More 6 X 6 (7)

#artfulevidence

The challenges continue at the Rachel Black group. I'm still plugging along because I really like this size and format. I think I have missed not having a "theme" for art journaling this year. While I do ok without one, it's fun to try to think up a page to fit within a certain parameter. Not sure how long I will continue to keep up but I'm certain that a few Halloween pages will be in store for the month of October.

So here's the next few pages for #artfulevidence. I've shared some of these already on FB so this is a quick, visual post!

Week 21: Summer:

Campfire:  My sister and I actually did this last night. August 11. We roasted marshmallows and made smores then watched the meteor shower. It was a perfect summer night.

Week 22: Pets:

Princess Cloudy:  I did this one late but it was completed in time for International Cat Day! My cat, Cloudy, is not a "grumpy" cat; she's just a chatterbox who wants to be adored.

Week 23: Vintage:

By the Sea:  I just couldn't bear to do a vintage layout with browns...again. So this challenge led me to create 4 lovely pieces that make a great montage of images. See the full post HERE.

Week 24: Time:

Time Flies:  I almost made a very similar version of a work I had done before for this group. I had the papers and stamp set already laying out...for the obvious reason that I apparently never put it away upon making the last version. I looked back through my first 20 weeks and found a page that used the very stamp image I was thinking to use. So I switched it up. I'd do a few things different now that I look at it, if I did it again but I'm not going to nit pick. It's a solid page.

Thanks for stopping in to see my work. I'm working on Halloween projects right now so my posts may be more spaced out than usual for the next few weeks. Thanks!
-Wy

By the Sea 6 X 6

#artfulevidence (A Facebook group created by Rachel Black. A theme is given every week on Saturdays and creations must only conform in size. All 6 X 6 works are then welcome to be shared in the group by uploading a photo to the proper album. It's just for fun and inspiration!)

Inspiration challenge for this week was Vintage. I have plenty of vintage ephemera so collage was going to be it this week. But sometimes when I collage, I end up without a focus; without a set theme. I usually end up with items with a similar color palette but not really linked any other way. So I tried to change that.

I felt so good about my work for the challenge that I created three others just to use up the scraps. If I must be absolutely honest, I fell in love with the baby blue papers. Once I found a poem that was printed on a postcard about the sea, I knew I had it all together.

Here's the 6 X 6 for the challenge:

Beach Blue:  When I think of Vintage I so often turn to shades of brown and ivory. But I wanted pastel colors...shabby chic. I found this baby blue cardstock in my stash. It was 12 X 12 and I don't keep much of that size anymore. I figured I could make it work. The patterned paper was from an unopened pack of paper I had purchased at a dollar store a few years back. The papers were made for each other. My theme was inspired by the vintage lighthouse and the words from a poem. I cut the poem apart to use little phrases as I saw fit and the postcard they were printed on had two purple seahorses that you'll see in another piece.

Since I had so much fun with this and liked it so much, I decided to just use up those blue papers and make 4 on a similar theme. 

Take a look at the rest of them.

A seashell and sea glass I had in my stash. Perfectly beachy blue.

I also got to use some foreign postage stamps that I has in my stash. I pulled out some of the blue ones.

I'm not really sure why I purchased these little sea charms but they sure worked well here. How could I not have an octopus?!

So there's my non-Halloween work.
Thanks for taking a peek!
-Wy
"Sittin' on the dock of the bay; wasting time."

6 X 6 (6)

Hmmm...not sure about that title...

Anyway these are the last three pages of the 6X6 challenge by Rachel Black. You can see her videos for mixed media techniques and wonderful projects on her YouTube Channel. #artfulevidence

Week 18: Circles: Imagine. It took a couple tries to just relax and do much like Rachel did. I had a million ideas for this theme and it just clogged up my brain. I can't even tell you why I like this so much, I just do.

Week 19: Things with Wings: Unimaginable.   I was tired of butterflies, had already done a bird, and I just wasn't feeling the "bee" theme that had been my first thought. But hey, dragons have wings. Even if I don't have a good image of one. This little die-cut dragon had been in my stash for close to ten years. I doctored him a bit...cut off his tail to reposition it and colored him to match his brand new wings.

Week 20: Free Choice: The Other Side.  This last week's theme was one that we could make up for ourselves. So long as it was 6X6, anything goes. So here's how this little piece came into being. My first thought was to use a stamp set that I hadn't touched yet. (I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had choices here. Yup, a few sets I haven't used yet. Ugh.) The one that I decided on was a set from Unity that includes a lovely whale that I have been itching to use. I even did the page. But there were things I didn't like about it as it was winding down to completion. I had used the same colors throughout the page and there was little differentiation between the sky and the sea. The whale was pretty but it didn't seem to fit with the quote. I didn't want to start another page so I left it and figured I'd give it a day and come back to see what I thought of it.

In the interim, I saw a spot on Antiques Roadshow that featured a painting from a Pennsylvania artist. I didn't catch the name but he was well-known for doing night scenes. While the painting didn't catch my fancy, the fact that it was a night scene got me to thinking about my little 6X6. Why did the ship have to be sailing in the daytime? Wouldn't it be more scary at night? Then, the Dylusions set of stamps came to mind. Those tentacles are some of my favorite stamps. I will do anything to work them into a piece. Voila! This final version makes me super happy despite the fact that it represents a very dramatic week.

I thought this quote was very appropriate for ending this challenge. I made it safely to the other side and I think this last page might be my favorite of all.

Thanks for hanging out with me and checking out the blog!
Come back soon!
-Wy