A2Z3 Art Journal Round Robin ~ Anne's Book

This month I got to work in Anne's book, who's theme is Houses. I love this theme and couldn't wait to get started. So I worked in it almost as soon as I got it! I have had these laser cut thin Basswood windows and doors from Navel Jelly (unfortunately they are not in biz anymore, but boy they had some cool & different stuff!) that I had been dying to use as I knew they would be PERFECT!

For the first spread I used a piece of vintage ledger paper I had inked and stamped for the background on the left and Tim Holtz woodgrain cardstock on the right. I layered different paints over the surface of the woodgrain cardstock to bring out the grain. I wanted it to look like an exterior wall. I painted the laser cut window with matte acrylic paint in a navy blue. I had a pediment die left over from a previous project which I painted & inked, then flipped it upside down to create a window box for the window.

To create all the tiny flowers (an Impression Obsession die) I first colored small pieces of manila cardstock with distress stains and mica sprays BEFORE putting them through the Vagabond. MUCH easier than coloring them after die-cutting them! The window is in two parts, a front and a back. Because it's basswood I wanted to give it a bit more support so in between I placed a piece of thick plastic (packaging from a Bigz die). I attached the pediment/windowbox with foam tape, then went to town gluing the flowers in place.

For the very first page with the altered ledger paper I stenciled the branch/birds/ birdcage with distress inks. The black diamonds, eggs and tree were already on the paper when I pulled it from my stash. I cut the house from scrap pieces of cardstock and the prepared woodgrain cardstock, using Mini Mover & Shaper dies to die cut the door and windows. Finished it with a tiny brad for the doorknob and the quote: "Live simply...Give generously".

For the next spread I over-stamped a subtly patterned scrapbook paper with a damask design (B-Line Designs) in a soft grey ink for the wallpaper background and used more patterned cardstock for the black and white floor. The left side is pretty simple and clean. I just used another leftover diecut from another project - the vellum doily at the top that I lightly inked, plus a bit of black Dresden trim.

The right side I wanted to create a vintage parlor look. Using stamps from Darcie I stamped and embossed the table, chair, clock and vase of flowers, which I then used distress markers to watercolor/paint the pieces after I had fussy-cut them out. Of course I had to include things I love in my parlor; my two kitties and flowers/my love of gardening. The page is finished with a fancy chandelier that I stamped and heat embossed with a detail black EP and another quote: "It's always the small pieces that make the big picture."

Lastly, Anne wanted us to do a sign-in tag and to include photos of our home or studio and things in it that have special meaning.

As you can see I love my kitties, studio, cooking and art. I just moved to a new place last July so I'm having a blast decorating it with things I love, creating art and cooking! The stamps I used on the tag are also from Tim Holtz and the inks are more distress and archival. The front of the tag is a series of pockets to hold pics of things that I love.