Garden of Dreams

Hello everyone!

I seem to be in a flowery phase round here at the moment.  I blame all those gorgeous Wallflower releases and projects at CHA... and my new Spring Greenery die too!

I've another small canvas for you today featuring an Artistic Outpost quote (not quite as small as the last one).

Although I haven't usually been much for using 3D flowers (though there are always plenty of stamped ones - meadow grasses, anyone?!) it's a whole different outlook now that I've got lots of leaves to play with.













Lots of layers, as usual... starting with tissue wrap over the 6x4 inch canvas, multi-medium, some torn paper napkins and a couple of washes of Light Buttermilk paint.

















Then texture paste - but of course! - through a damask stencil, and some Walnut Stain ink to highlight it.











I cut the Tim Holtz Distressed Doily once out of paper and once out of thick card.  

The top paper layer just had some gesso and some inking.












The card layer is underneath and it's had a coat of thick gesso, and a combination of glass beads, Verdigris and Peeled Paint Distress embossing powders for a mossy look.















The quote, from the Chalkboard Wisdom plate is stamped in Versamark on kraft card, and embossed with Wow Vanilla White.  

I stamped it inside one of the frames from the Chalk It Up plate which has had the same treatment.

Then I blended Walnut Stain ink on from the edges.





















I'm very happy with my glass bead embellishments.  

They're just those pebbles you buy for putting in vases and suchlike.  














I bought them ages ago, thinking I'd stick them on some pretty papers, but then I saw the amazing Matilde over at 100% Handmade using something similar on book pages and the lightbulb went on... book text - my favourite thing!











I spritzed a couple of pages with various shimmery sprays and stuck down lots of glass pebbles with gloss multi-medium.











Once dry, you can just cut them out.  I love the magnifying effect on the text - I might be more careful about what words I stick them over next time!!

I didn't want anything too turquoise for this canvas, so tried to get ones that were stuck over less spritzed or greener areas.










The flowers are by Wild Orchid, and they've had just a touch of gesso to shabby them up (down?).














And the metal heart is from Calico Crafts, and has had just a fingerful of paint smeared onto it.












I added some tiny wooden hearts - confetti from the fabulous UmWow Studio...















... with just a dusting of gesso added.













And, of course, lots and lots of leaves cut with the new Spring Greenery decorative strip die...














I promised you more ivy, and you've got some of the other leafy bits here too for good measure!













So that's my springtime canvas for you today.  I wonder how long this flowery kick will last - could be a whole new Words and Pictures vibe for 2014!

I'd like to enter this for the Wild Orchid Challenge where I've been inspired by the flowers on their Springtime Photo Inspiration, and using all the colours except the pink which has pretty much disappeared under all the layers!

I'd also like to enter it at the Inspiration Emporium where they are Dieing for 2014 - my dies are the Distressed Doily and the Spring Greenery.

And at Pan Pastels, it's Anything Goes.

A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in - what more could he ask?  A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.
From Les Misérables by Victor Hugo