Sunday 23 April 2017

Lest We Forget



For my next layout this month as soon as I saw the ARTastic Challenge Blog April challenge I knew I wanted to play along. The beautiful challenge picture is an ANZAC tribute artwork by Kenneth MacQueen called Wild Poppies and I was very inspired to get out my water colours and have a go with creating something a bit muted and with the required 'pops of red'. 

In 2012 we travelled to Europe and hired a car in France. For three weeks we drove around the beautiful French countryside and visited and stayed in many beautiful villages. A big part of this trip was to visit some of the memorials and cemeteries that are part of the Australian Remembrance trail. There was nothing more moving than Villers-Bretonneux and the Australian War Memorial where over 11,000 Australian soldiers 'missing in action' have their names inscribed on the walls. 


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.










    









Sunday 9 April 2017

Paw Prints On My Heart


This last week I worked on a layout which was very heartfelt for me. One of my FB friends, who I met through a Golden Retriever facebook page, lost her beautiful Golden Retriever, Willow last week. Vera posts the most beautiful photos every day of her two Golden Retrievers and Willow will be missed by many in the Golden Retriever community all over the world.

I have joined in with two challenges with my tribute to Willow. The April theme at Berrry71 Bleu is "Everything old is new again. It is all about old-world glamour." The mood board inspired me to use one of my all time favourite papers from Kaisercraft as my main background piece. I added some further vintage feel to my layout by inking and rubbing some texture paste on the Dusty Attic lighthouse before adding a crackle glaze. The anchor was given a rough patina finish with embossing powder. The shells have all been collected from walks on our local beach over the years.




The second challenge I am joining in with is with CSI Major Case file 227 . The clues I have included as my evidence are animals, flowers, wood effect paper, watercolours and a circular frame. 

I am putting this layout in a frame to give to my friend and on the back of the frame I have pasted the following poem which is my testimony.


Whenever you go to sleep I will run in your dreams
When your tears dry on your face it's because I've licked them
When Mardee suddenly turns it's because I said "come on let's play"
I will never leave you-I'm always just a thought away
I will be watching and waiting
I know you are doing the same
I leave you my love because my pawprint is on your heart
I am your dog-your Willow!










Willow 7/5/2005 to 2/4/2017 R.I.P