Wednesday 28 February 2018

WOYWW 456: Weird Weather

Hi fellow WOYWWers and welcome to the weekly desk share.  Check out The Stamping Ground; home of all things WOYWW to find out more.  Short and sweet this week as I didn't have much time to craft yesterday, having taken my Dad to his hospital appointment yesterday (a 100+ mile round trip).  Luckily the weather held off and we made it there and back safely.  I was, however, met by nearly blizzard conditions 10 miles from home, having dropped my parents off safely.  Eva was carless so was unable to join me in  the shed once I got back.
My desk shows 2 books that I picked up for 10p each in the library sell off section.  Lots of lovely photos and text to use in journaling.  I also arrived home to find some extremely happy post from my February swap partner in the monthly ATC swap over on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art.  Not only 3 amazing ATCs (prompt M), but oodles of treasure in the form of napkins, music manuscript pages, text pages, map pages, ribbon, playing cards of different sizes and lovely buttons and knick-knacks to adorn future journal pages.  Thank you very much Harriet!  I'll leave it there; have a very happy WOYWW!

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Clean and Simple Gouache

For this sample - for the recent Royal Talens shows with Louise Withers on Hochanda - I decided to keep things clean and simple.  I also showed that it is easy to stamp over a Gouache background with archival ink.

Monday 26 February 2018

A Gouache Tag

This is the only tag which I created as a sample for the Royal Talens shows on Hochanda recently.  It was largely created using off cuts from earlier projects.  I am entering it into the Use a Quote challenge over on Tag Tuesday.

Sunday 25 February 2018

Gouache Flowers!

This was another sample for the Royal Talens shows with Lou Withers on Hochanda, using Gouache paints.  For this card topper, I decided to turn splodges of paint into flowers.

Saturday 24 February 2018

Gouache Wash Background

This card was made for the fabulous Louise Withers whose birthday it is today.  I want to show that Gouache paints are not just for mixed media but can also be used successfully in card making and especially for creating wood effect backgrounds. 

Friday 23 February 2018

I Love Recycling: An Art Journal Page

This is the third art journal page that I have created using the February prompt over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More: Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse.  I have been loving this prompt as I often use magazine clippings and mop up sheets in my work.  I started this page with no clear end point in mind; it simply evolved as I worked on it.

Thursday 22 February 2018

A Rainbow of Gouache Colour

This is a sample that I made for the Royal Talens shows on Hochanda using Gouache paints.  I love the opaqueness of the colours but the ease of use.

Wednesday 21 February 2018

WOYWW 455: Enjoying a Break from Work

I can't believe it's Wednesday already!  What a difference a week makes; as you will see I had company again yesterday for the first time in three weeks.  Eva has still not completely recovered, but was well enough to come and do some crafting with me.  To find out more about What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday! (WOYWW) and to find more desks to ogle, visit Julia at The Stamping Ground!

I was working on an art journal page for Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More.  The prompt for February is Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, so I had my file of magazine clippings and book pages out.  As you can see, I had made a start on the page with a piece of paper towel mop up.  It was left over from some of my DT work using Gouache paints for the Royal Talens shows on Hochanda (tomorrow at 7am and 11am GMT).
Eva had brought over her collection of Distress Oxides, Pixie Powders and new Clarity Art Deco stencils and it was great fun seeing her making her usual colourful, creative mess.  I have been passing on your well wishes; she says that she feels as if she's back in the land of the living and asked me to say thank you on her behalf.  As it's half term week she won't be working  today for a change and hopes to visit a few desks herself for the first time.

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Altered Key Tag

This tag was created for the February Mini Mission over on Mission Inspiration.  The prompt is 'Key' and as always I completed it on a #8 manilla tag.  As I've also used a quote, I am entering it into the current challenge on Tag Tuesday too.

Monday 19 February 2018

Zentangle Card: Smile!

I was asked to run a one hour craft session in school for rewards afternoon at the end of term and decided to use the opportunity to aid the pupils to relax and unwind. By adding doodles and patterns to stamped images while quiet music played in the background we had a mindful session and they each had a topper to take home with them.  I am not a qualified Zentangle teacher and do not claim to be an expert.  I have several of the excellent books by Suzanne McNeill (who is a certified Zentangle teacher) and took them into school with me for the pupils to look through, as well as some examples of previous cards that I have made using doodling and zentangle patterns (see HERE, HERE and HERE).  While the pupils were doodling I also worked on a topper, which I later made into a card as you will see.

Sunday 18 February 2018

Springtime Tags

These tags were made for the February swap over on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art.  The prompt was Springtime and I decided to create the backgrounds in a similar manner to the talented Lou Withers having watched her Facebook Live video on the subject.

Saturday 17 February 2018

ATCs: M is for...

These ATCs were made for the February swap over on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art; the prompt was the letter 'M'.  As I always stick to using Claritystamp stamp sets to create my ATCs I had a good look through my folders to see what I could come up with.  In the end I went with M is for 'Madonna', 'Mouse Mystery' and 'Marriage'.

Friday 16 February 2018

I love you to death...


I was making a quick tag ready to share today and ended up going in a very dark direction.  The tag definitely fits the prompt over on Country View Challenges for February: Anything but cute, so I will be sharing it as my final submission for this month.  Although I do have a husband and three sons, I can assure you that no family members were hurt in the creation of this art work!

