Our Farm

From time to time I have to go find myself... where I am... do I like what I am creating, can I do better, what direction do I need to take now...  etc.   I guess we all go thru that thought process one time or another... I do it pretty frequently these days...  not really sure where I really belong... 


So I decided to take a little break and regroup with myself and I pulled out a canvas  (12 x 16 inches)   and started to work.. 

I started to play with the Texture paste and some stencils that I had just received as a prize... they were all so inviting.. .but used the leaves... 

 

I started to add some textures.. .the brown shaded areas are ground Mica that I added to the Gesso...  what fun I was having...  just doing my thing... and nothing else.. 

 

I colored the canvas with Distress paints and also some Adirondack paints... as I only had a few of the distress ones at the time...

 

I added a few butterflies and also some 'stone' work... NC where I live has so very much stone work all around the place... love it all.. so I wanted to capture some of that...  but I was at a stopping point now... and didn't really know where I wanted to go next... 

 

BACK TO MY GOOD OLD PAPER .... 

 

I hope you can see this ...

(please click on pictures to get the fullest size of any pictures.....  )

 

I took a piece of white cardstock... and started to play with some more stencils...  one was of a gingko leaf... I love Gingko leaves...  they are so very wonderfully different to me... so I wanted to play with that one.. and the hexagon one I had made from one of Tim's Dies... LOL.. Love those dies... and then to get a stencil too.. .great guns... how fantastic is that...  Okay...  so then I started to lay on the textured paint... I did happen to dye it... that was something I wanted to try again.. I had done it once... but this time I went to town... embossing, and then texture paste off and on all over the paper...  what fun...

 

NOW WHAT??? 

 

Well one thing I have to confess now, is that I got so wrapped up in what I was doing... that I forgot to take pictures... LOL... so very sorry...  but when that happens, my husband even knows not to bother me... I am deep in fun, messiness and sheer play time...  music is off the walls, at times... and the room is bouncing with good energy... loving it all.. 

 

I decided to rip the paper up into small pieces and put it onto the canvas... could I really do that???  Well I did... 

 

At this stage I hope you can sort of see where I used each and every little bit of that 8.5 x 11 piece of paper... I loved it... and was amazed that I could tear it up... 

 

I also added some misc leaves I had made.. .using texture paste that was left over... I just made a bunch of leaves... sheets of them... 

 

As you can see I added tissue tape, and real live branches from the yard... and I also drew and cut out some garlic.. 

 

I added a piece of Mica that is in the lower left hand corner of this picture above... it was found on the farm...  lovely layered mica... clear and beautiful...   I still have about a 1/2 inch of it left...  love it... 

 

I used a crackle stamp and made it look old... and more tape... and painted the butterflies... 

I added a few leaves... as fall is coming... sooner than we expect it this year...  and these leaves are from kraft glassine paper from Tim's collection of goodies and stuff...  love it.. special occasions it is used.. this was one of them.. 

 

 

 

I also used a crow stamp and colored it with black and DEEP VIOLET... not sure if you can see it as well as I can...  it is perched on the real branch...  loving the whole thing... 

 

There are areas where I have tucked textured assorted papers under other pieces of textured papers... just because I felt like it... no other reason... just having that deep rooted feeling of fun and creativity.. 

 

Another crow... but this time he is made from textured paste and also a die cut that was turned into a stencil...  love him... in fact I made about 15 of them... 

(too much mixed paste... LOL.. but they will be used... no fear... have fun... make things... enjoy what you are doing...  ) 

 

A little heart...  a little sweet memory

 

 

I had bought these really neat letters from Tim's stash of stuff...  and had to use them... they were really special and so this was going to be their premier...  LOVE THEM... I didn't do anything to them other than to glue them onto the canvas... wow... LOVE IT... 

 

I dropped the A  as there is little glass corked bottle over it... not sure you can see it...

 

I had a very difficult time photographing this picture...  but I hope you can see it all..

 

 

 

A crow hiding it's face under the gingko leaf... LOL... 

 

 

Hope you have enjoyed this LONG posting... but I did want to share this with you all... I was waiting for the right moment... and I think that entering it into the Frilly and Funkie Challenge is the right moment... 

 

As the challenge this week is Summer Garden... and this is all about our farm... our gardens and our memories of this summer time here on our farm... 

 

I do hope that YOU have a wonderful day and that you enjoy everything about it...  Thanks so very much for stopping by for a visit and commenting on this part of my life, that I have shared with you... 

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Pumpkin TIME on the Farm

Okay.... I did the Frilly part of Frilly and Funkie...  now I HAVE to do the Funkie part!!!! 

So I wanted to do something about our farm...  and so this is what I did... 

We grow a lot of different kinds of foods etc... one of our favorite is a Watermelon called Orangelo... it is Orange inside... and the sweetest thing you could ever want to taste... we love them...

 

Farming is not as easy as one would think... it either rains too little or too much... the deer decide eat all the tips of the tomato plants off, because they are sweet and tender...  or maybe the Mrs. Groundhog decides that her new family would be good right next to the corn field... and the story goes on and on... 

