We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
"Little Gidding"
T S Eliot

Friday, 8 April 2016

Darting Diaphanous Delights

The next letter in the Craft Barn's Alpha Dictionary challenge is D, with the added condition of using pink somewhere.

I thought I would do a bit of stamping this time, and I love damselflies and dragonflies so - I found the two stamps I've got, and stamped in Versamark onto some watercolour paper. I then heat embossed in white, to act as a resist.

My Brushos haven't had much use in recent weeks, so time to get those out again too. Lastly, I used one of my favourite Sizzix dies to add a bit of dimension, and then splattered some gold watercolour paint (scrumptious stuff by Schmincke called Aqua Bronze).

I did cut out the definition of dragonfly, but then lost it! Fortunately damselfly begins with the same letter!


I'm also entering the into the current Paper Artsy challenge which features resist.

To end, a little info on the difference between dragonflies and damselflies ...


Dragonfly (suborder Anisoptera)
Wings open at rest
Eyes touching at top of head
Flight strong and purposeful


Damselfly (suborder Zygoptera)
Wings closed at rest
Eyes not touching at top of head
Flight weak and fluttering

20 comments:

  1. I've never heard of a Damselfly before, so I'm glad you shared the information with us.

    I love your page, and SO wish we got Brushos in craft stores in the US. Seems they are only available online. I LOVE what you did with yours because that background is to DIE for.

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  2. Beautiful entry! I love all the colors and what you did with the dragonflies and damselfly. Thanks for the lesson on the difference between the two. One of the great things about this challenge is I'm learning a lot of new creatures!

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  3. Beautiful dragonfly card, the Brusho background is wonderful. Take good care, Shirleyxx

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  4. Well you just had me on the run to learn more about the differences of the two flys. Not being a bug liker, I had no idea there even existed a damselfly. Wonderful illustration for your word(s) choice and wonderfully informative post.

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  5. Your Brusho background is so pretty. I love the look of the page.

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  6. I did wonder myself what was the difference... I thought Damselfly was just the American-English word for Dragonfly! I stand corrected. Lovely page, Brushos work so well with embossing.

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  7. This is a lovely piece of art. I love Brusho backgrounds and yours works so well with the embossed dragonflies.

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  8. Lovely piece of work, I love dragonflies and damselflies and have loads around the ponds.

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  9. Great idea to do dragonflies and damselflies. Love the resist background with the brushos!

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  10. Great minds think alike lol, love your page of colourful dragonflies and damselflies.
    MaggieH

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  11. Gorgeous. I also used brusho and embossing for my resist. Lovely and pretty card.
    Catherine xxx

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  12. lovely page, should get my brushos out too. Thx for the explanation, didn't know.

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  13. Beautiful. Love the colours. I still have to give Brushos a go. They will be on my wishlist :)

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  14. Hi ya, thanks for your comment. I've used a normal glue stick for the paper towel. Honestly I was quite surprised that it worked :)

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  15. I love the ghostly embossed dragonflies and how they contrast with the vibrant colours of the die cut xx

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  16. The background gives the feel of movement and is a perfect backdrop for the dragonflies/damselflies.

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  17. This is absolutely beautiful, and I love the picture of the Dragonfly and the Damselfly. Didn't know the differences before. Thank you for joining in The Craft Barn Challenge.
    Jane x

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  18. A beautiful page, love the resist technique. Damselflies always look so ethereal don't they? Very pretty too and love the large hawker dragonflies x

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  19. Such a fantastic creation, looks wonderful.

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