Friday, October 31, 2014

A Month's Worth of News

(Click on the photo to view a large image.)

One month ago I created a Hallowe'en scene from electronic cutting files just for the heck of it. (Go HERE to see that post.) I enjoyed that project so much that I decided to create another one. The top right photo is the scene I created in September. Center right is the scene I completed in time for Hallowe'en.

Although I used the same house, I took a little creative license with it and tricked it out a bit. This house boasts molding around the windows, purple shingles on the roof and overhangs as well as doors that open and close. There's also a bit more going on in the scene. The flying bats are three dimensional with wings that pop off the page. There's a real bad ass evil tree lurking to the right of the fence watching the group of trick or treaters approaching the house. When the doors of the house are opened, the Grim Reaper is standing there awaiting the arrival of his "guests". I tried to give the scene a little more dimension with a cloudy sky detailed in shades of gray, blue and purple chalk. The grounds around the house are also detailed in shades of gray and green inks. The rolling clouds and ground were created using a masking and stippling technique.


In other news, this month has been one for the books. My son celebrated his 25th birthday, my daughter was here on leave from the Coast Guard, my husband and I had multiple social engagements and, as if that's not exhausting enough, we bought a house in the mountains which will become our retirement home. Halloween Day also happens to be our anniversary. This year marks 28 years married. All this and the holidays haven't arrived yet.

I'm tired just thinking about next month.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Friday, October 3, 2014

Another Floral Surprise

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Last year I got a zebra plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) that miraculously survived the dry air in my home over the last frigid winter. This year, when the weather warmed sufficiently, I placed in outdoors next to my avocado and mini roses. A few weeks ago I noticed something I hadn't seen before. It appeared as if my plant was going to bloom! Never having had a zebra plant before, I didn't know that it bloomed. I assumed it was a foliage plant. Well, I was wrong. Here are some photos showing the transition from foliage to bracht to blossoms. Now that October is here and the first frost is not far behind, this last hurrah of summer is a very welcome sight.

 

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva