TIO #15 - Nature's Beauty

Finally made it to the TIO #15 challenge, Nature's Beauty. I have had such an odd week, but am so grateful to friends, bloggers, Creating Rainbow forum members, and especially my lovely Fred, for getting through it quite well. This horrid period finishes Wednesday 12th, which would have been my wedding anniversary...

Thanks especially to the lovely Beth, who has been VERY poorly herself, and has managed to keep up with you all and her challenge. XXX to you, Beth, the Queen of Cups!!

I have used a sheet from Elusive Images and words from Butterfly Kisses. I love conkers and toadstools, so that's what I chose. They were masked and then brayered with gumdrop. I coloured with distress inks and Inktense pencils.
Thanks for looking...

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...

Here is a postcard for 2 challenges this week, about words. The first is Sunday Postcard Art with their theme of words of wisdom, and the second is from Mixed Media Monday, where the theme is the written word.

The background is sprayed Glimmer mists, overstamped with bamboo from the Japanese set by KC at Aspects of Design. The people and stones are from a plate by Non Sequitur, coloured with inktense pencils. The sage saying is by the philosopher Lao Tsu, who lived in very ancient times, but who wrote so many words of wisdom with resonance for today.

DragonFlight

This piece is made to fit 2 challenges this week. The first inspiration was Arty Girlz, blue and yellow, and the form was dictated by the Tag You're It theme of wings. I have used Glimmer mists in lemon zest, sea grass and denim blue, to colour the tag and embellishment. I coloured the image of the dragonflies, with inktense pencils. The stamps are from Aspects of Design (from the StampMan) designed by Kay Carley - I have all 4 Japanese sets and they are great favs. I added some texture using chalk eyes and stamps from UMount butterflies, and finished off with yellow and blue ribbons from my stash. I think this will make a good card topper.

Butterfly Dance

There are 2 challenges here, one for Arty Girlz, butterflies, and Created By Hand, stripes. I cut some narrow strips of various papers, and stuck them diagonally across this 4"x4" card. I stamped the close view of a butterfly wing,(UMount plate) and 2 butterflies - top left is from Elusive Images harlequin butterfly plate. The other is also an Elusive Image stamp. I used inktense and watercolour pencils, in the same colours as the background stripes, and the piece is mounted on a sheet of vintage music. Thanks for fluttering by!!

Looking at the Lantern in the Blossom Garden

Oh I do love doing oriental pieces, and this one was for the One Stop Craft Challenge, oriental. I will use it to make a card, eventually. I used some Judikins stamps, from Stamp Addicts again, plum branch and Michiko, printed on to shiny paper. I also stamped 2 facets of the Japanese fabric cube 1. The lantern is a stamp that Pete bought me one birthday, and I love using it. We brought 3 lanterns home from China, after our memorable holiday, and we always loved putting them up in the garden. You might catch them occasionally, as my garden slideshow goes round, on the sidebar.

I coloured the images with inktense pencils, which are rapidly becoming great favourites. I find them so useful when I want to brayer, as here, because they don't run, once they are dry. I masked the lady, and used the good old gumdrop Big n juicy inkpad, which always makes such an ethereal, evocative background. The piece is mounted on to a piece of silk mirri board, and the display sheet is my beloved DCWV Far East 8"x8" stack. Bao zhong - take care of yourself.

From Me to You - "Posted" with Love

This postal piece was made in response to a challenge at Go Make Something - Make it Monday, postage stamps. I found all the postal images I have, to stamp the background. I used black stazon and red distress inks. There are some oriental chops in there too...

The 3 main images are printed using a Judikins postage frame, masked and re-stamped with a central image - from the top, the artifacts cube and small Carol's butterfly, from Judikins (Stamp Addicts) and oriental lady from Inkadinkado. They were all coloured with inktense pencils then brayered with gumdrop, Big n Juicy. I cut the crimpy edges with my cropodile - every one separately!! The display sheet is from a set I have had for ages, and is covered in postcards and postage stamps - funny that!!!

Walking in the Evening Garden

A Lady for Rainbow Lady!! her challenge this week is to create a scene, and this is my entry. I have used lots of stamps again... Kodomo set Fanning Lady, my fav bamboo from a plate I have had too long to remember (NS?) and winter trees by Judikins. There is also a Japanese fabric cube from Judikins, and the grass border from Kodomo Butterflies set.

I stamped the lady in black stazon, masked her using Eclipse tape, and over printed with the trees, leaves and foliage. I brayered a background using gumdrop Big n Juicy, and then coloured the image with inktense pencils and a waterbrush. I am really enjoying these, and love the way they blend. Thanks for looking...

Boy - Tunnel Of Love!

My grandson... a great reason to keep going!! He was about 3 1/2 years old here, crawling through a tunnel in a fantastic children's playground. I loved the swirls in this photo, and so I have made it into an artsy piece by using chalk inks, direct to paper, to extend the photo image. I have enhanced the surround by using my new, fabtastic Inktense pencils - superb to work with (this was the first time) in order to build up the colour and texture. The challenge is from Sunday Stamper, at Ink on my Fingers, boy/boys. The stamps are swirls and words from a UMount plate, and my crooked heart from Hero Arts. A dash of glitter glue finishes off the edges. Thanks for looking - he loved that I was doing this while he crafted here with me... he is now nearly 5, and a GREAT stamper in the making!!!