IA Weekly Challenge

Masquerade

Marie has arrived at the masquerade ball . . .

has she gotten the date wrong? It seems she is the only one here.

No . . . she's just preparing for a grand entrance

and is waiting to enter the ballroom fashionably late.

In truth, her up-swept pink hairdo is to blame,

as it got tangled in the cherry tree outside the palace

and had to be redone. But no matter, her dance card is full

and the bits of twig and cherries stuck in her hair

will not keep her from having a splendid time!

Besides, she heard they have cake!

The theme this week at Inspiration Avenue, 

if you haven't guessed, is 

Masquerade Ball

This was a fun topic, and appropriate 

with Halloween just days away.

I immediately thought of Marie Antoinette 

since I am just a tiny bit obsessed

and love all the over-the-top

ornate opulence. Not that that's my style

but I just love looking at it :)

Be sure to check out all the entries in the challenge

which will be posted at Inspiration Avenue

on Sunday afternoon.

Have a lovely weekend and a spooky Halloween!

Paint Party Friday

Things that go Bump in the Night

How can a girl be afraid of the bogeyman when

she has her trusty companion by her side?

Well, maybe just a teensy bit...

This was actually going to be my entry in

Inspiration Avenue's Fear challenge.

But when you have a wonky computer

calling the shots, very few things

work out the way you planned. Now I've got a

new computer up and running, I can post

this for Paint Party Friday :)

Are you ready for the witchery and ghoulishness

of Halloween night? How do you spend the evening?

I will be handing out sweet treats to the tiny tots of the neighborhood,

as well as the great big ones and everybody in between.

We get scads of trick-or-treaters :)

My own little "goblin" is grown and probably will stay at school

for the weekend  ~ lots of Halloween parties around campus, you know. 

After all, what's the use of attending a "party school" if you don't

attend the parties? Just kidding, I'm happy he's having fun 

as long as his grades are good...hmmm, now

if I can just see some grades...

Go check out Paint Party Friday if you haven't already!

Blog Party Giveaway!

Giveaway #4

What a time for my computer to get temperamental.

While it is finally agreeing to run for more than 2 minutes,

I am hurrying to post my giveaway in the

"On the Wings of Inspiration Blog Party".

Here is the front of my altered journal.

It's got layers of watercolor, tissue paper, collage papers

with a message to "Stay Inspired". The little art girl

has arms and legs of paper beads, which I

just learned how to make. Easy peasy, and very addicting!

The back will be finished too, but not only is it not completed,

but I don't want to press my luck with this (very annoying) computer.

So I'm posting it as is, and will add photos (hopefully)

at a later time. All will be ready to go to the winner whose name is

drawn from the entries in the October 16 art challenge at Inspiration Avenue.

It's got 240 blank acid-free pages inside just waiting for

your amazing artwork! Or your amazing words!

Or anything you'd like to fill it with.

Don't forget to visit the page with Giveaways 1, 2 and 3

as well as some freebies for you to use right now!

And be ready to enter the art challenge on October 16

to be eligible to win one of seven prizes.

Stay tuned to Inspiration Avenue for nos. 5, 6, and 7!

Paint Party Friday and IA Art Challenge

The Owl and the Pussycat . . .

went to sea

In a beautiful pea green boat.

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five pound note. . .

 It does go on and on, and I've heard that Edward Lear

had nearly completed a sequel to the poem at the time of his death.

It begins:

The Children of the Owl and the Pussycat
Our mother was the Pussycat,
our father was the Owl,
And so we're partly little beasts
and partly little fowl,

The brothers of our family
have feathers and they hoot,
While all the sisters dress in fur
and have long tails to boot. 

The theme this week at Inspiration Avenue is

OWLS

Somehow it took me by surprise.

If it had been cats, I would have said Oh Yeah.

But I haven't thought much about owls since my mom's

owl collection in the 70's. And it was just too cutesy for words, 

so I must have blocked it out. So looking them up

on Google, I was amazed to see just how many 

different species of owl there are.

Too many for me to keep track of.

But now I see why so many people are in love with owls.

They're quite incredible creatures.

Since we're on the topic of owls and cats,

here is something fun to watch:

The gallery of owl creations will be up on Sunday

at Inspiration Avenue.

Paint Party Friday is, of course, 

in full swing on Friday!

Visit them both!

Blog Party Freebies!

Some Digital Freebies from me,

Here are some ACEO-size (2.5" x 3.5") backgrounds.

(Click to get the full-size image and download to your computer.)

 Two mini sheets of inchies

(Again, click to get the full-size images and download to your computer.)

You're invited to a party!

Join us at Inspiration Avenue . . .

It's time to finally share with you the event we have been

planning at Inspiration Avenue for some time now!

We were so excited to realize we had gained 500 followers

(plus a few more now) that we decided to hold a

week-long blog party in honor of all those fabulous

people who have enriched our lives.

Many of you we see each and every week as you

participate in our art challenges,

and we have come to know you and your blogs

(and of course your art). We so appreciate your dedication

to visiting and entering the challenges!

Pop over to Inspiration Avenue to join the party!

There will be
FREEBIES 
like digital images, tutorials, and more, plus  

GIVEAWAYS 
that will be revealed every few days from

October 3rd to the 20th.

Get ready to enter the weekly challenge on October 16, because

the giveaway winners will be drawn from the challenge entries!

The theme will be 'On the Wings of Inspiration', of course!
(The challenges on October 3 and 10 will proceed as usual)

Grab a party badge to put on your blog and

help spread the word!
See you there!