Blog Header Part Two

Hello friends,

In my previous post, I started to describe my process for making my new blog header (version 2 is below), but I wandered off the track a bit to tell you the story of the background - a texture from the wall of the Yarralumla Shearing Shed stands in Canberra, Australia.

My new blog header is a celebration of things I make and love... collages, fairies, old books, vintage laces, luggage, cabinet cards and ephemera. 

The second version here was too large, so I had to cut down its depth while trying to simplify the clutter a little. (I get inspired and want to include everything!)

Below is one of my collages made for a friend's wedding anniversary.

Some velvet forget-me-nots...

Some old letters I have collected and tied with seam binding ribbon...

Embroidered flowers from an old linen table cloth...

A metal heart which I covered with scrapbooking paper...

A gorgeous vintage bridal or bridesmaid's headdress from Lakeside Vintage in Burrill Lake...

A vintage hat or head piece...

My vintage  Fairy book with a vintage card tucked inside...

Vintage buttons...

A birdcage with a real nest inside...

My nest fairy...

A vintage suitcase with a faux leather pattern...

My lace and fabric book started with Suzy of SuziQsthreadworks...

A vintage box of old laces with fabric flowers on top...

What fun I have had fiddling with items to make different versions! I tried out some Photoshop brushes...

Here's the final version, cleaned up with spot healing brush... I'm very happy with it, and look forward to doing another in the future.

I am joining Wen on AppleApricot for Simply Neutrals Tuesday #44, where you can see beauty explored in a neutral theme.

Thanks for dropping in. Feel free to subscribe or follow me, as I will be posting regularly at least weekly in between Simply Neutrals Tuesdays.

Have a creative and happy week!

Jesse

Julia Margaret Cameron Collage

Hello Friends,

Today I'm showing another of my collages using vintage book covers from unloved garage sale books. This one features a photo by Julia Margaret Cameron, a British photographer whose career was only 11 years long, from 1864-1875. 

She was given  a camera at the age of 48 by her daughter.

Her style fitted in with pre-Raphaelite artists, and she approached photography as an art form, often dressing up her subjects as historical characters. Her images were dreamy and ethereal. 

Lace Collage by Lace Age Girl

I used dried flowers and leaves, a dried fern, lace daisies and a rose I made from cheesecloth dyed with avocados, and a fine scrap of old lace. 

I love Julia Cameron's work. I have a large framed print of this picture in my front entry. 

Over the Summer I collected and dried some hydrangeas. Their papery texture and various colours are gorgeous.

Old suitcases - one of my favourite storage displays - but it's so hard to remember what's in each case! I will do some labels for them, I think...

I'll leave you with a quote from Julia Margaret Cameron which I've put on a collage of some of her photos... such an inspiration!

There is a wonderful essay about Julia Margaret Cameron's life by Malcolm Daniel, Department of Photographs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can find it at 

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/camr/hd_camr.htm

I'm heading over to Wen's blog at Apple Apricot to see what other neutral beauty is on display there.

Please join us there for Simply Neutral Tuesday # 40...

Shabby Book Cover Collages and Other Neutral Joys...

Hello friends,

Here's a large nest from my collection, displayed with wooden eggs (silky oak), and a piece of wrinkled bark I picked up on a walk...

Above is a card I threw together in haste - using a beautiful tag from Megan Berry. You can download them here: 

https://lilac-n-lavender.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/vintage-bird-inspired-tags.html

These are the set of tags available for free. Aren't they gorgeous? Thanks, Megan!

Some shells, sea urchin shells and stones I've collected...

Here's my little friend, Jasper. Every day he settles himself near my computer to snooze beside me...

He's growing so fast! Here he is with his siblings before we took him home. So sweet! I wish we could have taken his black and white brother, too!!!

The tree design on the old book cover below attracted my eye at a garage sale, so I decided to honour it with a few bits and pieces - a

skeleton leaf found on a walk, and part of the worn spine of the book, and a beautiful moth picture. There wasn't room for much. I took the back cover too, and did another collage. I love the worn old look to these canvas covers.

Maybe this is cheating, but I've tinted the colour of the collages so they'd fit into Simply Neutrals Tuesday over at Wen's blog, Appleapricot , where you will find a collection of neutral coloured artworks on display. I'll show you the true colours soon...

Wishing you a creative week appreciating the beauty around you....

Jesse