time to play

Did you know it's really good for you to take time to play?  To do something just because you enjoy doing it, rather than 'for' someone.  That's what I love about journalling - playing with paint and paper; cutting and sticking, ...

It takes me into a world of my own where I'm focused on colour, texture and shape, but also expands my creativity in the sense that I start using colour combos etc through 'happy accidents' that I never would have tried otherwise.

This envelope became a page in my accordion book - one end is for tucking tags, or maybe a little book inside, the other has been opened out and additional pages added.  I LoVe working with envelopes :) :) :)

Yesterday was going to be a 'lettering in journalling' workshop at Paddy's Stamping Place, but became a more general journalling workshop as most people hadn't done much, if any journalling before.  I love teaching like this, starting with where people are and taking them to or towards where they want to go.  For me, that's real teaching, and one of the reason's I won't be going back into teaching in schools yet, if ever, but let's not get me onto politics lol.  Apologies for not getting photos from people's work yesterday; and I really should have done, there was some great stuff produced!

I took some time working alongside everyone working in my own journal.  This is a small accordion one for Carol's challenge 'The Secret Garden'  

I do so love that Martha Stewart hydrangea punch (well, both of them lol, I have two!).

And there's a bit of Paper Artsy in there too from one of their Hot Picks plates.

If you take time out to just play today or over the next couple of days, let me know, I'd love to hear about it.  Get some paper, put some colour on it with paints, distress inks, spray inks, then stencil over it, stamp over it repeatedly to create pattern, then put a main image over the top - see, it's easy!

I am blessed with a full and busy life..

...but I do wish I had more hours in the week to get things done!  This past week I've spent quite a bit of time with friends, which is lovely, and doing paperwork and going to meetings which isn't so lovely!  Oh, and Monday was spent at Paddy's doing one of Sylvia Wood's amazing textile workshops, 'Burnt Offerings'

[by the way, Paddy now has an active blog :)  find her here http://paddycosgriff1.blogspot.com/]

We burnt, stitched, heated, combined a variety of textiles and came away with a tiny book of gorgeousness...

I gave mine a love theme :)  I'm going to add more bits to it, and it has spaces for tags and weenier books.

 

  

I love using my sewing machine to draw with, and adding little snippets and fragments to miniature books so it was a blissful day for me :)

I am very lucky to live near to 'Creative Recycling', an art gallery run by a group of artists who use recycled materials as a central part of their work.  I introduced a friend to this artistic space on Thursday and we had a fabulous time.

The gallery now has an outdoor space with sculptural pieces made from recycled items.

I've wanted to make metal flowers for my garden for ages but am waiting to learn how to manipulate and combine large sheets of metal.  Until then, I can easily use my collection of rusted bottle tops, wire and tin cans to make some smaller flowers like these :)

And I have an area of garden too shaded and dry for much to grow so I'm now saving my coloured glass bottles :)  Even better, sherry comes in blue bottles so maybe I'll just have to get some more now it is a paving material lol

This pond is actually made from waste glass from the framing service offered by the gallery.  The glass is fused and used in pictures as a collage element, although here it serves as a frozen pond for these fabulous ducks :)

Some people are so talented :)

a miraculous escape

Last night,  I was driving home from Birmingham in the wet and the wind down the M6.  As I was travelling up the fast lane, a car slightly ahead of me in the middle lane went as if to pull out.  I swerved and lost control of the car.  It was like driving on ice, although I'm assuming it was the wet road.  I wasn't the only accident last night!  The car wobbled from left to right for a while before coming to a stop facing the wrong way in the central reservation.  Fortunately the angle I stopped at was 'twenty five past' on a clock, with my front wheels on the grass in the middle of the road.  I noticed today that the motorway near us doesn't have grass in the central reservation.   I'd been stopped for a few seconds when something large went past and hit the back end of the car.  As I was phoning the emergency services another vehicle hit me and I remember screaming down the phone, and when the man it was ok, and to calm down I just replied 'I'm in the middle of the motorway and they keep hitting me!'  It took twenty minutes for the emergency services to come out, which I spent standing in the rain, on my own, in the central reservation, very scared.  I just daren't imagine what would have happened if the car had come to rest facing directly down the motorway in the wrong direction, or if I hadn't been driving a Volvo!  I am truly grateful to be alive, and thankful to the lovely, lovely ambulance and fire crew, and the Highways Agency man, who all looked after me.  I'm shocked and achy but alive, and thankful to all my friends who have been concerned about me.

I was booked on a workshop at Paddy's today with Sylvia, a fabulous textile artist.  So I spent the day surrounded by friends, doing something I enjoy, which has really taken my mind off things.

My apologies for cancelling my workshops at Wendy's this weekend, my body just needs rest to recover from the horrific shock.  My play date piece just needs photographing so I will get that out there as soon as I can.

been poorly sick :(

... with an ear infection...which meant I couldn't teach my workshop at Paddy's on Wednesday. Big apologies to those I was supposed to teach! So, now feeling much better, I decided to do a step by step to one of the cards :)

Sometimes it feels like it must just be the right time to do something!  I'd been wanting to do a card with stepped folds for a little while, then spotted that Vixykins had had a similar plan. I thought that tumbling Autumn leaves would be a great theme for this card design.

