Author: Patsy Tabbert

Before we get to today’s edition of gallery standouts, there are a couple of announcements I need to make.

First, we’re at the time of year when the GSO team takes a holiday break.  This will be the last post for 2017 but we’ll be back on January 7th with a whole new year of gallery standouts.  You might want to check the blog once in a while, though, because sometimes one of the team members feels the need to make a post.

Second, this will not only be the last post of 2017 but it will also be my last post as a GSO blog team member.  I think if I were going to pick one little word to express my hopes/goals for 2018, it would be finish.  I hope to finish many projects that are overdue for completion and to finish working through several classes that I have had on hold for a couple of years.  It has been an incredible experience being a member of the GSO blog team! I want to thank all of my team members (past and present) for their support and friendship and  I want to thank all of you for sharing your art in the galleries and for following the GSO posts.

With that said, here are my picks for today.

My Story by stormchaser is an absolute beauty of a page!  The color palette is gorgeous and I love the “bulletin board” look of the page.  Awesome clusters.  Love that the large photo is B&W and love how it seems seamless with the patterened paper.  Perfect title placement.  Love this!

When I saw Lasagna by sbpoet in the gallery, my first thought was how perfect this would be as a poster in my “chef” kitchen!  Love the choices of art she has chosen for her frames.  Awesome page!

I’m a big fan of art journaling pages and I love Dear Future, I Am Ready by cinderella.  It really has the appearance of a paper page.  Love the background!  And that art doll, how cute is she?!  The paint splatter and the smeary font on the wordart/journaling further enhances the look of a paper page.  This would be a great cover or opening page for a journal.  Love it!

Snow-Cutie by jenwhite is a beautiful winter page. That sequence of photos is just darling.  Love the hand-written title with the bow added to cross the “t”.  The snowflake overlay adds an extra layer of winter to the page!  This is just “snow” cute!

Once again I am in love with a page by margje.  This time it’s All I Want and it’s gorgeous!  As is the case with most of her work, this piece features beautiful blending, awesome photo effects, and perfect finishing touches.

I absolutely love the lighting on Trish_1’s page Merry Christmas!  The large blended photo makes a perfect background for the framed photo which, by the way, blends flawlessly into the background.  Wouldn’t this make a gorgeous Christmas card?

These are the final gallery standouts for 2017.  I hope you have enjoyed my choices and will visit the galleries to leave the artists a comment.  Wishing you all the best in 2018!

 

 

I have to admit that I intended to have this post done a lot earlier in the day.  But, as things usually go, I got entangled in putting together a reindeer and sleigh for our front lawn and time slipped away from me.  But, it’s done, and now I can do my gallery browsing knowing that there’s nothing else looming over my head!  It’s feeling a lot more like Christmas here in Florida – it’s 54 degrees F right now and the projected low for tonight is 38.  So a cup of hot chocolate, some beautiful art, and a – hopefully – awesome blog post are what’s on my mind now.

Create Your Magic by frani_54 is definitely magical!  When I saw the thumbnail in the gallery, I just went “WOW!”.  What a beautiful mix of a grid style page and an artsy page.  Love the background and the title.  And her photos are so beautiful.  Everything has been chosen and placed so beautifully. And the color scheme … gorgeous!  This is just such a totally elegant page.  Love, love, love it!

Love the blended photo on The happiest time by zwyck.  The background paper and the added watery trees make the blend seamless.  The multimedia trees are a perfect addition to add depth to the page.  Absolutely gorgeous!

There were so many gorgeous pages in the galleries today that incorporated a white or cream background.  Brr by myla stood out among those and caught my eye immediately in the gallery.  Love the textured background and the way everything seems to melt into it.  Perfect choices for embellishing the page and keeping it clean and classy.  I would be proud to hang this piece of art on my wall!

While technically probably not a layout, karlimarie’s December 2017 Signature, is indeed a tiny piece of art.  Love how she’s added depth by sandwiching those sweet photos between the leaves below and the cluster above.  The font choice for the signature is perfect.    I must admit that I am quite a bit “signature challenged” so that is probably why I really love seeing these creative signatures in the galleries and forums.

