Monday 30 December 2013

She's back - SHE IS BACK - I am so happy

The wonderfully talented  Jo Capper-Sandon is back blogging.  What a joy to see.  Her fabulous Stampotique stamps were the first I bought from that company - and Jo is back with a fabulous designed work of art using them.

Wonderfully bright and sunny colours, and a technique I haven't tried - but will definitely do so over the next few days - I will need to have a rummage in my drawers for the colours though.

Do pop over and see - you will be amazed!

If I am not back on here before the 31st December - have a wonderfully happy and healthy and solvent 2014 everyone.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

A Christmas Bush

 We decided not to have a Christmas tree this year.
Mr Lottie isn't back to full strength, and I have hurt my back.

Totally on impulse I decided to get a little bush instead.

 I need to have another go at trimming the top - but it looks very pretty with the sun shining on it.
 I crammed on lots of little surprises, even cinanamon sticks 
(you can just see one of a bunch poking out at top - the smell is yummy)
Even if your home is tiny like ours you can still have a festive  'tree'
I sprayed bits of holly gold and some twigs, as I mentioned - lovely cinnamon sticks
very Christmassey, strings of beads, pears, artificial poinsettias and ribbon etc - everything from my 
flower arranging stash box - long ago hidden under a pile of other boxes under the table in my studio.
I wrapped the plant pot up in a big carrier bag and plonked it into a big green plastic plant pot, and wrapped it in potato sacking and added a ribbon.

Not quite big enough for a fairy - but it smells heavenly and fits in our little room perfectly.
And after the Christmas holidays it will be planted in a gap along my fence in the front garden
that has been crying out for a shrub for over a year now - but I have not had to time to buy one!
Until now!

Happy Christmas everyone.

Thanks for popping by

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Vintage Christmas Card


My last effort at making a Christmas Card this year.
And you might just see some of the gold rub and buff and the misty silver white
here and there on the card to give it a frosty cold look.
 
I made this vintage Christmas for my daughter in law's parents in Japan.
I used vintage Christmas Carol music sheet.
A copy of a vintage Christmas card and vintage papers and ephemera.
It was really difficult cutting out that tiny robin, but  he was so cute I had just to.
.
This is the back of the card - the vintage music score was wrapped around, so too the card print.  I found a little bird which I thought finished it off - no Father Christmasses as they do not celebrate Christmas over there - but I wanted them to get a feel of our celebrations

Popped in the post to Japan in a mail art envelope of snow and stamped winter trees and firs and a winter snow bird on the back

I hope that they like it - I worked on it for two days on and off - and at least it is original

Christmas Card? Who me?

 I am hopeless at making cards, but having joined a Christmas Card swap on a forum
I just had to go through with it.

Vintage Christmas Sheet Music
Vintage Image
Christmas Ephemera

Inside pages.

I all the pages with gold rub and buff after I took the photos.

Sunday 1 December 2013

Exciting News - BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

I have such exciting news that I am fit to burst.........

The amazing Kelly Kilmer - Artist and Instructor - and fantastic journal tutor is having a SALE

I have bought a couple of her art journaling courses and they are absolutely amazing.  I am a total beginner without a scrap of imagination - but Kelly manages to inspire and excite even an old lady such as me - enabling me to create journals that I just adore.

Living in the country and not having any arty crafty shops for miles and miles and miles and then not ones specific to art and craft - means that supplies for anything that I attempt to make have to be bought on line.  Which is a pain and the postage expensive.

That was until I found the famous Kelly.  Her courses are downloadable, and truly you can make the journals with things you have around your home.  Honestly - I have done it!  You don't need lots of fancy paints or glues or moleskin journals or special anything .  If  you visit her blog and read the links to her courses you will see for yourself.

I have bought the Memories and Reflections course a number of years ago - and its something you can revisit and make over and over again.  I made one of the two journals in the course work - but sadly I didn't make any others as I became rather ill.  I forgot all about my journal and course work until I came across it whilst sorting out some drawers - and sat in awe reading all the pages and pages of inspiring instructions, the pictures, the prompts - wow - unbelievable - and the layout designs - awesome!

Just going back and reading all coursework was so inspiring, that I decided to buy a different course for my birthday present to myself - so have now got The Journey of You.

I didn't have to buy a single thing to create it either.  I had all the bits and bobs to hand - resurrecting papers and things I had forgotten about.  If you look at her list of supplies for this - well - you will have them all - and more!

I knocked on a couple of my neighbours doors asking if they had any old magazines - and if so could they keep them for me so that I could cut things out and then recycle them (which is what we do anyway).  They looked at me as though I was mad - and one lady let me rummage around in her Green bin before the dustmen came.  I had magazines from cruise companies, gifts, Womens Institutes, gardening, etc - and at first you might think Hmmmph - but when you see things through Kelly's eyes - you see pages of inspiration, and colours and ephemera - even the Sunday Supplements have taken on a whole new excitement today - instead of binning them I actually looked through them and have cut out lots of things.  I am going knocking on a few more doors next week - there are some ladies that I think actually buy magazines!

Can you tell that I am a tad bit excited.  I am snapping up Kelly's buy one get one free for my Christmas presents.    Art Journal 365 and Little Paper Books.

A friend of mine in France is going to get Art Journal 365 - and now that I have emailed her about the sale, I am sure that she will add a free one to her wish list.  We are going to do the 365 at the same time.  It'll be great to have a journal buddy to bounce ideas off, and to keep my momentum up over the winter months in case I 'flag'

Why don't you buy one for yourself and give the free one to a friend - FREE  Christmas presents - you can't beat that can you!

If  you choose any of the ones I have - I'd be happy to share my journal journeys with you and we can encourage each other.

Go on - spoil yourself - where can you get this much fun for this bargain price!