/* */ Beulah Bee

September 09, 2014

Rain


I live in the desert. We've had severe drought conditions for the last several years. If and when it rains, it usually comes in the summer and we call it the "monsoon season."

Yesterday half of all the rain we usually get in one year came down upon us in less than 24 hours. Streets were shut down, roofs collapsed, schools were closed. The season finally lived up to its name.

This helps to explain why I made this tag. Also, the only SSS product I own is the Falling Snow stencil and using one of their products was encouraged for this week's Monday blog challenge which celebrates "STAMPtember."

And the final reason for making it? I wanted to see what colored rain drops would look like. I expect the end result of all those colors dropping and mixing would be mud and we now have a lot of that here. But fear not, in just a few days it will all be hard as rock again.

Photo credit:  Ralph Morse

September 07, 2014

If Only...


I don't know what possessed me to purchase a face stamp (this one's by LaBlanche) because I've found them rather limited in use. But seeing Tim's September tag and the others who've posted links, has given me some new ideas.

I also admit that alcohol inks intimidate me so mine have gathered dust but it was good to get them out again for this project.  I do love the glossy paper because it takes ink so well, stamped images are super crisp and it may be a "must have" for any success with alcohol inks on paper.

I tried Tim's background technique, to no avail, so I just dripped the colors right from the bottle onto a tag cut from glossy paper. Then I randomly stamped off-white paint through some homemade and store-bought stencils and went over it with distress inks after the paint had dried. Some light stamping with script, borders cut from washi tape and a bit of Dymo tape text finished it off.

September 05, 2014

Going Back


Posting journal pages and using strong hues isn't in my comfort zone but the Monday blog challenge this week at SSS is "bold" so I just went for it.

Long ago, I found two images that, by coincidence, seemed to go together. I've wanted to connect them in a composition and was lucky to find a passage from a book by Pascal Mercier (Night Train to Lisbon) that helped to convey my thoughts.

No magic techniques here--just stamped deli paper and dictionary pages, a stencil, acrylic paint and a permanent black marker were used (script stamp by Dark Room Door, stencil by Crafter's Workshop, photos via Nordic Thoughts).



During difficult times, finding a muse can be a challenge but when I do, I'm grateful for the benefits. This time, the act of being "bold" was good medicine.