THE HAZARDS

Hi and welcome. Today, I'm showing a layout which was started over a year ago and finally completed... and a perfect one for this month's theme at Anything But a Card: Out and About.
This layout was started at a workshop at :timetocreate where Julie demonstrated a technique we were to use: spraying white card with metallic paints, swiping over sections with daubers and when dry, putting through an embossing folder.

The board I prepared was cut into different sized strips and put onto black cardstock. I also used an A4 card to tear and distress additional strips of black.. These were placed on the background and some sections were then versamarked through a stencil, and heat embossed... and that's where it was left.

It was left until fairly recently, when iIretrieved it from my UFO pile (getting smaller). I decided to add additional embossing over the black background, some through a stencil and some by just dropping onto the page and carefully heating from some distance, adding more powder as it started to melt. In this way I was able to get flicks of embossing that looked like sea spray on some sections.

 

I added die cut circles put through an embossing folder. inked with silver and also heat embossed with a fine embossing powder, then added the photos.

The photos were taken on our last trip to Tasmania on the beautiful north-east coastline at a charming village, Coles Bay. This bay overlooked the cliff area known as The Hazards.  This is an area we wish to return to and explore further.

There's still time to check out and maybe even enter this month's challenge, so why not pop on over to:anythingbutacard and check out what my teamies have done this  month.

 

Thank you for popping by and leaving some love.

Catch you all again soon.

Cheers, Di

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY!!!

Hi and welcome. My DT piece for ARTastic this month has been formatted around two photos taken of some rather unusual markings on  tree with the required additional criteria of wood veneer and/ or birds.
I see owls, one in flight and the other on a branch.

I wanted a quirky look to reflect that of our inspirational artwork this month., a painting by Luka Va called "Bird King".

 

 

To achieve this, apart from the photos, I smooshed some manilla card with Distress Inks directly from the pads ( fossilized amber, cracked pistachio, abandoned coral and mermaid lagoon) and then stamped with archival black. The stamp I used was a funky mushroom edging. I added wooden mushrooms, inked with some of the same colours and then glazed with Glossy Accents.

 

 

I also added some additional wooden birds which were treated the same way as the mushrooms. To the whole of the background I glued cut and broken pieces of timber veneer to give the whole, a rustic look. Timber veneer leaves were also added. 

 

 I cut some feather shapes from my leftover smooshing and stamped on the letters for the title. Some extra words from Darkroom Door completed the piece.

I wonder what you see in the photos. I know some of my teamies have seen different things. It would be a hoot to find out.
While you're here, why not pop on over to:artastic to see what the rest of the team has done. You will be amazed! We'd love for you to join in.
Catch you again soon. Thank you to  those who have left such encouraging  comments.
Cheers, Di

SOAR

Hi and welcome. This month at Pixels and Paper our photo to inspire you features hot air balloons and quite an iconic Aussie structure... the windmill seen so often on farms and outback stations.

I've taken the idea of the balloons and the windmill and have created a layout without photos.

The balloons feature some of the colours from the inspiration photo and have been made in three different ways:- Iris Folding, Venetian Folding and the one in the centre at the bottom of the page, by gluing strips of paper to a balloon template. The lower edge of the paper has then been stamped  with trees and of course, a windmill. This stamping was also on top of the balloon to make it look as if it was rising behind the treeline.
The title "Soar" was cut from card which had been gessoed through a stencil then sprayed with Dylusions Ink while wet.

Pop on over to:pixelsandpaper and check out what the rest of the team has done. We'd also love to see your artwork here.
Catch you again soon.
Cheers. Di

JUST A PEEP

Hi! The DT at Pixels and Paper are presenting a tutorial each month on some techniques we use. It's been my turn this month and I am showing just a sample of what I have done. To find out more about what I did and how I did it, pop on over to:pixelsandpaper and check it out.

Catch up with you all again soon.
Cheers, Di

FAVOURITE PLACES

Hi and welcome. Today I'm sharing a canvas featuring some of the places I love to visit in my local area as well as an artwork by an indigenous Australian artist, Sally Morgan, as my DT piece for Anything But A Card. Our theme this month has been  "Inspired By the Masters".

