Curt's Best Shots Slideshow

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR NOVEMBER 28, 2012

Hey All!

There you are!!!  Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Evening Post!  How was Thanksgiving for those of you here in the US?  I can tell just by looking at you that you were all good and didn't overeat!  Look at you!!!  Have you lost weight???  You all are looking incredible!

I have just a few cards to share with you.  I've started my Christmas cards!  How about that!?!  How are you doing on yours???  From all of you I visited last week, I see you are getting them done too!  My first is not for Christmas, but for a friend's birthday. . .take a look:

What is special about this card is that this is my FIRST ATTEMPT at using water color pencils.  I'm really loving them!  I just can't believe that you touch the tip of a water brush right to the pencil and paint.  I was able to blend and shade with ease and no oms!  I think I'm hooked!  This is a Gruffies image.

OK, now the Christmas cards:

Here are two cards using the same image but different background papers.  I plan on making several of these.  They are easy to color (Bic markers) and fast to put together.  I added gold Stickles to the star and red liquid pearls to the ornaments for some texture.  The image is from Art Impressions and I so love these penguins.
This is a whimsical card created with two different stamp sets.  The trees are from Lawn Fawn and I paper pieced each one and mounted the middle and top layer of each tree on foam tape to give it some depth.  The reindeer is from Recollections and is also on a dimensional. 
I have seen people doing cards for challenges that are supposed to be done in "non-traditional" colors, so I thought I would try a version of my own.  I like the red/white/black combo and think that this is not a traditional Christmas color scheme.  The tree (Penny Black) is embossed in white and I used red liquid pearls to dot all over (faster than I thought).  The "Joy" is embossed in red tinsel so it is very sparkly.

Pic of the Week

Well, that's it for this edition. I do hope all of you are doing well.  Thanks for coming to see me. . .it is always good to see you and I love having you here.  I'll be seeing you on your blogs soon!

Hugs to all of you!

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

28 comments:

mudmaven said...

Once again - you've outdone yourself! These are really wonderful cards. Love the birthday one and the coloring is great! The penguins are my fave though - so cute! Hope all is well in your household. Best to Jay and hugz to those gorgeous boys. ~chris

Myrna said...

Curt
Awe these are wonderful. Gotta say the penguins do win hands down for me too.
The b-day card is great and the coloring is so cool.
I like how you popped up the trees and deer.
Pic of the week is oh so gorgeous.
Myrna

Christine said...

Hi Curt lovely to see your Gruffie creation..gosh you do make water colour pencils sound soooo easy..lol very well done..& your crimbo cards are a delite..love the humour you have given them & non trad colours..your pic of the wk is awesome full of sunshine..of if only ...from a wet & miserable UK..lol hope you continue to keep well??

smiles Christine x

Patti J said...

Well, you know how much I like it when you color those cute Gruffies and mice. I think it's because, I remember how excited you were when you made the DT at HM! Gosh, that was a LONG time ago! These are all wonderful. My personal fave is the tree. Black, white, and any other color always makes me happy, so you had me at the color combo. You are going to make a lot of folks happy when they open their mailboxes and find these great cards! Thanksgiving was good - thanks for asking. Hope yours was, as well. Miss chatting with you - hope you are beginning to feel better, and get into a normal routine! Can't wait to see your home all ready for Christmas - post photos :) Hugs...

Jean McKenzie said...

Hi Curt, Love all these cards - think my favourites are the penguin ones - just because of that cute image! You have done beautifully with your water colouring and your tree card is very striking.
Do hope you are feeling well now and that it is not too cold there yet. Our summer is about to begin! Hugs

Jackie said...

I'm so glad you're back to bring a smile to my Wednesday evenings. Your cards are all so lovely! I love the penguins decorating the tree. You coloring skills are just as perfect as ever - I love your water coloring on the first card. The Lawn Fawn card is adorable and your white tree with red decorations is just stunning.

(no need to revisit my blog just yet - wait until next week, I'll have new stuff up, I promise)

Ted said...

Curt, I love that last card...just stunning. I'm a sucker for red/black/white. You knocked this one out of the park, my friend! :)

Alli said...

Curt you are absolutely killin' those cards this week!
WOW!!!
Way to go!
TFS!
So inspiring too!
I've started to play a bit again and so hope to have some "fresh" bitz on my blog soon!
Love your energy too!
Hope your week is going well!

Bonnie Weiss said...

Well it would appear that your medical issues did not affect your creativity ... You are definitely back! Or maybe it's your new home and new craft studio????! Whatever it is, your mojo is in overdrive.

Nice job with the watercoloured pencils. You are going to love them. Way easier and DEFINITELY cheaper than Copics. You can also try shading with your regular coloured pencils after you have watercoloured.

And of course, black and white and any colour makes for a great combo and you certainly proved that with your final card.

Hugs to the Puppies.

Beth Norman said...

Awesome work, once again. You used so many mediums and I can't believe you just started using watercolour pencil crayons. I really must pull mine out again. I love your black, red and white card the best.

