Another Sailor Boy Collage...

This is another project that I finished off recently. It is a gift for a friend at work who has just become a first-time dad. This collage is much smaller than my first Sailor Boy collage. The Corban and Blair box-frame for this one measures 25.5 cm x 20.5 cm (with a mat that takes a 5' x 7' image). My first Sailor Boy Collage was in a mat that took an 8' x 10' image.

I decided not to ink the edges of any of the pieces for this one, relying instead on just the textures and shapes to make an impact. I have been using Sticky Strip and X-Press It High Tack double-sided tapes for these projects, in the hope that these collages will stay together for a while. Fingers crossed!

 Well, the sun is out and it 'looks' beautiful outside, but it is a cool 15 degrees out there (or a bit less probably)...so looks can be deceiving.

My little man is having a well-earned snooze so I have taken the opportunity to brew myself a cup of Rooibos-Vanilla tea. This is a little treat that I picked up from adoretea in Woden earlier this week. Rooibos is YUMMY! I also tried the Rooibos-Raspberry and Vanilla.....double YUMMMMMmmmmmmY, and I have Rooibos-Caramel sitting here ready to be explored next.

You can try these teas in little sachets that do two cups, and only cost 95 cents. This is good, because they have so many delicious sounding flavours of tea at adoretea that you'll be wanting to try them all! I also picked up a funky little silicon and stainless steel infuser while I was there...so it is all-systems-go tea central here. Far out...I sound like an infomercial. Sorry. No one is paying me to tout adoretea. I just like 'em lots!

ETA: HMMMmmmm, upon closer inspection, it appears that adoretea is a local, Canberra-based company. COOL!!.....literally ;-)

Blogged to: Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode, Word Up - Cameo, Use Somebody - Kings of Leon and All She Wants to Do is Dance - Don Henley.

Barrier Reef Collage MKII...

I mentioned when I first posted my Barrier Reef collage (here) that it was something of a work in progress. Well, I've had another go and I am much happier with this second offering. There was, amongst other niggly issues, too much blank space in the first edition. It annoyed me!

This time I have also used a beautiful Corban and Blair shadowbox frame. It is quite deep (which I tried to capture in the next shot) and it makes a big difference.

Lunch time now, and I think the littlest Postie is about to wake.

Have a good one (it is a glorious sunshiny day in Canberry today :-).

Blogged to: Voodoo Child - Rogue Traders,  Chained to the Wheel - The Black Sorrows and Down Under - Men at Work.

Capturing the Reef in Collage...

I have another bright, punch art collage to show you today. This project was inspired by our sailing adventure to The Great Barrier Reef last year, and in particular, our visits to Bait Reef off the Whitsunday Islands.

Now, although the making of all those itty, bitty, corally flowers looks like it would have been tedious and boring, it wasn't!  I spent the whole time dreaming of all the places we visited that looked just like this. I might add here that my husband remarked at one point that the reef in mind mind was much healthier looking than it was in his...but I put this down to the fact that he spent a lot of time diving and snorkelling in various exotic places in the western Pacific in his youth, so he is probably accustomed to more splendiferous coral reef than I am. To me, diving on The Great Barrier Reef was like jumping into an open chest of glittering pirate's treasure.

This project has aspects with which I am tremendously pleased, but it also has some flaws which are annoying me, especially given how long it has taken me to make. For now, I'm thinking of it as a work in progress. A trial run, at the very least, and I've learned lots about collage and composition in its making, so it certainly has not been time wasted!

If I don't 'see' you again before Sunday...I hope you have a very Happy Easter!

Blogged to: Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay, Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus and Barbra Streisand - Duck Sauce.

Sailing Away - Punch Art Collage

Hard to believe that this time last year I had a two month old baby and we were packing up the house and madly getting ready to move onto Lucey Blue. Now poor Lucey is languishing in Middle Harbour alone, while we are left high and dry almost 400 km away.

The kids talk about Lucey Blue often. She is like a missing family member. I decided I'd like to make a happy boating collage, to aid our memories afloat. Lucey Blue doesn't look anything like the vessel pictured below (which is a good thing given all five of us lived aboard her for eight months), but the big smile on the little sailor could belong to any of us!

The frame is 11 x 14 inches, so quite large, but it is just an el-cheapo one from Homeworld and it fits perfectly. I did want a plain white frame, but couldn't find one quickly, so this will have to do for now. I contemplated painting it, but that's a job for another day.

I also scanned the collage at high res before I framed it. I think it might make a nice print...or something.

I  will make more of these collages I think. They are a lot of fun to make, and look cute and happy on the wall. Great for the kids' rooms.

The original idea for this little sailor dude came from Kim Score, check out her adorable card here, and my subsequent version here.

Have a wonderful weekend...