Life happens!

 My life has become so crazy lately! We are about to leave on a month-long trip to Italy to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and I just returned from a week in Mexico to finish up some dental work. We return on the 30th and leave again two days later to babysit the grandboys in Albuquerque while their parents go to Patagonia for two weeks. It seems I won't have any free (art) time until almost Thanksgiving! Needless to say, I won't be updating the blog for a month or two and just wanted to let everyone know.

In the meantime, here are a few of the last weekly Margarete Miller collage challenges I've finished (which is about all I've managed lately!) 

Week 35

Week 36

Week 37

Week 38

Week 39

"See" you in November sometime.

August Junk Journal Page Swap

 The base of my August junk journal page was cut from a master board made of lots of leftover scraps from previous projects. It measures 5" x 7" with a floral focal point cut from a magazine. I also added a portion of a doily, a few labels and a butterfly before adding a vellum pocket. I sewed around the edge and added another butterfly and label to the front of the pocket.

Two tags fit into the pocket. The larger one is made from a paint "chip" layered with a tag, a few labels and stickers and a butterfly. The smaller tag is a manila tag decoupaged with book text and a napkin. A butterfly and label were also added.

This is the front of the page with the tags in the pocket.

The back is covered with a vintage invoice. The corner pocket is made with a piece of sheet music. The corner is folded down with a piece of handmade paper and a cut out butterfly embellishing it. Inside the pocket is a fold-over card decoupaged with multiple paper scraps, floral and butterfly images and a few labels. 

Here is the closed tag inside the pocket. The birds are stamped on a piece of sewing pattern tissue and glued to the top of the card along with a small label.

I'm Back and Catching Up

 My mother had a TIA in early August and I spent a few weeks with her in Vermont to make sure everything was ok. She recovered very quickly and has little or no lasting side effects, thankfully! She turned 94 in June and is remarkable, still living at home and getting around by herself.

Needless to say, I did no art for those several weeks! I'm happy to be home again and have been catching up on swaps I'd joined.

Here are the last three weeks' of collage challenges.

Week 32

Prompts:

1) a contraption (dictionary diagram)

2) a piece of postcard, either side (vintage postcard of a hotel)

3) something that starts with letter F (fern)

4) a barcode (lowered of page)

5) a date or anything from a calendar (dates on labels)

Bonus: something from a magazine (paint color swatches from magazine ad)

Week 33

Prompts:

1) "electronic", whatever that means to you (headphones)

2) a security envelope pattern (brick-like pattern in two places)

3) something with a star or stars (stamped and embossed star pattern, upper right,

and "camera" washi tape)

4) a doodle (upper left corner border)

5) something industrial (machines in factory)

Bonus: text from a book page (upper left)

Week 34

Prompts:

1) "light", whatever that means to you (sunset)

2) any kind of tag ("Salty Cow" tag from delivered food)

3) paper that is stained or has a stain (tea-dyed paper in background)

4) sand or stone (not used)

5) something that starts with the letter P (peony)

Bonus: a sticker (butterfly)