Thursday, December 28, 2017

Christmas Bookmarks


Christmas papers mean Christmas paper scraps.  And Christmas paper scraps mean mosaic bookmarks

Monday, December 18, 2017

Crafty Experiments and Using Up My Stash


Like most stampers, I have a stash of embossing powder, which is used for heat embossing.  I don't do as much stamping as I used to and I rarely emboss, but things seem more sparkly at Christmas, don't they?  Crafters too share the desire to bring light into this dark time of year.

This crafty experiment combines brush lettering with heat embossing.  First, I wrote "heart" with a Pentel waterbrush dipped in glycerine, and then I sprinkled on the embossing powder.  The heat was provided by a heat gun.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

The Gift of Music


Stamps by Magenta and Clearly Wordsworth

Music is one of the mysterious gifts we have been given, like sunsets and rainbows.  Earlier in December I went to the Westcoast Calligraphy Society's Christmas Tea.  I'm an introvert, and not a very social person, finding casual chit-chat difficult.  But I very happily spent an hour singing Christmas carols and I'm very grateful to the people who made this possible.  We had a talented pianist and carol sheets for all who wanted to join the fun.


Stamps by Stampin' Up


The added bonus from all of this was that I found myself in the Christmas spirit!


A flurry of Christmas card-making ensued.


Stamps by Stampin' Up

It seems that I couldn't get "Joy to the World" out of my head:







Friday, December 15, 2017

Sketch with Sue Kemnitz


Reference Photo by Sandy Scott, Paint My Photo

Hubby gifted me a wonderful on-line sketching course for my birthday.  One of the lessons encourages us to draw a bird - I didn't need much encouragement.

I'm loving the course - you can watch a preview here.  Sue's style is very whimsical and fast, both of which match my approach to drawing.  

Sunday, December 3, 2017

And then this crazy, wierd thing happened


While I was painting gouache flowers in my art journal, I found a background done in acrylic.  I drew some flowers and added some gelatos and more acrylic and the background became a foreground.

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Using Up Gouache


Often my inspiration comes from practical projects like "using up journals".  I'm currently trying to clean out all of my paint palettes, so I've been painting in gouache.  This little piece is in my sketchbook.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

The Trees Keep Reappearing


Can you tell I live in the North American west coast rain forest?  No matter the color scheme, the coniferous trees are a constant source of inspiration.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Making "Guy Cards"


Making cards for the men in my life is always a challenge.  


Hand painted paper


Gelli Print


Stamp by Tim Holtz

Sunday, November 19, 2017

A Burst of Card Making


And using up some papers from my stash - always a good thing.



Bird Stamp by Inkadinkado


Saturday, November 18, 2017

It Only Takes One or Two...

It only takes one or two successful prints to make me happy.  


And I usually only get one or two. LOL

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Thoughts on Unfinished Journals: You Don't Have to Finish the Way You Started


Gelli Print

The second journal I'm working on finishing began its life as a sketchbook.  Most of the pages are kraft, and a few are cream.  I stumbled upon a You Tube video by Robyn McClendon in which she prints in a kraft journal and a light bulb lit up in my head.  I may change my mind again, but so far, I'm having lots of fun!



Each day I work with a different color palette.



A few trees are making an appearance.







Friday, November 10, 2017

Magenta Stamps


Here are a few more ATC's that I made recently and forgot to post.  The stamps are by Magenta, colored with Prismacolor pencil crayons.



Thursday, November 9, 2017

Thoughts on Unfinished Journals: Why My Brain is Tired


Zeigarnik
Sprayed Ink Accordian Journal

Zeigarnik is the psychological fixation on unfinished tasks.  Zeigarnik explains why I spend so much time thinking about my unfinished journals.  You can read more about it and see some beautiful sketchbook pages here, on Laurie Doctor's blog.  She talks about how this is linked to procrastination, productivity, and multi-tasking.

Although I feel better knowing why I think about it and how to solve it, getting at the solution is harder than it looks.  (I already knew what the solution is - just finish them!)  Even before I read Laurie's article, I began to take the unfinished journals off my shelf and work on finishing them.

I'm trying to do them in the order in which they were started.  This is the first, an accordian journal just waiting for a few small entries to complete it.  

Now it is done:


And on the reverse:


Here's a close-up of a few of my favorite pages:







Sunday, November 5, 2017

Snow Day


Monoprinting is a perfect way to spend a snowy day.  You can see how it influenced my prints too.




Saturday, November 4, 2017

Christmas Already?


Pencil Crayon
Stamps by Magenta

When you're a card maker, you start thinking about Christmas quite early.  I've seen a few Christmas cards and tags around my blog hopping, and they inspired these.


Pencil Crayon
Stamps by Clearly Wordsworth

Although they are Artist Trading Cards, they can be made into a card quite easily.

Friday, November 3, 2017

Oh, Canada!


ATC
Pencil Crayon
Original Photo at Paint My Photo

I guess there was one more bird in me!

I'm thinking about drawing faces again. 

Monday, October 30, 2017

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Spoonbill


Elegant Writer, Inktense
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Angeline Rijkeboer - Paint My Photo

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Just a Goose


Elegant Writer, Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Sanne - Paint My Photo

Friday, October 27, 2017

Blue Crane


Elegant Writer, Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Mariaan Otto - Paint My Photo

People on Instagram have said that these would make good hooked rugs or children's jigsaw puzzles.  I love it when people take time to make a comment; I so rarely get any feedback and it is very encouraging.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

I Love Birds With Attitude


Elegant Writer, Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Angeline Rijkeboer - Paint My Photo

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Roseate Spoonbill


Elegant Writer, Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 8.5" x 5.5"
Original Photo by Susan Mulno Paint My Photo

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Definitely a Series


Elegant Writer, Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Nicola B, Paint My Photo

Yes, these birds are definitely becoming a series.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Another Bird Series?


Elegant Writer and Watercolor
Strathmore Watercolor Journal
5.5" x 8.5"
Photo by Angeline Rijkeboer - Paint My Photo

I think there might be another bird series coming.  Of course, that's only until I get distracted by something else.