Surprise!

Hello, friends!  So happy to see you!  Lookie!  I'm stamping again!  :)

I took a nice, long, much-needed break from blogging and the pressure of deadlines, and spent some time just crafting for fun.  I even set aside stamping altogether to try some other hobbies like spinning and knitting, painting and mixed media.  The art and Bible journaling brought me full-circle right back to stamping, so when I was invited to join The Challenge Chicks, I was happy to say yes.

This month's challenge is hosted by Jeanne, and the theme is watercolor or ink splats!  I recently got some new water-based Dylusions paints, so I did a little test-run on a tag to see how I like 'em.  It's fun to experiment on a smaller, less intimidating project before jumping into a larger journal-bound page.

I used a paint brush to lay down the first layer of paint in London Blue, then finger-painted a swash of White Linen and Vibrant Turquoise to create an interesting blend of colors.  I added some texture with Faber-Castelle Whipped Spackle and a Tim Holtz stencil, repeating the finger-painting process with diluted paint so that the colors were more transparent.  Spraying with a mister and creating "splats" with a drippy paintbrush, then blotting the puddles with a paper towel to lift the color helped bring out some really interesting patterns that look like the deep blue-greens of the ocean.

The sea turtle images are from a Gina K stamp set, Under the Sea, stamped with Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  The sentiment is from another Gina K set, Gifts from the Sea.  A little Donna Salazar Mixed Media ink in honey softened the edges and tied the colors together.  A few rhinestone "bubbles" and a ruffly ribbon and it's finished.

The Challenge Chicks:
Anna Wight
Bev Gerard
Holly McMillan
Lydia Fiedler
Kelly Schirmer
Kittie Caracciolo
Jeanne Streiff
Diane Zechman
Vicki Garrett

I'm taking some Jane Davenport art journal drawing classes, and have a few pages in progress, so I'll share those when they're finished.  Might even give you a peek at some fibery goodness every once in a while too!  All of these things have been part of my healing journey after the loss of first my mom (August 2014) and then my dad (March 31).  I am very grateful for the crafts themselves and for the communities and supportive friendships that go along with them.

Thanks for visiting!  Until next time!  xo

Deb