Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Wedding Scrapbook Layout

 

DSCN4215

A scrapbook page from my daughter’s wedding. Grandma Marie had a special tradition of giving each new bride in the family a pearl necklace for her wedding gift.

Tip: Take a series of pictures to commemorate a special moment.

Since this double page layout was about Grandma & Bride, I chose the pink color to compliment what Grandma Marie was wearing.

DSCN4216

DSCN4218

Monday, December 19, 2011

Ruth Romanticized About New Glasses!

Ruth romanticized new glasses giving her the timeless, sophisticated look that she longed for.

I am intrigued with the expressive qualities that eyes alone portray. Highlighting the eyes by placing them behind glasses has become a favorite way for me to showcase their character.

“Ruth romanticized new glasses giving her the timeless, sophisticated look that she longed for.” This idea was cultivated from my silly grade school desire of having glasses and the anticipated impact they would have on my life.

The picture of Ruth came from my archive of family photos. The eyes are from a favorite portrait of my grandmother Eleanore and passed for giving Ruth the dreamy look I wanted to showcase. Ruth and Eleanore are cousins accounting for the similarity in shape of their eyes. I especially like to incorporate family photos in my artwork.

The buttons are from Granny's button jar.

This clock hangs in my house and every time I look at it I am reminded of happy times.

This piece was featured in Somerset Home, Volume 2 , you can find it here.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Memories of My Visit With Santa Claus.

I have many fond memories of Christmas as a child. If you are about my age you may remember receiving a balloon attached to a large candy striped straw from Santa Claus.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

A Series of Poses Framed Together

A series of impromptu poses framed together tell an interesting story. All I have to do is look at how many candles are on the cake and I know that this was my son's third birthday. Letters were stamped on the mat board with acrylic paint in a haphazard way hinting to singing. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"! With some adjustments this would be a cute layout for a scrapbook page also!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Wedding Bouquet With Dove

A unique wedding bouquet rich in symbolism to enhance your wedding day!

Extra copies of invitations were torn into strips to make feathers for a dove. This particular bird was chosen because white doves have been a symbol of peace, innocence, purity, fidelity and love. Some cultures believe it’s a symbol of good luck and that good fortune will last throughout their marriage if a bride and groom see a white dove on their wedding day.

Next flowers were picked carefully to add extra meaning to the wedding bouquet -
white roses - Eternal love, silence or innocence, wistfulness, virtue, purity, secrecy, reverence and humility
lily of the valley - Sweetness, Humility, Returning Happiness, Trustworthy
silver dollars - Relief from strife, peacemaking
freesia - Innocence, trust
stephanotis - -Happiness in Marriage, Desire to Travel

This wedding bouquet was also featured in Stampington & Company's Somerset Wedding Volume 3.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Memory Doll

My memory doll features the face of Great Grandma Emma. Every time I catch a glimpse of her family memories are sparked. Real feathers are added to her beautiful hat. Hung from her wire skirt are vintage family buttons. You can find wire dress forms like this at The Shoppe at Somerset. The stamped letter stencils represent the first letter from family names, first and last: N for Nugent; E for Eleanore; J for Joan and so on. Each glassine envelope hints to the contents of personal family mementos such as keys, stamps, pressed leaves and more. Silk flowers are the finishing touch helping to soften her features and adding a bit of nature

This doll was featured in the Summer 2006 issue of Inspirations magazine by Stampington & Co.

This magazine is available here.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Heritage Wedding Bouquet


Here is a unique way to honor and remember your ancestors on your wedding day. If you are more traditional and want real flowers for the wedding day you could also use this bouquet for your wedding rehearsal.


This wedding bouquet was featured in Stampington & Company's Somerset Wedding Volume 3.

Love Like the Sparrows, Brings Luck to a Home




One of the ways that I like to preserve family memories is by incorporating family photos into my art. The following quote was the inspiration for this folio: “Love like the sparrows, brings luck to a home”. Author unknown

Notice the sparrow on the rooftop. Sometimes the sparrow is hiding, where can it be?

For more information on how to make moveable figures like these check out my book - Interactive Art Workshop:Mixed Media in Motion

First I scanned family photos into my computer. I had Adobe Photoshop until my last computer crashed. unfortunately I had also misplaced the installation CD's. I tried several photo manipulation programs but was frustrated with their limited capabilities. Then I found GIMP. “GIMP is free image editing software that perfects photos and creates animated images. One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, GIMP can be used as a simple paint program, an expert-quality photo retouching program, image format converter and more”. You can download GIMP for free here: www.getgimp.com.

005

Pull up the tab with the sparrow to reveal the quote above the roof plus Bessie, Louis, and Anna in the windows.

Inside the folio are Louis Sr., Anna, Louis and Bessie.

007

For the background I took a picture from a view of my backyard. I decreased the saturation to give the landscape a vintage appearance. To create a pocket, I photographed this quaint fence from a town nearby and also manipulated the saturation. Some silk flowers were added for extra dimension.

Close-up of Louis Sr. sitting in a chair. By the way, I would love to own this chair.

Lift open Louis Sr’s jacket to reveal the sparrow and a nest full of eggs.

010

Isn’t little Anna cute with her embroidered fabric skirt, lace collar and silk flowers in her hair? But wait, why the smug look on her face?

She was hiding the sparrow behind her back!

Bessie is all dressed up with her lace collar and bouquet of silk flowers.

Where did the sparrow go? Is it here?

Or there?

Doesn't Louis look dapper with his pocket watch chain hanging out of his pocket?

Or under Louis' hat!

I hope you enjoyed the little story told using pictures of my ancestors and a sparrow.

I wish you much LOVE and LUCK!



Sunday, November 20, 2011

Preserving Family Memories Dedication


This blog is dedicated to my Mother-in-law Sue. Her love of family traditions, pictures, mementos and the ways she incorporated them into her life and decor have been an inspiration to me. Sue's family pictures and keepsakes weren't stored in a shoe box on a closet shelf, they were displayed artfully throughout her house. Also, to my Mother and Granny and their shoe boxes full of memories, without them I would be lost.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...