A Bit of Art Journalling

As promised, I thought today that it was time I posted up some of the art journalling pages that I've created over the past few weeks.  I've been using prompts posted weekly by Ali Brandist on one of my Yahoo art groups (I'm playing about six months' catch-up!) and find them a really useful starting point for my pages.  So here are some that I've made - as you can see, they're mostly quite messy and collagey, quite different from my sister, Lindsay's, journal pages, which are far more artistic.

Ali used her pack of Angel Cards to select a message for each of us - this was mine, appropriately to do with new ideas and inspiration, something I was most definitely lacking in at the start of the year.  The background was distress inks over gesso, dabbed over with a scrunched up paper towel containing mopped up copper Krylon ink.  I'm a big Klimt fan so I couldn't resist using this image from one of his paintings for my angel, with the addition of a stamped wing.  (The hand is my own). 

For this page the prompt was "Word Inspiration" and I took mine from an old fiction book - both the cut out words and the written words.  I threw everything at this background - gesso, inks, blended oil pastels, stencilled punchinella, stamps, H2O paints, then collaged with a gyspy image, wings, butterflies and finished with Stickles and Beadazzles.

The next two pages are a double spread - "Silence Your Inner Critic/Develop an Inner Enthusiast" ..........

For the "critic" page I chose acrylic paints and inks for the background in dark brown colours, with a dictionary definition of criticism and stencilled cogwheels.  The Victorian lady reminded me of a very stern, bossy great aunt from my childhood and Queen Victoria provided another disapproving figure.  I used Dymotape for some of the words, handwrote others.

By contrast, I wanted my "enthusiast" page to be full of colour and liveliness, so I used a colour palette of orange, deep blue and purple for the background; lots of images of people dancing and leaping for joy, and again, a dictionary definition for "enthusiasm" and Dymotape, stamped and handwritten words.  I rubbed Distress Stickles over the harlequin stamp and other areas of the page.

All of these pages were great fun to create - the hardest part is always making the first marks on a page, but once you get going, you just don't know where you'll end up.

Well, that took me a lot longer to type than I expected.  I've been playing a game of Tag with Mia downstairs whilst I was brewing a cup of tea.  It's one of her favourite games, she creeps up behind me and tags me on the legs, then runs away, so I've been chasing her around the house as well - she loves it, it's kind of scarey and exciting for her, but safe too.  She likes to hunker down and leap out at me or run round the sides of a room, hunting me while my back's turned.  So when I came upstairs to use the computer, the game continued with paper ball throwing - over the bed, down the stairs, then behind the computer, under my chair ....... till she's tired herself out (or got bored) ....... and I can finally concentrate on finishing this post!

Pink and Orange

I came across a new journal challenge blog the other day and as I want to do more journalling I thought I'd give this one a go.  Check out Dawn's Journal Journeys blog to find out more.  Dawn has begun the challenges this month and will post a new one the first of each following month.  For July the challenge is to create a page using the colours PINK and ORANGE, not a combination one would normally associate together.

I've already started one journalling book using prompts posted in one of my online groups, but decided to start a new journal for this challenge.  Well, I have a blank book of handmade papers which I picked up in Paperchase in Manchester last year and was waiting for the right moment to use it ...... the paper is made from recycled cotton rag and suitable for ink, watercolour, paint, etc, has torn edges and a lovely feel to it ..... the book itself is 6" x 6", a comfortable size to work with.

This is the page I created ............

I used a mixture of Distress Inks (Spun Sugar, Wild Honey, Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade) to create the background.  I drew some cloud shapes on paper scraps, cut them out and used them to mask off parts of the sky, before stamping the Sun image in Spiced Marmalade.  I then bleached out the background colour from the clouds and tinted them with Weathered Wood ink.  I swooshed the same colour along the bottom edge, sketched in some dark pen lines and sponged some areas with Fuschia Pink Stazon ink.  I drew the silhouette of the girl onto black paper, cut her out and collaged her onto the page along with some rock images.  I added three bird shapes to the top right-hand corner for balance.  I found the quote in a book of meditations that I have and it absolutely expressed the feeling I had from creating this page.

Really enjoyed having a go at this challenge - thanks, Dawn - and look forward to seeing what the next one is in August!

I've been asked if I can show some of the journal pages I've created (not many to date, due to lack of time recently) and have finally gotten around to finishing some and photographing them, so I'll be posting pics of them in the next few days. 

Don't forget my bookmark swap (details in the sidebar) which is running until the end of July.  I've already received two sets of bookmarks and I can tell you, they look great, so if anyone fancies joining in with this one, there's still plenty of time to do so.

Three Little Piggies

A couple of weeks or so ago, late one night the outside light went on and we spotted a rather plump-looking hedgehog troddling around in our back yard, hunting slugs no doubt, and then disappearing into our shed (through an arch my rather eccentric other half cut in the door years ago - in case any stray cats needed shelter)!!!  We kept a look out for another appearance, but apart from a brief glimpse the next night, that was it.

Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, Graham and I were sat outside by our little pond (it was a lovely sunny day) discussing things that needed doing in the garden, shrubs trimming, weeding, a couple of trees that have grown too big and have to be dealt with, when out from the shrubbery a couple of feet away from us appeared .........

not one .......

not two ....... 

but three baby hedgehogs .........

We were so thrilled to see them and I was able to dash indoors, grab my camera and get some pics - aren't they just so cute?  They were quite unconcerned by our presence, snuffling around for food and twitching their little noses.  Graham put out a bit of cat food for them and whilst two of the "babies" headed back off into the undergrowth, the first one we spotted (the cheekiest, boldest one) merrily tucked in.  A few hours later we saw him out again, finishing off the last of the cat food.  We feel so privileged to have a family of hedgehogs living in our garden, especially as they are quite a rare sight apparently nowadays. 

Here are a few more pics of our little "family" - a bright episode in the midst of a rather stressful week.

I'm afraid I've had no time at all this week to do any kind of crafting, a shame really as I was just enjoying getting stuck into the art journalling and had been making several ATCs - however, it can't be helped and it's just had to take a backseat for now. 

Meanwhile, I've had quite a few sign ups for my Bookmark Swap, which I'm pleased about - there's still loads of time to sign up for this if you fancy having a go (check it out in the sidebar under my profile and just email me if you're interested) - looking forward to seeing which books and authors everyone has chosen to  illustrate on their bookmarks.

Well, time to sign off for the night - it's been raining a good part of the evening and now the wind has got up a bit as well, not looking good for tomorrow - what a contrast to the lovely day we had yesterday. 

A New Swap (for the Book Lovers amongst you perhaps) ! .....

As promised, today I'm announcing a new challenge swap for you all .... but I thought just for a little change, we wouldn't do ATCs this time, but would create Bookmarks instead.  The theme would be "Books and Authors" and, as usual, you'll be making three, decorated on one side with imagery to reflect the book title and on the back, a little decoration and a few details about the author's life.  Although the bookmarks themselves will need to be flat, in order to make them practically useful, you can add plenty of fibres, ribbons, charms, etc, to the top edge for dangling outside the pages of your books.  There are so many wonderful books and writers to choose from (Will Shakespeare to Charles Dickens, Jane Austen to Catherine Cookson, JK Rowling to Roald Dahl - the list could go on and on) that you might have a hard time deciding which ones to select - just please make each of your bookmarks different (eg three separate books and authors).

I've added some details about the swap in the side bar on the right, under my profile, with a request that anyone interested in joining this swap, please email me first to sign up and I'll send out an information sheet containing full swap details along with where to send your finished bookmarks.

Here are some samples of bookmarks I made for a swap a couple of years back - they're quite simple, a bit narrower than the measurements I've given for my swap and the theme was a general one (I used 1920's stylish ladies in mine) - but they might give you some idea of what this swap is about (think ATCs, but just a bit longer!) ........

Well, I hope some of you fancy having a go at this one - you've got till the end of July to make them.  I'm sure there'll be some wonderful creations made and we'll all end up with some lovely bookmarks which we can use in our reading.

Just a quick post to say .......

..... thank you for the lovely comments about my ATCs; I enjoyed making them, and as the weather has been so yucky today, rain, rain and - guess what? - even more rain! - I carried on creating a card or two with the steampunk theme.  I've ideas for a couple more cards before I decide which three I'll be sending in for the Steampunk swap; the rest will be for general swapping.  (Still not posting pics of them though).

Anyway, what I really wanted to just say was that I've more or less decided what my next blog swap challenge will be, so watch this space - I'll be posting details later in the week - and I hope it's one that will appeal to many of you; I really need to have at least four people sign up for the swaps or else folks end up with some of their own work back.  So if you know anyone who's thinking about having a go at a swap or two and not sure, point them in this direction - it's all very friendly, newcomers and old friends, beginners and experts, all of you are welcome to join in the fun - and remember, it's purely for enjoyment!

This week I have mostly been making .......

...... ATCs!  The mood came upon me (at last) and I had a couple of sessions, making a mixed assortment of cards, some for a specific swap (no theme) and others to build up my depleted stash.  Nothing too fancy or complicated, but it felt good to be playing around with inks and papers again.  Here are pics of what I made.

These two cards were made for a monthly partner swap (no theme)

  The next few cards are an assortment I've made to keep for swapping out on a one-to-one basis:-

"Bird Call"

Background created with torn page from telephone directory and distress inked.  Stamped bird and word images.  Words cut from dictionary.  Finished with heart embellishment, paper flowers and Stickles.

