Hi, I'm Torrey. Welcome to Left Field, where creativity runs amok and imagination is ALWAYS more important than knowledge. Shoes are not allowed but ties are optional. This is a repository of snippets from my life out here in Left Field. One never knows what shiny bits of creativity will be found here... cards, scrapbook layouts, photography, poetry, recipes, ponderings, rantings and musings. It could be anything! Life in Left Field is always changing, always real, always ...interesting.

July 31, 2012

What's For Breakfast?

I haven't posted a recipe in a LONG time in here...so I thought today would be a good day since I got "creative" in the kitchen this morning. I was standing at the open refrigerator...staring into its abyss, looking at bits and pieces of leftovers...all the while listening to my stomach growl and wondering what I could make with:
  • 1 lonely slice of French bread
  • 4 eggs
  • deli ham
  • 2 slices of cheddar cheese
  • leftover rosemary potatoes from Cafe Brazil

This is what I came up with...

Nested Eggs in Black Forest Ham "Cups"

It actually turned out rather yummy. Here's how you make this!

Ingredients: (makes 4 individual "cups"...enough for 2 people)
  • 12 small slices  (or 4 large slices) of thinly sliced Black Forest Ham (mine were actually little round "sandwich" slices. You want enough to line 4  of the "cups" of a large muffin tin
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 slices cheddar (sandwich size broken into 4 pieces each)
  • leftover potatoes (can use pre-cooked hashbrowns, tater tots, home fries...whatever)
  • seasoning
  • 1 tsp. butter
  • cooking spray 
  • Orange or other fresh fruit on the side.
Spray a large muffin pan with cooking spray and line 4 of the "cups" with ham. Crack an egg in each cup.Place 2 small pieces of cheese on top of each egg. Pop into 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
Remove from oven. Arrange potatoes on top of each egg, sprinkle with desired seasoning, then return to oven for about 10 more minutes (or until eggs are done to your liking).

In small skillet, brown both sides of French bread that has been lightly buttered. Cut in half and serve alongside egg cups and sliced orange.

Voila...

Breakfast for 2.

Beats the heck out of instant oatmeal.


 

July 30, 2012

Goin' Out With a BANG!

Today marks my last challenge as a guest designer for Craft Your Passion (CYP). It's been a FaBuLoUs month, chock-full of creativity over at CYP I really enjoyed working with Jenn and the uber-talented members of the DT. So it is with a misty eye that I bid adieu to my time at CYP.

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge with an "Anything Goes" subject theme. Here is the sketch for the challenge:
It was a really nice sketch to work with. Those of you who know me, know that I'm not a big "sketch" person. I tend to cringe at the mention of the word. I guess it has to do with being put into a box--which is SO not how I create. But, I persevered and bit the bullet and this is what I came up with. I didn't even rotate the sketch---I just followed it as-is. Heck, I even sorta stuck to the color scheme. Well sort of. Amazing.


I chose a fabulously sexy stamp from Kenny K which I colored up with my ever-trusty Prismacolor Pencils. Then, I fussy-cut her out and paper-toled her into 4 layers. I found a very fun paper/embellishment pack from Little Yellow Bicycle that totally ROCKED this card. Unfortunately, they've discontinued this line (called Generation Z)...but I love the orange and blue color scheme coupled with grey and black...it all comes together to create a very edgy look.

Here's a detail-shot of my coloring--the camera just didn't pick up all the depth of her hair. It totally washed it out. *sigh*


So...see that little metal embellishment in the upper right corner of the card (in the top picture)? The sort of spiral-looking thing...do you even know what that is? Yes, it's something that actually served a purpose, not just a funky embelly. If you're old enough, you'll know EXACTLY what it is. If not, I'll post the answer at the very bottom of my post under my signature.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:


Ingredients:
Vikki Lee Vicious stamp - Kenny K
"Generation Z" line of paper/embellishments - Little Yellow Bicycle
Prismacolor colored pencils
cardstock









The spiral thing is what we used to put in the center hole of 45 rpm records so that we could play them on our 33 rpm record players.

July 29, 2012

The Great Adventure

The Great Adventure...

I am NOT talking about skydiving into an active volcano crater...although, that would be quite an adventure (albeit a very short one).

The adventure to which I am referring is...reading.

