Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today's Wednesday Stamper theme is "Diva", and this is perfect for me! As most of you know, my first love is drawing and painting. Throw-in some layering, stamping and collage images, and I am in *heaven*. So I took a workshop from the wonderful Kelly Kilmer last Friday with the idea of jump-starting my leap back into paint, and she had us do a day-by-day book. Mine, which is still a work in progress, centers around. . .you guessed it. . . Divas!!

Here's the first two-page spread. I wish I could tell you the name of the stamps used, but I can't remember. There are three of them: The raven on a branch, the leaves next to the raven and the flowery-snowflakey thing that is in a couple of places in the background. The rest is paint, doodles and magazine images.
My second 2-page spread has no stamps, just paper, paint and doodles, but since there's another Diva, I thought I'd throw it in.
The third 2-page spread uses Tim Holtz "X" stamp all around the background. The eye and lips are my doodles. I used to think, "Who'd buy a stamp of X's, when you can just draw them yourself?", but then I used it. Whoa! An entirely different experience and look than hand-drawn. The question is not: which is better, drawing or stamping? The answer is simply: Both are great! - - and even better when combined!
This is 2-page spread #4, and again, I cannot credit the stamp. I just picked it up and used it, and if I'd had a brain for anything other than the delight of creating these pages, I would have bought all the stamps I used! But alas, I was not thinking of shopping at the time! And digressing just a bit, in case you have DHs who like to count pennies, you can pass along my experience if you like: Just tell them that art is so fulfilling that it makes you forget to shop! That should give them the push they need to support your habit!!
And last but not last--because the work is in progress and there are more pages to come--here is 2-page spread #5. Thank you to Nordstrom's department stores for hiring such a fabulous artist! This little Diva (actually, just part of her) and the surrounding leaves and berries are from Nordstrom's magazine ads. If you can get your hands on a current American Vogue magazine, you'll see some truly inspired illustration in the Nordstrom ads! Again, here is that little snowflake/flower stamp, and I wish it was in my collection so I could just read the label (and use it over and over), but it was part of Kelly's collection, as was that great Japanese tape that runs down the spine of this page and makes my "1" in spread #4.
Have a great, artful day!