For the 04-08 Art of Memories Challenge, we were given four templates of faces and asked to pick one that inspires us and to transform it into our own artistic expression in whatever way we wished.

To create my layout, I started by selecting one of the faces. I used solid papers and masked by hand to create skin tone, lips, eye pupils, and hair. I used plain white for the whites of the eyes, the catch lights in the eyes, and the teeth. I used the same solid paper as for the hair and a reduced opacity brush to color the eyebrows. To make the face more realistic, I added a shadow underneath the upper eyelids and at the hairline.

Next, I selected a background from the Special Papers of Neia Scraps' Everyday Notes Bundle. I positioned the face so that it appears that one of the flowers is the neckline. At the neckline of the face's skin tone layer, I switched from a hard-edged brush to a soft-edge brush and feathered it into the flower. I positioned individual beads to make a necklace that is tied with a bow on the side. I also added a gold feather as a hair clip.

Then, I added some hydrangea flowers, leaves, ephemera, and a butterfly behind the top of the girl's head. I added a "little things" banner, the typewriter charm, and the title: "everyday." I added a white layer at 50% opacity to the insides of the title letters, to make it appear that the letters were filled with vellum. Finally, I added a border made from another solid paper to frame the layout, tucking it behind the girl's head for dimension.