Why August is one of the best months!

I think that August is one of the best months there is, I know those born in the 11 other months might have an alternative view, but when you really sit down and think about it you will have to agree that August beats the rest hands down.

Ok I guess I am going to have to clarify my comments, but think about it - with August your in the height of the summer, all the flowers are blooming, it is associated with holidays, the schools are off, you get to spend some quality time with friends and loved ones, the bbq's come out and the air is filled with laughter, Pimms and dogs barking playfully!

What if it were all possible?

I don't really drink Pimms and we don't have a dog, but it is a restful month, one for reflection before you get back into the back end of the year with September.  Another reason, and you probably guessed from the start is that I was born in August, and therefore have a birthday coming up.

It is going to be a big one and I have been reflecting on where I am in my journey, how far I have to go, what twists and turns are coming up, sometimes I feel as if I am one of those people with spinning plates and I have to keep them all going, and you are constantly looking to see if there are anymore plates that will be added.  I don't think I will have anything big, but celebrate with family and friends, something small...thought the 'Kensington Roof Gardens' would have been a lovely venue and is on my wish list!!!  I have restarted my exercise routine, and have promised myself that I will treat me as if I were my best friend rather than taking myself for granted, let alone let anyone else.

There are a few more weeks to go and I will be doing something special online during that week here on my blog, so do come back.  I have been playing with supplies and have made this journal, quite a playful journal will see me write my dreams and visions and hopes for the future within its pages..

Celebration playful Journal

It has a piece cut out of the front cover and I drew and pasted a picture there. It is a ring bound journal and the flowers and butterflies are made from fimo clay and it has fluffy wool and wooden beads decorating it!

Inside is a mixture of watercolour paper and decorated paper to use as the mood takes me.

The bird at the back is a reminder to let go of those things that you have no control over and focus on shining that light, and asking that question...'What if it were all possible'!....yes August is one of the best months cause I was born..Blessings to all, and what ever month you were born in you are pretty special as well!

Material Mondays - Fabric Postcards

I have been playing around with some scrap fabric that was in my stash, and it is quite surprising what you get when you put different pieces together.  I had intended on making some fabric postcards, and got quite carried away with making them.  I didn't know how much I would enjoy using my sewing machine alongside painting fabric, but it has been quite a therapeutic activity, and some of the pieces can be as detailed or as simple as you like.

I started out painting plain pieces of white cotton (it was a pillow case that I was going to tie dye).  I used inks, paint, pen, glitter pens and applying them to the fabric with brushes, and stencils, and along with some batting quilted the panel.

I then added beads, sequins to the fabric

and added stitching using my sewing machine.

I found among my supplies some old strips of ribbon and used them to decorate the top and bottom of the panels

And voila!  It has given me the bug to make some more and I will create a few with some images on them

These were very easy to make and as well as being used as postcards they could also be used as part of a wall hanging, or they might form the cover of a journal.

The choices are endless as to what you could do with them, you could even use them as part of a mini art quilt.  I am still in the process of learning how to make a quilt, so it looks like I will be making a few more.

If you don't have a sewing machine you can do this by hand and use fabric glue for some of the areas.

I hope you are inspired to try and share your results and links when you do.  Blessings!

Friday Feeling....Out and about

Well hello, It has been a lovely day weather wise,  and I am really enjoying my time both in the studio, hot though it is at times, the sunny weather always seems to bring out an increase in ideas and techniques to try I will show you a few images later.  Equally I have been spending time enjoying the garden without having to dig up anything or weeding.

Honeysuckle plant

The colours are coming together in the garden, I went for pinks, purples, lilacs, 

Lavender

The lavender not only gave a lovely scent when you touched them, but the colour was very pretty as well

Lavatera

My lavatera has grown into a tree, it has a tendency of growing a bit wild, but I made sure that after the last winter I cut it back a third, this helped it and the flowers are out in abundance, attracting bees and butterflies,  it is a shame that it doesn't have a scent as well

Sweetpea

 The sweetpea come out year after year, and I haven't yet trained this plant to grow along the fence so they tumble down around the other plants.

Daisy

 The giant daisy is another one that comes up each year and is spreading, I might have to dig some of the clumps up and plant in other parts of the garden to break up the purples and pinks

Bindweed - flowers are lovely

 Another plant that while is a nuisance, has some very pretty flowers, and this is the bindweed, it wraps it self around other plants and can be difficult to separate, but I like the trumpet shaped flowers that it produces

 ......and so I allow them to grow and then remove in places where I want to keep it free from the bindweed.

