Giveaway Results!

Hello to all you wonderful Blog Buddies! 

I hope you all know how much I appreciate you entering my little Giveaway!  It means so much to me to have a supportive group of kick-butt, artsy-fartsy, doing what they love, Girls out there cheering me on!

I wish I could send each one of you something from my heart....but since I can't afford the postage, I'm going to make it a gigantic, over-the-top, better brace yourself cuz it's coming Cyber ((HUG)) !!!  I really am so lucky to have found Blogging and all of you in the process :D

Okay, so enough of the mushy stuff....I'll get to it now.....

But first......

Thought I'd show you this...and prolong the anticipation a tiny bit more....heehee ;P

It is called a Whimsy Pocket made from a paper towel roll.  This is my first one made for a swap over at Tee's The Altered Paper blog.  She hosts many different types of fun swaps.  Check it out if you need a fun little project :)

Here's the back.

...and here's the one I received from Mary at LimeLight Art Works.

Here's all the goodies she put inside....

I know, I know....you're wondering who is the winner of the goodies I'm giving....

Okay, but before I tell you.....look at these:

Does their cuteness make up for me being a booger and making you wait just a tad longer?

No?!

Well, then, I musn't keep you on edge a moment longer!
If you are new around here....I have to tell you that I don't use Random Generator for my giveaways.

I don't know why....it would probably be a heck of a lot easier....I wouldn't have to worry about getting a photo of the whole ordeal or hurting my head trying to think of ideas that are clever...
I guess I'm just a nut :)

So, this time....I decided I would flip the pages of a book while my blindfolded Daughter (my always eager assistant) dropped a toy whale onto the pages.  The corresponding page number would be the winner :)

Does anyone have any clue why I picked a whale, by chance?  The first person to get it right will get a little goodie just for humoring me...haha!

Anyways.....without further ado.....

The winner is:

# 39 !!

Congrats to you, Marty!

Marty just loves vintage items...she opened an Etsy store recently with some cute things in it if you like vintage, too. 

Um....as for the rest of my beloved blog friends......are those cyber hugs wearing a little thin?  I'm sorry....I hope to have another Giveaway sooner than later....because I love you guys so much!

In the meantime...there is a little Giveaway happening at  Judy's place for a gift certificate to purchase some really gorgeous jewelry :D

Here's an example......

Feeling that hug again now, aren't you....haha!

Really, though....my life is richer for knowing all of you!  Thanks so much :D

Warm thoughts,

Cameron

Museum Finds Missing Work!

This just in!  A painting that has been missing from the Looking Glass Art Museum has just been recovered!  This piece, a historical portrait of a Wonderland Celebrity went missing just hours after it was donated to the Museum by Theodore M. Hatter in the days of The Red Queen.

It seems to have been residing in the Gift Shop, covered in ornate wrapping paper and tied with black and white ribbon. Having just assumed this was a mere prop for the store window....employees of the museum left it on display for decades...but did mention a bizarre feeling of dread when touching it.

Yesterday, a shop employee noticed a small tear in the paper revealing what appeared to be an eye peering from the hole....

Upon further investigation, agents carefully removed the dazzling paper to find The Lost Alice Portrait inside...the eye in question belonging to the well known Sinister Mister White who, as the tales say, lured the innocent girl down his rabbit hole so long ago...for reasons unknown.....

No other clues have been found other than an attached tag in elegant penmanship reading, "Merry Un-Birthday, Dear Alice.  I forgive you for trying to scurry away."

Mixed Media Acrylic on 11 x 14 inch canvas

I created this painting for Shayla at The Inexplicable Rabbit for a trade. She loves cute and eerie things, pretty girls with ornaments in their hair....and, of course, as her Blog name implies....bunnies!
I tried to incorporate it all :D

Everything went as planned up until the last moment when, after applying crackle finish, pen marks my daughter had drawn on the canvas that I painted many, many layers over, bled through in a most strange and ghostly way.

Luckily, Shayla just thinks they add to the painting's charm :)

I'm so happy to be linking this to Paint Party Fridays!  Yay!
Please have a looksey at the other participants and feel free to join in :)

Hope you enjoyed my little yarn....for more Madness, check out Vanessa Valencia's Mad Tea Party Invitation!  I had such a Wonderlandful time last year!

Off I go....tra la la...anyone suddenly dying for a scone?!

Giggles and maybe a bit of maniacal laughter mixed in....heeheehee!

Cameron ;D

P.S. Don't forget my Giveaway ends Monday!  Please enter if you haven't done so already :)

Oldies, but Goodies

Hi Everyone!

Do you have old artwork of yours around your house?  Stuff that you created that's really not worthy of selling...but too nice to throw away?   Maybe they tell a little story that you are reminded of when you find them again?

I was looking thru my dusty portfolio just now....and ran across this....

I drew this in Prismacolor Pencil and ink back in 2005.... I called it "Contemplation".
I had not really worked solely in colored pencils before this drawing....and haven't done any after, either...haha!

This was also the year I had this brilliant plan to paint 12 new pieces and make a calendar of my art for Christmas gifts...

Unfortunately, this idea is still on my to do list...lol!  But, I did manage to paint this with the idea of it being April's image....

watercolor on paper, 2005

...and then, there's this piece...done 16 years ago! (I was 16 years old at the time)...Wow, that seems like such a long time ago....and yet, I can still remember sitting at the kitchen table after everyone else was asleep with my art supplies scattered around me, drawing this....
Not much has changed :)

It was a gift for my grandparents one year for Christmas....my grandpa loved birds...

