What I've learnt in September

This post is very "photo heavy" as I didn't get round to posting photos each week to show you my creations for Learn Something New In September.  I've enjoyed limiting myself to just Copic Sketch pens and a black gel pen.  It has also given me some time to experiment with the Sketch pens.  I need lots more practice with sketching too.  But as they say, "practice makes perfect!"

 

Need to perfect my colouring technique as you can see on this one, although having said that the paper in this book was not the most Copic friendly. 

 I need to practice faces, definately, haha.  Look at this one below.  Very scary, hahaha

I need to learn how to draw hair styles too.

 Some pages are simpler than others as time was a factor.

I like this page, the vegetables look like they have some dimension to them.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog and looking at my artwork.

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Learn something new

Well I did just that on Saturday ... I went to a workshop at Hatfield House on needle felting.  Oh boy was it fun.

I created these three items using the different techniques in needle felting as demonstrated by Lucynda Howard, a very friendly and knowledgeable woman.

I am now hooked and need to source some needles and foam.  I have some wool that my kind friend, Janice, gave me over a year ago now from when she showed me how to "wet felt" that was great fun too.

A bird shaped using a biscuit cutter.

Then using a piece of felt as backing, applying colours to "paint a picture".

Here is a 3D mouse I made using the last technique.  I do think he is rather cute if I must say so myself.  haha

Pages from my journal

Today I am going to show you more pages from my journal for Learn Something New Everyday.

As you can see, towards the end, the entries are very minimalist as some days I am more busier than others.  I'm still keeping to just Copic pens and a gel pen.  I need more practice with Copics and looking at these photos can see quite alot of areas that need "touching up".

Thanks for stopping bye

- x -

Learn Something New Every Day

That is what I am trying to do every day in September and journalling what I find.  Thanks Gez for the prompt to do something like this.  I think Gez participated in something like this that Shimelle ran from here blog.

I have decided to just stick to pen and Copic Sketch Marker Pens.  I didn't want to have a bulky journal and I thought (and have found) that it is much quicker to complete a day with limited equipment.

So here are my first few day . . .

Thanks for stopping by my blog today

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Boxes

A  page from my journal putting me into little boxes.

I used various Distress Ink pads to create the backgrounds to these boxes then filled them with things that are important to me.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

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More Wrecking

As you can see I am in the process of completing page 25 in my Wreck This Journal.  I have Distress Inked the centre of the two pages and used some of my stamps that have a "weather" theme.  A little Stickles on the rainbow cloud and that is it.

I thought that documenting the weather would show how time is passing as we go from Summer into Autumn.  But then again living in Great Britain we can experience all four seasons in one day! hahaha.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Last day of the holidays . . . .

. . . . and guess where I have been today?

Yep the ExCel centre to watch the Paralympic Judo!  

It was brilliant.  My son and I had tickets and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  I've never been to a live sporting event before and I must say I didn't realise what I was missing out on,  of course my son, a keen football supporter, knew what to expect.  We had great seats and saw all the action.

Brothers Dan and Marc Powell were completing for Team GB and although they both lost the first rounds Dan was in the final match on the mat for our session and he won and he's still in line for a bronze medal.  Go Dan Go!!!

I'm afraid I haven't any pictures of the day as I left my camera at home - what a wally!

After the ExCel we went on the Thames Cable Car on the way home.  Fantastic experience and on a clear day, as today was, the views were amazing.  Remember your Oyster card as it is cheaper and quicker.

Found Wrecking Journal

Hi everybody I was reminded about my "Wreck This Journal" by a friend this week, thanks Gez, and I decided to do a few more pages in mine.

I have randomly numbered my pages and am doing them in numerical order. (I did cheat a bit and took it into the shower when I hadn't done many pages though)  Good job I did!   As you can see the covers have fallen off. haha

When I sent it through the post it came back without a scratch!  

Yesterday I completed these two pages and the journalling on the pages speak for themselves.  But I'll explain the chunk missing from the left hand page of the "climb up high" prompt.  It comes from the previous page which was to pick up the journal without using your hands . . . .   I used my teeth! hahaha

The pencil rubbing I remember doing this as a kid but I seemed to have lost the nack now! 

 I'm only up to page 28 so still have plenty left to Wreck.  How is yours looking?

H is for holiday

Hi there. I wanted to show today my letter H page in my 2012 A-Z Journal.  By this time in the year I was hoping to be at least half way through the alphabet so on letter M or N but I am a little behind.

So H is for Holiday and I used my recent trip to the Lake District with my daughter as inspiration.

The page was  originally a yellow/orangey colour but I wanted to change it to green to match the wonderful scenery of the area,  so I painted the page with every substance I could find on my craft desk; haha Gesso, ink pads, spray inks, masks and coated all that with some Golden Gel Medium (I like the way it gives the page a shine and a flexibility).  Some doodling following Lindsay Ostrum's direction from her book "Creative Doodling for Kids" (yes I know it says for kids but it isn't really there are some fab fonts in there) and stamped and cut out trees - I think the stamp is a Bo Bunny one, as are the Explore and the chevrons.  The Journey awakens the soul is a Tim Holtz one I think.

