Angels of Peace

I made this Digital Collage as my Christmas card to all of my followers.

My wish for all of you is season filled with love and laughter and memories to cherish, and a New Year filled with health, prosperity, and Peace.

Winged Beauty Digital Collage

This week's theme at the Collage Obsession blog is Shades of White. So I've created a Digital Collage just for this challenge: Winged Beauty.

I used a vintage photo of an angel as the focal point of the digital collage, and everything is shades of white and grey. There is a slight hint of blue too, but it's very subtle. I thought this was a wonderful challenge as Winter begins. And I love working with vintage photos, and angels too, so this was fun to create.

Michael Jackson Ultimate Entertainer

This piece of Michael Jackson Art was inspired by this week's Entertainers Challenge at the Collage Obsession blog. You know how it is with me and Michael Jackson. :)

Ever the ultimate entertainer, and one of my favorite inspirations. Michael Jackson forever!

Follow Us on Facebook and See Our Posts

Do you follow us on Facebook? If not, you really should! I follow lots of artsy and creative pages on Facebook, and when I come across great creative pages and finds, or inspirational quotes, or other interesting goodies, I share them on the Art Chick Studio Facebook page. I share all sorts of things there that I can’t share here on the blog. So if you are on Facebook, be sure to like our page! Just click on the image above and that will take you right to it. Click LIKE once you’re there.

Also note, due to recent changes on Facebook pages, you won’t see more than 10% of our posts…UNLESS you add us to one of your Interest Lists. Be sure that you do that, and also try to LIKE and/or SHARE our posts as much as you can. This also helps to get our page and posts seen. This is true for ANY Facebook page, not just ours. Just Liking a Facebook page is no longer enough. Even choosing Show In News Feed isn’t enough anymore! If the page isn’t on an Interest List, you will be lucky to see 10% of its posts. You’d be amazed at how many of your favorite pages’ posts you are probably missing! If you need a visual to help you , take a peek at this.

Just hover your cursor over the LIKE button on our page, and then the menu will open. Be sure to check Show in News Feed, AND Add to Interest List. If you already have some Interest Lists setup, just add us to one. Or create another one and then add us. I group all my pages by similar content (Creative/Arts, Shopping, Primitives, etc). And to be really sure you don't miss any of our posts, you can also check the Get Notifications option. With that checked, if we make a post you'll get the little red number box at the top of your Facebook page to let you know we've made an update.

And if you have anything creative to share, please drop by the Art Chick Studio Facebook page and share. I would love to see what inspires you. Or maybe you have a great creative resource to share. I'd love that too. Hope to see you there!

Elena by Moonlight

This week's creative challenge the Three Muses blog is Gothic Arch. So I decided to combine my love The Vampire Diaries with the arch theme to create this Digital Collage. If you don't watch that show (I am addicted, what can I say?!), Elena is the female lead (played by Nina Dobrev)...and just recently became a vampire. Anyhoots, this is my creation, inspired by Elena and the arch challenge.

With the Twilight saga finally at an end (sigh), I'm glad I have The Vampire Diaries to help me continue with my vampire addiction...and to inspire some creativity every now and again.

New Moon Digital Collage

With the final installment of the Twilight saga set to hit theaters next week (Breaking Dawn, Part 2!), I was inspired to create this Digital Collage. The images mostly reflect the New Moon movie, but hey, it's all Twilight, right?

As much as I can't wait for the movie release, it's hard to believe that the end of this entire saga is so close. I loved the books, and have loved the movies too. It's sad that it will all be over with now. But hey, at least I can watch The Vampire Diaries!

Siren of the Sea Digital Art

This week's challenge at the Three Muses blog has 'The Sea" as its theme. So I created this Digital Collage with that theme as my inspiration. She is my Siren of the Sea.

The Vampire Diaries Digital Collage

Well, I don't know if any of my followers are as much of a fan of The Vampire Diaries as I am, but since I am such a huge fan, I thought I'd share a Digital Collage I created last night in honor of the Season 4 premier that will air tomorrow evening. I can't wait!

I just love The Vampire Diaries. I love Stefan and Elena...and Damon and Elena...and the entire Mystic Falls gang. Every last witch, werewolf, vampire and hybrid! And I'm totally psyched for tomorrow's Season 4 premier. So I just got inspired to create some digital art as I await the season premier. I hope I have at least a few TVD followers out there who will enjoy seeing this.

