Sunday 30 January 2011

Sunday Creative - Extent


The Sunday Creative is a creative prompt run by Madeline Bea, she of the Creativity Boot Camp!
This week the prompt is  

EXTENT  Definition - noun: 1. The range or spaceover which somthing extends, 2. The point or degree to which something extends.


I wanted to use this prompt as a photo prompt, although you can use it for any medium,  so I went outside with my camera to see what I could find, as I was going out I took my car keys and my new road tax disc, it was only when I was taking out the old disc that I realised how well this would fit with the prompt, as the disc has reached the point or degree to which it extends - well it will have tomorrow lol!  

Saturday 29 January 2011

Daring Card Makers - Year of the Rabbit

Lynda has set the following dare at the Daring Card Makers Blog:
 
The Year of the Rabbit

3rd February 2011 will welcome in the next Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rabbit. So this week I’m going to let you have TWO options to choose from:-

Make a card with an Oriental feel to it

OR

Make a card that features a rabbit.

I decided to go with the Oriental theme and found that fabulous image on the Art Freebies site, I love how grumpy those two whiskery men look, they remind me of a Chinese version of Statler and Waldorf, the two old men in the Muppet Show lol!  The background paper is K&Co and the circular stamp from an Oriental set from Tanda Stamps.

Friday 28 January 2011

Blogging Famine - Digital Feast

My blogging seems to be restricted to the weekends at the moment, just too busy and tired during the week to do much.  However, I have a bit of a backlog of digital layouts to show you, so thought I'd start the weekend of blogging here!

Photographs taken in Siena, Tuscany, Italy in 2009.
Papers - Rosey Toes, Dear Santa and Bionic Boy (blended)
Frame - Maya de Groot,snap
Houses - Maya de Groot, Hoity Toity & Arty Farty
Font - Tempus Sans ITC
Serene by RW Mini Kit
Photograph is of a bench with a view of Loch Leven in Scotland (the Castle in the middle of the loch is where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned). I can't find the origin of the poem, it seems to be original for the bench! Rough translation " The Lord from his big house, sees the waters where his fish will rise" The brass medalion is in the centre of the bench.

Papers - Cafe Vienna (Tami Miller, KristiW)
Photo Glaze - Sweet Bakery Glazes Vanilla and Green Apple, Coffee Stop
Stitch - Maya de Groot, Hoity Toity
Tag - Fannette Designs
String - Enchanted Land, Golden Sun
Font Pristine
Steven aged 2 years 
Template by Binty Designs
L Bozeman - Winter Chill Ribbon
Sugarplum Sorbet Flower in Lemonade
LA Franziska Flower
Cyan June 2010 Flower
Maelia Designs Lavnde - Leaves
AGray - RicRac
MDG - Snap
Steven at his wedding with neice (Daddy in training!)
Joyful Heart Designs - Grunged Neutrals
Masks - Art Masks by Pton, Binty-Flocked Square
Flower Sticker - Cafe Vienna
Fanette Design - Butterfly
Athena Gray Late Harvest - Flower Vine
Cottage Arts - Word Art
Blending - overlay pinlight
Filter Gallery - overlay & pinlight

Sunday 16 January 2011

Art Journal week 3

By reusing supplies from previous weeks
as well as “reusing” artwork, recycled
journal pages build depth and visual
interest that completely change the
original look and feel. Use “re-usables”
from around the house and add some
drama to your pages with things you’d
normally throw away. So grab that pile
of junk mail, tear off a piece of bubble
wrap, keep the lid from the milk jug,
and reuse them in your journal art.

It's not easy to see what I've done since last time, but I used quite a bit of Dylusions white paint round the girlies to lift the image.  and stamped with bubble wrap, bottle tops and a shell.  A bit more oil pastel highlighting on the painted images once they were dry and it was done.  Not sure what happens next week, I don't want to overwork it and that's what it is starting to feel like.

Artful Bags - Lace and Roses

It sort of happened by accident...I came across the Frosted Petunia blog by way of a little blog hopping from Karen's Carry Ons, and there it was, a craft challenge about handbags!  Now, I have a bit of a thing about handbags and used to make and sell felt handbags, I also own rather more than I probably should , so I really couldn't resist this challenge.

