WORDS Swap

Have spent the last few days thinking about a 'Words' swap with an ATC group on Flickr.


These are my firs thoughts, but now I know who my partners are I will have to have a look and see who will like what and decide if I need to make any more. They are all collage type, but I also managed to do a tape transfer (the key on the top one) so now I'm madly trying them with all sorts of things.

Journal Page - What Colour Are You?

The next journal page (things got a bit out of order because I was away on holiday) that I have completed is for Sian. Her theme is 'what colour are you?' and I decided that I am green. I have made the page from several layers of card and mountboard - in fact I could be rivalling Paula for creating the thickest page SO FAR for this challenge!! The background is made using resist emboss technique with some collaged butterflies over the top (I went for some orange as a contrast as it was VERY green when I had finished). The leaf is made from string and tissue paper on card, the frog is modelled from makins clay and painted (isn't he just cute as a bug?). The additional layers were required to accommodate the turning circle which has a spiral of words on it explaining GREEN from a personal aura perspective. The challenge for this page was not the individual techniques but in making everything match up. It's nearly perfect but I'm not going to give away my mistakes, lets just say the little bugs were very useful. I really enjoyed doing this one, and I have called it, 'Life is easy when you're green' (alternative title - 'Kermit got it wrong').

To visit the Journal blog and view all the pages in this challenge click here.

Maggie's Monday Musings

MMM is a weekly challenge blog set up by the wonderful Margaret with hopefully those entering taking part in a swap. I have done my first one, this week the challenge theme was 'Parisienne'. I have gone for a basic collage type ATC. Now all I have to do is work out how to link the photo to the site!!

A bit of this n that

After yesterday's marathon post will keep it short and sweet tonight. Amidst going to work and spending some time on another project have finished these two very different items. The wall hanger is a little gift for my newly arrived niece, Grace, who I haven't seen yet :0(.


The altered jigsaw piece is a fridge magnet. I think these work quite well, think I may make a few as pressies.

Gouache resist technique

Today I had a go at this technique which is part of a challenge within one of my art groups. There is a tutorial on Agnes the Reds' website.

The materials list onthe tutorial begins "Watercolour paper - 300lb pre stretched/cold pressed is best" mmm. Lost already. I also needed India Ink which I didn't have. So let's improvise.

The first thing that has to be done is some kind of image. As I am not really an 'artist' this kind of thing fills me with horror as it requires drawing. Looking at the pieces that had been completed already, it seemed to me that a very simple image would work best - I copied an image from a small stamp of a very basic little bird and started from there. I used some watercolour paper - no idea if it was hot or cold or what lol. So far so good.

Now we had to paint in the bits that we wanted to resist the ink (to be applied later) with gouache. I don't really understand this medium altho I do have it, and I'm not sure I am using it properly. Found this part quite difficult to do and retain even the few details I had. In the end basically just splodged it all over and then scraped it off with a cocktail stick in the appropriate places.

Then came adding the ink. Well the only inks I had were coloured ones designed to be used with a graphics pen that I don't have (were a bargain) so I chose what seemed to be darkest neutral one I had. I tested a bit to make sure it was waterproof, seemed OK so added it all over. Seemed a bit pale (well it would, it wasn't black) so did it again. Here is the result. I actually quite like it like this.



Now comes the really scarey part, you have to wash off the gouache to reveal the clear paper beneath. Putting anything basically made of paper intentionally near water seems rather risky at the best of times but I swallowed hard and did it. Amazingly the gouache came off quite easily and apart from looking a little soggy around the edges it was basically fine.


When it was dry I coloured it in with some watercolour paints.



I can't say I am over enamoured of this as a finished piece, but it was always more about seeing if I could do it than creating a masterpiece. (Sorry, had to stop myself laughing). But it is certainly acceptable although it would have been better with a black contrast. Perhaps I will try again using a permanent maker pen as I don't have any black ink. Question is, can I now finish the challenge by making an ATC? I don't think this is a technique I am going to be using much - I don't draw - but may have another go at the weekend.

A bit dark for me..

When I was making my clay heads the other day two of them came out as jolly little goths so I have done two cards using them (Just wanted an excuse to use my crow stamp). I have called them both 'Any colour - as long as its Black@ but of course you can't really do the whole thing black so they are just rather grungy.

A girl and a sheep........for Garden Gal

Today I had so much lovely post the Post man brought it in a van!! Some of it was goddies that I had ordered and some was artwork from others - it is all so good I don't know what to look at first.



I have to post this picture which was sent to me by Gude, a member of my daily art card group on flickr. I have often admired her whimsical characters 'girl and a sheep' who she features in a variety of situations. After some gentle prompting from me (I have no shame) she drew this one especially for me. I think it's gorgeous and I'm going to put it in a frame in my display cabinet.