sleepless nights

Insomnia rears it's ugly head again.  But this time I didn't fight it and lay in bed tossing and turning.  Not me! As my brain cycled through all the things keeping it awake, collage planning took over......and I finally had to get up and make the collages that were in my head.  You know how you come up with an idea but you're not able to do anything about it immediately so your brain keeps revisiting it so you don't forget the details?  That was me.  The only way to clear the cycle was to get up.  So here I was in the middle of the night, arting away! :)  (I know many of you have found yourself in the same predicament so you totally understand!)

Added to my 365 collage pile after midnight last night.....

#242 - Short Timer  - in my head was using a lined paper for the background, then some very simple, very few elements.  I couldn't immediately put my hands on something lined but this wood stamped paper served the purpose.  I don't usually center things so evenly and the jury is out on that part.....

#243 - Place on Straight  - a gelli print serves as the backdrop and the little orange blob is actually a tiny cartoonish person sitting on some books. I'm very pleased with this one.  In my midnight brain I'd thought to use a more abstract background and center the black frame, but this leaf paper flew to my hand and since I'm so asymmetrically inclined, it was an easy change.  The green 'place on...' is ink spritzed pattern paper from a swap.

#244 - Paired Pears  - red magazine images form the background and the pears are cut from stamped paper that I made in a workshop last year.

#245 - Striped Benefits  - I had this square of cardstock that I'd been using to blot paint, this shred of text that I'd cut out phrases from (and I cut a few more to make it really stripey), add a flower bloom & word for a stem and.....an odd little collage!  This one felt like a good place to stop! :)

And here's my mosaic for the month of August - love these reminders that I'm still moving forward with the self-imposed challenge.  (I have to thank Hanna yet again for the inspiration and the ongoing beauty of her collages as she works toward 365. Unlike me, I don't think she's faltered yet!  This link takes you to this week's collages for her and she worked in a patchwork series....)

Big Huge Lab's August collage mosaic (all my images are on flickr in the 365 collage set):

Thanks so much for all of you who take a moment to comment and tell me your thoughts about my collaging efforts.  Your input is MUCH appreciated!