DAWN SERENADE

Pixels and Paper, this month has very delicious -looking, decorated  cupcakes to inspire you, with the addition of tiny embellishments. Pop on over to:pixelsandpaper and check out what the rest of the team has been up to.

From this, I've used some of the colours  (blue, pink, green) in a  slightly softer hue, circles, domes and the tiny embellishments.

I tore paper to resemble a shell, and misted music background paper, to link with colours in the photo, as well as the title.
I sewed with string, used wire, mother of pearl shell discs, charms, rhinestones, seed pearls, jewellery backings and chipboard pieces.

First page of layout

Second page of layout

I foiled the chipboard music staff and heat embossed the title, shells and sea horses.

The photo for this layout was taken when on a short break with family, at Mooloolaba Qld. The day and night before was wet and we were wondering what had happened to the glorious weather. I decided to have an early start with some photography and was lucky enough to capture the various phases of dawn on the ocean (all from the balcony of the apartment we were staying in). Truly amazingly peaceful, and beautiful, soft hues.
The break away could have been longer, so this location is being added to a bucket list of places to revisit.

Catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

CANVAS MINI-ALBUM FOR ARTASTIC

Hi everyone.
ARTastic  Challenges this month has a wonderful inspirational artwork and mood board to tantalise your creativity.
For my take on this I decided to start a mini album, with the first page using the colours from the mood board. The photo is quite an old one so it's showing a bit of wear and tear.

The canvas page was painted with acrylic paints and stamped with a slightly deeper shade of dusky pink. the photo ( me, aged 2) was mounted onto a frame of pearlised pink paper. The edges were pinpricked with a scallop design. This didn't take as long as you would have expected because I have some Pergamano tools which made it a lot quicker. I chain stitched some vines on the edges with variegated pink embroidery thread and then added the lace and button flowers.

Cut out leaves from a wall paper sample were decorated with Liquid Pearls and tucked behind some material roses.

Additional lace was tucked under the photo mat and chipboard butterflies, also painted and decorated with Liquid pearls, were added.

 

The vellum quote was also pinpricked around and the canvas page mounted to black cardstock to give some extra support and stability. I added Liquid Pearls in flourishes and dots around this to complete the page.

As you can see from the gorgeous artwork by Josh Miels, we had the opportunity work with beautiful colours.
Pop on over to artastic and check out what the rest of the team has done with this. We'd love to see your art work here.
Thanks fro dropping by. catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

A Time For Us

What a lovely surprise to be chosen as one of the featured artists for the challenge using black at anythingbutacard.blogspot.com.au . After seeing other entries, I didn't think 'My Little Book of Doodles' had a chance, but I am pleased I submitted it.
Today my 'Time for Us' layout is my effort to combine both stitching and a time theme for the current ABAC Challenge.

The photos are of self and husband, taken at a ball in Lismore in 1973, just a few months after our wedding. I'm lucky to still have the photos, even though they are showing some signs of damage, having rescued them from one of those 'magnetic' sleeved albums which were popular at the time. Some of my photos of our early life together, couldn't be saved in time , and coloured photos have turned a peculiar red. I'm hoping that these can be restored.
I've used several background papers, including a paper doily, which have been embossd, stamped, distressed and smooched with distress inks in bundled sage and vintage photo. One of the background papers has images of clocks on it.

The ornate clock is chipboard from the 'Dusty Attic' range.This was given a light smoosh with distress ink then covered with Sepia Glossy Accents, to give it an antique look.
Flowers were punched, spritzed with green and bronze Glimmer mists, scrunched and left to dry before being unfolded and assembled. Swirls of Liquid Pearls were added.
The old watch face was originally my mother's and given to her by my father, sometime during the Depression. It could well have been a wedding gift as they were married in 1929 (New Year's Eve). The watch was part of my 'something old' on my wedding day.
Lace was dyed with glimmer mist. On it I have hand -stitched flower and square -shaped sequins and polished shell heart beads.
It certainly has been an interesting and rewarding time for us... both of us, born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, one already 60 and self, with a 60th rapidly approaching and our 40th wedding anniversary next year.
Thank you for visiting. Please come again. Cheers, Di

enchanted glade

Hi! Today I'm showing my layout for the ARTastic Challenge, which has to feature stitching and fabric.
I've based it around a created mixed media canvas completed at http://timetocreate-handmadetreasure.blogspot.com.au a couple of Saturdays ago. This was used as a background for a bronzed fairy sculpture, book- loving owls and various gumnuts, pine cones and pine roses, to create my base photo, of a fairy in a secluded glade.



Photo created using my fairy I've named Ariella, playing her zither. The mixed media canvas is in the background.

The background paper was altered by masking sections with white crayon, then smooching with Distress Inks: Bundled Sage, Weathered Wood and Black Soot. The crayon resist was rubbed off and the paper then randomly stamped with ferns, fairies and butterflies.

altered background paper

Tree trunks were from corrugated cardboard wet embossed using Opals Embossing Enamels.
The lyrebird, was cut from a piece of embroidered work I completed as part of a High School project, many moons ago. This was stem stitched onto very fine linen.Lyrebirds are one of Australia's native birds. They live in forested regions, but are rarely seen because they are very shy. Their tail feathers, when raised in a display, are shaped like lyres, hence their names. They are, however, wonderful mimics,copying other birds and if you can't see them in a forest, you may certainly be hearing them. They even mimic human-made sounds such as chainsaws, perfectly! To hold the cut piece together I ironed it onto a piece of fusible web, Steam-a Seam 2 and also layered over it, in the same process a piece of chiffon.

 

 

 

My fairy bower was made from strips of wool fibre sewn together and encased in a leaf-patterned chiffon. Stitched to this were 'fairy lights' made from drops of crystal beading.

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves edging the bower, were cut from the same chiffon, using a heat cutting tool. This not only cut, but also crinkled and sealed the edges. Great to use! Bits of wool fibre were then added to represent moss and Old Man's beard. The wool bobbles from some fibre, were cut, teased out a little and stitched onto the log and ground and became mushrooms.

I think Ariella looks very happy and contented in her secluded bower, playing her zither for her friends. Maybe If I  listen very carefully, I may even hear it next time I go walking through a forest!

Thank you for visiting my enchanted fairy glade. I hope you will come again.
Cheers, Di