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Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - August

8/30/2023

A pink and orange combo always captures my attention with its playful energy.

Augusts concertina sketchbook was a joy to put together. I decided to go with hot pinks and oranges in a patchwork layout of blocks and stripes.

The materials I gathered are repurposed packaging, a postcard, bags, tidbits of painted papers and a few paste paper too.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Another month ending - week 4 of my August Concertina Sketchbook

"Breathe the sweetness that hovers in August."
~ Denise Levertov

The finished 4 panels

End of the month collages using leftover scraps

Pink and orange are a great color combo in the garden too. The photo on the left is from Harkness Memorial State Park. I took a walk there this week and the cutting garden was amazing. They change it up a little each year with different color and plant combinations but it is always lovely. The other two photos are of my garden. A light pink cosmos and a cactus zinnia mixing with orange cosmos.

You can read more about these monthly concertina sketchbooks and how they got started here.

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Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - July

7/31/2023

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I wasn't quite ready to give up the turquoise I was using in June so I paired it with 2 new colors. It was only a matter of time before I got some of my security envelopes in here 😆 - so many lovely gray patterns to choose from.

Week 1

Week 2
Mixing gray patterns for this week's background.

Week 3
A super hot day. Checked on the garden in the morning, put fresh water in the bird bath and then was perfectly happy to stay inside with the AC and make collages.

Week 4
Indecision because of too many paper choices on my table slowing me down, so what did I do?
Painted more coffee filters and stamped more circles on deli paper, of course!

Week 5
Glad I had 5 Mondays to play with these colors. The coral color has become a new favorite.

Finished 5 panel concertina

So many gray, turquoise, and coral paper scraps left over from July's concertina sketchbook. As usual, a few more small collages were created before I clean up my table and prepare for August's concertina.

You can read more about these monthly concertina sketchbooks and how they got started here.

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Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - June

6/27/2023

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For June's concertina I got to try out a new material that I received as a gift, piano roll paper. I love the color and smoothness of the paper but it's quite fragile from age and all the punched out lines.

I liked having the negative space of the lines and dots to play with. In some areas, I let the white of the paper below show, in others I placed paper underneath to show through, and also used the cut-out lines as slots to weave through. Going for a beachy color scheme, I used additional tans, a variety of painted turquoise papers and coordinating embroidery thread.

Week 1

Week 2 - adding sheet music to enhance the piano roll paper.

Week 3

Week 4 - always love working with cheesecloth.

The finished 4 panels

These colors took me back to a time when I saw turquoise ocean water for the first time. It was a very long time ago on a trip to New Zealand. Such wonderful memories and something I will never forget - the water or the trip.

Before putting away the box of papers I've been pulling from all month I made several more collages in my regular sketchbook. I think I could keep going and fill an entire sketchbook with these colors but July's colors are waiting in the wings.

You can read more about see these monthly concertina sketchbooks and how they got started here.

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Pretty in Pink

6/26/2023

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The month of June was all about the pinks in the garden! So many varieties - from pale pink, lavender pink, candy pink, to the most vibrant neon pink.

Hardy Geranium sanguineum Var. striatum 'Bloody Cranesbill'
I've been picking and pressing these flowers and leaves for eco-printing later this summer. The more I pick the more they bloom. As they dry they turn to purple. I love the palmately lobed leaves that are more narrow and pointed than other perennial geraniums.

Penstomen digitalis 'Pocahontas'
The bees and hummingbirds just love the tubular shaped flowers and I love the lavender pink flowers and burgundy stems and leaves.

Dianthius gratianopolitanus 'Cheddar Pink'
This is then paler of the two dianthus plants I have. The other one is so vibrant I have yet to get a decent photo of it. They both have lovely sage green foliage. I just deadheaded these and they will bloom again this summer.

Aguilegia canadensis 'Pink Lanterns'
Columbine reseeds so easily that I find new plants popping up in different areas of the garden every year. I fell in love with this flower while on a trip to Colorado where saw them every time we went out walking. Look at those cute and whimsical seeds pods!

Cranesbill, Perennial Geranium
Such pale delicate flowers with the perkiest little spiky seed pods. The leaves are semi evergreen and are one of my favorite leaves for eco-printing.

Spiraea japonica 'Neon Flash'
I planted this spiraea 2 years ago and it seems very happy in it's new home. Last year it was just getting settled in and had only a few flower bunches. It's grown quite a bit since then and has so many more flowers this year that I felt it was okay to pick and press a few to try for eco-printing.

Kalmia latifolia 'Ostbo Red'
My 15 year old mountain laurel is a very special pink as it is Connecticut's state flower. The flower shape is so unusual and I think the bud is just as pretty as the open flower. When I purchased this plant the label said it was the variety 'Raspberry Glow' but I think it was mislabeled. After some research and comparing of photos it looks much more like the variety 'Ostbo Red'. Doesn't it make you think of candy?

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The whites take center stage

5/21/2023

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Have you been enjoying all the May flowers?

I sure have. Even though I see the changes of color in my garden every year I still get surprised by how each color seems to have its own time to stand out. Early spring always starts with a flood of sunny yellow from the daffodils and forsythia. Summer moves into the hot and bright oranges.

I’ve been outside doing a little weeding and prepping so I can plant my veggies this week. As I walked around, I saw pops of white everywhere. White flowers are certainly taking center stage in my garden right now.

I saw my first hummingbird of the year along with a butterfly and a bunch of bees enjoying the blossoms on this white azalea. I look forward to this shrub blooming each year. The flowers have a special glow, especially towards the end of the day.

5 reasons to have white flowers in your garden

The color white is known for its sense of peace and hope. Having white flowers in the garden can offer a feeling of tranquility.
White flowers reflect light which makes them great for brightening up shady areas of the garden. Their brightness makes them stand out and are especially lovely in the evening.
Even though white flowers don't have bright pigments, they still attract pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Just like painting a room white to give an illusion of space, white flowers can be used to make smaller gardens appear more airy and expansive.
White flowers create a neutral backdrop, working well with other colors you may want in your garden.