I look at this piece and it reminds me, not only of them, but of the young girl I was once...the girl who wanted nothing more than to be an artist when she grew up!
I'm still working on both :D

pastel on paper, 1989

I hope you enjoyed this little blast from my artistic past :D
I'd love to hear what you thought you'd be doing now...heehee!

Hope you all have the things you love scattered about you today!!!
Hugs,
Cameron

Random Goodness :o)

Hello Everyone!

I've been feeling so good the last couple days!  It has rained off and on here...and I LOVE it! The sounds of the intermittent rain...

....the big gray clouds on the horizon that suddenly part and let a bit of sunshine thru....the chilliness that makes you need to grab a pair of socks and a hot mug of something soothing!  I'm enjoying every minute of it.
I ventured into the backyard after the rain stopped to snap these pics for you!

You can see the raindrops here on my favorite rose :)

Our Tomatoes and Snap peas are almost ready to pick...

I always get so mentally energized on these kinds of days!  It was so hot a couple weeks back, giving me a glimpse of what Summertime holds for us in the near future, so I am thoroughly enjoying this revisiting of coolness :)

I dropped my daughter off at Preschool today and spent 2 hours perusing the book aisles of my local Goodwill....today just happened to be a 5 for $1.00 day! Wow!

I got 15 wonderful old books with great illustrations like these....

I even picked up a couple of kids' board books to try a little experiment like Betty at PinkGlitterFae.
She sands and gessos the pages and paints in them....really cool!  Please check them out on her blog....they are really neat :)

Oh, and I finally framed the great paperback girls I bought from her a while back....they needed a special touch to really showcase them...

I took these old frames I had and painted them.....matted the girls with a black and white graphic paper, and  I'm totally in love with how they turned out!!

I'm waving to you :)

...and while I'm on the subject of all the great stuff I've gotten from Blog Friends lately, I wanted to make sure I kept my promise to show you what I got from the swap I did with Heather at Ramblings from the Animal House...

She made these sweet, reusable lunchbags for my daughter...

......and this awesome Goddess Pennant for me :)

My friend, Sheree from Raven Moon Magic has sent me many beautiful things in trade for the Raven Song artwork (on my sidebar) some of which are this child's apron with her Paper Moon art on it (for Maggie), pretty zippered pouch and an Original Paper Moon art piece!

...and this gorgeous bunting featuring her art livens up my office/studio now, too!

She has offered an intriguing collaboration idea....we are sending eachother doll makings and then creating with the bits, our own style doll to happily give away....maybe a Pay It Forward listing? Hmmm.... I just might do that....

Anyways....you'll have to stay tuned to see what I come up with...haha!  Never made a doll with a "real" face yet :D

Well, I guess that's it for now....so much on the list to do....including a couple swaps in the works!  Can't wait to get those complete and share them with you...heehee!

Hope you're having a great week!
Thinking about you all....and smiling :D
Cameron

A Purrfect Party

My Little Miss Maggie turned 5 this week.  We had a cat themed party for her this year....and though you couldn't be here in person, I'd love to pretend you were :)

Here's an invitation for you....

You'll know which house it is right away!

(This is made using a calendar photo adhered to cardboard and decorated with scrapbooking embellishments)

The Birthday Girl is waiting for you!

...In her cutest kitty attire. 

Yes, I made both...but the skirt was a first!  It has an elastic waistband and everything!  This is very exciting to me cuz I'm pretty much a sewing novice...heehee....just had to share :)

As you walk in the door, you hear the sound of meowing....

Kittens (from Oriental Trading Co.) waiting for new homes....

Pick out your favorite and fill out an adoption certificate (found these free online) and put on a collar with it's new name (pipe cleaners and cardstock circles with eyelets and jump rings for the tags). 

Btw, that's what happens to pigtails when they're introduced to Mr. Bouncehouse :)

Exhibit A

Haha!

Grab yourself a plate, Hubby just got a new grill!

Oh, and check out the cute kitty banner I made!  It's double-sided so I could hang it up between 2 rooms and have it be viewed by both sides.

There are little strips of the matching fabric between the calendar page flags that I sewed together and cut around the edge with pinking shears.....really livened up the decor.

Oh, and you know those mini pictures on the back of the calendar...I made this smaller banner from them....simply hotglued onto ribbon with alternating circles of a patterned paper.

Click on pics to see them larger :)

Please stop to smell the roses...we just happen to have my all-time favorite rose growing in our backyard.....and I didn't even know it til after we moved in (either I'm not very observant or just plain lucky...heehee....or maybe both ;P)

It's called Double Delight...the white and red one on the right....smells heavenly!!!

And now, it's time to get our sugar high on!

Yes, I made all those cupcake toppers, too....you can't see in the pictures, but they're all accented with glitter glue....cuz everything's better with a bit of sparkle :)

I'm going to tell you a little secret as to how I got the invitations and toppers to match her skirt....

Are you ready?

I couldn't find any plates or decorations that I liked that had cats on them....so I took Maggie to Joann's, where she pick out this fabric...

Then I..and here's my secret....

...color copied it :)

Now I had papergoods to use to coordinate with the tablecloth and her outfit!

 I just used solid colored plates and napkins to compliment the colors...and voila!

A pawsitively wonderful party!

We do hope you enjoyed yourselves!  Thank you so much for coming!

Now, on to creating a cat themed bedroom for her......unfortunately, using an entirely different fabric...haha!

Pounce on over anytime :D

Big Hugs,

Cameron