Recently returned from Nicaragua, I'm gradually getting back into the swing of things here in Connecticut. In looking through the trip photos, I came across this lovely view of the newly whitewashed Cathedral in Leon, where we were based. This is an historic cathedral, and generally has been rather grungy due to the effects of weather and pollution over time - but they have done a beautiful job making the grand lady pristine one again.
The photo puts me in mind of Astrid's wonderful recent make featuring St. Paul's Cathedral. And that inspired me to get in one more challenge this month, specifically for CountryView Craft's latest challenge....it has been a bit quiet here due to travel and subsequent sorting out at work and home. I've tried to persuade the cats to housekeep in my absence, but so far, they are sadly lacking in that department :-)
As Astrid's make evoked a sense of history, I thought of one of my favorite pieces of art in Nicaragua, this lovely Mary statue, and started browsing through my stamps for an image reminiscent of this icon.
And I came up with this.... I did not take step-outs, as I was in a hurry.... but here are some closeups.
The background is from Lindy's Stamp Gang Nantucket Island Sea Grass Green that I had prepared and not used for a previous project. Because of the shiny/metallic nature of this spray, I chose to stamp the image with StaysOn Jet Black Ink. I then colored in with Distress Ink pens in Broken China, and Worn Lipstick. Her cheeks are Spun Sugar. I added some recently acquired Tim Holtz star brads in silver as a crown....
I sponged some Pumice Stone Distress Ink through a doily stencil and then added some Tiny Tattered Florals (which I love - they are so easy to make with the included quilling tool!)
The last step was to apply some Wendy Vecchi Crackle Paste through a stencil.... This was then colored by applying a lot of Frayed Burlap to my craft sheet and thoroughly spritzing it. Then I used a very soft Japanese brush to paint the crackled areas. And here is the final project.
Thank you for stopping by.... and if you've time, please leave a comment as I always love hearing what you think!
I will be posting this at Country View Craft's May Challenge and Brenda's Visual Journey.
xx Lynn
Oh wow Lynn, what an amazing journey that must have been! Great photos, and thanks for linking to my blog, - so glad it inspired you to make something so beautiful! I love how you put your piece together, those Tim stars work so wonderful as the crown on her head! Love how your flowers turned out too! Oh and thanks of course for linking it to Countryview Challenges too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Lynn - I do love that soft colour palette and how you've picked out the coral colour of the flowers in the image too - just gorgeous. The Cathedral is stunning and certainly looks so different in pristine white - what a wonderful experience it all must have been.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful Lynn, and easy to see where you got your inspiration from. Thank you so much for joining in with our challenge at Country View Crafts, and have a great weekend. Sue xx
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