Not Alcibiades

Dotty is making an appearance once again--this time, she's a bit smaller and the setting a bit more somber. The dark (perhaps dastardly) mansion is courtesy of Tim's new Mini Halloween #5 set made larger by multiple stampings on tissue paper.

The autumnal leaves were cut from a G45 paper collection called Botanicabella and the distinguished gentleman (José de San Martin) graces an Argentinian postage stamp circa 1935.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this tag is the background made with torn squares of tiny book text pasted in random fashion. It was a tad time-consuming to prepare but I love the look and plan to set some time aside to make more of it to use in the future.

Common Denominator

Images that caught my eye were printed and pasted, then Tissue Wrap, stamping, stenciling and bits of Dapper paper stash combined with Distress ink/paint and many dots from a Gelly Roll pen became this journal page assembled over the weekend.

For me, the fun of "journaling" is I don't have a plan, I just take what interests me and begin. I never know where it will lead me and along the way I always learn more about what works and what doesn't.

Here are some close-ups (click for the larger, lightbox view):

The papers designed by Tim Holtz are ideal for collages but can be a little too thick for some applications. But no worries, as I have found they are easy to modify into a thinner version perfect for pasting.

I just use my fingernail to separate the front from the back then use a tiny amount of water to soften the paper so I can gently rub more paper bits off the back. In the image above, the paper on the left is the original, thicker version, the right one is how it looks after my delamination process.

I really, really enjoy the challenge of trying to create a sense of depth in my work and with this page, using warm reds at the bottom, cool blues and blacks at the top and the lightest values in the center along with modifying the size of the people helped to accomplish my goal.

And, if anyone is curious, the guys in the white uniforms--they were Coca-Cola salesmen from the 1930's. Perhaps the common denominator here is the love of a good cola?

Stamp credits: Tim Holtz Dots & Florals, Inkadinkado Newsprint
Stencil credit: Crafters Workshop Art Is

Moonrise Kingdom

Many times as an adult, I've wished for the exuberance and abandon of a child--it was so easy to be this way when I was young! This must be why I'm drawn so much to crafting where I can let go of my inhibitions and just play.

I've made this tag to link up with Simon's Monday challenge blog where this week's theme is "At the Movies" and I chose to commemorate a recent favorite called Moonrise Kingdom which celebrates the spirit of childhood and is touching, bittersweet and very, very funny.

It was released in 2012 and Netflix has made it available for streaming.

As far as my tag goes--that's a treehouse from the movie which was built on top of a utility pole and I did my best to turn some Found Relatives into boy scouts. It was fun to remember this movie and I plan on watching it again.