Dark Angel Noel

I also restarted Love Bird Designs, making art cards this fall for the holidays. I make cards every year but to give away as mini-gifts not to sell. This fall though, I've been doing some local craft fairs and have two more this season. This coming weekend I will be in one called Holiday Craft Faire at Oak Park Conservatory, in Oak Park, (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.) on Sunday. Previously, my cards were pretty abstract in their orientation but recently I ordered some vintage images from Art Chix Studio in Canada and received an interesting angel goodie bag, among other things. I particularly like this and another angel derived from a transparency, that I will post later. I call this one Dark Angel Noel. I wanted to give her background a Victorian feel because she seems to need to be in that environment. I found just the right green-tinged paper that reminds me of aging wall paper from one of my card stock books. She seems dark and mysterious, maybe it's because of the transparency she exists on and also like she enjoys ornamentation, hence the addition of a pink button, some fabric and metallic lace. I think it is kind of a spooky holiday card. When I received my shipment from Canada, I was very hesitant about incorporating the ready-made images into my collage because they are so figurative that they make their own complete statement, making it hard to incorporate them into collage. Now I am allowing them into the work because they can be manipulated a bit through layering and embellishment. I'm enjoying this new process...noticing, and waiting to see what will develop.