Monday, February 10, 2014

10 on the 10th: February Amethyst (T-Tues)

Hello, everyone!  I have a long story to tell, so you might want to sit back with a cup of tea.  Today I've got red raspberry herbal tea--a perfect color for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday.  Wish I could share my French macaron cookies with you--they are yummy!


Today is February tenth, so it's time for me to update you on my "Ten on the Tenth" destashing project.  When choosing a color scheme for this month, I thought of amethyst, which is the birthstone for February.  Since the art world is all abuzz about the Pantone Color of the Year being a shade of purple, I was feeling pretty enthusiastic about making some purple projects.


Inspired by the above image, I assembled supplies various shades of purple, plus a few neutrals.


Above are the ten supplies that I worked with:
  1. woodgrain patterned paper from Kaisercraft (full sheet)
  2. striped patterned paper from Doodlebug (scrap)
  3. purple cardstock from Wausau Paper
  4. maroon cardstock from Bazzill
  5. embellishment: alphabet banner stickers from Doodlebug
  6. embellishment: shamrock doilies from Royal
  7. throwaway item: plastic purple netting from candy packaging
  8. throwaway item: scrap of yarn from gift packaging
  9. nonconsumable: stamp set from Lawn Fawn
  10. nonconsumable: heart punch from All Night Media 
Below are the flipsides from the two patterned papers.


Like many people, I struggle to use purple in my artwork, so I thought this would be a good way to challenge myself.  I do like purple, so I'd enjoy seeing it more in my scrapbooks.  However, in retrospect, I think I should not have tried to combine so many different shades of purple at once.  I did manage to create a card, a layout, and a collage, but the process did NOT go smoothly.


I was partway through both the card and layout (pictured above), when I decided that they just were not working.  So I took them apart as best I could and started over.  I hardly ever do this, so it was strange for me.  I just felt like both projects were unbalanced, in terms of both color and scale, and I couldn't figure out a way to rescue them.


I took pieces from my discarded project, added in new alphabet stickers (Echo Park) and a new sheet of background paper (My Mind's Eye), and came up with the layout above, which I like much better.  Can you see bits of the old projects in this new one?


When confronted with a bunch of triangular letter stickers that didn't spell anything useful (except for the letters L-O-V-E, which I saved for my collage), I layered them and created my own "arrow" stamp.


I used this arrow stamp, along with Stickles glitter glue, to stamp on my layout.  

Below are photos of a few more details from the layout.

A scrap of the maroon cardstock and a piece of netting help a small photo to stand out.

I did a couple types of stenciling--I stenciled through the doily with a white pen, and I stenciled through heart punch negatives with Stickles.  I also sprinkled on some seed beads while the hearts were still wet.

I like the triangle stenciling from my original layout, but I think it works better in small doses.

I stamped with the string--again, using Stickles--to help my title stand out.

Okay, moving on now to the card that I created...  I ended up using the flowered side of the paper, with only a little bit of the purple striped paper as an accent.  I also added a happy tulle bow and a couple dots of Stickles.  I have been pretty into Stickles this month...perhaps you noticed?  :)


Here's a closeup of the sentiment block on the card (below).


Finally, it was time for me to take my leftover scraps and make a collage.  Actually, I didn't have many leftover scraps, since I'd had to start over with both my card and my scrapbook page.  However, I did have a lot of doily pieces, so I collaged them onto a big cardboard heart...



I added paint and a few splashes of mist.  I really liked this look, and I must try it again sometime, when I'll be able to leave more of it on display.  As it is, I ended up covering up much of my doily collage, to make the project you see below.

~previously blogged here~

Notice that there is hardly any purple on this heart wall hanging, which I made for my son's room?  I'm back to the bright reds, blues, and greens that I'm more comfortable using.  I plan to go easy on myself for next month's "10 on the 10th" and use the bright, happy colors that I so love...no more purple for awhile!

