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

Sunday 25 June 2017

Forever in my heart ...

Towards the end of last year I created a piece with my sister, Laura (see here for a reminder).

She recently gave me another collection of turned wood discs, which I thought about for a little while, moving them around like draught pieces!

Then (lightbulb!) - I've recently acquired some Powertex Stone Art, which I've been wanting to try, and thought it would make a great background for the wood.

I used a wood box canvas again, for complete stability, and covered it in Powertex (a mixture of black and ivory), and then applied the Stone Art, which is weird stuff; I think it is made from paper.

After several layers of the Stone Art and Powertex I was happy. I then sprayed it with Bister (3 colours), and once that was dry I knocked it back with more ivory Powertex.

I waited about 48 hours for it to thoroughly dry, and then added the wood discs. I had already worked out the order and pattern of the discs, but it was tricky to place them precisely. I think I held my breath for the entire time, as I so did not want to make a mistake!



We have called it Heartwood, and it is now in Laura's Etsy shop (see here).

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.
It is daily admission of one's weakness.
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mahatma Gandhi

Friday 16 June 2017

Going round in circles ... (story of my life!)

I did a three day coloured pencils workshop last month, spread over three weeks. I wouldn't have thought there would be much to learn, but as I seem to have collected quite a few sets of pencils I decided it would be good to start using them!

I was amazed at how much I learned over the three days. I'm not usually into detail work, but using coloured pencils became quite compulsive (and very therapeutic!) and I just became lost in the moment.

My favourite set of pencils are my Prismacolor ones, and I've used them on these two pieces.

We learned about different ways to colour - hatching, cross-hatching, and going round in tiny circles (my favourite). It is possible to use just primary colours to create any other colour, and there was also blending and polishing too. Like watercolour it is all about slowly building up in layers (without the drying time).

For this one we had to bring in some fruit and/or veg as subject matter. So I did a stir-fry that evening!

Using white  hot pressed watercolour paper (A4); after sketching it out I did a light coloured watercolour wash over each piece of veg.

The onion skin is created using an embossing tool to deboss the lines before any colour pencil is added.

My mushroom is a little wonky - but hey - what mushroom isn't!


For this one I borrowed a vase as all my stuff was packed away during some decorating work.

The paper is a grey pastel paper.

The vase neck is a bit off, but I got the colour right!

It is surprising how long this took (the paper is also A4 size).




Really enjoyed the workshops, and now I need to remember to add coloured pencils to the list of possible media to use in a project!


Saturday 10 June 2017

A rose by any other name ...

Time for the Craft Barn's twelve month challenge - half way through now, and still waiting for summer to really kick in!  June's couplet is

June brings tulips, lilies, roses;
Fills the children's hands and posies.

Additionally we have to include a bunch of flowers ... don't think I'll have room to fit in anything else!

Rummaged through my scrap box and made some die-cuts, then decided a black background would be perfect.  I'm learning that the postcard size needs to be kept simple, and I'm not fighting that premise now!


A friend has an absolutely stunning rose in her garden, which has inspired me to write a haiku -

Many petal beauty
Pale rose - softly scented cloud
Dreams of languid days


Thursday 1 June 2017

I'll take cake with that - oh and some clotted cream!

Recently had a really enjoyable all day workshop with HobbyArt, which involved making a few cards using their stamps.

Ir was good not to have any real challenges but just create some nice cards. I think there were about 24 of us, and so much food was provided throughout the day I think it should be called a "food fest and by they way, make some cards too"!

I'll be providing a menu guide for the day!

We used Kuretake Clean Color brush pens (water based) to colour the images. I've never used these pens before, but I was really impressed how easy they were to blend. Though I don't think I'll be buying any, as I've go sooooo many different types of pens and pencils already ...

On arrival, coffee and biscuits.

For the first card we used a magnificent "monarch of the glen" stamp. Isn't he beautiful? This was my first go with the pens - not bad! Also used a fern stamp for a border.

I know exactly who I'm going to send this to as a birthday card!

Tea break, with more biscuits!











The second card was was a little more adventurous.

Stunning bird stamp - with my fantasy colouring! Think I'll call him a pink chaffinch!

A few cone flowers (decoupaged).












Lunchtime! so I opted for an egg and cress sandwich, but it came with a lovely salad and crisps. Then the hot stuff came out (sausage rolls, spring rolls, quiche and more).

Followed by pudding - either apple crumble or fruit salad. I went for the fruit ... but had to include a dollop of clotted cream.

Back to work (!?!).

The next card had a Brusho background, and a couple of lovely peacock stamps. Now I'm not one for fussy cutting, so I think I did quite well!















The card opened out like this.

Tea break - with cake!















Our final card was reasonably simple - which was a good thing, as after all that food my body wanted an afternoon siesta!

Distress Inks for the background, a little embossing too.

The dandelion clock is stamped and embossed onto parchment, and cut out.

Very pretty.














Fabulous day, and I have some lovely cards for the next few birthdays.

I wobbled home very content!