Forest Beauty Collage

This week's challenge at Collage Obsession is the color Brown, so this Digital Collage is inspired by that challenge.

The vintage photo I used was my starting point for this digital collage. Then I just added some vintage lace, a clock image to represent passing time, and a little touch of magic here and there.

Listen the Music

Time for another challenge at the Three Muses blog, and this time the theme is a quote. So I decided to add to my collection of Michael Jackson Art for this challenge and create some digital art based on one of his quotes.

Your music will never die, Michael.

I'm listening.

Starry Sky Fairy Magic

Just a little something I created today that I shared on My Enchantments, but wanted to share here too. It's a Digital Collage just inspired by my love of all things fairy.

A vintage photo fairy is my focal point, but I love the starry night sky too, topped with trees. Hope you like her too.

It's Fall Y'all

I love Fall...and I love it even more when Fall is the inspiration for a new digital creation. I created this Digital Collage for the Autumn-themed challenge over at the Three Muses blog.

I love when it starts to turn cooler and the leaves begin to turn colors...and we get to start thinking about pumpkins, and pumpkin pie, cooking nice hot soups again. :) I'm sure we still have a few warm days off and on coming up, but Fall will be settled in soon enough, and that makes me happy!

Happy Owl-oween ATC

There's another collage challenge over on the Collage Obsession blog. This week's theme is Owls, so I thought I'd get in the Halloween groove and create a digital ATC. I came up with this Happy Owl-oween ATC for the challenge.

This little owl looks ready for a little trip into Boo-ville, wouldn't you say?

Autumn Witch Fairy

I was inspired to create this by the coming Autumn season...my favorite season of the year. And since I love fairies and Fairy Art, that made this even more fun to create.

Part of this is real, part of it is digital, as I am always looking for ways to combine my love of arts and crafts with my love of digital art. The best of both worlds. And Fall almost always inspires me, so I'll be in the studio soon, trying to work some more creative magic.

Trumpet Flower Time

I love this time of year--not for the relentless heat that we've had for most of the summer. Rather, I love it because it's the time of year the Trumpet Flowers are in bloom!

These Trumpet Flowers came from the yard of my husband's late grandmother. We took some clippings after she passed away 13 years ago and planted them in our yard. They survived two moves within the yard, which was no small feat since these flowers don't tolerate replanting all that well! Others in the family took some clippings too, but we are the only ones with any of these flowers still growing. They bloom at night and then close with the heat of the day. I just happened to snap a photo of them on a partially overcast morning, after a light rain. They are beautiful. I'm so glad to have them in my yard each summer.

Know who else liked Trumpet Flowers?? Georgia O'Keeffe! See for yourself.

I love Georgia's flower works. She was inspired to paint, and I was inspired to take a photo. But I love that we both liked Trumpet Flowers. :)

MJ Black or White Digital Art

Just a little Michael Jackson Art, inspired by his Black or White short film, and its epic "Panther Dance."

I'm grateful that MJ can still inspire me...at a time when not much else does. Trying to get my art groove back since my mother's death has not been easy. But I'm still trying!

In the Closet MJ Digital Art

I was in the mood for some Michael Jackson art today. Flashing back to the Dangerous Era and In the Closet.

So Open The Door
And You Will See
There Are No Secrets
Make Your Move
Set Me Free...

Mom's Lily

The hubs and I traveled to Texas last week to settle some things with my mother's estate. Spent a lot of time at her house, and found a lily growing in her back yard, all by its lonesome. I had to take a photo of it.

Peony Digital Sketch 2012

I was out in my yard snapping some photos of the peonies, which are in full bloom. They are one of my absolute favorite flowers and I seem to photograph each year's blooms. This evening I took one of my photos and created this Peony Digital Sketch for My Digital Sketchbook.

Believe it or not, this was a photograph of a white peony when I started. I wasn't in love with the original photo, but I am indeed in love with the digital sketch I created from it. Yay for peonies!

Forest Fairy Magic

I created this Digital Collage for My Enchantments blog, but I loved it so much I really just wanted to share it with all my Art Chick Studio followers too.

I love creating a little fairy magic to add to my day...and I hope you like it in yours. :)

I Got Sunshine

I've created another piece for My Digital Sketchbook, and this one is based on photos I took of my grandson's sunflowers a couple of years ago. I love playing around with photos and turning them into something different.

Something about sunflowers just says Sunshine! I love them.

