Abstract Tulip Garden

Altered photo that I took of some tulips at SIUe a while back...

Paris Lovin'

This piece was created by combining two images - the vintage lady (who I colorized in PSP) and the vintage Paris postcard (also altered in Paint Shop Pro). I added a couple of flare picture tubes to give it a feeling of good ol' Paris magic. Springtime in Paris - sounds soooo nice =)

Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"

A Little Bit of Magic

I have been seeing a lot of awesome images on the web lately - all glittery and sparkly, and truly magical...so I wanted to try and create my own version. My son says this looks like a galaxy to him (thanks Jim =), but it is actually bokeh, glitter, hearts and flares all combined. A little bit of magic for Super Bowl Sunday (come on Pats!!!)

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Different Looks - Same Image

Here are a couple of pieces I worked on this evening - the same collage image I put together, but with different coloring and contrast. I combined a vintage image first with an image of lace, then chose where to keep the lace (mostly on the lady herself), and then combined that image with a texture from skeletalmess on Flickr, and an old newspaper graphic. I used both Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop for this collage ...

Valentine Girl Collage

Altered vintage photo, using PSP and various .png images (roses and greenery)

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What I Did Today

Well, besides the housework, and sick kids, I got the chance to do a little artwork too. This is "Steampunk Sally"; the collage is a bit dark, I know, but I thought the dark sepia tones gave it a bit of mystery. I used a vintage image and then a floral texture, and altered everything with Paint Shop Pro. She is my newest Etsy listing =) If you haven't had the chance to drop by my new shop yet please visit - I have it stocked with lots of altered art digital downloads for artists - vintage images and ephemera, graphics, and lots more. It is called BellaCollageBoutique. Happy Monday to all! xo

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A Few More New Pieces

I love working with images of vintage ballerinas - they are always so elegant and ethereal. For the first piece above I combined the dancer image with a photo I had taken at the Union Station in St. Louis, and then altered in PSP. I used some added sheet music and lace textures to it as well. The last image above was so beautiful to begin with that I chose not to make too many alterations to it. I wanted to give her the appearance of movement, so I used the Wind effect in PSP - I love the look, and will probably be turning a lot of my new images into "windy"-appearing ones =)

I hope you are all enjoying a blessing-filled Sunday ~ Hugs, Peggi

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A New Year ... and some new artwork

I know that I promised to post some new artwork back in November, but the holiday season completely swamped me this year ... whew! I love Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Year's but I know that next year I am going to take it much, much slower - with lots of deep breaths and more nights at home by the fireplace - and definitely online shopping instead of hitting the malls - I am determined to not be exhausted on Christmas Day ever again. I do hope that everyone had a happy and safe holiday season - and that you are ready for a new year filled with new possibilities. I know I am =) So, as promised, here are a few pieces I've completed recently. I've been trying out some new things with my art and am excited to share them with you here. Let me know what you think. xxoo

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It Has Been Too Long

Hello everybody ~ I hope you are all doing well! I can't believe that I haven't blogged here since May. Our summer was a very busy one, and then with both of my kids (now adults!) starting up at college the early Fall was quite busy too.

I have been doing a lot of new artwork - and will start posting some of it today. I do feel that since my last post in May I have begun to create art a little differently. Taking it to new layers - creating a foundation image, and then layering and layering until the piece finally, I feel, has its own voice and can speak to its viewer. Perhaps its message will be different for each person - I assume that it will be - for we bring to each image we are viewing our own perceptions, expectations, memories, etc.

I do hope that you will like my new pieces ~ please feel free to make comments, constructive criticism, etc. and possibly let me know what, if anything, these little offerings might say to you.

So, I will get some images together to post, and am also planning on creating a whole new "look" to the blog - something fresh and welcoming - because I want you to enjoy your visits here. Hugs to everyone!!! Peggi

Hummingbird

Two combined and altered public domain photos...

Jasmine

Altered public domain photo of jasmine...

