The clutch is gone - Inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! I laughed out loud when I read the saying for this page  because I am always saying that I can't get my rear in gear or words to that effect. Now I know why...it's the clutch...LOL. This saying seemed to fit with the awesome Vera Lane Studio image called Sit and Think, a natural pairing to illustrate the point. She is one of two images and there is a wonderful saying that also comes with the set, one I will definitely use another time.

I coloured Flo (she is really called Girl with Flower Eye...but that's a bit formal for me) with my usual mix of Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils except for her shirt. Her shirt was printed a second time onto pink Starburst Spray mop-up paper because I wanted variation and a little more interest going on in her plain sweater. Once printed, I shaded the sweater with pencils. Flo was fussy cut leaving a white border, matted with black, and fussy cut leaving a black border. This creates a natural shadow and helps her stand out from the busy background.

The 6x6 inch watercolour page was inked with Blueprint Sketch and Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide Inks through TCW Mini Gears Stencil. I love the blend of those two colours which gives me a third colour of purple where they overlap. Yum! Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through TCW Tiny Circles stencil and allowed to dry before Jet Black Archival splatters were added with a TH Bitty Grunge stamp.

To give Flo something to sit on, two lengths of washi tape were added to white cardstock and adhered to the bottom of the page. Two metal gears, with a little added Treasure Silver wax, were adhered to the outside edge of the washi strips. A larger gear was added to the top right corner to balance the page. Flo was glued in place and the sentiment was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black. A simple border was doodled around the page to frame and finish it.

Thanks for joining Flo and me today. We might just sit here for a while and think about how much we appreciate that. There's always time later to get that clutch fixed. LOL

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

In Your Easter Bonnet ~ ATCoins inspired by Vera Lane Studio Images

Hi everyone! I have a quick post today to show a set of artist trading coins I created with a Vera Lane Studio digi set called Ladies Who Lunch. The set comes with three lovely ladies and three separate hats so you can mix and match to get different looks or leave them hatless if you prefer. The hats also can be used on so many other VLS images, as well. With Easter coming up later this month, I thought it would be fun to feature them on ATCoins with backgrounds in Easter colours.

All three were sized so that only their faces and hats fit in the 2.5 inch circles. They were coloured with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, keeping their hats in the same colour palette as the backgrounds. They were fussy cut leaving a white border, matted with black, and fussy cut again leaving a black border. Neon gel pen was used to create the flower centers for the pink hat.

The backgrounds were punched from Lindy's Starburst sprayed or clean-up scraps from my stash. They were each stamped with Crafty Individuals script stamp and an Archival Ink chosen to coordinate with the background colour (Sunflower, Deep Purple, Magenta Hue). A stamp with various sized small circles was used to add some Jet Black Archival contrast before Ranger Texture paste was scraped through TCW Tiny Circles stencil.

All three were sponged around the edge with the Archival Ink and then edged again with Black Big Brush pen, both to frame them and to unite the layers which make them sturdy. Black pen was used to doodle a faux stitching border around the circumference of each before the ladies were adhered to the backgrounds.

Thanks for visiting with the ladies and me today. We'd stay and chat but we have a lunch reservation and wouldn't want to be late...LOL.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles AJA - Week 13: Paris or Travel

Hi everyone! It's Week 13 at the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and it's April Fool's Day. I cannot even begin to work out what that means :) The prompt this week is in honour of the Eiffel Tower opening March 31, 1889. We want everyone to create something to do with Paris or Travel. Once again, I more or less combined the two with a Joggles Collage Sheet image and some miscellaneous ephemera from my stash. In my mind, this adventurous young woman is travelling through Europe and is presently enjoying her stay in Paris.

The background, a 6x8 inch piece of mixed media paper, was spritzed with Lindy's Canna Lily Burnt Orange and Cocklebells Coral plus a little water here and there to achieve some random blending. Extra drips and plops were added because ...why not :) Once dry, white gesso was applied heavily through TCW Punchinella stencil using a palette knife. Again, once dry, more texture was added with Carabelle Studio Juillet 1932 and Brilliance Rocket Red Gold Ink which has quite a shimmer. Carabelle Studio Star Texture stamp was applied in several places using Jet Black Archival Ink. To give my travelling friend and her bicyclette a place to stand, dotty paper torn from a paper bag was adhered to the bottom edge of the page.

As mentioned above, the young woman comes from a Joggles collage sheet called Girlitude 4. Like the bike (an Etsy clip art), I added some coloured pencil shading and details to her both to make it more my own and also because I like the dimension it adds. The original images are certainly fine as is but I am a colourist and I cannot resist tweaking. Both were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then overlapped, gluing them together where they touched. The now single piece was adhered to black cardstock, and fussy cut again leaving a narrow black border so they would show against the background and also have more sturdiness for popping up on foam tape.

