Celebrate Art!

Hey everyone!
It's time for another awesome challenge over at Wicked Wednesday.  This week we are sponsored by The Greeting Farm; we are celebrating art!
Art keeps me sane.  When I'm creating, stress just melts away.  The way I see it, there's no right or wrong; even if it doesn't come out the way you imagined, that's ok.  Take a breath and just try again until you feel it's what you want.
So get creative and won't you join us this week?

Background is smeared with Ditto Inkpads
Canvas/easel and paint tube embellishments by Recollections
Lettering by KCompany
Toby the painter by The Greeting Farm, colored with Prismacolor markers

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Mary xoxo

Save the date...

OK everybody!  Mark your calendars.  Cakewalk will be opening its doors on Wednesday, March 28th.  There will be lots of goodies for you to create with.  Stay tuned for updates!

Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

Coming soon...

What?!  Another blog?  YES.
Am I crazy?  No comment.
I've received some suggestions that maybe I should have some of my own digital stamps.  Honestly, the thought never crossed by mind.  But, to have received so much positive input over the last several months, why the heck not?  I'm honored and elated that people actually enjoy my sketches enough to want to create with them.  I'm truly taken away by that.

Over the next several weeks (time and life stuff permitting) I will be planning for this site.  All I can tell you for now is be prepared for EXTREME cuteness!!!!

I hope that I've piqued your interest :)
Thanks for stopping by and keep checking in as I will be posting updates.  If all goes well, I should be up and running by the end of March.
Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

I hope you dance...

Hello there!
A quick post before I call it a day.  Here's my last minute submission to Art with No Boundaries: Let the Dancer Inside You Escape; I hope I make it in time!
I've recently discovered Melonheadz; I absolutely adore her style!

Be you own kind of beautiful...
and get down with your bad self!
Image and sentiment by Melonheadz
heart and strawberry stamps - my stash

I love this fairy ballerina monkey.  She's so carefree :)
Thanks for stopping by.
Mary xoxo

Cute little easter basket...

Found a cool challenge blog, which is new to me, the other day.  Whoopsie Daisy has the cutest images.  I went with a 4x4 chunky page and kept it simple.  I wanted the image to be the main focus.

Colored with Prismacolor markers
I printed her out a few times to layer and add dimension

Here's a better angle to see the dimension I added with foam dots.

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!
Mary xoxo

Seeing Red...

Another Friday, another challenge over at Dilly Beans.  This week we are seeing red...
It's one of my favorite colors, but I find it hard to work with because it doesn't photograph well (at least for me).  Anyway, second to my love of apples are strawberries!  I instantly fell in love with this little fairy by Crystalline Coley; go check out her deviant art gallery.  I'm starting to experiment with Prismacolor markers --the colors are amazing!

I used foam dots to give her dimension...her little legs are popping out of the card and so are the three little strawberries.  Can't really tell from the photo.

Prismacolor markers
Cupcake and Flower brads by Recollections
Butterfly border and butterfly punch by EKSuccess
Berry sentiment by Tiddly Inks

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Mary xoxo

It's story time...

It's no secret that I am a huge Alice in Wonderland fan.  So when I came across the fairytale challenge at Just Some Lines, I just HAD to join!
I made an ATC size accordion "book".

Cute princess stamp from Modes4U, colored with Sharpies
punched butterfly border

I used my Alice in Wonderland set from Modes4U.  I am quite stamped out at the moment...phew.  I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and rest now :)  Thanks for stopping by!
Mary xoxo

UPDATE

Yay! Just found out I won this challenge :)

Be careful what you wish for...

Ok, just a short post today.  Way too much to do...
This is my first Octopode Factory challenge.  The designer's style is creepy cute...love it.  The theme is Valentine's.

Love Potion #9 from Octopode Factory
Sugar Skull from Wonderstrange
Flowers from my stash
Sharpies

Foam dots for dimension

So the other person doesn't feel the same way?  Have them take a sip...they'll be yours forever.  But be careful what you wish for....MWAHAHAHAHA!

OK, off to run errands.  Thanks for stopping by!
Mary xoxo

Happy Spring

Happy and Spring are two words that I would never put together in my world.  Holla if you have allergies!  Although I LOVE flowers in bloom, I will be the one sneezing away despite antihistamines and desperately wanting to tear my eyeballs out and dunk them in ice water.  But, enough about me :)
This week we are sponsored by Michelle Perkett; we got to work with her "happy spring" sentiment.

Birds and berries stamp by Modes4u

I used my kawaii birdie stamp and colored it with my Sharpies.
Happy sneezing, watery, itchy eyes Spring :)
Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

Piggy love...

What a day! There was no Sunday lounging today.  I woke up at 530am to get to a 5 hour pharmacotherapy conference in Queens that started at 730am.  Yeesh.  Thank goodness they had coffee there.  Although the conference was long, it was very informative and I got to catch up with some colleagues from a previous gig.  Then I met up with my parents for some lunch.  I stopped by Whole Foods afterwards to pick up some good eats and by then it was only 4pm...I took a nap.
After recharging, I just had to kick back and make something!  Poured myself a glass of wine, turned on some music and went over my art to do list.  I decided to make something for "Love is in the air" over at Dilly Beans.
Meet Percy and Penny Pig.  They are a new edition to Happy Bunny.  I really like this card because I got to use up a LOT of scraps.

