Let Your Dreams Take Flight

I am back from down south and visiting with family and am somewhat pleased to be back to slightly warmer weather.  The wind down there was freezing and went straight through you, which didn't help my cough which has come back a bit for the worse.  But I am now warm and comfy in my own home catching up on things, even the stuff I don't enjoy like house work.    

Anyhow this month Altered Pages are teaming up with the Leaky Shed who specialise in chipboard embellishments. And today over on the blog I am sharing a journal page I created using their delightful kites 3 piece pack and lots of products you can buy from Altered Pages.

To see my journal spread in full and all the details of what I used to create it, you will however have to pop over to the Altered Pages Blog here.

I hope you have a day!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday #240

Hello Fellow Deskers and Crafty Friends, if this is your very first visit of the New Year to my blog than a Very Happy 2014 to you.

I hope you have found that the start of the year has recharged your creative mojo and you are finding or making time to craft.  It certainly has mine.  I think its because I always find some new crafting workshops etc to play along with.  For 2014 my plans are to play along with Journal 52 aswell as Tim's 12 Tags of 2014, I have completed the first project for both of these and have also been kept busy catching up on a number of swaps I am participating in over at AFA including hosting one plus my DT committments.  My year has got off to a flying start creative wise.

I do have a photo of my desk, (if you are asking why, then head here to our hostess Julia's Blog).  At present it is the tidiest part of my workspace, as the floor, my other desk that I am sitting at to type this and all surfaces in the room are literally covered in stuff.....given the variety of projects I have been working on.

So on my desk is my small Dylusions Journal I am using for Journal52 and its open to where I have just stuck in a print of an ATC I made for a swap.  The ATC was actually inspired by the first prompt of Journal 52 which was 'Up, Up and Away'.  You can tell by what is littering my desk what supplies I have been using.

Here are a couple of my creations I have been working on this week inspired by this Journal Prompt.

Above is my first take on the Week 1 Prompt.  Gesso, Distress Stain and Spray Ink Background with Stamping, Tria Markers, Watercolor Pencils, Doodling and Washi Tape.  I have written down some of my goals for 2014 in the clouds with a White Gel Pen after taking this photo.

And this is the ATC I made inspired by the prompt and that I took the print of for my journal. My background is one of my own hand painted, stenciled and stamped papers I made and  finished with a few collage images and some text.

It's late Wednesday Evening here as seen by my desk photo so I had better be off to have a shower and get to bed as it's a early start for me most mornings.    I will start visiting desks around the globe tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by and a Happy WOYWW to you all.

Day 4 - Five Days of Flashbacks

I got sidetracked yesterday so forgot to post my Day 4 Flashbacks from September and October so here they are now early on Day 5.

The start of September here is Fathers Days which was the perfect excuse to break out my little tool die I had brought whilst in Melbourne.  I used it with some Adhesive Aluminum Foil Tape to create the steel look for each tool.

I made a black and white with a touch of gold tag book featuring clowns as a kit for sale at Altered Pages.

At Cards in Envy we went a bit Retro and I celebrated my 42nd Birthday by giving away the blog candy I showed you a picture of yesterday.

My month was quite busy as I prepared my first issue as editor for Unruly PaperArts.  

In October I had fun playing along with a number of ATC's Swaps including a Botanical Collage Swap, A Stamp and Color Christmas and Whimsical Bird Tip in Page Swap.

I also did a bit of Halloween and Christmas Creating like this chunky ATC which was created on an ATC Art Board and some Quick and Inky Santa Christmas Cards.

I finished the month with some journal play.

So that leaves just November and December to go, I do hope you will pop back and join me.

WOYWW #229 - A little improved!

Hi fellow desker's and crafty friends, I am pleased to report my desk is a tad tidier than last time you visited. Thanks to all of you who visited me here last week and commented.  There were a few of you I didn't manage to reciprocate the visit to, and you shall be the first on my list a little later today.

Rod and I are enjoying our time alone this week, we had dinner out with friends last night.  They are foster carers like ourselves with a boy the same age as 'A' so it was good to have a catch up and debrief a bit about the kids (compare notes so to speak....lol)  as well as talk of other things.

This week I have been busy getting things ready for next month's edition of Unruly PaperArts, we are going Stencil Crazy for November so I have been following up on contributor articles, editing posts and the like. Being home alone means I have been avoiding the housework and spending lots of time playing with all my crafty stuff too.

Here's a few snapshots of my desk and my week.

I've been working with Christmas Stamps and Alcohol Inks for a couple of ATC Swaps, Stencils and Spray Mists for some upcoming Design Team stuff as well as my latest Quick and Easy Santa Card Kit for Altered Pages.  You can see a glimpse of some of this in my middle photo above.

And just for fun!  I've been playing with my Gelli Plate, and yesterday I finished my Summer Canvas.  Today I have been creating some more ATCs and stuck a cutout of a photo of my eyes on a journal page I have been working on and off on.

A look at one of the Gelli Prints I made.

My Summery Canvas (inspired by a recent Swaps)

I stuck my eyes on this drawing in my journal.
The background is one of my hand-carved stamps

So that's my desk this week, and what Wednesday is all about.  I hope you all have a fabulously fun and creative week.  For a sneak peak at more wonderful desks from around the world or to find out what I am on about head over to our host Julia's Blog here.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #227

Hi Everyone, it's been a couple of weeks since I have joined my fellow desker's for the fabulous weekly link up party hosted by the lovely Julia known as 'WOYWW'.  I've been busy with other stuff which pretty much kept me from crafting but now that school has resumed, our other house is sold and and Unruly PaperArts October issue is out, I am enjoying a few quite moments here and there.

Since your last peek at my desk, I have managed to tidy up a bit, still re-organizing as I go, and I finally got the boys onto hanging my peg board to get a few things up off shelves allowing easier access.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I spent some time cutting up some Gelli Prints (I've done heaps) into card size and ATC size backgrounds and had some inky messy fun in my art journal, so it is these items that are currently on my desk.

To the right hand back corner you can see my ATC Backs, whilst all the items I played with for my journal page; Flat Fabio Mists, Gelatos, Handmade Masks, Stamps and Ink litter the rest of my desk space.

The mailman brought some happy mail yesterday too, so also on my desk at present are my return ATC's from a Mixed Media Dragonfly Swap which was hosted by my friend Kitty in the Netherlands over at ATC's for All.

My last photo today is for all you bird lovers out there.  One of the joy's of living out in the country is that we share our home with an abundant amount of birds and wildlife.  Most days we enjoy a morning or afternoon coffee in the company of our feathered friends such as this male king parrot.  This year we have two males and one female that are frequent visitors.  This male usually comes looking for us when there is no seed in the tree feeder and was so hungry today he wouldn't wait for Rod to place the tray down.  He flew in and took it right from Rod's hands.  The males have such a striking red head and chest with green wings and tail, whilst the females are a dull green all over.

Okay that's it from me today, I am off to visit some desks.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great Day!

Unruly Paper Arts - RAQ 2 Paper Flowers

Hi Everyone!  Sorry for the silent treatment but I have once again had a rather full on week and not much time in the craft room.  I did however manage to book and attend a Girlfriends Themed Workshop last Saturday out at my Local Scrapbooking Store - Time To Create which was just what the doctor ordered.

As one of the new columnists for Unruly Paper Arts, I have a project to share for your inspiration today playing along with the May Issue's Readers Art Quest 2 - Paper Flowers.  Why not join the fun and share with us your favorite paper flowers incorporated into a project.

Staying in tune with my column's (Color Me Happy)  main focus  I am sharing a page from my journal incorporating some new stamps (Dylusions), my Gelatos and some paper flowers made using my Scallop Oval and Circle Punches.  Punches are such a great way to create an assortment of different flowers and the possibilities are almost endless.

For my flowers today I used one of my Gelli Prints from a previous project.

Using four punched scalloped ovals I simply create two crosses and layer these offset from one another.   I then have layered two different sizes (one large and two of the same size smaller circle) of punched circles together for my flower center and cut in around the bottom circle to meet the top circle giving it a frilled look.

My background is repeated stamping of the same vine stamp at varied heights and intervals which has then been colored in with my Gelatos using my favorite tool, my finger.

This month's issue of Unruly Paper Arts is all about Faux Flowers so be sure to check back regularly for loads of Floral Inspiration  as my fellow team members (the Unruly Columnists) share their creations and techniques with you.

A Little Bit of this and a Little Bit of That!

Hi Everyone!  I haven't had much time for crafting this past week, with extra children in the house for respite for most of it.  I lost one child who we had for a week on Thursday only to gain another on Friday and she will be with us until Monday.  It's been another interesting learning curve for us, as this is our first time doing respite with other kids, and seeing the dynamics change when A isn't the only child in the house.

The time I did find to escape into my craft room, mostly late at night went mostly to design team projects which you will see in the coming week.

But here's a quick glimpse of what I have been up too on a personal and just for fun level.

Firstly I tried out some more new stamps (Dylusions) and some stencils (Prima & TCW) which I purchased  from Time to Create in my journal, playing with a mix of my Faber Castell Gelatos and Big Brush Pens.

I played some more with my Gelli Plate, using some florist mesh and my fingers,

 along with my favorite colors using Splash Inks.  I used the second print as the background for a Birthday Card for A's sister who turned 16 this week.

I created a Card with an Autumn Feel, to welcome in the new season from one of my 

Gelli Prints from a few weeks back

And last night and this morning I found a few moments to create a couple of ATC's for yet another ATART over at ATC's for All which are all using various backgrounds and vintage Easter Collage Images from Altered Pages.

This last ATC says it all.  Tonight I have been making some small Easter Gift Cards for A and E to go with their eggs for tomorrow morning.  They are both expecting lots of chocolate to come their way....... I have had it on good authority however, (A himself informed both Rod and I) that he is too old for an Easter Egg Hunt and too lazy.......this comment was totally out of the blue and we couldn't help but laugh at his honesty.  

Wishing all my crafty friends and fabulous followers and readers a Wonderful Easter.

Positive, Patient and Persistent - The 3 P's.

Hi Everyone and thanks to everyone who has left comments for me so far, and to my new followers for 2013.  You might remember earlier in January I shared with you my words of focus for 2013, which I originally saw in a Facebook post and thought summed up my year ahead perfectly.  Well like previous years I decided to translate these into a piece of art.  Last year it was a scrap layout, and this year it is a journal page which I plan to add to my Life Book 2013.

These three words will be the focus of all aspects of my life including my Creativity.

Creatively this year I want to have more POSITIVE experiences undertaking more courses, trying new things as well as being less critical and more positive about my own work.  I want more PATIENCE when it comes to creating, and not try and have everything finished in a day, but to allow time for my creations to dry naturally, giving time to reflect on what may need more attention, to be added etc and lastly PERSISTENT in all activities I undertake, and trying to create regularly and routinely.

Supplies Used:
Faber Castell Gelatos, Stampers Big Brush Pens, Watercolor Pencils
Robin's Nest - Dew Drops
TCW - Stencils - Mini Harlequin, Mini Tile Texture and Mini Circle Explosion
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers Die
Stampin' Up! - XL Bird Punch
Staedtler - Pigment Liner 0.5
Mont Marte A4 Water Color Paper 180gsm Medium Tooth


I am also creating this page with the January Take the Challenge with Mou - Creative Resolutions Challenge over at the Design Memory Craft Blog in mind, using my favored Faber-Castell Gelatos, Stampers Big Brush Pens and some of their Water-Color Pencils (basic set I have owned for years) along with some of my new Stencils .  I simply printed out the quotation as seen on facebook and my choice of Green Hues for this piece reflects, peace, calm, balance and harmony all of which I hope are in store for the year ahead and which I so often find in my gardens surrounding my home, hence the flowers and bird.