Journal page

My first journal page for Suzi Blu's Goddess and the Poet class.

I am doing a little better with the faces, this one I really like, but my shading still needs a lot of work :)

I used a healing affirmation for this page rather than write a bunch of stuff, I just can't seem to get to that point in an art journal yet, but it could come to me eventually. It's all about letting go really isn't it? I found that while doing the background on this spread, I was afraid to start it, but once I did I just kept adding and adding to it, I relaxed and enjoyed the process :)

Have a great weekend....

Gifts from Pringle Hill Studio, and a Sketch

One of my favorite artists is my friend Terri from Pringle Hill Studio, I just love her style, it is so unique, and such a lot of fun, so detailed and so very creative. I think she has a style all of her own, you rock Terri !
Two beautiful ATC's and these gorgeous postcards arrived in the mail last week for my birthday, yet I have been so obsessed with sketching I am just finding time to share these with you now. Thank you so much again Terri :)
I say obsessed with sketching because I have been having a really hard time with it, so I have been drawing every day for hours, or trying LOL. You know that old saying, practice makes perfect? Well we will have to see about that one.
I am taking the new class at Suzi Blu's and the shading of faces, for me, does not come naturally. We are drawing stylized faces rather than realistic but they do have some realistic features. I am having the worst time with noses...... ooooo it is hard for me, but I keep trying and I finally have one sketch that is decent enough to show you.
This week we are drawing in a Moleskine sketch book and starting to use color on our faces with crayons. This is my first Moleskine and the sketch book only about 5x8 inches is a heavy cream colored paper and just beautiful to work in. It is such a lot of fun to sit and color, I just LOVE coloring with crayons, I used to sit for hours with my daughter when she was young and then my nieces with coloring books :)

So there she is. I still have a long, long way to go but the fun is in the learning, so I am going to keep on at it, practice as much as I can :)

Framed Collage

This sweet little frame has been hanging on the wall of my studio since I moved in this room last summer and as I have been re organzing and de cluttering etc, I noticed it needed something new, maybe a piece of my own art work to look at. I find after a while you stop noticing what you have on the walls and just get on with what you are working on.
This is a 5x5inch frame which I believe I found dirt cheap somewhere and i just love it, so I made this little collage for a refreshing change.

It was hard to get a photo of it on the wall without the flash coming on the camera, it's been raining all day.
The serious, yet beautiful little girl is from a download package I purchased at Digital Imagery, the bird is a freebie from Nancy at Vintage Stamper and I used a vintage playing card, nothing too fancy, no words, a beautiful soulful child with nature, just what I like :)

A few things for Sunday

A little box of surprises came in the mail the day after my birthday and I just had to share them with you :)

My friend Patty at Magpie's Nest, was so sweet to do this for me, and she really did give me a beautiful surprise.
Above is a hanging ornament made from inchies, isn't it darling? I have it hanging on this mini coat hanger on the shelf in my studio. If you would like to make one yourself, Patty has a tutorial on her blog right here.

Then there was the most beautiful altered postcard, and I swear I thought it was a photograph when I first opened the box, I just love it! Even more so because of the lovely sentiment on the back. (Sorry I forgot a photo.)
"May the long time sun shine upon you and Love surround you and the pure Light within you guide your way on."
I think all artists or crafters love bits and pieces, or bits and bob's as my Gran used to call them. Well Patty sent me some really neat bits of fabric, lace, hankie, tulle, and even a black vintage hair net. Also a matchbox for altering, (something I have never done) with buttons and clips in it.
Oh yes, a little doily, tissue with a lovely stone angel on it , which she also decorated the parcel with and some yummy soap. I love things like this, how did you know Patty?

I should have taken photos before I opened each item but was too excited, Patty really wrapped them very creatively and extra special, I thank you my dear , you made me very happy :)

Just had to show you this amazing flower from my new vine, which I may add I am a bit concerned about, it is not blooming as much as I think it should, so I may have to move it to a sunnier spot. This is a Purple Passion Flower and isn't it just spectacular? View the close up by clicking on the photo, it is a really Funky looking flower, I just hope it starts blooming more.


I think i gave the wrong impression to some of you last post. I am not leaving blogging or taking a break from it, just from participating in the challenge blogs for now. I have much to do around my home , or should I say "want" to do, which has already begun by clutter busting and trying to organise my studio room. I have also as of yesterday started Suzi Blu's new workshop
Goddess and The Poet and will be focusing on that now. I so enjoyed her Petit Doll workshop but I didn't practise enough , this workshop is for more realistic yet stylized faces that we are working on, so I will see how well I can do :) If she can teach me how to draw a nose, then she can teach anyone.

Have a great Sunday, I have some shading practise to do with my pencils :)

Theme Thursday Challenge Stripes

What can I say? I just felt like a Halloween theme today. This weeks challenge at
Theme Thursday is to use stripes and I had a piece of this orange paper I had painted left. Then I drew stripes with my black Pitt Pen and shaded them with the Grey Pitt Pen. Then I started seeing Halloween .
That is actually a mouse in the bottom next to the boy but it's a bit hard to see him.
Digital images from Shabby Cottage Studio and Digital Collage Sheets.

I think I am going to take a break from challenges and work on a few other things. During summer I find I have less and less time in my art room to play and I have ideas of things I want to work on.