Fireflies at Sunset Digital Collage

I decided to poke around in my photos of previous artworks to see what I could use as a background for something new. I settled on my lone project of Oil Pastels that I did several years ago of a sunset, which I did from a photograph I took once on a camping trip. This Fireflies at Sunset is the Digital Collage I came up with from that previous work.

I love a beautiful sunset, so it was fun adding a little bit of magic to this one that I did in Oil Pastels.

Michael Jackson Ghosts Digital Art

I was in a Michael Jackson mood this evening, so I created some new Michael Jackson Art. This time it's from the History era, from his short file, Ghosts.

I love that short film. You can watch it on YouTube if you've never seen it. I sure wish they'd put that out on DVD one of these days. So much work and creativity went into its making. It was co-written by Stephen King, and it holds the Guinness World Record as the longest music video, with a full running time of 39 minutes and 31 seconds (although the version that ran in regular rotation was a pared down version of a little over 4 minutes. You really have to see the short film in its entirety to appreciate it! If you have never seen it, check it out sometimes. :)

It's What You Believe

I've been working on my Believe Fairy Journal lately while sitting on the couch in the evenings. Thought I'd start sharing some of those pages with you. This is the first page.

The whole journal is going to be filled with all things fantasy, fairy, magic, and make believe. I just got myself some more artsy supplies that I can use in the house when I want to journal. It is so much easier than having to run out to my studio to get supplies, and then have to take them back when I'm done so I'll have them out there!

And the Believe Fairy Journal continues...

My Fairy Garden

I finally managed to create a Fairy Garden for my granddaughter, Destiny. Thought I'd share the photos I've taken of it here.

I hope to keep adding to the Fairy Garden over time. But for now, Destiny and I love it!

Moonlight Serenade Collage

The Collage Obsession blog has a great challenge this week also, its theme is Reflection. So I created this Digital Collage that was inspired by their theme. It's called Moonlight Serenade.

This was made using a photograph my mother took before she passed away in February. The photo was on her camera. I enhanced it just a bit, and then added the other elements that I wanted to appear in the collage. So I couldn't have made this collage without my mother's wonderful eye for a beautiful sunset.

Forest Fairy Princess Collage

Time for another great challenge over at the Three Muses blog. This week's theme is Hats, Crowns, Wings and Things. I don't know about you, but whenever I hear the word 'Wings,' my  mind immediately goes to all things fairy. So this is my Forest Fairy Princess Collage for this challenge.

What can I say? The fairy lover in me will never die. Living in a fantasy world for a bit is a great way to escape reality and just have fun for a little while. And I love the Three Muses blog for always offering up great challenges to enable my escapes!

(Fairy girl image by sussieM Designs)

Daydream Digital Collage

Today I created something new from something old...I took an Altered Art Hang Tag that I created in the past, and turned it into a new Digital Collage. I'm calling it Daydream.

Artists should be "green" too when they can, and it sure doesn't hurt to save money on art supplies. I think that's one of the things I love about digital art...it doesn't have to cost you anything to create it, and it lets you give new creative life to something you created in the past. I love how this turned out. It has a very shabby chic and dreamy feel to it at the same time. And boy, if I could get paid to daydream, I think I'd be rich right now.

My Enchantments

I just wanted to share with you my newest blog adventure...it's called My Enchantments and it's a Tumblr blog.

If you don't know what Tumblr is, it's a wonderful blog format that seems to lean toward visual blogging more than anything else. And it acts very much like Pinterest, in that you can post (like Pinning on Pinterest) your own content, reblog (like Repinning on Pinterest) other people's content, and you can Like content as well. You can follow other people's blogs, and they can follow you too. I love that it's so visual, since I'm a very visual person anyway. But you can also write, post quotes, post videos, and post music too. So there's no pressure to write if you don't feel like it, which is nice.

My Enchantments blog revolves around primarily fairy and fantasy-related things. I'm posting my own photography and digital art, and reblogging what others post that fits with my blog's theme. Fairies, dragons, unicorns, enchanted places and things, magic, fantasy, beauty, art, whimsy, love...these are just a few of my enchantments, and all things I post about.

I hope you'll stop by and check out my new blog. Just click on the link (above) and it will take you right to the blog. There are many wonderful blogs over at Tumblr. You may just find some creative inspiration there!

