Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella


Hello everyone. It's Bonnie Irvine here today with the U pages in my altered dictionary. The poor thing is getting so thick, I'll soon need a bungee cord to keep it closed! I started the two page spread by gessoing the pages I wanted, keeping the word and definition gesso-free. The two pages were adhered to the adjacent pages with Matte Medium to give them strength so they could better hold up to wet media. Next I took my water brush and watercolour palette and applied some greens, oranges, and blues to the background.


Mowed Lawn Distress ink was applied through the Dylusions Diamond of a Border stencil to frame the bottom and sides of the spread and provide an outline for the images. I chose this stencil because the shapes in the border look like umbrellas to me. Doodling with a black pen above and below the stencilling emphasized the curvy shape. Lime, Tangerine, and Metallic Blueberry gelato were placed next to the inside black line and blended with a dry finger.


The drips at the top and the raindrops were created by applying Salty Ocean Distress ink through another stencil and then outlining them with black pen. Using TCW's Well Rounded stencil, gesso was applied through one of the patterns. Rocket Red Gold ink was applied through another pattern from the same stencil. Memento Peanut Brittle ink was sponged through TH Burlap layering stencil and some text stamping was done with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink.


The sweet little girl is a Mo Manning image, coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut with a narrow white border and again with a narrow black border. She was popped up on foam tape for dimension.The words to an old Bing Crosby song my mom used to sing were penned in around the frame line repeatedly. The other sentiments were computer generated and matted with black cardstock to give them more visual weight. The two umbrellas were cut freehand from old book text and given a smear of white gesso to fade the printed words. Doodling with black pen, edging with Black Soot Distress ink, and toothpick handles finished them off.


One of the finishing touches on the page was to colour in the outside edges with Black Big Brush pen and add white dots. This keeps the eye inside the pages where before it wanted to drift off. Black gesso was slightly watered down and rings were created by dipping a bottle lid into the gesso before twisting it onto the page. The letter U, a Random Alpha Part letter, was adhered to the top left corner of the spread and black spatter dots were added with a TH stamp and Jet Black Archival ink.

Thanks for stopping by the eclectic Paperie blog today. We always appreciate your fine company and kind comments. I hope you find a little time to play and get inky soon.

Bonnie

Here are links to the products I used from the eP store:

9 comments:

  1. Great way to start the morning by seeing this gorgeous spread! Perfect for the Uk which has had even more rain than usual ! Love everything about this Bonnie xx

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  2. Your pages are always stunning and full of colour and movement and this one is no exception Bonnie! I love the reference to jumping in puddles. Toni is right, it is perfect for the rain soaked UK at the moment. Anne x

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  3. What wonderful pages - and yes, splashing in the puddles is the only way to enjoy yourself outdoors here at the moment!
    Alison x

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  4. Gorgeous pages Bonnie ! Love it all ! Sue C x

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  5. Oh Bonnie I just adore the color scheme on this page. Your dictionary must be soooooo cool to look at altogether.

    {{hugs}
    Andie

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  6. What darling pages!!! So vibrant! I love this!

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  7. I just love the brightness and vibrancy....... and I love your coloring with the colored pencils.

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  8. Splidge...splodge...splash...I am in love with your spread Bonnie, always a delight to behold!!
    Big hugs
    Tracy
    xoxox

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