Lovely Lavender

Last week's color (yes I'm behind!) for The Summer of Color was purple.   I needed to make a thank you card.  So what do you think happened?  Yup, I made a purple thank you card.  Actually we'll call it lavender, since that's the shade that I used and the plant that was part of my inspiration. 

I took this photo (below) last year up in Oregon in my sister's front yard.  I love the image and have been wanting to use it for something, so this was the perfect time.

I started by collaging pieces of paper onto a card, then painted over them to make a nice background.  I transferred the image onto the card by experimenting with Transfer Artist Paper (TAP).   I then layered on more paint and added a few embellishments.  

There's just something soothing about lavender, isn't there?  Even when you can't smell it.  Hmm.. maybe I should scent the card.

Nah...probably not.

With each of my Summer of Color posts I've tried to add a few extra photos that feature the color of the week .

So... here's a couple more photos that were also taken up in Oregon.

I love anything "thistle-y"

Lavender field against a white barn... heavenly.

And while digging through my photos I came across this painting that I had in an old post, that I did for another color challenge.  This was the first time I used the color lavender in my art and loved it. 

 That's why I love doing these challenges.  It makes you step out of your box and try out a new color or technique that you might not normally use.  So a big THANK YOU goes out to my friend Kristin for taking the time and energy to do this for us!!  There's still time to join us and maybe even win a prize from Kristin!  This weeks color is Orange... I'm excited about this one!!

So...what are you doing to challenge yourself?