Jeudi Journal - Birds

This week I chose a kind of outdoor scene for my journal page.  Mainly because I painted the page blue and then put some fluffy clouds on it (you can barely see them) because I knew it was going to be something to do with birds.  Because I like to enter my pages in Art Journal Journey I put some simple stitching around the edges like I had done last week, it makes for a nice border anyway.  There is also some stitching around the edge of the table cloth so that it complies with Halle's challenge of "A Stitch in Time".

I then had to think up a story in order to decide which Dylusion figures to put on my page and decided that the quote "When in doubt put a bird on it" could apply to a birthday cake where they hadn't known what to put on it so they put a bird (decoration of course) on it.

So my page is telling the story of the mother of twin girls hosting an outdoor birthday party for them and not knowing what to put on the cake, for a change, has decided to put a bird on it.    The twins are standing there in their new party dresses and they have all, had you noticed, got matching footwear, including mum.  Then, of course, you get the cheeky little boy who has his eye on the cake, peering over the edge of the table.  Just hope he doesn't stick his finger in it before it is cut.

As we have just heard this past weekend The Forces Sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynne, has passed at the marvellous age of 103 so what could be more appropriate than to use a bluebird in honour of her.  RIP Dame Vera Lynne,

WOYWW 577

Another week has flown by and it is time again for my weekly show of my desk via WOYWW with Julia, our founder.  Find out what I am on about if you don't already know by clicking here.

This week found me joining in with an online mixed media workshop with Tracy Evans where we were making a little book.  I was thrilled to bits with the way the pages turned out when we used the stencil.  Was it because of the choice of stencil or the technique?  Not sure, but I do know that I really liked the finish of each page before we began adding embellishments.  I still have a couple of pages to decorate but that is only because I wanted to put something gardening related on them but not a different flower.  Still thinking on that one so maybe next week you will get to see it.

These online workshops are ideal for me as I have not been able to attend one at a store in ages on account of my back but doing them at home it does not matter if my back gives in because I just stop and then carry on at my own convenience.

This was my desk on Sunday afternoon following the workshop and it remained like that whilst I did a couple more pages on Monday/Tuesday so due to my back beginning to rebel it is like that now and is likely to stay like that until Thursday or Friday.  It might have a bit more stuff on now than on Sunday.  

The only thing I have done in my craftroom since is sort out a couple of drawers.  I have so much stuff for Tracy's classes now that I have had to give her an extra drawer.  So one is labelled "Tracy's Stamps" and the other "Tracy's Stuff" - I have become a real fan of hers and her Facebook group are lovely.  Everyone is so friendly, someone even sent me some calico because I did not know what it looked like and was unsure if I had some - and wanted nothing in return, didn't even put her return address on the envelope so I could send a 'thank you' card.

Also when you post your efforts you get lots of people giving you a "like" and quite a lot of people will comment as well.  So unlike my monthly group, which is closed at the moment but which I am trying to encourage to do something online to keep us in touch.  Very little traffic on there.  One thing I noticed was that ten people had viewed a card someone had made and put on the group, but it had only three likes so does that mean that seven of the ten who viewed did not like it?

Health Update:

My back has been playing up a lot more but I can help the pain to lessen by sitting down.  Standing does not seem to be good for me at the moment.  My shoulder is no better despite constant icing when I can.  Not long before I can have treatment thank goodness.

I have been having a lot more episodes of breathlessness and am wondering if it is time for the battery to be replaced in my pacemaker.  Next Wednesday I will be missing for a short while as I am due at the hospital to have it checked.  Prayers please for it to have enough life in it to keep me going for another three months at least.  I am not ready for going into hospital for an operation yet with the Covid figures in the north west as they are.

Jeudi Journal - Two?

The old saying "Two heads are better than one" is the quote for today's journal.  Simple?  Well, that is what I thought until late last night when I realised I had not done it - again ...  A quick coat of yellow ochre paint on my journal page, with a touch of white brushed on randomly at the top and off to bed, back aching a bit.  Better not to push it.

