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


My Little Book of Doodles

Hi! Today's post is all about my entry for Anything But a Card Challenge, using black. I don't usually have a problem with this, but wanted to try something other than a layout. I've been working on some special Christmas projects with a special "Girls Rock" group at the school where I had taught for 34 years, before retiring, using Petaloo Magnetic tags. These are brilliant as they can be used to create many projects, including mini-booklets for a special memory folder, which the girls did for Christmas. While these were being designed I started thinking about the challenge and came up with the idea of making a doodle booklet. Again, this Incorporated art techniques I had done with my classes over the years, where the students had to "Take a line for a walk" and then fill in the shapes made with interesting designs.This not only taught them about patterns, but also about the concepts of space, balance and contrast. Their artworks also became functional, in that they were often used as centrepieces for book covers.



Front cover

The front cover was decorated with grey and black patterned Washi Tape, patterned vellum, which I hand embossed, embossed acetate from my stash and chipboard flourishes heat embossed with Opals Embossing Enamels in Currawong (black) and Zeehan (silver). I also added a doodle drawn with Ranger Embossing pen and dusted with Perfect Pearls and finished with strips of bling and metallic braid.


Inside pages showing inchie sized doodles

My little booklet can be added to as I find or develop interesting patterns. Some have already been used as a background for a layout I'm working on.
I have used the idea of 'inchies' in which to draw the patterns; a small surface area, and a way to have heaps of different designs. As I don't have an inchies frame stamp, the squares were hand drawn (after searching for a ruler in inches, not as easy as you think, because of our metric system). This framework has been scanned to the computer for future designs. All patterns were drawn with a superfine Sharpie.

The inside front cover feature 2 ATC's using doodling done in white gel pen and finished with Washi tape.

The inside back cover has a doodle centred around a stamped image (inspired by craft Stamper magazine, Nov. 2012 issue. Thank you, Lisa). A swirl of bling, black beading and Washi tape completed this.
The insides are held in place by zig-zag binding, allowing for additional pages to be easily slipped in.
This was fun to do and I now have something that I will use. As my folder is already fatter inside then intended, I've added a binder ring and some pretty metallic fibre wools to help hold it together, and also gives me a way to hang it.
Thank you for visiting. Cheers, Di

Autumn is a second spring

Hi! Today's post is for the Anything But A Card Challenge: Halloween or Fall.
The photograph for this layout was taken while holidaying in Tasmania, at Hobart's Botanical Gardens, May 2010. This spectacular tree was in all of its autumn splendour, so we were lucky to capture the moment, before the leaves started to seriously fall. While we have some gardens with various species of maples growing in our local area, the colours aren't nearly so brilliant... our weather doesn't become cold enough.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

For the layout. I stamped the green background paper with Picket Fence D.S. and added some teased out fibre. The brown paper was spritzed with glimmer mists : Coffee Shop, Sugar Maple and Black Cherry. These colours were also used on the distressed corrugated cardboard, cut into the shape of a maple leaf. Edges of the brown paper were distressed, and some sections inked with Distress Inks: Dried Marigold, Rusty hinge and Weathered Wood.

A hand made leaf,  using chiffon, hand-stitching and liquid pearls to finish.

Leaves were die cut from various papers, including altered papers left over from previous projects. I also added some chiffon handmade leaves.
A few swirls and flourishes on the page to give the idea of wind and movement, completed the layout.

Thank you for visiting, Cheers, Di

Smile

Hi! Today I'm featuring a layout I'm entering in the ARTastic Challenge, where the challenge this time was to have handmade flowers. For this I decided to have a go at something new for me... quilled roses!


Layout showing two techniques of quilling.

 

Papers I used were different width quilling strips as well as pearl lustre papers I cut from A4 sized sheets. I also used some fringed and quilled flowers from the same papers.

Close-up of flowers.

The decorative frame around the photo was given a metallic look by the use of opals Embossing Enamels, in Rosevears (a deep rose/burgundy), Mountain Berry  (a deep pink)and Tarkine (a pale green).  The background paper, was distressed heavily by wetting, crumpling and tearing. In some sections, other snippets of paper and lace were inserted. Punched paper edges helped add a lacy effect to tie in with the dress in the photo.

The photo is the earliest one I have of myself and was taken when I was 2 years and 2 months old. This was a studio photo, and part of a group of 4 taken; this one in black and white and 3 others in colour. At this time, these would have been coloured by hand. These showed that the dress I was wearing was pink and white. It was made of some light material, probably organza, and was heavily starched. I don't remember the dress or the photo session, but for some strange reason, I do remember the bow I had in my hair... pink with blue Bambis on it. Strange what the old memory bank retains!

Thank you for visiting and while you're here, why not pop over and have a look at my other pages, especially if you're gluten free, as I'm starting to put up recipes I have found work, and which are enjoyed by friends with no allergies, as well.

Cheers, Di

Untamed

Hi! Today's post is also for the ABAC Challenge using Bling.
The photo used for this layout was taken one early September morning at Lennox Head, NSW. The waterfall tag completed for the last ABAC challenge was the A-Ha moment for this layout.
First of all, to give a subtle glimmer to the card stock (representing sand) I lightly spritzed with the Tattered Angels range of sprays: Sandy Beach Chalkboard, Suede and Walnut Gold Glimmer Mists. When dry, small puddles of Opals Embossing Enamels (Rosevears, Macquarie and Sandstone) were added to the lower third of the page.


My seaside interpretation

I sewed on a net of variegated wool which had a ceamy bobble edge (foam). Through this I wove in strands of metallic wool, silvery wire threaded with beads and mother-of-pearl shell, and strings of beads. I also added real shells, starfish, die cut shells and seahorses in metallic paper.
A fringed, silvery wool was used to represent sea spray.



   Close up showing some of the netting, starfish, shells, beading.

                                                       
Seaweed was formed from the metallic wool and finished with some crystal bead drops. Words from Jacques Cousteau were also formed into the shape of seaweed.

             "The sea, once it casts its spells, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

The title was die cut from pale pink photo board, stamped with a swirly stamp design ion versamark and embossed with Opals Zeehan enamelling powder. To give a little more definition on the page, the letters were lightly smooched with Weathered Wood distress ink.

I feel that I have achieved my A-ha moment with my interpretation of what could be found on the seashore.
Hoping you feel also the sense of wonder and peace I had when taking the photo.
Thank you for visiting. Di

Afterglow

Sunset photos are a favourite of mine for scrapping and since I started scrap booking I've begun an album solely for sky layouts; from dawn to night, showing the glorious colours, interesting cloud formations and the very different moods.

 

 

 

This sunset layout features an iris folded mat. I've selected colours that would reflect the various colours in the clouds. The black background was stamped with some favourite leaf stamps, using versamark which was then worked with Perfect Pearls powders. Extra little wisps were made with Liquid Pearls. The same treatment was done with the foam thickers used for the title.

 

Thank you for looking. Di