Thoughtful Friday 139

"Memory is a child walking along a seashore.  

You never can tell what small pebble it

will pick up and store away among

its treasured things."

Pierce Harris

Stitched Postcard Swap

Yes, I have been stitching away for this little postcard swap organised by Beth Nicholls at Do What You Love. I had the idea to use some hessian from a garden sack which I bought for a £1 in the £1 shop a while back and to use some quilt wadding and calico as a topping.  I also thought I would like to needle punch a design on there and so we have it: hearts of course, and some needle punching round the edge using the wonderful 'Phantasmagorical' (love that name) wool roving from GillianGladRag plus some stamping and a little pearl, a stitched word (create) and a tiny stitched heart ribbon.

of course it couldn't really go just like that could it?  I had to prepare a little bag to put it in

I love these wax bags and just used a scrap piece of fabric and stitched some paper with script on top and then stuck it on the bag.  It has gone off to my swap partner in the US and I really hope she likes it.

I have received my stitched postcard already and I will show you that tomorrow!!

Latest Index card a day

Top left is a patchwork paper hankie heart and some hessian and a little label with a quote on the back.

Bottom left was using a Daisy yellow prompt - a colour I usually use (turquoise/teal) and one I don't usually use - black

Top right, some acrylic paint sponge rollered on in dots with buttons stuck and edged in chalk pastel

Bottom right a little watercolour scene from a card I have on my desk.

Top left is a collage using painted paper from a previous creative endeavour!

Bottom left acrylic paint with Tim Holtz music tape

Top right is experimenting with a new(very cheap) italic pen

Bottom right is a very random piece of sewing using my machine!

Top left is using a Daisy Yellow prompt and the words of a song I love at the moment called "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars and if you don't know it, here is the link - just terrific words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk&ob=av2e

Bottom left is a picture of some cinnamon bun flavoured coffee mate which I am absolutely certain I would love to bits only they don't sell it here in the UK!!!  boo hoo!

Top right is some stamping with a ticket stamp 

Bottom right is a Paris stamp, some coloured pencil and chalk pastel to edge

And finally, top is some writing with gelly roll metalic pens given to me by my US friend when she came over last year to stay with us and on the bottom is a very random acrylic sponge rollered piece with chalk pastel edging (really loving the chalk pastels at the moment!)

Thoughtful Friday 138

"A five-to-one ratio of appreciation to criticism helps

people think for themselves"

Nancy Kline

A Fabulous Day

Today I was invited to a gelatin printing and monoprinting workshop hosted by the folk who have set up the Cloth Paper Scissors UK network (CPSUK) which I have joined!  What a wonderful day it was.

 Everything was so well prepared and set out - and the sun was shining!

 Our host had prepared the gelatin prints already for us to use - 56 sachets of gelatin for 6 printing plates!!!  She had been very busy indeed!

 Not only that but she had prepared a fantastically yummy lunch

 with cute items for the table

 down to personalised names on stones (my name is actually spelt Sheila but it often gets spelt this way and who worries about such things on such a lovely day!!)

and one of the other attendees brought some amazing cupcakes

And look what I came home with....

You might need to zoom in on some of these to see the detail - I love the one in the top right which I did using leaves and a heart Indian wooden block - these were all with the gelatin printing plate.

these were the mono prints using oil based paint - a different technique and one that needs a little more experimentation I think but I like the results so far

 My little contribution to the day were some homemade junk journals

popped into some lovely wax bags with fabric and paper labels.  Oh, and I also made some lavender cookies which I failed to take a photo of but which I will make again and post the recipe.

I came home having made lovely new friends, eaten beautiful food, with lots of paper and fabric prints to use in future artwork projects - what more can a girl want????

Thoughtful Friday 137

"To be perpectually thrilled with life

need not detract from the solidarity

of your goals or the soberness of your purpose."

Anon

Latest Index cards....

Delight, you may remember is my word for the year so it had to appear somewhere in these cards!

The one below I tried using tacky glue as a resist and it produced an interesting result

From a Royal Acadamy leaflet I cut out a painting and had a go at reproducing it in chalk pastels

the one below i the view outside the window of a log cabin I was in last week!

playing with chalk pastels and watercolour crayons here on the the first two

the lower one is some fun paper collage

Using watercolour pencils, collage, reminder of a journey

More tacky glue resist here on the left, doodling on the right and practising lettering below

and on we go.....

Home Alone with slate!

Last weekend I found some pieces of slate in the garden - left over from an old fishtank we gave away which was no longer needed.  There were some nice big pieces and some smaller ones too.  As I saw them I had this thought about how fun it would be to paint them and so..... that is what I did....

this was the first one I had the inspiration for - the quote is a special one for hubby and I

this one is in progress and will probably have some words on it like "because she chooses to see the world in bright bold colours"

this one is destined to have the quote from the Little Prince "It is with the heart that one sees rightly, for what is essential is invisible to the eye" - love it!

here is my trusty companion who insisted on being right by my side on the floor with all the mess!

we are alone this week as hubby is away working!

This one takes the quote from Mary Anne Radmacher (whose name will appear at the bottom on black)

I love all her quotes and words and writing.  I'm reading her book "Live with Intention" just now and it is terrific.

and this one I had no idea about until I picked the palette of colours and then just started to paint.  I do like what emerged.

I still have a couple of pieces left so I'll see where the inspiration takes me....... and let you see the result.

more index card a day designs

favourite quote from Confusius

experimenting with duct tape

rubber stamping and distress inks

stickers

ink and stamps

more ink and stamps

stamps

favourite podcast from Steve Maraboli at Empowered Living

inks and favourite stamp

more ink and stamps

collage

doodling

fun quote from Pret a Manger!

Washi tape

fun stickers