Creative Collage

     Hello everyone - Thanks for being here and taking a peek at something I have made. Huge apologies for not having been visiting for a while - I will try and catch up as soon as possible. I am, thankfully, feeling a bit better now.

    Before I begin visiting blogs being nosey seeing what everyone has created, I do have to devote this afternoon to bread making with my little boy. He desperately wants to see how bread is made and announced to me that he wants to be a chef and ALL chefs know how to make bread....It is obviously on his current checklist for things to learn....that and driving. As he is just a couple of weeks away from his 5th birthday, I have a feeling he isn't going to enjoy waiting another 12 years for those lessons!

*update on the bread...Our little boy LOVED making the dough - he compared the texture of the dough to feeling like "squished sardines" though when this little vegetarian has ever squished a sardine I don't know!!!! - sadly the bread wasn't a success. I noticed the flour and yeast was out of date while making it and didn't have the heart to cancel his bread making lesson. Luckily he lost interest at the point of the uneven, unrisen dough rolls going into the oven and then emerging like little rocks.....I'll buy some fresh flour and he can have another go and perhaps manage to eat the bread he makes!

       Anyway - onto the crafts.....I was inspired to create a patchwork collage after seeing Annette's stunning creation for the Simon says 'Quote' challenge - I didn't go back to it and check the details after finding it as I didn't want to be tempted to copy it at all....so I just went away gathering ideas and have only gone back to it now to get the link....Isn't it amazing that even when we are inspired by other artists and are basically attempting to make the same thing - how different it always looks! Of course mine was never going to be anywhere as good as Annette's....but you know what made me really happy? - I hung up the collage and my husband saw it when he got home and he looked at it and said "Wow!!!...I REALLY like that!" Of course I look at it now and think "Oh I could have used that template, stencil, ink, paint, pen etc etc" But hey! I can always make another! ;o)

      The inspiration for colours came from the decor of our living room...

      So I began to cut different sizes of card...some embossed and some plain. When they were all cut out and arranged in place I began decorate them.

Some were decorated with illustrations and text from old books. I used some Melange Tissue Paper and various tissue tape.

      Then I began to ink them. I didn't use any pre-coloured card - All the colours you see are inks or stains. I selected Forest Moss, Pine Needles, Rusty Hinge, Fired Brick, Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Gathered Twigs.

      Then I used some embellishments. This was a good time to raid the junk box...where discarded elements of previous projects go...

      Most of the items on this collage were things that had been made, inked and prepared for previous projects and then I had changed my mind. Now was the time for them to get used. The final stage was to ink the edges with Walnut Stain DI and stick all the pieces together and then frame it. The Walnut Stain didn't give a dark enough effect so after sticking all the pieces together, I dry brushed the edges with French Roast Fresco paint.

     

        So that is my Patchwork Collage! It was so much fun to make - A huge thank you to Annette for sharing her inspiring work with everyone - Thanks so much to all of you for being here, hope to see you all soon!

I am entering this into the following challenge -

Simon Says - Very Strict Challenge (anything goes!)
Country View Crafts - Butterflies
Crafty-emblies  - Anything goes
Try it on Tuesday  - Recycled (I am hoping that my use of previously discarded embellishments can be considered recycling)