Theme One: Playing with Paper
This was inspired by the wonderful paper dress challenge at Alice and Camilla.
Create a bag template from your paper of choice. Scrapbook, vintage music sheets, book pages, etc. The size is completely up to you. Decorate and embellish your bag however you like. Paint, glitter, lace, fabric...whatever inspires you.


I used a piece of K&Co paper highlighted the flowers with oil pastels (they were hanging around from my work on the Strathmore journal workshop) then distress inked around them in Worn Lipstick and Mustard Seed. The flowers were some that came with a kit from Bubblyfunk a long time ago and the lace is from my baggie of antique lace (will be reclaimed eventually and reused in another way), the pearls are from an old pearl necklace (not real) which broke.  With hindsight I probably would have done the clasp in a pearl effect rather than glittery gold, but hey ho, it's done now!

Saturday 15 January 2011

Get your FREE January editon of Papers and Pixels

 
Oh my goodness I can't believe how much stuff there is in this month's edition of Papers and Pixels.  It's not only the amazing digital tutorials, but there are lots of paper crafting ideas as well with the emphasis on Valentine's Day and it's FREE

Here a couple of my projects which are included in the magazine, I still find it difficult to believe that I am on the Creative Team for this publication.

 
This layout is for the Monthly Theme Challenge, find out more and take part at Papers and Pixels Forum
 
Background paper - Bionic Boy by Roseytoes Designs
Stitches Messy - Shelly Rae in Cafe Vienna
Everything else - Kit - Eros by Soval Designs
Fonts: MS Dialog, Lucida Handwriting, Harrington
Technique from December P&P - Filter Gallery
Brushstrokes - Sumi-e (Stroke Width 10, Stroke pressure 2, Contrast 10)
 
 Digital Kit - Bionic Boy by Rosietoes Designs, used to make this Hybrid card for the Sketch Challenge on Papers & Pixels.  Get the sketch and upload your project to the Sketch Challenge Gallery on Papers and Pixels Forum.

Sunday 9 January 2011

January Flowers for the Daring Card Makers

Oh dear it's a long time since I joined the Daring Card Makers and their card making dare.  There were two flowers to choose from Snowdrops or Carnations, so as nearly everyone went for Snowdrops, I thought I'd choose the Carnation.
The Sketch is from Kathy's Waffle Sketch File.
 Papers are K& Co, image is from Flickr Vintage Collage Group.

January makes me shiver...

 
Photographs of today's snow and ice.

Template by Digitreats, blue paper by Handmade Christmas from Ellie Lash, white paper and pine branch from FeeriedeNoel Collab from Digital Crea.  Fonts - Stone Serif & Scrap Calligraphy.

In case you are interested, there are a couple of great giveaways going on in the blogosphere, one here at Purple Lotus Art and another one at Maggie's Nest. Both involve copies of publications by Somerset Studios, really great inspiration. 

Strathmore Online Art Workshop - Journal Page 2


The second workshop and video is up on Strathmore Online Art,.  I worked from the PDF rather than watch the video which is why my journal is quite full on with the oil pastels, the demo was much more subtle lol!  I'm glad I did though, I think it is too easy to be influenced by the instructor, I want to learn but don't want to copy.
Here is a close up of the girls on the left, probably my favourite bit of the page.

And here is the teacup fairy, I like how the cup came out, not so sure about the fairy!

I'm hoping that there will be the opportunity to add more white to this, or I might just have to do it myself, as I feel it is rather dark.  I'll see what is in the next workshop before deciding whether to go my own way.

Thursday 6 January 2011

Strathmore Online Art Workshop - Journal Page 1

Here is the first stage of my art journal pages for the Strathmore Art Studio Online Workshop I've been quite liberal with the instructions, but I needed to paint the background as it is an old used notebook I am using rather than a new watercolour paper journal!  I'll keep you posted of progess.  The collage pieces are from digital layouts that I have made, printed out and torn up.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge 1 - Anything Goes!

I manage to make many handmade Christmas cards this year, despite starting in January last year.  However, I am going to try to play along with Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge to see if I can gather a few more for next year.  The first challenge has been easy, as it is Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas!

I used some lovely Websters papers which I never got round to doing much with and the greeting is from a digital kit called 'Handmade Christmas' by Ellie Lash.

Saturday 1 January 2011

Happy New Year

I'd like to wish all my blog readers a very 
Happy New Year

I made this digital layout using a kit by talented designer Madi de Groot the kit is called 'Going out with a Bang!"  It's available HERE