I am Woman, but I don't roar

Roar? That's for Big Cats, like lions and tigers, and... I don't need to roar, because I speak softly and carry a big stick and love with a purple passion. Hmmm! I've been having a bit of flu or something. Maybe I ought to go back to bed?

This card is a varation of the ones I'm making for an Ink-Stains swap, "I am Woman". I just received a batch of chipboard letters, and had to try one out, but there are not enough "W"s to go around.

The poem is one of mine, inspired by the wire sculpture of a friend.

Here's the card for the Ink-Stains "I am Woman" swap.

Two Stones with One Card!

Yes, folks, this card is doing double service! It's my entry for this week's Ink-Stains challenge, and it uses cs from my OSW. Don't ask how long it took to figure it out. The fact that the challenge was to use a card sketch helped. This week, the card sketch comes curtesy of Di Hickman at http://dihickman.blogspot.com/ Scroll down to her March 11 entry for the sketch. Thanks, Di!

Oh, yes, the translation of the message is, "Yoo-hoo, it's me!" Sounds better in French.

Have a great day, everyone!

Please don't psychoanalyze Alice & co.!

I can't believe I forgot to post the card I made with one of my Alice stamps! Alice Who??? Alice of Wonderland fame, of course. Yes, I know, the caterpillar is smoking a hookah, which is traditionally loaded with some version of pot, and is, moreover, sitting on a magic mushroom. Enough said! I prefer to focus on my childhood experience of the scene, which, for me, was sheer delight at the thought of talking to a caterpillar.

In the 1950's Walt Disney film version, instead of disappearing into the surrounding grass, the caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly. I like to think of the possibility of transforming myself, by dint of the struggle to improve my virtues and conquer my faults. No magic mushrooms needed for that!

This was also the ink-stains weekly challenge/mingle for March 6-12. I'm including the card sketch/map for it. Site administrater Kim gives credit for the sketch to The Square Studio. Here's the link: http://papersquares.blogspot.com/

A few ATCs

As my profile states, I not only make cards, but ATCs, those little Art Trading Cards measuring 2½"x3½". Here are a few examples. From top to bottom; Peter Rabbit, All About Eve, Summer Daze, and Que la vie est belle! (Life is so beautiful!)

Have you tried making an OSW?

OSW=One Sheet Wonder. The idea is to take an 8½"x11" sheet of cardstock, either a printed one, or one you make yourself by stamping, or use of techniques such as brayering, direct-to-paper, polished stone, or other background technique. You then plot out how to cut the page into as many pieces usuable for making cards.

The cs I used for my OSW was a glossy purple, sparkly page. Guess that says more about me than I'd care to admit! The layout comes from another stamper/blogger who kindly offered it for personal use on her site, along with pictures of the cards she made from her OSW. Thanks, Julie! Here's Julie's blogsite address: http://mutchtostamp.blogspot.com/

I haven't used all the pieces of my page, but here's what I've done so far. Apologies for the quality of the scans, but the scanner doesn't like bling!

Stencil paste

Here's my latest Easter Card. It was made with a copper stencil and stencil paste, then coloured with Colorbox Mica Magic reinkers. My first attempt at this art form. If I had remembered to replace the template over the dried image before colouring, it would have turned out better!

Another Easter Card

It was -20°F when I got up this morning, and it's still there at 6:00p.m. EST. What must it be like to be homeless in such weather? I've read articles in years past about homeless people freezing to death as they tried to sleep. The good samaritans can't find them all, and amazingly, some refuse to come in out of the cold.

Only a couple of years ago, here in my suburb of Ste-Foy, a man was found living in a wooded area under a makeshift plastic tent, with a fire made of branches found on the ground. It was a freezing day such as today when police forcibly removed him to a hospital. He protested, saying he was okay. He was apparently schizophrenic, and had gone off his meds.

On a lighter note, here's another Easter card. Keep warm, and give thanks for your warm clothes and home.