I had a lovely birthday yesterday, and was very surprised by my DH who gifted me a Sony Handycam, it's so small and easy to use , you can take videos or photos with it, so we were practicing a lot yesterday :) I only wish we could have afforded a video camera when our daughter was young, it would have been so nice to see her as a baby on video. This one saves everything on a hard drive so now I need to figure out how to get them on discs or on the computer. More technology, I just got used to my ipod after a few years.

Thanks for dropping by, and hope you are having a nice summer day :)

Gothic Arches Challenge Roses

A few days later than Sunday but here is my entry for the challenge at Gothic Arches, where the theme this week is "Roses".
It has a textured background that you have seen me do quite a bit lately, and I have used images from Shabby Chic Papirskatter who has the most beautiful free vintage images, then finished it up to look a bit distressed. Click on the photo if you want a closer look.

I must rush of now, just wanted to get this posted. My two young nieces are staying with my parents this week and are coming soon to visit. We will have a bbq and they can have some fun with Cooper :)

Handmade Gifts are the best :)

I received a large parcel in the mail yesterday and when I saw who it was from I knew it was for my birthday, which is not until next week, but I just had to open it :) My long time, online friend Terry made me this beautiful lap quilt and pillow, isn't it gorgeous? It is so me, and I couldn't be happier. I took this photo on my front porch but it won't be staying outside it's too nice for that.

You can click on the photo for a closer look.

Just had to share this I am so thrilled, thank you SO much Terry :)

Theme Thursday Pink and Brown

Theme Thursday this week is to use Pink and Brown.
This is the ATC I created for my challenge entry to Theme Thursday.

I have to tell you it did not come easy today, do you have days like that? I love this background from Gail at Shabby Cottage Studio, and I was determined to use it for this weeks challenge. I started out with a vintage woman, didn't like it, peeled her off before she was dry. Then I thought, ok, nature, and cut out a nest, birds, eggs etc and I didn't like it either, just happy I had not glued them at this stage. So then I went flipping through my box of printed papers and this stone Angel said "use me", so I did. It is also from Gail and is on one of her collage sheets, and it actually has a touch of pink in the image, some blue too. The background is quite pink but on my computer screen it looks different, and I even took the photo outside.
I felt as if it was one of those moments, "An unmistakable touch of Grace" as author Cheryl Richardson says, so I used the word "Grace" for this piece and kept it very simple.


What would I do without all of you, my blogger friends? You leave me such encouraging comments and I appreciate it so much , especially because I have no one else in my life besides you girls online who are interested in what I do. I have probably said before, but I don't think I can thank you enough, I am so grateful for you all :) I am not saying my husband and daughter do not support my passion, they really do, it's just not very interesting to them :)

Have a great evening, and thanks for visiting :)
Lynn

Textured Bookmark

Playing with texture again I made this bookmark on water color paper and then backed it with some card stock. I just love how the texture on this one turned out, and I just love creating bookmarks as you may have noticed :) It is something I have done for years now in one form or another, don't know why, just enjoy them.

The beautiful winged lady or Angel is from a free collage sheet at Digital Collage sheets. I have listed this one in my Etsy shop. Thanks for dropping by, and hope you are having a great day :)
Lynn

Gothic Arch Challenge

Our challenge at Gothic Arches this Sunday is to create an ATC size arch and this is what I put together rather quickly tonight. I have been busy outside this weekend as it has been such nice weather but I thought of this clown right away, I was saving him for something small.
The background is a piece of water color paper I already had painted, I thought he looked nice on orange and I rarely use this color, so why not? Something bright for a sunny weekend :)

Thanks for visiting, hope you are having a great weekend, I am off outside again :)
Lynn

ABAA Dragonfly Challenge

Dragonfly challenge for Awfully Big Art Adventure

I had a very productive art filled day today, thanks to my very patient fur baby. I really owe him a good play time, he is soooooo good and only 10 months old.
I finished off my Dragonfly piece which is made on a 6x6 canvas , I got a bit stuck the other day so I just put it aside until now, and after I made an ATC today for the Theme Thursday challenge I got it finished and also created this little piece below which I just LOVE :)

Back in May I took a workshop at Moss Hill Studio Workshops , the "Collage Mossy Style". I never did finish a collage as Joanna showed us, but have been using her technique with a few additions of my own to get this amazing texture.

I just love this little vintage girl which I found at a blog called Primarily Primitives, at least that is the name I have saved on the file, but I can't for the life of me find the blog now and I was certain I put a "follow" on it. If you come across the blog or know of it would you please let me k now so I may link to her? Thanks.

Update: Thanks to Daisy for the link to Primarily Primitives I had the name wrong yesterday. Check out this blog where Stacey often posts free vintage images for us to use :)

Both of my pieces here are done using Glossy Gel Medium which is not something I used to use at all. My hubby was to pick me some up one day and brought home the wrong one, so I just kept it because he was kind enough to do that for me. I kind of like it on this little frame because it gives it a leathery look and shows the texture more.

You can click on each photo to see more detail.
Thanks again for visiting, I will be visiting you soon too :)
Lynn

Theme Thursday is Red and Black

I created this ATC in the Red and Black theme for the Theme Thursday Challenge this week.
I had a small piece of watercolor paper so I started with that, then I used my new music sheet stamp by Crafty Individuals in black. Which btw I purchased from blogger friend Terri's Etsy shop, Blooming Ideas.
I was going to leave it very plain but I got carried away :) I used two images from The Vintage Moth, (link in left side bar), stitched on some red mesh I found in my daughters stash she left here and hand stitched the tiny buttons to it.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you are having a great day :)