Friday, October 28, 2016

A few layouts to end the month


 The first layout is for http://whitewith1.blogspot.com.au October white with cayenne - pretty hot!! I have had the funky Hunger Games bookmark for a while and it seemed perfect for this layout. I also used some Jinny Beyer chili powder paint.
And then just for fun, here's a Halloween layout - Happy happy!!
thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

October challenges - Kraft plus, Scrapafrica, and More than Words


This post will be a little long as I am trying to catch up with posting the October challenges that I have been creating. We were very fortunate not to have any damage to our home from Hurricane Matthew but our power and internet were down for a few days. 
I used some very old paper, some ribbon, some buttons, and a little dymo tape. I threw some Finnabair rust pastes at the kraft paper and also used my coffee cup dipped in coffee
 This next challenge is for http://scrapafrica.blogspot.com/2016/10/scrap-africa-mood-board-no79.html   I prepared the heavy watercolor paper with gesso and layered pieces of an old handkerchief and laces. I painted the cat using a very limited palette of watercolor paints and I created the button and shell covered hearts by going through my button box and collection of shells.



 This final layout is for http://morethanwordschallenge.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/october-2016-main-challenge-change-ombre.html  I thought this photo of Prague that my son took was so beautiful and was so perfect for both the ombre and the change parts of this challenge. I painted the vase shape with watercolors and added the laces and flowers (one is made for some sewn ribbon). I then found this wonderful quotation about twilight - just perfect!
I have been painting and scrapping quite a bit this past month, and having so much fun combining the two. Hope you like them and thanks for looking!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

White with one magenta

I love the concept of the http://whitewith1.blogspot.ca/ challenge
to pair the purity and simplicity of white with one other color
I have joined this challenge several times and
won a Guest designer spot in September for my June layout.
For August (current month)
the challenge color is magenta
it's a very difficult color to pin down
so I did the best I could
I actually used one of my oil pastels that was labeled "magenta"
for working on the painted flowers and the edge of the paper.
the other elements were things I thought were a good match
hope you like it
and just wait till you see my creation for next month
it's still in the percolating stage but I am pretty sure of where it's going
thanks for stopping by
ttfn

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

he held her like a seashell




I loved the color inspiration for the July-August
challenge - see the swatch above
and the seashell story inspiration
so I went with that idea
the canvas has multiple layers of gesso and paints
the heart is canvas onto which I glued
shells, coral, and buttons
the rest is a mix of this and that of elements
that seemed to want to be part of this layout
Since I last posted
a new month has begun
and I have started working on an online
drawing and painting class with Kate Thompson
on Jeanne Oliver's website
the class is Children of the Wild
I have been practicing painting animals
and really enjoying the class
you'll be seeing more from it soon

thanks for stopping by
ttfn

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Smile - More than words challenge






really was difficult for me -
to use their sketch (easy as it's a great sketch)

but having the word "smile" on the page 
took a lot of thought
I really was drawn to this photo of my son
at age 1 1/2 
we were at a holiday party and he was not sure he wanted to be there
who in the world was the big man
with the white beard and red suit?
I thought about how to meld that photo with "smile"
and after a long thought.....
it just came together
some vintage Bo Bunny paper and lots of varied embellishments
old Prima lace, some wired twine, some paint,
some buttons, some truly vintage ribbon (at the right bottom),
some buttons, a deconstructed flower, a ruler,
and various other items that just seemed to belong.
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend
in this hot hot summer
and thank you all so much for the lovely comments
ttfn

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hope -the thing with feathers








One of my favorite poems is Emily Dickinson's 
"hope - the thing with feathers"
and when I saw the Relics & Artifacts All Things Wings challenge
I knew that I wanted to build on that idea
I had found a little doll at a thrift store and
taken her apart
I made a paper mache heart for her body and added the Relics
&Artifacts heart
I added the head and appendages
but she was so heavy I was forced to adhere her to a canvas
lots of gesso - both white and gold
some acrylic paints
and other stuff for texture
I hot glued the words to wire from her hands
as I wanted them to float like feathers
What a joy this was
Hope you like it
ttfn