Believe Fairy Visual Journal

In my ongoing effort to get my creative juices flowing again, I've decided to start a brand new Visual Journal. I'm calling it Believe, and it will be filled mostly with fairy and fantasy-related art, doodles, prose, poetry, doodles, and what-nots. I've only done the cover so far.

I've always believed in fairies. I can prove they exist, because they are constantly stealing socks from my dryer! So I figured, why not devote an entire visual journal to them? Do YOU believe in fairies?

There's so much magic in the world of fairy, after all. It's a sort of wonderful, magical Neverland, waiting to be explored on the pages of my journal. A place where dreams come true, and a place where anything is possible. I think my mom is guiding me to this...to a place that will let me forget my troubles and find some sunshine. If I just close my eyes, my inspiration will be waiting...and I can hear her saying...

You know that place between sleep and awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming?

That's where I'll always love you...that's where I'll be waiting.

Lily Pad Flower Fairy

I am struggling a bit yet to find my creative mojo. I haven't been in my studio much since my mom passed away. But I have been playing with some Fairy Digital Art here on my computer, so thought I'd post today's Digital Collage creation.

The photo itself is one I took last year on an anniversary trip with the Hubs. I just added the flower fairy to it...and a little magic.

Be Glad of Life Hang Tag

This is my first attempt at being creative since my mom's passing last month. My heart still isn't fully in it, but she wouldn't want me to wallow in sadness, so I'm trying to move forward...one step at a time. The Gingersnap Creations blog has a Two-Color Challenge right now, so I thought I'd try that one. The result is my my Be Glad of Life Hang Tag.

I've used shades of brown and white here. It's a combination of a paper grungy hang tag and embellishments, along with digital touches added in. I still love creating Altered Art...it's my go-to form of creativity when I'm not feeling inspired by anything else. I love the sentiment too. Be glad of life...

I'm trying, Mom. I'm really trying.

Passages

I've been absent from my blog for over a week due to my mom passing away. It's been a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking experience that is not yet over. But I just wanted to let my followers know I am still here and will find my creative side again as soon as I can. It may be the only thing (outside of my family) to save me in this dark and difficult time. All of my creativity came from my mom...she would want me to keep using it.

I love you forever, Mom.

NAIH

Google Friend Connect No More

I seriously don't know how I didn't know this until yesterday, but Google Friend Connect is ending for all non-Blogger blogs as of March 1st. I posted a bunch of information about this on my Tattered Sisters blog, so I'm posting a link here to that post in case you were in the dark too and would like more information. Just click the link below to read the full scoop on my blog post.

GOODBYE GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT

How did I NOT know this?! I've also added a new LinkyFollowers widget to the right side of my blog, which will replace my GFC widget once it stops working. Feel free to visit my blog and Follow Me!

Creation of Beauty Hang Tag

I've created this Creation of Beauty Hang Tag for the Words of Wisdom challenge over at the Gingersnap Creations blog. The challenge is to utilize some favorite words of wisdom (profound, funny, or otherwise) in a creation.

For this Hang Tag I've once again utilized a combination of both paper goods, ephemera, and digital touches to create this Altered Art piece. I love the vintage photo of the girl...she's so lovely. And she is perfect for the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson too, don't you think?

Sands of Time in a Bottle

I just thought I'd share something today since, for some reason, I was thinking about the ocean. I love the ocean...love beaches and almost any place near the water. So each year on our anniversary weekend for the past few years, the Hubs and I go someplace that is by the water, and preferably with a beach. We live fairly close to Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, so our destinations frequently end up being in a town by one of those lakes. And each time we go, I collect sand, shells, and other little natural objects as sort of souvenirs. When we get home, I choose a Mason Jar or some other bottle to put my sand and other beach goodies in, and I label them on the bottom with the town we went to and which year. They've become my collection of "Sands of Time in a Bottle."

I have 4 of these Glass Bottles and Jars full of beach memories so far. They sit on my kitchen window sill, so that I can see them everyday, and in my own way, I'm close to the beach. I would have had 5 of these, except one year we got rained out on our beach day and I couldn't collect anything to bring home. But that's OK.

There's always next year.

Billie Jean Blue Magic

I created another piece of Michael Jackson Art for My Digital Sketchbook. It's an ode to the magic of Billie Jean.

This piece features Michael performing Billie Jean during the Thriller era, with his trademark fedora, sequin jacket, and white glove. I still remember seeing him perform this on the Motown special so many years ago...when he moonwalked on TV for the very first time. It really was magic. And I remember the first time I saw his Billie Jean short film too. Always the showman. Always the music legend.

