LAZY, HAZY, DAYS OF SUMMER

Hi and welcome. This month's challenge at ARTastic involved the use of stencils or masks. Pop over to: http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au  to see what the design team has been doing.
I've been dabbling with stencils more, so this was an opportune challenge for me. The photograph I have used on the layout was one taken near Dorroughby Environmental Education Centre, about 30mins drive from Lismore. This centre was a significant part of our school curriculum, with overnight stays with a class of students once a year, for far too many years to remember. For an Environmental Centre, it is in an ideal position. nestled among some gentle hills, surrounded by farms and with access to a large dam which was perfect for water studies. Students (at our school, usually Years 3 and 4 (9 and 10 year olds) were able to indulge in the delights of scoop netting the  water in the shallows of the dam to see what they could find, and it was a common occurrence for one or two of them, to 'accidentally' slip into the water. Since our camps were usually in the warmer months, it wasn't too bad. The dam was also home for a group of very shy platypus as well as a number of water birds. It was also common to see dragonflies, butterflies, and bees hovering over waterlilies and reeds. This flower was the most delicate blue, and yes, there is a bee sucking nectar.

The layout grew from this, and the memories invoked. It is redolent of those lazy, hazy summer days; fine weather, not too hot, maybe a gentle, balmy breeze; maybe a picnic beside a lake or lagoon, with the only sounds coming from nature.

The stencil I used reflected this idea perfectly. The paper I stencilled on, was card stock I use to 'decolour' ink sponges. A little glimmermist was also spritzed on before using gesso for the initial stencilling. As the background was still slightly damp, it bled into the gesso, softening the stark white. I repositioned the stencil a couple of more times and added further colour  and texture with the use of 3D stamping paint (silver, walnut brown and bronze). The silver was also streaked across the background card stock, to represent water ripples glistening in the sun.
Flowers punched from some of  my misting experiments, and a die cut butterfly were added. I chose a music background for the butterfly, because I felt it suited the idea behind the layout.

I used a Glaze pen for the heading,  ( and thank you to my friend Maree for the idea for the title). This pen gives a slightly raised surface, and feels as though it has been embossed.
Thank you for visiting. I enjoy reading the comments you leave.
Cheers, Di