Follow Your Dreams!

Hello Monday, and welcome friends! Are you ready for a new challenge? This week our theme is the Great Outdoors, and we are showcasing Paper Artsy products! If you have them, we would love to see them!

Please help me welcome our guest designer this month, Dr. Sonia from Cards, Crafts, Kids Projects! You will be amazed at her talent and creative spirit, and I am really looking forward to having her with us this month! Welcome Dr. Sonia!

I decided to head to my art journal and use earthy colors while thinking of all the new plants emerging right now, and adventures to come in the outdoors! Finally it is warming up and greening up here!

Creating the background in my art journal...

I started with layers of dark earthy colors, then rolled some light paint onto a piece of burlap and "stamped" that all over the page. Loving that texture! Next I randomly stamped images on the page.

Time to build more layers, this time with lighter colors and a piece of linen canvas. I brayer the paint onto the piece and randomly press it down.

Since I am thinking of spring and earth and gardens, how about stamping with some Mud Splat?

Add another layer of paint...

Now for some more texture with a piece of corrugated cardboard...

Paint over most of the paper with the oranges, then using this stencil and a baby wipe, I removed some of that paint layer. I mostly used just the top of the cattails for this step.

Apparently I got lost in the process between that step and here, but I continued to layer paint, stamped images and  stencils.

For this step, I added Paper Artsy Infusions and spritzed and dripped across the page.

Closeup: almost a rusty texture...

I went in and outlined some of the plants with a black pen, and went around the words in white to make them more visible. 

I thought I was done, then decided to add some gilding flakes into the really dark areas of the page. Even though I was thinking earthy and growing, there is always the light that is necessary.

The great outdoors means adventures too, and I could head in any direction, so I really love this hand image that brings that to mind. Heading to the mountains? ...for me that is North or South  Heading to the ocean? ...East or West (although a long way off) BUT, any direction brings adventure!

Where will the great outdoors take you this week? I hope it will bring you to our challenge and you will get out your Paper Artsy supplies if you have them and join us! One person will be drawn randomly to win Simon's generous $50 voucher! 

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

A great place to shop!!

Simon is on Instagram, use #sssmchallenge so we can find you!

Now, I am wondering where the DT went for their outdoor adventures, so let's head over and find out!