Grateful For - Em's challenge

Here's my tag. My first attempt at using a sewing machine!



So amongst other things, I am grateful for (just this week) being 7 years cancer free!!!
My kids...as always.
Finding and being part of this wonderful hobby which has put me in touch with so many lovely people via cyberworld.
My art books...I am so addicted to buying these.

I have tags for this project in all sorts of sizes and made out of all sorts of things, even cereal boxes! I am determined to keep it going which is why I have kept all the tags fairly simple. I want to be able to do them quickly so I don't fall behind. When done I will bind them with the bind it all and I envisage lots of different tags all spilling out of a big fat book...we'll see!

Bits n Bobs

I have just finished Natasha's CJ page. This CJ is small and in the shape of an envelope book so we had to create an ATC size layout and decorate the envelope to put it in. The challenge was to use just paint, ink and embossing...no embellishments. Now that is quite a challenge...to be embellishment free. The stamp was quite small and of waving or cheering hands. I really wanted to do something quite different so I stamped and embossed onto black card and then tried my hardest to make the hands look like trees! I then used one of my favourite quotes and came up with this.




On another note here is my submission for this weeks MMM's oriental challenge. I cheated here as this page is a few weeks old...hope thats OK?

52Q What keeps me awake at night?

There are three things that keep me awake

1. Worrying over stuff...anything...mostly kids and money!
2. Back Pain! Since being diagnosed with a disc prolapse ontop of a degenerative disc I have had two lumbar epidurals for pain relief. Its settled a little but I live in chronic pain especially at night. Can't lay down and be pain free at all...it just doesn't happen. I guess I will have to have surgery at some time but I am putting it off!
3. Singing the same song over and over in my head. Sometimes I just can't stop and it drives me nuts and can keep me awake for hours!!!

Mixed Media Monday

This weeks prompt is Spring colours and I have managed yet another page in my journal. I love using these prompts to kick start a page in one of my art journals. I now have about 6 six journals that I work in. This one was a kiddies hard back book which I am altering as I go.


tfl.

Another CJ

I have only just decided to post pics of this latest CJ I joined. Its called 'Take one stamp' so each participant finds a stamp and sends it on its way with the journal. Here then is my effort. I did a lot of painting on this which is not really my forte but Michelle would be proud as I tried all sorts of techniques to get some depth on the page. And I was just a little 'g inspired' too as I used her walnut ink and yet another packing tape transfer! I am getting so addicted to those. I never bound the CJ as I want to make sure the binding wires are big enough for all the pages so I just tied it with ribbon. I should get this back in around a year or so if all goes well.

Crusade 29 - Brush Effects!

Michelles crusade this month involves messing about with brush effects and that is exactly what I did! Working in this black journal (again!) and using some very bright paints, I stencilled, monoprinted, and used both clean and dirty dry brush techniques! One of the interesting things I did was stippling with a hard brush which I did to fill in the Orange flower which had gone rather 'blobby' when I had stencilled it. I am feeling rather pleased that I managed to cover up something which had not turned out as I had expected. Anyway, I still feel I have a little more to do here but wanted to put this one up for starters.

52Q

This weeks question from Em is 'Which 5 movies inspire you creatively?'. I love 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' and it alone inspired me to do this tag.




The other movies inspire me in many ways...the funniest being 'Pracctical Magic'. The scene where they make marguerrita's definately makes me want to create!

Mixed Media Monday

and the topic is the written word.

I sooo love this black journal...more play was had!

Mixed Media Monday

This week the topic is Time...and once I started on this black journal over the weekend (for the pages in the next post) the 1960's page just evolved quite naturally.