Art Swap September

Hello All, 

I am sorry I have not posted for a while, we have had some building work at home and everything else kinda got pushed to one side! But i'm back and this time I wanted to share what I made for September's art swap.

We were tasked to create a complete mini journal. I was partnered with a young girl who told me she was really into anime and manga figures. With this is mind this is what I created for her:

It was a challenge to draw in the anime style but I really enjoyed having a go and I had a message from her to say she really likes it. She sent me a lovely journal full of inspirational quotes.

I have also been busy journaling and I started a new painting but more on this later!

Bye for now! xxx

New Painting

Hello All,

After completing my last painting I was inspired so much by the combination of textures and vivid colour that I dived straight into another and have managed to get it finished relatively quickly:

This one makes me feel like I am under the sea looking up to the surface at the light and pattern of the current. It is full of different textures and shimmery bits that catch the light:

Here is a detail of that texture. I didn't paint this as a commission, just for enjoyment but luckily it has sold nearly straight away.

I am now trying to focus on arranging some workshops as I haven't been able to fit them in now for almost a year. These are definitely top priority now! I have also been hired to deliver a children's autumn themed craft party next month so I have that to organise too.

I will be advertising my workshops via my website which you can link to from here so look out for them! 

Bye for now

xxxx

Tile Stamping

Hello All,

This week I was looking at tiles with my hubby and saw that you could buy some sample tiles for 50p. There were some really interesting patterns and textures and I thought they could make really good stamps for art journaling so I bought a couple to try out.

Here is one of them. I tried with ink but the print was quite faint so I had a go with some acrylic and I really liked the result. I think rubbings might be good from these too. I will definitely be looking for some more!  I used this pattern on a page in my altered book art journal and the result was really quite effective. Here is the final spread:

I played around with layering paint and pattern allowing some of the original text from the page to show through. I finished with the circles stamps. I was recently looking at art foamies which are a product in the states that look fab, really big chunky interesting foam shapes and patterns used for stamping. I would so love to buy some but the postage to the UK is really expensive. I decided to try and make my own instead, using a piece of card, some craft foam, scissors and glue. I cut out 24 identical circles from the craft foam and glued 6 onto the piece of card. I then kept gluing the circles on in layers over the top of the previous until I had 6 stacks of 4 circles. Once dry I tried it out with some paint and you can see the result. Simple but effective! I will have to try out some more complicated shapes to see if it works.

I do enjoy experimenting with different art products but making your own and using an everyday object in a different way is really satisfying, it sometimes takes a bit of thinking outside the box but, like buying a bargain, when it comes out right it is even better :)

Bye for now xx

Some Upcycled DIY decor

Hello All,

Well my creative frenzy continues and I am definitely into an upcycling crafty sort of phase. This coincides with a bit of reorganisation at home, I keep looking at every shelf and wall and thinking what I can make to improve this space. I went shopping and found in pound shops/charity shops/supermarkets bits and bobs to re-do,do-up and re-vamp as it were. Here is just a selection of what I have been up to:

Again inspired by Sealemon on you tube I took an old plain white mug I had already and had a go at some porcelain painting. It is a bit rough and ready but I quite like that about it and I love the text.

I found a plain cream blanket at the supermarket in the sale and some tea towels that I liked the pattern of. I got home and immediately set about making pom poms which I added to the blanket and I got my sewing machine out and sewed the tea towels into cushions. I love how these turned out, especially the blanket which was so simple to do!

This one has to be my favorite! The cushion here is made of a skirt I found at the charity shop. I liked the pattern but not the skirt itself. I cut off the waist band and cut the material to size before sewing it up and adding the cushion. To finish it off I added some tassels I made from some wool from my stash.

These are just a selection of what I have been up to, I really have the bug at the moment. I am looking at everything and trying to see what else it could be! I hope you like them and maybe are inspired to have a go at some upcycling too!

Bye for now! xxx

Bank holiday creative madness!

Hello All,

This lovely long bank holiday weekend saw me go creative mad! I started so many different projects at once and flicked from one to the other. My brain was filled with so many ideas and I couldn't wait to have a go.

Firstly I did a few journaling pages:

I was feeling happy and so inspired and I think the colours I went for in these pages reflect that. I just kept flitting back and adding a layer to these then moving on to something else and coming back once they were dry to add some more. I am really pleased how they turned out.

The other thing I was getting really excited about this weekend was some upcycling. I love the idea of taking something old and giving it a new lease of life. I have done a bit of this, some of my journals for instance are made from old boxes etc, but I would really like to get into this more. I was watching you tube vids for example Sealemon and Hermione Chantal who have some fab ideas. Turning something plain or forgotten into something that looks great. I particularly like DIY decor. I started thinking that once the kids are back at school I will start going around junk shops and seeing what I can find to revamp. I felt so inspired I couldn't wait and took a trip to my local poundland and chose a few bits to start with.

I am in the middle of turning a ice cream glass into a tea light holder and I also bought a few frames to do up:

I turned one into a shopping list by painting the frame and adding some nice paper inside. I found some little letter magnets in the shop too and glued these on to form 'shopping list' all it needs now is a whiteboard marker :) the little pot next to it is a pen holder made with craft foam. I got this idea from a sealemon vid and it looks really cute on my windowsill.

I hope you like these as much as I enjoyed making them! I will have a go with the other frame and finish the glass and post them up to see what you think! 

Bye for now xxx

Thoughts On Paper

Hello All,

I don't know what I would do without art journaling. It helps me to record important memories that I don't want to forget and to get my thoughts and feelings out on paper so that I can make sense of things. Here are a couple of recent pages:

I found an old picture of my daughter it reminded me what she was like at that age. I decided to create a journal spread to capture that moment in time. The french text reads "she rose, brilliant as the moon in full" which is a quote from a song by Fiona Apple which I used to sing to her. The other piece of text reads "My beautiful little girl" 

I also did this page this week:

The text is again a quote from a song. This one is a Ray Lamontagne song. I have been thinking recently about the importance of being happy with yourself and finding time to take care of yourself. That you cannot make others happy if you are not happy yourself. whilst listening to the song I heard this line and it was perfect for what I wanted to portray. I decided to paint the lady as if she is lying in the grass in the sunshine, totally at peace.

I think creativity is so important. It doesn't matter it what form that takes, just having that outlet for yourself is so good for the soul!

By for now xxx

Finished Painting and spot of Bookbinding

Hello All,

Having lots of time off with my kids this summer taking them to various art workshops as well as getting crafty at home. I am feeling really inspired and full of creative beans. The sun is shining, its all family fun and frolics. I can't wait to get back to my various projects whenever I have the chance to.

I was enjoying my latest canvas so much I seemed to finish it rather quickly and so have gone straight into another. Here is the finished piece:

I adore all the yummy colour and texture in this one, particularly the blues and greens which I think I am going to use for the next one.

Apart from painting and the odd bit of art journaling I also had the urge for a spot of bookbinding and started three at once. I have managed to finish this one:

This one is made from an old cereal bar box and brown paper packaging. The cover is painted with acrylic paint and iridescent medium so it is all shimmery. The inside has decorative paper and sketch book paper pages. 

I love making journals! They take time but the end result is so satisfying, turning what is essentially rubbish into something that is both beautiful and useful.

I will get on and make the other two I started now! 

Bye for now! xxx