Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover

Sunday Joy

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Flower Hammering & Mixed Media

Here is what happened in round 2 of flower hammering. I tell you, pansies make great prints! I don’t have much else of substance blooming yet in the garden, but I’ll keep experimenting as the season goes along.

This is what the cover paper looks like after hammering.

I tried hammering this batch of flowers on paper I’d already added color to. It turned out very nice by the end, and the flower prints give great texture. But I was a bit disappointed that the prints did not turn out as well as I had hoped. At least the yellow/orange ones did not. You can barely see the stem I tried, and darker bits where I added leaves.

The poor smashed flowers.

Here is try number 2. You can see where the prints on the previous page soaked through, which is cool. There is some beneath my arranged flowers as well. The bleed through is at least 2 pages worth. This page is all white except for some bleed through. I crammed the flowers, leaves, and stem with the hope of getting plenty of color.

This is how the back of the cover sheet looks after hammering. Things tend to move around a bit. I start out with the cover paper straight, but by the end, it’s all twisted. It’s hard to hold it still and not hammer your fingers!

Oooooh, yes! This is where I’m getting results. Just look at those pretty pansy faces on the white background! You have to gently peel off the petals, or in some cases, just let them dry and rub them off. Bonus: The cover page also has wonderful colors! I’m saving that for another project.

I LOVE this! I haven’t done anything else with this flower hammering page, but the ideas are brewing. Growing? Smashing? ;0

I did go back to the green background page and finished that mixed media project. I LOVE how it turned out! This is one of my favorites so far. The smashed flowers really add texture and the greens tie in so nicely. I saw another creator (several actually) who added circles to their art. So I played with some gold glitter acrylic paint. Wow! Perfect touch. You can see the other materials I used on this page.

Et voila! Stamp pads, rubber stamps, hammered flowers, chalks, washi tape, acrylic paint, colored pencils. Plus a stick for painting and an empty tape-dispenser plastic disc for the circles.

Have you tried flower hammering? Or creating of any kind? What is your favorite trick?


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Sunday Joy

I am thankful for a fresh start each morning, yes, I am!


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Haiku Moment: secret roads

tiny lives scramble

tunnel secret roads beneath

mystery bark world

secret roads by Angie Quantrell

Cowiche Canyon Trail, Central Washington


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Now what?

I have these great ideas, inspirations, kernels of dreams. If possible, I jump on them right then, or at least scribble down a note to remind me of the idea so I can (hopefully) look back later and recapture what I was thinking.

Like the beginning of this card idea I started on my carefully rinsed and dried teabag. The sepia tone is perfect for making a card. The leaves pop off the teabag. I love how it looks. But now what? What should I do next? How can I amplify the idea into something beautiful? I am currently stumped on this project, so it sits on the table, waiting.

It’s like that in the picture book world too. I have (what I think is) a great idea, an inspiration, a kernel of a story. A brilliant idea. I jot it down. My mind plays with it, seeking a path to follow, wandering from this to that. My ideas often come to me as a title, a play on words, an interesting character, or a wishful suggestion of a setting or event. And then what? What should I do next? I have file folders and notebooks full of ideas. Waiting.

The creative struggle is real. It’s time consuming. It’s messy. Just ask my honey. But should I let the challenges stop me? When I hit that block-that wall-should I stop? No. Maybe I need to see the wall as the opportunity to take a deep breath, let my mind wander, do something else. Perhaps the wall is just a good resting spot to dream, pray, and let the “now what?” follow its course.


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Haiku Moment: mine

this lap is mine, mine,

mine, mine, mine. I will not share.

go away. my lap

mine by Angie Quantrell

Monet claims her favorite lap. And her beloved human. (Not me).


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Haiku Moment: tricksy

winter rolled out, gone.

spring swept in, bright sun, blue sky-

but tricksy came back

tricksy by Angie Quantrell

Valentine’s Day surprise, Yakima Valley


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Sunday Joy

Ready for spring in the Yakima Valley.


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Haiku Moment: melted crayons

melted crayons spill

drip, swirl, splash-silhouettes pause . . .

pathway to the day

melted crayons by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley sunrise


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Haiku Moment: snow clothes

winter! there you are,

dancing in, fancy free . . . wood

is wearing snow clothes

snow clothes by Angie Quantrell

Winter, Yakima Valley