I’m really loving the composition of immaculeah’s Winter Wonderland page.  The dark background makes the white on the page just pop!  Love the photo cluster and the addition of the light purple/pink colors.  The use of large fonts/wordart for the WINTER and Wonderland adds an awesome impact.   A gorgeous winter wonderland for sure!

Comfort and Joy by Keely-B is a gorgeous Christmas page.  What beautiful clusters she’s included on this page.  Love the clipboard with the Christmas Wishlist.  The addition of the gold as a border and stamped below the cluster add a touch of Christmas glitter.  Awesome page!

Hope you have enjoyed my picks today.  As usual, the title and image are both linked so you can visit the gallery and leave a little love for the artist.  This will be my last post until next year, so I want to wish everyone a wonderful end to 2017 and a beautiful start for 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I sit hear sipping a cup of tea and listening to Christmas carols, I can’t help but be drawn to all of the gorgeous holiday pages in the galleries. I love the individual ones but I am really inspired by the Days of December style pages.  I am in awe of those who not only keep up with and finish the project but who create gorgeous pages for their album!  Needless to say, several of these pages made it into the post today.

First of all, carollee is one of my all time favorite journalers.  And her page designs are always exquisite too.  Her page 2017 December – 06 right is the journaling side of a two page spread for her December album.  The left page is a full photo page of the fun-loving Buster and it is a beauty also but I am in love with this journaling page.  I love that she’s used a consistent format for the journaling page throughout the book only changing out the elements.  And the black, white and red color scheme is gorgeous. (Of course, carollee is famous for her color schemes at Christmas!)  Love, love, love the touches of red in the journaling!

Art Journal style pages are another favorite of mine.  I so agree that happiness is a hot drink on a cold day.  Even though my hot drink is being enjoyed in an air conditioned house while it’s 80 degrees outside!   12 days of AJ – Day 1 by Rikki is such a soothing piece. Even thinking about a hot drink – coffee, tea, hot chocolate, always seems to soothe me.  Love the addition of the buttons, and the focal point of the sketched cup with its steam.  And the background color is perfect for the overall mood of this Art Journal page.  Awesome piece, Rikki!

lego is also documenting her December and using a two page spread with one page dedicated to the journaling.  This page is for dec. 6th and is chock full of embellishments!  It is so amazing how she has chosen and placed all of the different ribbons, frames, buttons, word strips, etc. to create a perfectly cohesive page.  Another talent that I have not been endowed with and so admire in other artists.  A well-chosen title that is also perfectly nestled in place.  A beautiful page for capturing beautiful memories!  Love this!

We’ll leave Christmas behind (only for a while) and move on to Never Give Up by Oldenmeade.  This is such a stunning piece of art with a message that never goes out of style.  The first thing that attracted me to this page was the gorgeous color scheme.  Love how she’s “matted” that awesome extraction with the frames, paint splats, flowers, and other brushwork.  I am also a big fan of covering up a tiny bit of a word whether it’s on a strip or used as a title/subtitle.  Creates a lot of interest.

With Day 2 A Partridge in a Pear Tree by Miki we’re back to the Days of December pages.  How different this page is from the others and yet it still captures the spirit of the season.  Love the art journal style of this page.  The multi-media birds are gorgeous and I love the branch they’re sitting on.  Miki’s background paper is a beautiful color for setting off all of the brushwork and the many transfers.  I love how she’s used photo frames around the journaling.  Another gorgeous December page!

And to finish up my almost totally Christmas-themed post, I bring to you the magical A Season of Miracles by tiramisu.  This page is the total deal!  From the beautifully blended photo (and such a special photo!) to the perfectly chosen embellishments, to the threads and scribbles, to the gorgeous title…all are perfection!  These are treasured memories and this is a page that is sure to be treasured forever.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Those are my standouts for today.  I’m sorry for being a little late with my post but I think these gorgeous pages were worth waiting for.  Please hop over to the galleries and leave the artists a comment.  Every comment brings a smile to the heart of the artist.  Believe me, it’s true!