Back in the Saddle

Not been crafting over the holiday period due to a bad back which is still troubling me but sometimes one has to just go for it.  I decided it was about time I documented my back pain in readiness for the GP appointment in two weeks time (I will have waited a month for this appointment) and so it gave me the perfect opportunity to make a calendar.

I have always wanted to do one of those "page a month" arty ones that you see and when Chris (Pearshaped) did one for the Art Journal Journey it spurred me on.  So thank you Chris.

I set about using Spray Inks, most of them either would not spray or 'blobbed' a lot but I found the Prima ones the best and so I used two of them (Glistening Waves and Deep Teal) to give me my background colour.  I cut out some rectangles, circles and triangles and put them on the card, weighted them down with coins and sprayed before carefully removing both coins and shapes with tweezers.  I then stamped some ferns and a grass type image randomly across both pages.

The removed shapes with the circles from the coins

Adding some one and a half inch squares and the letters forming "January" I had my pages finished.  I did play about a bit with the placement of the squares and decided I wanted the circle to show on the second page to fit in with the theme at Art Journal Journey.  If you look very closely you might see the triangle and one of the rectangles as well.

So there you have it, my calendar ready for documenting on and my entry for Alison's Geometric Shapes theme with Art Journal Journey.  

(Thanks must go to my other half who helped out with the die-cutting as that was a bit too much to chance for me.)

Jeudi Journal

I think this was my choice but what I had in mind when I chose the quote I have not got a clue. 

"I don't like you, you are very ugly and have no manners at all"

made me think of someone doing a rather rude 'Burp' but that is as far as I got.  Wanting to fill up my book and use pages with bits of paint already on I chose the blue page and using an AALL & Create stencil and some blue paint I covered up some of the bits of paint already on, as well as the blank bits  Did think of going with another colour but left it to the blue in the end.

As it was to be someone 'ugly' I decided to use one of the monsters and one of the boys from the same stamp sheet.  I tried out putting a different head on the boy figure and was surprised how it worked - guess he could be burping too.  But he isn't and the monster's burp is actually making him cry.  (hope this does not offend anyone)

In order to bring more interest into the page I used some of the houses and kept them in fairly neutral colours and then decided to put a mushroom in with a caterpillar crawling along the top.  Was not sure about the head of the insect so added another one which was much larger - preferred it so it stayed.

A friend had bought me some Tim Holtz wooden letters and these came in so handy for the word - they went on various parts of the page until they settled where they now are.

Guess that is it folks - hope you like it.

WOYWW 500 It's a big One for the New Year

Yes, this is the 500th edition of WOYWW and Miss Julia should be very very proud of what she has achieved.  Over the years I have made so many friends, friends who do not join in now but who still stay in touch - all thanks to Julia.

Not much has been done over Christmas and yesterday was not a day for doing anything either so here on my desk I have put my Stampotique and Zinni new stamps to show you what you can expect to see in the future.

There's also some new stamps from AALL & Create but I bought those myself from the sales so I will save those for another time to show you.  Might even get around to showing you the handmade Christmas cards I got but we will have to wait and see, depends on getting someone to scan them in for me.

Well, will leave it there for now, have a wonderful year ahead, full of friendship, good health and happiness.

Happy 2019!

Jeudi Journal - Opinion

I think I chose "I don't know where you got your opinion from but I hope you kept the receipt" but why on earth I haven't a clue.  What figures were I thinking of using?  Well, if I had had a thought it was completely gone by now.

Again I had used my brayer with some blue paint on it to clean it off by snatching it here and there on another page.  Then, as usual, it had got left and left until it became almost a necessity to use it.  My book is filling up and there are only a couple of blank pages left.  I had obviously tried to do something when cleaning up with that creamy yellow I had previously used but there wasn't much and it didn't have that much of an effect.  Back to the drawing board - or stencils!

I found this tree stencil and so started to use it with a teal paint and it seemed to work so that became my background - in a hurry, it is Christmas after-all.

The female cat was an obvious choice for this with her hands on her hips and as this couple have not featured for a while I thought they were perfect for attitude and indifference.  So here we have -

Happy New Year!

WOYWW 499

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are ready for a 'Great New Year Ahead'.

Nothing much happening here - I think the room needs a New Year Clean so in an attempt to make things welcome 2019 as they should I am going to do a bit of a tidy up - starting right here with the tea bags.  Yes, despite us not being a tea drinking family I found myself with loads of tea bags wanting emptying and now they are waiting for the iron to come out so that they can be put away ready for decorating.  Hurrah for the tea drinking workers who finished our bedroom in time for Santa to visit.

Black card top left, followed by the tea bags, some black frames and Kraft cards ready for decorating (yes, I am making a start on my "C" cards for next year - refuse to be in the pickle I was in this year) and my wheat bag for my bad back.  Apart from the pots holding a variety of things like pens and scissors I haven't a clue what is top right and I refuse to get out of bed to see.

So all that is left is for me to wish you all a Very Happy New Year and once again pray for Peace.  Happy WOYWW and here's to number 500 next week!

Jeudi Journal Jingle

"Go Jingle Your Own Blimmin Bells" was my choice for Christmas of the funny quotes from Dyan.  Still finding it difficult to work towards a quote and preferred what we used to do when we made our own words up - we could have always used a Dyan one - but that way I tried to fit words to the picture.  Still, giving it a fair go before I throw the towel in.

For this one I used what I had learned from Dyan herself by masking some of the mistletoe out so that it could overlap.  I also did the colouring in for the main page with blue ink (London Blue) although I must admit it looked a bit of a green when it got on the page.  Could it have been the painted, yellow, stars?

Anyhow, I used my favourite little elf but gave him a body from an old set of stamps which to me was perfect for him.  Chose the Poodle to be his companion on the page because of her woolly outfit - just perfect for Christmas.

It's the only Christmas page I have done as my back is really bad again - so I am sorry I did not get to enter any more than this into Art Journal Journey.  So Elizabeth this is my only entry for your delightful theme, sorry.

Hope you like it.  Merry Christmas!

WOYWW 498

Short and ..... well, short - just the way Julia likes them.  Busy weekend trying to get the bedroom looking like we actually use it - yeah - it is finished!  Simply emptying boxes, suitcases but not the "sucky" bags as yet.  Mopping the dust up ... and suffering like crazy with my back.  So much so I have had to cancel my little op on the 28th but the good news is I can now eat at Christmas (otherwise it was going to be a silly pre-op diet for a week starting the 21st).  

This has been my main Christmas card this year, well a copy of it because this is one my dear friend Mary sent a couple of years ago and one which I loved so much she sent me the die (it's a Top Note by Sizzix), and step by step instructions on how to cut the shape up - and even sent me the red glitter card that she thought was "the best" that I would not be able to get in the UK.  So my card this year was a tribute to a dear friend who I miss like crazy, love and remember with such fondness.  Hope you like it:

All that remains is for me to wish you all "A Very Happy Christmas" - hope it is a good one for you and now I am hopping over to see Julia and my fellow WOYWW'ers.  Toodle Pip!