Curt's Best Shots Slideshow

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Welcoming A New Neighbor

Hey All! HAPPY FALL!!!!! Hope all is well with you! I'm so sorry it has been over a week for me to do a new post, but sometimes life tends to get in the way of best laid plans! We had some unexpected medical issues with Jay, but everything is good now. Thanks to several of you who sent me emails wondering if I was OK. You are all very sweet to think about me and worry about me! Also, Please read the part about what my dogs did close to the bottom. I think you will be surprised. So on to today's post. . .

We had a new neighbor move in on our Cul-de-sac last week, so I made a card to take over along with some baked goods! Here is the card:



I tried a couple of new things with this card. First, I stamped the butterfly image directly onto designer paper (don't know what the paper is, sorry), then cut it out. The stamp is from Inkadinkado, and the way the stamp is made, the part that isn't inked allowed the paper to become part of the wings. I love how it looks. I then used the same paper to make the first background mat. The second new technique I used was to use my ink pad and cover the inside of the Cuttlebug embossing folder with ink. I used Colorbox black. I put a plain pale orange paper in the folder and ran it through the Cuttlebug. It gave a really cool distressed look to the paper with the embossed image. I've seen this done on many blogs, and I had been wanting to try it. I matted it with black card stock. I then added another small rectangle of the DP with another black mat piece, attached the butterfly with dimensional foam tape, printed the sentiment on the same DP with my computer, added bling to the butterfly and some black grosgrain ribbon and was finished. Below is a detail shot:



I received two RAKs this past week, and I have to say that I don't know what I have done to deserve such kindness! But I will say that they certainly came at a time when I needed a little lift, and I can't thank both of you enough. The first one came from my blogging buddy Jane of Scossie Jane from Australia! It was so cool to get a package from half way around the world! Jane's specialty is scrapbooking and she does an amazing job with them (click on link above). Her layouts are incredible. She also does beautiful cards too as is demonstrated from what was enclosed below:



Jane, this was so generous of you, and I will put it to good use! You really made my day the day it came! THANKS SO MUCH!

I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to my blogging buddy Sue (Sue's Stamping Stuff). I have always admired her use of the House Mouse stamps, and her coloring is absolutely AMAZING. I was thrilled to receive in the mail a TON of stamped images from her! Look below:



I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the envelope!!!! So many images! Go take a look at Sue's work on her blog (click the link above). She has one posted now that is just amazing! Thanks again, Sue for your wonderful gift! I started coloring the first image, and I don't think I will ever be half as good as you when it comes to coloring these images! These take real talent to make them look good! Thanks for sending so many of the images, it will give me lots of practice. I just received my first House Mouse stamp that I ordered, and boy is it going to be a MAJOR project! It is called "Don't Leaf Without Me" and it is amazing. Your images will help me get brave enough to tackle it! And Sue, when I make that first card with the new stamp, I'm making that card for you! You really made my day!

Final thing. My "boys" have some painting talent!!! I've been meaning to share this with all of you for some time now, and so here it is. I had my boys paint "masterpieces" last summer. I saw that this was done at an animal shelter fund raiser one time, so I thought "My boys could do that!" Here is what they created!:



I matted and framed them and they are hanging in my breakfast room. I know I'm a proud Dad, but aren't these amazing? Shotsy did the one on the left and Gunther did the one on the right. Here's how they did it. I put there plastic swimming pool out in the backyard. I got Styrofoam bowls and poured several different colors of poster paint (because it is non-toxic) into each bowl. I then put an actual canvas in the empty swimming pool, dipped their paw in one of the colors and told them to get in the pool. I held up a treat and kept moving around the pool, and as they walked around the pool to follow me, they "created". I would repeat this step with each color. I never once grabbed their paws and helped them "paint". This was all random. If you are a pet owner, I strongly encourage you to do this with your pet. Not only does it create great conversation art, it will be something you will always have from them after they are gone. Guests just marvel at the artwork. Some swear that they can see different animals in Shotsy's painting, and Gunther's has been described as looking through a garden with the sun peeking through at the top center right. LOL Click on the photo to see what you can see!

Well, that's it for this post. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget the pic of the week below. This beautiful girl was looking up at me and the boys as I took this shot from a boardwalk over a lake. It actually looks like she is smiling at the boys! This was taken this past weekend. I'm off to take a look at all of your creations! I'll be posting soon in the next few days if nothing else happens! See you on your blogs!


Best,


Curt O'Brien
"God help me be the person my dogs think I am."

27 comments:

Denise said...

Curt,
That "doggie" painting is the bomb!!!!! I need to have my Golden Retriever make one. Thanks for such a wonderful idea. Hope you have a nice week, and Jay get's to feeling better.
Hugs

Jan Scholl said...

Oh boy my dog painted too! He got in my oils one night and when I got home, my white carpet in my dining room looked like someone was slaughtered. The walls were also painted on the bottoms, the dog-(not the current one who we have to cage up just to take a shower alone) was also covered. The dumb vet told us to use terpentine (after we explained for half an hour that we didn't do it, the dog did it) and that burned the dog's skin. Another lesson of dog ownership. Several weeks later, was the skunk wrestle. I haven't had tomato juice since.

Happy Fall and you can have my dark nights and overcast skies too. I want summer back. See ya.

Kristie said...

Wow...those puppies are super talented!!!! Hope that Jay is feeling better...one of my close friends has MS and I know that it can be rough sometimes...so sending you both big cyber hugs {{{{}}}}}

6 wacky women said...

Curt you are amazing!! I can't wait to try the embossing folder with the ink. I just love the card. The puppy art is tooooo cute. I hope Jay is feeling better soon. Also, I have been meaning to tell you how beautiful your photos are. I had a chance to look at all of them the other night. Great talent!! Take care
Karen

Catherine said...

hi Curt, i love that you stamped the butterfly on at PP, it looks gorgeous! And your doggie paintings are adorable.

I can't wait to see what you do with your images :)

Sue from Oregon said...

oh my goodness...your boys are "arteests". What a cool idea! My little dog is white...can you imagine what he would look like after an afternoon of painting LOL!
Glad you liked the images! Love the card you posted too. I have been meaning to try that bug folder trick, so now you've given me a push...off to stamp!

Jodi said...

I really LOVE this card you made for your new neighbors, and the creative idea to get the boys crafting too! They did an awesome job! I think I will have to try that with my little Allie girl! =) I do hope that everything is better with Jay and if you need to chat, drop me a line. Please let him know I am thinking of him too.
Big Hugs,
Jodi

Jules said...

Oh my where do I begin....
I should just write
LOVE EVERYTHING!!!!
I hope that Jay is doing better.
Your boys artwork is fabulous, that is beyond rockin that you did that then put it on your wall.
That duck shot is A M A Z I N G ! !
Oh my and your card is beautiful too, my fav butterflies!
you just have too many interesting things goin on at your place!
Have a great week!

DeeDee said...

Hi there!!! First, I wish you were my neighbor so I could get a handmade card and some home baked goodies from YOU.....second, the card is gorgeous!!! I sure hope Jay is feeling better and you have some really talented fur babies there...WOW!!! That duck picture is one cool shot....I'm asking again....are you sure you aren't a pro??? LOL!!! HUGS!!!

Becca said...

Oh my gosh Curt you are so inventive. I love the paintings that the boys did. They are such cuties. My friend has a Berneise Mountain dog, I call him the Gentle Giant. LOL....

Thanks for sharing the beautiful art work and I love how you mounted them.

Also, the house mouse...you should try their challenge blog. They are fairly new and what a great blog too.
Take care,
have a creative day,
Bela

Sankari W. said...

Love the paintings that Shotsy and Gunther did! I can kind of see a blue panda bear in Gunther's painting (lower middle area - light blue) - what a great creative keepsake! your card is beautiful - love the ink on the CB folder and the beautiful look that it creates. The butterfly is beautiful - what a great way to be welcomed to the neighborhood!! you are so sweet! Hope that Jay is feeling better and that you both having a wonderful week!
sending you lots of sunshine :)
Sankari :)
(love your picture of the sweet little duck - totally looks like she is smiling and posing for the camera!!)

dpkennedy said...

Very cool! But I have a cat-do I need to say more? She'd slap the bowl of paint onto my head and kick me in the rear just for thinking about dipping her paw into paint. Then she's probaby hack a hair ball onto my pillow just to make sure I never thought of trying it again...

dpkennedy said...

Oops, I got so upset thinking about what my cat would do to me that I forgot to mention your gorgeous card! The inked cb background is gorgeous! The butterfly on pp fantastic too! I'm so glad that Jay is feeling better. Have a great day!!

Janine said...

Fabulous cards, wonderful RAKS and such wonderful art from your pups!!
I thought about you too but figured you were dealing with "life" stuff so just let you be. I knew you would be back!!
Have a good one!

Scossie Jane said...

Hi from Scotland Curt - we made it!

The card you made for your neighbour is beautiful, love all the techniques, have to try the one with the cuttlebug - way cool!

Amazing art from your boys, smart pups.

Glad you like the RAK I sent, I just think it's nice to be nice, too many bad things in the world making the headlines....Enjoy.

Photo of the week is a cracker.

Love ya xx

The Rubber Maid said...

Very nice card for your new neighbor and of course the boy's paintings are really cool. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Keep the strength. Pat

Deb Neerman said...

LOVE the Dog-Art!!! It's amazing! What a wonderful idea; and a treasure to hold onto.

Your card is just stunning Curt! Love the inky-Cuttlebug technique ... so kewl.

Hope the Jay-man, is doin' better. The Jay-ster. The Jay-ster-rama ... remember that SNL skit!?!? Don't ask me why that popped into this crevice I call my mind! LOLOL!

Hugs around and thanks for sharing your amazing RAK's, your amazing talent, your doggie's amazing talent, and your great photos! Really, your blog is like goin' to the art gallery!

~Hugs!!!

Tandra said...

Hey Curt! I just found your blog thru Martha Stewarts blog call! LOL
I signed up there too!

Great cards you make! You photography is fabulous, and your boys are beautiful!
I am a cardmaker also. I see a lot of name son your blog I am familiar with. Thats cool! Are you on Splitcoast? I am.

Thanks for sharing and enjoy your day!

Anonymous said...

Those puppy paintings are awesome! And so is the gorgeous card that YOU made! Your boys obviously get their artistic talent from their dad!

Julia Aston said...

How super fun are your doggie paintings Curt! what a wonderful idea and how lovely they came out as well!

Love your new neighbor card - I hope they were appropriately impressed with it!!!

Laura Davis said...

Wow Curt painting puppies:) I hope Jay is felling better! Hugs:)
I adore your card, what a nice neighbor you are!
Love that duck pic, she is so smiling at the camera!
Laura

Judy said...

You always come up with some of the neatest things when making cards. I never would have thought about inking an embossing folder.

Love all the House Mouse stamped images that you received. And I can't believe how talented your "boys" are. WOW!!!

Jenn Muraoka said...

I'm so glad to hear that Jay is doing okay. I haven't been blurfing in a while so I didn't realize that you guys were battling some medical concerns. It really is a roller coaster ride as far as medical issues. You're such an amazing spirit. Jay is so lucky to have you...you must fill him with your healthy energy. I'm sure you feel blessed to have him as well.

Anyhoot, the card is amazing! I love that butterfly! The background is my favorite. The distressing with the cuttlebug embossing is wonderful.

I love what your boys did. That's incredible. And it's beautiful! Yes, you're a very proud daddy! It's heartwarming the way you speak of them.

Have a wonderful week, Curt! Hugs to you and your beautiful family! Jenn

Jamie Martin said...

Gorgeous butterfly card! And I love your animal art, what a great idea.

6 wacky women said...

Just stopped by to say HI! Hope all is well. Have a great day!!
Karen

Jeni Glee said...

Oh dear, Curt, I am so happy to hear that Jay is okay! Give him a hug from me!

I absolutely love your photo, your card, your "candy" from others and those FABULOUS photos of your sweet dogs' paintings! It is always such a feast for these old eyes to come visit!

Cheryl B. said...

I love these paintings. I showed my dds (ages 11 and 5) and they want our dog to do one. I don't think my dog would go for it but maybe in the spring we can give it a shot.