Make Time - Moodboard Challenge

Good morning all. May I first wish you all a Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy and peaceful 2016. I hope that it brings you and yours everything you could wish for.

Today sees the start of a new challenge at Our Creative Corner and it is set by our very own super talented Claudia. Here's what she has to say:

Servus! Claudia here to welcome you to Our Creative Corner's first challenge of the year (what an honour!). And here we go:

Why not promise something good to yourself for the new year's start?

To make more quality time for yourself for example and spend it doing what you love? Creative (or recreational) time always is quality time if you listen to your inner voice and follow your own speed instead of listening to the clock ticking and reminding you of deadlines or other duties. And work will be done so much more easily (and faster) after some recreational me-time as it will have fuelled up your energy! I promise! 

So why not escape the endless circling and rushing and get yourself in the right mood for some me-time? The mood board I have in store for you could be a good start.

I challenge you to calm down, enjoy what you see and let yourself be inspired by it. No precise theme to narrow your creativity down - just the colours, shapes, directions, textures and hints of possible themes.

Whatever you make of it - it will be good! Whatever it sparks in you - I want you to show it and have a good time at your studio desks!

When I saw Claudia's moodboard, I just loved the colours, the circles and numbers. I used these as inspiration for the canvas I made:

The colours haven't translated quite so well in the photo but they are close in real life!

I made a background using the products shown. You can find the method on YouTube on Andy Skinner's channel.

I made the main colour a little more blue and introduced the transparent yellow iron oxide because I liked the combination.

I started layering the background with various stamped images. 

A plastic credit card style plastic business card and a paintbrush protector tube made from plastic all make great tools for applying some gold metallic paint! Other paints and stamps are used to apply details to the background. These will be visible in later images.

I stamped one of my very favourite little girl images onto acetate and cut her out. She is applied once the background is complete.

Versamark ink is applied through a stencil followed by the application and heating of some embossing powder in a random manner.

Red paint is stamped on with the paintbrush tube to add a pop of colour. The numbers are some Tim Holtz rub ons which are so useful for mixed media work.

More rub ons and some stamped Chalky Paint from DecoArt which I felt is sympathetic to Claudia's colour palette.

The small dots are stamped using a Tim image and some more Chalky paint. The black line on the left of the image is a section of rub on - LOVE these!!

The clock hand is stencilled on over some chalky paint which covers part of the background. The clock hand is crackled. antiqued and outlined with a permanent pen. The numbers on black circles are more rub ons. I love using acetate because it enables the background to show through the image creating a whole new dimension.

I grounded the girl image by standing her on a pen nib rub on. Love the way the quote on her dress shows up so well against the background visible through the acetate.

I love building up layers and making something come alive with detail.

More rub ons below the wings which come with their own numbers and spotty detail.

I hope you can see that the colour palette from Claudia's moodboard is reflected in my little canvas.

Well, that's my first project done for 2016 and it's one that I thoroughly enjoyed making - thanks Claudia for the inspiration! Please make sure you pop over to Our Creative Corner to see what my hugely talented teamies have made using Claudia's moodboard.

Our generous sponsor this month is Creative Embellishments and make sure to look out for a Sponsor Spotlight later in the month from one of the DT.

I hope to see you join along with us on our first challenge for 2016. Can't wait to see how Claudia inspires you!