept one eye open at all times, stretching his neck if he felt challenged. Awesome birds.
Steam, the first of a double challenge. I love steam trains and have great memories of coming across to Ontario from Manitoba one one when I was a very young girl.
Trains, the second of the double challenge. Both pieces had to be able to sit alone and together as well.
It was a wonderful surprise when I first looked at this photo and realized I had caught this great little garden spider among the Lily of the Valley flowers in my garden. Isn’t he pretty?
This piece is a collage, the base of the Chinese Elm with it’s beautiful toadstools and a bunny that would visit my garden frequently. These two bunnies are having a picnic I think.
Happy Canada Day …. Canada is 150 years young this year … the red and white forever, Canada is THE BEST country to live in. These paper dolls are the first for this doll and what better to introduce them with but red and white Canada Day clothing.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Other, more important things had taken my attention until now. I have been working on a new paper doll so there will be variations throughout the year … watch for them. I have also been working on Sebastian Michael’s Photoshop Artistry Course and will post my challenges here so you can take a peak at the progress you go through with a digital course. I have just picked back up the Life Book 2016 course again as well and of course summer is now here. Glad to be back after such a long time.
I have this big beautiful apple tree with the pinkest blossoms beside our little rental house. It is glorious this year, so full of flowers you can hardly see anything else. I wish it could last longer as it takes my breath away.
we can’t forget the little apple tree next door that has the prettiest white blossoms.
There are only 3 lessons for April, one week was a wonderful interview with Roben Marie Smith. April was a wonderful month of new techniques and depth.
Ripple effect was created with Tamara Laporte … honouring our story in life and how it effects others as we go along.
Your life with Roxanne Coble was an interesting exercise. I do not work with many dark colours so found a compramise with a dark burgundy because I wanted to embrace the lesson and learn. In the end it was a very interesting lesson in design.
Reframing your story with Effy Wild was a delight to do although once again I decided on a colour other than black … I chose a metalic blue. I love how the colours shine in this piece.
The fires in Alberta as well as British Columbia and Saskatchewan are the first time Canada has had to face the fact of global warming where it’s been to such a drastic extreme. Climatic heat is driving the fires along with wind and no rain. It is the rain that will finally put these fires out. The number of selfless people fighting these fires with no sleep and beyond exhaustion is numbing. How long can they keep it up ? Will the oil sands finally ignite? The animal MAN has created this scenario, ignoring all warnings. This piece puts everything I feel into one page. Mother Nature looking out at us with disbelief as she burns … on Mother’s day.
More challenges for April, this birthday month was very busy. The African Queen was created for the letter Q in the A to Z challenge. I love the colour blast of this page.
You know those photos of family when they decide to do something silly …. this is one of those times and I told this fellow “you know that’s going to be scrapped don’t you?” … It was a fun page to do, glad my boys can still want to play.
Young woman and pretty lady were created for the stamp challenge. I combined two challenges again with young woman, using a kit supplied by Gabbi Designs.
Pretty lady is an aunt when she was young. The image is a portrait of her.
Happy birthday Just Art! It’s been a whole year since this site was created. Time flies when you are having fun. I created Photoshop brushes and some elements for my mixed media paper dolls challenge. What fun this challenge was, members created a parade of delightful dolls for this challenge. These two are mine.
More birthday fun with the this or that challenge. I chose a vintage photo of myself and my sister’s two dogs as the main feature. I don’t usually work in such bright colours so this was a big challenge for me.
This page was created for the Astrology challenge.
A birthday card using Red Dog Designs kit for the challenge
Sound of the Rain was done for the vignette challenge. I decided to do it a bit differently and added the word rain to this photo taken when the rain came teaming and streaming in on our driveway and we could hardly see out the window.
N is for nautilus, one more page for the A to Z challenge
Sunset on the Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.
Our 3D word challenge this month was the word celebrate. I put two challenges together to create this page
Dragon tales … my little bubble blowing dragon, Arty, is growing and wanted another adventure. After a rain shower he gathered all around him, including a new little girl dragon called Strawberry. A friend he was introduced to at Christmas. Arty is relating the Tigger story to them and they are enraptured. This page was created for April’s progressive scrap.
