Giselle

I was inspired to create this collage after visiting Paula Cheney's blog where she recently posted two excellent mixed media tutorials (Wonderful Adventure and Layering with Happy Colors). I love her artwork, she cuts right to the point in her tutorials and she talks about the "scary" parts. The end result has you reaching for a brush--fearlessly!

Aside from acrylic paint and paste medium, I used Melange tissue wrap, a Kaiser Craft stamp (flourish), a Crafter's Workshop stencil (mini tiles) and a hand-made stencil (frame corner). The lady was a gel medium transfer.

The Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Winged Things, so I'm linking it there for a chance to win the weekly drawing. And I must do a shout out for design team member Andrea Ockey Parr whose creation for this week's theme is just charming!

I'm also linking to A Vintage Journey, where the theme is A Little Bit French, n'est-ce pas?

Washi Paint

Before and After

I linked this tag to the Wednesday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is Easter.

But, I didn't like it that much and it really didn't reflect this week's theme.

So, I peeled off the tape and washed over it with gesso and started over.

And this is the new tag:

After applying gesso, I traced the outline of the cone flowers (originally applied with a stencil) using pen and ink then traced the outline of a bunny photo. I used oil pastels for tint and applied washi tape on a few of the petals.

Click to enlarge

I really like the washi tape I used on this version. It's bright white and has good sticking power and I favor it over other brands. Here's a link if you want to know more about it.

So hopefully, I've learned a lesson here.

When I am less than satisfied with something, and it can't be rescued, then I must learn to listen to that voice inside my head and just start over.

So Far Away

I've always said, "if I won the lottery, I would travel to far and exotic places and seek out every corner of the world."

For now, I must be content to travel in my dreams and hope that, someday, I'll be able to journey somewhere farther than the grocery store.

My tag is thanks to an outstanding image, the artist unknown to me and the original source lost in the tangle of the Internet.

After printing, I made a cut-away which was pasted to a background that was stenciled and stamped.

Bundled sage, spun sugar and dried marigold Distress inks were used as tints.

I've linked this tag to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp, where the theme is journey.