One Yellow Rose Digital Collage

I was creating this piece for my Mom, whom we found out has cancer. Initially I created it with just the flower, but then decided to add a little magic, and the fairy and turn it into a digital collage. When I'd finished all that I realized that it would also just happen to work with the Gingersnap Creations blog color challenge, Soft Yellows and White. So I decided to enter it into that challenge.

Yellow roses have special meaning in our family, as does the phrase, "Never Apart in Heart." We sign our emails, letters, and cards with NAIH as a reminder that no matter how far apart we may be, we are always together in heart. So even though I can't physically be with my mom right now, I am with her, always. And thankfully, doing anything creative helps to keep my mind off of difficult things. So this art is for you, Mom.

I Love You.

Always.

NAIH

Timelss Beauty ATC

Time for another challenge at the Gingersnap Creations blog...this time it's a supply challenge and we had to use RIBBON somewhere in our creations. So this Timeless Beauty ATC is my creation for that challenge.

This Altered Art style ATC is a mixed media piece, combining paper, ephemera, ribbon, a vintage photo, and digital graphic elements. It definitely has a sort of timeless feel to it, don't you think?

Blood on the Dance Floor Collage

These creations were inspired by the DANCE challenge at the Collage Obsession blog for this week, and they're now a part of my ever-growing collection of Michael Jackson Art. If I hear or read the word, "Dance," Michael is usually the first thing that comes to my mind. So he was an obvious choice for my subject matter for this great challenge.

Blood on the Dance Floor is one of my favorite MJ songs, and one of my favorite of his short films. There's just something about it I love, musically and visually, so I love when I can incorporate it into my digital art too.

My Favorite Fairy

My husband got me the new Paint Shop Pro software for Christmas, and I finally just got to start playing around with it. I had an older version on my laptop, so I am already familiar with the basics of PSP (though I am by no means a pro). I haven't gotten to explore the new version in depth, but I wanted to take it for a test drive. So I decided that my granddaughter, Destiny is always the perfect subject. I had lots of fun turning her into a fairy, and then putting my new little fairy into two different surroundings. These digital collages are the results.

I love my  little Destiny fairy in a jar. The photo I used is from last Easter. I need to play around with some newer photos. :) But I loved in that dress, so I figured I'd just use it again for experimenting in PSP. I sure had fun!

Smooth Criminal Magic Art

I haven't been participating in too many art challenges lately so I decided it is time to get my creative juices flowing again. This week's challenge at Collage Obsession couldn't have come at a better time. The theme for this week is a Song Lyric...so I chose one of my Michael Jackson favorites, Smooth Criminal and created a digital collage around it.

Michael Jackson defined the word "Epic" where pop music and music videos are concerned, in my opinion. He blazed a trail and set the standard in what once was a very boring visual medium. And Smooth Criminal is a perfect example of his epic creative genius. It is MJ, and the Bad era, at its visual best. It not only showcased a great song, but it told a story, as all of Michael's short films did. I never get tired of watching it...and my grandson now loves to watch it with me. He especially likes the MJ  anti-gravity "lean." Such an epic MJ moment.

And so the legend lives on. :)

Time with Grandma Collage

This is yet another Christmas gift I made this year (OK, well it's last year now). This is a paper collage piece that I made for my mom using a vintage photo of her and my great grandmother.

This is made mostly with scrapbook paper and stickers, but I used a clear acrylic clock stamp as well, along with a brad for the center of the clock image. And when it was finished I framed it in a black frame for Mom. Just another little special photo memory captured in time. :)

These Are Our Hands

I wanted to make something special for my daughter for Christmas this year, and I also wanted it to be something that would be from her children to her. I got inspired by something I saw on Pinterest awhile back that involved scanning kids hands. So that is what I did, and this is what I turned that scan into with some digital magic...

I altered the color and layered in some digital art to create this piece. Then I sent the final image to the CanvasPeople website and had them print it onto canvas and frame it. It turned out even better than I expected, and my daughter seemed to really love it. I also included with it the following poem (which I had my grandson write out on the card):

These are our hands

You used to hold

When we were 8

and 2 Years old.

I had so much fun creating this for her...even if it was incredibly challenging to get two little hands to hold still long enough to be scanned--especially since my scanner software was acting up that day and we had to do it 3 times before we got it right! But it was well worth it in the end.