Here's a couple of different takes on the same theme (sort of). At this site http://www.wga.hu/tours/sistina/index1.html  you can click and view different scenes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, zoom in, view background information, etc.

Here http://www.pacorosic.com/sistine_chapel_pictures.asp  you can view the work of Paco Rosic who recreated the Sistine Chapel ceiling in half-scale on the ceiling of his parents' restaurant - using Krylon spray paint!

Way Cool!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

This is a collage card I started from the parts-n-starts drawer. The background is printed tissue paper, the mummy case is from a catalog ad, the caravanners are from a sheet of collage art images. I added some 'scraps' from gold peel-off stickers, and finished with blue rhinestones eyes and a fabric text sticker.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

Here are a couple more cards made with the torn spotlight technique shared some time back. This hydrangea stamp was one I picked up for a dollar in a clearance.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

Last year a friend taught some of us to make these refrigerator magnets. We used Staz-On and small stamps to print on small tiles. I colored mine with Sharpie markers by making small dots with the fine tip. This was to keep the Staz-On from smearing and to allow me to blend colors. The finished tiles are sprayed with two light coats of acrylic sealer and a magnet is glued on back.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

This is a card I made for a challenge. Our partner stitched up a card and sent it along with another of the same pattern pricked out.

I chose to use bright fall colors and added stickers and a tag to complete the harvest theme.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

Here are a couple of cards I made a while back from my parts and starts drawer. The illustrations are from cruise brochures and I enhanced them with scrapbook papers and other bits I found in the drawer.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

Some time ago, I bought some very cheap frames without glass and kept them around for quite awhile without any ideas for using them. Then I redecorated a guest bedroom with an 'at the seashore' theme and decided to make collages using those frames.

For backgrounds I used wavy corrugated cardstock, paua shell scrapbook paper and sandpaper. I added seashells, coral, and agates I had collected on various beaches. Each collage got one gold whale button as an accent.

The set looks nice hanging in grid formation above the head of the bed.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

As promised, here's a list of animals that hang out or pass through our back yard:

Bats

Raccoons

Moles

Shrews

Garter Snakes

Mice

Opossoms

Black-tail deer

Red Fox

Coyotes

Chipmunks

Cottontail Rabbits

Squirrels

Ground Squirrels

Nutria

Skunks

Bullfrogs

Green Tree Frogs

Oregon Newts

Yep, It's WILD outside!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

There is a certain fascination with birds, and I watch for different ones wherever I go. Around my own area I log in my copy of Familiar Birds of the Northwest (Harry B Nehls) with the date, location, and something about their activities. I log each bird only once - the first sighting.

We have just over 2 1/3 acres of countryside with a creek, scrub, conifers, fruit trees, pasture, some hardwoods, and 200 feet of the Oregon Trail. On this property, since moving here in 1989, I have observed (*most common marked by stars):

*Great Blue Heron

Mallard

Turkey Vulture

Sharp-shinned Hawk

*Red-tailed Hawk

Blue Grouse

*California Quail

Ring-necked Pheasant

Killdeer

*Mourning Dove

Short-eared Owl

*Rufous Hummingbird

*Red-shafted Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

*Downy Woodpecker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Williamson's Sapsucker

Ash-throated Flycatcher

*Stellar's Jay

*Scrub Jay

*Common Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Bushtit

*Varied Thrush

*American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

European Starling

*House Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Western Tanager

American Goldfinch

*House Finch

Rufous-sided Towhee

*Oregon Junco

Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Barn Swallows

More wildlife tomorrow!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

An on-line group member translated an old string-art pattern to make this one for stitching. I stitched it three times, once with verigated thread, once with metallic, and one only stitching a portion of the pattern.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

One one of my trips to Pittsburgh for shared papercrafts classes one of the ladies taught us to 'float' acrylics on pen and ink drawings. We transfered the provided drawings onto watercolor paper using graphite paper and then used permanent black ink to trace over. After erasing the graphite we used thinned acrylics to apply color washes wet-in-wet.

This is the card I made:

In this case, we made a second image of part of the flower and mounted it 3D. 

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

This stitching card is a re-design of a string-art pattern from the 70's. I picked up one of those old pamphlets, with three patterns in it, from a used book store. The pamphlet has odd paintings of historic houses over which one was supposed to stitch. They are all big enough to mount as 8 1/2 x 11 inch wall art.

Unfortunately, they are all designed with strings of bright blue, red, yellow, and green. YUK! So I reduced the pattern down to fit on cards and changed the colors to soft versions of the originals. I like to do them up on watercolor paper.

