Wednesday 1 August 2012

Collage Flowers . . . with a Hint of Hippy!


my kitchen in the '70s
I’ll begin by getting a confession out of the way!

I was born in the ‘40s so I was an undergraduate in the Sixties and I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard about the emergence of a new ‘group’ with outlandish haircuts and an exciting new sound -  the Beatles.

I loved the Sixties but – and here’s something else I don’t usually admit to – I absolutely adored the Seventies! The fashions that we now make fun of, the music – much of which has stood the test of time, Women’s Lib and above all the colour – it was all so vibrant and liberating after the drabness of the Forties and the rather staid, 'comfortable' Fifties!

Needless to say, I think everything has gone downhill ever since.

But on the other hand, I keep coming across revivals of the ‘hippy’ style and think to myself, how could we have lived surrounded by all that frantic pattern, coloured as if by some maniac, hell-bent on using every single hue in their paintbox! And yet we did and it was wonderful – at the time.

My own modern ‘flower-power’ designs are a little more restrained while, I hope, still capturing something of the essence of that era.

Here’s a collage birthday card I named ‘Birthday Fizz’ because it seemed to have an effervescent quality about it.




I’ve recently found out how to take a section of a design and ‘tile’ it in paint.net – the wonders of the internet! So this is a really multi-purpose design that is well and truly earning its keep!



It’s fun to be able to experiment with different background colours and although I don’t like some of them, one thing I’ve learned is that ‘there’s no accounting for taste’!





I’ll be using this design to create about one hundred products during the course of this week. Hopefully, if the new Zazzle ‘grouping’ is working properly, you can explore them as I add more by clicking HERE




I made this one a few days ago and it took a long time to cut out and stick on all those petals.


But when I’d finished, I wasn’t sure that I needed all those little flowers and luckily, thanks to being able to edit on the computer, I was able to create various versions without losing the original.






I think I know which one I will actually use – what do you think?

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15 comments:

jane maday said...

Hi Judy,
Thanks for visiting my blog! Our trip to England was wonderful, and I hope to post more photos as soon as I find the time.
Your cards look great!
Jane

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Jane - thank you for your comments. Glad you had a good time in England and look forward to seeing more of your photos :)

AnfinsenArts Alive said...

Actually, I love them all! I was trying to remember the word we used to describe this pop color, and finally did: "psychedelic!" (went with the drug culture).

Remember the psychedelic orange and lime green socks? I saw a young girl walk down our street wearing an orange tank top -- bright!

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Carol - thank you for your comments :)

I'm so glad someone else remembers those days! Actually, my kitchen was relatively restrained by comparison with a lot of what was going on at that time! I seem to remember that orange, bright pink and purple was a typical colour combination. OK for clothes but not easy to live with as interior decor!

Di said...

Love this design and it's so versatile. Looks great on the mac sleeve as well as the bag... they all look great in fact.

Judy Adamson said...

Thank you, Di - I love being able to play around with a design, changing the size and the colours (probably why I enjoyed silk screnprinting!). I've made 130 products with variations of it so far and more to come this week . . .

Crystal said...

Hi Judy! The seventies were definitely my decade. Although I do adore the Beatles, well even my 20 year old daughter adores the Beatles, so who can say. Hope your having a fantastic weekend. :-)

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Crystal - thanks for your comment and I'm glad to find a fellow '70s fan! Hope you're feeling better now?

Nicki said...

Wow! I have been very lax at getting around to other blogs but I`m glad I am here now! You have been busy! One hundred designs and products in one week! Good for you! I can`t decide which Thank You card I like more... perhaps the actual words stand out more in the top design. Hmmm.

Nicki said...

Wow! I have been very lax at getting around to other blogs but I`m glad I am here now! You have been busy! One hundred designs and products in one week! Good for you! I can`t decide which Thank You card I like more... perhaps the actual words stand out more in the top design. Hmmm.

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Nicki - good to see you here. I know you're a very busy lady too!

I've actually 'created' 158 products from that one design and I'm more than ready to move on to something else now. But I've put them all on a pinterest board and I'll link to that in my next post.

Carole Barkett said...

I do remember the colors because nothing looks worse on me than lime green and orange. I can still remember the outfit. :o(
I think I like the middle one or maybe the first one... Actually do all of them because you just never know and they're all great in different ways.

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Carole - I seem to remember a lot of pink and purple with the orange which can go together well in some combinations but I agree abou the lime green and orange!

And you're right about the Thank You collages and I'll probably use all of them when I get around to it. For the moment I've gone with the middle one.

Michele said...

Just catching up on your blog! I adore the 70's although I was a teenager in the '80s so remember that far better. But I still love a wedge heel, wide legged trousers (I refuse to have anything to do with the loathsome jegging) and 70's stuff generally. My guilty secret: Smooth Radio '70's playing all day in my studio. Fantastic, no DJ's just lots of 70's music: most great, sometimes rib ticklingly appalling in the most cheesy manner! I

Judy Adamson said...

Hi Michele - our secrets are out! That radio programme sounds good. I'll have to see if I can find it. There was some great music in the 70s :)