One would think I'm an avid reader (being that I am a writer), wouldn't one?

I'm actually...not so much.

I do read--cereal boxes, candy wrappers, and the occasional Chinese food delivery flyer that gets stuck to my front door. Other than that, I only manage to read about a book every couple of months or so. I'm a painfully slow reader. It takes me FOREVER to get through a book. I'm not dyslexic or anything...I'm just...slow. I read at about the speed at which I speak...and when I read, I hear my voice in my head saying the words. Not only that, but I actually have different voices in my head for each character...so it makes it really fun, but really S L O W.

I just finished reading "A Sweethaven Summer" by my crafty friend Courtney Walsh. It was an awfully good read! Yes, there was tearing and Kleenex was used. I'm very impressed with her first novel, and can't wait to read its sequel, "A Sweethaven Homecoming". It's a story about love, forgiveness and...scrapbooking. You can find it in Kindle-form on Amazon for 99 cents right now! That's an incredible deal!!

Ok...now onto my latest project. Over at A Day For Daisies, they're hosting a challenge called: "Add Some Script". They want us to incorporate script or some sort of typography. I chose this beautifully simple vintage-style image of a boy reading. I printed him out on Kraft cardstock and then colored him with my Prismacolor pencils (they're back, by the way, from a vacation--they tell me they were having SUCH a good time that they forgot to send a postcard. Typical. I suppose their next excuse is gonna be that they couldn't find anything to write with).

I digress.

I had a VERY detailed idea of what this card was going to look like...in my head. So, like Dr. Frankenstein, I went searching for images to bring my creation to LIFE. And also like the "good" Dr. F, I ended up having to combine several images--public domain (clipper ship, octopus, waves, thought bubble) to accomplish what I envisioned. I then drew a paper boat in Photoshop...'cuz he needed a boat. The script behind him is a passage I wrote just for this card--because I couldn't find what I wanted. I didn't just want random, decorative script. I wanted it to have meaning. I wanted it to be real. So, here is the script in its entirety--if you're curious as to what it says:

...and up from the depths
rose the giant beast--a
monstrous octopus as big
as the ship itself. Its
tentacles slowly creeped 
over the side of the deck
and fingered their way up
the masts. A horrible
sound screamed out as the
masts broke under the 
crushing pull of the beast.
The mighty ship splintered
as its sails, ripped free, took
flight in the wind like an
eerie flock of ghosts set free.

I nestled the text in a digital stamp from Bombshell Stamps. I fussy-cut everything out and really popped the boy/paper boat/thought bubbles off the background. Ok, enough description. Here it is.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:


Ingredients:
"A Classic Book" image - A Day For Daisies
"Wanted Poster" image - Bombshell Stamps
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
star brads - Creative Impressions
cardstock - cranberry, black, Kraft




Hoist the Flag

Ahoy there, me crafty hearties!

'Tis time to join the crafty Team B over at Kenny K's Krafty Krew for another riveting challenge! Kenny has come out with some brandy new additions to his Retro line of stamps, and we're here to show 'em off!!
 

This week our theme is 
We have 2 sponsors this week. First off is
The prize from Kenny is the winner's choice of 5 digi's.

Our second sponsor is:

I just love these new images from Kenny. They are a HUGE departure from his "norm". They totally remind me of the "Lichtenstein" genre of pop art. I really wanted to stay true to Lichtenstein's style when it came to coloring up this image. His style is so graphic. To learn more about Mr. Pop Art himself...Roy Lichtenstein...go HERE. So, I decided to color my image in Photoshop to get a totally smooth coloration. My Prismacolor pencils got a vacation. I bet they went to the beach.

I also wanted to present a "different" take on the whole Banners, Pennants & Bunting theme. You know me...a typical banner just wouldn't do. I was daydreaming about summer camp and how, invariably at some point, some poor kid's underwear gets run up the flagpole--creating a banner, of sorts, proudly waving for all the world to see. What can I say? I tend to create WAY outside that box thing.

This is, after all, Left Field. 

That could explain why I am usually so irreverent and off-the-wall--or maybe not. Perhaps I'm nothing more than an enigma.


Ingredients:
Big Surprise image - Kenny K
"Country Life" Cricut cartridge - Provo Craft (altered up a bit by hand)
Punchinella





July 27, 2012

It's STILL Africa Hot.

