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.

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. 

The above challenge is for http://kraftpluschallenges.blogspot.com/2016/10/october-blast-from-past-challenge.html

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!

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

he held her like a seashell

I loved the color inspiration for the July-August

http://wordspaintery.blogspot.se/

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

Smile - More than words challenge

The http://morethanwordschallenge.blogspot.com.au/ challenge this month

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

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

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

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

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 

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

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