Plums are also something we get to enjoy from the garden, and the fruit are beginning to turn purple, so over the next few weeks they should be ripe to pick.  I will have to think about some recipes to make with the plums as well as hand some out to the neighbours.

I appreciate having the outdoor space that enables me to get away from it all and stop and think about the life that continues to happen without my input.  Things grow and die down, they change and adapt, and I allow myself to reflect on my life, my relationships that are so important.

We want like the blooms and the plums to be fruitful in our own lives, to be a blessing, and encouragement and support to someone else and we need to make sure that we invest in ourselves.  This could take the form of exercise, eating the right food and spending time being creative.  That said, I did a couple of new pieces, and will have more to share over the next few weeks.

I made a decision to get more work complete before I go onto the next idea.  It is always a joy to see the ideas grow, and what was a splodge on the paper, grows into something totally different.

 In this painting, I was imagining myself on a boat, and the feeling you get as you know you are going forward, but you have your eyes closed and you can feel the sea breeze on your skin, and the feeling of freedom as you imagine yourself flying or spreading out your arms like Kate Winslet on the film Titanic

The hat was the first thing that was formed in this painting, and I was thinking about someone is a rice field, - then the staff appeared in the painting and it brought back memories of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and there is a particular scene where they are chasing each other through the trees, it is beautifully shot, and I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.

Next Friday will see the return of Gratitude's and Celebration, and I will continue to use it as a reminder of all the things we should be thankful for, as I spend time creating a journal page.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a recycled project, so remember to pass on back this way.

Blessings!

Tutorial Tuesdays - Pound Store Finds

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday!  It has been a while I know, but I have been busy making projects to share with you and this one today incorporates my love of paper and working with my hands.  I thought I would share with you what I have been working on lately.

Here in the UK we have what is call 'Pound stores' or 99p stores in which they sell everything very cheaply, and as the name says either £1 or 99p.  I guess in the states you have your 'Dollar Tree' and I am sure that most places would have the equivalent.

You can often pick up a range of crafting items, not the best quality, but depending on what you are going to use them for can be quite effective.  I recently picked up these bags of all sorts and was attracted by the flower that was in the packet, it had a lot of waste and off cuts that would normally be recycled but some bright spark has realized that if they bag them up someone will buy it.

Anyway, it came with lots of different type of paper, flower off cuts, a bag of beads, foam and as you can see strips of paper.

Because of my love of paper and making things I thought it was a good idea to see what I could create with the contents of the bag.  Due to my love of making journals, I decided to set myself a challenge and see if I could make a workable journal with only the contents of the bag.

I started out with two pieces of recycled card, which along with paint were the only external additions, and I measured the cardboard to the size that I wanted the journal to be.  This was also dependent on the size of the biggest piece of paper within the paper pack.

measuring out the cardboard

After I had got the size that I wanted, I began to cover the cardboard in strips of paper from the pack, which would provide a base for the flower and any other additional decoration on the front.

I put together the pages and made 3 signatures for the journal, decorating each one as I went along.

Signatures being decorated before stitched

 With any spare paper left I made tags and a front pocket for the journal, I had placed a series of encouraging statements on the tags

I kept the sewing of the signatures very simple and with some of the shiny paper left made some paper beads to hang from the spine of the journal

paper beads and a simple stitching on the journal

 Here is the finished journal, I decorated the flower with a pearlesent paint and attached it to the cover, and finished off with stitching around the edges of the journal.

Completed journal

 Here is one of the pages within the journal that I have worked on, with a reminder that you need to take a break and dive into your creativity.

Completed page - take a break

I still have a bit of the paper left and that will go towards the next project, I also didn't get to use the beads, so we will see what we can do with these as well.  Try and get on down to your local store and see what paper packs you can find to make a journal from, that are inexpensive and encourage you to stretch your imagination as you use a limited range of resources in a different way. 

 I will be making a few more of these over the coming months, and towards the end of August next month I will be making another journal from the contents of one of these paper packs and also be hosting a giveaway, so keep an eye out!

Join me next week for Tutorial Tuesdays and see where your creativity can take you!!