Mixed Media Floral Canvas

I am visiting a friend tomorrow night.  She and her husband just bought their first home and I wanted to take them a little house warming gift.  I also know that Tamela appreciates the things I make and will cherish this little canvas.

I have this new stamp from Tammy Tutterow (actually I have a Home Sweet Home stamp from her that I wanted to use but I put it in one of the safe places) so I used this stamp instead.  I love the saying.

I am playing along with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which is a Tic Tac Toe.  I used  the spray, stencil, stamp row.

I made the blue flowers from a Tammy Tutterow Spellbinders floral die cut.  The lace flowers I justed gathered up and they kinda look like a rose (kinda).  I found the Prima orange tinted flowers when going through some things.  I tucked in some little silks I had and a couple twine loops.  The ribbon has been floating around my crafting area for a long time.  I kept it because it is beautiful.

It is a six inch canvas.  I used a piece of patterned paper.  I prepped the paper with clear gesso.  The design on the paper shows through.  I did add some green Dylusions paint on top and did a little stenciling with a darker green paint.  It is really hard to see.  I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Ink and used clear embossing powder on it.  I added the two orange hearts using a Stamp from Judith and also the little circle is a stamp from her also.

One trick I have found when trying to layer items on a canvas and tuck things in, you sometimes need some height.  I glued pieces of cardboard onto the orange flowers and also to the bow.  You are better able to tuck all the other flowers in and under the other flowers and bow.  I also wanted a little design to come out from under the florals so I die cut some branch/leaf shapes, painted them green and adhered them with gel medium.  You can see them a little more on the top.  I added some blue embossing paste through a stencil and rubbed the blue around the edge of the canvas also.  To finish the canvas, I misted gold spray in the air and let it fall onto the canvas.  It really gives a nice shine to everything.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my fun canvas.  It may be hard to part with it.

Mixed Media Mojo November Challenge

It is the first of the month and it is time for the new challenge on Mixed Media Mojo.  The challenge this month is Fall with the added element of Metallic.

My project uses a sunflower stamp from Penny Black and lots of other things from my crafts.  The metallic is a gold canvas, gold foliage and gold spray.

I had a terrible time getting a picture of this art piece.  A gold canvas produces lots of glare and the sun has not been shining in Wisconsin for a good outdoor shot.

On Wednesday I will have a "how to" on this blog and the Mixed Media Mojo blog.

Please stop over to the Mixed Media Mojo blog and join us for the November challenge.

Mixed Media Mojo September Challenge

It is the first of the month and time for a new monthly challenge on Mixed Media Mojo.  The challenge this month is Back to School with the added element of Book Pages.

Yes today is the day our students go back to school.  We can't start school until September 1.  I remember when we started in August.  Of course, the weather is going to be very hot and very muggy for the first days.  The poor teachers with all those smelly bodies in the classroom.

I decided to make a small canvas.

The canvas is covered with book pages.  A layer of gesso was added to the book pages.  The yellow color is a combination of two distress inks.  I love how the color turned out.  I have accumulated many dictionaries so I cut the definition of "teach" out of several of them to place on the canvas.  The A, apple and notebook edge were cut with my Silhouette.  I colored them with paint and then used Brushed Corduroy distress ink to add color/shading to the letter and apple.  I had also used the ink on the yellow.  Everything was adhered to the canvas with gel medium.  Embossing paste was added in two corners for some extra texture.  I then dug out my rub ons and started adding them to the canvas.

 I struggled with this challenge but I am very happy with how the canvas turned out.  I believe it will be a gift to a couple I know who are both teachers.

Please come join us on Mixed Media Mojo with our current challenge.

Mixed Media - ATC's and Canvas

If you are anything like me you buy things, or are given things for your hobby.  I have multiple bottles or containers of flowers.  Many are in little bottles.  In fact, I must confess, I have 2 drawers full of flowers.  I was lucky enough to use one small container of flowers and to then start on a jar.

I am part of a group of cardmakers and we do exchanges. My project for this blog entry was to make ATC's with a flower theme.  I really have no idea how I came up with the idea to make a flower tree.

I first cut out of recycled cereal boxes the cardboard bases for my ATC's.  I then added book pages to the front and back.  A layer of gesso was added .  I then went through my tree stamps (I do have lots of tree stamps) and found a good one for my project.  It had the trunk of the tree and the basic circle for my design.  This is what the ATC looked like before I added  the flowers and sentiment.

