AWNB and RRR Halloween challenge Week 4

I'm doing the twofer again...two projects for one post :) We are continuing our Halloween challenges at Art With No Boundaries and Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent. We've all had so much fun with this theme and these images that we'll hate to see it end.

For the Art With No Boundaries challenge, I decided to be brave and work on the first page of my brand new 9x12 journal. Usually, I do other pages first and then come back to the first page once I'm warmed up. This time, I just went for it :) I actually like this size journal because sometimes I want more room to play. I started by gessoing the page and then adhering dictionary page pieces with gel medium. Then I did my usual make-a-mess-and-create-lots-of layers background. I used things like spray and regular inks, stencils, gesso on my finger, some stamps, Pitt pen, FC Big Brush pens, Neocolor II crayons, punchinella, acrylic paint, etc.

Next I shaded the edges of the fun and funky CS Designs striped forest tree which was printed on kraft paper, and cut it out.  A little gel medium and the background was ready for the fruit :) The Shrunken Head 1 image from CS Designs was printed numerous times in different sizes (I love my digis) and each was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut. They were mounted to black punched circles and "hung" on the tree with baker's twine. A sparkly sun, lots of doodling, a stencilled and cutout raven, drywall tape, and a crazy sentiment that made me laugh were all added. The whole page is a little weird but definitely fun.

The RRR project is an 8x8 canvas starring the lovely Raven Digital stamp from CS Designs. Neocolor II watercolour crayons were used for the background colour and then many of the same things listed above were used to add texture. The additional items used  to stamp on this piece were a piece of flipflop sole smeared with paint and piece of bubble wrap inked. Anything that makes a mark is fair game. I freehanded a tree shape on kraft paper, cut it out, crumpled it into a ball, and then inked the  daylights out of it before adhering it to the canvas.

Raven was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut. A purple rhinestone heart was added to her waist. Then Raven and I made her a nest out of recycled burlap, reclaimed feathers, leftover paper branches from another project, a piece of yarn on my closet floor, an old button, and a pearl stuck to my desktop. Raven was happy to stand in her nest while I added her name in foam letters, a canvas banner, and a TH keyhole plate. Doodling finished this canvas off.

These pieces were created with pure play....very little thinking, planning, and no second guessing. Try it - it's addictive. For lots more inspiration check out the two blogs to see what the DT and our guest designer, BlackDragon, have created. Love, love, love!

Thanks for visiting us today...and for reading this big, long post. I appreciate it!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie