QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #45: PICTURE INSPIRATION (WEEK 2)

It's Week 2 of the June Quoth the Raven challenge and I am here to invite you to join us in creating artwork honoring Edgar Allan Poe. This month, the theme is "picture inspiration."  It's kind of like "anything goes," but you must draw your inspiration from the picture provided below and it must, in some way, be related to Edgar Allan Poe.  

I drew my inspiration from both the black and red color palette and the arrangement of the images.  The background in my work was garnered from a Google search for "free images of ravens."  The stamped image is from Stampotique Originals and is called Friend.  Here, the image represents the narrator of Poe's poem of Lenore (you can read it here).   His heart is broken after the loss of his beloved whom he will see nevermore. 

I hope you will find time this month to do something creative!  It's good for your frame of mind and, therefore, your health!  Thanks for coming by today and for taking another minute to leave a comment!

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #45: PICTURE INSPIRATION (WEEK 1)

A new month brings a new challenge at the Quoth the Raven site. This month it will be about "picture inspiration."  It's kind of like "anything goes," but you must draw your inspiration from the picture provided and it must, in some way, be related to Edgar Allan Poe.  Here is the inspiration picture:

I drew my inspiration from both the black and red color palette and from the arrangement of the image in the foreground and the raven(s) in the background.  I used red cardstock from my stash and a brand new stamp from Stampendous! called Crowscape.  This single stamp provided the entire background.  The silhouette was cut from a picture from a website called Assorted Ideas.  My art, when attached to a card blank, will make a perfect Halloween card!

I hope you will play along in June with this fun challenge.  Don't forget that art is therapeutic.  It just might change your state of mind!

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #44: RAVING RAVENS (WEEK 2)

I am here to inspire you to participate in the "Raving Ravens" challenge over at Quoth the Raven.  Edgar Allan Poe refers to ravens only a few times in all other works, yet has dedicated an entire poem to the raven who knocked on his chamber door.  You can read (or re-read) The Raven here.

In my own re-reading of The Raven, I was reminded of the fact that the narrator is struggling with whether this raven is actually just a bird or whether, indeed, it might be a devil calling on him.  

It is for this reason that I have included two ravens, one the mirror image of the other, in my artwork today.  My quote comes from this poem.

My background was created by using another of the 8 backgrounds purchased in a pack (Poe Boy) from Smeared Ink.  The background was reversed in a photo editing software program, then both backgrounds were trimmed and taped together in the center.  The entire piece was then trimmed to a size of 12" x 12".  The quote was computer generated and printed on my color printer.  The image of Poe (Lost Coast Designs) was stamped with Ranger Archival Ink on heavy cardstock, then fussy cut and added to my project.

A rather simple project, but one that goes far in illustrating a portion of one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous works!

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  I hope you will try to find some time this week and throughout the month of May to participate in the "Raving Ravens" challenge at Quoth the Raven!

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #44: RAVING RAVENS (WEEK 1)

A new challenge has been posted and the Quoth the Raven website is all about RAVING RAVENS! The interpretation of this challenge is totally up to you, just as long as it is related in some way to Edgar Allan Poe.

I wanted to use another of the digital backgrounds I purchased from Smeared Ink called Poe Boy Digital Paper Pack (set of 8).  I ended up using a full background, then printed and cut the raven from a second. The quote I used is from The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.  You can read the poem in its entirety here.  (The quote is the first line of the last verse.)

I used a strip of washi tape from my stash so that the raven might have something upon which to "sit" as the quote reads.  The quote was computer generated, then printed directly onto the background.

I hope you will find some time during the month of May to create something for this great challenge.  Thank you for stopping by today! Both your visits and your comments mean a lot to me.