Monday, July 18, 2016

Crafty with Kraft








And so it goes
more challenges
this time getting crafty with Kraft paper
the first layout is for the Kraftplus challenge blog
Kraft paper, sheet music, pastel pink,
feathers, heart
I used my trusty soffit as a stencil with modeling paste
and then added Claudine Hellmuth pink acrylic paint
vintage 7gypsies sheet music paper
Petaloo and Maya Road flowers
feathers and buttons

The 2nd layout is for the Scrapbook.com July
In this corner challenge
the bird is actually on the background paper
I cut around it and inserted my photo etc.
More pink (definitely in a pink mood right now)
ribbon, buttons, and a handmade
flower made from crepe paper and a fabric yo yo
Thanks for stopping by
ttfn

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Shrine to the Goddess Indigo - for Finnabair Inspired by Denim challenge






A Shrine for the Goddess Indigo
goddess of the warp and the weave
of the living and the dyeing
protector of blue jean babies and L A ladies

I had so much fun (and anguish) creating this little shrine
I was inspired by Finnabair's challenge
Inspired by denim
It's hard to see but the background is a piece of denim cloth
that I stamped with a Finnabair stamp
and then painted with rust paste and acrylic paint
I added lots of metal including 
a Finnabair mechanical heart
and layered on the top 
one of my favorite treasures
"The Face" by Diana Briegleb
lots of gel medium
and then beads
the frame is actually 2 small frames
that were given to me - no glass - just the frame
I hot glued them together
sanded them and added daubs of 
rust paste and acrylic paint
Hope you like it
ttfn

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Remember Spring - for July Prima BAP and for Scrapafrica







if earth laughs in flowers
then azaleas are a belly laugh
proclaiming that Spring is here!

I have been pondering what to create for the July Prima BAP
challenge since I first saw the sketch
Whenever I do a challenge, I carefully read
the requirements and list them on paper
If there is a sketch to follow, I hand sketch it out
Then I let it soak in
If certain colors or elements are listed
I make a little pile of them and shuffle them around
just trying to get a feel for where to go with all of it
I had listed several challenges to try this month
along with the Prima ones, including the one from Scrapafrica
As I was playing with placement of some photos
that I had taken of our azalea bushes
and lining them up
I got to thinking about one long photo that ran across the page
so I played a bit with that idea and printed one out
I then painted a loose painting of azaleas and laid the photo
across it
Playing with some flowers
I quickly realized how similar the 2 sketches were
and decided to play on that
I painted a Prima flower and a Finnabair flower
with watercolor paints to match the photo
and then built up the little floral gardens 
diagonally across the page
Every ingredient is Prima (other than the watercolor paper and
the Pilot pen that I used to write with)
The watercolors are mostly Prima the Classics
but a few from Decadent Pies
I used the Prima watercolor brushes
The flowers are 100% Prima from
the Free Spirit, Stationers Desk, Finnabair alterable,
 and another unknown vintage package
in the background are Christine Adolph rub-on daisies
the chipboard pieces are vintage Prima Meadowlark
the little end pieces are from the Salvage District  6x6 paintables
This was a labor of love
a reminder of how much I love
the exuberant explosion of our azalea bushes in Spring
Thanks for looking
ttfn 

Monday, July 11, 2016

Blue on blue on blue




Blue and blue and more blue
layouts for challenges on Scrapbook.com
I really like to use patterned paper
and offset my photo with color or embellishments
that make the photo pop
What are you creating today?
ttfn

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Ticket to Paradise - Whitewith1 challenge






So here's my layout for the current http://whitewith1.blogspot.ca/ challenge
white with a blue called Blue Island Paradise
I totally played on the name of the color
my photo is of a resort on Paradise Islands in the Bahamas
we visited there in the 1980's
but you won't find it there now
at least not looking like this
It became part of Atlantis
the hotel is still there but this lovely little building
which was a French restaurant is no longer there.
I used watercolor paints and crayons for the background
those are real shells from our travels
and then I added beads attached with gel medium
I love how the gel medium dries almost invisibly
the 2 bulkhead remnants are some broken pieces of
paper clay that I molded with an IOD baroque mold
it was my first attempt and they didn't come out great
but I think they have a charm of their own
Hope you like it
Check back tomorrow for more blue and blue and blue
ttfn