The pamphlet is still under copyright (more pity to the original artist) so I cannot share the patterns.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

I finished this card last night. The threads are gold and green metallic Sulky. Cardstock is cream embossed mounted over blue over more cream embossed over metallic green. The bird is cut from a calendar page and given a branch made of the twisted paper handle of a shopping bag. A little dot of glitter glue gives him the sparkle in his eye.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

While traveling recently I stitched up a couple of Christmas cards. These are from my own design. Both are stitched with a single strand of rayon embroidery thread. One uses red 'tinsel' and star sequins and green beads. The other uses gold metallic Sulky for the tinsel and finishes off with red beads.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net

My husband fancies me a gardener. However, I grow nothing successfully as far as houseplants (including cactus), or landscaping. I'm also the only person alive who cannot grow zucchini!

A few years ago, said hubby brought in several half-barrels and filled them up with good garden mix. I have a modicum of success growing a few garden vegetables each summer - except any kind of squash or melon. This year I added some little pots with herbs.

Here's the lineup this year: carrots, yellow onions, green onions, sweet peas, parsley, sage, beets, green beans, rosemary, radishes, thyme, beefsteak tomatos, cherry tomatos, marjoram, cucumbers, basil, spinach, and lettuce. The radishes and spinach are starting in on their second crop.

Yum Yum!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net

Here's a little scrapbook I made up but have not decorated or used yet. The instructions are from Craft TV Weekly (http://www.crafttvweekly.com/player.html?wid=94.) You finish with 18 surfaces on which to use decorations and photos (including front and back covers.)

Here it is closed and tied - front cover

Untie the ribbon and open out the left and right front flaps to get this

And the fully expanded scrapbook.

I think I'll be baking lots of these little books.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

Sometimes you'd like to try out a papercrafts technique but don't have 'just' the right supplies? Someone else has already been there and come up with a way to MakeYourOwn! On the site for the Rubber Stamps Club (http://www.rubberstampsclub.com/tips/make-your-own.html) contributors have given recipes for: colorwash, rub-and-buff, mock mulberry paper, dye inks, embossible inks, shadow stamps, magic mesh, no-wax seals, puffy paint, shimmer spray, envelope glue, stamp cleaner, blender pen refill, and embossing fluid.

You'll also find instructions for gift bags, handmade paper, tissue paper envelopes, a tye-dye stamped t-shirt, antiqued paper, and MORE.

When you get done scooping up all these ideas, scroll back up to the top of their list and click on 'tips and techniques home'. BINGO! A list of over 140 (and growing) categories for stamping tips and techniques! Delving into any one of these brings up multiple examples with complete instructions.

Need MORE inspiration? Scroll back up the page to the main index and click on 'Rubber Stamp Art Gallery'. You can then click on the calendar for any month back to 2001 and view the work of their artist of the month contest winner and several others. Their work all includes complete instructions and, when appropriate, links back to the tips and techniques pages. You can get LOST in here!

If you become a member ($6 per year) they will let you play along with them in the contests and view other areas of the site. Go enjoy!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

What a fun little site this is! Jim's Printable Minis (http://www.printmini.com/printables/pp.shtml) is a delightful collection of everyday items in PlayScale (1:6), 1 inch scale (1:12), 1/2 inch scale (1:24) and 1/4 inch scale (1:48). If you are not a miniaturist the scale 1:6 means each inch on the model is equal to 6 inches on the full size item.

These items are designed for use in dollhouses and other miniature setups, but imagine the fun of using them in collage and on cards!

Rove through and scoop up a pirate treasure map, movie posters, covers for itty-bitty leather-bound books, nearly microscopic seed packets, legal documents (talk about your 'fine print'), and blueprints! Want more? Go for the eye chart, speed signs (what fun for a 'milestone' birthday card), 1800s tin types, popular board games, or a dollhouse for your dollhouse!

Oh, this is just too much fun!

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

One more project from the Pittsburgh trip. This tag book is made from legal envelopes! There's LOTS of cutting and pasting which is why I only got a card made (a single panel) in class and brought the rest of the parts home to finish.

This is the extended view:

Here is a closeup of one spread:

I haven't decorated the tags yet as I'm not sure how I am going to finish it. It has a masculine feel so I may go with that or a 'homespun' theme. The tags will get punched and fibers added as pulls.

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net  

As promised, here are some of the projects we completed while in Pittsburgh at our papercrafts retreat.

 Beaded Spirelli:

Floral Punch:

 Folded Butterflies and Envelopes:

 Origami Top:

Torn Spotlight Stamping (this was one class I taught):

Challenge Card (everyone started with the same 8 items - a quilled ducky, a square paper doily, a sheet of round silver stickers, a decorated button on a square card, a feather, a silk rose, a piece of floral ribbon, and two decorative paper clips. We had to use at least 5 on our card, plus anything else we had in our stash of supplies.):

I don't have photos of all the other stuff we made last week, but we were busy from 9:30 am to 10 pm as a group and then went to our rooms and kept playing! We took an hour for early dinner but the rest of the two days was class after class. We took one day for shopping (craft and stamp stores).

Ddd studio3d@ccwebster.net