 

Well we generally have a Love/ not like situation with the Crows... I love CROWS... a favorite bird of mine...  I really love their nature etc... they are the lawyers of the birds... and at the same time the clowns of the birds... LOL...

 

anyway... last year they waited until the water melon was a certain size, and nibbled on each one... taking only a small peck out of each one...  so who wants to eat watermelon after a CROW??? 

 

Now me...

Well this year.. the watermelon didn't get enough water... it rained enough... but they are really water hogs of the plant kingdom...  so they didn't mature properly... so the crows didn't get any...

 

BUT

 

NEITHER DID WE...

 

But we did plant Pumpkins... and they are wonderful... we love to eat them stuffed with rice and all kinds of things... a fall/winter time favorite... 

 

They are just about ready to start to enjoy... and Glenn, my other half and the better half... told me that the CROWS found the Pumpkins!!!! 

 

So this tag is all about the way that we have now scared off the crows and we are winning the pumpkin patch back again... 

 

YEAH... 

 

The Crows are not going to get our pumpkins... I don't mind sharing... but they don't know what that word is.. .at all..so we enjoy and then let them have the left overs... the smaller ones etc... they don't eat them anyway... but the deer will... and so will Mrs. Groundhogs babies... and also all the others that live out on FARM... 

 



 

Our fields are filled with wild flowers too... small ones, big Sunflowers are still blooming and all kinds of leafy greens for egg laying insects...  also the fall and winter gardens are being planted now... kale, carrots, onions, cauliflowers, beets, etc. etc... a nice selection of foods... and we again will start to protect our own food first and let them have the remainder... 

 

Pumpkin Time... 

 

I love my STONE stencil... and painted each stone with the Tim Holtz Water color method...  love it...  so my pumpkin is sitting on the stone pathway... and the crow is trying to invade our pumpkins... NOT this TIME... 

 

Raffia... a fall time bow...  a natural bow... 

 

So this is the Summer Garden that is slowly being turned into the Fall and winter garden...  we are in the southern part of the state of North Carolina...    Actually we live in the Western part of North Carolina, in a very southern part of it.. LOL.. how's that for where do you live concept... ??

 

So our temperatures generally aren't as cold as a half hour north of us...  up the smaller mountain.. 

Growing is a great way to enjoy good food... but it is not less expensive...  LOL... just better and fresher... 

 

Thanks for stopping by today... and hope that you have a wonderful day and a very special safe holiday week-end if you live in the USA...  Labor Day is the 'last day' of summer... and so many people travel... be safe and get home safe... 

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Sweet and Frilly

I LOVE to make these fussy and Frilly cards... all white with a flash of color on the flowers...  anyway... it is a pleasure to make one of these fun cards... the first one I made was about 9 years ago now... and I guess I have made over 50 of these cards... I honestly lost count...  but I make them for weddings, for special occasions... and just because someone needs love...   a special card... as this takes quite a while to make one...  the size of the card is 8.5 inches tall and the width when closed is only 6 inches wide... and about an inch thick...  I generally send it in a box... as it is special enough to be put into a box...  at least I think it is... 

 

The front of the card is all white... 

and there is 4 layers of paper on this section.  

 

At the base there is paper lace and also cotton lace...  with a little white bow... 

 

The back layer is made with Martha Stewart Punches... and then a layer of Cuttlebug embossing folders...  and then the paper lace is made with a Spellbinder... 

 

When you start to open the card... this is what you see... 

 

The paper is scored for texture... and also the heart goes from the front of the card to the center of the card... 

 

These flowers are made with Tim Holtz's Tattered floral die... the mini one... and I used distress inks on the white paper...  the leaves are hand cut out by me... 

You can click on any picture to see a larger one...  

 

Peeking thru is the center of the card... 

 

When you continue to open the card...

you will see the first left side of the card... 

 

I have taken a few extra pictures... so that you can see the actual dies etc... but the paper I used is all WHITE cardstock...  nothing special... just ordinary WHITE CARDSTOCK... 

 

 

When the card is entirely open

this is what it looks like... 

 

 

 

5 layers of paper are underneath the Vellum  (which is embossed with another cuttlebug embossing folder... 

I love these folders.. and when I was on the Design team I use to use them all the time... they were some of my favorites... 

I have not seen many people use them... and they are really so very elegant to me...  you can also stencil with them... 

 

the saying...

 

DREAM

 

a garden of good wishes

 

Some more flowers...  just enough for color and variety to this card... 

 

 

 

I so hope that you have enjoyed this card... it is a really fun card to make and a little difficult... but to me, so very well worth it... I have made them in all colors... and had gals make some in colors I would never dream of using... and they are also very elegant in all ways... 

 

I am entering this in two Challenges today...

 

Frilly and Funkie... 

A Summer Garden... 

