Saturday, April 19, 2014

Pond Life: A New Perspective


Supplies: watercolor paint from Angora; cardstock from Bazzill; patterned paper from Elle's Studio; stamps & green ink from Hero Arts; grey ink from Stampology; mushroom stickers & border sticker negatives (upcycled as stencils) from Doodlebug Design; label stickers from October Afternoon; alphabet stickers from Echo Park; spiderweb trim from We Call Her Happydaks etsy; chipboard from Scrapmatts; rhinestones from Beads by Dee; Liquid Pearls paint from Ranger; pens from Zig.

This page started with an idea from Once Upon A Sketch.  I like their multi-photo sketch this month (since I rarely do single-photo pages), and I also like their prompt: "An event that changed my life..." 


My albums are already full of pages that document the bigger events in life, so I knew that I wanted to do something different this time: I wanted to create a page about one of those little learning experiences in life that changes your perspective.  Life is full of such moments, and I wasn't sure about which one to choose for my page, until I saw this inspiration image at Cupcake Inspirations:


We had a rainy spring last year, and I remember seeing lots of toadstools at the nature center when my family took a class there.  The topic of the class was "Pond Life," and I decided to make this the subject of my page. 
 
{detail shot}

When we scooped up some pond water at the nature center, we found lots of tiny creatures living in it!  At first I thought they would be icky, but then I became fascinated by these tiny lifeforms.
 
{detail shot}

My perspective changed, and here is what I wrote about it:
 
{detail shot--stamping with the edge of a piece of corrugated cardboard, making a thicker line of paint under a key phrase}

To mimic the look of the pond, I used green watercolor paint, lots of tiny animal stamps, toadstool stickers, botanical chipboard, "water droplet" rhinestones, and shiny Liquid Pearls paint.  I kept the design loose, organic, and flowing.
 
{detail shot}


{detail shot}

{detail shot}

{detail shot}

I hope you enjoyed today's visit to the pond.  :)  Thanks for dropping by my blog.

11 comments:

Tina said...

amazing layout i love all the pretty details and colors..thanks for sharing at cupcake inspirations

Tina
sweetie dt

Unknown said...

LOVE to look of the water colored background! It really lends itself to your theme. Sounds like you had a great time.

Alycia said...

This is a fantastic layout! You should join the Tulle/Mesh Pile It On Challenge currently going on. :) Thanks so much for sharing with us at Cupcake Inspirations. -Alycia

Unknown said...

Super cool page!

Halle said...

Love this page, it is perfect for a pond discovery day!

Lizzy Hill said...

A really neat, fun take on our OUAS challenge - as well as a strong message! Well done:) Looove the way you've crafted your journaling & those toadstools have my ♥!!! Thanks so much for joining us at OUAS:):) And if you haven’t already done so, you can link this to our Once Upon A…Sketch Facebook Page for a chance at our special FB prize!

Val-Belle said...

You are so right.... knowledge is power and it can change the way we think about all kinds of things. A really fun take on the challenge and I love that you highlighted that little moments can actually be the big moments... Love the bright colours and the texture. Thanks so much for playing along with us at OUAS this month. :D

Denise van Deventer said...

Super, super page Denise....I love the title and the journalling is so super! You are absolutely right...life is certainly about the small things too...and has a way of giving perspective! Thanks for that lovely reminder! ;-)
The little toadstools are really so cute! ;-)

Lynette Jacobs said...

I always love to see how you "repurpose" goodies. Lovely page and a great background.

Unknown said...

love the message you have on your page, indeed everything is a matter of how you look at them! And it's so creative how you have used the embellishments so cleverly to resemble a snapshot from the pond. thank you so much for sharing this with us at OUAS :)

Heather McMahon said...

What a fabulous page! I love the journaling!