I very carefully separated my little flowers into color piles and started layering them. (sorry there are no pictures - I was not home while I did this process)  I spend lots of time at my daughter's and always try to take projects along with me.  I sit outside and work while the dogs run around in the yard.  I first used distress paints watered down to create the background for the trees.  I glued the flowers to the ATC with Glossy Accents.  I built layers until I was happy with how the tree looked and the base was all covered.   As you can see from the image above I had a stamping boo boo so I covered the boo boo with a flower and then added a couple more to resemble falling leaves.  A sentiment was stamped, fussy cut and adhered to the ATC's with gel medium.  As a final step I added a glass/bead gel medium brushed lightly on all the flowers to give them a little sparkle.

I had used up the majority of the flowers but had a bunch of burgundy flowers left so I decided to make a little canvas.  I covered the canvas with book pages and gessoed it.  This time I had to free hand a tree.  Luckily this is not too hard.  I painted the gessoed background.  Once again I started adding layers of flowers on top to make the tree shape.  I did my own sentiment and cut it out.  It was an experiment.  I had fun I did add some gesso around the edge of the canvas and the glitter/glass gel medium on top of the flowers.  

Dig out those flowers and go to town.  Make them into something unusual.  

Christmas in July

Christmas in July – time to start working on your projects for the holidays.  This is the challenge at Mixed MediaMojo.  The extra twist is to use a Santa on your project. 

 I started with a canvas board.  It measures  6 x 8.  I covered the board with part of a carry out bag from Panera.  I love this muted pattern on the kraft.  It was adhered to the board with gel medium.  After it had dried, I put a layer of clear gesso on the paper.  I did not want to lose the background color but wanted some bite for the layers to be added.

The Santa for this piece is chipboard from My Mind’s Eye from 2013.  He is super cute but needed to be more vintage looking.  I took  distress ink and rubbed it across the Santa to give it a more vintage, mellowed look.  Well I didn’t quite like that so I started adding in some color on the jacket trim, the gift bag, belt and gloves. 

The clear gesso covered all the muted pattern on the kraft paper so I decided to just start adding some paint.  I put on blue distress paint.  I then used crackle paste through a stencil.  After it was dry I rubbed green, brown and red distress paint on it.  Now the fun with begin - Adding all the layers of stuff. 

I adhered the chipboard with gel medium.  I also used gel medium on the baubles.  The canvas seemed a little naked in the corners so I found this green trim and added it to two corners.  The edge of the canvas has a copper metallic paint along the edges.

So on those hot summer days, get out some of your Christmas stuff and start creating beautiful projects.

Mixed Media Mojo June Challenge

How did it get to be June 1 already?  May was a super busy month for me if you will notice I had very few posts on my blog.  I did do something creative which I will share this week.  I just have not had the time to post.

But June 1 means it is time for a new challenge on the Mixed Media Mojo challenge blog.

Summer can mean many things.  For me, it means flowers.  I love to watch the different flowers bloom throughout the summer.  A tealish color is one of my favorite colors in all shades so I chose to do my project in that monochromatic color scheme.

I bought two bottles of acrylic paint - a light shade and a dark shade.  I had a embossing enamel called sea glass and the teal pleated canvas trim which is along the bottom.

The tag is a Paper Smooches die.  The tag is made from painted book page.  I stamped over the tag with a background stamp with a Hero Arts teal colored ink.  The sentiment is from Dina Wakely.  I thought it was very appropriate for the new path I am taking in my life in July - retirement.

The flowers are a combination of purchased flowers and handmade flowers.  Starting on the upper right side the two little flowers were white felt which I painted.  The large flower was a book page that was painted front and back and I cut out a flower with my Silhouette and layered it together.  The polka dot flower was also cut with the Silhouette from patterned paper.  The next light teal flower was also cut with the Silhouette.  The last three flowers were in my flower stash and I just added acrylic paint to make them coordinate.

The lace trim with the polka dot paper woven through was actually cream colored.  I put the lace in a watered down acrylic paint and let it dry.

