Thursday 28 February 2013

March Calendar Journal Page

Hi Folks here's another calendar journal page - but there is a bit of a saga behind this one, so I apologise in advance for the long post.
This is the finally finished page!


At the beginning of the month I decided I would do my calendar page for March and make something to enter for an 'Inspired' challenge.  I thought if I got started at the beginning of the month I would have no problem getting both of them done!!! Who was I kidding?!?!?
Anyway started on the background for the calendar page and got it done very quickly, but first problem arose - one you have heard from me before - I really REALLY liked it and when I went back to add all the squares I couldn't - so I walked away and left it for a few days, then for a few more!!! 
Here's the first background.

By the middle of the month my health decided to take a downward turn but I didn't panic because I knew I still had time!!!
A way to move forward at this point was suggested by my husband, who said - 'do another one, as close to that one as you can make it!! that way it wont be unique and you wont be so precious about it'!!! superb advise.  That's what I did!
Here's the second one!
But wait - there's more!!
While doing the second one I thought I would try doing it on a canvas - I said I wanted to do more work with canvas this year and this seemed like an ideal time as I could use all the stuff I already had out on the desk.  So I did - but got rather carried away!!
Liked it so much, tried it on some small canvases to make journal covers.


 
Sanity then set in and I realised I had to get the actual page finished as I still hadn't done anything for the inspiration challenge.
So I tried to finish the page.  I couldn't think what to put on it - I had decided the squares I would use but couldn't decided on a feature piece or quote.  
Time went by!!
The inspiration hit - I had spent so much time during the month looking at clocks and watches feeling that I didn't have enough time!
So that set the theme.  
Only problem was I tried to finish the page on a day when I really wasn't well enough and manage to make a right royal mess of it!!!
So back to the beginning - make another background.
So make the last background and surprise surprise I think I liked it the best out of all I had done!!
It this point I told myself to get a grip and get the page finished.  Which I finally did, on the 28th of February!!!  So much for my plans of being ahead this month and doing two challenges.
But then I realised that I had managed to do both challenges in one - is this page was inspired by time - or in my case the lack of it so I'm going to add it to the 'inspired' challenge at the 11th hour and hope that its ok.
So a quick run down of the technique used, Dylusion ink sprays, sprayed in sections across the page, quite a lot - it was very wet.  Tilling the paper to make the inks run into each other and occasionally blowing through a straw to help it along!! Then splatters of gold mica spray.  I then added some rock salt and let it all  dry naturally.
The up side of this rather long saga i,s I now have 1 12 x 12 page, 1 large canvas and 3 sets of small canvases to use on other projects.  And I will probably cannibalise the remains of the first version of this page as I still like the background!! LOL I never throw anything away!!
As for the finished page - I think the writting takes over a bit but I will write in the square with a white pen and that will balance it out nicely!
Well if you have managed to stick it out this far and very impressed.  Hope you have a go at this one - its really quick but WARNING very addictive!!!
Have a great month!
Xxxx hugz xxxX

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Fun with Couture!

Hi folks hope you are all enjoying the spring-ish weather!  
We'll I'm living in hope!
Just a quick post today.  
Was at Art From The Heart a the weekend and got the play with Dyan's new Large Dylusions couture collection stamps.
With lots of inkiness, masking and doodling we created two canvas hangings!
I so love doing there, but I know I don't have anywhere to hang them so I decided I would turn them into the covers of a journal!
Haven't had time to do that yet but it will go on the list!
So here they are!

Totally loved the day and using these stamps - they are so great to use!
Wishing you all a fun creative week!
Xxx hugs xxX

Thursday 14 February 2013

Chill out day!

Had a lovely day at Art from the heart yesterday playing with Dyan's new mini couture stamps.  There was lots of doodling and colouring involved - just what you need on a snowy winters day!!!  
Getting home however was not so much fun!!!
So this is what I did with one of the many fabulous creations we played with!


Obviously one of the new dress stamps with additional doodles, joined by the legs of the very stylish man from the same set and one of the hats, but I felt she needed a head so added one from one of Dy's older sets of stamps.
I put in on a half torn  page in my Dylusions journal that I had used to clean off a stencil on last year.
With the addition of a quote off Dy's new set of quotes stamps 'say it how it is' and some doodling the page was done.  Great fun!!
It was so relaxing doodling in detail on these mini couture stamps and depending on what you added they ended up looking so very different.  Looking forward to using them on many more projects.
Hope you all have had a wonderful Valentines day and have a great weekend!

xxx Hugs xxx


Saturday 9 February 2013

Dreams xx

Hi folks just a quick post today.  I came across this page in my journal today and it just needed a few details to finish it so a few minutes finished it!


Its strange with this page because I'm not sure I like it, as such, but when ever I look at it, it makes me smile - think it must be the bright colours cheering me up!
Anyway background done with Dylusions inks- border and details stamping with stamps from Lavinia and there is a Tim Holtz skull in the left hand top corner (it does snow up well in the image) which i stamped and dusted perfect pearls over the top.  I didn't want it to be too in your face!
Then I did one of the things that still makes me uncomfortable - I hand wrote and doodled the word dreams and coloured it in with Dylusions ink.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
XXX hugs XXX

Monday 4 February 2013

Double Trouble!


Hi hope you are all recovered from the snow and now aren't being blown away or flooded!! LOL the joys of British weather!
As I said in an earlier post I have decided to try and finish of some of the many pages and project I started last year and never finished - this was one of them.
I started it in a class at Art From The Heart with the lovely talented Kate Crane, but I managed to mess up the second page and having gone back to it once already and still not managed to sort it, it got abandoned!
I made two pages together and cut and aperture in the front one so that some of the second one would show through!

PAGE ONE


PAGE TWO

The backgounds were created  using Dylusions spray inks and stamps.
With the addition of a  Stampotique monster some perfect pearls paint and a quote the first page was finished.
The second one gave me a headache LOL.  I drew in the steps and it looked all wrong.  So I tried to disguise it with more leaf stamps.  That didn't work either. 
So finally to cover up the mess I made of the stamping I inked some paper and stamped a load of leaf stamps (Designs by Ryn) - Love Ryns stamps!!
Then spent quite a while cutting them out.  
With the addition of a quote, embossing powder on the steps, and a Dylusion border stamp I finally got it to a stage that I liked!!! Third times a charm.
So I hope you like it and that you all have a great week filled with creative fun!!
xxx hugs xxx