:::Purple Sampler:::

WOW! We had so many gorgeous entries this week! It was hard to chose just six! I had to add more - you ladies ROCK in purple!!!!! thanks for playing!

:::Purple:::

This weeks theme at Gothic Arches is “Purple”…my favorite color. I am a February baby, my birthstone (amethyst) and birthflower (violet) are also my favorite color. What do you think of when the color purple is mentioned? Violets growing sweetly in a meadow? Rich jewels on the Queen’s crown? A deep rich starry sky? Whatever the thought may be we want to see it here at Gothic Arches.

A bit about our hostess:

My name is Nancy Maxwell James and I live in Michigan with my husband and our 3 fur babies. I have three children: Ian who is a collage student, Andrew who is serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, and a daughter Allison who is also a student. I love mixed media, cards, scrapbooking and genealogy. I also love all the wonderful artists and friends I have met through blogging.

In celebration of my birthday this week I selected purple as our theme. I have always loved the color and have many trinkets and keepsakes that I collect that are purple. My Grandmother also loved the color and passed down many precious heirlooms to me because we shared that love.

You many visit my blog http://vintagepapers.blogspot.com to see more of my artwork.

Can’t wait to see the pretty purple creations this week!

:::Dog Sampler:::

We saw some really adorable “poochies” this past week! A dog is man’s best friend!

:::Dogs:::

 

Our theme this week is “Dogs” which our hostess Nellie van Leeuwen selected and made this precious arch. What makes a the bond between our furry friend so special? We hope you will show us this week with our Gothic Arch challenge.

A bit about our hostess:

I’m very fond of dogs. I own 4 myself. Irish wolfhounds Lucca and Nigel and border terriers Gonzo and Darcy. They give me so much joy every day. Really couldn’t imagine a life without them. The lost of our Irish wolfhound Ivar in September and the arrival of puppy Nigel, now 12 weeks old made me realize even more how special the bond between dogs and humans can be. It’s this special bond that inspired me to take dogs as a theme for this weeks gothic arch challenge. I think the image I chose for my arch expresses this special relationship quite well. Let us see what dogs mean in your life or how you take them as an object for creating art!

You may visit Nellie’s blog to see more of her beautiful creations:

http://dutchstamptramp.blogspot.com/

:::Music/Lyrics Sampler:::

There were so many beautiful arches using fantastic lyrics this past week!

:::MUSIC & Lyrics:::

Our theme this week is MUSIC & Lyrics…I would like to thank our hostess Keron Lee for her gorgeous arch and selection of the theme…

A bit about our hostess:

The theme for this week’s challenge is: MUSIC & Lyrics presented by Keron Lee (aka The Colourguru) from Melbourne, Australia.

I hope you have fun with this theme - you are welcome to interpret this literally or figuratively – so using sheet music on your arch or using the title of music or lyrics from a song to be the topic of your arch. If you are going to do that, you need to include the words in the composition.

These may be current day lyrics, classical lyrics, words from plays or theatre performances – or songs from your childhood.

You will see that my Arch is of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’. Our 18 month old granddaughter (whom is affectionately known as Princess ‘L’) spends lots of time at our house when her mum is studying or working. We often sing songs together & dance about with her while she is with us & she is always going up to the stereo & saying dA, dA, which means she wants music on & wants to dance.  She twirls & stomps her feet & sways around, makes moaning noises that mimic singing………one of the little games we play is singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, THIS week – when I was singing it with her at the appropriate place she joined in with ‘How I won……….’ Then trailed off into her melodic moaning again.  She has been wandering around saying ‘how I’ & just continuing to repeat those same few words – in our house – the nursery rhyme is now called ‘HOW I’ as we all (including my macho tradie husband) make twinkling stars with our fingers!

For anyone who has been following along, you may notice that it always appears as though I do two arches (I guess I do in a way) but it’s the back of my arch, as I have punched the sides & will eventually bind it in some way at the sides - I want the backs of my pages to be nice as well……………what’s everyone else doing with their stash of gorgeous arches????

