Creating at Last!

Phew, what a month I've had while Andy has been away working (and playing) in the States.

Not that I've had a great deal of time to create.... I was rather busy socialising! Friends and family thought I might be lonesome and made cunning plans to occupy me...Much as I appreciated all the visits, 'phone calls and days out, I would have liked a little me time :)

I did try to have a little art time but decided some organisation was in order first :) I started sorting out my room, well, I confess - I am using TWO rooms at the moment! (Our offspring have all flown the nest and so I kind of SPREAD!) However, that project went awry - I tried to sort and I moved things around until I couldn't find anything! Aaargh!

Anyway, this weekend was my final fling to be creative as Andy arrives home on Thursday :D

I have missed him dreadfully.

Yesterday I went to a textile class at the Craft Den, taught by this clever lady - Jo

We made a sewing roll - mine is unfinished - I just have to stitch the edges. I am very pleased with the outcome and enjoyed it very much.

sew...sew like the wind...

Yep - that's my fancy stitching round those hearts - I was dead proud that I managed to make it look this good!

And this is the front - like I said, I still have the binding edge to hand stitch...

This has all been in preparation for my next project to make a patchwork quilt.... which I will begin in a few weeks... (watch this space) I have this sentimental idea that it will become a family heirloom :)

And then today, I went to my FAVE place AFTH for the regular Art Journaling class - it was great to see Dy and hear of her escapades in Chicago and Baltimore. We all loved looking at her fabulous samples and we touched and stroked them (well I did) while she was teaching her masking technique. She set us all off using her NEW stamp sets. They are all fab but if you love art journaling and you love quirky satire, you ought to be getting yourself those quote plates! Fun fun fun!

Here are the two pages I did today...

Oh, and I couldn't resist buying this stamp set while I was there....

And finally, its that time of month again - time to show and tell our 365 Art Calendars (see Kate's blog for more info) ... I was late starting July plus with all the blogger glitches, I didn't manage to leave comments on many blogs last month, I hope to rectify that this month, I enjoy seeing the different pages that everyone comes up with :D

And, going with my mission to use more purple in my art, here is August. Once I'd done the background I felt uneasy for some reason so ended up using some Spring Fling paper for the journal blocks to add a bit of pizazz.

The images are from artchix which I've had for ages - I'm on a mission to use up the stuff that I already have instead of keep buying more - that's one useful tip I gave myself whilst I was cleaning/tidying/sorting my stash!

Canvas Panel

A quickie post....

I taught a lovely class today at AFTH.... Dyan is away teaching in the States so she left the classes in the hands of myself and Kate, not forgetting lovely Pam who was teaching the kids - I assisted Pam on Tuesday as it was party day - ha - I didn't know what was letting myself in for - its a while since I did a kids party!

... I wonder if that's how Dy will look at us when she gets back? "What HAVE you been up to?" The reason I say that is because Su facebooked her during today's class telling her that we were trashing her studio!

Well, the tables did look a bit of a mess for most of the day as we were making this lovely canvas panel.... (sorry, no evidence as I forgot I had my camera until the end!)

Here are some of the ladies with their finished project... six panels (one of them was mine) only four ladies.... Clare was shopping (what else can you buy Clare!)

That's the last of my classes until September so I intend to do a little art just for me - in fact I have a day planned on Tuesday with my buddy Ann. We're going to spend the day getting inky :)

Then it will be back to the grindstone planning and preparing other projects for the preview day at AFTH and also for the other places I teach (hehehe - my job IS fun!)

On a LARGE scale!

I've had a great time today at my favourite place. I got good and inky as did the other ladies on Dy's canvas workshop.... here's Mel showing just how painty and inky we all got...

We worked on a 24x24 inch canvas - very LARGE for me and I have to say I was a bit daunted by the size but eager to 'have a go' Dyan is superb... there is no better teacher in the world who can lay your fears to rest (about all things arty at least - not sure if she could chase all your boogey men away but I'm sure she'd give it a go!)

Dy took us through the process - all 37 steps - oh but they were great fun!

We gesso-ed the canvas and used torn book text, music manuscript and lacy paper doilies to add texture....

Skip a few steps... well you didn't want to see them all did you? Well you can't 'cos I was too busy actually working on the canvas to take photo's of every step!

I chose red and brown as this is going to hang in Andy's study - perfect man colours I think :D

(Plus it will go with the décor)

The others were all fabulous - I didn't get all of them 'cos they whizzed off at the end while I was still working on mine - go and check them out on Dy's blog

This one is Clare's

Dy's and Bezzie Su's....

Emma's....

And my own....

Close up of those dribbles....

...I just love them....

Dyan has slotted in an extra workshop of this canvas on July 15th .... I urge you to get yourselves booked on - it's a great class so don't miss the opportunity - it was liberating for me to work on this large scale and I'm really pleased with the result :D

Fun, fun, fun!

I've enjoyed a creative day with some lovely folk today making this.....

Its still unfinished, I shall add a few dangling charms from those stick pins I think, but overall I enjoyed making it.

The other ladies had fantastic ideas for their torso... check them out

......fab aren't they!

Anyway, its July already and I haven't started on my 365 Calendar, a challenge set up by lovely Kate Crane, where a group of us keep a daily log of our goings on, create a page in our journal and share with like minded folk. Its lots of fun and great to look back on, this is my second year - although having said that, I didn't manage to blog my June pages due to all the blogger issues....in fact I spent many frustrating minutes trying to comment on other blogs until I walked away in frustration! Just had to leave it alone for a while :) Thanks for all the emails from my cyber friends saying they were having the same trouble.... I'm hoping all goes well with this post.

Here are my finished June pages....

...and here is July! Yep, not started yet... but I have finished my course now - no deadlines to meet, no reading to do, no essays to write, no observations.... Oh thank goodness! so the summer stretches before me and I intend to enjoy it.... doing things I like with people I love!

I'll be posting what I get up to and visiting you all in the hope that blogger is kinder to me than he has been for the last month or so... hehehe - notice that blogger is a HE!