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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Colors of the Seasons

Hey everyone,

Getting ready to pack up these little cuties and ship them off for a swap I participated in recently.  Hosted by Jules at TheJuleBox.com we had to create a two-sided panel for a wall hanging.  Couldn't be smaller than 4" x 4" and no larger than 6" x 6".  One side needed a Thanksgiving theme and the other Christmas.  The title of the swap was Blessings of Family and Friends.

In preparation for this project, I started with my paper choice.  Paper for me is the base, the anchor of most of my projects.  It is usually the starting point of building up a design.  It sets the tone and mood of the piece.  Can you tell...I love paper!

Color is the next creative expression I take into consideration.  Fall and Thanksgiving themes can have many different hues and tones associated with the time of year.  I am partial to rust, brown, and golds.   For Christmas, I like traditional colors; evergreens, reds, and golds, but wanted some blue added in there somewhere. 

Next, we were asked to incorporate a space for photos and journal tags.  Working on such a small space required me to consider the size of embellishments I wanted to include, as well.  I created a pocket behind the photo mat piece on both sides to save space.  Using dimensional helps add depth to the surface and keep the artwork from being too flat in it appears.  As a wall hanging though, I had to keep the piece simple so it wouldn't bump too far out from a wall surface.

On the Christmas side of the wall hanging, I used a feather to soften the hard surfaces and link to the bird on the paper.  Also, added one of my home-made stick pins as a gift.

I try to keep my design style on the classic side: soft, elegant, clean, and somewhat vintage.

Overall, these came out very pretty and am looking forward to seeing what everyone else in the swap made for their wall hanging piece.  This was my first swap and am looking forward to participating in many more.

You can view all the details of materials used and techniques on my video at http://www.youtube.com/user/faithfulcrafter1?feature=mhum

Have a blessed day,

Valerie

1 comment:

  1. Hey there Ms Valerie!! Thanks for the post! I really enjoyed your video and I loved the pieces you made!! You are so creative and talented...please sign up for the next one!! I would love to have you again!!! I don't know when or for what it will be, but so far I am loving hosting this one, great ladies involved here! Have a blessed and creative day!! xoxo Jules:)

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