New Designs at Cottage Arts!

Cottage Arts has released some neat new products. I've made several pages here using a lot of them. I love the looks of the papers and elements, they work so well for blending and masking. Great effects.

This first is called Evening sky, it's some of the photos I have on my Reflections of My Year blog that I took the other night of the evening sky and the approaching storm.

The journaling reads: My Blessing for today
It's so easy to take for granted each day I'm given.
To overlook the simple beauty that surrounds me.
Today I am thankful for the glorious sunset that turned
the skies around me these vibrant shades of amber
constantly moving
spreading their threads open
and upward
embracing the whisper from the heavens.

Supplies all from Cottage Arts
Nature's Sketchbook Elements 1 Botanical Imprints - Word Art - Mat Old Paper - Border Cluster 1 Naturals 12 Paper Pak - Paper 03 Nature's Sketchbook Journals 1 - Journal 02
Nature's Sketchbook Papers 1 Botanical Imprints - Paper 01 Fall a Flutter Element Pak - Fall Swirl Let There Be Peace Page Pak - Folded Fabric Frame

Font - Lucida Handwriting



For this I used Nature's Sketchbook Ivy League - and Font Americana


I used my photo of the road (taken at Navajo Lake Utah this last fall) and blended it with Ivy Paper number 4 using the Hard Light blend mode in Photoshop (I use PS CS3). I then added a mask and erased with a feather brush (13) set at 75% Opacity and Flow. I kept erasing the outer edges to get rid on any hint of hard edge, blending it into the background.


I also used a blend mode, Soft Light, on the text, which gave me the effect I wanted but then it was too light to show properly so I duplicated the text layer and reduced it's opacity to 28%, which gave it just enough depth to be able to read and still look like it was part of the road.


This is just so fun to do, the possibilities are endless, you just need some imagination and keep playing until you hit the effect that says yes to you!

These last two are a 2-page spread about our trip this summer to Wyoming.


Journaling Reads:
This was way more than an adventure!
At over 9,000 feet the cabin presented
itself with some unique problems to
our breathing! We really hadn't given
it much thought when booking but
soon realized when we tried to trek
around anywhere. It was especially
fun when the power went out, it's
mighty dark in the middle of the
Wyoming woods!

I used these supplies from Cottage Arts -
Ragged Delights Element Pak - Twine Sewn Cardboard

Life Journey 12x12 Album Pak - QP 08- Frame 024 and
Natures Sketchbook Elements 1 - Botanical Imprints - Dog Tag - Pearl Old - Border Stitches - Tag w/String Overlayed and blended with Mat Old Paper
Font Rodeo King



And here's the last great photos of the four legged friends we saw along the way. In this page I used Ragged Delights - Twine Sewn Cardboard Positive Metal Attitudes Elements Pak - Rusty Spring Life Journey 12x12 Album Pak - QP 25 - Frame Trio
Font - Rodeo King