Monday, March 15, 2021

My sunshine

 

Once again I'm apologizing dear friends.  I'm having all kinds of problems that no one is interested in reading about.  Unfortunately, they have kept me off the computer and away from my art table, too.  I'm hoping all that is (or will be) behind me when I wake in the morning.  Until then, I ask for your patience until I can make it by to visit you.  I promise that if all goes well, Monday will be my catch-up day.  Until then, I give you this post.

I am once again joining Sheila, aka Orange Esmeralda, at Art Journal Journey where she is doing an excellent job hosting this month.

Sheila's theme is A Single Flower.  And because Try it on Tuesday's latest challenge is Say it with Flowers, I'm joining them one final time, too.
 
I'm including a few close-ups.

I'm having trouble getting my text where I want it, and don't have time to mess with it.



You can see where I messed up on the purple watercolor pencil when I added the water.


 
I also hope you can see the three different variegated threads I used on the entry.

For this page I began by coloring each petal of the flower, as well as the center, with new (to me) gifted watercolor pencils.  They took forever, and I will probably never do that again.  I made the mistake of coloring the flower on printer/copier paper, so had to adhere it to a sheet of 110 lb cardstock.  When I sewed the computer generated text to the page using red/white/blue variegated thread, I noticed the paper started to buckle.  I thought if I sewed the the two pages together, that would solve the problem.  Unfortunately, I made it worse.  I used two different variegated threads around the exterior of the page.  Sadly, this is not my finest hour, but I took more time coloring this than most things I have made this month.

Thanks once again for joining Bleubeard and me today.  We are truly grateful you stopped by.  We would also like to see you at Art Journal Journey and Try it on Tuesday with your take on these two flower inspired themes.   I sincerely hope to catch up on each of your posts (and messages) before T time today.


24 thoughtful remarks:

Elephant's Child said...

I am so sorry that you are having a tough time again/still. I do hope that when next you wake it is gone.

Valerie-Jael said...

Sorry things aren't easy for you just now. The flower is so sweet. I wrote a post for TsfT, a 'bed-post'! so please link me up this evening! Hugs, Valerie

Iris Flavia said...

I´m sorry you´re still struggling! And sometimes it´s good to get it all out onto those who cannot come by and hug you for real, cause that might break you - would break me, and we need to be strong, so just big virtual hugs! xx
Love the sunshine, especially on another grey day!
I´m sorry, but you made me laugh that the sewing made it worse - we need to laugh about misfits like that, no? Not your finest hour, I love your humor! Try and keep on laughing a bit, OK, dear? And have a π, if a day late?

Karen said...

What a sweet flower ~ Thinking of you and the T gang and hoping to join in tomorrow. Blessings to you!

Mae Travels said...

Wishing you a swift recovry from whatever is going wrong, healthwise or otherwise.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

My name is Erika. said...

This is a great flower Elizabeth. Certainly a spring flower, smiling with the glory of sunshine and better weather. I like the colored pencils. I never use them and I think I should. Hope all is well and gets better. Sounds like life has been full of things lately. See you later for T. Hugs-Erika

My name is Erika. said...

I forgot to mention thanks for joining us at Try It on Tuesday also!

sheila 77 said...

Here's the thing, Elizabeth. When I saw the first photo I thought it was a very happy painted colourful flower with a rather nice sewn double frame and I still do. And I loved the framed text too. I wonder how you made the eyes. And I still think it is a perfectly super Single Flower for my challenge theme.
I've never quite got the hang of watercolour pencils and I certainly don't see anything untoward about your use of them. I love the variegated thread and your sewing looks just fine to me. And what's a bit of crumpled paper between friends. I wouldn't even had noticed if you hadn't pointed it out.
But that is one of the things I enjoy about your blog, Elizabeth, we get a running commentary of what goes wrong as well as what goes right.
Thanks very much for this joyful Single Flower for our theme at AJJ.
I hope you get back to normal soon.
Love from Sheila

Divers and Sundry said...

Sweet!

I hope all is soon well with you.

DVArtist said...

Hope all will be well soon. I like your bright smiley flower. Sending hugs and love. N

Barbara said...

Please, please feel better very soon!

CJ Kennedy said...

Hope all will be well for you, soon. Your colorful flower and sentiment made me smile. That was the song I used to sing to the Young One while rocking her to sleep.

Olde Dame Holly said...

Well, I am always interested in the behind-the-scenes lives of bloggers. Maybe it's the nosey Cajun in me. I really like the flower you made, even though it gave you a lot of trouble. The expression is just amazing and I love the rainbow colors. Yes, I noticed the variegated thread right away! What was it that the nice man on PBS said about "mistakes," didn't he call them "happy accidents?" I know his first name was Bob and he's right, the "mess ups" don't look like that to the viewer, they look purposeful and just add to the artistry of the piece.

Sandra Cox said...

I love this. So pretty and perky.
Hope all is well.
Stay safe. Be well.

craftytrog said...

Your beautiful flower made me smile! I love the stitching too.
Hope things improve for you very soon Elizabeth.
Take care,
Alison xx

Jeanie said...

I hope everything settles soon for you, Elizabeth. You've certainly had a bumpy entry into 2021. Take all the time you need, my friend. You are more important than the blog.

kathyinozarks said...

I love your single flower Elizabeth had me smiling too.
thanks for your visit-hugs

Cindy McMath said...

Super cute page!

Meggymay said...

I had a smile when I saw this sweet, cute flower. Its a beautiful page for both the themes at AJJ and TioT's.
I am always late calling in these days but I'm sure you understand.
Look after yourself and stay safe.
Yvonne xx

Let's Art Journal said...

Hope you are ok and things get sorted for you! It's such a fun drawing and the stitching looks so beautiful, I actually thought the background was fabric 😀. The words made me smile too, I'll be singing that song all day now ...ha, ha! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at Try it on Tuesday! Hugs, Jo x
p.s. I have watercolour pencils too and have found that you can scribble some onto the area that you want to colour and then go over it with a paintbrush dipped in a little water which activates the watercolour so you can spread the colour where you want it, maybe this may help? Take care! xx

Marjut said...

Lovely. Thank you for joining us at Try it on Tuesday.

Mrs.B said...

A lovely happy page Elizabeth and my eye wasn't drawn to the smudge till you mentioned it, it was the smiley face of the flower. The variegated stitching adds a lovely touch.
Hope you're feeling better.
Thanks for sharing over at Try it on Tuesday,
Avril x

Elkes Lebensglück said...

I love your smiling flower, as sweet as it is!
I hope you feel better soon and no matter what you write, whether something crazy or happy, I am always interested in how you are, dear hugs Elke

Lowcarb team member said...

So sorry things aren't too good for you just now.
Hoping things will soon improve.

I think this flower is lovely, beautiful colours.

Take care, my good wishes.

All the best Jan