March Pick A Stick Challenge & WOYWW #356

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! It's skid in time as I bring to the table my March Pick A Stick Challenge from the Pick A Stick Group over on Facebook!  It also happens to be WOYWW #356 from over on Julia Dunnit's blog, Stamping Ground and obviously this is what's on my desk this morning! So far, CHALLENGE has been right! Phew! I may have even grown a few inches here lately due to all the stretching I have been having to do! LOLOL  It has been a lot of fun and I have so enjoyed seeing how everyone else has been stretching as well! Come over and join us if you will!! :)

This month's challenge was as follows:

The challenge this month turned out to not be so bad because mainly I got to use that marvelous gesso to COVER up a HUGE mess!! LOLOL I took photos to a point and then I forgot to take more...hee hee hee (one track mind at that point!) so then you will just see what I came up with.

Step 1 was to use something old. Well I decided to use a spread towards the back of my journal that had old run off sprays and paint on it. Perfect, since I couldn't think of anything else! LOL Step 2 called for some random stamping, so I had a few different stamp sets on my art desk, but the first one I saw was my February Layers of Life Kit from Unity. I had an idea whereby I would incorporate two or three, as it were, for one here. I did the random stamping and then took some scrap paper for Step 5 and stamped the same flower stamp on it and then decided to cut it out to use on top for Step 8! Yipee, check, check,check!!! LOLOL

Moving on to Step 3 YUCK and YUCK!!! I have never been successful with the whole transfer and image thing...not sure what I consistently DO WRONG!! So after a big gulp of coffee, I had to give it another go. So I took an image I had in my stash that I liked and got my gel medium out and tried to proceed with the transfer! Well as you can see from this picture, IT WAS A BUST! That was the biggest mess I could possibly make,to be sure! All I can say is THANK GOD FOR Step 4!!! LOL Step 4 was use......hello....BIG MESS COVER UP! LOL
gesso to cover up something

Step 5 was addressed earlier so on to Step 6, which was use your favorite color. Well I have a few which are all in the "fall color range." So I took one that I love in that range, which is burgundy or wine, whichever you want to call it, and scraped it on here and there with an old credit card. And then I moved to Step 7 which was use paint or ink and then close the book. So I got out my fave Daler Rowney Pearlescent Ink in Waterfall greene and did the whole drippage thing using some water and then closed it shut! It was quite the site when I
opened it back up, but I kind of liked it. Now, I deviated a little and added a little bit of Glimmer Mist Spray in Lily Pad to try to get some sparkle, but it didn't give me that much.

Step 8 was to add a picture, which was the stamped images I previously did on the scrap paper from Step 5. I actually colored the flowers using my Caran d'Ache crayons, but it was not vibrant enough for me so I ended up painting over that with my lovely Silks Acrylic Glazes. I loosely Mod Podged them down for placement because I knew I had two steps to go.

Time for Step 9! I loved this step because this actually brought me back to how I started art and art journaling in general!  I drug out all my old journals, dusted them off and pulled some ideas from them. With March going into April, it got me thinking about flowers, so That is why I used the stamped flowers as well as did the Zentangles in flowers. I thought it would be fun especially since I had planned to use Step 10, which was print out your own photos and cut them up, So I used my own photo and cut it out and put me amongst the flower garden!! I did some shading with my Stabilo pencil here and there and voila!!!

Lot's of fun and can't wait to start April's challenge where my brain will further stretch be perplexed! It's all good! LOL

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods and some of you are getting a glimpse of the light at the end of the Winter tunnel! We have had lovely Spring weather here and the trees are budding out and of course some of the sweet flowers are raising their little heads! The smells are in full blossom and it's still pleasant to sit outside in the evenings! I am enjoying it while I can because in Georgia, it doesn't last long! Can you say MOSQUITOS???? LOLOL

Have a blessed Wednesday full of the joy of the Lord, which is the gladness of heart that comes from KNOWING God, abiding in Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit!