The Way You See Me

Hello all!  It's been relatively quiet round here lately, but it's that time of the month again, when there's a sudden flurry of activity, new challenge themes kicking off left, right and centre.

First up, I'm here with the news that Anything Goes at The Artistic Stamper this month!  As usual, you don't even have to use Artistic Stamper stamps on your creation, but if you do you'll get two entries into the prize draw, so come and play...

Since the amazing France Papillon is celebrating 100 Journal On Monday posts, I decided to head for one of the many journals of various sizes and shapes and types that I seem to have on the go.  I really wanted to try to leave some clear space, rather than fill every last inch as I often do... and this is what arrived on the page.

Anything Goes, so I've just grabbed lots of stuff I love to play with...

There's lovely subtle crackle texture...















... and layers of book pages, paint and tissue tape...













... and stamping of course...














... and collaged ephemera on top of it all.













And a combination of words and pictures that somehow got me right in the heart.










Let me take you through some of the layers.  It all started with some torn book pages...

... then the washi tape came into play - butterflies and script, of course.

And then a good wash of gesso to soften the whole thing.

Not soft enough, so then another coat of gesso, as well as some script stamping, using Calligraphy Mat #4.

I still wasn't sure where any of this was going, but I wanted some texture involved.







I turned to the Croco Crackling Colour in White and just smeared some on with a palette knife in opposing corners.

I don't seem to have taken a picture of that stage, so you'll just have to catch it in the close-ups!












Regulars will know I'm pretty obsessed with Katy Leitch's new jumbo flower stamps, and that's what I grabbed next.












The Camellia has not only the main stem, but several individual flower heads in the set.













I stamped those around my pages in Potting Soil Archival ink, trying to embrace imperfection where the stamping wasn't perfect.











It's inevitably imperfect because you're going over the texture of the washi and the book pages - that's all part of the fun.









I still had to decide how to create the focal points for the pages - and that started to come together when I found the two Darkroom Door Photobooth photos which had the same couple in slightly different poses.


Suddenly I could see how it might go...










So I grabbed lots of paper scraps and ephemera from the Tim Holtz ephemera packs, both the Expedition and the Thrift Shop ones.

I sorted through to find suitable pieces in colour tones that would complement my layered background, inked the edges, and began to create new collaged layers with my scraps.













I needed some more dimension, and I can never resist a bit of metal, so I grabbed a few skeleton leaves and "rusted" them with Distress Embossing Powder in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain for extra texture.












I tucked them in and around my layered papers.
















I love how, since they're only the leaf veins, you still get to see other textures through them.











The sentiment seemed perfect for the couple.  I stamped it on some spare card, and snipped the corners to echo the shapes of all their tickets, saved to remember all the films and shows they've seen together.












I really wanted to add some loopy threads but, believe it or not, I seem to be out of white cotton - ah, well... I'll just have to add them another time.

So apologies that it's apparently not even a finished page!











The final touch was to add lots of splatter - it's done with the Ground Coffee and White Linen Dylusions, splattered off the unscrewed spritzer from inside the bottles.

I did cover the photos and of course my precious words while I did it, so that they didn't end up splattered too.









So that's what went for me as I played Anything Goes - what will go for you?!  I do hope you'll come and play along this month... check out the challenge details and some more inspiration from the Artistic Stamper team here.  And I'll be back before breakfast with the next new challenge theme of the month.  Hope to see you then!

So, til the judgement that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
Final couplet of Sonnet 55 by William Shakespeare
(one of my all time favourites)

I'd like to enter this in the following:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and my J is for... journalling
And I'd like to link up to celebrate 100 Journal On Monday posts with the fabulous France Papillon.  I created this with that celebration in mind, though I ended up having to publish it before her link went live - but I hope I'll be allowed to join in with the fun.

Ingredients used:
Artistic Stamper stamps: Jumbo Camellia by Katy Leitch, Calligraphy Mat #4
Viva Decor Croco Crackling Colour in White
Archival Ink - Potting Soil
Gesso
Tim Holtz French Industrial Paper Stash
Ephemera Packs by Tim Holtz - Expedition and Thrift Shop
Idea-ology Tissue Tape - Composer
Washi Tape - Script (maybe 7 Gypsies or Prima?)
Skeleton Leaves
Distress Embossing Powder - Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain
Dylusions Sprays - Ground Coffee, White Linen
Book pages
Darkroom Door - Photobooth pictures