CollaborART Exquisite Corpse

A while ago I signed up to take part in an Exquisite Corpse project on the CollaboART blog. Remember the game from when you were young? Someone draws the head, folds it over, someone else draws the body, folds it over... and so on. Well, Exquisite Corpse is apparently the proper name for that game or Consequences.

There were no constraints, either theme or material wise, on my corpse - just that it would be a 'monster'.

I decided her head would be based on a crow's skull and this is what I sent off with three other bits of card in separate envelopes.

W&N Galeria Modelling paste
Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour, Reeves & Liquitex Basics)
Fineliner Pen
Posca Pen

And this is what recently came home - please excuse the lighting - it was quite overcast when I took the picture - but isn't she beautiful?

Head - Me
Tentacled upper body - Jas
Mermy lower body - Karen
Tentacled 'feet' - Sarah

The whole thing measures 12x8" and I love it to bits. Am going to fill in the background on Jas's piece and then frame it. I say again, isn't she beautiful?

Would you like to see what I did for the other players? Here we go.  For Sarah's monster I played with some shedded bearded dragon skin I'd been hoarding since my niece gave it to me. I love the effect and will be using it a lot more.

And here it is when I added the colour to it using acrylic paints...

Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour)
Stencil (Balzer Designs)
Bearded Dragon Skin
Fineliner pen

You can see Sarah's completed monster if you click here.

Karen wanted a Stampotique inspired girl and I had the waist to knees portion...

Magazine Clippings
Gelli Printed Scraps
Doodling with Copic & Posca Pens
Stencil (I forget the make)
Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour)

And Jas wanted a Victorian Steampunk alter ego of herself. This one scared me I must admit. I've said before how much I like the look of Steampunk but am never really sure what the components are and I didn't want to fall into the bracket of "just stick a cog on it!" She also wanted to have one leg pimped up... so this was what I went with in the end...

Acrylic Paint (Reeves)
Fineliner Pen
Copic Markers

Both Jas and Karen haven't uploaded their final corpses yet but I'll update and link when they do.

Do you fancy taking part in a mixed media collaborative project? Why not pop over to CollaborART. It's just celebrated it's first birthday and it's such an amazing little community of artists. At the moment it's only open to people within Europe but who knows when that might change?  This link will take you to the FAQ page which explains everything about the site. As someone who has been involved pretty much from the beginning, I can't recommend it highly enough. There is never any pressure to take part in collaborations which range from 1-1 swaps or bigger group projects like this one. You can dip in and out or just watch other people's collaborations evolve as they post their progress - a couple of the journals going around at the moment have reached EPIC proportions! Come over and say hi - we'd love to see you.

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Summer of Color - Week 3 - Maleficent

Week 3 already with Summer of Colour. Initially when I heard the colours for this week - Lime Green & Purple, I was all AAARGH! What? My next thought was Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. So that's what I did.

She is in my big 14x11.5" sketchbook again and this is a small homage to one of the great villains. (They are always so much more interesting!) I know, I know - she's supposed to be green. Like I say - homage. Didn't want green overkill. (Plus my printer is dodgy and in the reference pictures I printed out, her skin was showing as more orange! Ssh!)

Acrylic Paint (Liquitex Basics)
Fineliner Pen

While googling for some pictures to work from, I came across a link about a film being released in 2014. Angelina Jolie playing Maleficent. Telling the story from her side. That's one I want to watch - even if it does smack a little of the Wicked story idea ;)

Thanks for stopping by today :)

ICAD 2013 - Week 3

These are the cards I did in week three of the Index Card a Day project. I'm running behind still - about 5 days I think. But my goal is just to get the 61 cards in total - I know I'm probably going to run over the time but just to complete the project is my personal goal.

I'm finding it such a learning curve and I've not even done the prompts or themes, just whatever pops into my head when I sit down with a card in front of me. 

These are all 6x4" lined index cards.

Card 13 - A Pisces Gelli Plate Print- the first fish is a masked print, the bronze one is painted on. Pisces - because I am.

Gelli Plate Print
Acrylic Paint (Reeves & Kaiser Colour)
Hand cut mask
Alpha Stamps
Posca Pen

 Card 14 -  I've been a bit wobbly about my eldest "baby" leaving school. The scribbles around the figure read "Time is moving to fast and I don't think it's right" over and over. I have to say - for the first time, I think I get journalling now. Like proper, release of feelings, journalling. Felt so much better after doing this and I realised no-one else has to be able to understand what I wrote or why - it's for me to get stuff from out of my head. *Lightbulb*

Gelli Plate Print
Acrylic Paint (Reeves & Kaiser Colour)
Hand cut mask (From a magazine)
Posca Pen

Card 15 - Another one relating to my baby leaving school.

Gelli Plate Print
Acrylic Paint (Reeves & Kaiser Colour)
Alpha Stamps

Card 16 - Ruby always gives me the green and yellow sweeties out of her packet because she knows they are my favourite. These are the wrappers :)

Sweetie Wrappers
Alpha Stamps

Card 17 - As talked about a bit in my Rocking Friday post. I feel like I'm entering a new phase in all ways. These acrylic smooshings summed that up (to me.)

Acrylic Paint (Reeves)
Magazine clipped text

Card 18 - It piddled down last week - and I stood in my shed making this card and watching it hammer down. Not my usual style at all but I like it. 

Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Book clippings
Pencil
Posca Pen

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a peep. If you're doing ICAD let me know so I can come nosey and say hi :)

Rocking My World Friday

Can I get this post done before the weekend is up?... Let's see - might be a quickie! Things that have made me smile in the last couple of weeks - Go!

These two. The boy dotes on her. She only has to pull a face and he's in fits of giggles. She's very into her skipping this week and as soon as she's home from school she's out there with her rope or the hula hoop Nanna gave her. So much so... Devvie and I are talking about getting an adult rope to join her. Just talking about mind. I'm also thankful the weather stayed nice for her school trip - the next day was abysmal.

***

This picture holds lots of smiles for me. The postcard on the wall is from Natasha and makes me smile whenever I look at it. The canvas is just one I've had laying around for ages and I finally feel in the mood to do something with. So I've been prepping with clear Gesso this week and sanding. It's stroke-able and soft now ;) The French magazine is from Rebecca who very kindly sent it as collage fodder - it's gorgeous! And the spiky teazles - a gift from my lovely Craig when I mentioned in passing last week that they would be pretty to draw. This might not seem much to someone not in the know but he suffers terribly from hayfever. Getting these for me involved him wading through waist high grasses with his trusty secateurs. That's love that is. More precious than the biggest bunch of flowers in my eyes.

***

The various arty projects I'm taking part in. I had my Corpse back so will blog that later, I'm loving the collaboration with the WW girls, Summer of Colour and ICAD is really proving eye-opening as well. Love my little, ever growing, stack of cards!