Not long ago I discovered June Macfarlane and her blog that has these great challenges. Each week the subject is different and the interpretation is up to the artist. This is my entry for this week. June has many high res images to play with as well. You can find the challenge page here: Dezinaworld
March was still full of blowing and snow and very very cold. What better way to keep warm than to work on digital art. Irish blessing for St. Patrick’s day. I added my recipe for Irish soda bread … yummy
This little pocket page was so much fun. I have had these photos of the bunny and ground hog who came out to graze at the same time and their reaction towards each other was hilarious. Now they have their story.
I is for Ireland, a perfect I word for March. This page was done for the A to Z challenge
I love these images of Godey’s Ladies fashion plates and when I saw Jilbert Designs challenge this month I fell in love and thought the pages would fit a quilt with the ladies .. I was right.
A reflection challenge this month and I thought of this photo I have of a dawn that was absolutely glorious at our old country place several years ago … love the reflection as it reminds me of frozen, ice covered snow.
J is for Jazz …. all that jazz. Bob Fosse and Fred Astaire created a beautiful, sparkly era of glitz and music. This page celebrates both.
Energy Lost was created for the word art challenge. When I saw this photo at the Morgue Files site I just had to turn the word around and use it. This old fellow sure has earned a good retirement. I hope he got it.
Late again, so many musts and wants to do makes for a very busy year so far. March Life Book 2016 brought fabulous lessons.
Praise for the present with Mary Beth Shaw was so much fun to create with stencils, brushes, sponges, acrylic and water paints and I could go on. This piece was actually done in February but got missed in the posting.
Roots and Ground, Wings and Light with Tamara Laporte brought us another great face, a face of colour. I love the serene look on this face.
I love water colours, they are my favourite paint and this graphite and paint mail box are one of my favourite lessons this year. Angela Kennedy brought us a face but I wanted to do the mailbox, like the one I had at the country house with the wild roses growing around the post.
Layers of love with Rae Missigman was a pleasure to create. So many different layers and neon colours to help make the piece shine. This was a great way to get my fingers dirty.
Lady of Compassion with Shiloh Sophia was done with acrylics, keeping them transparent to give them a watercolour look. Our lady is a bit abstract and was done in a different technique.
These were done throughout the year, some for the Just Art site and some ‘just because’.
This photo is my absolutely favourite of my youngest. The day was warm, had the bluest sky and he looked so cute peaking through the tree when we were picking the apples for jelly.
For an abstract challenge at the Just Art site
Three generations of women … myself, my mother and my grandmother.
That is all there are for 2015. A wonderful year of digital scrapping and art.
There are a few more pages. This is what happens when we are too worn out from Christmas preparations and have to sit … at the computer of course and my fingers just can’t help themselves.
One more card for Christmas.
This piece was done for my challenge at the Just Art site. Christmas is not the only celebration in December and so many celebrate differently. I thought we should celebrate those holidays through our art.
With this Christmas Carol challenge I went the opposite way of the holiday and focused on Marley and his chains.
Once my muse had finished with Marley’s ghost I could concentrate on a more Christmas type of page. What better than the Muppets at Christmas.
This is a reflection challenge. I’ve always loved this photo taken of a dried Queen Anne’s Lace flower from our old country place and finally had a place to use it.
Here we are again, late with our postings. From Christmas and then Life Book 2016 and a few other things that seem to get in the way … you know … life ….. it is a game of catch up. Here are December’s digital pieces.
Blue winter was made for the template challenge in December
My favourite Christmas carol.
A Christmas challenge
Doesn’t this say it all? Good times with the family at Thanksgiving
Would it be Christmas without more Christmas cards?
I am going to add the rest with another posting, yes, I was having a great digital time at Christmas
February was a crazy month for me so I’m posting all my Life Book 2016 in one post. Quirky birds with Tamara Laporte were so much fun to do. My bird group are my now supporters and my maternal grandparents who were past supporters. I have been blessed.
This still life was done for Donna Downey’s class. Great lesson in value.
