Christmas Fair and Concert Today!

EEC Christmas Fair and Carols

Today is the day of my stall, there will be lots of lovely displays and people sharing their work.  There is an International Food Hall where you will be able to sample a lot of the delights, if you are in London, near to Victoria or Westminster then why not take a detour and come down and start your Christmas celebrations in style!

As usual at this event which I attend yearly there will be a feast of colours from the neighbouring stalls, and there will be so many lovely arts and crafts on sale.

On my stall I will have some of my art pieces and a selection of my Capturing Moments mini journals and have designed some mini kits that contain 2 mini journals, paper pack, ephemera tags, beads, glue etc for you to get creative with,

Captured moments kit to encourage your creativity

I thought is is a great way to dip your feet into getting creative and everything comes in the kit.  They also come in a lovely clear box that helps you keep everything together, and make lovely gifts.

Captured moments mini kits

If you don't want the kit I have some small mini journals that come with tags as seen below.

Captured Moments mini journals with tags

I will have some available on my website over the next week so if you want to order one of the kits you can. If you can't wait and want them before the Christmas rush then email me at amanda(at)realityarts(dot)co(dot)uk and I will sort something out:)  The Kits are £10 plus £3.50 pp, the mini journal with tags are £3.00 plus £2.50 pp.

Captured Moments Journal Kit

I will be giving 30% of all sales to Oxfams disaster relief appeal and I hope to make as much as possible to donate to the appeal.  I thank everyone in advance who will make a purchase for either themselves or a loved one for their special occasion.  Your purchase will go to support a family whose whole world has been turned upside down and whilst we are far away we can do as much as possible to show our support.

Also for those who are looking to continue the evening how about coming to a concert with a range of local artist.  III Chronicles Studio will be hosting their 7th Anniversary concert.  There will be an array of performers will be contributing to the night. I'll be there, so stop by and say hello.  I hope you have a blessed weekend and do share what you will be getting up to!

III Chronicles Studio in Wembley

Recycled Projects - A6 Quinoa and Toilet Roll Journal

OK what do you do with those grains you have in your cupboard that are out of date?

....recycle them - right!  We are not going to put them in the compost bin, we are going to use them in a creative project.  You would have seen me use quinoa in one of the capturing moments mini journal that I showed you a couple of weeks back.

Capturing Moments mini Journal - Quinoa adds texture to the front of the journal

I've made another journal using the toilet roll inner tubes as pockets to write on but also use to hold tags to add your own journalling.  The quinoa is glued and allowed to dry, you can paint over it or leave it in its natural state.

This A6 journal also uses a glue gun to write some of the words that are on the front and the back panels and is also added as a border.

You can choose to do a number of things on the pages and have some inspiring messages, photographs or quotes

In the pockets you can have a range of tags in which you can journal, putting your thoughts..

On the front and back covers you can see how I have used the quinoa for decoration.

There is no end to what you can do with the quinoa, and over the next few weeks I will be sharing quite a few ideas...

I hope you have a blessed weekend, and allow your creativity to push back the boundaries in order to allow yourself to really soar! 

Come back on Tuesday to see how I made the Journal in Tutorial Tuesday. Do share creative ways in which you have used recycled materials and leave a comment below.

In the news - Change, Coming Soon Club and Competition winner

Welcome to another special day, for us to be able to share our gifts, connect and make a difference in whatever way possible. Even the smallest effort can make a difference.  

Change

Flowers still in bloom - in October!

Yesterday I spent time in a park close to where I grew up as a child.  It brought back memories of my adventures with my brother Robert who passed away in June.  In thinking of our loss I still have a hard time believing he is gone, I said to my son Sekani that this time last year I was sitting in my brother's kitchen over a cup of tea talking about our creative paths, without a clue of what was to come.  As children we sometimes use to go to the park after school and play because it was close to our home.  The area has changed a lot over the years.  

Outdoor Gym open to all!

The park is now also home to an outside gym to encourage the locals to get fit, and a skateboard park and basket ball pitch for the younger crowd.  The apartments that you can see in the picture above used to be a school.  As you look around the park you can see that they have really taken time to consider what facilities they provide which has made it more accessible for community that live there. 