*** Change is a brewing. I'm sensing a better outlook on the horizon. (No you haven't stumbled on the weather channel.)  Various things... all of which seem to be coming together at once. Devvie left school last week - well, until 6th form but that isn't school - more like college. It's very, very strange hearing her talk about work options and gap years (her friends) and Australia!! So I went a bit wibbly wobbly over that and also missing my Mum a bit. But I've also started watching what I eat - not dieting just cutting out (most of) the naughty snacking. Still eating pretty much what I want at meal times, just sensibly - I've given up on diets. I love my food to much. So I thought - right, if I'm going to eat what I want I need to start shifting this old bod. So I now do the Wii for at least one hour a day. Not all in one chunk. But at least 10 minutes a time - sometimes up to 40 mins. Doing the Wii Fit workout routines or Just Dance - stop laughing, I get enough of that here. So far... I'm noticing a difference. The jeans and t-shirts are looser and  with my back... That's hurting a lot less - could just be that everything else is hurting a helluva lot more but I missed a day yesterday where we were out for the day and I really missed it.
Then, all of a sudden, I'm getting on top of the housework? Wait, what? I know! It's taken me going through one room at a time, sometimes taking a few days on each room... but those rooms take me minutes now each day to flick around and do. We wont mention the Pheeb's room which is just... I'm shaking my head just thinking about it... but the rest of the house - I'm kind of actually OK with people seeing! It started off I think with wanting to declutter and then my thinking - hang on, I do this and I get to play in my shed more... without feeling guilty... and it actually feels kind of like exercise too.
So then there's more. I am in my shed. Playing. Experimenting. Messing up the couple of non-painty bits of clothes I had left! ICAD is responsible a lot for making me work outside the box but so are the collaborations I'm taking part in. Am doing stuff I would never have thought about doing before. I'm in painty grungy, gloopy Heaven out there.
But of course, the penalty for all that is that I run out of time for the internet - so if I am behind a bit on my blog reading. that's why. You'll find that you'll all of a sudden have a bulk load of spammy comments off me when I set aside some time to catch up with a cuppa or 10 :)  *** And of course, my biggest positives of all. My gorgeous family for supporting me always and loving me regardless.
If you fancy listing all your positives from the week... or just rambling away (sorry!) Please do drop by Virginia's and say hi. We'd love to see you.

Thank you as always for stopping by - how have you been?

Summer of Colour - Week 2

I think I'm scraping in by the skin of my teeth - just don't know where this week has gone. The colour theme for week two over at Twinkle Twinkle was Orange and Hot Pink.  On my walk to school there is a garden just full of the most amazing roses, colours I've never seen before - pale lilacs, marshmallow pink, raspberry ripple...  orange and hot pink. So this was my inspiration. 

How do you feel about taking photos of plants in someone else's garden? Even if it's on the perimeter right next to the pavement? Devvie and I felt decidedly shifty taking these on her phone, don't ask why - I couldn't say. But that's why these are a bit blurry. Nonchalant stroll past's with phone in hand, quick ninja stealth photography and speed walking away...  don't make for clear shots. You get the idea though :) 

Pretty, pretty.

Here's what I did. This is in my big old 14x11.5" sketchbook. My picture doesn't show the texture - the majority of the paint was put on with a palette knife. I love this in real life... I'm not mad seeing it on screen - you'll have to take my word for it being better in real life. (Pretty please.) 

Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Gesso
Sharpie Paint Pen

Thanks for stopping by today - back later with a Rocking Friday post :)

ICAD 2013 - Week 2

Week 2 of ICAD and I've still been playing along. I might end up doing two cards one day and none the next but I'm determined to have the full 61 cards by the end of it... it just might take me longer than the 61 days. I'm terrible for joining these challenges and then not staying the distance so that in itself is a mini challenge I have set myself.

Day 8 - I printed the bird birthday card  I had made a couple of weeks ago directly onto the index card . (Original is here) It came out paler than the original - my printer is rubbish. So I picked out the black bits again in acrylic paint and then Glossy Accents. I know I've got the lyrics slightly wrong but I didn't have much space so took a bit of licence with that - I hope Mr Cohen doesn't mind ;)

Art printed directly to card
Acrylic Paint (Reeves)
Glossy Accents
Alpha Stamps

Day 9 - I'm a pretty rubbish stamper so you wont believe how chuffed I was to get the cat on the ravens back first time. Wasn't quite so chuffed that I misjudged how much room the text would need. 

Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Stamps (Cat = Stampotique,  Raven = La Blanche)
Alpha Stamps

And did you notice the raven was silver? Eh? Eh? Maybe a relation to my crow ;)

Day 10 - I just wanted to see if it would fit on the card... it did!

Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour)
Alpha Stamps

Days 11 & 12 - I posted about these on Friday  for Summer of Colour and Tutorial Try-Out. You can see how I did them if you click here.

