Two Challenges, A Book Cover And A Collage

But first, an update on my 500th post giveaway.  I'll be choosing (well, not me, Mr. Random Dot Org will do it) the winner this weekend.  Stay tuned.

Now, on to new art.  Here are the challenges:

     Grungy Monday:  Do the faux batik Tim demonstrated in his January 2008 technique challenge

     Simon Says Stamp and Show:  distressed and/or torn edges

I also needed a cover for a travel journal, so I combined the two challenges with my own project and came up with this:

First I stamped a collage (using masking) on paper from Tim's Crowded Attic stash, and followed the steps to create the faux batik look.  Most of the stamps I used are from Air Travel and French Market.  There is some accent stamping as well.  The only non Tim stamp I used is the Hero Arts Statue of Liberty stamp in the corner.  The edges are covered with tissue tape.  For the distressed/torn edges, you see that on the little passport and the rolled up map, both attached to the bottom with a hinge clip.  A mini compass completes the embellishing.

Last Friday I got together with some friends and we worked on 12x12 wrapped canvases, using paints, stains, inks, every Golden medium in creation, sprays, all sorts of papers,  and lots and lots of stencils.  I am very pleased with what I did.  I tweaked it a bit when I got home, which brings me to my tip of the day.  Which sounds very official and like I've been giving out daily tips all along.  Which I haven't.  Anyway,  here it is:  when you are finished with a piece, take it off your work table and put it someplace else.  In my case, I put the canvas on a shelf in my living room where I'd be looking at it in a new context.  If you are really finished, I think you'll know that.  But if you aren't, before too long you'll know what to do.  I had lots of black circles on the left, done with paint and sequin waste, and though I liked them well enough when I was working on the piece, staring at it in my living room, I realized they were too dominant in the design.  So I covered some of them and repeated the harlequin design (in a smaller scale) instead.  I'm back to staring at it in the living room, but after two full days it still looks finished to me, so I'm calling this one complete, and I'm off to sign my name.