Before she was firmly adhered, a layered collage of Paris themed ephemera was arranged behind her. All of the pieces had been edged with Coffee Archival Ink, as well as Black Big Brush Pen. The wording was stamped onto white cardstock, matted with black, and popped up on foam tape. A simple border was doodled around the outside of the white area with black pen. The same pen was used to doodle a border around the outside edges of the background. This was also edged with Black Big Brush Pen to take away that glaring white edge. Outlining of the ephemera and the dotty strip was done with black pen before the background was adhered to the black background which serves to frame all of the pages in this journal.

Thanks for stopping by today. Both my travelling friend and I appreciate that. To see how others in our wonderful Joggles Art Journal Adventure community respond to this Paris or Travel prompt, be sure to pop by the AJA Facebook group. It's so fun to see how one prompt can go in so many wonderful directions.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure ~ Week 12 ~ Blossoms and/or Birds

Hi everyone! It's Week 12 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and it's also time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. Now that doesn't carry a lot of weight with this Canadian girl, and this far north, our blossoms are a ways away yet so I've stretched this week's prompt to Blossoms and/or Birds. One thing I have been enjoying this past week is the bird noises and songs that I've been hearing through our (still) closed windows. If the birds are returning, can nice weather and flowers be far behind? If they are, don't tell me...LOL. Anyway, for my Week 12 page, I decided to include both blossoms and my version of a robin.

I stamped one of Dina Wakley Scribbly Birds onto book text paper and started colorizing her with Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw, and Abandoned Coral Distress Oxides applied with a blending tool. Neocolor II crayons activated with a waterbrush were used to strengthen the colours and add shading/highlighting. A black Pitt Pen was used to darken and add to the scribbly lines from the stamp, and a white Posca pen added highlights. Inktense pencil activated with water added some detail lines to indicate feathers. Glossy Accents was added to the eye to create both dimension and shine and, once dry, the bird was fussy cut and edged with black Pitt brush pen.

The tree branch was die cut from kraft paper. It was then edged and darkened in a few places with both Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. Neocolor II crayons activated with water were used to add some of the shading and highlighting to create the darks and lights of bark. Inktense pencils were used to help define some areas and thin scratchy lines were added with Vintage Photo Distress marker.

The background was spritzed with Lindy's Delphinium Turquoise and Bachelor Button Blue Starburst Sprays as well as Heidi Swapp Ocean Color Shine. Once this was dry, white gesso was applied over top with a baby wipe to knock back the colours and help them blend. You can still see the splotchy dots through the gesso which I love (great texture) and the gesso reactivated the colours so it's a much softer effect than the sprays alone.

Once this was dry, more gesso was pounced on to create a fluffy cloud. Gray Gelato was used to shade the cloud and create depth and several layers of gesso gave more coverage in some areas than in others. The bird and the branch were glued onto the background and both were shaded around with Inktense Pencil activated with a waterbrush. Blossoms were created by punching five petaled flowers from some scrap painted paper left over from another project. The centers of these flowers were worked with a stylus on a piece of foam to cup them. A small die was used to cut the centers of the flowers from white cardstock which was then inked with Rocket Red Gold Brilliance ink and then Magenta Hue on the tips of the spikes. These centers were then cupped in the same way as the flowers and adhered to the center of each. Once they were glued in place, brown flat back pearls were added to the centers and Tropical Tangerine Stickles to the points of the centers for a little sparkle.

To add a little more texture and interest to the sky, Manganese Blue Archival Ink was used to apply a dotty spiral stamp and Forget-Me-Not Archival Ink was used to add text stamping. Jet Black Archival Ink was used to apply some splatter stamping before Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through the triangles of AALL and Create #6 stencil. A doodled border was added to the outside edges to frame the page. The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black, and popped up with foam tape to add dimension. Finally the page was adhered to the black base which serves as a frame and also strengthens the page.

Thanks for stopping by today. My little birdie friend and I appreciate that. To see what others create in response to this Birds and/or Blossoms prompt, be sure to pop by the Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group where inspiration and fabulous art and constantly being posted by our wonderful community members. Come join the fun!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Plan A ~ an art journal page inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! I had a play today creating an art journal page featuring an image I love called Planner Girl by Vera Lane Studio. Not only does she have cute details but I love her oversized head. It's full of all kinds of plans and goals. She took up a whole page on her own so I created a two page spread to accommodate her message.

I coloured PG (Planner Girl) with my usual Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. She was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut leaving a narrow black border to help her stand out against what I knew would be a busy background.

The background began with 3 Distress Oxide Inks applied with a blending tool: Fossilized Amber, Ripe Persimmon, and Candied Apple. Water was spritzed over the inks to help them move and blend. After drying this layer, Ripe Persimmon and Candied Apple were applied separately to a 3 inch gel plate, spritzed with water, and added to the background where I wanted more layers of that colour. Using Vermillion and Tiger Lily Archival Inks, little Lawn Fawn planner stamps were added randomly to the dried ink. White acrylic paint was slightly watered down and applied with an empty sewing spool.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black. Once the sections were glued in place, circles from Studio Light Rainbow Designs (MB17) were stamped onto white cardstock, cut out with dies or by hand, and scattered around both pages. Before they were adhered, the edges of the circles were inked with black Big Brush Pen. To finish off the page, a border was doodled with black pen and the insides of the white spool circles were shaded with Inktense pencil activated with a waterbrush. This helped them become more visible as they faded into the background before this step.

