Postcard Challenge

wk 26 U.S.A

This week saw us off to America, I wanted to show the old and the new..

So I looked to the Native American Indians, their artwork, pottery and stories...

I made my card using watercolour pencils and the image of a dreamcatcher..

and then to come up to date, well what else but Disney..yeah, yeah I know they are a huge dreadful company that stomps on people, but that is down to management and not down to the animators. You have you to agree they do an amazing job..

I am not very keen on the newer digital films, but I do love 'old' Disney. My fave film is Robin Hood.

So my page is...or will be ...a compilation of characters. I ran out of time, but I will go back and add more to it.

HERE IS WHERE YOU LINK UP.. add your name and blog link and then go visiting. Please only link up if you are taking part in the postcard challenge.

Life Book Tree page

Here is another Life Book page, the fabulous online course run by Tamara Laporte

This time we created a tree using a watercolour on coffee filters method. The page was then made into a pocket/envelope. As this was a page all about gratitude, we were to fill the envelope with thankyou notes.

So first the tree was painted, and then most of the paint taken back off just leaving some behind.

Next the leaves were cut from coffee filters and painted with watercolours.

when dry the leaves are removed and you are left with the impression of the leaves left behind. 

Next just the top half of the tree is made again this forms the flap of the envelope. A button is also added so that the whole thing closes.

I backed mine with this K&Co paper, making a concertina fold at the sides.

On the inside I used a circle punch to make a finger hole, just makes life easier getting stuff in and out of the envelope.

Finally I doodled around the leaves to give them definition.

Some of the lesson are really not 'my thing' but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

postcard challenge

week 26, we are officially half way. Well done to those few still playing along.

This week we are off along Route 66..

come and travel with me around the..


 United States of America..


see you here on Friday.

Postcard Challenge

week 25 Australia..

This week was bitter sweet for me. I love so much about Australia, and it is close to my heart as my sister lived there for many year. However some of you will know she passed away just a couple of weeks ago...so...it was hard to get a start on this one, but I did know what I wanted to do.

My 3 themes are sheep...there are lots of sheep stations in Oz, Captain James Cook...and Mackenzie Thorpe...

I shall explain.

well the sheep are self explanatory..

Captain Cook is from my area, his museum is in my town..

Read about him HERE...

There is also a memorial museum in nearby Whitby, and a monument up on the moors. Many a time I have walked up there with a picnic. So it seemed fitting to include him this week, as he ties to both here and there..

Now onto Mackenzie Thorpe, he is also a local man.

Read about him HERE... He has always been a favourite of mine.

A couple of years ago he was asked to take part in a celebration of Cooks journey to Australia, this was because they were both from here and they have both journeyed across the world.

He painted a fantastic set of images, depicting a boys start in life here and the subsequent journey to Australia.

Read about that HERE...

When the exhibition opened in the museum I was lucky enough to be there and meet him.(It was 2yrs ago, I look really rough there lol It wasn't long after I had injured my back and I was in a lot of pain.)

and I got his signature..

So there you have 2 men from my town, both with very close ties with Australia. So here is the page in my book.. I started with a map of Oz, with some stamping over it and then topped with photos that I took at the exhibition.

Then back to the sheep connection. Mackenzie Thorpe does great paintings of sheep, so I used a couple of them and recreated a small one for my card..

again no back from me. The days are just running away, so many projects so little time.

HERE IS WHERE YOU LINK UP.. add your name and blog link and then go visiting..Please only link up if you are taking part in the Postcard Challenge..

Avatar card..

So the lovely Jay, helped me out by drawing an image in the style of Avatar.

You can see his sketches for it over on his blog..HERE..

So once I had the final image, I printed it out and started to colour with promarkers..

adding colour..

finally made into a card..

Life Book

Today I dipped into the Life Book lessons, I am so far behind. But it's good to know there is no pressure and I can do a lesson whenever I feel like it or have time.

The 10month circle journal that I have been in, is coming to an end, but we had an almighty scare when 2 of the journals went missing in the post. Thankfully after 3 weeks they turned up, but not before some of us had started remaking the pages that we had done in those books.

In one of them I had made a Butterfly..see this post.. so I set about redoing the butterfly...but then the journals turned up safe and I had no need to finish it....and it was put aside..

