Friday, June 11, 2021

In the Garden

Hi everyone. It is already Friday.  Wow. Another week is almost in the books already. My husband says the boat is going into the water this weekend. I will not hold my breath, but he has been as busy as my bees cleaning it for the past couple of weeks. My daughter is even coming home for a day for this years maiden voyage, so let's hope he actually finishes it. 


Today I am linking my page to 2 challenges.

I am joining More Mixed Media, where this month's challenge is anything goes with optional purple.

And I am also linking up to Art Journal Journey and Mia's butterfly challenge.

My page today began with me tearing some colored paper into scraps and then using matte medium to attach them along the top and bottom of my page. I left the middle open, so I gave that a spray with a couple of different colored inks.

I then took a stencil and some gesso and made the white dots. 
Once the gesso dried, I added the big  flowers which are clear acetate stickers. I love how they blend right in to the background. That reminds me a lot of how it is when you look at a big garden from a distance, and all you see are pops of color everywhere and only some details are clear.

The butterfly is fussy cut from some printed paper, and then I stamped the  quote. Not the most complex page I have ever made, but I was surprised by how much I like it. Without the quote this page would make cool fabric.

I thought I would also share some more flowers in bloom in my garden this past week. 

Hope you are not getting tired of flowers.

I have roses! They are early this year, but like most of my plants this year, they are just going crazy. This spring's weather must have been just perfect for them. I've never had so many blooming at once.





The grape vine has flower buds which will open soon also.


And my peonies are coming out. I've never had so many flowers blooming on this plant. (Sorry Elizabeth. I hope this doesn't make you too sad.) Glad I took this photo early in the week as we had some rain and I had to go stake my blooms. At least you don't need to see the stakes in these photos.





It is always sad to see some flowers like irises finish blooming since you know you have to wait so long for them to bloom again. Of course, it is just as exciting when new flowers bloom.

Happy Friday. 
Have a wonderful start to your weekend!



 

17 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

This week has flown by! Good luck with the 'maiden' voyage at the weekend, have fun! Your journal page is fabulous, the colours are soft and beautiful, a WOW page indeed! And your garden looks good, love the roses and peonies, wonderful colours, too. Have a great day, hugs, Valerie

Valerie-Jael said...

And thanks so much for joining us at More Mixed Media, much appreciated! Hugs!

Divers and Sundry said...

I like both your flower garden art and your flower garden in real life. Your roses are enthusiastic and gorgeous, and the peonies are stunning! I'm looking forward to seeing your grapes.

CJ Kennedy said...

Beautiful page. It looks like a painting. Stunning flowers. Your bees must be so happy. I hope you have good weather for the boat launch. Have a great weekend!

Elkes Lebensglück said...

Wonderful journal page! Very romantic!
The flowers in the garden are so pretty, that's true, that they fade quickly and have to wait so long.
Have fun on the maiden voyage with your family
Have a happy day, hugs Elke

Neet said...

Who could get tired of seeing those beautiful blooms of yours - magnificent.
Hope the hubby gets the boat on the water, esoecially as your daughter is coming home for the occasion. You will enjoy having her home anyway.
Love the page in your journal and really enjoyed how you made it.
Hugs, Neet xx

Neet said...

Having problems tonight in publishing my comments - so this is third time (lucky I hope).
I can never have too many flowers and the photographs of yours are absolutely fabulous, who could not enjoy seeing those blooms!!
Love the journal page too, pretty flowers and butterfly - love the stenciling. Thanks for providing the know how of how you built this page up - really interesting.
Hope you get the boat on the water but even if you don't you get to see your daughter.
Hugs, Neet xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I love your journal page. You are right that it would make great fabric. It is beautiful. I like how the flowers blend into the background which makes the butterfly stand out even more. It's a great entry for Mia's theme at Art Journal Journey, too.

Yes, I have rose envy and those peonies truly make me sad. They are all really lovely and so plentiful, too. Such incredible beauty at your place, dear. Enjoy your weekend on the water (I have confidence in your husband's determination).

Iris Flavia said...

Never heard of a "maiden voyage"?

Live in full color - oh, yes, I love this work!

Who can get tired of flowers? Beautiful! To a great weekend!
We have rain, it´s dark like night at 09:26 a.m., I need to go outside :-)

craftytrog said...

A beautiful page and gorgeous flowers Erika!
Have fun on the water.
Alison xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Just saw your question about the bike trail. Yes, it is wide enough for two lanes. People can walk, ride their bikes, or even scooters on the trail. Bike riders must be respectful of walkers and runners, though.

R's Rue said...

Hope you had a great time

Mia said...

I love your roses, Erika. And I like my bike!
As for your page, it is stunning. I do not care if it is difficult to be made or not. It is fabulous with all these bright colours. Hugs, my friend, and thank you for joining again my challenge at AJJ.

Birgit said...

The garden page is so beautiful which goes with the song "Age of Aquarius" and love the flower at front and the butterfly. You garden looks so pretty. We had roses come out but they bloomed ever so quick and then wilted. Even the buds look wilty and a bit brownish. Not sure what is going on there. I have the same colour peony bush and they are so, so pretty. You have a magical garden for sure.

Jeanie said...

Your piece is a fitting companion to your garden! Loads of texture and color in both! And good luck with the boat - I know you are all eager for it!

pearshapedcrafting said...

This is a fabulous page Erika! I love those white dots as a background! Your roses are wonderful! Love seeing the Peonies - some blooms here are so big they are resting on the ground . We just caught the Irises at Styall the other day! Hugs, Chrisx

Meggymay said...

Its a beautiful journal page Erika and those flower photos of your garden look gorgeous,Yvonne xx