Always Be On the Lookout for the Presence of Wonder

 

The colors and the images of September’s Mood Board are a perfect match for this photo that my son took on Cape Cod a few weeks ago, capturing my grandson walking on the beach at sunset. Here is my layout:

And here is the Mood Board that inspired it:

This month’s twist is “vintage”, so I slightly softened the colors of the photo before printing out two copies. I think that the image itself is timeless, which adds to the feel of the theme.

I wanted to use a lot of thin strips to form my base, so I started by cutting an 8” x 8” square from the center of my paper and attaching the outside piece to a bit of packaging cut to size.

I carefully tore a strip from the top of another sheet, flipped it over, and glued it to the base.

I trimmed the paper to about 2” from the torn edge and glued this strip down as shown.

I repeated this step using several sheets of paper until the entire surface was covered. I used the 8” x 8” piece behind the photos, dividing it in half and placing the photos to cover the split. I also added a bit of green, using one of the LemonCraft sheets that came with the kit. I didn’t bother inking or matting the photos because I like the way they stand out with just the white borders showing.

Now to embellish! I started by draping some cheesecloth around the bottom of the photos, allowing it to flow, capturing the feel of the waves. I added a few stones that I had taken from the Cape several years ago and filled some more of the space with flowers from the October 2019 kit.

And then I put it aside. I had plans to visit the Cape myself (my brother and sister-in-law are wonderful hosts!) and I was hoping that the weather would allow me to collect some sand from the Nauset Beach in the picture. It did look a little iffy – Hurricane Larry, now downgraded to a tropical storm, decided to pay a visit and Thursday was a day of torrential rain. Friday dawned clear and sunny, and we all went to several of the Cape’s beautiful beaches on Friday and yes, I managed to scoop up some Nauset sand, here applied with the help of some gel medium…

 ***************************************************

 *****Supplies*****

***Très Jolie September Kit***

Paper Heaven – Beyond the Mist Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Sheet 1

Paper Heaven – Beyond the Mist Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Sheet 2

Paper Heaven – Beyond the Mist Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Sheet 3

Lemon Craft – A4 Basic Paper Pad – Double Sided Papers #Leaves 01

***Other***

Prima – Pretty Pale Collection – Dry Desert # 637583

Cheesecloth

Tim Holtz – Idea-Ology – Stickers – Small Talk #TH93193

Stones

Sand

Beacon – Fabri Tac

***Mediums***

Ranger Ink – Distress Ink Pad – Mini – Milled Lavender

Liquitex – Gel Medium - Matte

 ***************************************************

As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

Don’t forget that Tres Jolie can be found in the following places:

Facebook: 

Instagram: 

Tres Jolie website: 

Tres Jolie subscriptions: 

Tres Jolie blog:

Tres Jolie YouTube: 

Pinterest

 

Tropical Sunset: A Mixed Media Project

I’ve used a photo I took in Aruba back in 2005 as my focal point for this project, made with the July Mixed Media Kit from Très Jolie.

 

 The kit came with several items from AB Studio (a chipboard panel, 2 acrylic gears, and a sheet of beautiful elements perfect for fussy cutting) as well as a package of flowers from 49 and Market and a set of alcohol inks from Ranger Ink.

While there is enough in the kit to make several projects, I decided to use them all at once to create a wall hanging large enough to display a 5” x 7” photo to full advantage.

I took an 8” x 10” canvas from my stash and covered it with black gesso to create a base.

While this was drying, I proceeded to treat the acrylic gears, using an applicator and felts, and blending solution from my own supplies.

I started dabbing the Purple Twilight on top and used the Sunset Orange in the center, followed by the Sunshine Yellow on the bottom, blending the colors as they met. I applied a bit of the mixative to the top and blended it in a bit to soften the tone. Next, I dripped a bit of the blending solution here and there to give it all a mottled effect.

I began to assemble my pieces. Using Beacon 3-in-1, I glued the acrylic gears to the canvas so that they would meet evenly in the middle. Once they were set, I attached the chipboard panel, making sure that the bottom met the edge of the canvas.

I treated the chipboard panel in the same order, then used my applicator to dab the mixative all over the piece.

 I matted my photo with a piece of black cardstock, taped it to a flat piece of chipboard and glued it down.

I used the entire package of flowers that came in the kit plus a bloom from a previous kit. To fill it out, I added a few fussy cut flowers from the Elements sheet.

 

***************************************************

 

*****Supplies*****

 

***Très Jolie July Mixed Media Kit***

AB Studio – Chipboard Background #ID-23

AB Studio – Transparent Elements – Acrylic Gears #ID1

AB Studio – Elements – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Beautiful Things

49 and Market – Flower Embellishments – Wildflowers – Tangerine #WF88619

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Adirondack Alcohol Inks – 3 Pack – Summit View #TAK25986

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Adirondack Alcohol Ink – Mixatives – Snow Cap #TAL31611

 

***Other***

49 and Market – Flower Embellishments – Vintage Shades – Yellow Cluster #VS-85991

Recollections – Cardstock Paper – 8.5 x 11 – Black #6055442

8 x 10 Canvas

 

***Other Mediums***

Black Gesso

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Adirondack Alcohol Blending Solution

 

***Tools***

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Adirondack Alcohol Ink Applicator #RTIM745

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Adirondack Alcohol Ink Applicator – Replacement Felts #RTIM844

***************************************************

As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.