We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
"Little Gidding"
T S Eliot

Wednesday 3 December 2014

End of one challenge .....

The Ashtead Club 2014 challenge has ended.  It seems such a short time ago we were given the details, and that was back in January!  This is going to be my longest post yet - so hope you stay with me!

Called Dec this Journal, it was based on Wreck this Journal.  We were given an A4 file folder, and a list of page ideas, the object being to create a minimum of 10 A4 pages all linked to the page ideas. Some of the pages were also part of the bi-monthly challenge.

I managed to completed 15 pages - so for posterity's sake, they are recorded here!  I have posted some previously.

I decorated the file folder cover with brayered acrylic paint and a little stamping.















Take a book page and highlight the words you like

This page is from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll - well, it had to be didn't it!

The cut out words  read "a cautiously curious consequence of the prettiest sheep".





Showcase a stamp you like and a stamp you don't

Love the moth stamp, but not the winged cats one! The border stamp is a favourite too.









A page that includes a stamped fruit or vegetable image

Images stamped with acrylic paint, using celery stalks, cut celery base and cut celery pieces used in a squiggly fashion. Celery is my favourite veg!

Bird stamp is hand drawn and cut from funky foam.
Embrace one of your least favourite craft techniques

I dislike anything too cutesy, so found some free digi stamps, (including a spooky half-face one), which I coloured in with ProMarkers and Copics. Also used a yukky decoupage thing found at the bottom of the unwanted box!

All on a not very nice flat coloured background!

Ink blot challenge

Acrylic ink dropped onto Yupo paper, and an awful lot of puff through a straw.

Used very little ink, but as the paper is completely non-absorbent, the ink goes a long way.

Birds cut from randomly painted card.












Cover a page with circles

Used ProMarkers and Copics to make the small dots, and all my different sized circle punches to create the eyes!







Add a photo of yourself that you don't like - deface it so it looks better!

This is my passport photo - much better now!

Cover a page using just one word

My favourite word - serendipity - the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

I used various dilutions of iridescent acrylic paint to create a serendipitous background!








Hot Hot Hot

Some Like It Hot - one of my favourite films.  I created a digital collage, then prepared the background with acrylic paint and used some die-cut scrolls.










Cover a page in tape

Acrylic paint brayered background, then used all the tapes I could find!

Aluminium tape, plasterboard tape, washi tape, masking tape, paper lace tape, measuring tape.

The flowers are made from washi tape and masking tape with a thin layer of gesso and Distress Ink.













Take the first letter of your surname - dedicate a page to it

Introducing the B family, probably starring in a B movie!

I mainly used pens, with a few alphabet bits found in my unwanted box (that box is quite useful!).







Fill a page with colour and pattern

Acrylic paint brayered, stamped and stenciled. Used Distress pens to colour the humming bird.

Tried to resist using blue and nearly made it - the bird was when I came unstuck with that!




Provide evidence of eye bombing.

If you have never come across this before, just google it!

For a few months I always had some googly eyes on me, just in case an opportunity arose!








Stick in leaves and/or other found items.

A watercolour background, and a collection of nature's bounty dried in a very large and heavy American dictionary!

Plus a little irridescent paint on the sycamore seeds.






Choose a colour - make a collage.

One of my favourite techniques, and it had to be blue!

At the time I was learning about making faces, so this gave me an opportunity to have another practice!

I used lots of different blue papers, and the blue dress is cut from a fashion magazine that featured a blue dress!  Finally, a little blue trim.


This was an inspired challenge and I really had fun, doing stuff I wouldn't normally try.  And the bonus?  I won!

Thanks for sticking with me to the end!

2 comments:

  1. what an amazing project. I love the final collage - the girl's hair is awesome and so much movement in it. Your passport pic made me laugh - it looked like you had a face mask on.

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