"Dream Time"

Background created with alcohol inks using a "Spinart" machine.  Girl stamp (Craft Stamper freebie) tinted with Promarkers and extra circles stamped and adhered around card.  Time Holtz adage ticket (Dream) distressed and torn, with added eyelet and ribbon tie.  Finished off with adhesive stones and Stickles.

 "Gorgeous George"

Alcohol ink background stamped with Paperartsy image.  Embellished with paper flowers, buttons and fibre.  Word 'gorgeous' created with Dymo machine; 'George' from clothes label.

"Playful Days"

Background created using papers from Crafty Individuals mini books and seagulls from CI-278 rubber stamp plate.  Beach belle image from a Somerset Studio free sheet.  Embellished with inked fibre, shells and Beadazzles.

The last ATC I want to show you today is one that I've made for a monthly draw in one of my online groups.  Each month there is a draw for ATCs, the winner takes all the ATCs that have been entered that month and chooses the theme for the following month - this month it's "Pigs" and as I do like pigs (I absolutely loved the mother pig with all her squeaking little baby piggies in the Woodentops when I was a child - anyone remember them?) and I remembered I had a 'pig' stamp lurking somewhere, I just had to make one.  So this is my entry for this month  - won't know till the end of the month who is the winner - but it would be rather nice to have a collection of 'pig' cards:-

I really love all the Steampunk art that's around at the moment and was tempted to join a swap for Steampunk ATCs, so I've had a go at making a few in that style this week - been rummaging around in my stash for old watch parts, metal washers, tiny glass jars and bulbs, anything I can lay my hands on that can be interpreted in a steampunk style, plus going through old encyclopedias I have with Victorian/steam/industrial machinery image in them (I picked up a set of 8 very old but not rare cyclopedias - yes, that's what they're called - for £3 at a car boot fair some years back and they're full of line drawings and maps).  So far I've made four cards and halfway through a fifth, but the swap's not due yet so I won't post any pictures until they've gone out.

Look at my little cheeky madam Mia having a good rootle around in my bin just now - she's obsessed with bits of paper so she's in heaven rummaging about amongst all the crafty rubbish! (Note the stack of dictionaries - great charity shop finds and an endless supply of words).

And what's this fearsome creature with the sharp fangs and gaping mouth ..... is it a monster or is it a devil?  No .... it's Mia, leaping up and attacking the strap of my camera!  (What a good game that was)!

Hopefully, I'll be able to get a bit more crafting done over the weekend, one or two different projects I'm starting on, plus slowly adding some more pages to my art journal.  Might be time to run another challenge/swap on the blog too - if anyone fancies it and enough people are interested in joining in.  ATCs - or something different ...... what do you think?

What a Waste!

Not been around a lot, I know, I know ..... can't believe how quickly the days are flying by, it's almost June already!!!  But I have done a "little" bit of art journalling, couple of pages, and a page for a story book swap that's been doing the rounds for several months now.  So I'm starting to feel like some creativity is weaving its way back into my life.

Anyhow, the title of this blog (and I do have trouble coming up with titles) refers to the day I've had as I had to travel over to Preston first thing this morning to the hospital for my appointment with the consultant regarding my weak hand and to find out the results of the two scans I had about four months ago.  Somehow I knew it was going to be a waste of time and money - after spending around £10 in bus fares to get there, the consultants' clinics were all running behind schedule and my appointment was over an hour late.  When the consultant did see me, basically he asked me if the weakness in my hand was same or worse (some days it's stiffer and weaker than others), told me the scan results had all come back as normal (no bumps or lumps for him to operate on), that he was referring me to the neurologist to see if there was any inflammation or suchlike anywhere (it's the radial nerve that the problem is with - but no-one knows what the cause of it is) and was discharging me from his clinic.  All in all, I could've been with the consultant no more than a minute!

All that wasted time sat around, not to mention the expense, just to be told something that I could have had in a letter - no wonder the clinics are all clogged up and running late!  How much more economical would it have been to send a letter out instead?  I'm sure these consultants must only look at their patients' notes a few minutes before they see them!  Grr!!!  Well anyway, rant over - at least I don't have the worry of surgery hanging over me, just got to see if the neurologist turns anything up now ...... whenever that will be, it's already been going on a couple of years now and no proper diagnosis of the problem so far.

So ...... better shut up, ignore the hand and get on with as much arty-crafty stuff as I can *LOL*!

Whilst I was in Preston I had a bit of lunch and a look round the shops, so as not to let it be a total waste of the day; popped into one of the bargain book shops and was leafing through a "cat behaviour" book.  I was amused to read that apparently some Siamese cats, apart from being very vocal, affectionate and with a passion for wool (oh yes, I know about that one!), also have the habit of urinating on their owners to get attention!  (Mia, you better not try that trick, thank you very much, or you really will be in trouble)!   She's actually curled up, very sweetly, on a cushion on the floor next to me right now, no doubt dreaming up new forms of mischief.