December Arc

Welcome to the December meeting of ARC, the Artful Readers Club. 

I have come to a decision regarding where we go with this project next year. I have so many new projects and ventures and work piling up for the coming year that I don't feel it fair to you if I try to run the ARC here on my blog. I know, absolutely know there will be months where I just won't have time to join in or set the link up, and I really don't want to mess you guys around. But... on the other hand, this project has made me read books that would have sat on my shelf gathering dust, so I do want to continue. Therefore i won't be adding a link to my blog each month, but the FB group will stay open.

The guidelines will remain the same. Read a book, write a review, make art,blog it and link up..... just put your link in the FB group on the last Friday of each month. I will make a new file in the FB group with all of next year's dates. 

I know not everyone is on FB, and I am sorry about that, but I have to leave this open where the majority of people can see it. So, if you are not already in the group then THIS IS THE FB LINK...

I really hope you will continue to read and make art, I do this it is a great combination, and I do plan on doing as many as I can. For those that will not be joining us next year I would just like to say a huge thankyou for all your blog posts and comments over the past year. 

So for my December book, I decided that I really wanted to do a Christmas page, and that would require the reading of a Christmas book. So I went in search. I knew I had one... somewhere. Finally after 2 days of searching i found this book, right at the back of one of the bookshelves. 

The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R.Tolkien

This was bought for me maybe 20 years ago! I had asked for it, and I don't know what I expected but I vividly remember opening it and being disappointed. I had thought it would be interactive in some way, with letters that you could open out. I glanced through it and put it away, without reading it. 

Maybe it was just my age back then that stopped me appreciating this book, because when I read this last week I loved it. Truly, every letter made me smile and chuckle, and wish with all my heart that I had recieved such letters as a child. 

Basically J.R.R.Tolkien was an amazing father, at least at Christmastime. Everyear he wrote a letter to his children as though it was from Father Christmas, including drawing and paintings too.He started writing them in 1920 and carried on for over 20 years, how awesome is that. Can you just imagine how much joy they much have been for those children. 

The handwriting is spidery like an old mans, and they are chatty and friendly and full of tales from the North Pole. The calamities and escapades that the North Pole Bear gets into.. How the snow elves are summoned to help fight the Goblins... clearly here was the start of his ideas for LOtR. 

One letter is written as a poem, all have wonderful coloured paintings with them, that show the North Polar Bear falling down stairs, the new blue and mauve tiles in Santas hallway, one showing the head elf Ilbereth taking notes, and one showing the bear with a bandage on his nose after a burn. 

We hear how the bear pushed a snowman off a cliff, isn't it awful that this made me laugh...we hear about his naughty nephews and we find out what the bears favourite number is. 

I loved this book, and I would recommend it... not for children, but for those who are children at heart. 

I didn't have time to finish my page.  I was working on new stamp designs right up till Monday night, then we went away on Tuesday for Christmas. I sat in the hotel room doing this background on christmas eve lol  hopefully I will get time to finish it soon.. 

I started with a stencilled background, using random sprays. 

Next I stamped my holly stamp onto some plastic and cut that out to make a stencil. 

Then I mixed grunge paste with paint and created a border. Once the paint/paste was dry I added Treasure gold over the top.  the berries are just dots of red paint. 

Next I took a gel pen and  doodled around the red paint dots. 

I also added some christmas text stamping around the edge. 

next I stencilled with some pale blue paint through some star shaped sequin waste, once this was dry I outlined each star with a silver pen. 

here I angled the book so you can see how it sparkles..

I am so pleased with this background, it turned out just as I wanted it to. I plan to add a focal image of Santa over the top.... when I get time. 

here is your final link, please add your blog link if you are playing along with ARC.