Warning: Possible Extreme Sensory Overload Ahead!

Geez, could Time slow down just a little! LOL, Howdy Y'all, just a little in awe it's already Thursday. Even when you're retired, it still matters somehow. Well, I have finished my art journal spread I've been working a lot on (((Oh, THAT'S why Time has flown!))) and I sure hope you CAS gals are not going to have a seizure or aneurysm from sensory overload when you see it! I may or may not have thrown in the kitchen sink!

"Explore This World...Learn How to Fly" is the message of this spread in my Book of Wisdom journal. The world is a busy place with lots to explore, as is your typical English country garden. I love the Lost Coast Designs lady bottom left-center. I used her because she literally looks like she's trying to fly or dream about it. So this spread can also be her dreaming of what she could do. Like Mary Poppins, she let nothing stand in her way, didn't even need wings, an umbrella would do nicely, hehehe. And the wee child ballerina is already confident in her ability.

This spread and it's point of view, that of a bird's eye, is in line with how I think as I've gotten older. I'm consistently pulling myself up and out of my situation like I were a drone, to look at my big picture. To change my perspective. Too many of us do not do that as much as we should. If we did it more, we would be less frustrated, more able to handle long-term gratification, happy with our lives overall. So I guess that's why I gravitate towards this kind of storyboard in my journals.

I must give credit for the colors I've used to the April Photo Inspiration Challenge at Bugaboo. Even if my spread ended up with many more colors. I knew I wasn't going to finish in time to play in the challenge, but I used the gorgeous photo as my inspiration:

However, this wasn't my only inspiration by a long shot. I had planned a flower garden spread with butterflies and a Learn to Fly message for Lost Coast's "On Wings She Flies" challenge, but as often happens never got past the planning stage. However, it was replaced by the current challenge "I Spy Something Beginning with B". And of course, I had butterflies and bravery (the message for me in  this spread is you must overcome your own fears in order to fly/succeed/take risks). 

Stamping Sensations' current challenge is "In an English Country Garden" - Oh, my, what Serendipity! This prompted me to use Lost Coast's Mary Poppins silhouette stamp because hey, she is the epitome of English. I also used their Ballerina with Wings because she has always made me think of Peter Pan for some reason, like she's Baby Wendy. And that was written by JM Barrie who was Scottish but wrote and died in England. I dunno, using them makes me feel like it's more of an English Country garden if I put English people in it.

Finally, I haven't played at Art Journal Journey in a long while, so when I saw their challenge is "In The Sky / Air", well, I just had to forge ahead. Other relevant challenges materialized for flowers, things with wings, feminine, and even a TR quote about success, etc., and it suddenly seemed like serendipitous Karma. :-)

A few years back, I now have no definite memory why, I printed several rubber flower stamps, colored them with markers and gel pens and fussy cut some of them. Then Life moved me on, but I did file them in one of my 3-inch ring binders holding images and ephemera. I *think* I made them to use in my journals, so if true I'm finally completing the circle. Most of the stamps are ancient Autumn Leaves Ronna Farrer, but there's probably a few that are not but I'm too lazy to hunt down who made them. One bad thing about reorganizing your stamps by theme is that you eventually begin to forget who made each and every stamp in a set, especially if it got moved to 5 different themes. I've mostly been counting on a memory that is showing signs of fading. :-) I did make the bottom 2 rows of MFT Scribble Rose die cuts recently. I was trying out a new type of glue sponge for my intricate die cuts that are hard to apply adhesive to. Verdict is still out on the glue. ;-) 

SUPPLIES:

* My Book of Wisdom Vol. 1 composition book art journal

* Gesso and acrylic paints

* Stencils: Stamplorations, The Crafter's Workshop

* Stamps: Lost Coast, Artistic Outpost, Vickie Enkoff, Autumn Leaves, Leave Memories, Paper Artsy, Stamplorations, 7Gypsies, and maybe others

* Inks: Images colored with Promarkers; Distress, Archival, Versafine Clair, VersaMagic, Gel pens, wink of Stella glitter pens

* Dies: My Favorite Things Scribble Roses and Overlay, Spellbinders Butterflies 1, Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edge Label, Sizzix Sizzlit Fence, Sizzix Garden Greens

* Punches: Martha Stewart Tiny Butterfly

I began with a spread that already had been gesso'd and painted and stenciled with The Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Frag Flower. I do lots of spreads' backgrounds up to a point and then they sit there like up for adoption waiting on new parents, lol. This is in my quotes and sayings journal that is almost full, and I had  other spreads to choose from, but I chose this one because the colors were like Bugaboo's photo (above). 

I began to see the two giant frag flowers as round open pavillions in the garden. I decided to make a walkway between and around the frag flowers with Stamplorations' Overlap stencil and acrylic paint. 

 

I played-practiced with my charcoal pencil smudging it around the frags. Then, I filled in some green grass space around the perimeters. Nothing fancy, like actually painting grass realistically, lol. I took Stamplorations' Flowers 1 stencil and some VersaMagic chalk ink in a dull yellow and stencil. I LOVE THIS STENCIL! 

But the ink did not show up well enough although I kinda liked the ghostly look to it and ended up keeping it showing in the background. I decided I needed acrylic white petals and yellow centers. I learned I could use a few Donna Dewberry lessons, lol. But I got the job done. 

I used Stamplorations' Trendy Butterflies stamps, heat-embossed them, ink-sponged them with inks from my Old Ink Use Up box and fussy cut them out. And same with my ladies images, except they were colored with my Promarkers, as were the text strip and heading and quote.

I took a skewer and with end of it dipped in paint, dotted all the green space to represent planted flower beds.  As it's quite a busy spread, here are some close-ups for details, along with a final view. 

CHALLENGES:

1. Lost Coast Challenge #75: I Spy Something Beginning with B - BUTTERFLIES and BRAVERY, plus I used 3 Lost Coast stamps: Silhouette Poppins, a Doodle Doll 2 and Ballerina with Flowers.

2. Art Journal Journey May: In the Sky/In the Air

3. Try It On Tuesday: Things With Wings

4. Brown Sugar #290: Flowers

5. Sparkles Monthly #115: Flowers or Religious - I chose Flowers

6. Mix It Up #25: AG + Opt. Mixed Media - I am playing the Option. I used acrylic paint, inks, gel and glitter pens, paper collage, stenciling, stamping.

7. Stamping Sensations May challenge:"In an English Country Garden" - this is a whimsical one. :-)

8. LTSCB #121: Anything Goes

9. LTCCB #34: Anything Goes

10. Stamplorations Mixed Media May Challenge: AG with a Stencil - I used Stamplorations Overlap and Flowers 1 stencils, and the Bloom Sketches and Trendy Butterflies stamps.

11. Stamplorations Never-Ending Challenge: AG with Stamplorations products Featured - I used the Stamplorations Overlap and Flowers 1 stencils. I also used the Trendy Butterflies and Bloom Sketches stamps.

12. Stamplorations 2019 Things With Wings Blog Hop

13. Time Out Challenge #135: Inspired by Words (see graphic) - My spread and this quote may seem at first counter-intuitive, but I do not think TR meant feet on ground literally. Back then, to have your feet firmly on the ground was a popular notion and meant to have common sense and be level-headed and serious in your decisions and goals. But still have them and reach for them. Pretty much what I'm saying, too.

14. TTCRD for 5/7-5/13: Always AG

15. Passion 4 Promarkers #492: Feminine

That does it for me today. I really appreciate you dropping by and hanging in for this long, photo-laden post. Until next time, xoxo