Flowers and Mice

Quick post today - the pictures were taken fast as got lost in the BAJ page I did this morning and I need to go get ready for work.

I had to make something this morning because there is a new theme at **ART*JOURNAL*JOURNEY* and I just had to play.  The new theme is flowers - wow, I see a lot of  journal pages with flowers in my future.

Today's page took a lot of different directions.  I messed it up like 20 times and had to do something else to it to get it to work for me.  I messed up my Zentangle and had to cover a few spots, them got a blob or two of gesso where I didn't want it, etc. - journaling fast is not always easy!  I started the page with the prompt from the Teapot Tuesday challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com which is to channel your inner Mary Delany (read the article - it is amazing - she is my hero). After I messed up my page, I saw the Mixed Media Challenge at Splitcoast stampers was to chalk it up - add some white paint over a vividly painted random background.  My background was not random, but I used it to fix the page to my liking.

I drew and watercolored the flowers.  Added in some zentangle to fill it in (that is when it went off track - lol).  Then added in a bit of music paper and some pieces from a card my sister, Sharon, made me.  Sponged around, splattered around, spilled some mica flakes accidently on it, then dry brushed some white gesso.

Psalm 81: 1 - Sing to God our strength.  Some wise words. The Psalm talks about how God would slay the enemies of the people if they would turn their hearts to Him and give up their wicked ways.  My sister sent me a card done in black with silver embossing - it said You have a beautiful heart (I tore off some of the words for this page).  She is the one with the beautiful heart.  She started out my best friend.  My father passed and her mother passed and then my mother and her father fell in love several years later (in their 70s).  They had a wonderful marriage and my mother was never happier.  She passed several years ago, but we will have Pop. He isn't feeling well and currently lives with my sister. So my best friend became my sister and God gave me a father (plus two brothers which I had always wanted).  It is a beautiful story.  God blessed me and my mother greatly with her and Pop.

Yesterday, on Thursday, I tried the Try it on Tuesday challenge which is to use black and white and one other color.  I picked brown (surprise).  I needed a card for the husband of one of my friends who just had a triple bypass (in the hospital all alone and she couldn't visit).  Wow that was difficult.  He is a home recovering and wanted to send him something.

I started with an old sheet music to King for a Day.  I did a layer of white gesso.  After it dried, I stamped this cute House Mouse image and colored it with colored pencils.  Next I stenciled on some manly words using and Andy Skinner Stencil.  I also took a rain drop stencil and inked it up, sprayed with water and slapped it down - you can kind of see it in the top left.