The canvas board was painted with gesso and then acrylic paint.  The floral background is a Hero Arts background stamp.  I inked it with VersaMark and used Sea Glass Enamel powder from the Rubber Cafe.  Unfortunately it did not stamp all the way across but it is amazing what the tag and flowers can cover.

The upper left corner seemed off balance so I used some scalloped die cuts.  Inked them with VersaMark and used the Sea Glass enamel on them.

I then started layering.  The tag does have a double layer of foam tape on the back so it pops up a little higher.  Luckily I had those sparkly dots in my supplies which matched perfectly and were used for flower centers and on the tag.

I really love how the canvas turned out.  I now want more of that enamel in different colors.

Come join us at Mixed Media Mojo this month and create a summer mixed media project.

Creativity - Mixed Media Canvas

The monthly challenge on the Faber Castell blog by Mou is CREATIVITY. How are you creative, your favorite creativity quote, is creativity your life style or just a hobby... whatever it means to you, create a project around the idea of creativity.

Being creative is such a wonderful part of my life.  It brings some beauty to each day that I am able to create.  It eases some of the hardness of the day or makes a good day even better.  But everyone will tell you I work in a mess.  A horrible mess so I thought this quote was quite appropriate for me.

Creativity is messy and I am very creative.  

This is a 5 x 7 canvas that I gessoed.  I added several shades of paint on top of the gesso.  I took the Tim Holtz splatter stencil because I thought it looked messy to add the brighter orange color on the back.  I added some blue paint through another stencil.  The flower was cut with my Silhouette.  I needed something to ground my sentiment.  The sentiment was generated on the computer and colored with watered down paint.  I stamped the circles and colored them green.  I added texture paste through a stencil in several locations on the stencil.  On top of the black flower I brushed a layer of Glitter and Bead Gel.  It really sparkles.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I did enjoy my creative therapy this week end.  

Oldie Moldie Monday Goes Mixed Media

On Monday's I always try to use old supplies.  This Monday if you scratched the surface you would find a very old piece of patterned paper in pink and brown.  I have a drawer of very old pink and brown paper.  The coffee cup stamp is very old also.

I am combining three challenges for this post.  The first challenge is the monthly challenge on the Faber Castell blog Design Memory Craft.  Mou is challenging us to post about our favorite beverage.

My favorite beverage is coffee.  I have to start my day with coffee.  I make sure I take the first thirty minutes of my morning savoring that first and second cup of coffee.  After that - I can face my day.

I searched Pinterest for the perfect coffee quote.  I found several but decided to use this one.  Some mornings, this is exactly how I feel about my first cup of coffee.

This is a piece of recycled chipboard which I adhered patterned paper to it with gel medium.  I applied a very light coat of gesso over it.  After that I applied some pink acrylic paint and then wiped some of the paint off exposing some of the lower layers.  I have a Tim Holtz stencil that looks like coffee stains.  I added that to the front of the image with a brown gelato.  The image was stamped on tissue paper and then color was added to the backside of the tissue paper.  When you apply the tissue paper to your base with gel medium it melts into the background.

The sentiment was computer generated, cut into strips and colored with distress paint.  Tim's new January color.  I adhered that to the front of the base.  The words were then outlined with a brown marker.  I have several small stamps I like to use on my projects.  I love that circle.  You can stamp it and then add color.  I used the Big Brush to add some brighter pink.  I took another stencil and my white Big Brush pen and just colored the circles in in different areas.  I like how the white softens the colors.  I then took the bright pink Big Brush and brushed it along the outside edges and underneath the cup to ground it.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I am also entering it into the monthly challenge at Mixed Media Monthly which is Think Pink.

It is also being entered in the Creative Corner challenge which is a Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I used the middle row:  Paints, Stamps and Stencils.

I hope you have had your first cup of coffee and you are able to enjoy my coffee creation.

Mixed Media Mojo February Challenge

It is the first of the month.  Time for the monthly challenge on Mixed Media Mojo.  It is a fun challenge this month.

It is February - the month of love - and what color is associated with Valentine's Day - Red.  The Twist for the month is Wings.

Of course, I did not do Valentine's Day.  I flew off (get it wings) in my own direction.  I had bought this lovely set of bird stamps designed by Dina Wakley for Ranger Ink.  The set is called Scribbly Birds.  Quite a fun set.  I know I will get lots of use out of the four different birds in the set and the sentiments also.

