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, 13 January 2016

And is there still honey for tea?

The post title is the last line from the poem "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester" by Rupert Brooke.

This year's Craft Barn Challenge is an Alpha/Dictionary one, with a new letter every two weeks. I didn't take part the last time they did this in 2013, so this is a new one for me! The first letter is B. Any format is OK but you must include the word and dictionary definition.

I have an old dictionary I use for collage etc., and I will be sticking to my favourite format of a 10 x 8 sheet (I like having the option of using different card/paper as the base), which will end up in a journal book.

B - had to be bee, as I am a bit obsessive about bees (I got a bee brooch for my birthday, and some bee earrings for Christmas!).

Using a piece of acrylic paper, I covered it in acrylic paint. After all the watercolouring I've been doing of late it was good to get the acrylic paint out again!

Then a few quick strokes to create some flowers, followed by my favourite bee stamps (by Stampotique). I've had trouble in the past stamping onto acrylic paint, and I sure I've been told numerous times how to get round this - but I forget! Anyway, the ink sank a bit into the paint so I used a liner pen to accentuate.



PS: I don't know if this affects any of my followers, but here is an announcement made on Blogger Buzz, which I have copied from another blog:

In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we’ve seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs.

As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.

We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow.

We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.

Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer

16 comments:

  1. A great creation, makes me longing for spring.

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  2. Hi, lovely creation and I too will be entering this challenge.

    I keep on having to sign in again to blogs, now your latest follower.
    crafty hugs Pen x

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    1. Hi Pen - welcome! Look forward to seeing your challenge creation!

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  3. Great page, pretty flowers! xx

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  4. Very pretty page. I love the flowers.
    Thans for dropping by mine!

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  5. Lovely page! I nearly did bees too, they're so sweet. Love the way you've done your flowers, it's reminding me of spring! Lou x

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  6. Bee-autiful! Yes, dye ink will sink in acrylic paint (especially gesso or chalky paints), whilst Versafine won't dry. For best results, the big guns are required for this, either Archival or Stazon although I use Brilliance which will dry eventually.

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    1. Thank you! - I'll write myself a note about the inks and pin on my craft room noticeboard!

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  7. It had to be a bee for you and the bees on the pages are great. Lovely page.

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  8. Beautiful bees and very important little creatures. Love your art work.
    Google is a pain taking the action it did as it has forced so many people to sign up. A touch of Big Brother!!

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  9. I was DELIGHTED to reconnect with you for this latest Craft Barn Challenge. What a perfect beginning that both of us missed the first time around. Your love of bees must have made this letter even more important, and of course, as always, I am truly impressed with your stamping and drawing skills. BTW, thanks for visiting me while I slept this morning.

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  10. A lovely page to get us started. It's hard to think of bees again in this cold weather. I only have a balcony but I try to put out pots for the insects and we always get a lot of bees in the summer stopping off.

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  11. Fabulous start to the challenge - love your painted flowers and bees!

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  12. Fab page, lovely spring feel to it. I wish it would look like that outside at the moment :)

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  13. I love the background, although it is acrylic it looks like watercolor to me.

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  14. A great start to the 2016 challenge. The sky is fabulous.

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