Thanks for joining Planner Girl and me today. We love it when a plan comes together...LOL.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure Week 11 ~ Change

Hi everyone! It's Week 11 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and since Wednesday marks the change of season, we are celebrating with a prompt of Change. I am going with an image from Mo's Digital Pencil called Big Girl Pants. She was the ideal image for the saying about change that I wanted to illustrate. There were many sayings to choose from but this one made me laugh and that clinched it :)

I coloured this little sweetie with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, adding some white dots to her bloomers with a Posca Paint Pen. She was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and fussy cut again leaving a narrow black border. Foam Tape was added to the back of the image to pop her up and create natural shadow.

I wanted a variegated background that changed from vivid colour to a much lighter version. Using a brayer, Dina Wakley Blushing paint was spread on one side of the 6x8 background and then white was added to the right side until it blended with the still wet Blushing. More Blushing was brayered onto a 5x7 gel plate and then loaded onto Joggles /Cat Kerr Reinforcements foam stamp in order to transfer it to the lighter side of the background. The darker half was printed with white paint using the same gel plate transfer method. A mask was cut from a piece of cardstock, blocking all but .5 inches all the way around the page. Script stamping was added using Jet Black Archival Ink and one of the Indigo Blu Tasty Textures set to form a border. This border was doodled around with a black pen to separate it from the main part of the background.

Subtle tone on tone pattern was added one of the Studio Light Rainbow Design stamps (MB11) and Brilliance Rocket Red Gold Ink. Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through TCW Mini Elliptic stencil and, once dry, was shaded next to using a Neocolor II crayon spread with a water brush. More of the same shading was added next to the doodled border. Barn Red Oxide Ink was used to apply another stamp from the same set to several areas. White ink was added with one of Carabelle Studio Grungy Patterns stamps. Jet Black Archival was used to apply the numbers from Studio Light Post Card stamp set as well as a TH splatter stamp.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black, and popped up on foam tape. To add a few more black touches, black acrylic paint was added with a gift card and Black Big Brush Pen was used to darken the white edges of the page. It was then adhered to the black background common to all of the pages in this journal which seems to frame the pages and unite them all.

Thanks for stopping by today. You know, we love when you do that :) To see the awesome creations from others in our Joggles AJA community, be sure to join our Facebook group. It's a wonderful place to hang out and soak up the friendship and inspiration. Hope to see you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Really, I would ~ inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Yesterday I wanted something to make me laugh while I played so I combined this sweet Vera Lane Studio image called Miss Sassy Pants with a saying that reminds me of something I do with my husband. I will say something like "I would walk through torrential rains to get that for you...well, maybe not torrential rains but if it was sprinkling...as long as I had an umbrella...and it wasn't too far"...you get the idea. It always makes us both laugh. Anyway, that's the look on this Miss Sassy Pants' face as she reconsiders her rash statements. Or so I imagine!

I coloured Miss Sassy Pants with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, cut her out with my usual double border of black and white, and added a little sparkly star in her wild and wonderful hair. I added a little extra linework to her dress and stockings with black Pitt pen and set her aside while I played with the background. She was fine with that :)

I was going for the colours of fire to suit the saying so I applied Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, and Fired Brick Distress Oxide to the page which I then spritzed to move the colour around. After drying it, I applied the colours one at a time to my petite Gel Press rectangle, spritzed with water, and added the colour where I wanted it on the background. Once dry, pattern was added with Brilliance Rocket Red Gold Archival Ink and Wendy Vecchi Open Dots as well as Stampotique Dotted Squares stamps. Jet Black Archival Ink was applied to one of the Studio Light MB11 stamps and Crafty Individuals Script stamp to create more texture here and there. I used some of the off cut harlequin diamonds left over from die cutting a piece for another project to create clusters. Fired Brick Oxide was applied with a water brush to the right of each diamond to create depth.

 I die cut a scalloped border piece from black cardstock which was divided into two segments, one for each page. I like how that creates unity and helps with flow. White paint pen dots were added to echo the design of one of two washi tapes. These two were layered under Sassy to ground her and then repeated on the opposite page again to tie things together.

The sentiment was printed onto white cardstock, torn around, and matted with black cardstock to help it stand out against the busy background. To add another bit of white to the background as well as some bigger shapes to contrast with all the tiny stamping, white chalk paint was added using a bottle lid as a stamp. These didn't show up as well as I had hoped so I added Neocolor II crayon applied with a water brush to shade inside the white rings and charcoal applied with a blending stump to the outside of them. The finishing touches to the page were a doodled border around the outside and edging with black Big Brush Pen, both of which helped to frame the spread.

Thanks for popping by today. Miss Sassy Pants and I are delighted you did. Mission accomplished in that this page makes me laugh. I hope it does the same for you. Be sure to check out the other amazing digital images in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop and pop by the VLS Facebook group where there is a ton of inspiration from the DT and the rest of that wonderful community.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie