The wonder of swaps!

Although I belong to this wonderful group I also take part in another group that some of you may know. It is called Boomers and Beyond or BBEST for short!

Last month the BBEST team had an ACEO challenge with the theme set as ‘Spring’. Members were invited to contribute an ACEO in any medium to swap with others. There was a great response and many who had never tried creating an ACEO had a go, and really enjoyed themselves in the process!

For my part I entered the challenge with two, one in my PQ personality and one in my OAW persona.

My PQ ACEO was created using coloured felt pieces, vintage buttons, beads and a signature butterfly. With a bright sun to cheer the viewer on their way I wanted to achieve a bright, springy feel to this one!

The ACEO created under my OAW banner was created in the encaustic medium or painting in wax. Using my trusty travel iron and hot stylus for detail I imagined this stream running through some rocky crags with plants rearing their heads gingerly as Spring approached.

I suppose it was a sneaky way to secure a swap for 2 great ACEO’s. Let me show you what wonderful ACEOs I got in return!

Firstly from Hemlock Hollow came this beauty. She even used rocks (pebbles!) from her creek. Very pretty!

I think this was a ‘first’ and hopefully, not the last.

Meanwhile, the other ACEO I was lucky enough to receive came from Make Your Presents Felt and brought a cheery smile to the day. What a cheerful chappy!

Personally, I thought it was a wonderful way to introduce ACEOs to creators new to this format. To some ACEOs can be very daunting; to have to work in such a small piece of art can be challenging when you are not used to it. However, these two folk had never attempted this before and there were many who have realised what a fun and interesting size it is to work on!

17 March brings out the Irish in you!

I guess if you have a hint of Irish blood in you, or you just want to join in, today is the day! Yes, it’s St Patrick’s day which is celebrated worldwide but especially in Ireland (of course!), New Zealand and North America. It is the one day of the year when the Irish theme is paramount and everything green goes and even if you have no Irish connections you can proclaim yourself to be Irish for the day!

In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903, by the Money Bank. (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O’Mara. O'Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. Can you imagine closing an Irish pub?

Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother in England, used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British army consisting primarily of soldiers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Eire). Last year the waters in Trafalgar Fountains in London were turned green for the day. Here though let’s see what items can be found in the ACEO Street Team on Etsy!

Could this be an Irish hill?

over the hill-ACEO

by

rhradcliffedesigns

 

 

Or check out these signs of Spring!

Spring Renewal – ACEO

by

DianeClancy

 

 

… and in Spring there are always plenty of showers and sunshine to shelter from using parasols like these.

 

ACEO - Parasol - watercolor enhanced print

by

riverroadstudio

I really couldn’t let a chance like this escape, now could I?  How about some green bamboo?

Bamboo - Green, an original encaustic ACEO

by

onawhimsey

Remember……
A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. ~Author Unknown

Spring is in the air!

Since many of us a relishing the slightly (I did say, slightly!) warmer weather I wanted to share an ACEO with you! I belong to another Etsy group (Boomers and Beyond or BBEST for short) and they are having a swap for the month of March with the theme set as Spring!

So many images come to the fore don’t they? Finally, I decided on this ACEO as my entry. It is entitled ‘A Spring running down the Valley’.

Created using my favourite art medium of encaustic paint or painting with wax the ACEO has plenty of depth and detail to it. If you listen carefully you might even hear the tinkling of the spring water as it trickles down the mountain!

Now I just have to find out to whom I am to send it!

If you would like to view more ACEOs using this amazing 2000+ year old medium do visit my Etsy shop .

Make Life a Breeze!

Well, I might not be able to make all your lives a breeze but I do have information that might help blog authors.  For those of you who have already discovered Microsoft LiveWriter please bear with me!  Have you checked it out recently?  There are some awesome new tweaks that you can incorporate now!

Microsoft LiveWriter (LW).  What is it?  This program which is free to download from the Internet has been created to simplify and encourage blog authors who like to post on not only one blog but on a variety.  Each blog, as you know, has a different look.  That will be down to the fonts, settings, layouts etc.  Also, when writing a post directly in the actual blog and you want to list a picture it has the annoying habit of receiving the picture but placing it at the top of the post so that you have to juggle the layout each time you do this!  Grrrrrrr!!!!

So for this, life is simple and a breeze!  I have been using the program for a while now and downloaded the latest version called Windows Live Writer 2009.  Check this site http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/ for good informative details about what LW can do for you.

Once you have downloaded the program all you have to do is register your blogs so that LW can remember each blog and all its settings without you having to do anything other than be creative with your words!

For this you will see at the top of your screen page the word ‘Blog’, second in from the right, next to ‘Help’.  When you click on ‘Blog’ you will see a drop down menu showing View, Manage, Edit, a list of blogs you have registered and ‘Add Blog Account’.

The latter heading of ‘Add Blog Account’ is where you need to go.  However, in order to complete the information input you will need to know a) the name of the blog  b) your username (ID) and c) your password.  Imagine entering a building full of filing cabinets and being told to file your book in the correct place!  Well, it would be helpful to know which room, which cabinet to go to and which key to use to unlock it!  You get my drift?

Once the program has recognized your information and found your blog a page will open displaying a title bar and blank page in the same format as your blog….. magic!

Now you can write to your heart’s content, edit, save as a draft, insert a table, a picture which you can place where and how you want from the tools provided on the right of the screen.  Videos can be added too!!  You can create albums or use different borders and effects. This program will work with most popular blogs like Windows Live, Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal,  TypePad, and many more.   It will even help you with YouTube videos!!

LW will allow you to preview your post to see how it will look before you publish!  Note on the pictures above I have tilted them and added a watermark.  Neat isn’t it?

Remember to add your tags so people who search can find you.  This is done in LW too.  You will find the area for this under ‘Set Categories’ at the bottom of the page.  There are many more aspects to the program but for the moment and for the sake of the content of this post I would stick to the blogging side of things.

I could go on and on and really bore you but I suggest you go see for yourself and decide.  Life will never be the same.  This clever tool helps encourage would be authors to write to different blogs because all the hard work has been taken out of it leaving it a pleasure to create with words and pictures!

This post was created using LW as proof of the pudding!