Blog Archives

Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - May

5/31/2023

New Sketchbook Collage colors for the month of May.

Week 1 - I felt like I was doing a little paper mending with this stitch today, which reminded me I have a pair of jeans that could use a little mending 🧵🪡

Week 2 - At first, I was feeling a bit sad when I left the spring greens and yellows I was using back in April
but . . . The peach and orange are so bright and cheery that they are making me just as happy 🧡

Week 3 - I spent some time attempting to duplicate the background paper with the embedded threads you can see above. After using it in the first and second panels this month, I somehow misplaced what I had left.

It might have been a little closer to the original paper if I had used shorter, thinner threads, but for this collage, I think it worked out quite well.

Since then, I've used this technique several times to make collage papers in a variety of thread colors. You can see the step-by-step tutorial HERE.

Week 4 - More netting and more mending stitches.

Week 5 - Do you ever look at the lint you peel off the dryer filter?

It's usually gray and pretty boring but one time I got this pretty peach color with lots of little thread bits embedded. That was so many years ago that I don't remember what I had in the wash that day but I'm glad I saved it. Just one of those oddball things you know you'll use someday : )
You can see peeks of it in each panel of May's concertina sketchbook.

Finished collage

Collages using up scraps left over from May's concertina sketchbook.

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

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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.

Balansae - from the hyacinth family

Candytuft

Mrs. Bateman Clematis

Blueberry blossoms

Tiarella

"The white flowers of spring
are the dreams of winter."
- Khalil Gibran

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Surprise Collage

5/13/2023

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I'm celebrating
World Collage Day
Saturday, May 13th, 2023
with a FREE mini Surprise Collage Class

*** (scroll down for the link to watch the recording of this class on my YouTube channel) ***

World Collage Day, initiated by Kolaj Magazine in 2018, is an annual international celebration of collage on the Second Saturday of May. Artists and art venues are invited to hold events on that day to celebrate the art of collage. World collage day is about artists connecting across borders and about sharing an art medium that excels at bringing different things together to create new forms and new ways of thinking.

Let's celebrate World Collage Day by creating a surprise collage!

We'll start by making a collage on a half sheet of paper by tearing or cutting the collage papers into smaller pieces and then glueing away.
The best part is - you can't make a mistake! The surprise comes when we take that one collage and see how beautifully and easily it turns into eight mini collages. While we are waiting for our collages to dry I'll give you some ideas for how you can use these mini collages. At the end I'll share a little about the Mailscape Collage Workshop that I have coming up in June 2023.

Got your glue stick ready?

Have a look at the short supply list below and start gathering your collage papers.

Supply List:

5.5 inch x 8.5 inch piece of card stock (white or any light color is fine) or inexpensive watercolor paper
pencil
ruler
glue stick
scissors
collage papers - I suggest keeping it to about 2-3 colors in a mix of light, medium and dark. (can be book pages, painted papers, tissue paper, wrapping paper, security envelope patterns, scrapbook paper, washi tape, sheet music, etc.)
old catalog or scrap papers to glue on to keep your work surface free of glue.