I'm reviving this post I wrote 2 years ago. Seems some things never change.


Setting the scene: 
It's Thursday afternoon. The camera pans in on an unassuming brick-clad church of undetermined denomination. The church is empty except for a small gathering of people--tucked away somewhere in the cool, deep recesses of the basement. 

The newest member of the group stands and says, "Hi, I'm Torrey and I'm an air-conditioning addict." (the group replies "Hi Torrey!", in unison, as they all sit huddled in the corner of the room--under the air-conditioning vent). 
***

I admit it...when it comes to air conditioning...I am TOTALLY   hedonistic. MY GOODNESS it was hot today. Crimanently, you'd think this was Texas in July or something. I mean, it's the kind of day where the asphalt melts on the street and makes little tarry lava bubbles at the edge where it meets up with the concrete gutter.

Growing up, my sister and I used to play this sadomasochistic little game where we'd douse our bare feet with cold water from the garden hose then run out to the middle of the street as fast as we could and see who could stand on the hot pavement the longest. The loser was the first one who ran back to the cool haven of the wet lawn, screaming "OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!".

Can't remember who won. Didn't matter--because, we'd do it again and again until our poor little soles were covered in hot tar and starting to blister. The kicker is that our mom actually let us do this. Maybe she thought we were just out there watering the yard. If she only knew. Yep, we obviously came from the shallow end of our gene pool--Torrey and Heidi Gump, that's us.

Anyway, today was the type of day where you open the door to the outside and are immediately assaulted by a slap in the face of hot, humid air--the kind that makes your breath catch in your chest; sorta like breathing through a hot, wet sock (not that I have ever actually breathed through a hot, wet sock). Then, I started to sweat. In the 20 seconds or so it took me to reach the car, the back of my neck was sopping and my eyes were stinging from sweat dripping down my face as my glasses started to slide off my nose. Whoever said that "women DON'T sweat; they glow" --was either

a) retarded

b) had never been around a woman; or

3) lived in northern Alaska and never traveled further south than 69.4 degrees north latitude.

Like Eugene Morris Jerome in "Biloxi Blues" said when he got off the bus in Mississippi, "...it's like Africa HOT. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot."

Ice cream...THAT is what I need on a day like today. And in the distance, I heard it--that unmistakable "tinkle ting ting" of an ice cream truck nearby. So, I followed the jingly tune--like a rat follows the Pied Piper. My mouth started to water at the thought of creamy, cold, ice-creamy deliciousness. Then, the ice cream truck's tune kind of went all wobbly...like an old vinyl LP record that had been left on a sunny windowsill for a couple of days.

And, the melody wound down in a sort of deathly dirge until it sputtered and stopped altogether. As I turned the corner, I found out why---


It's hot. It's AFRICA hot.


July 26, 2012

Dog Days of Summer

Let me see a show of hands...

How many of you are MELTING like the Wicked Witch of the West this summer?? You'd think, after 4 years down here in Texas, I'd be used to the heat.

I am not.

I am a delicate flower that wilts when the mercury climbs above 85 (that's 29.4 for you folks outside the U.S.). Right now, it's like a bazillion degrees outside. We're talking approaching the surface temperature of the sun. It's so hot you couldn't even fry an egg on the sidewalk--it would spontaneously combust into a tiny pile of ash. I think that's reason enough to sit in my studio...and create, don't you?

Thank goodness we have central air conditioning.

So I decided to create one more card for the Mo Manning guest DT call. They have a challenge going on over at Mo's Bronte and Bella's challenge blog called "In The Doghouse". We're supposed to either a) feature a dog on our project or b) feature someone who is in trouble (e.g. in the doghouse). For this challenge, I decided to attempt the former and I chose the uber cute "Taking A Break" image. This is the first time I've colored up non-Caucasian skin. It was challenging. This is my second attempt...in the first one he just ended up looking dirty and grimy (which is apropos for a little boy...but not what I was intending). I can tell I'm gonna have to work on my ethnic skin. The image is on Kraft-colored cardstock, colored with my Prismacolor pencils. Y'all know I'm Copicphobic, right? Just checkin'.