Creativity and organisation

Over the past couple of weeks I made a conscious decision that I wanted to make several changes to my processes, organisation, output etc.  I was feeling as if the things that I really wanted to do and see come to pass were so far out of my reach.  I prayed that the changes in my life I had been working on to manifest, would start to be evident.  This is really where patience comes in, any change that will be lasting takes effort and time.  You can decide to do nothing and change will still take place, whether it will bring the results you seek is another matter.  I guess in some cases my impatient side was looking for the immediate, but also know that unless you plan and make adjustments then you won't get the results you require.  

I looked at my output in my writing and art and wanted to become more focused, sharing and interacting more.  This is one of the changes that I have made on my blog, by having specific areas that I will share each day.  The frequency of my posting has increased and I have attempted to be more consistent in sharing part of my world with those that visit and also to stretch myself. For those who haven't yet noticed I have a new blog schedule:

Mondays - Material Mondays

Fabric and Crochet

Tuesdays - Tuesday Tutorials

How to....

Wednesdays - Memories of Home

Mixed Media houses

Thursdays - In the news

What's on?

Fridays - Gratitude's and Celebrations

What are you grateful for?

Saturday - Recycled Projects

Reuse, Recycle & Up-cycle

Sunday - Creating in Faith

Creating in Faith - Discussions and more

I am trying to work across the board with all of my social media, but as you probably understand - there is only so much time in a day, but with perseverance and passion a way will be made, and I hope you continue to join me as my work and practices evolve.

Competition!

I ran a competition last week on my Capturing Moments tutorial post, the prize is the mini journal below. 

The winner is Bloomers, and I am also giving a runners up prize of a mini journal and this will go to Ann K from Cairn Cottage.  Well done to both of you, hope you enjoy your mini journals!

Hot desk at the Coming Soon Club...

An organisation called  The Coming Soon Club has set up enterprise initiatives for local people who want to test out a business idea or arts or community project in a temporary space.  They not only provide the space but mentoring advice as well.  They also provide facilities hot desk and internet connection for those who normally work from home which is great if you want to dip your feet in every now and again into the office environment without the office politics.  I used them recently when my internet connection went down, it was great to be able to get on with some focused work without the distractions of home.  It is very relaxed space, they have some exhibitions on the way and they have a small cafe serving refreshments.

Creativity and Social Work

Tomorrow I am giving a talk to a group of social workers training for their AMPH qualification.  My talk focuses on being a carer and the impact of the role on my life, I will also be able to share some creative tools and reflections that I have used.  It is my third year of presenting this talk and it is great to be able to interact with the students and see how they begin to reflect on their own roles and the impact it may have on carers.


And finally...

Katherines Corner
Today is also Thursdays Favorite Things on Katherines Corner Take a stroll over there and visit some of the inspiring blogs listed in the links, you can leave a link to your post and show some support by visiting others who have listed theirs.  

Blessings to you and yours!

Tutorial Tuesday - Toilet Roll Journal

In today's Tutorial Tuesday I will show you how to make this journal made from toilet rolls and recycled card. With the drive to be more 'green' this is a great way to make use of something that you would normally throw away.

What you will need:

empty toilet rolls

recycled card

packaging card - a few millimetres thick

papers and art materials to decorate.....

Here's how you put them together:

Each empty toilet roll will form a pocket for your journal, select how many you require, this journal uses 10 rolls. The card will be used to connect each rolls together

You will need two pieces of slightly thicker card taken from packaging - these will form the front and back covers

Flatten the toilet rolls and cover with some scrap paper, I have used the pages of an old encyclopedia

Seal one of the ends of the toilet roll, as you cover it above, to form a pocket that can be used to hold your tags, or journal writing.

Cut the recycled cards into strips that will be stuck to the sides of the toilet roll pockets and connect them all.

Stick the pieces of card to as many toilet roll pockets you require..

Prepare the front covers and attach.  You can paint them or add decorative paper of choice

Add paint as required to each of the pages, and make tags from some of the left over paper and card

From this to that - it's cool how you can take an everyday object and transform it!

Add some encouraging words and text to the pages, leave space for you to write your thoughts 

Enjoy spending time in your journal!

There is still 9 hours left for you to enter last weeks competition to win a Capturing moments mini journal.  Click here to take you to the post to enter.

In the News - Zen Doodles, Published work, competitions and more

Hope you are having a lovely Thursday so far, here in the London, UK we are have a really mild day with some sunshine, which is great news for October!

Doodles, Tangles and more!