Unknown said...

Well hey there hi there ~ Isn;t it fun to try a new way to color... I love to color with pencils and use a blender pen to smooth it out...

I love them all, but the reindeer and trees is my pick... cute and sparkly too : )

I have a few Christmas cards done, but I am way behind but I am not complaining, as my big brother surprised me with am eleven day visit : )

I will try to get some thing new up over at my blog soon so you do not make a wasted trip lol

Smiles to all .
Sonja

Miranda said...

Thanksgiving was great, thanks for asking! Your cards are awesome as usual! Love the non-traditional colors! See you next week!
Miranda :)
www.nanasscrapspot.com

Gina Wrona said...

your talent & creativity shine britely thru all your creations my friend!

thank you so much for sharing them with us!

Hugs,
Gina

Linda said...

Thanksgiving well I am thankful it is over. LOL
Are you being good? I hope so.
Your cards are wonderful. I love the penguin card. So cute. I also love the red, white and black card. That tree is beautiful and I bet it lights up in real live with liquid pearls. I love that stuff.
Have a great week.
I am having a Birthday give away if you are interested.
Hugs,
Linda

Anonymous said...

Curt, what a feast the birds will enjoy from the berry laden trees you photographed! Contrasting colors are so brilliant. Must be a card in there somewhere!
Red, White, and black stun the socks off most viewer/ recipients! Such style. Bling/ glitz helps, too. After all the amazing long grass-blade-like snowflakes in this past storm, your red glitter on the trees is heart warming. Those unusual spike flakes must have been swirled and updrafted in some massive microburst of cold! You card is so welcoming. Thanks for sharing the fun and the loveliness of creative cardmaking. Keep Looking UP!

Mary said...

Love the Christmas cards I like the animal ones the best, they just make me happy! Oh, the bear birthday card it cute, did a great job with your coloring! Who would have thought that as kids coloring, that one day we would be telling adults what a good job they are doing coloring?! I love to color!! Have a great week!

lisa808 said...

I have never tried watercolor pencils. Your coloring of the image is amazing. The stacked penquin image is so cute. Love your paper pieced trees. Non-traditional Christmas color cards are so fun.

Leigh said...

Fabulous Christmas cards Curt. I love the Gruffies bear...so cute. We are having a heat wave here at the moment, so the air conditioning is running it's little heart out. I think it must be starting to get cold where you are, so keep warm.

Jean S said...

Hey Curt ~
As always, GREAT cards! The penguins are just to adorable. They really made me smile. Black, red &white is one of my favorite color combos. I have to remember to go for at times other than Valentine's Day. Pic of the week is gorgeous and I love your blog wallpaper.
Keep 'em comin'
Jean ~

Gail said...

Hi Curt!
I was here when you posted, just didn't want to leave a comment, cause then you'd come visit me, and I had nuthin!
Hahahaha.
Love the cards, love the pic of the week too!
Hope everyone's good at your house...it's s n o w i n g here!

Ellen Taylor said...

Fantastic cards Curt! Love the gruffles card!Your coloring is terrific! The penguins are really cute and I love the papers you used for your trees! Black and white is always so classic, the red liquid pearls really pop! I got my results and dodged the big C. Thanks for asking! Hope your week is most fabulous!!!
Ellen

Anonymous said...

LOVE THE PICTURE OF MY GRANDOGS LAYING IN THE SNOW....PANTING. ALL OF YOUR WATER COLOR PENCIL CARDS ARE NEAT, AND DIFFERENT, REALLY LIKED THE "NON TRADITIONAL" CARD THE BEST. LOVE YA, MOM

Lorraine A said...

Gorgeous cards Curt :-) I have loads of watercolor pencils gathering dust ,, will have to get them out and give them a whirl :-)
I love the penguin image ,, soo cute and such great teamwork going on there :-)

hope you have a lovely week :-0

luv
Lols x x x

nwilliams6 said...

Sad to say I gained weight! Now it is exercise and diet time! LOL! Love your blog, your pictures of your adorable dog, and all your cards. I love how you explain your adventures in life and card-making. This is a wonderful place!

Glittered Paws said...

What eye candy you gave us - my fav is the simple white tree with the red berries - I like CAS and this is very nice. I know you are going to enjoy your watercolor pencils, how about watercolor crayons too. Your blog is a journey and love all of it.

Sue from Oregon said...

Dang, I can't decide which one is my favorite!

Audrey Frelx said...

Your attempt at using watercolor shows you must have a talent for that as well!!! LOL! These cards are definitely "eye candy"!

Ann Schach said...

As always, your cards never fail to please! I love the whimsy of the penguins and the deer, while the elegance of the "joy" tree is breathtaking. I hope that all is well with you and yours, and that you are ready for the holiday season. The Twexis (Twins and Lexi)send Boxer hugs and kisses to you and the Boys...and would love to play if only you lived closer. Take care, my friend!