You may visit Keron’s blog here:
The Colourguru

:::Gypsy Sampler:::

We had so many beautiful gypsy themed arches this past week! thank you for playing and inspiring others!

:::Gypsy:::

 

 Our theme this week is “Gypsy” and our hostess Mandy has done a beautiful arch with vibrant colors, image and details. What comes to your mind when you think of a gypsy? Crystal balls? a mystical lady? foreign lands? We would love to see your creation in gothic form!

A bit about our hostess…

My name is Mandy, I’m a full~time mum and also a carer for my disabled mum. I have been crafting a long time, but only took up rubberstamping about 2 years ago, and I’m totally addicted! Although I’m predominantly a rubberstamper I would love to do more mixed media art.

I chose ‘Gypsy’ as a theme because of the sumptious colours associated with them, all the wonderful lushious richness of everything you think of when you think of gypsies.

You can visit Mandy’s beautiful blog here:
Mandy’s Magical World of Art

:::Guardian Angel Sampler:::

We had so many guardian inspirations this past week - bringing in 2008 with creative flair! thanks for all your beautiful contributions!!!

:::Guardian Angel:::

Our challenge this week is to create something using the theme “Guardian Angel”. Our hostess this week Anne Jones made this beautiful arch using different elements and a lovely quote. How do you interupt guardian angels? Heaven above? sweet cherubs? Angels among us? We would love to see your gothic arch creations here!

A bit about our hostess…

There’s not a lot more to be said about me that isn’t already in my profile. I am married with two absolutely wonderful little boys who are my life. This year my DH and I celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss and I am planning a big party for our anniversary as we only had a very quiet wedding at The Blacksmiths Cottage in Gretna..

Thanks to programmes like “Blue Peter” and “Vision On”, I have always felt inspired to create. One of my earliest craft memories was getting told off in a Geography lesson for not listening - instead I was too busy trying to work out how I was going to get that cheese box, toilet roll tube and cotton reel to resemble a carousel! I did eventually create my masterpiece but to this day I still don’t know where Angola is! LOL!

I hope my Guardian Angel inspires you, and I look forward to seeing all your fabulous arches! Have fun!

You may visit Anne’s blog to see more of her beautiful creations:

http://www.artisanne10.blogspot.com/

:::Seasons Greetings:::

We will be taking a break for the next two weeks to enjoy the holiday and have a little rest.  We hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and loved ones. Thank you for all your lovely contributions and support the past several months.

We will return on Sunday, January 6, 2008 with a new gothic challenge.

Until then - stay safe and may the true spirit of the season be with each of you!

:::Joy of Christmas/Children Sampler:::

We had many joyful entries this past week showing children and Christmas spirit! Thank you for submitting your creations!

:::Joy of Christmas/Children:::

 

 This weeks theme is the “Joy of Christmas/Children”…our hostess Barbara Hurst made this precious gothic arch using beautiful stamping techniques. What comes to your mind with this theme? Children under the Christmas tree opening gifts? visiting Santa? singing Christmas carols? Whatever your vision may be we wish to see it hear at Gothic arches this week.

About our hostess:

I had the pleasure of picking this week’s theme and hope you enjoy doing it as much as I did. I live in the desert west of the US. I have been stamping for 6 years, actively for the past 2 years. I have had many passions over the years and find rubber stamping and making backgrounds enjoyable because of the wonderful stampers across the world.

I think that is what keeps my passion for stamping fresh, by seeing and learning from everyone else. Thanks to all of you who give me such inspiration each and everyday. I hope that everyone has a Wonderful Holiday and New Year. Cheers, too many more stamping opportunities in the New Year.

To see more of her gorgeous work you can visit Barbara’s blog here:
http://sun-catcher.blogspot.com

:::Sparkling Wings Sampler:::

:::Sparkling Wings:::

This weeks theme is “Sparkling Wings”…our hostess Nancy Dooren created this fabulous arch with the most gorgeous effect of sparkle on the wings. What comes to your artistic mind when “sparkling wings” is mentioned…sweet little fairies?….angels from heaven above?…snow glistening on the wings of a child?….whatever it may be - we wish to see it here in gothic arch form!