Here is a detail shot of my coloring on this one:


I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Ingredients:
"Taking a Break" - Mo Manning
Prismacolor colored pencils
Patterned paper (sorry, they're all scraps so I haven't a clue as to mfg., I think one of them is DCWV)
woven ribbon - Hobby Lobby
wooden buttons
Twistel - Making Memories
Rafia - Plaid
Distress Ink - Ranger
cardstock




July 25, 2012

A Little Mo Love

WOW...2 posts in one day. Can you stand it? I've gone nutso (shut it). Nutso over submitting for guest design team spots. I'm throwing my hat in yet another creative ring over at Mo Manning's challenge site. I love her stuff. Her art is just lovely and it always makes me smile. So, of course I had to jump on the chance at being one of her guest designers! Duh!

The challenge over at Mo's (excuse me...Bronte and Bella's) challenge site this week is "Hugs and Kisses". I chose the always adorable Sophie. She's just too stinkin' cute, dontcha think? I colored her and her dolly up with my Prismacolor colored pencils on Kraft cardstock, then fussy-cut her out and popped her off the Nestability frame. The rest of the card just sort of fell in place. That's how I create most of the time--on the fly. I let my creative muse run loose and lead me wherever she wants to.

Sometimes she leads me to scary places...but today, not so much. Today, she led me to a warm and fuzzy place.
Here's a detail shot of my coloring. I'm finally learning how to shade more realistically--this is especially challenging on fabric...but I keep plugging away at it.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Ingredients:
Sophie stamp - Mo Manning
Nestability dies- Spellbinders (Lacey Oval and Long Scalloped Classic Rectangle)
Patterned paper - Recollections, Scenic Route
Binder edge punch and Scallop edge punch- EK Success/Martha Stewart
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
organza ribbon - Michaels
wooden buttons
embroidery floss - DMC
Chalk ink - ClearSnap
Kraft cardstock





July 24, 2012

Think SMALL--Icon Do This!!!

It's the last Wednesday of July. Really?

Man, it's true what "they" say about time accelerating as you age. Just yesterday it was March.

The last Wednesday of each month is reserved for the monthly blog hop over at  
 This month, our Queen Hopster, Alison, tasked us with creating a project using the teeny itsy bitsy "accessory" stamps that come with our stamp sets so that THEY are the FOCUS of our projects. We are allowed to use one "main" stamp, but I challenged myself to use JUST the tiny stamps...Icon do this!!

We've all heard the adage "Go Big or go home" (or something like that)...well, for this challenge it's "Do SMALL or not at all!" So join us now in our "Iconic" blog hop! Hope y'all enjoy yourselves and, please, sprinkle love in the form of comments as your go, and join in for a chance to win some FaBuLoUs Bombshell Stamps! You know you wanna!

If you arrived from Laura's cooliolio blog, then you're in the right place at THE right time. You're so lucky! You should go buy lottery tickets! If you just stumbled on my blog and discovered this...You're so lucky!! You should go buy lottery tickets! 8, 12, 18, 24, 38, 09. That's what I'm predicting as the winning set of numbers. Winning where and what...I have no idea. But those are the numbers. I'm just sure. Oh, and I'll post a full listing of the hop participants at the end of this post, just in case you wanna revisit these wunnerful projectamundos.

To make this challenge more...challenging, I decided for my project I would use only 1 stamp. One itsy bitsy teensy weensy stamp...and see what I could cook up in the labora-Torrey with just one, lonely little stamp.

Well, as I got down to the business of creating, the mojo started flowin'. So much so, that I ended up doing 3 projects for this hop--all using that same little stamp. I'm pleasantly amazed at how different they all turned out--how one, unassuming flower stamp can come to the labora-Torrey and transmogrify into so many different "looks". I could EASILY have created more projects with this little gem of a stamp...but I thought 3 was plenty. Besides...I started feeling like a paper-crafting version of a Kamonian. Don't understand that reference? Hint: Kamonians live on a planet called Kamino...and they had one job.

Still don't get the reference?

Google it.

Project #1 Friends

The inspiration for my first project came after I had just hung up the phone with my bestee, Jodi. I miss her so blooming much. I really detest that we're like 800 miles apart.

*sigh*

So, I was all sunshiny after talking with her. She always makes me smile. At any rate, she inspired this card which just sort of sprang from my sunshiny feeling. The stamp I chose for all my projects is the little flower from "Bombshell Angel". Here is the result.


