A spark of an idea.

Hello All,

The other day I was in the supermarket and ramdomly found some acrylic texture paste on offer. I didn't have a lot of time for art this week but managed to sit and have a play with the pastes and with a new stencilgirl stencil on a little index card. I love the stencil and the pastes turned out to be fab, particularly the gold one.

It is not completely finished, but here is a detail. In it I used an old painting my daughter had done as a baby and an image of a rocking chair and it got me thinking. I would really like to make a series of index cards based on the songs and stories that my children love and that I have always read/sang to them. I plan to make a video for each card and at the end perhaps bind them into a little memory journal for them to keep.

So watch this space, I will hopefully get these started soon!

Bye for now! x

A bit of pondering

Hello All!

I decided to take a break from commisions and do some journaling for myself. I recently received some new Dylusion paints which I see a lot at the mo on many you tube vids and although it is not easy to get over here in the UK, I decided to get some to see how good they are.

I have to say I can see why people like them, the colours are really vivid and they go on really smoothly! I have already ordered some more colours! Also in this page I used wax paper with some gelli printing on it and my new color pep smoothy crayons. The text I did with a new stencilgirl stencil called 'verbage'

The theme of the page came as I went on, I was overthinking some aspects of my life, which was only leading me to panic and worry. This page ended up being about that and helping me to stop. Think and ponder by all means but do not dwell on things!

Bye for now! xx

August Art Swap

Hello All!

Last months art swap was to create a shabby chic art journal page. Shabby chic is not my usual style and so this was a definitely a challenge. My partner this time was the lovely Janet from New Hampshire. I decided to start on a old page taken from an old 50's girl annual. It had an image of a woman looking out of the window that I really liked so I went with that as my theme.

I started with modelling paste and scrim tape, adding colour with lindy stamp gang sprays and pearlescent paints.

Here is the final piece I sent to Janet. I enjoyed making it but found the shabby chic hard to get right. I really hope she likes it!

In return I got a lovely parcel from Janet in a beautifully decorated envelope. The piece she made for me is beautiful and she also included some homemade beads and buttons which are gorgeous!

I wonder what this months challenge will bring!

Bye for now! xx

Dovefest Stall

Hello All!

This weekend saw the long awaited Dovefest craft stall. The day started early, setting up at 9am but the gates didn't open till 12.

It was a slow start but picked up at about 3pm. It went alright but perhaps not as well as I had hoped and I still have lots of journals and labels left. I think I may start to put some up on my etsy shop instead and perhaps look for a Christmas stall later on, Regardless it was a fun day and I really enjoyed it :)

Bye for now! xx

Finished Spread.

Hello All,

I managed to finish my spread that I posted a few days ago. I was going to paint a portrait in it but liked the background so much that, in the end, I decided to keep it simple.

The colours seems so sunny and happy to me and it made me think about this summer and all the fun we have had as a family. I love being able to spend quality time with my girls and they are growing so fast. It made me realise how precious these summers are whilst they are little and so I added a journal entry to remind me to soak it all up, savour the summers and carry the memories with me.

Hope you like it!

Bye for now xx

Shopping!

Hello All,

This week I been watching quite a few you tube vids and it inspired me to purchase a few new things. I found that a lot of people are using dylusion paints and the colours look really good so I have ordered a few to try and also a few fab stencils from www.stencilgirlproducts.com.
The other thing on the way is some mapped colorpeps smoothy crayons which all the reviews I have read say are very similar to gelatos (but cheaper) and that the colours are really vivid. Looking forward to it all arriving so I can have a play. I hope to make a new vid, trying out some of the stuff.

Also on you tube this week I watched a fab vid by Julie Fan-Fei Balzer. If you haven't seen her work, check it out, she is really good. Her You Tube channel is:

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYS7gznVtfxvVQsKOW1Jiww

The vid I watched shows Julie using some simple but very effective mark making. Mark making is something I like but more often than not forget to do. I decided to create a background in my art journal inspired by Julie:

I started with a gelli print, pealescent paint, brushos and modelling paste before adding stencils and my mark making. I think I am going to attempt a portrait or a figure of some kind over the top but not sure yet. I will post a piccie up again when it's finished.

Bye for now xx

Progress

Hello All,

This week I have been busy working on my commission which is coming along. It is really good to be doing some large scale work again. It has been ages since I have worked on canvas. Here it is again so far:

I also signed up for this months Art Swap on journalworkshops.ning.com. This month the challenge is to create a shabby chic journal page. It is not my usual style so it will be really good to have a play and see what I can come up with.

Also coming up is my stall next weekend. Everything is ready so fingers crossed I will sell a few bits!

Bye for now! x