I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Wednesday 18 August 2021

Three times three times three

Hello all!  I'm delighted to be here today to share a project created for a Guest Designer spot at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.  I was honoured that my journalling page for the wonderful Time challenge was chosen as their winner, and I'm honoured to be guest designing for them today.  The current theme is one that made my heart sing when I heard about it... Triple the Heat - not for the heat, but for the tripling!  I love working in threes and trios and triptyches, so here's what I came up with...

The host, Suzz, is using the number three as the inspiration (you can read all about it over at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog), and I've got lots and lots of threes going on here, not just the three ATCs themselves.

There are three different insects, courtesy of the Tim Holtz Collage Paper glued on to the ATC backgrounds (and lightly gessoed over to soften the look).

There are three different mediums involved in making these... texture crackle paste, paint and ink.  Soft washes of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish chalk paints in soft purple (Wisteria, Forget-me-not and Lavender) and vibrant green (Lawn) bring colour.

There are splatters of the paint colours as well as washes.  The Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste obviously brings the texture.

And DecoArt Quinacridone Gold mixed with Payne's Grey to create one of Andy Skinner's "dirty washes" soak down into the crackles, followed by a quick burnishing with Sepia Archival ink for an extra rusty look.

The most obvious of the "three of a kind" elements are the lavender stems, one to each ATC.  I picked them from the garden, but since they were already going over, I used the same Fresco paints to give them a fresher look.

And each lavender stem is accompanied by two inky/painty green stems, cut with one of Tim Holtz's Wildflower Thinlits dies, so that makes a total of three stems per ATC.

There are also three additional decorative elements on each ATC... a strip of Design Tape, a strip of lace, and a postmark label, stamped in Leaf Green Archival (from the TH Field Notes stamp set) and cut out.

Finally, and for me just as important as all the rest, we have the words.

The phrases are each three words long (but of course!), chosen from the Tiny Text stamp set.

They're stamped again in Leaf Green Archival to coordinate with everything else going on.

So, that's about that.  Many, many threesomes all built in to a trio of ATCs.  I like each of them individually, but best of all for me is how they work as a set, with the composition shifting slightly as the eye moves from tiny artwork to tiny artwork.

I hope that gives you some additional inspiration for the Triple the Heat challenge theme.  The design team have, of course, offered up glorious projects for you too, and you can see them all, read the challenge details and join in over at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog.

Thanks so much to the team for inviting me to guest design with them this time around, and thanks to all of you for stopping by today.  I hope you're having a relaxing and enjoyable August.  Stay safe, and happy crafting all!

Three things cannot long be hidden - the sun, the moon, and the truth.
Confucius

19 comments:

Helen said...

What a perfect challenge for you - you've really embraced the threes! I love the lavender. All in all, 3 perfect atcs

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful ATCs, love all the additions. Have a great day, hugs, Valerie

Anke said...

Traumhaft schöne ATCs, liebe Alison. Ich liebe Deinen Stil !!!

Herzliche Grüße
von Anke

Fonda said...

Beautiful!

Sue said...

These are so lovely Alison, and full of my favourite things! Have a very happy week, Sue xx

My name is Erika. said...

Your ATC's are amazing Alison. Congrats also on your win!

Nan G said...

The number 3 has never looked more beautiful. Fabulous ATCs Alison. Hugs

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Beautiful and organic! LOVE the size and that these are so you.

Christine Alexander said...

wonderful triptych and love the the bug tissue paper and all three mediums you used ♥

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Absolutely stunning ATCs. The fact you gave us three of these beauties is a real bonus,

SewPaperPaint said...

They are absolutely gorgeous Alison! And congrats on your guest spot. Hugs, Autumn

Lys said...

Slightly different but in the same mood and working so well together, beautiful set!

Cocofolies said...

Gorgeous set of ATCs, with so delicate texture and lavender stems, they are really exquisite!! Congratulations for the guest spot too, so well deserved dear Alison.
Hugs, Corinne xx

Craftyfield said...

Fabulous trio of ATCs Alison! The colour scheme is one of my favourite and, as usual, you have given a Distressed Vintage look to them that looks authentically old. The Funkie Junkies are lucky to have you this month. x

Mac Mable said...

Many congratulations on guesting Alison x. Love all the 'Three's' and loving these textural, beautiful and eye catching ATC's x.

Let's Art Journal said...

A beautiful trio! The colour palette is so pretty and the lavender finishes them so beautifully 😀. Wishing you a happy new week! Hugs Jo x

Diana Taylor said...

These are absolutely delightful Alison. I love the colours, and the little bugs are perfect - I can't resist a bug! An added bonus that there are three of them!
Diana xx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

These are so gorgeous and LOVE the lavender stems from your garden...WOW. I am sure your new place is fabulous.

Neet said...

Oh Alison, as what challenge they issue you with you nail it. This is beautiful, or should I say 'they' are beautiful.
I love how you linked the word 'three' in so many different ways. The colours are beautiful and the texture is exquisite, especially where you have dribbled Andy's rust through.
Love your final element of linking them with a tiny sprig of lavender.
Hugs, Neet xx