 

My summer garden is the food that we raise... it gives us love in nourishing our bodies and thus this cards symbolizes that...  Pink is a heart charka color for LOVE... 

and so is GREEN. 

 

The Shabby Tea Room 

 

Using this Photo as inspiration, and the feeling of CELEBATE

and  

   Debbie asks that you create a card or project inspired by the photo  with a 'celebration theme' using pink, flowers and a lace element

Thank You very much for stopping by for a visit today... and also for any comments you should leave behind... I love them all..  and cherish each one that you write...  I appreciate them all... 

 

hope you have a great day and can find time to create something that makes your heart happy, for you and others... 

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

The White Witch

This morning I got up and had quite a few assorted things to do... and so I was a little frustrated not to be able to walk into the studio and play... then I had a few friends come over for eggs, and also to buy some cards, papers, and other goodies...  so it wasn't until about 3 that I FINALLY got into the studio to PLAY... YEAH... finally is okay... I did have a good time... so that is okay too... 

I had a few challenges that I wanted to address... and so here is what I made... 

 

I had so very much fun making this 'box' and then covering it and filling it...  oh wait until you see it all..

 

First off.. I saw a box that Anna-Karin made last week...  and since I love to make boxes... I put it onto my ' Note to Self' list to make someday...  well I didnt' realize that it was going to happen so quickly... but it did... I really love it...  so I sort of fashioned this one after it...

 

AND then my Friend...  Astrid MacLean 

from A Vintage Journey.... well she did this great tutorial this week...

 

If you like or LOVE vintage... you had better take a look see... her tutorial is fantastic... so I wanted to try her techniques... even though I didn't have all the right colors of distress paints, I had fun with it... 

 

Of course this is my project.. so it looks different than both of these..... as you can see... 

 

 

 

One of the challenges that I created this for is

The KRAFT JOURNAL

and the challenge is to always use Kraft paper...

and then this time it was also to PUNCH...   

I used an EKSuccess pumpkin punch...

and then I rusted it with

Distress Vintage Photo embossing powder...

love it... 

rough and old looking.....

 

Okay... as you can see the White Witches hat also... she is the BEST and only kind of witch...  she is in tune with nature... loves plants, critters and protects them all...

Helps people to heal with herbs naturally and consoles the spirit with love...  the white witch is a GOOD WITCH... 

Oh... you knew that from the Wizard of OZ... the good white witch helped Dorothy get home...  of course... 

 

I used a few stencils... this one is Tim's... called splatter... and I think it looks like a spider web...  and of course all the spiders are now building huge webs... catching as much as they can for the long winter months ahead... 

 

I used Willow, Aqua and a little Espresso Adirondack acrylic paints to create this...  Love the technique Astrid... thanks so very much for the GREAT tutorial... I love it and have it saved to my hard drive...  truth...  love it.. 

 

I needed to close the 'box' so I also had a challenge to use BUTTONS.... 

 

The Craft Hoarders Anonymous... 

Wow since I have been doing these challenges I have really started to clean up my studio and get things into order, so that I can find things and USE them... so many old things that need to be used... 

 

BUTTONS it was to close this box... 

 

The back of the box... I used a Dyan Reaveley Stencil for this area... and then of course some of tim's tissue tape...  great stuff... 

 

Of course the box opens... 

 

to reveal more stenciling... and birds flying out of the box... 

 

 

 

and down at the bottom... the front of the box opens... 

 

to reveal BRIGHT COLORS of FALL... 

 

 

 

Here is the inside of the box... 

assorted papers that I found today in my Halloween STASH... which is now totally organized and cleaned out... all the junk has gone into a bag that will go to others for their enjoyment...  papers, stickers, skeletons, all kinds of goodies... 

Tissue tape really gives you the opportunity to hide things too..  a knot from the button being sewn onto the front... 

 

Another challenge...

called

Simon Says Monday...

The challenge over there...  

WITCH KRAFT!!!!  

Well I just so happen to be in luck...  LOL... 

I used KRAFT paper... and also have a witch  on duty too... 

 

This is the first tag for this box... I will put a few more in here... there is actually room for 8... if I leave off some of the bulky things... LOL..   

 

A few little flowers using Tim's Tatterd floral mini die... and some dyed ribbon... 

 

Same die cut... just a larger flower...

The background... oh wow...

Do you remember this Embossing folder... almost every card in my stamping group had this embossing folder some how used on the card... LOL.. it was THE folder to have that year...  I loved it and had to honor it today with this tag... 

 

I also added a TIM stamped pumpkin and a few rust little pumpkins... 

 

And another piece of punched paper... 

Green polka dots... 

 

Raffia... a little flair for the flower.. and a finishing touch.... 

 

I really had fun with this project... and the

WHITE WITCH

will be back to add more tags soon...

have to wait for an addition...

 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit... and I have to say a super great THANK YOU to all of you who leave me sweet nothings... I love them all.. and cherish each word... 

 

Hope you have a super great day... use some older tools you have around your craft room or studio and honor yourself and your toys... 

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie