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!!

Material Mondays - Fabric Dolls Part 2

It always amazes me how quickly time flies - they say especially when your having fun, but it has been quite a busy week that saw most of my posts fall by the wayside, but not to be deterred and getting back on track again, finds me with the second doll.

In Last week's Material Monday I shared with you a doll that we had been shown how to make by Susana Tavares on the Soul Food course.

Well I made another one, in exactly the same way, but for a different use.  

Crochet flower and button detail

It was a very simple pattern, which you decorate with your choice of paints before hand and then put the pattern together and sew.

Once this has been done you can decorate however you choose, or leave it as is.

I really enjoyed making the doll and I kept her face fairly simple.  I added a crochet flower and band for her hair, which is wool.  I attached the hair in the same way that you would create a rug - by attaching to her head a simple crocheted hat I then hooked the wool around the spaces on the hat.

I got the bangle from the charity shop and it made a lovely choker, and I crochet a few rows together and made her a belt.

She wasn't happy until I made a bag for her to carry around with her, and this was made from scraps of material sewn together to create a bag journal

Handbag that doubles as mini mini Journal - for quotes!

It is usable and I thought that I would create a booklet type bag that I can use to write down inspiring quotes

Journal Bag

With an additional slot to hold some mini tags!

Mixed media Art Doll

Here she is ready for action.  I would love to see what you can come up with, they are so easy to make and can be given as gifts.  I have an idea of making some smaller ones, she currently stands at 14 inches and is 7 inches wide.  I hope that you've been inspired, come back for Material Mondays to see what I make next week!

Material Mondays - Fabric Dolls

I have always loved looking at the many designs and varieties of fabric dolls.  As part of the Soul Food course over at Community Thrive.  I am still making my way through some of the lessons, and savoring the inspiring teaching.  Artist Susana Tavares showed us how she makes her dolls, and I gave it a go and came up with a couple of designs, one of which I will share today.

Mixed media art doll

It has been great making this one, which I first painted then cut out the pattern and sewed together.  I have made a few additions and she decided that she would be and ideas doll.  Her purpose is to hang around with a note pad and pens and be there when an idea strikes me so that I can take out the pad and write it down. 

Pocket created in the back to carry notebook and pens

To her back I put a couple of pockets that could hold a mini journal and some pens.  The pocket was recycled and painted from one of my sons old school uniform trousers.

Jeweled out with accessories

Her hair and head dress was made from wool and crocheted flower headband - it kind of reminds me of the 80's style

I made some simple earrings using beads and jewelry findings, and picked up a necklace and broach at the charity shop.

Weighed down with stones

I used small stones to weigh down the doll so that she would stand up, though you can use rice or other grain.

She likes going everywhere, and I thought that I would spend some time in the garden getting some inspiration, I might have to make another one to keep her company, and a few smaller ones with encouraging words.  Come back next week for Material Mondays to see what I make out of fabric  Check out Susana's site, she has lots of other things that will be a feast for the eyes and may be inspire you to create.