Leanne Shawler, Artist

This is the latest challenge from Mary Green of Green Paper. It's rather simple, but I needed a title page for a new journal for a new class I'm taking over at Vanillery Garden . "Radical Revolution" is totally free: for me it'll be all about the self-confidence to be myself...

So here is my entry for the Green Paper July Challenge . It's called "Longing for Home" given that I placed her on a tissue paper map (reused from a shoe box!) I didn't think I'd get it done in time! Been a busy week!

And I've been a bit neglectful. I was lucky enough to win Mary Green's prize last month for her March challenge . I had my choice of an item from her store, and I picked this one from a French dictionary . I've been busy: planning my table for the May high tea at church, Holy Week, Holy Week, Holy Week, Easter -- not just as part of my job at church but as a choir member -- and somehow found time to almost finish the current mermaid painting. I don't think she's done yet though. So you'll have to wait to see it. I've even found time to sign up for a swap! The Vintage Bling Necklace Swap. There are still spots open if you'd like to sign up! What I haven't found is time to post. Hopefully now that Jesus has been let loose in the world (He is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!), I'll have a little more time to do more than read other people's blogs!

I did a simple gluebook page for the Green Paper challenge this month. I spent the rest of the day working on the journal prompts from the Artful Pages class. My plan was to do garden prep (actually, my plan was to go visiting but my plan before the visiting plan was to do garden prep), but I managed to break a braces wire (I have an invisible retainer-thingy) while biting down on my last bite of my "everything" bagel thins for breakfast this morning, so I had to try and get it fixed (not until hopefully on Monday), and the I figured, what the hey, lets do art for the day (and laundry). Right now I have dental braces wax back there because the wire's annoying. Don't know why they insist on making it mint-flavored though. Bleaugh. And it melts when you eat hot soup. (ick) Yep, I'm on a small bites diet: soup, smoothies and by golly, I managed to eat Tim Tams by using the side of my mouth to bite them. Where there's a will, there's a way!

This is the September Green Paper challenge I didn't get around to. This is pretty much my original vision of it, except I went 3D, adding millinery flowers (which are held in a jazzed up toilet roll you don't even see) and cheesecloth (I love the dreamy effect it gives!). Adding the flowers meant I had to put Lillian on to something more substantial than cardstock, so I'm using Artist Canvas Boards. Right now it's propped up on top of my millinery flower holder. I have no clue how to make a hanging thing for it. Buy a frame?? Suggestions, anyone?

I missed out on the last one (I know what I want to do with it, just haven't had time to), but thanks to Mary's reminder, I made a simple sepia gluebook creation for her October challenge . Perhaps the title to this one should be: "Another damp summer holiday in Scotland"....