Collage
Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Watercolour pencils (Derwent)
Posca pen

Collage
Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Watercolour pencils (Derwent)
Posca pen
Fineliner
Various stamps

I'm running a few days behind so this isn't a full 7 days but I'm really happy with the way my little stack of index cards is starting to build up. It's a great way to try out new techniques on a little, inexpensive canvas so to speak. 

Thanks for stopping by today :) If you are doing ICAD too, be sure to leave me a link so I can visit you.

SoC - Tutorial Try-Out - ICAD

Going for a hat trick, so I am.

Kristin has postponed any further Tutorial Try-Outs for now while she enjoys all the challenges that are out there this summer. So I've gone back to the beginning to do some of the ones I missed. The first one was Tam's Paint Over Collage tutorial.

I thought I would combine the tutorial with ICAD so my pieces are done on a 4x6 index cards. I'll post the rest of this weeks cards in a separate post. Summer of Colour  has started for 2013. Yay! The first colour combination is Citron Green and Turquoise so that was the colour scheme I went with first.

Collage
Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Watercolour pencils (Derwent)
Posca pen
Fineliner
Various stamps

The collages that are the basis of my pieces - please excuse the shine, they're covered in glue.

This next one hasn't scanned to well - it reads Love Shine a Light around her halo.

Collage
Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Watercolour pencils (Derwent)
Posca pen
Fineliner

I really enjoyed this tutorial. It took much longer than I thought it would but mainly because you keep seeing different things to add and I am not good with letting layers dry. I really got into it and do enjoy this technique - it's like an extreme version of doodling on catalogues and magazines :) I will definitely use and incorporate this technique in the future. I'm not to happy with my faces today but overall - I love how they both turned out. I've already started a much larger scale one on a sturdier base. These index cards don't like much abuse.

If you'd like to check out the tutorials Kristin has listed so far, click here.
If you'd like to take part and link up with Summer of Colour, click here.
If you'd like to check out Index Card a Day, click here.

Hat trick accomplished!

Many thanks for stopping by today :)

WW Collaboration - Red, Black, Teal & Copper

Virginia and Sarah - don't look if you want a surprise :)

I thought I'd do a little update on the collaboration I am taking part in. I started here with my Poe inspired piece and that's on it's merry way around the group. I've since received three more to work on and am showing you the two that have left me again.

First was Sarah's. Her theme is Copper & Teal. This was the piece I made to fit onto her card.

Gelli Print background
Stamping with photo canister & Donna Rodgers stamp
Acrylic Paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Doodling

This is what it looks like slotted onto Sarah's card, it's sitting under Sarah's starting piece - the circles that are echoed in my piece from hers was a happy accident.

Next up is Virginia's. Her theme is Red & Black. This is the piece I made to slot onto her card. Being a real Rock Chick - I'm hoping she'll forgive me the Michael Bolton lyrics (Man, I had such a thang for him as a teen! Well - his voice anyway. Shut UP!) Anyhoo - I kept "hearing" Time, Love & Tenderness when I was doing this - so on it went. Don't think it shows up to well in my pictures.

W&N Galeria Modelling Paste
Acrylic Paint (Reeves)
Masks (Tim Holtz - idea-ology)
Alpha Stamps

And again, how it looks with the other pieces so far. It sits with Virginia's starting piece, then Sarah's and then mine. 

Next I have Susie's Steampunk inspired piece. Now I love the look of Steampunk but I always struggle translating it into something - so I am stalling with this one. Especially since the bits already on it are so good. I'm a bit scared of ruining it. Thinking cap on!

I'm really loving seeing these come through the door - especially as they get more layers on them. Can't wait to see what my Poe looks like when it comes home!

Thanks for stopping by today :)

ICAD 2013 - Week One

After watching a few of the bloggers I follow have a lot of fun with ICAD (Index Card a Day) last year - I thought I would join in this year. This is a two month project hosted by Daisy Yellow with optional prompts and themes. I think the main idea is to get you creating, every day -  a jump start to your creativity. Click the logo below to read all about it in detail.