Take a Word Challenge - Memories

Here is my entry for the Take a Word challenge this week. I am excited to be hostessing this week's theme, Memories. Recently I have been doing a lot of reading about the life of Mary Pickford and I decided that I would base my collage around these two images of her as a young actress. The images were found through a Yahoo image search; the photo of the old French lace and linens was taken by me, and the French postcard and script are from the Flickr Collage Images group. I colorized the collage in Photoshop and added the flowers in Paint Shop Pro. Thank you again, Marie for allowing me the honor of providing the image for this week's challenge. Please stop by the Take a Word blog to see entries from all of the participating artists this week..... =) xxoo

Steampunk ATC for CS Swap

Geesh! I have gotten behind on everything ... finally finished this up for an ATC swap at Creative Souls. I hope my swap partner likes it (and forgives me for being a tad bit late). Sending love and good thoughts to everyone in Blogland! xxoo

Spring ...

Digital Collage

Angels

Cleo

Colorized and altered photo of Cleo de Merode.

Untitled Abstract Mixed Media Collage

Gypsy II

Digital Collage. Background by SkeletalMess; Dolores Costello courtesy of flickr; and colorized in PSP and PS.

New Etsy Shop and Blog Buttons

These are just samples ... please copy the ones on the right margin to link directly to the shop and the blog. Thank you! xo

Marie (pink)

This digital collage measures 8 X 10 inches, and is for sale as an instant download in my Etsy shop, AJoyfulStudio, for only $10.00 ~ I've already had a lot of interest in the other ones I did, so if you want one please hurry! xo

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The Seeker

Digital collage Textures courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations

New Item for Sale in My Etsy Shop

Newly listed, with more to come soon. Digital downloads for 9 separate ATCs, featuring vintage beauties Cleo de Merode, Maude Fealy, and Dolores Costello. Please visit my Etsy shop regularly to see what's been added, and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! xo

For the Take a Word Challenge - Blooms

Here is my entry for this week's challenge at the Take a Word Challenge blog; the theme is "blooms". For this piece I combined a photograph of the beautiful Dolores Costello (flickr images), with a postcard (also flickr images) and did some layering and colorizing in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. Please visit Take a Word to see more artwork by the many talented participating artists. Wishing everyone a beautiful week ahead! xo

For the Sunday Postcard Art Challenge - White

Here is my submission for this week's Sunday Postcard Art Challenge - the theme is "white". The ballerina image is courtesy of e-vint.com; texture from Shadowhouse Creations; hyacinth photo from flickr; and I colorized, combined and altered everything in PSP and PS.

Please be sure and check out SPA for more white submissions this week =) xo

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Some New Art

Feeling a little down and slow due to the weather, I think - I wish that spring would come in full force ... the flowers and trees were already full of blossoms and then it snowed, and now we have more snow expected tomorrow. But, I don't mean to gripe - I'm sure that spring will get here in due time. Perhaps the weather is why my art is a little bit darker this week, I don't know but I'm okay with it. It all balances out, and balance is always a good thing =) xxoo

~I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls~

Last Year's Flowers

A photo I took in our backyard - altered in PSP and PS ... hope we get lots of these little beauties this year =)

For the Echo Challenge - Flight

For the Echo challenge ~ the topic is Flight. Please visit the

Flickr Group to see more photos =)

Textures are courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations; photos taken by me, at home, on Christmas morning 2010

Remembering ...

These days are always difficult - it was five years ago today that my wonderful father passed away. He had been ill for quite a long time, with prostate cancer, and we all knew that his time here on earth was almost finished. We had lost my mom six years earlier on Mother's Day to lung cancer, but Dad had stayed busy and remained upbeat, his silly wonderful self, up until the last few days of his life.

I did this picture last night - I don't know why, but I was compelled to look back over my blog during 2006 and earlier, and read some of the comments Dad had left on here. He was such an encouraging person - if he knew you had an interest in something he would go out and buy you tons of books, or supplies, etc. on the subject and give them to you. He was always interested in learning something new, and he is actually the person who got me interested in photography to begin with. Anyway, when I came across the photo of these flowers I knew I wanted to use them in a collage. I remember the day my mom and I bought them - they were to go on her piano, and they did, and they were lovely!

To say I miss my mom and dad would be quite an understatement. They were my friends, my cheerleaders, they believed in me and always encouraged my interest in art. So this photo is for both of them, with much love ...