I bet you're wondering "How on earth did you make that background?" I'll tell ya...and I won't even have to kill ya. I started out by laying this uber cool honeycomb diecut down directly on the front of the white card. I very lightly penciled around each honeycomb hole thingie then set the diecut aside.

Using a scrap of cardstock, I cut out a hexagonal hole the same size of the honeycomb hole thingies and used it as a mask while I randomly stamped the flower all over the card so that only parts of most of the flowers would show through the honeycomb. Then, I decided I wanted my card to be colored in a gradient from upper left to lower right. I don't have a clue as to why...I just thought it would look cool.

I totally colored some of the flowers, and partially colored some more...and left some completely uncolored. I did the same with the background and laid down heavy color in the top left corner and blended it out until there was no color in the lower right. This is not an easy task to do with Primacolor pencils. It took a LOT of working and reworking of the color.

Then, I adhered the honeycomb diecut back over the background and added 2 silhouette cuties and a "title" that I cut with my Cricut. A couple of ribbons and a few extra flowers finish it off. I really like how the silhouette girls magnify your focus on that background.

Project #2 Cherry Blossom Beauty

The idea for this project just sort of...emerged as soon as I finished the first project. I totally dialed-down the color volume on this card. The first card was SO bright, I decided I wanted something a little more...Zen. I chose a warm peachy pink and chocolatey brown for my palette on this serene card.



I started out by randomly stamping the flower all over the front of the card with VersaMark ink. Then I embossed the images with clear embossing powder and sponged soft rose Distress ink all over the surface. The sentiment and branch were made with my Cricut. I was lazy and didn't fussy-cut each flower--I just sort of cut them out in "circles". It still looks fine if ya ask me.

Project # 3 Thanks, Just Thanks

For my last project, I decided to K.I.S.S. it. You know...Keep It Sweet & Simple. I made a little Thank You card with a very graphic feel. I cut 5 identical circles out of the front of the card. Then I embossed it and shadowboxed each circular opening from behind with foam tape and black cardstock. I dropped a colored flower into each shadowbox area; added a ribbon, sentiment, extra flower (to complete the rainbow)...done. Took all of about 15 minutes from start to finish (most of that was coloring).



I'd like to enter one or more of these cards in the following challenges:
Ingredients for all 3 cards:
Flower stamp - Bombshell Stamps (Bombshell Angel)
Hexagon (honeycomb) die - Papertrey Ink
Prismacolor colored pencils
ribbon- Creative Impressions, American Craft
"A Child's Year", "Pagoda" Cricut cartridges - Provo Craft
Distress Ink - Ranger (Tattered Rose)
clear embossing powder - Ranger
VersaMark ink - Tsukineko
Swiss Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder - Provo Craft
mini brads - Creative Impressions

Thanks for hopping by! Your next stop is Sparkly Mary's  FaBuLoUs blog. Be sure to leave love along the way, and have fun!

Here's a complete hop list...just in case.

Kim 


July 23, 2012

Get Your Kicks

It's Monday (I think) so that means it's time for another fun challenge over at  
This week's challenge is sponsored by 

I really love the images over there...they are very unique and "grown up"...some are rather creepy too. I saw a plate of worms and eyeballs over there. Eew. I think Teri (the creative force behind Delicious Doodles) has a "thing" for zombies. Just sayin'.  The theme for this week is Black & White + 1. It's pretty self-explanatory...you can only use Black and White plus 1 other color. 

I chose this really retro image of a "19-Piptee-sebben Chebby". I'm really into retro at present. I love mid-century modern stuff. The shapes and colors from back then are SO spiffy. For my + 1 color I chose hot pank. That's a whole other animal than plain old "pink". It goes GREAT with black and white though.

Hot Pank is really bold and brazen. It's not shy and retiring like it's pale carnation cousin. I colored up the image with my Prismacolor pencils--actually I just used 2 of them...black and Process Red (which is really pank) I fussy-cut the car out then popped it off its background with foam tape. I think it looks nifty!



