Gracie is our hostess for the Tickle a Teapotter challenge, which you can find HERE. I bet it was hard to guess where she was going to take us from just that beautiful teapot and the challenge title.
My card reflects the last 8 months that I have been cycling to work - towards the end of March, it came down to cycle or don't work, since getting a lift wasn't an option for me. We may now use public transport, but since it's still limited in capacity I have kept on cycling. But I admit, when I started, I did NOT expect to be still doing it 7 1/2 months later. But I'm blessed that half my route lies through one of Europe's largest city parks - one day the herd of deer were right in the field next to the road. It's been a comfort to keep on smelling things too as well as seeing the trees change from bare to bud to full leaf and now changing colour and leaf fall. In the early Spring there was the scent of the chestnuts, and decorative wallflower beds near the entrance, followed by the lime (linden) in summer, and now they have been cutting the long grass for hay to feed the deer later on. The two little mallard ducklings made there way onto the card because during the first weeks of lockdown, we were restricted to a 3km (about 2 mile) radius of the home for exercise. Obviously I was getting mine travelling into work, but for DH that pretty much meant up or down the canal. Up is a better track, down was where all the ducklings were and in the heaviness of those first couple of months, it was heart-lifting to see those little balls of fluff appear and grow. I love the way they almost seem to scoot along the surface of the water when they are tiny.
I'll fill in the fields later, but all details are below.
This is a sort of pull-tab slider card, but I had to make it square to fit to my seasonal trees. The tab (photo in the challenge thread) is an old stamping with embossing folders piece of watercolour paper done in gelatos, on which I stamped an old Verve "One day at a time" sentiment.
For the front, I cut a curvy line in some DP adhered to thin card for strength, and I cut two parallel slits for my slider.
Free Spirits from Purple Onion was stamped on card, coloured with Polychromos and fussy-cut. I also stamped the wheels on some of the foreground DP, and pieced them in.
I used a scalloped circle and a couple of blues to sponge a cloudy sky.
The two trees on the left are both Impression Obsession. The bare one has some blossom on it - Flower Soft. The leafy one in the centre has two colours of Liquid Pearls on the leaves. The autumn leaves on the right is Creative Expressions Family Tree, cut from some kraft DP, and the leaves behind are from a failed piece of drunken acrylic reveal.
I wrapped two narrow strips of paper around the centre of my sliding strip, and carefully stuck the bicycle wheels to them from the front of the card. At the back, I glued them to the pull tab panel, so that when you pull it out, the bicycle moves along. DH has a higher expectation of my paper engineering, he was expecting the wheels to actually spin round. True and Blue are also from Purple Onion and were coloured as close to mallard chicks as I could get, with Glossy Accents on their beaks and feet.
The finished card is 6" square, I think.
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 GMT Views: 720
Favorited:2
Registered: April 1, 2012 Location: Rogers, AR Posts: 28836
Wed, Oct 28, 2020 @ 8:34 AM
Did you think that for some folks you didn't think the wheels went round and round??? This is very pretty and autumn like!!
------------------------------ Jan 'Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'. Philippians 1:6
Registered: June 10, 2011 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 7304
Fri, Oct 30, 2020 @ 5:53 PM
This card is just so special. Wonderful little scene with the lovely lush green Irish grass and the beautiful trees in autumn and spring colours. I loved reading about your cycling to work journey - just wish I could take up riding again - but I think the knees would protest too much now. More lovely rain here today in the form of thunderstorms and come to think of it the surrounding countryside is starting to look very “Irish”.
Registered: November 7, 2006 Location: Willamette Valley Oregon Posts: 34503
Sat, Oct 31, 2020 @ 12:00 PM
Well, as so many wonderful comments have been written regarding this delightful card, I have to add my kuddos! This is charming, enchanting, and glorious! I love how you represented the seasons with your trees!!!!!! The innocence of the animals represents to me the hopefulness and positive outlook on the future. The chevon DP makes for cool movement along with the slider...bicycles...yes perfect!
Oh the childlike joy of riding a bike does the body and soul good.
------------------------------ Susan~~~One4Joydaily I'm a FAN CLUB member, U? MY GALLERYof visual Delights MY BLOG