Sunday, April 07, 2013

The Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary Challenge ~ R is for Rare


As you know if you are a follower, I have been playing along with the Alpha/Dictionary challenge at The Craft Barn for the past few weeks. Every fortnight, they determine a letter and we must find a word in our dictionary that inspires us enough to illustrate it. Some people (like me) are working right in the dictionary and others are removing the definition and featuring it in another project. Not only are the DT pages wonderful but so are the entries of the participants. I've been having so much fun visiting their blogs and having them visit mine. Anyway, the letter for this fortnight is R and I chose the word rare. The dictionary definition (which is really basic and can be read below in photo #5) inspired my pages with the sentence it used to put the word in context.


I started by Decou-Paging the two pages to the ones  before and after for extra strength and then gessoed the two pages I intended to play with. Next I applied Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress inks to the bottom third and Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers Distress inks to the top 2/3. At the very top edge, I applied Cotton Candy and Blueberry gelatos (brand new to me...yay) and blended them with a wet finger. I'll be playing with these a whole lot more. They are fun! For added texture in the background, I applied Faded Jeans Distress ink over plastic netting and then used gesso on a flip flop sole, I stamped the white crisscross pattern in a few places. Once dry, more Peacock Feathers DI was sponged over the Dylusions Number Jumble stencil and Faded Jeans over The Creative Workshop Mini Chevron Arrows stencil. Stamping on the grass area was done with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink and the patterned stamp from the PA set used for the flowers.


The flowers were stamped directly on the pages using Paper Artsy's JOFY 10 stamp set. The stems were lined with Leaf Green and Dark Pthalo Green Big Brush pens. The flower heads were stamped again on white cardstock, coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and adhered to the page over the previously stamped heads. The stems are really thin so I didn't want to cut them out but I wanted the flowers brighter and the colour pure which required stamping and colouring on white.


The rare and special bird is from Stampotique and is called Bird Legs (LG). She was also coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and adhered to the left page. Her legs and hat brim were coloured with black Micron pen. The ground was roughly sketched in with a Micron pen and then shaded underneath with Peeled Paint Distress marker.


The definition is required to be highlighted in some way as part of the challenge rules. I had gessoed around it initially so washi tape was used to frame it. I always seal my washi tape with Decou-Page or gel medium so that it doesn't lift later. I did the same for the washi tape down the seam between the pages. The definition was further highlighted with Scattered Straw and Spiced Marmalade Distress marker and shaded around the outside with a charcoal pencil and a paper stump. White gesso was pounced through the Dylusions Dotted Flowers stencil to create the white dots.  The words "She knew she was a rare and special bird" were computer generated on kraft cardstock, torn and inked around with Vintage Photo DI, and then adhered. Doodling was completed with a Black Big Brush pen, a white paint pen, my favourite doodling pen, and a Micron pen. The finishing touches were the date stamp and an Idea-ology letter R.

I'm lovin' these pages with the bright colours, the funky flowers, and that rare yet fabulous bird. Now that I'm finished I can go and look at what the others have done for the letter R. Why don't you come and play along? Thanks so much for stopping by today. I do appreciate you doing that and always look forward to your feedback. Off to enter this at:
 The Craft Barn Alpha/Dictionary challenge. ~ letter R
Stampotique Designers Challenge ~ SDC 94 Flowers
Simon Says Stamp and Show ~ Anything Goes (A Very Strict Challenge)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

29 comments:

Maggie said...

Love these pages and your Rare Bird and her long legs and your bright cheerful colours

MaggieH

ParkNSlide said...

I'm loving the fantasy and whimsy. The bird is funk-a-lishous---those long, patterned legs and the funky flowers add to the fantasy. The bright colors and the movement that you have conveyed in the composition increases the whimsy. You may have defined "rare" but you have also conveyed "fun!"

Reflective Art Studio said...

Oh My I love your flowers... everything on your Journal pages are spectacular. Thanks for joining us at Stampotique Designers Challenge and hope to see you again soon.
Sarinda

Astrid Stulemeijer (AssiCrafts) said...

Awesome pages! Love your flowers!!! Thanks for joining us at Stampotique. XOXO

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous pages, wonderful depth of colour and wonderful layers of interest. Love your bird and quirky flowers too. The definition is perfect for your pages. Thanks so much for joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Tracy x

Redanne said...

Oh my! What fabulous pages Bonnie, I just adore the big bird, the fabulous JOFY flowers and your amazing background. You really never fail to impress with your wonderful creations and this one has left me with a big smile on my face - thank you! Hugs, Anne x

Scrapmate said...

This is a stunning piece. I love the colours and the colouring on the quirky JoFY stamps. The Stampotique bird is adorable.

Ink Art Designs said...

Hi Bonnie, thankyou so much for your wonderful comments on my blog..it is a real treat to pop over here and see such an explosion of colour! Everything jumps off the page and there are soooo many interesting things to look at...great colours and very thoughtful. I now follow you and look forward to seeing what you create next :)
Dot x

Annie said...

Your illustration for your rare special bird is extremely delightful! Such a wonderfully bright and cheerful scene. She's a fabulous bird!

Tracy said...

I love the bright colors too and that bird is too funny. Love your pages Bonnie!

Gez Butterworth said...

STUNNING page Bonnie. Thank you for joining Stampotique's flower challenge, Gez

Sam & Poppy said...

Absolutely love your pages Bonnie, thanks so much for joining in with us at Stampotique this week.

Karen said...

WOW Bonnie!!!! This is so colourful and gorgeous! My favourite bird goes perfectly with OFY stamps doesn't she? Love it all!!!!

Karen from The Craft Barn xxx

Elaine said...

Wow - your pages are so bright and cheerful and I love all the detail you've included with the flowers and birds!

Pat said...

Great fun pages, love the brightness of the colours.

Sylvia said...

Fabulous fun pages, love the colours and your lovely rare bird.

Sylv xx

Kaz said...

I adore these pages Bonnie. The colours are so bright and warm on such grey days here! Thanks for joining us at Stampotique.

Words and Pictures said...

LOVE this page, Bonnie - fabulous colours, fabulous JOFYs, and that bird is an absolute delight!! Congrats on being hung on the Wall of Fame!
Alison xx

Basement Stamper said...

Absolutely stunning colors and flowers on your journal pages. Love what you have done this week. Thanks for playing with us this week at Stampotique Designer's Challenge.

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Just wonderful, love the bright colors. Your pages are full of joy.

Tracy said...

Wow...stunningly gorgeous..you inspire me Bonnie!!!
Hugs
Tracy
Xxx

Anonymous said...

Fantastic rare bird and the colors are gorgeous!

Maisie Moonshine said...

I think this is my favourite page this time round. Love the colours and images - so quirky and fun. MMx

LindaS said...

Such a wonderful magic page. Wonderful colors and design. Love it and pin it.

Lesley said...

What beautiful colourful pages! And I love the idea of using flip flops with gesso! xx

JansArtyJunk said...

Fantastic pages Bonnie...so cheerful, fun and wonderful...love 'em!! :)

Sandy said...

Sugar, you are rare and this is fabulous. Just right!!!
Sandy

Anonymous said...

Another fantastic page Bonnie !!
Thanks for playing with us once again
Izzy

Unknown said...

Adorable journal page. I love all the bold colors. Fantastic job!!

Thank you for playing along with our Designers Challenge at Stampotique. Hope to see you again.

Jenn
DT