Ingredients:
Vintage Chevy - Delicious Doodles
Loopy edge punch - Martha Stewart for EK Success
ribbon - Creative Impressions
rhinestones - Studio 18
Patterned paper
cardstock
Prismacolor pencils

July 19, 2012

Bring on da Bling

It's...(what day is it anyway? I lose track)...whatever day it is, it's time for the monthly Pin-up Challenge over at Bombshell Stamps !!! This month's Pin-Up is Miss Suzie Little. Suzie challenged us to use our Bombshell Stamps to make jewelry (or as they say on the other side of The Pond where Suzie lives--jewellery). Here, in Texas, we just call it Bling (with a capital B). And believe you me...women are ALL about Bling here in Texas.

In her own words, "Make a piece of jewellery using your bombshell stamps and die cut papers. you may also use ribbon, gems, sparkles and findings but NO altered pre-made jewellery items."

Um...so I FOUND the beads I used for the necklace in my bead stash...does that count as "findings"?? The pendant, however, is all hand made. I wanted my pendant to look like an opal. I love opals. I love how they change colors when you change their angles with respect to the light. I also love Dichroic glass--because, let's face it, it very much looks like...opals. So, here is my loverly "faux" opal pendant.


To achieve this look I used some real, honest-to-goodness sea glass I found on the beach in Malibu. I coated it with a thick layer of clear lacquer and dropped little bits of iridescent plastic "Easter Grass" onto the wet lacquer surface. Then, I stamped the wenchy image onto a piece of transparency (with StazOn ink) and cut it so that it was slightly smaller than the glass. I gently pressed the transparency image onto the wet lacquer/Easter grass (making sure there were no bubbles). Then I coated it with more lacquer--clear to the edge of the glass.

I let this dry over night. The next morning I applied more lacquer and dropped in little pieces  of iridescent plastic ribbon, then added a final coating of clear lacquer and let it dry overnight again.

Day 3 I wrapped 20 gauge brass wire around the pendant and hung it from a strand of "findings" (ok, ok...PREMADE BEADS). But in all fairness...I did arrange and string the beads myself. Does that count?
So it's time to visit the Bombshell Stamps blog and enter our challenge for you chance at winning some FaBuLoUs Bombshell stamps!!! YIPPEEE!!

Ingredients:
A Pirate's Life stamp - Bombshell Stamps
Beads - Westrim Crafts
Wire
iridescent ribbon and Easter grass - Michaels
Royal Coat lacquer - Plaid
StazOn Ink - Tsukineko

July 18, 2012

Name Your Poison

...I think I'll call mine..."Chino".

"Chino" is short for  C21H22N2O2. That's strychnine, btw.

I've been working extra double time in the Labora-Torrey lately to get my entry ready for the Kraftin' Kimmie DT call. I made 2 cards for their call. One of them is sweet and elegant, the other is quirky and creepy. Thought I'd show them 2 sides of the many facets of Torrey.

They're having a challenge over at the Kraftin' Kimmie blog, so I thought I'd enter one of the cards I just made for their DT call-- since it fits their theme. The theme is "Lots of Dots". And, since I'm a bit "dotty" myself, this challenge was cake.

Here's my card using their "Perfect Poison" stamp set. I made the background paper by daubing acrylic paint through a piece of Punchinella. This made a whole LOTTA dots! They're subtle...but that is the ONLY thing about this card that's subtle.



Next, I drew in some Zentacles (that's Zen-speak for Zentangled tentacles) with my Micron pen then shaded them up with a purple pencil. I thought they lend an extra layer of creepiness to my poison-y theme. I stamped little Miss Ivy (get it? POISON Ivy??) onto white cardstock, then colored her in with my Prismacolor pencils. And, you're not seeing things...she has a green cast to her and yes, she's exuding  a green aura. She's toxic ya know. I hand cut an irregular "frame" around her and matted it in deep purple cardstock. Then, I added some Zubbles (yeah...Zentangle bubbles--now you're gettin' it) to give it that extra somethin'-somethin'. I consider them "dots" too.  I really love the color combo of poison green and aubergine. It's positively pernicious, dontcha think? To finish it off, I used my Xacto knife to cut around some of the Zentacles and lifted parts of them off the background. Then I wove a glowy green ribbon across the bottom and up the right side.

