words that speak to me....

This quote needs to make it into my art journal. 

Sometimes it's hard to accept that I can't do it all, even though deep down I know that.

ten minute tuesday...

Blimey, tuesday again. Already! 

I swear I never agreed to that. 

Sort and sweet this week as not a lot has really gone on here since last week. 

I've been having a short play in my art doodle love book, and completely ignoring the prompts! 

At the moment I want to develop my 'flowers' or should that be my abstract flowers, and art doodle love was close at hand. Calling to me. Maybe it's been feeling a bit abandoned. (yes I know I'm talking about it like its a living creature, but that's ok). 

I'm at the point of sketching them out with a pigma micron pen (love these babies) and my intention this week to take evenings off work and colour them in.  I might go over the outlines with a pen other than black first. Not sure yet. See what happens when I sit down to do it. 

  I had already started to doodle on this page, but it was pant so I doodled over it. As you do!

Well I've shown you mine, you gonna show me yours? 

Being brave and testing/adding out a linky....
Its an experiment as I've never used one before and there are plans afoot!
 I thoroughly expect to be a billy no mates on this, but consider the bullet bitten and a red face later. Hey ho! 

ten minute tuesday....

hello, hello and welcome once again to ten minute tuesday, and a very sunny tuesday it is too! 

Hurrah! 

Do we dare that summer may finally have arrived.  I'm refusing to check the weather forecast for the rest of the week, especially as we had hail followed by glorious sunshine at the weekend. I don't know if I should get my tingers out or not. 

tingers.... toes that think they are fingers. That's what hang off the end of my feet.  I've kept them hidden away from public view for years, but I care not anymore.  Better to display the tingers than have hot feet.  Must be an age thing. Like everything else. 

Right, this week has been super quick and easy. Project Life prep. I still have to order my photos, but I am starting to create some simple 'month' cards. I've used the Studio Calico Clear Months set for this.

Now, I like happy accidents, but these are grid cards, and if I had to get the months lined up. I used some of the Glitz Design washi tape to line up the card with some scrap lined paper. The washi was then just folded over the top as part of the overall design of the card when I'd finished stamping.

I even lined up my stamps on one of the Tim Holtz grid blocks.  Peeling off the month I wanted to highlight, I stamped them in black archival ink (it was close to hand and I have the large pad)

and the missing month was stamped using Adirondack Dye Ink Pad in Citrus

a couple of extra little stamped flourishes and I'm done.  Quick, simple, clean month cards.

Right I'm off to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, or just make the most of the fact the kids are playing out! Yay, peace and quiet...for a while.

Thanks for stopping by and do please let me know if you join me for short creative bursts. 

taking joy in the details...

a little bit of loveliness in a corner of the garden

ten minute tuesdays

hello and welcome to ten minute tuesdays.  Nice to see you again! 

ten minute tuesdays seem to be the only posts I'm managing at the moment, but for now all decorating has stopped. At least I hope so. Problem is once you start it makes you realise how family worn your house is looking. 

This week my 6 year old daughter asked if she could do a page in my art journal with some of my 'special pencils'.  How could I resist? Well, clearly I couldn't.   I let her draw her picture then showed her how to use my 'special pencils' (inktense) and off she went.  

this page started as an owl holding a heart shaped balloon.

when I came back it was raining and someone was trying to stop the owl from blowing away! 

Too cute! 

then she wanted to so another page.... full of hearts...

I love that these pages now pop up in my art journal. I'm sure there will be more at some point... 

Thanks for joining me today.  Do share what you've been up to! 

ten minute tuesdays...

hello there and welcome to this weeks ten minute tuesday. 

I'm feeling a little bit more focused creatively this week and am finding inspiration in anythimg from pinterest to bed linen. So many creative thoughts running round my head, shame I've been up to my eyeballs in decorating.... again.  I'm really begining to think that 2013 will become known as "The Year We Decorated" 

Part of my creative yearning this week has also come from two books I'm currently 'flick-reading', which in my case means opening at a random page, looking at it, making oooh and ahhh sounds, then working backwards to the front of the book.  No idea why I do this, but this is what I do with 'creative' books, and magazines come to think of it. 

Anyway I witter on... 

The books that are helping my head spin with more ideas....

Brave Intuitive Painting  by Flora Bowley (I love this woman's work). This is my eye candy book if I'm honest, for now. I love to just flick and make more ooooh sounds than normal. 

The second book, which yes, I am reading backwards. No idea, I simply can't explain it, so yes ou may remain with that puzzled look upon your face at the very idea of it. The book is... Acrylic Solutions by Chris Cozen & Julie Prichard.  I will confess to not having heard of, or looked up these ladies, but I will be. Soon. 

If you're interested in mixed media, treat yourself to the latter. It's a cracking little book and has remained by the bed for secret escape from the kids moments during half term. 

Now then, while I have been pondering and decorating I've been popping backwards and forwards to my journal, so here are my short bursts, culminating in a finished page.  The whole thing took me a couple of hours. I hated it at first.  Such is life! 

This one started with image transfers...  a great one for ten minutes! 

 and then paint layers... ooh so frustrating. It was all feeling a bit 'meh' at this point. 

I went pinning for relief from the frustration and it worked. 

more simple flowers... well I'm calling them flowers. Collaged with really old 7Gypsies papers. The basic shapes were drawn with black fluid acrylic.  I didn't want to change my mind! 

Once the gel medium was thoroughly dry I went round the 'flowers' with charcoal and smudged it out, then added some rub on words, a little stamping and doodling and Ta dah!!!!  Finished with a happy face on me (for a change). This page makes my heart sing. Right now I am loving what I'm doing.  Next month I may look and wonder what the feck I was thinking.  Enjoy the moment! 

please do share your creative ten minutes, be it preparation, inspiration or perspiration. 

Until next time I bid you happy creating!