The wonder of swaps!

Still on the subject of the ‘Spring’ swap the ACEO created under my OAW banner was created in the encaustic medium or painting in wax.  Using my trusty travel iron and hot stylus for detail I imagined this stream running through some rocky crags with plants rearing their heads gingerly as Spring approached.

Firstly from Hemlock came this beauty.  She even used rocks (pebbles!) from her creek.  Very pretty!

I think this was a ‘first’ and hopefully, not the last.

Personally, I thought it was a wonderful way to introduce ACEOs to creators new to this format.  To some ACEOs can be very daunting; to have to work in such a small piece of art can be challenging when you are not used to it.  However, these two folk had never attempted this before and there were many who have realised what a fun and interesting size it is to work on!

PQ

It was….. Mother’s day yesterday

Well, better late than never!  I should have posted about this yesterday but as you can imagine I was more involved with the family and being outdoors in the wonderful spring sunshine than wanting to spend time indoors on the computer!

I rose to a beautiful sunny spring morning.  During the day the kids came round (my youngest baby is going to be 29 this year!) with lovely flowers/plants and cards.  Aaaaaaah!  I know it is a commercial thingy but, heck, it is nice to be spoilt any time, isn’t it?

Anyway, we had several jobs to do which were outstanding like putting up a new clothes line.  Sad really.  To think of the things that excite you as you get older!

Then, since the weather was being so kind we decided to go for a walk and I took these pictures.  Yes, I know they are of the usual spring like flowers etc but  it is a wonderful time of year!

 

I have this as my desktop background.  I just love the way the daffodils are peeking out!  If you click on the photo you will see the enlarged version.

Here we have a host of golden daffodils!

Walking round the corner we spotted this swan.  There is usually a mate nearby but today this one was the only one in evidence.

 

Usually you would see plenty of green algae and moss on these rocks but I guess it was still a wee bit too cold.

To finish up I couldn’t resist taking this shot of the sun shimmering and twinkling on the water.

As the seasons change more colour will appear and we will be able shed our winter overcoats to enjoy the warm sunshine once again!

PQ

Spring is in the air!

An Etsy team called Boomers and Beyond or BBEST for short, are having a new swap challenge this month is to create an ACEO with the theme entitled….. Spring! 

I love sitting back to see what comes out of the woodwork.  Truly inspirational pieces are being created in all manner of mediums.  The excitement is always that each person who contributed is given a name of their swapee but they do not know who will be sending them an ACEO.  To remind readers, an ACEO has only one rule.  That is, it has to measure 3.5” x 2.5”.  It can be created in any medium.  You will note there are glass based ones, fabric, painted ones.  The list is endless.

What did I create?  Well, under the name of Precious Quilts I decided to create an ACEO depicting Spring in the form of the sun shining down on some pretty flowers made with cute little buttons I had in my stash.  For the centres of the flowers I added some seed beads to enhance the image.

Oh yes!  I love butterflies and have one in my avatar  on Etsy so, of course, I had to include a pretty pink one to complete my picture composition!

Now, I urge you to follow this link to see the other ACEOs offered for the March BBEST swap.

Hard to choose my favourite and even harder is the waiting and wondering which ACEO I will be lucky enough to receive!