Gothic Arch Challenge

This is my entry for the challenge at the Gothic Arch Challenge blog here. The theme is metallic fever and I have made a Gothic Arch Wall Hanging. After looking around the web at images or original Gothic Arches and finding a template on the Gothic Arch site I traced the template onto some metal and then cut  it out. I wanted a circular shape at the top so after some trial and error I traced and cut out the shape I wanted. I used Pebble, Sunshine Yellow and Red Pepper alcohol ink on the metal.

I then created 3 card arches each a little bigger than the next. I used barn door and wild honey distress inks around the edges and then randomly stamped a paper artsy hot pick flower.

I found some images of butterflies on Graphic Fairy and cut them out and coloured with the colours above and spiced marmalade and then mounted them one on top of the other with pads to give some depth. I coloured a dragon fly charm with inks and stamped more butterflies from Tim Holtz and Paper Artsy onto the Graphic Fairy images. I then added the large butterfly at the front of the arch and gave it some metal feelers and two red bling eyes.

Finally I used some Tiny Alphabets from prima to create the title and added an eyelet and chain.

Bit messy here

Lots of inking and painting going on today and will show all tomorrow as light too poor now. I have also been playing about with my blog's look and trying to simplify the labels for posts - don't recommend you do this retrospectively.
Do you like my steampunk art splatter lady who started off at Graphic Fairy?

Art Journal - Best Gifts

My best gifts are the small acts of everyday kindness rather than one in particular.

I like the contrast between the cool blues and purples and the hot red and golds

I finished this on Sunday night but was back at work so no daylight - although only managed a couple of days before the evil swine flu came back. It really is a vile virus and I am quite fed up with it. Today I am feeling a little better and able to get out of bed but still so tired and sore.
I did manage to include all the prompt elements in this one as the frame around the heart is recycled packaging from some journalling cards and the first layer was made using tissue paper that covered a gift from eldest DD. I used a mix of yellow, gold and red pearly acrylic paints from Lidl - bargain of the century as they only cost £4.00 for 5 jars and they seem to work a lot like those expensive liquid pearl paints.

Torn up and mod podged down - is that a verb? To Mod Podge...

Once this layer was dry I stamped three border stamps in Adirondack Earth tones Espresso to create areas on the page (I think the stamps are crafters companion but lost packaging...) I printed a photo I had of cupcakes and freehand cut it into a G and then on different cakes wrote about the cakes and tablet (Scottish fudge) that Lens Guy will bring home as a surprise for me. I found three images of teapots and cups on Graphic Fairy and coloured them with promarkers and paint. I added dictionary definitions of gifts and gift horses from dictionaries and also wrote some of them on with a sharpie. I added further definitions around the cardboard frame that was swiped with paint. I doodled and painted the heart and gave it flame like tops to help attach it to the frame.

Recycled packaging for the frame. Paint dots around heart

journalling about the endless cups of tea Lens Guy makes me and some of the borders I stamped

The g was a cupcake photo with extra tiny journalling on the icing.