Mixed Media Monday – Romance

Romance is the theme over at Mixed Media Monday in the lead up to Valentines Day.

The background for this spread was created back in 2008 as part of the GPP Street Team Crusade (which you can find here). It was done using the Gesso Resistance Technique. Staz On Stone Gray ink was used with Collections stamps (Flourishes Sheet #1) to add the hearts and swirls. The image is from Somerset Studio CD 2006. Purple and pink buttons from Fiskars embellishment collection. Music sheet and gold thread from my vast collection of stuff.

I don’t do a lot of stitching in my mixed media work (well, at all, for that matter) but I wanted to balance the gold thread in the buttons, so I added the stitching to the right side of the image. I’ve also just noticed that I didn’t layer the image to give it a border of black before adhering it to the page… slightly unusual for me, but this way it sits into the page, rather than standing out. The overlaying stamping is also used to tie the pieces together.

I’ve had fun creating this piece this morning – with my youngest son starting school just last week, I’m hoping to have more creative time during the day (and the housework and garden be damned!)

Please add your comments below. I’m off to see what you’ve been up to!

x Michelle

GPP Crusade No 36 – Braving the elements

The Green Pepper Press Crusade has returned for 2010 to Brave the Elements. Now these northern hemisphere girls are braving the cold of winter and thinking of snowflakes. Snowflakes!?! I think I may have seen snow once – brrrrr! too cold for me!

Here we are braving the summer elements; scorching hot sun, blustery northerly winds that dry your eyes out and still in the middle of a drought. And my Tomato Jungle is surviving in these conditions.

I had an absolute ball creating this today and am very pleased with the results. I think I have stuck to the one hour time frame, although not in all one sitting. Can you see the ripening tomatoes peeking out? They take so long to turn red, even in this heat. Here are some more of the details.

The stencils were cut from scrap paper, using a real tomato leave as a template. I had one that was much bigger but it was just too big for the layout. The tomatoes were stenciled using a 1″ hole punch to create that template.

The stenciling with gesso didn’t give much contrast and neither did the light green, but the dark green paint provided the best contrast against the background.

I’ll include some details on creating the background and the gesso resistance technique over at the Mixed Media Art site.

Thank you once again goes to Michelle Ward to helping us to rise to the challenge and sharing her passion for simple techniques that give stunning results! And for giving us a time frame! No excuses this time.

*smiles*

Michelle