We're Headed to Disney!

Well...it's finally here...the vacation that has been in the making for two years. In less than 24 hours we'll be on our way to Orlando! Magic Kingdom here we come!

This is a very exciting trip for us...you see, Dave and I have been there several times, but we were much younger then and didn't have kids to share the experience with. We were the kids :)

This is me several years ago...it was taken at the Norway Pavillion in Epcot.

So, my etsy shop is on vacation mode (as am I). I can hardly wait to soak up the sun and sip margaritas poolside...and experience the thrill of my very favorite Disney rides, Pirates of Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion (okay and the Carousel of Progress too).

I can't believe how young hubby and I look in these pics...after all, they were only taken about 15 years ago.

~Alisa

Blog Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much to everyone who left me a comment and a title suggestion for my recent piece. I decided to use the title "Waiting"...thank you to terrysweet and lucy for the suggestion.

I used the random number generator to pick the winner...so congrats to number 4 - Tina Wright, who will get a $25 gift certificate to my etsy store, prettylittlependant.

Thanks again to all who participated!

~Alisa

Home and Family...a couple new pieces

Just thought I would show off my latest tin and the family that now hangs on my wall. Don’t worry…the confusion will subside momentarily.

Home…an altered tin

Front

Tins are fun! Hmmmm…never thought I would say that! They are also a lot of work.

Inside

Sure they’re little, but you’ve got to come up with something to put on the outside, inside, around the edges…it’s work (but in a good way)! It’s also been a great way to use up some of those teeny tiny paper bits that I can’t seem to throw away…and a good way to accumulate more tiny bits.

Outside

Okay, now on to the “family”. Well…let me start with the frame. I picked this lovely frame up at a flea market last summer. It was perfect…literally crumbling into pieces. So I set it aside knowing that it would be perfect for some project down the line. Well, after I put a great deal of work into stabilizing the frame the perfect project materialized.

Family - 8"x10"

I created the background using various bits of paper ephemera then looked for the perfect family to hang on my wall. As I looked at countless images in search of the perfect family with good lighting (a mom, dad and two little girls of course), I found this perfect little group. We always tease my husband about being the only “boy” in the house…even our cats are females. So when I saw the father in this photo surrounded…and I do mean surrounded by a wife and 5 little girls, I knew they would be a perfect fit. So now when Dave looks at the finished piece hanging on the wall, he realizes that he could have it so much worse.

~Alisa

The Sisterhood

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Canvas now has it's very own blog where we'll be info about our artistic journeys, creative processes and of course a glimps into our personal lives.

If you're wondering..."what in the world is this sisterhood group anyway?" here's the story. Months and months ago, a group of creative women got together by a chance meeting on etsy. From those inital chats our relationships with one another have grown. We formed the sisterhood of the traveling canvas and participated in a project that involved traveling a canvas around from one sister's house to the next. Each sister added her own special elements to the canvas, then shipped it to the next sister until the canvas was complete. The resulting project is published in the latest issue (July/Aug. 2009) of Somerset Studio.

Well, now we have a blog! We have joined the Pink Team and will be raffling off the pubished sisterhood canvas and journal to benefit breast cancer research, a cause that is very near and dear to us.

Sisterhood artists include:

Glenda Bailey

Pam Carriker

Kim Geiser
Denise Hayden
Nancy Lefko
Kathy Maximo
Alisa Nordholt-Dean
Jodi Ohl

Oh and don't forget to leave a comment on my previous post for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to my etsy shop. I'll draw a winner on Tuesday, July 21.

~Alisa

Need your help!

Here is one of the most recent pieces I’ve finished. There’s just one small problem…I’m having trouble coming up with a name for the piece. Whenever I see the piece, I think stately woman in chair. Hopefully you can help me come up with something a little bit better. Let me tell you a little about her.

My inspiration came from a recent art call put out by Somerset Studio. The call was for “aubergine”. To me aubergine (you know that lovely plum/eggplant color) says royalty, elegance and sophistication. For the background I used opera music, lovely handwritten ledger paper (in purple ink!), a princess story from an old book and scrapbook paper. Now as the background was coming together I realized that I was not using aubergine at all but had embraced shades of burgundy instead. Undaunted, I continued on with the piece. When I crossed the image of the “stately woman in chair” I knew she would be my focal image…after all, she seemed like the definition of elegance sitting so regally in her chair. Alas I finished my aubergine inspired piece, fully realizing that it would never see publication under the aubergine call…well, being burgundy and all it just wasn’t meant to be.

So here is where you come in. Leave a comment on my blog with your suggestion(s) for a title and you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate for my etsy shop. The winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, July 21.

Okay…let the suggestions begin!
~Alisa