Gratitude

"GRATITUDE"
17"X13"
This is my most recent finished piece.  Mostly finished anyway, I haven't yet figured out how I might hang it, might have to put it in a frame.  I was just playing around with various bits and pieces.

I first cut out some pieces of card board 1 1/2 inches square and was going to make Inchies.  Then I was reading in my favorite book, Mixed Media Explorations by Beryl Taylor, and started playing with some of the suggestions she has.  I ended up with the nine squares with the flowers in them.  I was also playing around with some tiny tags that I made out of a manilla folder.  I cut them out and soaked them in some coffee to make them grungy looking, and they looked good with the inchies.

I rummaged around in my stuff and found some little slide frames so I painted and stamped them to match the inchies and then I really got into finding things to go together.  The little beaded bars under the slide frames I found in the bathroom, they are covers from disposable razors that I painted and attached with sewn beads.  Also stitched down some copper washers and the blue, green and purple glass beads at the bottom.

"Live your life without regrets" is from a chocolate wrapper, Dove Promises.  It fit nicely into the little frame and the color matched the background behind the inchies.  

There was just enough space for some lettering of my chosen word for the year.
The background is a piece of painted card stock, and some fabric paper behind the slide frames, and the dark pink behind the inchies is organdy stitched over craft felt, and some strips of sari silk.  I really like the way all these elements came together and I had a lot of fun playing with them.

"FAITH"
Above is a piece I finished today, paint and markers on watercolor paper.  

journal page

journal page practicing lettering

Another journal page practicing lettering.

So that is what I have been up to.  Just playing around in the studio, having fun, being creative, using some of my supplies.  I am grateful to be able to have the time to spend in my studio and for having more supplies than I will ever be able to use up.

Be well.