Percy and Penny Pig "Hogs n Kisses" - original characters by me :)
Flower punch by McGill
Butterfly punch by EK Success
Ribbon from my stash

I'm going to pour myself another glass of merlot :)  Thanks for stopping by!
peace and love,
Mary xoxo

Wicked Wednesday reminder / Forever yours...

Hey everyone!
Happy Saturday :)
It's been a nice winter this year.  Nice = not too much snow.  There's still a nice, crisp chill in the air.  Things have been rough lately.  Fortunately, Music and Art allow me to regain my perspective so I'm not reduced to a nervous pile of dust under all this stress.  But, let's not forget my awesome friends, old and new.  All the positive input, love and support means a lot to me. So this isn't just another Wicked Wednesday reminder post.  It's also a reminder to cherish all of the people you hold dear.  Unlike Bo and BunBun, we don't live forever.  Don't put off what you can do today.  Don't forget to let people know that you love them.

Bo and BunBun the Undead Bunny couple
Who ever said there was no forever?
Characters by me :)
Ink, heart stickers by K Company

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

I put a spell on you...

Hi there, happy Wednesday!
Do we have any Nina Simone fans out there?  I love her soulful voice and this week's challenge made me think of her rendition of "I Put a Spell on You".  Our sponsor this week is the Dilly Beans designer, Megan! The theme is Valentine's/LOVE.  Say hello to Ragdoll Ruby :)

He loves me, he loves me not...He loves me, he loves me not...
Why won't he LOVE me??!!! BE MINE, OR ELSE!

She's sweet...yet is there a touch of darkness in those shiny button eyes of hers?  I added a skellie daisy to her hair (she had a bow in the original design) and I punked out with my fave color scheme: Red/Pink, Grey/Black and white.  I stamped my BUNCH OF LOVE by Stampers Best and colored it with my markers. (hearts with buttons? ...perfect to go with Ruby!)
Valentine's Day is cool; but, I believe that if you love someone, you love them 365 days of the year :)
Make sure you go over to Wicked Wednesday and check out the rest of DT's awesome designs!
Have a wonderfully dark Valentine's.
Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

Love you forever and ever...

Wow! Weekends are just too short!  Squeezing in my second and final post for the evening and then I'm off to bed.
Errands, chores and engagements all done and my time to relax amid the Superbowl = crafty time :)
There's another cool theme at Dilly Beans: Zombie Love
I went for a shaped easel card this time and we are introducing a new character too!  This is different from Happy Bunny...it's the parallel universe of Undead Bunny!!!  We first met Bun Bun here.  Now we get to meet her sweetheart, Bo:

Bo the Undead Bunny
Ink

Front of card
Butterfly punch from EK Success
Flower punch from McGill
Flowers from Michaels
Bo Bunny by me :)

This is what the card looks like opened

Sentiment by Digital Doodling
I found these really cool heart gem paperclip embellishments at Michaels.  Perfect for holding my sentiment and holding up the easel card!

Bo's trying to tell Bun Bun that she makes his heart flutter, HA!
Thanks for stopping by, sweet dreams!
Mary xoxo

Horsing around...

Happy Saturday everyone!
I'm here to remind you to check out the Wicked Wednesday Mermaid/Sea Monster Challenge that's sponsored by Just Some Lines.  Enter your awesome creation for a chance to win the cute mermaid!
I had previously created a Merbunny for our Under the Sea Challenge a couple of weeks ago...so I went with a lil sea monster for this week's reminder post...

Say hello to Haylee the Happy Hippocamp!
Sentiment from Words Imagined

The Hippocamp: the mythological ancestor of our modern day seahorses.  These creatures are the main means of transportation for Poseidon, king of the sea.
I sketched the uppper horse body in the style of <flashback to the 1980s> My Little Pony and added a digi fish tail.
She's on her way over to Merbunny's for lunch :)
Have a great weekend!
Peace and love,
Mary xoxo

A pair of fine finned friends...

I love the feeling of having something to look forward to!  Especially when it's fun and you get to share :)  I'm talking about Wicked Wednesday challenges of course!  The DT I get to work with is awesome.  Everyone's so creative, upbeat and positive.  How did I get so lucky?  There is definitely no lack of inspiration from this wonderful group.  So I decided to create something related to friendship with this week's Mermaid/Sea Monster theme.  This adorable mermaid is from Just Some Lines.

Emma: What do you want to do today?
Pinkie: I heard there's a sale on seashells at the mall.
BOTH: Buy one, get one!
Pinkie: Let's go.  I'll go call the sea turtle sea service!
Awesome sentiment from Scrap a licious Times :)

I hope that this made you smile :)  Thanks for swimming by.

Oh, and make sure you stop by Wicked Wednesday to check out the rest of the DT's creations! Have a great day.

Peace and love,
Mary xoxo