Sunday 4 June 2017

Follow Your Dreams - by Julie Ann

Hello Everyone! I've been experimenting with one of the medium sized, Calico house cubes, taking advantage of the slightly larger surface to work on and allowing my imagination to lead the way! 



As soon as I saw the beautiful new, Calico tree shapes, I knew I wanted to include them on my next project and I was delighted to see that they fitted well onto the sides of the medium-sized cube house.



I've played with the idea of walking houses before by creating little clay trainers and attaching them. This time I gave my house feet and legs with the addition of a couple of wooden spools.



Apart from the roof, which was acrylic paint over 3D Gloss Gel...



my little house was formed from collage using my own art.



I keep even the tiniest of scraps of design papers to accent tips and corners; but I also like to create backgrounds, which I can scan into my computer and print out to use.




It's fascinating to see how different the background appears when it's part of the project as a whole,



a backdrop for characters and their miniature worlds.



Calico have created some wonderful shapes that stimulate the imagination and get the creative juices flowing: glorious rose flourishes; mysterious antique doors; magical windows and friendly songbirds on branches.



I pieced them together to create a house of dreams and stories, reminiscent of summer evenings when, as children, we had to go to bed in the light while birds still sang outside our window.



We thought our eyes would never close, but - before we knew it - the house was travelling on sturdy turquoise legs, wearing shiny shoes with polka dots and the trees had turned to gold like those in the tale of 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses'.



While we slumbered safe and cosy in our bed...



our illustrated story house took us to lands where golden nightingales sang



and fairy folk made their homes behind doors carved into the trunks of ancient oak trees. What dreams and stories would your 'dream-house' hold? Whatever they might be, Calico has some incredibly detailed pieces that could make your dreams come true! Have a lovely creative week filled with dreams and stories.
Calico Craft Parts Used
Block Style Cube House (Medium)
Skeleton Tree Shape (Style 10)
Skeleton Tree Shape (Style 8)
Sheet of tiny doors and windows
Thorned Rose Scroll (Style 24)
Trio of Songbirds
Window (Style10)

9 comments:

  1. Julie Ann! How delightful these are!! The larger one is so quirky and reminds me of a character on a tv show I used to watch as a child- his name was Mr. Trolley! You really bring a magical life to Calico's pieces!
    Jackie xx

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  2. They are enchanting! I so love seeing your creativity at play! Hugs, Autumn

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  3. Dear Julie, I just love your story telling, both with your words, and with your art, your dream house is so amazing. I am fascinated by your beautiful and fun characters, and love the walls, so beautiful is the one with the sing sweet ,bird
    :-) and the wonderful trees are so perfect around your house !! Dorthe, xx

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  4. This is gorgeous Julie Ann, the legs look so realistic and i love the glassy eyes. The little boy is like the card you gave me for my birthday. Besutiful work,

    Lucy x

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  5. Such a wonderful transformation of the cube! I love how your creativity evolves and how your colour and ideas are entwined in your creativity. Wonderful ! Jennie x

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  6. Magical as always, Julie Ann - I just love this "tree house". Those new tree silhouettes are stunning, and work so well as part of your intricate world of imaginative characters and storytelling. Beautiful gilded doors too - the gateway to another fairyland, no doubt!
    Alison x

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  7. Thank You so much, for these encouraging and inspiring comments, my friends. xx

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  8. It's always amazing how much detail there is to look at and adore, Julie Ann! You put so much love and labour and imagination into your projects! Just awesome!

    Hugs,
    Claudia xxx

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