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #43: TIC-TAC-POE (WEEK 5)

I am here with a simple piece of tag art as a reminder that this is the last week of the Quoth the Raven Tic-Tac-Poe challenge.  It's a fun and simple challenge where we provide you with a grid and you select three elements--horizontally, vertically or diagonally--and create something related to Edgar Allan Poe.  Here's the grid:

For this week's reminder art, I have chosen a diagonal pattern and have used some stitching, the well-known quote "Nevermore!" and a stamped image of a raven.  (Please don't tell the raven it is actually an image of a crow from Stampotique Originals!)

Here's my tag:

And, a list of supplies:

• Ranger's #10 manila tag (shortened)
• Dylusions ink sprays in Pure Sunshine and Dirty Martini
• Stampotique's Moon Girl's Crow
• Stampotique's Circles Cube (grounding under crow)
• Yellow ribbon from my stash
• Sticko stickers (nevermore)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Wendy Vecchi's Archival Ink (Watering Can)
• Sewing machine
• Basic tool kit

I hope you can find some time this week to participate in the Tic-Tac-Poe challenge at Quoth the Raven.  You can submit your artwork here.

Glad you stopped by today.  I thank you both for your visit and your comments!  Have a great week!

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #43: TIC-TAC-POE (WEEK 2)

Reminder inspiration is up on the Quoth the Raven website, and I have a new piece of art to show you today. The theme Tic-Tac-Poe will continue throughout the month, and I hope you will create something for this challenge. 

We are using the following Tic-Tac-Poe grid to help you with your project. Just pick any three elements--horizontally, vertically, and diagonally--and get crafty! Just remember--in some way--your work must be related to Edgar Allan Poe.

For this week's project, I have chosen 3D Decoupage, Poe, and Lace! The 3-D decoupage segment was, indeed, quite the challenge.  I first had to Google the term to find a description of this technique.  What appeared pretty simple turned out to be not so simple after all.  Fussy cutting and pop dots were the mainstay of this project.  When I finished and showed it to my husband, he said that it appeared as if Poe had had a stroke!  I hope there is a learning curve here and that I can only get better!

The background was created by mixing three colors of re-inkers and alcohol on my craft mat and dragging Ranger's specialty stamping paper through it.   I also dripped a bit of alcohol directly onto my page to encourage the inks to move and blend.

The quote is my "Poe" segment.  Although these words will not be found in a search of his works, he is credited with saying it (here).  The wine glass I found on the internet and is a penciled drawing by Aimee Flom. The lace is called "Venice" and is from Simplicity.  The metal skull and crossbones are from Tim Holtz' idea-ology "adournments" collection.

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking the time to leave a comment--both are important to me! If you have not already done so, please also take a moment to become a follower of this blog. If you would like to receive e-mail notifications when I update this blog, you can also "follow by e-mail." You will find both options in the upper right-hand corner.

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #43: TIC-TAC-POE

The calendar says April, but the weather still does not herald the arrival of Spring in the Northeast of the United States!  That said, I continue to search for Spring's earliest blossoms--in the snow!  

Thinking of flowers made me curious about whether Edgar Allan Poe wrote about flowers, and, indeed, he did.  His short story Eleonora tells of star-shaped flowers never seen before, and that captured my creative interest.  You can read the short story of Eleonora here.

Today's challenge is a creative game of Tic-Tac-Poe!  This new twist on an old game is here to inspire you.  

I chose to use flowers, Poe and feathers--straight down the center!  I have been making a lot of tags lately, so decided I would make one for this challenge:

The background paper featuring red feathers is one of an 8-pack of digital 8-1/2" x 11" images that I purchased and downloaded from Smeared Ink and is called "Poe Boy."  The flower, flat-backed pearl, and butterfly are all from my stash.  The ribbon is uncolored crinkle ribbon from Tim Holtz' idea-ology collection.  The excerpt from Eleonora was computer generated and printed.  

I hope you can ferret out some time this month to get inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and our Tic-Tac-Poe challenge this month. This challenge asks that your choose 3 elements from the grid above--horizontally, vertically or diagonally--and use them in your project.  The only rule is that it must--in some way--be related to Edgar Allan Poe.