Mary Jane Shoes...

Remember last month when I joined an April challenge for Letter Writing Month? We were assigned one special Blog Pal to correspond with. Well, I was super lucky and my special Blog Pal was exactly that...SPECIAL. I still have yet to meet this wonderful lady but I am thrilled to call her friend just from our correspondence. This Mary Jane Shoes scrappy book is something she made and sent to me on the final days of April.

I actually had tears when I opened the package and look through this wonderful handmade book. For someone I have yet to meet to take the time to view my entire blog and realize I am infatuated with Mary Jane shoes and then to honor me with this treasure is quite overwhelming. She took the time to print out the numerous photos I had posted showing Mary Jane shoes. I didn't even realize how many I had shown. These are my green suede ones.

This photo on the left is my newest black pair. The little red Mary Jane is my daughter's from when she was little and I still have this shoe. My grandma had the other one and it sadly has gotten lost through the passage of time and lives.

These two pages of the book show my Mary Jane stamp I am in love with. My wonderful Blog Pal took the time to embellish each page with so many happy and cheerful things like hearts, flowers, lace and buttons. I love them all.

She even took the time to research the history of Mary Jane shoes and include that with the photos. I am truly amazed at how much effort, time and care she put into this book of mine.

Fortunately my wonderful Blog Pal signed this treasure and I shall keep it close to me forever.

Hopefully we will get to meet in person as she does not live too far from me.

Thank you so much for your time and talents and thoughtfulness Miss Blog Pal. I am eternally grateful.

Inspiration for me...

A few postings ago I shared about my obsession with Mary Jane shoes and my unused stamp. Well, here is a 5 x 7 piece of artwork I made as inspiration for myself.

I used my stamp and embossed it with shiny black as in patent leather...one of my favorites.

I painted the canvas with gesso and then Golden Fluid acrylics and used my favorite colors...Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) and Ultramarine Blue.

I used Golden Gel medium to adhere the "gold leaf" which is actually a golden colored wrapper from some chocolate I ate...yummy.

Then I embellished the entire canvas with buttons, ribbon, thread and heart shaped rhinestones.

Now my stamped Mary Janes took center focus with some photo corners. I left the stamped piece loose as I could change out the black shoes for another color if I want to.

All in all this is merely an artistic piece I made for myself as inspiration and to remind me of how far I have come on this creative journey I am on. I had fun making it and I am enjoying viewing it each day as I enter my studio where I have it hanging on a wall of lots of fun items.

Please tell me what is your favorite inspiration piece that helps you be creative?

Keep creating...

Promise kept...

So in my creative quest to make art and have fun and follow through I have finally inked one of my virgin stamps. I bought it years ago because it spoke to me. I would always set it out on my table but never use it. I don't know why but that is what would happen.

So as you can see, I inked my stamp and set it to paper, tissue and more paper. I embossed it, colored it and glittered it. Once I began there was no stopping me. I counted 44 pairs of shoes when I ran out of time.

What a simple little pair of shoes these are. What a powerful message they have. I call these Mary Jane shoes. I love them so much that I realized I was actually wearing a pair of my favorite black Mary Jane shoes while I was stamping.

So now I have used my little shoe stamp and what shall I ever do with so many stamped pairs of shoes?!! Well, I do have one little art project in the works and more in my head for the future. Stay tuned to see my current project.

Meanwhile keep creating and don't "save" your art supplies...use them and enjoy them. :o)