Love my medallion page, lesson with Faith Even Sills. The colours are so rich.
The 5 minute flowers water colour painting with Martha Lever took a bit more than 5 minutes. I love working with water colours most of all. The way they blend and play with each other is intoxicating.
This lesson with Annie Hammon was interesting, painting a portrait without sketching, using a brush, proving once more that I need lots and lots of painting practice with a brush. We were required to let out our inner child and just play and then go back in and recover the painting. It’s one thing to paint a sketch and quite another to paint with nothing but a small photo to follow shadows plus just letting go of what you have just created to start again.
A vase of flowers, creating a vessel of tenderness with Pauline Agnew proved to be a difficult lesson for me .. still life is not something I do well, it’s not something I do a lot of .. I abandoned a first try feeling it was too dark. I am not a ‘dark colour’ person but I felt I had to try. I feel the vase is too large and didn’t allow the flowers to rest comfortably around it and some of the upper flowers look like they are floating in space but this painting is lighter and I prefer the flowers in this one as well. The tutorial was beautiful and I loved it and I will come back to this one again.
Life Book 2016 has begun and it’s been a busy busy busy month. This first piece is a warm up with Tamara Laporte. Lot of fun with paints and collage.
The main lesson for the first week was to choose a word and the title was Happy Traveler. I of course chose the crow and my little dragon as my happy travelers, my word for this year is serenity. I need to learn how to become quieter, to pause my busy life some days.
Week two brought us two more lessons. One from Tam and another from Ivy Newport. Tam’s was a zentangled butterfly, leaving the angst behind while reaching for the sun. Tam wrote her words on her butterfly trail, I wrote them down and then covered them up with a pretty flowery trail .. they are gone, gone, gone.
The main lesson with Ivy Newport brought us lots of glitter and gold and some soul searching. I laid down a woman reaching for her goals, ready to go through the door and see the pretty butterflies in her world. I sometimes need reminding to search for those butterflies each and every day.
Week three gave us a lesson with Melody Ross. We painted a woman hugging a box with all the things we have accomplished to remind us that we are awesome just as we are.
Here is this year’s Christmas mini kit created for the colour challenge with ADB Designs over at the Digital Scrapbooking Studio with Dianne. The glorious colour palette this month was inspiring.
Two more cookie paper dolls .. these are chocolate chip cookies so of course they are Chocolate and Chip and both of them are all ready for their winter holiday adventures. As always just right click and save image to capture these yummy dolls. Merry Christmas !!
This card was created for the Just Art site to wish everybody a great holiday on the States side. Lots to be thankful for in this year of international tragedies.
This cute little friendship card was created for the Just Art site “use it all” challenge. We are given a mini kit and have to use every single piece, nothing else with only a photo and journaling allowed. I loved it so much I didn’t add a photo….I made the card instead
Loved this lesson with Donna, she took her unused paint from her pallets and brushes and smushed it down on journal pages and then used those pages full of explosive colour backgrounds and built on them. I have always done the same thing whether it’s a page I didn’t like and it has to be covered or in a book I will cover it with paint I haven’t used in my latest project. What appears is always appealing and looking for more.
I have a few muslin strips left over from quilting projects and thought I’d like to try a book. This is the first and I am loving it. There are so many possibilities for these. I put down a layer of white gesso on both sides and stamped, painted and smushed on the one side and just let everything travel through. Then to cover the white spaces left I blotted from other pieces and paint that I was using then stamped the turtle and the little words afterwards. Lastly I punched a hole in the one end, threaded a narrow ribbon through and rolled the whole piece up and tied it.
I can see all sorts of feathers and little trinkets hanging from one of these, photos transferred inside, poems printed with a vintage look. The list simply goes on and on and they would be great added to a little gift.
Chris Zydel’s lesson on Life Book 2015 this week was an interesting practice which I loved. We first painted for 5 minutes without any thought, just placing colour on paper without stopping. The second piece was a 30 minute exercise with more thought and attention given to the painting but still playing, not listening to our inner critical voices and then we were to sit and muse about the practice itself. At the end I liked what I did although it’s free and unstructured and both pieces look like flowers in a garden.
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