So this is my first week of cards. I'm using 6x4" cards and they are lined on both sides. (Nicked from Craig's office.) I thought I would join in originally just as a bit of fun but I really get the exercise now. It really does loosen you up - in my case I do no forward planning each day so couldn't tell you ahead of time what will be on each card. What you see is what spills out of my noggin :) So far I haven't used the prompts or themes but I might do as the two months progress.

Day 1:The first day I started stressing out. What do I do? What do I use? Where do I start? So in the end Day 1 didn't get done until Day 2. This was the result of me just telling myself off. I wrote over the words about five times in different pens, drumming it in - my version of lines at school.

Gelli Plate print (Kaiser Colour Acrylics)
Gesso (Baby wiped over and scrubbed off)
Perfect Pearls Mist (Painted on, not sprayed)
Various pens (Posca, Copic, Fineliner, Biro...)

Day 2: I'm terrible for comparing what I do to other people. Even people who don't do anything remotely similar to me but that I admire. Another message to myself. Many apologies to the UK readers if you get a certain ad stuck in your head.

Gelli Plate print (Kaiser Colour Acrylics)
Gesso
Balzer Designs mask
Perfect Pearls Mist (Painted on, scan hasn't picked it up - it's through the middle section)
Alpha Stamps

Day 3: I got a bit over eager and didn't wait for the paint to dry - so she didn't stamp properly. I then had to wait (impatiently) for the paint to dry and drew over the dodgy printed image with a fineliner. All the time I was doing this I was having a little boogy and going "beep beep!" in my head. No, I don't know why either but that's the reason behind the words today.

Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour)
Stampotique Stamp
White Posca Pen
Alpha Stamps

Day 4:  Because it was sunny. Not to hot, not to cold. Perfick. And it made me smile.

Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Alpha Stamps
Fineliner pen

Day 5: No idea how this one came about. Started off with a card that had the left over yellow from my sun scraped over it. Decided to go abstract and did some primary shapes to form a body. Kind of. Was thinking statue at this point. Didn't like it so rollered over the whole thing with gold and bronze. Decided I might like it after all, so scrubbed at it with a wet wipe. Liked the look of it emerging through the paint so added some black round the edges. Decided it needed... something. Went at it with my Posca Pen and this is the result. Totally surprised to see an angel but I do quite love her.

Acrylic paint (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Posca Pen

Day 6: This one is my attempt at being topical. This stencil always makes me think of jelly fish. (although Devvie says it's cookies and Pheebs says it's dinosaur scales...) So, it was on the news the other day that this summer is going to see an invasion of jellyfish in the Worlds oceans. They're going to be everywhere, coming at you - storming cities... maybe not quite that bad. But you get my drift. (Ahaha! See what I did there?) This is my invasion.

W&N Galeria Modelling Paste
Stencil (Balzer Designs)
Acrylic Paints (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Perfect Pearls Mist

Day 7: Two little skullies. I think they need words but I can't think what. Maybe something to add later. These were a complete pain to photo - all the rest are scanned. I tried scanning, taking a photo under artificial light, photo under the sun, photo in the shade... I think it's where I used so much Gesso on the base? Maybe it's reflecting the colours or something. The blue is much paler and brighter in real life - it's the same blue as on my sun card. 

Gesso
Watercolour Paints
Acrylics Paints (Kaiser Colour & Reeves)
Hand cut masks
Posca Pen

So that's my first week. I'm enjoying the process, I'm enjoying trying out little ideas and new techniques and I'm just enjoying playing - full stop. Are you doing ICAD this year? Let me know so I can come see your cards. 

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Rocking My World Friday...

... on Friday! Blimey! Steady yourselves there. I know it's a shock ;)

It's that time of the week when I look back at what's made me smile over the past seven days. Firstly, again, is the knock on effects from Julie's better blogging class and the reason I'm on time today. Note taking throughout the week and uploading photos into my "Blog Fodder" folder which has it's very own "Rocking Friday" sub-folder. All meaning I'm organised and posting today - on time! Thanks Julie. Gradually I'll get my ever increasing art uploaded too.