Ingredients:
"Perfect Poison" stamp set - Krafin' Kimmie Stamps
Corner punch - EK Success
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
Micron 01 pen - Sakura
Acrylic paint - Plaid
ribbon - Michaels
cardstock



July 16, 2012

Zen and the Art of Tangle

Hidy Ho crafty peeps,

I'm here to post the card I did for the challenge over at 
Craft Your Passion  (CYP) for their "Kraft" challenge 
sponsored by A Day for Daisies (one of my all-time faves)... 

But, before I do that...I wanna tell you what I've done gotten myself into.

For months now, Jodi has been dangling a carrot in front of me--a very tasty one at that. Instead of just drooling over it, I finally grabbed it and took a big old chomp out of it. I don't know what took me so long. I guess I had to mentally prepare myself for what I was certain was gonna be a life-changing art form. An art form that was tailor-made to fit my twisted creativity. Yeah...it's that AWESOME.

I'm talking about Zentangle.

For those of you who have never heard of Zentangle...I feel sorry for you. It's an art form that has actually been around for CENTURIES, but has recently been wrapped up in a very palatable little creative package and lovingly delivered to the awaiting arms of artists everywhere. Young, old, novice or pro...ANYONE can do it...one stroke at a time.

A very talented duo (Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts) gave name, structure and methodology to this "new" art form with very ancient roots. They named it...Zentangle. Basically it's an artistic form of meditation. There are several tenets, if you will, associated with Zentangle. It's a deliberate practice of the free-form drawing of repetitive patterning combined with deep breathing and concentration. Erasers are not allowed. Ever. As in all forms of art...there are no mistakes in Zentangle. There are, however, what I like to call "flopportunities". A flopportunity is merely an opportunity to employ one's creativity.

Now, I could have just set out on my own and tried my hand at this...but I wanted a "proper" introduction into this art form. I found a certified Zentangle teacher (CZT) on the official Zentangle website. They have a listing of CZTs all over the world. I just happened to find one in my area and I set up a 1:1 private class with her...here in my studio. Her name is Jackie. And she is REALLY good at Zentangle. She and I hit it off immediately. Kindred art souls and all that...if anyone out there in the Dallas area is looking for a Zentangle instructor...let me know, and I'll hook you up with Jackie.

We spent about 4 hours together...creating, talking, lunching. It was a wonderful afternoon. The only thing that would have made it better was if Jodi had been here with me.

Here is my very first Zentangle "tile"


There are 4 different patterns on here: (from upper L to lower R)...Flux, Crescent Moon, Cadent and Hollibaugh. I breathed, I relaxed, I chatted...and I drew.

So, it was then and there that I was hooked--line, sinker and the whole rod and reel.

Zentangle has quickly become a very dear friend. I was born to Tangle. Truly.

For my CYP challenge, I decided to use my newly-found favorite technique in conjunction with ANOTHER technique that I've been reluctant (ok, scared to death) to try--  
No-Line Coloring
I bit off a big old bullet and combined BOTH of these techniques for this card. And, if I do say so myself...they go together like peanut butter and honey. I used the luscious "Sun Flower Girl" image from A Day For Daisies. With an image like this to work with...how could it turn out to be anything BUT beautiful?? My bestee, Jodi (of Kaboo Designs), also used this same image for her project...be sure to go look at her blog when you're finished here! Click HERE for the link.

I printed out the image on Kraft paper using light brown ink...just dark enough for me to sort of see the lines. I colored her skin, hair and the flowers and birds with my Prismacolor colored pencils...then, I Zentangled the rest of the image (by hand of course) with a dark brown Micron (0.1) pen. After I "tangled" her dress and the stump...I shaded it all with dark brown and burnt sienna Prismacolor pencils. I stipple-brushed around her with some brown ink and that was that.  I love how she just sort of camouflage-blends in with the stump she's leaning on. But if you look closely, you can still see where she ends and the stump begins. I even found ribbon in my stash that had a Zentangly pattern on it! How cool is that?

Here's a detail shot of my coloring and Zentangling: 

What do you think of my VERY FIRST attempt at Zentangle-Inspired Art and No-Line coloring??? I'm SO hooked. Don't be surprised if I start Zentangling EVERYTHING.

I'm not kidding.

