even MORE art!!

I thought I'd post a few more art photos from some past projects... art is being done in tiny little spaces of time around here now, because I'm back to work!! yay!! after 9 months of being unemployed, my self-esteem had taken a bit of a beating (which is an understatement), so I'm glad to be gainfully employed again, especially since Arizona has been pretty hard-hit by the economic crisis. (real estate values plummeted, construction is a big part of the economy, etc. etc.) But I digress-- on to the art! This ATC was for a swap on the website ATCsforAll.com, which is an amazing place to trade ATCs, mail art, chunky books, supplies, and more. The artwork in the gallery is fabulous and a great source of inspiration!! The swap theme was "Monochromatic" so all the cards had to be in shades of a color. This is not the card I planned to make when I started out, but sometimes they have a life of their own, and it's better to go where the inspiration takes me. I used pattern tissue, patterned paper, some ink for shading the edges, and rubber stamping, all to go with the theme of sewing-- I think I titled it "Family Ties."

This card was another for the in-person swap last month, for the Hearts and Love theme. I read somewhere that those conversation hearts candies (you know, the ones with the little phrases on?) had just updated their sayings to retire the phrase "fax me" and include "tweet me" and "text me." Which I think is ridiculous, but that's because I'm not the right age for those things to just roll off my tongue, and I only use my phone to make phone calls... but, I thought "tweet me" would be really cute with this little birdie stamp I have! The background is a paper doily with gold gel pen doodles... and more glitter!

And now, a few completed journal pages-- I started the background on the page above ages ago, and finally did something with it. I wasn't too into the SuperBowl game, if you couldn't guess by the amoung of doodling (except for the commercials, which I really didn't think were all that great).

This page was also started ages ago; I think it was actually one of the first pages I painted in this journal-- and then it sat. And sat. And sat, waiting for me to come up with the "perfect thing" to complete it. (at least that was my mental block, anyway-- perfectionist syndrome-- which doesn't go so well with art.) So, I decided to try my hand at some funky-scrolly lettering... which didn't turn out too bad, I don't think!

and one more page in progress, with a painted paper and collage background... I think "journaling" in stages seems to be the best way for me to work-- I get in a "paint and collage" mood, so I get inspired to start the backgrounds, then they will wait till I feel like writing on them, or adding to them... (or not-- I do have some backgrounds that I love just the way they are) That way, I don't have to start "from scratch" when I feel inspired, but don't feel like getting messy with paint and gel medium. Wow, that sentence is not grammatically correct at all, but I'm too tired to fix it-- the worst part of going back to work is having to get up when it's still dark out, so I'm off to bed!