Positive two. I'm arting every single day. This is partly down to having my shed, which is slap bang next to my back door making it so easy to pop in and out. Partly due to Logey Bear being that little bit older so he can either come sit out in the garden in his high chair while I'm in there - or the girls watch him for me of an evening for half hour. It's also a lot to do with ICAD which I am loving, absolutely LOVING taking part in. Post to follow later today on that hopefully. And just... I don't know, got my mojo back I guess.

Spotting a rainbow on my paintbrush :)

Watching Mama Starling teaching her bubba's how to feed. I'm pretty sure these are the ones that have been nesting in the eaves above the loft bedroom. You could hear them scrabbling about and running around. And if you tapped your fingers along the ceiling you could hear them follow the noise.

Doesn't she look so stern here?

Sunshine! A whole week of it. It's not been to hot and it's not been to cold. Just right - it's really lifted my mood. Washing drying on the line, being able to leave my shed open all day to just pop in and out as I can, walking to the school without getting drenched or blown away. Lovely.

This lot. I had to laugh when I saw them lined up like this. I'm also proud that those laptops the older two are on? Bought with their own money - saved up for over months and months with pocket money and Christmas etc. Devvie has had hers years now but I remember the year she got it, she was just a bit short to hit the sales. So we offered to sub her the rest but told her it would mean 6 months without any pocket money. We half expected her to still try it on and wheedle some money out of us in those following months. But she didn't.   Sometimes when people say kids have to much... and then I tell them this, I then get told how harsh  and strict we are. (Can't win eh?) I don't care. When I see my girls like this it makes me proud that they know the value of stuff. And I thought they all looked so flipping cute lined up like that.

And a few quickies...

• Home baked rolls (Well, from a packet mix but it counts!)
• Getting the house clutter free. Slowly. One room at a time. (Averaging 2-3 days on each room!) 
• The explosion of buttercups and dandelion clocks
• All you can eat pie night at a local pub for Craig's birthday. Nom.
• Being told my kids are angels with great manners at said pub (Granted the waitress was having to deal with a kids party from Hell a few tables over.)
• The 75p skipping rope that has obsessed a certain little Ruby for 2 weeks now. She's getting very good at it.
• Logey Bear enjoying his solids. Making it so much easier at meal times or when we go anywhere.
• WW Girls and online friends.
• Craig, always.

If you'd like to join us and look back at the week and what made you smile - there's always something, I promise you - then please pop by Virginia's and link up. We'd love to see you.

This week I'm also linking up with Annie's Friday Smiles  why not pop over there too? Double the good feeling! Can't be bad.

Thank you as always for stopping by - how has your week been?

Bird on a Wire

I've been having fun with the Gelli Plate again. We all know I'm not a card maker. For some reason I decided to cobble together a birthday card for Craig - had to be birdie themed for the Bird Man didn't it? 

I had that song "Bird on a Wire" going round my head so that's what I went with. I've decided to start listening to my inner jukebox - maybe it's trying to tell me something. 

Gelli Print
Gesso
Stencilling & doodles

The background is a Gelli print with hand-cut masks and a Balzer Designs one. (That doily image.)  It's all toned down with Gesso smooshed on with a wet-wipe and then vigorously (when I realised I'd put to much on) scrubbed off again with a clean wipe. Happy accident in that I like what happened. Bits of gold Acrylic were then rubbed on top with the original wipe. The bird is black Acrylic through a birdie stencil I've had forever. (I'm not even sure it's supposed to be a stencil - it's made from chipboard? But I love it.) The rest is doodling.

Pretty chuffed with this one. His Highness seemed to like it. All in all - glad I am starting to listen to those voices. 

Will be doing it more often. Beware!

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Rocking My World Friday...

Hello Strangers.