Ingredients:
Sun Flower Girl - A Day For Daisies
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
Micron pen - Sakura
Ribbon - Hobby Lobby
Gems - Michaels
flowers - Michaels
Chalk Ink - Colorbox
Kraft cardstock

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

July 15, 2012

Feelin' Sporty

Greetings sports fans,

Torrey here with another challenge-o-rama from Kenny K's Krafty Krew! Thank you to all y'all who participated in our birthday celebration-lollapalooza. It was a blast, wasn't it? So much talent in this design team...I can hardly stand it!!!

Me and my fellow Team B-sters got together to present this week's challenge:
"GET SPORTY"
To play along, you need to make something with an "active" theme. Now, I know most of y'all will go for traditional sporty themes like football, baseball, basketball or soccer...but, I personally challenge y'all to get creative with the "activity" you choose for your theme. I mean, think of the possibilities??? You could do a card featuring: underwater basket weaving, watermelon chucking, turkey tossing, kitten juggling*, ...WHATEVER...as long as it's kinetic.

I chose surfing. Don't know why. 

It's not like I've ever actually been surfing. Let's face it, there just aren't a WHOLE lot of opportunities to go surfing in Texas or Colorado (where I grew up)...unless you count snowboarding on avalanches--but I wouldn't recommend that. Yeah.

I used the totally buff "Surfer Dude" image for my card. I colored him up with my Prismacolor pencils (of course), then I coated his wetsuit with clear lacquer so that it actually looks...wet. Go figure. I did him in layers (hard to tell by the photo) but he and his surfboard are all paper-toled out into 4 layers so it's super dimensional. 

I just LoVe the background paper...it's so funky and fun and creates such a sense of movement! And now that I look at it...it reminds me of giant octopus tentacles. COOL.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:


Ingredients:
Surfer Dude - Kenny K
Patterned paper - Cosmo Cricket
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
black gems - Prima
Magic Mesh
cardstock
clear lacquer

* No kittens were harmed in the making of this post. But turkeys...well, they're fair game (or is that foul game?)



July 11, 2012

A Rose By Any Other Name...

...would be called something else.

Duh.

It's time for the monthly sketch over at Bombshell Stamps! As always, our sketch is brought to us by our fearless leader, Kathi! Here's what we have to work from:

And, as always, I took liberties. I mean, I live in America...that's part of our constitution. Heck, we even have a Statue of Liberty. So, it's my constitutional right to...um...take liberties with this sketch. AMIRIGHT?

I was in a very subtle mood today as far as card making is concerned. YES, I can be subtle. Quit rolling your eyes. I was thinking about day trips we used to take when I was a kid and as I was looking through my Bombshell stamps, I was reminded of the Teller House saloon in Central City, Colorado that has this face painted on the bar room floor.  Here is the painting.

It was painted by an artist named Herndon Davis in 1936--who had been commissioned to paint some pictures on the walls of the neighboring Opera House. The story goes that he got into an "artistic disagreement" with the hotel manager who ordered him to either quit or get fired. In an act spontaneous rebellion, he snuck down to the bar in the middle of the night, and with the help of a bellboy who held a candle for him...he painted this portrait (of his wife) right smack in the middle of the wooden floor of the bar. The staff of the bar claim that it's supposed to be representative of the poem written by Hugh Antoine D'Arcy titled "The Face On The Bar Room Floor". But in reality, it probably was just a final nose-thumbing gesture of defiance at the staff that fired Davis.

This picture is what inspired me to do my card. So, here is what I came up with. I colored the image very lightly on Kraft cardstock. I found out that it is very challenging to add "subtle" color to things. I never realized what a heavy hand I've developed when it comes to laying down color on images. There are still something like 4 layers of color on here, all done with the a wispy stroke and the pressure of a feather. After I colored her,  I ran her through my Wizard and embossed it with a "woodgrain" pattern and inked the surface to bring out the grain texture. Then I cut it apart and turned the image into planks. I call my creation:

The Face on the Run-Down Fence


Ingredients:
Stamps - Bombshell Stamps (Rose's Portrait)
Woodgrain texture plate - Fiskars
Cuttlebug embossing folder - Provo Craft (Floral Fantasy)
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
chalk ink - Clearsnap
brads - Creative Impressions
Versamark Ink - Tsukineko

So, head on over to the Bombshell Stamps blog and enter your take on the sketch for a chance to win some FaBuLoUs Bombshell Stamps prizes! You have until the very last day of July to enter!