Today I watched one of the Life Book lessons and saw that it involved making a pretty background with a butterfly in the middle...aha! I knew I now had a use for the butterfly that I had started..


So I firstly masked off the centre of my page, and sprayed it with Dylusions ink..

I then chose this stencil..(its against coloured card so you can see it)

I pushed wall filler through it all around the edge of my page. Once dry I used a brayer to roll gesso over the raised bits just to whiten them as the wall filler dries a kind of creamy colour.

The wall filler does not harm the stencil in any way, I ran it under the warm tap straight away, squirting on a bit of washing up liquid and it came up good as new. In fact the photo above was taken after I used and cleaned it. I have used this wall filler and stencil method countless times, and the stencil always cleans up just fine.

Next I used small stamp pads to add colour to the raised ares, and I coloured the centre with neocolor crayons..

I then used Derwent Inktense to outline the centre box and added text with a background stamp..

Finally I added some small flowers and gems..

Then I worked on the butterfly....to make it I took a sheet of card, folded it in half and drew the butterfly on one half..

once cut out I sprayed it with Dylusions ink..

then added more colour with Inktense pencils and a black pen and a white gelly roll pen..

I sprayed it with varnish to seal the water soluble elements, then added a couple coats matte medium on each side to make it a little sturdier..

Finally I glued just the body part down onto the page.. and added the hearts on the body..

As you can see the wings do lie flat, but they are free to move also..

side view..

postcard challenge

An early heads up for you this week..

our next destination will see us going down under and playing with marsupials..

we are off to ...

AUSTRALIA

see you on Friday..

postcard challenge

week 24 ..Italy..

so here is my card for this week, its a play on the old 'keep calm and carry on 'posters....with a Michael Caine twist..

and then for my page I did a quick sketch..

I haven't written the back, I seem to have lost the plot with my characters, I need to sit down and catch up with them..

THIS IS WHERE YOU LINK UP..add your name and blog link. Please only link up if you are taking part in the postcard challenge.

circle journal

This time it is in Lynns book.

I made notes and decided on my colour scheme and what animal I wanted to use.


acrylic ink through a stencil and dripped..

turquoise glaze added

wall filler pushed through a stencil..

next i drew the dragon..

and started to colour it in before cutting it out..

I glued in the dragon, leaving half the crystal free ..

I wrote out the Jabberwocky poem onto stained paper and then burnt the edges and tucked it behind the crystal..

so it easily pulls out and folds back in..

and here is the tag that goes with it..

Postcard Challenge

week 24...oh where to this week...

how about visiting a volcano...

let's go to ..

ITALY


See you on Friday...

cards..

cards made recently..

these first 2 were drawn for me by the lovely JAY then I coloured them with promarkers, and added stickles and gems..

I did this one as part of the 29 days in may challenge

I painted this one after watching TEE'S SHOW

and finally I made this one for Tee's husband Bob as a get well card..

postcard challenge

Week 23 Poland..

Quick post from me this week,

I looked to Polish artists and found ..this guy...click the link

I recreated a part of one of his paintings using watercolour pencils.

The background page in my book is also done with watercolour pencils and is different polish dinner plates. I saw so many gorgeous patterns that I would love to have in my kitchen..

I didn't get the back written..I have a bit of catching up to do..

HERE IS WHERE YOU LINK UP..

Add your name and blog link and then go visiting. Please only link up if you are taking part in the postcard challenge..

Sewing Day

Today I met up with a few friends for a sewing day, every so often we rent a room in a community centre and we take our sewing machines and fabric and create things of wonder and glee.

I had been wanting a 'thread catcher' for a while. Basically it is a pin cushion that sits next to your sewing machine, with a little bag that hangs down in which to put all the ends of thread as you work.

But then I saw this little tool caddy...

click this link

and I thought how handy is that, and how can I combine that with a thread catcher....so that is what I made today.

This is the hexie caddy...the only changes I made were to use mount board instead of cereal box card, as I wanted it stronger. I also put some weights inside each section so it doesn't pull off the table.

In order to attach the thread catcher I added a strip of fabric with a buttonhole...

I then made the thread catcher...and added a button inside..

and so when you button them together you get a tool caddy/pin cushion/thread catcher..

and with the tools and pins in place...

I used 3 fat quarters, all were in the sale at 50p each....so it turned out pretty cheap too lol