Upcoming workshops....

WOW! November, really! Where did October go? Where has 2019 gone!!!! I was reading a blog post earlier today and it pointed out that this is the last few months of a decade!!! I'd never really thought about that until it was pointed out! Gives it a certain gravitas doesn't it.
I only really contemplated decades back in 1999 and we headed into a shiny new Century...
2020 is the start of another new decade - maybe its better to look at what is starting and not what is ending...

aaanyhoo... that's not what this post is about - but this does involve dates and calendars... (which is entirely unintentional but still quite a neat lead in!)...

During November I'll be running my final workshops of the year. I'll be teaching my 'Date Keeper' workshop at different locations, hopefully one will be close to you and you'll be able to join me!...

In this workshop you'll create a project that's useful and lovely! We'll paint, stamp, stencil two masterboards (in colours of your choice) and use these to create the pages of a perpetual calendar, - we'll also customise the frame. We'll use the brand new JOFY journal stamps too.
Also, with christmas only being 53 days away (just thought I'd mention it, don't panic just yet) this project would also make a lovely christmas present for someone (if you can bear to give it away! lol)... 

Saturday 02 November 2019, I'll be at Loobi Crafts in Leighton Buzzard- if you're quick there's still time to book a place - call 01525 838535, or visit the website at www.loobicrafts.co.uk

Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 November 2019, I'll be at Amelia's Creative Crafts in Studley - contact them on 01527 857 111, and www.ameliascreativecrafts.co.uk. I'll be there all weekend running two workshops:

Saturday: Merry & Bright, a triptych of wood blocks with a very christmassy theme.

Sunday: Date Keeper, I've included cards in the photo above to illustrate what else you can create using the techniques learned in this workshop.

Saturday 23 November 2019: I'll be spending the day at The Artistic Stamper in Faversham with the final outing of the 'Date Keeper' workshop. You can contact the shop on 01795 597757 and www.theartisticstamper.com


I taught this project at 'Handmade at Helen's' in Scotland a few weeks ago.  Here are a few photos of the gorgeous masterboards/ pages being created in the class:

Others went for individual pages, and seasonal colour batches:

Fabulous to see the different versions being created.


If you'd like to join any of these workshops please contact the shops direct.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Workshop: Nature Blocks....

Hi

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you've been keeping well.

I've updated my teaching page and I wanted to let you know about a workshop I'm running this Saturday (14th September 2019) at The Artistic Stamper, Faversham, Kent.

This is the Nature Blocks workshop - its a gorgeous project of 3 wood blocks decorated with the latest release of JOFY stamps (you can see them HERE ) and we'll be working on all four sides of each block so you can move them around and rearrange them to your hearts content - there's never a wrong side!

What nicer way to spend the day?! 3 pieces of wood, your chosen colours, JOFY stamps and stencils (bit of Kay Carley in there too), PaperArtsy paints, tips and techniques on how to get the lovely (and surprisingly easy) ombre paint effect shown in the photo above, lovely lunch provided by Jennie (owner of The Artistic Stamper), good company of fellow crafters.... all resulting in a lovely project! (the project would/could also be a lovely present for the gardener in your life! (should I mention that, ahem, Christmas is only 106 days away)(no? is it too soon to talk Christmas?  oops)

That sounds to me like a day well spent!

If you'd like to join me in this workshop the deadline for signing up is Tuesday evening.. so don't delay.

To book a place go to www.theartsiticstamper.com or call the shop on 01795 597757.

Look forward to seeing you!!

Remedy for a wintery day...

... a wintery day in JUNE!!  The heating has kicked in and I'm wearing a cardigan and socks! (and other clothes obviously but those noted are the NOT usual clothes for JUNE! in the UK!)... what is going on!!

Aaaanyhoo as a tonic to the dismal weather I sketched, stamped, painted and doodled this summery journal spread in my large Dylusions journal.

Stamps: in background, flower from JOFY77
Paints:  Cerise, Butternut, Snowflake, Stone, Caribbean Sea, Hint of Mint.
Pencils:  Faber Castell Polychromos


Thanks for stopping by

Ombre Art Journal pages...

I bought the Creative Expression 'Bluebird Edger' die a few months ago.  Its a clever die - cuts positive and negative elements, the bird's and butterfly's wings are cut so they lift away from the cut panel - its clever.

I made a couple of cards using the die but what I really had in mind to create was a tip in page in my small art journal... and ombre journal spread.

I love how dramatic the die cut looks against the hot colours of the ombre background (Cerise, Coral and Butternut).

I really wanted to keep the clean and simple look of the spread - otherwise the die-cut get 'lost' (imho) and so I only added a few flowers to the left hand page.

These Sizzix Thinlit dies (Wildflower 664163) are great silhouettes.  I added a single stem to the inside of the right hand page positioning it so it couldn't be seen until the tipped in die cut page was turned.

