A Comeback

I have finally found the nerve to come back to my blog.  Literally been too nervous to come back.  I have been ignoring this blog as I feel I was losing myself.  I find I was putting myself through way to much stress trying to please the invisible audience.  Everybody seems to be so good at this whole blogging thing.  I just felt I was not getting the knack of it.  I finally realised I was not being true to myself.  I jumped into this without thinking how I wanted to  come across to everybody.  I tend to do that I jump into things without thinking it through.  I do that with all of my ventures and then I exhaust myself trying to do it perfectly.  I have decided that I am going to use my blog to find myself.  I turn fifty this year and if I am every going to do that now is the time.  I have loads of interests, crafting, art, paper crafting, interior decorating.  I have always just concentrated on one of those interests at a time.  This year I am going to try and incorporate it all in my life.  I will be blogging only once a week, so that I do not get bogged down in it.  My entries will be about my life not just my interests and I am hoping to grow this year and really find myself.  This is going to be my nirvana.  There will be entries about organisation, decorating, art and anything else I find beautiful or inspiring.  I  hope you will join me on my journey.  Happy trails to all

Michele

P.S.  I will also be working on finding out how to use my blog properly so be patient with me.

Doing some other crafting

 

So I have been busy doing other crafts as well as my regular papercrafting and mixed media.  I found this idea on Alisa Burkes blog.  She has some amazing ideas.  These pumpkins that I painted are from Michaels.  The first two were orange and I painted them white,  I then made my own stamps using craft foam and stamped on the leaves.  I outline the leaves with my permanent marker and did some curliques.

The last pumpkin I got for 70% off  after halloween.  It was a black one which was a bonus.  I then used white rubons to decorate it and then did some doodling to finish them off.  These pumpkins can now be out all year round displayed with other black and white objects.  I have a wreath that I will share with you later and also a cushion that I am busy with.

I hope you love my pumpkins as much as I do.

Have a wonderful day.

Michele

11 x 14 Mixed Media Canvass

 Today I am sharing a canvass I did this last week.  It is much larger that I would usually do but I love it.   I started by covering it with different papers using Modge Podge.  I then used a brayer to apply some paint.  Then I used stamps and rubons to add texture.

Now I started on the girl.  I painted her on and I got my inspiration from Kelly Rae Roberts book Taking Flight.  I did not add features as then you can imagine what you think she would look like.  

This is a closeup of my writing.  I wrote my message and then framed it with bakers twine.

 

This is a close up of my flowers.  These started out as silk flowers which I dipped in UTEE which makes them hard and shiny like this.  I love doing this an making my own carbochans.

I hope you like my canvass and enjoy this post.

Have a wonderful day

Michele

Fatbook pages

Hello everybody,

I have been very quiet lately as I have been very busy learning.  Thanks to a few very talented ladies, Christy Tomlinson, Kelly Rae Roberts, Alisa Burke and Donna Downey, I have discovered some amazing techniques.  I have so enjoyed their blogs and books.  I am starting a new e-course of Christy's on Monday.  More things to learn.  I have used my fatbook pages to practice some of the things I have learnt. 

With this one I practiced doing my backgrounds using stamps and stencils.  Love the baby.

This one is also the backgrounds and added texture with the bows I made out of embroidery thread.

More background and then added the flowers and disc.

This one has the background and then I made the flower using embroidery thread glued to the card.

This one has the flower and the key is glued using diamond glaze.  The heart I made from Fimo clay using my new Melting Pot.  I made the texture on the heart by pressing the sole of a flip flop into it and then added the bling.  I attached the heart using diamond glaze and then covered it with the diamond glaze to strengthen it.  I love how it came out.

So that is what I used on these cards, I have alot more to share with you which I will in my following posts.

Have a wonderful day

Michele

My First Flea Market

A couple of weeks ago I had my first table at our local flea market.  This is the first time I take part in a flea market at the first time I try and sell my art.  It is a new market so people are still learning about it so there really were not that many people there, but I did manage to sell one 8 x 10 and a couple of small panels and also my notebooks.  I am doing another
                                                                 next month.  It is my daughter sitting behind the table.

Journal page

This page was done to try a new technique.  I was using my trusty old glue gun.  The word Love was done with the glue gun and then I used distress inks to colour it.  The border on the side was done the same way. The butterflies I used distress inks to colour them, then added glue dots using my glue gun and my staz on ink pad to colour them. The images I cut from magazines and layered them.  I loved the colours.  The flower is one I crocheted.  I love how this page turned out.
Have a good one.

Little birdie

So I did this small canvass using some of the techniques I have been learning.  I started with a 5 x 7 canvass panel.  I gessoed it and then coloured the background with watercolour pencils.  I then used a ink spray to spray over a stencil.  The banner is a rubon and the bird I cut out of a magazine and drew a line for lit to sit on.  The leaves are holly leaves from Prima.  It was cool to work on such a small canvass and come up with something cute.  Could not do these without the inspiration I get from Christy Tomlinson and the other ladies who have done her course.
Thank You.