Up this morning and a new day!  Looking at all my figures already cut out I decided on the girl with the big head and two smaller figures.  Putting the single figure at one side and the two together at the other I began with my lettering.  This time I was in a hurry so didn't even look at the printed quote - just tried to do lettering similar to that of the past two weeks.  Just need to do a few more and maybe practice when I am watching tv or something.  I found a graph paper tiny book - ideal for doing just that in.  

So that was my "two heads are better than one" quote - but something was missing.  There was a gap between the two figures on the left and the one on the right and it needed something.  I should have arranged my lettering better, done it bigger.  So what can I do?  A dog!  A dog will fit in that space and it will make the page more cohesive.  Then looking through my dogs I thought "why did I not think of this earlier - a dog with two heads, instead of a tail he could have another head."  And so my page now has a dog with two heads as well.

So we could weave a story around the three girls out walking and the dog but instead of me doing it I will leave it to you my friends.

Oh, and I put some stitching around the page and the cross stitch stamp  in orange randomly stamped here and there to let me include my journal page in Art Journal Journey where you could do something similar if you followed the link.  Go on, you know you want to.  

WOYWW 576

Before I forget, I have not found where to comment on Marianne's post for the past two weeks.  Am sure I have commented before but I searched and searched these last two weeks and found nowhere!
Once more we are at Wednesday - they come around quicker than (what?).  It is actually Tuesday night and we are having a terrific thunderstorm and the rain is coming down ever so heavily.  Not as bad as last night at my friends in South Manchester - she said the noise was terrible and her kitchen was under about an inch of water.  Not much fun when you are on your own and you have to face something like that.  People who join in with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday are never alone.  IT's a happy bunch of friends, nobody is a stranger so why not join in and show us your desk.

Well, I have been crafting a good bit this week.  Nowhere near as much as some but good for me.  As well as doing the iCAD's, yes, I have kept up with them, I have made a tag and a canvas (only it wasn't a canvas as I didn't have one so it was a circle of card which is going to be stuck on a canvas backing when one arrives through the mail).  I did another one but changed it a little and did it on a rectangular block of wood that used to be a picture of Van Gogh's Boots.  Remember those, think they were 'Athena', pictures that were all the rage years ago?  This is my canvas that isn't:

I can't show you my tag or the other canvas (again that isn't) as yet but I can let you see my desk which was tidy(ish) so I put my iCAD's out for you to see my week's progress.

More or less the usual stuff but now I have some templates to do circles with on the left, some Honey Doo glue (love it), a dirty water pot (green paint had been used), two PPA paints, a tag (which shouldn't be there), a tissue for wiping up and my new vases for use on things.  The cardboard roll is full of messy pieces of kitchen roll for journalling with and to the right of the iCAD's is a piece of Kitchen roll and a messy towel and a huge AALL & Create stamp.

and here are the iCAD's in close up

That's it for this week see you next week!

Jeudi Journal - Adjust

Another one where I have done the writing myself - this time I just went with it and did not try to copy anyones style - think it is a 'miss mash' to be honest of various styles but it was all I could manage.

I began with using up one of my Lindy's Stamp Gang (Starburst) spray inks, with the aid of a foam brush, as paint.  I have never been wonderful with sprays so I have so many I am now using them to paint with.  After a couple of coats I decided to leave it and concentrated on getting my lettering done.  Then I began thinking of my figure and how I was going to portray this quote of Dyans.   So... 

The words are "let me adjust my crown and get my day started" and Princess Phoebe is feeling a bit like she has just woken up but already her Royal dogs are sniffing around her heels and little Pepe has even brought the lead ready for her to take them out.  Fifi is looking most disinterested but has her nose firmly in the air, afterall, she is wearing her lovely new doggy coat in Royal Lilac and cannot wait to show it off to anyone who happens to be in the royal grounds.

Because I wanted to enter this into Art Journal Journey where the theme is 'sewing' or 'time' - or both, I did some stamping of some stitching around the sides and then a bit of cross stitch stamping 'higgeldy piggeldy' over the background.  I try to enter this fun journal challenge each week - why not take a look and see if you can do something.

All main stamps are by Dylusions except the crown which came from the bee stamp of Pink Ink.  The stitches are by SU.

WOYWW 575

Another week has flown by and it is time for another WOYWW, brainchild of the wonderful Julia who you can meet here and join in with the longest running blog hop, I am sure, that there is. 