This artwork by Sally Morgan is a screen print "Aboriginal Land" from 1995. This depicts images of  six different Australian landscapes including desert, rivers, mountains and trees. The whole piece has been encircled by a rainbow serpent to give strength and unity to the print. It is also a creation spirit in Aboriginal Australia.

I chose a 50 x 35cm canvas so that I could work a number of photos on a larger area. The background was sprayed with Dylusions Inks and Lindy Stamp Gang sprays. A border of leaves was stencilled on with Viva Modelling Creams and Ferro combinations.

I also stencilled on a water effect with the same products. The photos I used all have some significance with each other, as well as some Aboriginal significance. 
The top photo is an aerial view of Mt Warning, named so by Captain Cook and known as Wollumbin by the local Aboriginals. This peak and the rim of mountains around it are the remains of a huge shield volcano which covered this area. With the erosion over the millennium, the beautiful Tweed Valley, Richmond Valley and the Border ranges were formed.
The remaining photos are of the Nimbin Rocks, Whian Whian Falls (taken one very misty morning),  rapids at a creek near Protester's Falls, and overflow from Rocky Creek Dam, after a period of flooding rain.
Rain that falls in the Mt Warning and Border Ranges catchment area impact these creeks and dams, hence the water connection on the canvas.
Many of the towns and villages, particularly in the Tweed have Aboriginal names, including the home town of my childhood and teenage years, Murwillumbah.
They are all a part of rainforest areas and that is why I have chosen to use the leaves to connect them. My bright colours, inspired by Sally Morgan, have been used in the flowers that I've made. These represent lillypilly flowers which are a typical rainforest tree. These were painted onto card using modelling cream and then streaks and dots of pearl pens. Additional leaves were stamped onto mop-up card and cut out.
Pop on over to: anythingbutacard and check out what masters the rest of the team has chosen and how they've been inspired.

Catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

STARS IN OUR EYES

Hi and welcome. This month's inspirational artwork at ARTastic is "The Return of the Young Prince" by Sarah Beetson, with the additional criterion of the use of stars.

For my layout this month I have chosen some of the colours depicted in the artwork and constructed an iris folded star as the background mat for the photo I've used.

One of the papers used for this was one of my experiments with a new stencil and Neon inks.
The photo I've used was taken of my soon-to-be husband and self, not long after our engagement in 1973.  The photographer was one of my bridesmaids to be.

Additional stars were made from some of the same papers and were highlighted with dots using black or gold Sharpies. The border was done with a gold Sharpie and I added black stars.

Thank you for dropping by and while you're here, why not pop on over to:artastic and check out how the rest of the team has used the artwork. We'd also love to see your art here.

Catch you again soon. Cheers for now.
Di

BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS

Hi and thanks for coming by. For Pixels and Paper this month, we have a delightful image, evoking memories of  the past... a fitting image for Mother's Day, celebrated in Australia next Sunday.

This month I have taken the blue colours inspired by the 'Bluebird of Happiness', the lacy edge on the embroidery and the floral elements and have incorporated these to produce a layout predominantly in shades of blue, white and cream.
My mum loved embroidery and crocheting and I'm fortunate to have items she made. The doily on the hoop in the image also brought back some childhood memories of my first attempts with embroidery... I did a piece that looks remarkably similar to this one!

                          

The photo is of myself as a junior bridesmaid at my sister's wedding. The gift my sister gave me was a double Bluebird of Happiness brooch, which can just be seen on my dress. I still have this piece along with a bracelet, signet ring and locket, which were subsequent gifts from the family for birthdays and Christmas. I gave the page a shabby, distressed look and also used dry embossing techniques on vellum. The velum had a small floral pattern and I used a ball stylus to emboss the reverse side, giving the piece the opaque white raised look that replicated the flocking on the fabric of my dress... a flocked  spotted nylon which was so fashionable in the '60's!
I added a crocheted doily and also an embroidered doily. Flowers were diecut from the same papers I used on the layout as well as from some watercolour paper. The technique I used for this particular paper will be revealed later in the month at Pixels and Paper. All edges were smooshed with Prima chalk edgers.
Pop on over to:pixelsandpaper and check out how the rest of the team has used the inspiration image this month.
Catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di