Thursday 15 February 2018

Wednesday 14 February 2018

WOYWW 454: Crafting on My Lonesome

Once again I am crafting alone.  Eva is still feeling poorly so was unable to visit yesterday when I usually take the photos of our desks.  Thank you for all the get well wishes last week;  I have passed them all on to her.  I was getting this post ready even earlier than ' normal (late Tuesday morning) as I had to go into school later for a parents' evening even though Tuesday is usually my day off.
My side of the desk shows my craft 'to do' list.  If the project has been ticked then it is complete and the photos have all been taken ready for a step by step on my blog.  Once the blog post has been written, I cross out the project on the list.  As you can see, I am four projects behind on Wanderlust having only completed two and a half of the lessons so far.  I'm not worrying though, as I have downloaded all the videos and will get to them in my own time.  The right hand page in my Strathmore Visual Journal shows the page that I created after work on Monday to wind down (see HERE).  The weird image is one that my son wanted me to turn into a Valentine's card (I didn't ask lol) and the ATC peeking out from underneath is one of three that I finished before writing this post ready for a swap.  I was about to start work on a tag for the fortnightly challenge on Tag It Tuesday too.
As you can see, the other side of the desk is bare!  I do hope that Eva is feeling a lot better soon and up to crafting with me in the shed.  Although I'm also hoping that she won't be with me next week as it will mean that she is well enough to go and visit her sister and family in Germany over half term.
To find out more about why I (and many others) share their desks each Wednesday, or if you'd like to join in yourself, go and visit Julia at The Stamping Ground where all is explained further!

Tuesday 13 February 2018

A Bird Does Not Sing: An Art Journal Page

For once I simply created an art journal page for myself; not in response to a challenge or a prompt, but simply the result of playing with new media. In fact I got so engrossed in the process that I forgot to take photos of the stages towards the end.

Monday 12 February 2018

Sunday 11 February 2018

Your True Colours: A Journal Page

This is the first time that I have created a two page spread in my Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal.  However, as that was the first prompt for the February challenge over on Mixed Media Art Journey, I decided to see how I could make it work in a spiral bound journal.  The remaining prompts were 'use blue', 'hide a secret', 'use a stamp', 'add a pattern' and 'song lyrics'.  As you can see, I chose the Cyndi Lauper hit 'True Colours'.

Saturday 10 February 2018

Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle: A Journal Page

The February prompt on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More is Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.  I do this a great deal anyway, so I really enjoyed diving into my left over stash to see what I could use.  The only item on the page which didn't come from my left over box was the Quote Chip which finished off the page.

Friday 9 February 2018

Thursday 8 February 2018

Spring Birthday Card

This card was inspired by a topper that my friend made using the same stencil.  I decided to make a square card using the same method but with different stamps.

Wednesday 7 February 2018

WOYWW 453: Crafting at a Distance

Hi everyone and welcome to my contribution to What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday (WOYWW), a weekly blog link up hosted by the fabulous Julia at The Stamping Ground for over 8 years.  I usually have a crafty friend with me on a Tuesday (when I take my pictures and prepare my blog post), but Eva was feeling poorly and quite rightly stayed in bed.  I did still have some companionship, as Ellie (The Glittered Poppleberry) was crafting with me via Skype, so I wasn't talking to myself all day lol.
My side of the desk shows the start of a birthday card (based on an idea of Eva's as you will see shortly).  I will be sharing the finished card tomorrow if anyone is interested.  I had just finished stamping the sentiment and was about to start using my tapestry stamps and mini archival inks to add flowers and foliage into each square.
The other side of the desk shows Eva's version and inspiration for my card.  I hope she is feeling better soon and that we can get together next week to craft; that side of the desk is looking rather lonely.

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Sunday 4 February 2018

Art Journal Page: In the Style of Klimt?


This journal page was produced in response to the Explore Your Creativity Challenge 6 over on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art.  The technique to be used was the style of Klimt; the colour was to be predominantly gold and the product to be included was texture paste.  It's not my favourite piece, but I am determined to share all my art this year, whether I love it or not!  My influence for this piece was Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer.

Saturday 3 February 2018

Discover: An Art journal Page

For my fourth and final journal page in response to the 'Words' prompt on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More, I decided to use 'discover' as my inspiration.   For this page I decided to play with colour and see where the page led me.  I am so pleased with the final result and hope you like it too!

Friday 2 February 2018

Wanderlust Week 4: Poem and Hand

These pages were created in response to Kasia's Lesson in Wanderlust 2018 (Lesson 4).  I wasn't too sure when I started these pages how things would turn out.  I watched Kasia's videos twice before I started.  However, when I stopped thinking and planning too much and just added information as it occurred to me, everything came together beautifully and I really enjoyed the process.  I worked in my Moleskine journal which I finally started using for Wanderlust this year.
Step by steps have been removed in line with Wanderlust guidelines.  Here are close ups of the finished pages.


Thursday 1 February 2018

An Art Journal OOPS!

This page was created for the January monthly challenge over on Mixed Media Art Journey.  It was finished in January, even if I'm not sharing the process until the start of February lol.  Six word dice are thrown each month and the resulting six prompts have to be included in any order.  For January the prompts were: 'Create a page'; 'Use something recycled'; 'Add sparkle'; 'Use blue'; 'Add washi tape' and 'Favourite saying'.