Back to School continued…

If you saw the previous post, you’ll know I’ve been learning to make handmade books and thoroughly enjoying the process. The 3rd book in our class is the most complex and JP advised us to take it slow, for good reason. Making a fabric, quilted/collaged cover for the book is one thing, sewing the book [...]

Crusade #32 – Knock off!

This is an interesting, and insightful challenge posed by Michelle this month. Looking back, I can’t believe it’s been 15 months since I started taking part in the Street Team Crusades. That was the turning point for me, artistically. Each challenge provided a new adventure, a new experience, a little more confidence and then last [...]

Make It Your Own…

Street Team Crusade no.31 – “Make it your own…” Fascinating, absorbing stuff. Reading what Michelle wrote made me think about my artwork – see I still can’t call it “art” plain and simple! It’s a psychological barrier that will eventually crumble, but I have to work at it.
As some of you know, I have been [...]

Crusade #30 – Cat got your tongue?

So we journal… as in write in our art journals… and show how we use words and journalling. I am a great lover of the written word – no surprise that I’m a qualified language teacher, is it?! I have a huge problem with grammar and spelling – I once watched an English film with [...]

Brush Effects

It’s time for paint again… and playing with “Brush Effects” is the challenge at Michelle’s Street Team Crusades #29 this month. The weather was so lovely today that I played hooky, got loads done and then went upstairs and got serious with paint.
Here’s what happened… I chose the blues, red and yellow for the left page [...]

Sleet, snow, storms…

It’s a good friend’s birthday tomorrow and I have been designing my head off and completing projects all over the place lately. I sat down to make her a card to send with her present last night and decided that I really wanted to make her a present instead. Bearing in mind it was past [...]

Shape Up – part deux!!

When Michelle left me a comment on the first ‘hearts’ page I made, I could ’see’ her like a cartoon character, so vividly, with a halo of hearts buzzing round her head!! It sort of inspired this wacky page I did last night. Instead of making stencils, masks, etc. I just drew hearts and circles [...]

Shape Up! Crusade #27

I really enjoyed my voyage of discovery last year when I started joining in with Michelle Ward’s GPP Street Team Crusades. It opened my eyes to a lot of new artistic possibilities and created a few demons too – a slight obsession with handcarving stamps, for instance – *grins*
I also ‘met’ new people and took [...]

Properties of Gesso.

GPP Street Team Crusades are all about learning, exploration and sharing. Between Trish Bee and Michelle Ward, I have learnt so much in the last 12 months, which has transformed my creative life, that there’s no going back now! I thoroughly recommend the GPP Crusades if you like to experiment with paints, backgrounds, tools, etc. [...]

Dymo-labeller

That’s the required element this week for 4×4 Friday… I used the lovely Cherry Pie Artstamps 3 muses image (well, that’s who they remind me of!) stamped onto a wax-resist painted background *** and added a couple of rather nice embellies – surprising how pretty purple and green look, isn’t it?

*** GPP Street Team Crusade [...]