Tuesday 16 July 2013

How does your garden grow?



      How does my garden grow? - it doesn't! Plants wilt at the sight of me and quake with fear...I am a hopeless gardener - despite my love of flowers. Perhaps that is why they feature in so much of my work....at least I don't have to remember to water these!


     It isn't a canvas - I wanted to enter the 'Simon Says' challenge which asked to use something you were going to throw away. Several sheets of card had been rescued from the bin and were waiting to be used. I don't normally do this kind of thing on flat card - the card I am always eager to save is corrugated for lovely shabby effects. This is just plain thick brown card that arrived inside a pack of scrapbook pages......


    I was trying to achieve here...a kind of Victorian Summer garden, delicate roses, lots of random grasses, that lovely haze you find on a gorgeous hot sunny afternoon....ahhh bliss. I certainly have had a lot of inspiration with the gorgeous weather we are having...

     So I started off with that piece of plain brown card which arrived inside a pack of scrapbook album pages and was meant for the bin...and I applied texture paste through chicken wire stencil on opposite corners. I then painted the entire card with Vanilla Fresco paint and left to dry. When it was dry I dabbed Hey Pesto Fresco and Rose Fresco paint and wiped with a baby wipe.



















   I stamped some Tim Holtz Hedgerow stamps with Shabby Shutters and Victorian Velvet DI. This dried very pale and I stamped further hedgerow stamps with Peeled Paint DI to give some depth and distance to the plants.


    I then cut out roses and daises from serviettes and applied them to the card with Mod Podge. I dry brushed layers of Hey Pesto, Chocolate Pudding and Vanilla Fresco paint around the edges and then dabbed a dot stamp with Chocolate Pudding and Vanilla Fresco paint



    The picture still looked very flat especially as the dry brushing of dark colours had made the roses appear in shadow. I decided to add some lighter roses to look like they were bathed in sunlight and again add further depth to the picture. Serviettes wouldn't show up applied to dark painted areas so I painted some Snowflake Fresco paint and applied the rose serviettes over the paint. I painted a light coat of Snowflake Fresco paint over the daisies to brighten the petals.



   
















    A butterfly was stamped on cream coloured card with Coffee Archival ink and stained with Tattered Rose and Bundled Sage DS and then covered in white iridescent Mica powder. 



Script stamp was added in Coffee Archival ink and I placed a quote in the centre stamped again with Coffee Archival Ink.


 A quick sponging of the edges with Chocolate Pudding Fresco paint added a vintage shabby look
            




 Hope you like this Summer picture! Hope to see you again soon!





I would like to enter this in the following challenges -

  Country View Challenge - Summer Sizzler
  Simon says - Good to be Green - Used discarded cardboard and green paint and inks
  Frilly and Funkie - Summertime!
  Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Flora & Fauna
  Vintage Stamping Challenge  - Pretty in Pink

     

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31 comments:

  1. So beautiful, I love it
    Rosie x

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  2. wow this is absolutely gorgeous!You've really captured the feel of a summer garden. A real work of art!Thanks so much for joining us at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and Vintage Stamping challenges
    Claire xx

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  3. Wonderful creation... :)
    Have a nice day, Laura!

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  4. Lovely love the colours.

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  5. Simply gorgeous you have achieved what you set out to a summer afternoon feel
    Crafty Hugs
    Heather x

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  6. Wow this is absolutely gorgeous love all the different shades of roses and your color blending is to perfection.

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  7. Lovely piece, reminds me of a Victorian garden/picture. Love the roses, great idea to use serviettes. This has a lovely romantic feel to it, due to the images and colours used. You would never know this started life as a piece of brown card, wonderful transformation. Thanks so much for joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Tracy x

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  8. A beautifully put together piece Laura, so summery and delicate and romantic all at the same time. The stencilling is wonderful and loving the serviette elements. Beautiful! Hugs, Anne x

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  9. This gorgeous piece perfectly captures a summer day. You've worked the roses beautifully to capture light and shade , i shall be keeping my eyes peeled for serviettes ! X

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  10. It sure looks like a canvas! This is the most gorgeous use of rubbish ever! I love the roses...just striking! The embossing and sultry colors are grand! Truly a BEAUTIFUL piece of art my dear! Thank you for going green with us this week here at Simon Says Stamp & Show!