 These are the next two pages of "stuff" that I accumulated over the few days we were there along with some photos which I made into three photo strips.  Lots of stamping and distressing on these pockets and the letter H is complete in my A-Z Journal.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and having a look at my work.  Have a great day.

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Family days

Today is the birthday on the oldest and one of the youngest members of my family.  So I was busy making two cards this week.

Firstly my Dad who is 84 today

and then my neice who is 7

I think I should of put a glittery number 7 on her card as it is missing something I feel.  Oh well it is already in the post so hayho!

Thanks for stopping by.

- x -

Snail mail ... here goes

Just to satisfy Tracy aka Queenie I have photographed "step by step" the process of making this journal page.

Sorting through my craft stuff I found this cute snail from a Bang on the Door calendar from I think 2006!  I cut him out and stuck him landscape in my journal with Golden Gel Medium Semi-Gloss.

I then took a Adirondack Brights ink pad in Sunshine Yellow and stamped some on an acrylic block taking my water brush I applied the ink to the top of the page.  I found that if you spray water on the page first the ink spreads better.  Notice how the ink hasn't coloured the Gel Medium - but I quite like that.

When I had finished with the yellow I added some Adirondack Brights ink in Citrus to give the snail something to sit on.  Then taking the Copic Sketch pens in the colours below I added grass detail and went round the very edge of the snail in Y15 just to colour in some of the Gel Medium.

Once I was happy with the background I stuck down an address label that I was sent from Lindsay Ostrum Queen of the inspirational doodling handwriting.  (I've covered my address with the blue card haha! that is not a feature.)

 I added a title Snail Mail in lettering that Queenie Tracy sent me as a prize a few years ago - yet another beautiful find whilst tidying up - why do I always lose things that I put in a "safe place"? haha I outlined these to make them "pop" using a black gel ink pen.

 Next I wanted to add some text so using some Sassafras papers I cut out some wavy lines and outlined them with the same pen.  Then I positioned them and finally stuck them down with Glossy Accents

 I took the same Green Copic Sketch pen as before and dotted around every wavy line to give it some definition.

Whilst I had the Glossy Accents out I covered the title with it and made it shine and stand out.

 et voila with the date added, again using my prize from Tracy, the page is complete. 

Thanks for staying until the end.

- x -

cover it pink!

As the title suggests I was yesterday, literally,  I spilt a bottle of pretty pink ink all over my craft desk!  Luckily the desk got the soaking rather than anything else laying around.

So here is my journal page.

I did go to town on this page ... I think I got carried away ...

So onto the business cards that were already stuck to the page - you can't see them now but they are there haha.

I made a mixture of Gesso, Golden Soft Gel (Semi-Gloss), water and 2 squirts of Dylusions burnt orange pearl micra spray.  And this I sloshed all over the page as a background.

 That bit was really fun :)

Then the inking and stamping frenzy began.  I used the following:-

Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Pastels in purple

Adirondack Earthtones in Wild Plum and Cranberry

Adirondack Brights in Watermelon

Versacolor in Peony and Petal Pink

Pink ink with a nib pen

Versafine in Onyx Black for the stamping

Waterbrush for swooshing the ink around.

Numerous stamps some of which I didn't realise I had!

et voila

Thanks for visiting my blog today

- x -

Olympic effort

This image has been staring at me from the front cover of the Radio Times for a while and I just knew I needed to use in on a journalling page.

I spray-inked the background then covered it in some Golden Medium (I love how this makes the page so flexible and shiny) I'm not sure how you use this stuff properly but I use it to stick the images down and as I said to give the desired flexible, shiny appearance.  :)

I then added the title which is made up from Thickers and handwriting (only because I didn't have an l or y haha) and also some adjectives.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

G journal page

I'm up to the letter G in my A-Z journal and went for "grass" as my theme.

The background has been inked with Distress Inks and the grass is a mixture of Copic sketch pens and crayons.  Some doodling leaves around the page and that is your lot.  A quick simple page for the letter G.

Olympic Torch

Today the Olympic Torch came to the town were I live and as it was visiting it would have been rude not to wave a flag at it. haha.  First Wenlock drove past and a then a woman called Joanna carried the torch on this leg of the journey.  More people than I had expected turned out to cheer and wave and our enthusiasm was not dampened by the down pour that occurred just after these photos were taken.

 

 

Roll on 27th July!

I am really looking forward to the London Olympic games.

Introducing a friend for the summer

Please meet my flat friend for the summer, Fanny, or to give her her correct title Flat Fanny.  Now don't snigger I didn't name her.  She is Flat Stanley's (he of the book fame) relative from the USA. Actually a paper doll drawn by the wonderful Lindsay Ostrum.  Please check out what Fanny has been getting up to all over the world on Lindsay's blog.  

Today Fanny helped me pick more strawberries from my garden as Fanny is showing you there are plenty more yet to ripen if the sun decides to return.