 So I headed over to Sandy's blog, as directed by Vix, to get some idea of the folds.  I then adapted it to fit on a square card base.  Thanks Sandy and Vix for the inspiration!

Ok, step 1

Using acrylic paints (I used Stewart Gill True Colours, but Adirondack Dabbers are also fine!), smoosh and print autumn colours over a piece of cardboard (Amazon packaging in my case!)

Step 2

Apply gold paint to a leaf stamp using a sponge or dabber and stamp onto your painted cardboard.  I used the Tick Tock Flowers plate by the Artistic Stamper which is also available at Paddy's Stamping Place.

Step 3

Cut five leaves out, following the general shape of the leaf.  

Step 4

Head over to Sandy's blog and fold and cut your card (can you see the mistake I made with mine above? ) Stamp leaves over the card again using gold acrylic paint.

Step 5

Place a piece of A5 paper under the central section of the card and stencil through sequin waste with red, yellow, gold acrylic paints on the centre of the card.

Step 6

Fold your card correctly, and add your leaves and additional elements using Glossy Accents as necessary!

If you get around to making one of these cards, please let me know as I'd love to come and see :)  Now I've spotted that The StampMan's current challenge is Autumn so I'm off to link in this post :)  Vix is demoing at The Stamp Man tomorrow so I'm heading up there with her for a day of craftiness and friendship :)

What a great show!

LOL, not me, Happy Stampers North West festival at Port Sunny ;)

OK, we have had lots of laughs about this photo that the lovely Jennie Boxall took of me early today and iNSTaNTLY put on Facebook, and I mean instantly!!  Mind you, I don't think I could have resisted if roles had been reversed ;)  So yes, I am still speaking to her lol

My phone battery died fairly early on so my plan to take photos of the event didn't go ahead.  I just managed to get Tracey to take a photo of me with the gorgeous Paul B, who was on pain of death not to come and say hi

I had an absolute ball demonstrating this morning for Paddy at Paddy's Stamping Place, then catching up with friends and doing a touch of shopping this afternoon.  I'll share my goodies with you tomorrow, and some pics from the the art exhibition last night :)

Elements cont.

Well the secret's out, and the full glory of what is being worked on on our Elements weekend is revealed!

Each tutor worked on a different theme and colourway for their sample piece, and the results were gorgeous . I focused on flowers and text, and Helen took a teenage girl theme for her daughter (both above).  Becca, Paddy's niece who runs a quilt shop in Dorset, worked with the house images from Tanda stamps. 

Neet created a gorgeous time themed piece using images by Paper Artsy, and Kay's box features Paper Artsy's Hot Picks.

Classes started on the dot of 9am with Paddy instructing everyone on how to colour their wooden boxes.  It was so lovely to see some very different colour combinations coming through.

We then broke up into smaller groups and during this time, I taught my perspex element...

[This is Lou's piece.  It's just drying here which is why the text is in reverse!  I love her shading from green to yellow, which is echoed on her box]

... Neet her clay pieces...

[These are so fab to make, and appeal to my love of collage and 'shinies' :)]

... and Becca the fabric element.  I love the fabric pieces on my box :)

More classes meant people created a tree from wire with Paddy, and created a box of hidden treasure (creating a box within a box) with Helen.  Tomorrow brings the metal element with Paddy, and Kay's wooden element.

Elements

Wow!  The day is finally here and Paddy is hosting her 'Elements' weekend.  I'm teaching today so will post you some pics later on :)  My element is 'perspex' and i'm really pleased with how it came out.

horses, toads and ... hang on, toads?

Armed with my lovely, new, internet-connected smartphone, I set off last Friday on a birthday weekend away (a 40th and a 50th) with 10 girlfriends.  We stayed in the very centre of England pretty much, and had NO MoBiLe ReCePTioN!!  So I am very behind on visiting blogs, especially saying hi to playdate entrants!  We had a fabulous time though.  Just look at the cottage we stayed in

It was beautiful inside, had ponies in the back field

and a stunning view from the front

The village was called Newborough and was in Staffordshire.  It had a pub (which served excellent food), a church, a telephone box and postbox, a school, but no shop.

Some gorgeous houses too!

As a treat for my 40year old friend, I took a craft activity to do.  We made 'pants' books, which those who've been on my workshop at Wendy's will remember!  

We got home late Monday night, and got up to some sad news on Tuesday - my guinea pig Winston had died in the night.  It's been heartbreaking seeing and hearing Scout look for him (he's Tom's guinea pig).  That same morning I found a baby toad in my cellar room (which houses my craft stuff)

I can't cope with frogs in the house but toads don't jump like frogs do so I could cope with catching this little man in a large jar!  Let him loose in the garden, didn't fancy him as a new pet lol

I really don't feel like my feet have stopped running since I got home.  I'm just putting the final touches to my piece for Elements this weekend.  Paddy asked me to let you all know that we had three cancellations due to really ill health (which is so sad when people are that poorly).  We've found a replacement for one of them, but if anyone would like to join us at the last minute, please phone Paddy on 0161 798 5115.

For those who are attending - really looking forward to seeing you there!   The workshops are fabulous and I'm really looking forward to teaching my 'element' :)