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  11. Oh excellent - and it answers my question of yesterday about whether I can serviettentechnik onto card....:-)

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    1. Remember what Annie said - "You can use it on everything except shower curtains"! This was quite thick heavy card which is best for Servietten Technique. I have used thinner card but often it buckles and doesn't lie flat afterwards. If using thinner card just go easy on the glue - and of course placing the card under a huge stack of books helps flatten it.
      Lots of love L xxxxxxx

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    2. Thanks. Probably dolls house shower curtains would be okay ;-) I'll give that a try with Annie when you are here.....
      xxx

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  12. Laura...this is beautiful. I love the soft colors you've used on this. That chicken wire stencil really is effective as a subtle texture. Love your flowers you've cut out and added from the serviettes. They are lovely and perfect for your canvas. I love your sentiment and the placement of it. The dramatic dark tones you've added really do bring out the colors. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your canvas with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

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  13. Wow Laura, your project is gorgeous ! I love the old English country garden feel, the serviette flowers are stunning ! The dark edges are fabulous, the dry brushing is wonderful. Love it (can you tell!) Sue C x

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  14. Gorgeous project. The flowers are beautiful against that super background. thank you for sharing it with us at FSC as well.
    Yvonne x

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  15. This is really beautiful Laura! Love the layers which build to give a feel of dimension and the chicken wire texture that adds so much to the whole design. Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie with this. Hugs, Jenny x

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  16. oh my gosh! What an extraordinary wonderful blog! Happy that I found you!
    Amazing Art!
    xxx
    Susi

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  17. That's really amazing, such a wonderful creation. Thanks for joining us at Flonz Craft Vintage Stamping Challenges.

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  18. Hi Laura...the first impressions looking at this is how fresh and alive it is! Then the depth hits you....subtle, gentle and very feminine.
    Thanks for joining in the fun at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.
    Dot x

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  19. stunning! love the textures and colours, a real old fashioned English garden

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  20. Stunning and a real piece after my own heart! I love everything about it!! Like you I am not a gardener but love to use flowers and I also adore the servietten technique! This is a truly wonderful card, I love it!!

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  21. Really beautiful... love how you've built up the layers - the end result is gorgeous.
    Alison x

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  22. Oh Laura, this is so gorgeous, I don't even know where to start. Such a mixed media masterpiece! LOVE the vintage style floral images from the serviettes with their lovely soft colors. The texture with the chicken wire stenciling is fabulous too. You really nailed the summertime theme! It's always such a pleasure to have you joining in the fun with us over at Frilly and Funkie!

    Hugs,
    Linda

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  23. Laura, this is a stunningly beautiful artwork. Love the layers and textures, Simply gorgeous. Have a great weekend. Cheers, Di

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  24. Laura, this is truly magical! The colours and textures and beautiful and the napkin accents - so dreamy! Enjoy the hot weekend! xxx

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  25. Hi Laura, A beautiful piece with such a vintage feel. Love the layers and texture with the chicken wire. Great use of the serviettes.
    Thanks for sharing with us at FSC
    Avril

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  26. This is one of those creations that makes you say "Ooooh"! The colours are so very beautiful.

    Maria x

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  27. Hey Miss Laura, all your flowers are gorgeous no matter where you plant them, plants don't like me either..
    Brilliant useing that cardboard, I have a lot of them might use them for a piece of art now, thanks.
    You have achieved a Victorian Summer garden and much more, the texture is beautiful love the colors,I like the effect after wiping it with a baby wipe, great tip. Looove my hedgerow :) popping around the page, the flowers look beautiful then the daisies sitting up, the script scattered around, lovely, the shiny beautiful butterfly..
    I know you made a wish before you started creating and then the magic happen, you made a GORGEOUS thing happen. Thanks for sharing, love every photo.

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  28. This is beautiful Laura, a wonderful array of gorgeous vintage roses, beautiful colours and textures, such a fabulous creation. Thanks for sharing it at Country View Crafts Summer Sizzler Challenge this month.
    hugs {brenda} x0x

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  29. WOW Laura, what a beautiful creation, just love it. Such a dreamy painterly effect with this technique. Thanks so much for joining us this month at FSC. Good luck in the prize draw. Xx

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