Here is my creation.  I will giving you a step out on February 11 so if you want to know how I made this canvas, please stop by the Mixed Media Mojo blog that day.

I think it is so cheerful.  It looks like Mr. Bluebird is standing on his tipee toes on the branch.  You notice there is red in two corners.

I do hope you join us on the blog this month with your mixed media project.

Monthly Faber-Castell Challenge

It is that time of the month when Mou posts her monthly challenge on the Faber-Castell blog.  Thc challenge this month is January: the first month of the year! A time of making new resolutions, fresh starts, starting again. It's the time of new beginnings. Your challenge this month is to create anything to celebrate new beginnings. 

This is a 5 x 7 canvas board.  It is a gift for a young lady in her 20's who has ventured forth to live her dream.  I know that she can do it but she sometimes battles her demons and they try to break her wonderful spirit.  One of the demons right now is also cancer.

The canvas represents being positive.  You have two choices - glass is half full or half empty - choose the positive one - choose the sunshine not the rain.  Although that monkey looks pretty happy in the rain.  Must be the snazzy little slicker and boots she is wearing.

Why a monkey - she loves monkeys.  Why a huge orange sun - aren't suns yellow - well orange is her favorite color.

I covered the canvas with gesso.  I just plopped some gesso on the board and then I took a paper towel and blobbed it around the canvas so I got some different texture - not the normal paint brush nothingness.  I then colored the gesso with gelatos.  I scribbled them on and then smeared them with my hands and some water.  The monkey was stamped on a gessoed piece of a book page and colored with different mediums.  He was glued to the canvas with gel medium.  The sun was a combination of different mediums to achieve the color I wanted.  I stamped the sentiment.  I added the little flowers last because I thought that added to the sunshine.  I used the Glass Bead Glitter Gel on the sun and also on parts of the monkey.  I added some texture with Whipped Spackle and a stencil.

I finished the canvas off with one of the Big Brush Pens around the edge (bright pink) and softening the edges with my fingers.

I know it will maker my friend smile and hopefully it will help her stay positive in this next big adventure called life.

A Little Distressing on Oldie Moldie Monday

Monday - time to show some love for your old supplies.  Once again I had this idea swirling around in my head and I had to get it out.  I took a break from cleaning to do a little creating.  I needed to get this idea out of my head.  It is a combination of old and new.  It is an old stamp.  The flourish is an old die cut  with old gold Stickles on it.  The Merry Christmas ribbon is old.  The doily is old and so is the fabric I used for the accent and the bow.  The Authentique paper is new but the other print is old.

This is a six inch canvas.  We recently got a new Panera in town and their take out bags have great paper.  The canvas is wrapped in paper from Panera.  The dark brown that Santa is mounted on is from the bag along with the pleated brown paper on the side.  I distressed the edges of the stamped image and the matting around it.  I also inked the edges of the canvas.

I am going to enter this into two different challenges.
   
     Virginia View's Challenge - Distressed

     Wednesday - Simon Says - which is Christmas/Holidays

This canvas will be for a special friend who will appreciate the work I put into it.  I think I will make another one for my oldest daughter.

Mixed Media Birthday Canvas

My sweet little Ganny Baby (I am her Ganny Barb) is turning four years old.  How time flies.  She is living in North Carolina so I won't be seeing her until next summer.  I wanted to make her something other than a card - so decided a little canvas would be perfect.  I decided to use some of my Paper Smooches stamps.  The challenge on the Paper Smooches Spark Challenge blog this week is Anything Goes.  Yeah!!

I prepped a 5 x 5 canvas with Gesso.  I then painted a loose landscape scene of the canvas.  Sky and grass - very loose landscape.  I stamped the sentiment, sun and unicorn on watercolor paper.  They were colored with a variety of gelatos, distress paint and distress ink.  The hearts were stamped on an old magazine page, colored and cut out.  I stamped the clouds on the canvas and then put a layer of Gesso on the inside.  I added Whipped Texture Medium on top of the design and swirled it around so it has great dimension.  After it was a little dry, I took a glass bead/glitter gel medium and put on top of the clouds.  I also used the glitter gel medium on top of the sentiment.  All the stamped/colored images were adhered to the canvas with gel medium.  I put gel medium over the top of everything to seal it.  Of course, being for a little girl, after using her favorite colors of purple and pink, I had to add glitter.  All the purple on the unicorn has purple Stickles on it.  I finished the side of the canvas with some patterned paper.