A bit about our hostess:
I´am Nancy Dooren. I live in Enschede, The Netherlands,with my hubbie Wilfred and cat Sylvester. I´am a dental assistant for 16 years now. I love to stamp, my Trollbeads/Pandora bracelet and reading books!

In Dutch…
Mijn naam is Nancy Dooren. Ik woon in Enschede samen met mijn man Wilfred en kater Sylvester. Ik ben 16 jaar tandartsassistente. Ik mag me graag bezighouden met mijn hobby´s: stempelen, Trollbeads/Pandora en lezen!

Nancy has a wonderful blog called Vintage Stamper where you can see more of her creations.

:::Winter Sampler:::

We had some beautiful winter entries this week. Thank you for submitting your gorgeous arches!

:::Winter:::

Winter always reminds me of snow, winter coats and birds flying south. So I combined these items to make my winter themed arch. I used Distress crackle paint to make the background. This gave the piece a feeling of cracked ice.

Winter has always been a magical time for me. I have so many memories of waking up on winter mornings with snow on the ground. Oh what a great joy if school was cancelled for the day. I would get to go outside to play in the beautiful white snow drifts. I remember being so cold that my fingers and toes were numb but not caring. It sure would have been nice to have a muff for my hands on those cold days.

Now I get to enjoy those snow days with my daughter. It is so great to see her excitement as she plays in the snow.

See my blog at www.paperflowers1.blogspot.com for more information on how I made this piece.

What do you think of when the term “winter” is used? Snow gently falling? Children building snowmen? Old fashioned ladies bundled in their coats with fur muffs? Whatever comes to your mind we would love to see if here in gothic arch form.

Our hostess is Cora Harkins who made this gorgeous arch for this weeks challenge. Cora has a beautiful blog (which happens to have some winter images freebies today) where you can see more of her artwork!

Cora Harkins

Visit Cora’s blog: Paper Flowers
 

A bit about our hostess…
Bio: I am married with one daughter. I work full time as a salesperson and stamping is my artistic outlet. My degree is in costume and set design. Though I do not design professionally, I try to bring that training into my art work. I love antique lace, buttons and ephemera. You can often see me lurking at area flea markets trying to find new treasures. I teach classes and sell my cards locally. I have been stamping and card making for over 15 years. One of my first projects was my wedding invitations. Lucky for me we had a small wedding.
My other hobbies are knitting, sewing, felting and papermaking.

:::Chocolate Sampler:::

We had so many delicious chocolate entries this past week. Looks like many of us LOVE to eat the divine candy!

:::Chocolate:::

 Our hostess this week is Nellie van Leeuwen who made this delicous and gorgeous gothic arch for our theme “Chocolate”…“Chocolate is a girls best friend”. I totally agree with that quote, I’m fond of chocolate. What does chocolate mean to you? A great treat, a comforting moment, a time to time sin you can’t live without? Or perhaps just a beautiful brown colour to work with? Let us see what your associations with chocolate are.A bit about our hostess…

I live in the Netherlands with Harrie, my mate for over 27 years. For me there are 3 big passions in life. The first by far are our dogs, 3 at the moment, Irish wolfhound Lucca and borderterriers Gonzo and Darcy. A very good second is crafting, mainly stamping and collaging, often combined. I got addicted to stamping 3 years ago after following a couple of workshops. Love to spent hours and hours in my craft room.

The nickname I chose for myself is “Dutch stamptramp” because I wander from one technique or colour to another and constantly like to try new things. All the challenge blogs and people all over the world I got to “meet” through the internet inspire me very much. And now you’re wondering what the third one is, aren’t you? Well that’s travelling. I so much like to visit beautiful places in the world, enjoy nature, culture and meeting people of all sorts. I very much like to use travel as a theme in my artwork too.You may see more of Nellie’s amazing work at her blog:

http://dutchstamptramp.blogspot.com/

:::Friends Sampler:::

We had many beautiful pieces this past week devoted to the theme “Friends”…thank you for all your wonderful contributions!