It All Begins at Home

What does, you may ask?  Love.

I was saving a beautiful polymer clay heart that my friend Judy Shea gave me last year at an Art is You retreat.   I wanted to make something special with it.

I had an old book that was falling apart.  It was too fragile for a journal.  So I decided to alter it to be a home for Judy's heart.

I used my new doors and windows stencil to trace the opening for a door. I cut out the opening, and then spread molding paste through the stencil openings to create the door frame. 

I covered the front with the pages I cut from the book, and then used my random squares stencil with gesso to give some texture.  (For more examples of this stencil, visit this post!)

I created a glaze with parts acrylic glazing liquid and a few squirts of orange and magenta fluid acrylics, and dragged the colors around the door with a paint chip to create an uneven surface.  The glaze adhered to the gesso differently than to the book pages, so that the random squares stencil peeked through.

I used a wood grain stamp on a gelli print to created a bark-like texture, and then glazed it with a mix of glazing medium and burnt umber paint.

I dragged fiber paste through my cascading leaves stencil on the shiny side of a piece of freezer paper.  When it was dry, I painted them with various shades of green paint, and gently pulled them off of the paper.

I cut up my gelli print to make a tree trunk and branches, and glued it down with matte medium.  I added my fiber paste leaves to make a tree.  I added the phrase - "Home is where love begins." 

Even if someone is poor, or living in challenging circumstances, they will feel whole if they know love.  I have seen this first hand in our service work in Guatemala, and even in my husband.  He grew up in circumstances that might have made him bitter and angry.  But because he always felt loved, he was able to grow into a warm, compassionate man who freely gives love to others.

The word up at One Little Word this month is HOME.  Look for me there in June -- I'm honored to be guest designing!

Also, stay tuned for a special stencil test drive on March 28, featuring the doors and windows stencil, and the art of Carolyn Dube, Corrine Gilman, Maria McGuire and Judy Shea!

Linking to One Little Word (home), Mandarin Orange Monday, Monday Mantras, Create With Joy, Creative Every Day, Make it on Monday,  One Stop Craft Challenge (anything goes), and Paper Issues (crafting with flair).

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.