If you would like to buy your own Paper Smooches stamps, you can find their online store at this link.

I am also entering this in the monthly challenge at Mixed Media Monthly Challenge where the challenge this month is to use stamps.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Time for Another Mixed Media Mojo Challenge

Thanks, Thankful, Give Thanks, Thank You - words we need to say more often especially the Thanks and Thank You.  Thankful is such a wonderful word.  Our challenge in the lovely monthly of November at Mixed Media Mojo is Thanks, Thankful, Give Thanks, Thank You.  You can make some wonderful mixed media projects with those words as your inspiration.

Here is my project.

This is a canvas.  I painted several layers of paint on the canvas which you can see the colors peeking through.  To get the great texture I spread acrylic paint on a piece of burlap and kept pressing it across the canvas.  I love how that worked.

The sunflower is very dimensional and if you come back later in the month on the Mixed Media Mojo site I will be giving details on how you can make this flower yourself.  It is really so easy.

I added a border of paper around the canvas.  At this point I did not know if I liked my canvas but I had bought a fat quarter of fabric and one of the dots matches the color of the plaid paper perfectly.  I added torn strips of the fabric on top of the paper.  The sentiment was found on Pinterest - just do a search for thankful quotes and all kinds of great projects show up.  I created the quote on my computer and then cut it out.  I distressed the words with ink and then added the little border around the edges.   Another piece of fabric was used for the stem and leaves.  I added a couple buttons and my project was finished.

What are you thankful for - take a moment and reflect upon it.  Right now in my life I am so thankful for my family.  I have two wonderful daughters but right now my thoughts are very much with my mother and my aunt.  Both facing battles with health.  Both wonderful women and I am so thankful I have had them as wonderful examples of how to live and love.

Go get your stuff out and create a project based on those wonderful inspirational words.

Oldie Moldie Monday, Unity Stamps and SRM Stickers

Boom - they all collide and out of the dust comes a little fall canvas.  It is a very whimsical canvas because there are no leaves - just dots of paper to give the allusion of leaves.  That is why I say it is whimsical.

It is oldie moldie because the canvas is a $1 canvas that had an image on it for kids to paint.  I always picked them up because hey - it was a cheap 5 x 5 canvas.  I have had the stamp for awhile.  The SRM Sticker has been hanging out in my crafting area for a couple years.  You get so many stickers on a sheet it is hard to use them all up.

I covered the canvas with a page from a dictionary.  I used gel medium to adhere it to the canvas.  I then applied a layer of gesso.  I stamped the tree with VersaMark and used brown embossing powder.  The background was painted with distress paints.  The sentiment strip was painted with three colors of distress ink.

I am going to enter this into the monthly challenge at Unity Stamps.  You have a choice:  a picture to inspire your color selection or a sketch.  I chose the colors. I used different pieces of paper to coordinate with the colors in the inspiration picture.  I get so much use out of my little hand punch.

I am also entering it into the SRM Monthly challenge.  This time my project is inspired by the picture in the challenge.  The colors and the leaves.  (I used whimsical leaves.)

I am also going to enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which is "falling love with...".  I really am falling in love with mixed media.  I guess I just like to get my hands all goopy but I sure am having lots of fun.

It was kinda fun for me to be able to actually have my oldie moldie Monday creation work itself into a couple challenges.

Enjoy your Monday.  One day closer to the week end.

Friends With Flair and Mixed Media

It is Friday - and I always try to use some Unity Stamps on Friday to share in their Friends With Flair challenge/share.

I have had this little project in my head for awhile.  I am going to make these for 4 very special women in my life.  They are my Ya Ya's.  We lost one of our Ya Ya's to breast cancer several years ago so it makes them even more special to me.  We kinda like to have a drink or two once in awhile so that is why this is so fun.  Plus one of our Ya Ya's winters in the Keys and several of us have visited her there.

 
This is a set that Unity made exclusively for Archiver's.  We use to have a store in Madison and I do miss being able to have paper therapy when I go to see my Mom.  Now I get paper therapy when I go to see my daughter in the Milwaukee area.  I even have a step out for you today on how I made the project.