Do you doodle? have you heard of Zentangles?  Everyone at some point in their life has or will doodle on a scrap piece of paper an image that doesn't entirely make any sense, a random array of lines, shading, circles, squares, faces, more lines and patterns without much rhyme or reason.  You might just happen to be one of those people who dabble with doodling while they are in a meeting on their agenda, or while talking on the phone or pondering over the activities for the day.  It isn't a planned drawing but marks on the paper.  

A Zentangle is described as ‘a drawing using a series repetitive patterns, lines and shapes, and starts off its life with a series of pencil drawn 'strings', that create separate areas to work in on the paper. Zentangles and doodling seem to be opening the way to the developing of some structure around creating a piece of art and there are a range of books which show some amazing examples of various creations, some are very complex and detailed and others are less so but still effective.  At the end of the day the act of doodling or 'tangling' or what ever you would like to call it can be very relaxing.  If you want to see what some of the other benefits which for me go hand in hand with taking part in a creative activity - check out Zentangle 

I have been dabbling and more and more created faces with lots of doodling entwined and I shared some of these a while back on my mixed media art blog.

I find it an extremely great way to unwind and relax and use to doodle in meetings, when I am on the phone I like to be forming patterns on a piece of paper and you don’t require any technical or complicated materials. 

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to have one of my pieces featured in the book Zen Doodle: Tons of Tangles

This is a new book that came out in September that has been brought together by Tonia Jenny and Amy Jones and a collection of work submitted by 42 artists with me being one of them.  I answered the call earlier this year to submit an image along with the process photos.  My image was called Girl Tangle

Girl Tangle - Amanda Trought

Don’t ever limit yourself and be boxed into a narrow way of thinking.  Take time to explore and push the boundaries, it will help you grow

The book has over 100 examples of Zen Doodles with step by step instructions for creating your own, and some of the most complicated looking doodles are then broken down for you.  For those who are seeking inspiration this is probably a good idea for you as you can not only see how to create the images presented you can extend it and create entirely new image.  It is published by North Light books and it is split up into 4 chapters – Abstract Doodles, Shapes and Objects, Animals and Beasts, and Friendship and Love.  There is an amazing array of examples and things for you to try.  You can also sign up for their free newsletter at Create Mixed Media.

Tutorial Tuesday
In Tutorial Tuesday my post on how to make a mini Capturing Moments Journal I am also running a competition to win the following mini journal along with a set of 10 tags. 

Capturing Moments Mini Journal

There are 4 different ways to enter and increase your chances, leave a message on the post, you can follow me on twitter, tweet about it, and or like my page on Facebook. Hop over to the post and leave your comments, it really does want to find a loving home.

And finally...

Katherines Corner
Today is also Thursdays Favorite Things on Katherines Corner Take a stroll over there and visit some of the inspiring blogs listed in the links, you can leave a link to your post and show some support by visiting others who have listed theirs.  

Blessings to you and yours!

Tutorial Tuesdays - How to make a Capturing Moment Mini Journal? and Competition

Tutorial Tuesday - Capturing Moments Mini Journal

In today's Tutorial Tuesday I thought that would share with you how to make these simple journals - Capturing Moments.  I called them this because they capture moments of whatever you want to use them for.  I was inspired to make some more after two that I made from recycled materials were shown in a magazine called Craftseller.

Here's how you put them together:

Measure out card to suit the size you want

Recycled card measures 3x7inches 

 Choose paper that you want to use as the cover both sides and use either pva glue or double sided tape

Using a bone folder you are going to create a spine allow 3 inches on either side and one inch for the spine, this is where the signatures will be sitting

 The signatures measure 3 x 6 inches in length and you will need 11 of them 

Fold in half an see how they fit in the book

 Get your wool or string of choice and rap round the outside cover, tie it in a knot 

 begin to wrap the wool round each of the signatures and round the back

 Once you've wrapped it round each signature you cut off a length of the wool

 Use large needle and thread the remaining wool back and forward through the spine

 If you want you can thread beads on it at this point

 Once you have secured the wool all the way down tie off and before you cut it off you can decide to add a beads at this point.

I added a paper bead to my one.

Then you can add what ever decoration to the front of the mini journal and begin to have fun in it.

Competition

Win a Capturing Moments Mini Journal and tags selection - 

enter below for a chance to win.  Leave a blog comment and choose some of the additional ways to increase your chances - good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway