Monday, February 26

Art is my Winter Garden



Welcome back friends to  a new week and a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week our theme is IN MY GARDEN. I do dream of my gardens in the winter, and start planning things in my head, pull out the gardening catalogs to peruse and collect ideas.

This week is Stacy's last week with us as our guest designer - she has shared some amazing projects with us. I know I have been inspired by her work and will be looking forward to more in the future. Be sure to pop in and say hi if you haven't had a chance to do it yet.

Art is my Winter Garden


Last night I had finished the background, and the blossoming woman, and set everything aside to dry. I knew I wanted to write something on my page, but hadn't come up with anything when I went to sleep. It came to me in the middle of the night, and I had to write it down so I wouldn't forget it by morning. Maybe this is why I keep reaching for the bright colors in the winter.

I stamped the images onto watercolor paper and set them aside. The stamp platform really helps me to get a "perfect" image. 


I wanted to create a green background for the page, since it would be like my foliage in the garden. (I had gessoed the page previously.) I used a mix of Paper Artsy greens in both opaque and translucent greens to create some depth.


The Bo Bunny Mandala Garden stencil is quite thick and gives lots of texture, so I decided to mix the texture paste with my paints. I mixed the Fairy Wings with the paste for the large mandala, then added in some Opal Green-Gold and added the leaves. 


Here you can see how thick it is. This, I definitely let dry overnight.


Here you can see the detail once dry. 


I love the bright vivid colors in Jane Davenport's Mermaid Markers! They are so fun to color with.


I played around with the blooms and earring trying to decide just how I wanted to lay her out. 


I also decided to add a bit more green with a sprinkling of Dylusions ink spray.




I hand wrote my thought using Jane Davenport's Paint Over Pens and a white pen to make it pop a bit more. 


So, what's in your garden at this time of the year? I hope I've inspired you to join us this week in our challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing how you interpret In My Garden

Our generous friends at Simon Says Stamp are offering a $50 voucher! 


SUPPLIES:
                                       
                                                    
                                        
A great place to shop!


Simon is on Instagram - use #sssmchallenge


Be sure to head on over to the challenge blog to see the wonderful interpretations of our theme by the design team!






13 comments:

  1. Gorgeous journal page Maura :-) the textured background is beautiful and I love the bright colours for the girl, very pretty and it looks to me like you have a hint of India in there, the colours and the gold definitely remind me of my trip :-)

    luv
    Lols x x x

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  2. I love this, Maura! The sentiment is perfect along with the background and image. I'm sure you're getting tired of Winter by now and anxiously awaiting for Spring to arrive. The beautiful colors you've achieved on this page do remind me of a lovely springtime day.

    Cathie ♥

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  3. This green-golden background is beautiful and very elegant! Love the stencil and the shiny details. The girl is so bold and strong! Love her! They say that all the milion $ worth ideas come in the midle of the night so keep taking notes! Hugs, Marzena

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  4. Awesome page--super awesome quote!! In my case, art is my summer garden (when nothing but cactus can grow).

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  5. Beautiful scene and coloring, Maura! I love the sentiment and the thought behind it!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  6. Fabulous page! I love the stencil you used with the texture paste and metallic paints - beautiful 😁. Happy Weekend! J 😊

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  7. Fabulous journal page, Maura and I love that background, it looks amazing and the colours are gorgeous!

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    Replies
    1. Oops, hit the publish button before saying that I love the image too, it's so much fun and so unique! Hugs... <3

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  8. your project is amazing Maura, wow the texture on that background is gorgeous and I love the bright colours on your image, hugs kath xxx

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  9. What a great project! You are rockin' those Mermaid Markers and I absolutely love the way you decided to color the different elements of your girl. I also enjoyed seeing close-up's of the products. I thought your sentiment was perfect (as the snow flies right outside my own window) and you should definitely keep a notebook by your bed to record any future nocturnal strokes of genius!

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  10. Love your gorgeous art journal page, Maura. The texture on the background and the image you colored are fantastic! :)

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  11. Wonderful art journal page, Maura! The image is so much fun and so is the bold colorful design. Hugs, Sandra

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  12. OMG MAura! I adore evry little detail of this work! Your color choice for the background is fabulous and the stamp you used perfect ! Great project! barbara

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, it is so appreciated, and I love reading each and every one!

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