Well, apart from watching several You Tubes and writing notes up so that I can remember what to do I haven't been that productive.  Done two cards similar to what Tracy Evans has shown us (both the same) and, wait for it - Caro has inspired me to do some iCADS.  Not really sure what I am supposed to do but have done one a day since the beginning of the month (well caught up and am NOW doing one a day).  My idea was to do a background and then some stamping and when/if my back hurt (has a lot this week again) do a bit of colouring with pencils whilst sat with my hot water bottle in my chair.  Otherwise, if A ok just get on with it in my craft room.  So here is a mixture:

I hope Caro can tell me if I am doing it wrong and I should just be experimenting with paint or something like that.  I have enjoyed myself though and now wish I had started doing one a day when the first day of lockdown began - I could have had a nice book of images to remind me of the pandemic - but who knows, I might carry on past the end of July if I feel like it.

OK so that looks a bit of a set up on my desk but honestly, that is how my desk looks because I set them out to take a photo and left them there thinking I would get a better picture of them on the floor - then realised I can't get down and then get up again.  The circles was done today and I just crayoned the shapes whilst sat in my chair.

Got a lovely card from Darnell, you all remember Darnell I am sure.  Well, occasionally we swap an email or two and look at this lovely card she sent to me.  I just love that background.

It seems a shame to waste the back of the card and not show it to you so I have opened it up so you can see the lovely mix of colours.  I have had so many lovely cards recently I think it about time I got making some so I might take inspiration from the iCADs above and get some done and sent out.  In the meantime I will just say cheerio and stay safe and well folks. 

Jeudi Journal - The Cat and I

Wendy has chosen "Sorry but the cat and I have plans for the evening" as the quote for today.  I don't know if this is a Dyan quote or not as the lettering is different so I wrote mine out, trying once more to do some journal writing ... and not doing very well but better than last week.  Or at least I think so.

For this one I chose a pale blue Pan Pastel for the background at the top and about three quarters down the page leaving just a band at the bottom which I ended up doing yellow.  I then put a stencil on the top half and went through it with a lilac Pan Pastel - I wanted it to represent someone's hallway with a patterned wallpaper, but not too clear, just a hint of pattern.  

The story here is that the lady on the left has just had a caller asking her out for the evening but she is not feeling at all like going out preferring a night in with her cat which is making its way over to her having just left its basket when the caller came in.  As you can see by the grandfather clock in the corner it is only morning and she has some sewing she wants to get on with, hence the dressmaker's dummy standing  there.

Because there is sewing (see the cross stitch picture behind the clock) and time involved in my journal page I am entering this into Halle's Art Journal Journey challenge this month where the theme is "a stitch in time" - you can include both or one of them, and I decided to choose both.

Despite talking to myself very strongly I left this until the last minute again - next week I WILL start earlier.  Thank goodness this was so much easier to do than the last few have been.

WOYWW 574

Another week has gone by - the weather has been lovely, pandemic rules have lessened a little (although some folks seem to think it is back to "normal" if normal is ever going to be normal) and I have done very little.  Somewhere in the past couple of weeks I began an online workshop but because of my back it didn't get finished, in fact I gave up on the Sunday morning.  So I bought Tracy's from her and that had now arrived and will go up on the wall in my craft room when Chas gets around to it.

I didn't want two the same so there seemed little point in finishing mine so I began "hacking" at it and turned the circle into a hexagon.  Got my melt-pot out, added some honey coloured paint, a Sizzix bee and a few different stamps.  

This is my desk as it stands at the moment.  As you can see there is the canvas above, plus Tracy Evans's and some hearts from another Tracy (Easson) that need putting on a background piece.

I just cannot decide how best to display those hearts but I want the board underneath for something else I have planned.  Will it come to fruition - I haven't a clue, all depends on the antics of my back.  I have not had a good week again so we will have to wait and see.

In the meantime why not pop over to WOYWW to see what Julia and the girls have been up to.  I will be saying 'welcome home' to Alan, back home from his long stay in hospital with Covid, and saying 'hello' to Helen who had a nasty fall last week.  Hope the two of them are feeling much better this Wednesday as are all of you out there.

If you can, stay in and stay safe.