Still, I am grateful for the learning experiences that working with purple provided me.  I definitely tried new things and went outside my comfort zone, and I got some good ideas for things to try on future projects.

I hope that your adventures in art will go more smoothly than mine.  In the meantime, have a happy Valentine's Day on Friday!  :)

16 comments:

Mary Jo said...

Fun projects, Denise! I love the triangle stenciling on the layout. So pretty!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

When you asked if we could see remnants of the previous layout, the first thing I saw were the triangles. I was glad to see how you used them when you documented the layout. And I LOVE the LOVE that turned into a banner, rather than all the triangles used as words in the first piece.

You have a real knack for these spreads. Very impressive.

BTW, be sure to save the tea bag, because it will have a lovely color once it's dry. Not all brown like most tea bags we get.

Thanks for joining T and sharing your 10 on the 10th this week. I always love how you step us through the things you make.

And yes, Bleubeard is definitely in snuggle mode now that my place is probably colder than yours was today.

Bridget Larsen said...

Love that colour tea and flavour, so appropriate for Valentines day and your layouts and cards are gorgeous and ready for day LOVE

Vicki Miller said...

Lovely, Denise. I love purple, but I love it with green. Perhaps that is why you like the one with more green on it better? I also love your heart with all the doily bits collaged on it. beaurtiful

BJ said...

Hi Denise, Thanks for your comment about the distress stains. Ranger have said they will replace my stains but not sure if that means just the ones which changed colour (a known problem with preservative according to Tim Holtz)1 from February 2012 and 2 from June 2012 and the smelly ones too. The smelly ones are my oldest ones from back in April 2011 (Tim hadn't heard of this problem). As I'm in the UK it could take some time for the replacements to materialise but I will blog it when they do.
OH and I LOVE purple, scrap with it quite a lot. I love how your page worked out the purple in the plants is really shown off for using purple backing. BJ

Darla said...

It is a challenge to work with a new or seldom used color. I especially like the big heart.

Darla

Halle said...

I have trouble working with purple as well. Your final products are well done! Your arboretum photos make me long for spring. Maybe sometime you got there again we can meet up. I only live a few miles from there.

Divers and Sundry said...

happy valentine's day to you, too! raspberry sounds like fun, and a bit of a break from the pink/red i see so much for this holiday. thx :)

dawn said...

Hello and Happy T Day!! I love seeing you share your 10's with us.
I enjoyed them all and love the heart one with your family picture on it. So cute!!
Great job making the layouts work for you, sometimes I've had to redo mine, not my favorite things to do either. Thankfully, I've only had to a few times and am glad I did it.
I love the tea picture, so pretty. Thanks for sharing!

Dianne said...

your layouts are simply gorgeous! I find purple is a challenge too, and usually end up covering up most of it...how do you adhere the purple netting? it seems to be layered underneath another paper, but wondered if you adhere the part that is showing, or if it is 'loose?' thanks for sharing. have a colorful day!

Krisha said...

Hi Denise,
Great job on the re-do projects. I love the cheerful Easter card you made.
I am not a big fan of purple unless it is a very light lavender (which is then NOT purple LOL). I'm with you on the bright and the bold colors!!!

The large heart is really pretty.

Lynette Jacobs said...

Shew...you did well in this color challenge. Awesome projects and I love how you up cycle items.

Linda Kunsman said...

your reworked projects turned out splendidly!!! I admire your tenacity at making it all flow so beautifully. Purple is probably my least favorite color-this probably would've been torture for me:) Happy T day!

Rita said...

I don't use purple very much, either. I do like it with blues and greens, though. Hummm...
Fun projects! Happy T-Day!! :)

Craftymoose Crafts said...

I love purple and use it quite often--but then I am primarily a beader, LOL, so that makes it a little easier! I think you did a great job with your pages, and I love the photos of the flowers.

Vicki Miller said...

Thanks, for your comment. Yes, doing pastel without the dust and without the filthy fingrs is a real boon!