The 4 x 4 canvas is covered with a page from an old dictionary.  I apply the dictionary page to the canvas with gel medium.

I then paint over the canvas with gesso.

I had bought a new pad of paper and it had some blue patterned paper in it.  It was basically blue on blue - a very subtle design.  I was hoping to achieve this same look with acrylic paint and then using different stencils and varying shades of blue paint and gelatos.

I did achieve the look I wanted.  It is amazing how the same color on top of the same color but in a slightly different shade can make such a subtle background.  

I then stamped my Santa on more pieces of gessoed dictionary pages.

I colored the Santas with various gelatos, Big Pens and anything else that helped me get the look I wanted.  Santa is dressed in some wackier colors but hey he is having his afternoon toddy.

Ok now I stopped taking pictures.  I am working on trying to do a complete tutorial so you will have to picture the steps in your head.  I stamped the sentiment.  I could not get the 5:00 to turn out so I decided to just write it on the paper myself.  I adhered the image and sentiment with gel medium.  I carefully added gel medium over the top of the entire project to protect it.  I added a few snowflake rub ons and flourishes.  I use to  hoard rub ons so mixed media is a great way to use them.  I added texture paste down at the bottom to make it look like a snowbank.  I also rubbed Stickles over the top to give it some sparkle.  Swiped some gesso around the edges and called it completed.

If you notice, I flipped my canvas again.  The triangles were supposed to be on the left side well they are on the top in the finished project.

I am also placing this on the Monday challenge on Simon Says Stamp which is to use stencils.

I really like how it turned out and I know my Ya Ya's will enjoy it also.

Happy Friday.

Design Team Post

I did my first tutorial as a Design Team Member for the Mixed Media Mojo Challenge blog.

Please stop over and let me know what you think of my step by step - I know I need to take more pictures next time.

Make sure you enter the monthly challenge which is Fall and to use embossing paste.

Paper Smooches Spark Challenge

Back to trying to play with my Paper Smooches stamps each week.  I try to play along with the weekly challenge at the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge Blog.  The challenge this week is anything goes.  Yeah - I like anything goes.  I have been wanting to play with this coffee set for a long time so decided to make a little mixed media project.

Sometimes when I am out shopping I pick up little things that I think I will someday alter.  Usually they are pretty inexpensive.  This is a small plaque that measures - 2.75 x 4 inches.  I covered it with a book page which is applied to the plaque with gel medium.  I then applied a layer of gesso.  I used another challenge for my color inspiration and will share that picture a little later.  I took the pink, yellow and aqua from the picture for my colors.  The first color laid down was a yellow gelato - then I added layers of pinks and blues with more gelatos.  I stamped the cups on more gessoed book pages and then colored them with distress paints.  I hate to tell you it took me 3 times to get that blue cup correct.  I smeared the ink (I am not patient).  I had a good cup done and then noticed I had colored the inside of the handle blue also.  Well that didn't work so back to the stamping.  I added the cups with gel medium.  The sentiment was stamped on more book paper and applied with gel medium.  I added some embossing paste that I colored with distress paint through a stencil.  Added a few rub ons.  I think it is a fun little project.

The colors were inspired by this challenge from The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

If you want to get your own Paper Smooches stamps, just pop over to their online store.  Check out their weekly challenge.

Messing Around with Mixed Media

I have been doing bunches of messing with canvas, paint, gelatos, gesso, stencils, embossing paste, my Silhouette Cameo.  I have been having fun.

I had this lovely purplish paper bag so I glued it to my canvas with gel medium.  Isn't that pretty.

The I started layering all kinds of things on top of that pretty paper.

then some more stuff.

I believe at this point I laid a stencil over the top and dabbed teal paint through it.  It just adds another dimension to the canvas.  I then cut a flower and words with my Cameo Silhouette.  I painted them.

So once again I started adding layers, rub ons, embossing paste that I colored.  It did not turn out as bright as I wanted so I added paint in bright pink.  I then decided I needed to add a little white to balance the white in the letters.  Oh - I also added glitter.  Now do you want to see the final result.  I sure hope so.

Here it is.  I am sending this to a young lady who I am so proud of.  She has accomplished so much and overcome some bumps on the road.  I know she will appreciate this.

I am going to enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog where the challenge is to Go Boldly.  It is very vibrant.

Thanks for stopping by.