It's good to be back in Blogland after my mini absence. It was a combination of things: My PC going at a snails pace so I've mainly been using my  tablet which isn't brilliant to blog on or leave blog comments - much as I love the thing.  The Logey Bear is teething, so Craig and I are stumbling around like zombies through lack of sleep. I've finally finished Julie's Better Blogging class (or The Push-Up Bra Approach) which gave me lots of ideas... and I've been spending a lot of time (when the Bear allows) in my shed.

So my first positive (and I'm looking back over a couple of weeks here) is Julie's class. It's here. It's full of handy tips and advice to blog better, faster and more efficiently, with more content and how to pull that audience in. Some of it you might already do, some of it might be new to you. It's FREE and it's definitely worth a look. You'll need a notebook and pen ;) I definitely think of my blog as a work in progress so I've taken away some good advice for sure.

***

Next up, I ordered a new USB stick. I made some tea. I sat myself down in front of my PC and worked my way through all my photos (folders dating back to 2009) I sorted, I deleted, I sorted some more - arranging into date order, subject etc, etc. I deleted, deleted, deleted some more. Then backed it all up onto the USB... and rolled my PC back to factory settings. It took two days!

I only put the 2013 folder and my Art folder back on the PC, the rest is staying on my USB. I'm going zoom, zoom, zoom now! I cannot tell you how much joy this has given me over the past couple of days. Plus - I'm discovering things about my PC I never knew before. I can download apps like on my tablet - there are so many cool art ones! I can do that working on two screens side by side thing that you see on the TV adverts! I have Photoshop Elements on here! Whaaat?

It's like I have a brand new computer!  Happy, happy!

***

Rainbows after the rain.

***

This gorgeous art postcard from Natasha all the way from New Zealand. You know what - I have this pinned up in my shed Natasha. I think when times are tough this could become a mantra.

***

Craig and I celebrated 11 years together. I say celebrated... he spent the evening with his birdies and I played with paint in my shed! The secret of a happy relationship! We are going out next week for his birthday though, so will make it a double celebration then. We joke a lot about our relationship but honestly - I don't know what I'd do without that man. I'm thankful for him every day even when his little idiosyncrasies drive me potty. I'm assured the feelings are reciprocated. (And I have way more quirks that he has to put up with.)

***

I've rediscovered and fallen in love with my sketchbooks. I had fallen into that trap whereby - I get little time to play, so everything I do must eventually be a finished brilliant something. And of course that never happens. Because I'm not practising. Then frustration bites. I wallow.  I don't want to ruin my lovely sketchbooks. I don't create. Since having my shed, I've suddenly just let all that go. Just played in the sketchbooks. Not worrying that I'll 'ruin' them. not worrying that what I'm doing isn't perfect - just doing something. And having so much fun. And the ideas! The ideas that are just crashing in! I'm such an idiot! I have lots to share in future posts if you're interested! (Tough if you're not!)

***

Gratuitous Logey Bear pictures. Even when teething he's still a sweetie. I know, I'm biased ;)

*** I'm going to sign off soon as am so tired and it's getting quite late.  I'll leave a little list of other things that have made my day, week or just moment in the time I've not been blogging. I'm sure there have been more but these stick in my mind :)

• A new kettle = non-gritty, limescale free tea. 
• My girls all working hard at school and (for the most part) getting on with each other.
• 10pm bedtimes... even if we are woken up every hour or so.
• Crispy, tangy apples... cheese and crackers.
• Kleeneze Spider Repellent spray (Made from Chestnut Oil) keeping my shed spider free for over two weeks now.
• Our local bootfair and the man who sells hot honey roasted peanuts there. Yum.
• Lots and lots of online inspiration that I've signed up to. I'll list below.

Starting this week:

Self structured/work at own pace:

Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques. A free 7 week course

I hope to catch up on all my blog reading now that I'm all zippy and speedy. Get those kettle on :) If you feel like joining the merry band of Rockers please pop over to Virginia's and leave a link. We are a small but welcoming group. Most of us don't bite ;)

Thanks for stopping by - how have you been?