Life's balance - Page 2 of my Board Book Journal

I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to journaling in a book. I much prefer being able to start again if I dont like something, but that's a bit tricky in a book. Nevertheless I like a challenge. When I created this page I made a cock up, some paint bits I really did not like, but I simply covered it with a iof card, which I think rescued it and I'm happy with the page. Well, as happy as can be. I think journaling is more about the journey than the result. I like to use quotes that I have come across and would like to keep a note of so what better way to put them in a journal. A nice way of keeping thoughts and quotes in one place I think.

My blog makeover is complete.... and a journal page

Welcome to my newly designed and improved blog. Things have changed a little around here, out with the old tired looking design and in with a new fresh design, all in white with a few splatters of colour around. I have been working hard on the new design and layout and hopefully it'll make it a bit more userfriendly and more pleasurable to read for my followers. I have also improved the presentation of my photos, been a busy bee playing with my camera and photoshop, so bear with me it's work in progress.

To get started I would like to share my first "real" journal page with you. I say real because before I have only done art journaling style things on canvases and decorated mirrors with it, but this one if actually a page in a book. But not an ordinary journal, no, this is a board book. It's chunky and durable and I won't lose interest in finishing it as it only has 10 odd pages or so. I hope to do one page every week - inspiration allowing!

I would like to enter this page into the following challenges:

Happy Daze - Explosion of Colour (Distress Ink and gold Paint Dabber available from the shop)
Stamp Man - Backgrounds
The Artistic Stamper - Backgrounds

So let me know what you think of the new blog. I will try to post every other day from now on, hopefully I can keep up. I still have to overhaul my website too, which is a little more work than the blog was. Laters!

A little late..... Alter it monthly - October theme - Boxes

This is a bit late, but better late than never. My DT piece for this month's Alter it Monthly theme "Boxes".
I have been away on holiday lazing about in the sunshine and on beaches so I hope you can forgive me.
I altered this plain wooden chest using various acrylic paints, spray inks, stencils etc. I stamped the Stampotique flowers all the way around the box and punched out some small paper flowers to stick on. All sounds very quick and easy but it took a while to get all the layers of paints on each side of the box, it's just one of those projects you start and keep coming back to.
The lettering is stamped on using my favourite Alphabitties by Stampotique, I'm in love with them!




Here is the back. I think you get the idea.

If you fancy altering a box of some kind come and join us at Alter it monthly. There is a prize up for grabs. And there is only 3 months left to enter the Alter it monthly challenges as sadly the decision has been made to close the blog down.

Sisters in the mirror.....

Remember the 3 tags I made as my first venture into art journal style stuff?

This mirror I started that day too, it was my first bigger piece in that style and it just confirmed I had made the right decision trying this kinda style. It's so much fun and messy and if I don't like something I just paint over it, splatter more paint, spray a little more etc.

I love using this particular photo of me and my sis, it works so well with everything.

I have another mirror to share with you in the next few days so watch this space!

More of my art journally style adventure

Dont you sometimes just hate blogger? Just typed a post and then it disappears, not happy.

To keep it short but sweet this is a card I made since I've gotten into art journaling and the general style of art journals. I am learning lots along the way and it's so much fun. The card isnt a masterpiece but it's fun and personal. I have since made some nice pieces I am very proud of and don't want to part with but you'll have to pop back in the next few days to see them....

I am still eagerly awaiting the arrival of Kate Crane's Art Journaling dvd's, the postie hasnt brought them yet :(

My crafty year so far and new adventures

With half the year almost done (and didn't it fly by?) I thought it was time to look at my year so far.
It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. I started the year with a much needed new job and that meant 13hour days sometimes at least to start off with. So no crafting but I so wanted a new job for the past year that that was a sacrifice worth making.
Craft wise the year started extremely promising. I became a part of the Alter it monthly team, having admired the blog and challenges for a while it's great being part of it.
I also became a permament member of the Design Team for Just stamps - Einfach Stempeln. It's a small(ish) German magazine aimed at stampers and mixed media artists. It is also the only German magazine I have come across. It has such great potential to become much bigger and it's fab being part of the team. And of course it's such an honour to see my stuff in print every month.



I also had my first UK publication this year with a reader submission in Craft Stamper. My frame got accepted last year but wasn't featured til earlier this year.

My mum sometimes asks me what I get from having my things published, but it's just such a great feeling having something in a magazine and that other crafters out there may be inspired by my piece.

With this being my 2nd year of my craft madness I thought I should try selling my things at a craft fair this year as so much stuff accumulates around the house and at some point I will run out of wall space, so may as well sell some. Everything just fell into place and within days I had booked a local fair. It was all going too well I thought as later the fair was cancelled due to lack of stallholders. But I spent hours searching the net and found plenty more, from small fairs to big summer festivals. Many of them were already fully booked or I couldn't get the time of work but I am in a great position to start planning my fairs early next year and pick out the best ones. And I have still got 1 booked for this summer, it's a bit daunting but also exciting.


As it's a year of firsts, I also booked my first craft workshops this year. First one, of course the Artsy Crafts Event with Tim Holtz, he's been such an inspiration and it was great meeting him in person. It also inspired me to book another workshop with Lin and Leandra. The projects may not have been that much up my street but they were still fun and it was just so lovely being amongst crafters and I talked to a lot of lovely ladies there and made a new friend - Alison of Craftytrog's Inky Adventures. Check out her blog, she makes some great things and is so lovely to chat to.

A couple of months ago I had a very exciting email about a project, not wanting to jinx it I won't tell you any details but it got me very excited. It took up a lot of my time and my blog has suffered the effects as I had less to show on here. But everything was wrapped up and posted off last week and fingers crossed it goes through ok. If not then I have created some beautiful things on the way and learned some new skills and tried out products and things I may otherwise not have tried. It's all about the journey after all.

Having posted that project off seemed a little like something was ending and I had completely lost my mojo for a week or two there. But every end is the beginning of something new.

I have been eyeing up art journaling for a while and admired the messy and colourful doodles of many artists. I didnt think I would be able to do that. For starters I'm not a journal writer and I don't like my handwriting but I loved the style too much to give up so quickly.
I can always use stamps and quotes for the writing bit.

So I have watched many videos on you tube for inspiration and browsed many blogs and decided to give it a shot. I ordered Kate Crane's dvd as I love her style and I can't wait to watch the dvd and try out some techniques.

In the meantime I got all my art supplies and just had a go at it. I started off with some tags to make it a small and easy project. And I just had a go with gesso, paints, matt medium, stamps, ink, splatters, rim marks and all sorts of messy things. If I didnt like what I made, I painted over it and it just added to the texture and feel of the piece. So the tags you see here are my very first samples of my art journaling, doodle, messy art style that I am getting into. I liked them so much that I went straight onto another piece, bigger and better. I will show it on my blog when it's finished so check back.

All I can say is, if you like something, try it. You might suprise yourself and be a natural at it.

And here is to the next 6 months of inky hands and messiness!!!