Fiona

Fiona is my alter ego.  I wish I could throw colours and patterns together like she did and look this good.  Again I have given this girl boots and also a hat, my favorite accessories.  I made the star out of fimo clay and this time it was a little thicker so I think it will last.  This is a 6 x 12 canvass again.  If you look carefully you will see I started the background using sheet music with the cutest pictures of little children on it.  Love it, hope you do to!

This is Eve

This girl is done on a 6 x 12 canvass, which is  a wonderful size to work with.  On this one you will see a tag with a bow on it, I made this using Fimo clay.  This was my first attempt and I did not make it thick enough so it has cracked.  I think Eve looks very zen and I love her pink boots.  Finished the canvass off with a flower and button.

Enjoy

She Art–Diane

This is Diane, I love how calm she looks.  I think it is the blue background which is paper and paint.  I do not only use scrapbooking paper but also tags, old book pages, sewing patterns.  This all adds to the fun of doing these pieces of art.

Have a wonderful day.

She Art–Chloe

So I am trying to do this series of girls using the alphabet.  This is C.  Chloe is a fun loving girl.  I started this one with a paper background on an 8 x 10 canvass.  Worked some green and gold paint over it and then went to town with rubons and stencils. And what we get left with is a ray of sunshine.

Enjoy

Shades of white Artchix sister swap

First I have the back of these fatbook pages.   The theme was shades of white.  I took out everything I had in white and then put them together.  Amazing all the different whites.

 

We  decorate both sides as they go into a book we are putting together.  So the fronts are also done in the same shades.

I loved the little kitties so just went with them and did these fronts.

Hope you love them.

Michele

Front Page of Art journal

This is the first page of my journal.  I love how happy this page looks.  So many elements used on this page so that it looks 3D.  The flowers are rubons.  I tried to transfer the image of the butterfly but was not very successful.  Will be trying this technique again.

The fun part of art journaling is to try all the different techniques.  If it does not work it is not a big deal.

Wishing you all well.

Michele

Brown Bag she art

 

 

Today I have another bag.  This time a brown one, done the same way using canvass sheets and fabric for the girl.  The proportions are a little out, looks like she has no legs.  But other than that I love her.

A close up of her

Have a great day.

Pink Bag She Art

Hi everybody today I would like to share a bag I made using my she art girls.  The bag is just one I picked up at the dollar store and I have taken a canvass sheet and painted it, texturized it using stamps and rubons.  I them put the girl together using fabric pieces. 

This is a close up of the actual art.  I love her and hope you all feel the same way about her.



Have a wonderful day.

Thanks for looking

Michele

 

Happy Hearts

This is another art journal page I have created.  I had a really good day the other day and wanted to remember this time.  I started by colouring the back with watercolor pencils and then wetting and blending with a brush.  I texturized with stamps and rubons.  The sun is a image I cut out of a magazine.  The hearts are cut out of book paper and they have a coat of acrylic paint.

I really enjoyed making this page.  Finding art journaling a great way to express some of my feelings.

Have a wonderful day.

Journal Cover

 

So if you have been following my blog you will have seen that I have been really busy with online courses.  I have been busy with an art journal one done through Christy Tomlinson, who I just love.  So I have started my journal and have completed a few pages,  This is the cover of the journal.  I gessoed the cover and then used a brayer to cover with paint..  I then used all sorts of things to create texture, stamps, stencils and rubons.  I then did the 3 hearts.  The big one is just cardstock covered in buttons.  The purple one is tissue paper attached to cardstock and the last one is covered in strips of ribbon..  Added my words and the cover was done.

Hope you enjoy this page.

She Art Betty

 

So this is Betty.  Love her polka dot dress and the hat just finishes off the outfit.  I love doing these mixed media pieces.  I have just completed another mixed media course and am learning way to many cool techniques.  Using wax, UTEE , and loads of other things. I will be incorporating these in future pieces.

I hope you enjoy this art work

Michele

Art Journal

 

 So I have been playing with my Art Journal.  Just completed a online course and have learnt so much.  This page was just playing around with backgrounds using paper paint, stamps and rubons.  The image is cut from magazines and I just had fun putting it all together.  I hope you find it a little weird and funny.

Have a good day

She Art - Anna

Hi everybody, so I am finally getting time to get back to my art.  As most of you know I have done the She Art online course,   I have loved doing it and have done a few canvasses.  Now thanks to Nancy Eatons example, try and visit her blog she does wonderful work, http://adventureswithpaint.blogspot.com/,  I have decided to try and make one for every letter of the alphabet.  So this is Anna, a child of the sixties.  Love her funky outfit.  I hope you enjoy my art.

Thank you for looking.