Trees for every season

Hi everyone. I'm so sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I don't have an excuse except for life has been crazy. Long story short I've been battling a bit of depression. That story is for another day. Today I have a couple of parts to an ongoing project that I have been in the process of working on  for a canvas for my home. It will feature a tree going through each season of the year. Of course the background of the canvas will match each each season as it progresses. That is the plan anyway.  To make the trees, I used the GJS Tree Album. Today I have Summer and Winter to share with you. (These were originally posted on the GJS Blog about two weeks ago.)

The trunk had to be created first, since the leaves grow out of the branches that come off of it, so on all of my trees, that is what I started with. I used some Kroma Crackle mixed in with some brown paint to make it look like bark. I used various shades of brown paints for more shading on top of the crackle. Distress Ink in Vintage photo filled in a lot of the gaps.

For the upper part (green part) I covered it in modeling paste which I used as glue for my face and leaves. The leaves are actually Sticky Back Canvas cut into leaf shapes and colored using a mix of Dylusions and acrylic paints. Creative Inspirations Paints were added for some sparkle.

Each face is colored to match the season the tree is in. Plus, she has a bit of make up on. I had to include that.

Overall, Summer turned out pretty well. I am looking forward to adding her to a canvas.

Winter was a little different. Since most trees don't have leaves in the winter, the majority of my tree had to be trunk and branches coming off of it. The trunk was done in the same manner as the Summer Tree was, however, I used a pouring medium in addition to the crackle to create the branches coming off of the trunk. To make the branches I flipped the tree upside down and let the medium drip down while moving it strategically to create the branches.

I should point out, that I did cover the upper portion of the tree with book pages that I colored in shades of blue for the sky, since my tree was only a bunch of branches.

Our Winter lady is a part of the branches for this tree. The faces are all made of Sculpey clay which I used in a Sculpey face mold that you can find at most craft stores or online. It's my favorite mold... there are several different faces on it in various sizes that I use all of the time. I highly suggest getting some clay and molds to play with. They can really add some dimension and fun to our GJS Albums!

If you didn't get a chance to see my Fall Tree, here she is....

I am not fully pleased with her trunk and the larger branches that need to come off of it, so I will be fixing that before the canvas is put together.

Now the only tree left is Spring! I will be sure to share her with you as soon as she is complete!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!