Winter Journal VIII

Hello all!  I promised you some brighter colour tones after the last couple of neutral pages in my 8x8 kraft Winter Journal, so here you go...

And we've graduated from loving couples to a happily independent woman, wrapped up warm and ready to make things happen.









There's some loose gesso stencilling through one of my favourite festive stencils, as well as some more gesso slathered on with a palette knife.
















The inky colours are a combination of Evergreen Bough, Iced Spruce and Peeled Paint Distress Sprays...

... with a splattering of some Colorex Oriental Blue.  I just love this close-up of those inky splashes.














The woman herself is either one of the Tim Holtz Photobooth pictures, or one of the Darkroom Door ones.  I'd already snipped her off, and she's been hanging around the craft table by herself, so I'm not sure which any longer.















But I'd say she's definitely happy!

















The fir boughs and branches are cut from card spritzed with those same colours of Distress Spray.















They're layered up over the stencilling in the background...












... and of course they couldn't help but receive a good helping of splatter, both Colorex and white acrylic at various points - and sometimes a mix of the two.













I saved up the in-between-the-birches bits when I cut my forest of trunks for Winter Journal V.

And I really like them here as vertical accents - almost tree-like, but then not quite.   It works well to break up the greenery, I think.














The words are full of optimism and strength...














... looking ahead from the hibernation of winter to fresh adventures to come.














This page makes me happy - the zingy, fresh green colours, the happy woman at the heart of it, and the layers of inky and painty splatter over all that naturally festive greenery (my very favourite bit of all the Christmas decorations).







This will go out on Friday morning, and I think we've probably all earned some of the weekend off again, don't you?  I will be back on Sunday with a little something.  (Eeek! - that will already be the third Sunday of Advent.  When I say "a weekend off", I obviously mean a weekend doing all the other things I should be doing.)  Happy crafting, if you've time for it, and happy everything else if not.

"The evergreen!  How beautiful, how welcome, how wonderful the evergreen!"
From Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

At the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge they are offering up some Warm Winter Wishes
I hope my festive greenery will work for the final ever Stamps & Stencils challenge (sad sigh), It's Got To Be Christmas
And of course I'm playing along again at Art Journal Journey for the double themes of My Favourite Season/Tis the Season