Its a relatively simple spread but it packs a punch!  I might have to try another one - maybe with a vintage vibe...

I'm not sure I ever put the cards I made here on the blog so here they are (just in case)...

Thanks for stopping by

What no stamping?!?!!

... Nope.  No stamping at all.. not even a teeny tiny detail stamp!

I bought a large Dylusions journal recently and this is the first spread I've created in it - its liberating!! All that space to create on!

I've had a rotten cold all week (actually lost my voice for a few days!) so these pages were almost a kind of 'therapy' - made me feel better to do 'something'... so its not overly complicated...

I painted and stencilled 2 pages (Fresco Finish paints, Stencil Girl stencil, Crafters Workshop stencils).  Not planning, just playing - I sketched flowers onto scrapbook papers (siiiiigh... oh, Basic Grey.. how I miss your gorgeous papers..) and cut them out.

The journal is BIG.... here's my hand on the spread to give you an idea how big...

... well its big for me - I usually use the small or square journals... and my junk journals are only 4x6 (ish) inches.

I glued down all the flowers and then set about sketching and shading in the details.  I took before and after photos to show the difference - amazing what a bit of doodling can do:

I think adding the details is my favourite part of the page creation... though it is hard to know when to stop!

Here's the finished spread... it makes me happy - all those big bright juicy flowers!

See (or not see actually, lol!)  No stamping!!  (It was hard not to reach for the stamps.. but fun too!)

This was a lovely, fun way to attack 'The Stash' of papers.

Thanks for stopping by

Ombre blooms....

When I'm designing workshops options/ideas get discarded along the way (because they're not quite suitable for the event etc etc etc)... and this canvas was one of them... I'd painted the backgound (I love an ombre background!) and the flower stem (grunge paste through stencil PS131) and it sat propped against the side of my desk for a while... and then I caught it with my foot one too many times and I picked it up again to work on it....

This is a 50x20cm canvas... which is quite large (!!)... (for me anyway!)

I stamped scribble flowers randomly along the bottom area of the canvas using Pearl Glaze - I like how it catches the light but doesn't crowd the area.

The top edges are filled with dangling leaves and tendrils.  The gold spots are created by running glue dots around the edges and laying foil over the top...

Here are the stamp sets I used:

I think the canvas might need some butterflies or something but for now I've reached the 'put the paint brush down, move away from the canvas' stage of the project.

I'm saying its done... finished.

Thanks for stopping by

Fly my pretties, fly!

This spread in my small Dylusions journal makes me smile - its so... erm... busy!! Painting, stencilling, stamping, more painting....

I seem to be going through a 'add more colour, and make them bright!' stage at the moment... do you think its because I want it to be summer when all the flowers and colour starts appearing everywhere?

I've used Kay Carley's 'butterfly' on this spread - I loved it as soon as I saw it! It might make regular appearances - I think its going to look lovely with my flowers!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Mini mash-ups!

In January and February I went to the 3 craft industry trade shows - had a fun, tiring and inspiring time at all of them.... I demo'd at all 3 - some of my samples are over on the PaperArtsy blog as part of my post about the new stamps (HERE) and here are a couple more.  When I'm demo'ing I like to mix up the PaperArtsy ranges to see how they'll look together, and mix old and new of the JOFY stamps too... always fun to do...

Green and teal/turquoise blue is always a lovely combination...

The PaperArtsy mini stamp I used on here is one that Leandra had chosen for the stamps on the demo desk - I'd forgotten what a lovely little stamp it is.  I'm very tempted to buy another one so I can cut it up and have an alphabet set to use on journaling - the 'open' design means the letters could be coloured in... very useful!

This next sample has lots of white space (I do love a bit (a lot) of white space!) and is a mash-up of mine and Tracy Scott's newly released ETC24...

Thanks for stopping by...

A little bit of this'n'that....

... went in to creating this 5x7in canvas board.

I was just playing around and so didn't take any process photos, but after being asked about it on Facebook and Instagram I wanted to list the products I used.

PaperArtsy stencil: 

PS130

PaperArtsy stamps: 

JOFY73

(and a secret something...)

Dies:

Elizabeth Designs:

Kaiser Craft:

Foliage (DD506) :  sadly now discontinued :o(  

Paint colours, Fresco Finish (of course, lol) were.. I think...
Lavender, Cerise, Vanilla, Koala, maybe Bougainvillea, and possibly some Seaglass (gotta love a Seaglass! lol), and a touch of Green Patina/Sargasso

These might not be the exact colours but when you blend them they are going to look FAB.U.LOUS!

Play with the colours - you'll find things you didn't expect and have fun!

Search for these items at your local shops, and online.

Thanks for stopping by!