WooHoo it's "Tickle a Teapotter" time and Shelly aka mcschmidty has us having a lovely teaparty in Asia.
I didn't have a thing to wear (aka, no appropriate stamp), so a quick visit to Vera Lane Studio fixed that. This digi set comes with five of the cutest Kokeshi Dolls ever.
Kokeshi dolls are simple Japanese wooden dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as toys for children.
I coloured 2 dolls very, very gently with many layers of green pencils (the trick is to have a super light grip on the pencil or place your hand further up the pencil), in traditional colours. The other little doll was coloured with a much heavier hand and fun colours.
My plan was to have them all on the same card, along with this fun sentiment "I have absolutely no desire to fit in". Even I know when it is time to rein it in, so here we have 2 very different cards, instead of all of them on one card. I promise to send the proper Kokeshi dolls to my Teapot tickle.
The Japanese garden background is from my stash. I think this one was el cheapo water colour paper dunked in a puddle of green Dylusions ink spray and lots of water. White paint and a ton of sparkly stickles were added to the bottom of the card to resemble snow and lots of liquid pearls on the tree in the hope it looked like a cherry blossom tree.
Their black hair looks better in real life, it was hard to photograph. I started with a black Prismacolour pencil, followed by 90% cool grey pencil, followed by a black Copic, then black Spectrum Noir, black Aldi marker, Vellum writer, then finished with a fine micron pen. None of the black pens were the same shade, so in real life there is more definition.
The little rebel Kokeshi was coloured with Prismacolour pencils, zest-it pencil blend and a colourless blending pencil and a very heavy hand.
The background is from my gelli plate stash. When I use the gelli plate, I have a piece of A4 paper that I use to get the last of the colour off and also to clean stencils. This piece of paper has a terrific grainy texture to it due to the many, many layers of paint and ink.
I get much better results with copy paper than I do with cardstock. You just need to work quickly and don't be quite so firm when running your hand over the paper. Because the paper is so cheap, I tend to be more adventurous.
All the girls are adhered to the backgrounds using a glue stick. The little Kokeshi in front of the tree was adhered to a scrap of cardstock then fussy cut again, then restuck. The liquid pearls made her face look like she had Chicken Pox. That is another thing I like about glue sticks, you get a few seconds to remove something.
Thank you for looking, I hope you get a chance to join in our Teaparty.
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 GMT Views: 774
Favorited:8
Stamps: Vera Lane Studios (digi doll images), Dylusions sentiment (RAK Susan One4Joy), Memory Box tree
Paper: Kokeshi dolls and blue gelli plate background on copy paper. Green background is water colour paper
Paper Size: 5" x 7" and 5.5" x 5.5"
Ink: Stazon
Accessories: MISTI and Stazon (for sentiment and tree), Dylusions in spray, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Prismacolour pencils, white Posca pen, various alcohol markers, gelli print, gold pen for border.
Registered: October 17, 2008 Location: Brisbane Queensland Australia Posts: 8939
Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 2:00 AM
Excuse me, who wants to fit in especially when you can have blue hair and sunglasses.
Love love love this card for it's pure Susieness but I also love the other card for its beauty. Gorgeous cards wish I was playing.
Registered: January 11, 2017 Location: Wisconsin summer and Arizona winter Posts: 19734
Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 7:00 AM
Wow X 2! Beautiful cards Susie! I love both. I love cherry blossoms and was thinking of doing a card with them. All of my Asian paper and stamps are in Arizona. You've inspired me again with your wonderful description of your creations! So many colors of black for that fantastic hair!
------------------------------ Judy aka Gracie "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou
Registered: February 23, 2016 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 22976
Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 7:09 AM
Yin and Yang - I experienced the girls on the left when I lived in Japan 50 years ago and that is still my own image of the Orient - when I went back a few years ago, the younger generation had definitely segued into the card on the right bucking every tradition possible. I love that even your berry bushes have transformed from well sculptured growth to abstract wild abandon - you have gone from Sweet to Swinging!
------------------------------ Linda aka Bubbles
I'm not a Hoarder . . . I'm the Curator of an extensive collection of embellishments!!
Proud Fan Club Member Guest Designer Color Challenge July 2017 Favorites Notification Team
Registered: March 8, 2005 Location: Halfway between Dallas and Houston Posts: 24019
Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 7:36 AM
Your dolls are wonderful but the tree with the berries and all the rest of the scene are what make this card so wonderful, Susie! I do love the sentiment of the single doll though - sort of how I feel much of the time. Her background is also fabulous!
------------------------------ Proud Fan Club Member
Dirty Dozen Alumni
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Registered: April 13, 2011 Location: Midwest Posts: 178
Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 11:37 PM
Just looking at the in-your-face differences between the two presentations of these delightful little dolls you can see what is essential in our lives as we live together on this earth. If we were all "cut from the same cloth" so to speak, we might not have input into our lives of different ways of looking at things, or an assortment of solutions to various problems we might have, or an appreciation of new experiences and we might not develop any interest in expanding our minds to better live our lives. How dull would that be?! Differences are the spice of life. I guess I'm in Philosopher mode this evening.
Each of these pictures is Unique and Beautifully done. Each one of us is Unique. And we all have a Unique Beauty inside of us. Well, I'm done waxing Philosophic for the evening. I will now go to bed. Good night! Stay Healthy....and enjoy the Differences in your patch of the world.
Registered: June 10, 2011 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 7363
Thu, Jul 02, 2020 @ 5:06 AM
Both of us are on the same page again. Your Kokeshi dolls are all very cute - special the one who was born to stand out/dared to be different. Love the cherry blossom branch with the pink pearl buds. You are very clever at putting a glossy shine in their hair.