Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - Letter O

Evening all,

hope you are all well?? Definitely an autumnal chill creeping into the air in the mornings and evenings now don't you think!! Thank goodness it's still lovely and sunny, just my kind of weather to be honest tee hee.

If you fancy joining in with this challenge please pop on over here for all the details. If you would like a peek at all the other O entries please pop on over here.

Anyhoo, the only O I fancied playing with, in line with my mythological theme, was ORACLE.  Ha ha ha being a major Matrix fan it was the first thing that sprang to mind anyways and also being a major Angel fan my word choice was sealed.  
In Greek mythology an oracle was a human being who channeled the words/voice/messages of the Gods for the masses to hear.  Many other mythologies have similar characters too with many different names!!
Modern interpretations generally see an Oracle as a person who imparts great knowledge and wisdom and also as a person who can predict the future maybe!!
Oracle cards are also very common - a fortune telling tool akin to Tarot cards. Some of the artwork on these card sets is stunning, many sets depicting angels, goddesses and fairies.  I have a fairy set purely because I fell in love with the artwork, Brian Froud (link to some examples of his art) designed them and they are sooooooooo beautiful.  

Here you go........

A bright painty stenciled background with pockets to house my Oracle cards.  The image is of the Oracle at Adelphi, courtesy of Google Images.

Products used - Decoart Americana acrylics, Tando and TCW stencils, Distress inks, flourish stamp from a free set with Simply Homemade magazine, clear embossing powder.

Ha ha ha ha ha I have to admit that the backs of my Oracle cards are not finished yet!! I had planned on finishing them this afternoon but I had some family turn up at short notice so sadly I ran out of time.  I have images from The Matrix trilogy, Angel and various Oracle card sets to collage on when I can find the time!! 

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, as always your time and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Hugs 

Dawn x  

Fun, fun, fun........

Evening all,

I was the lucky recipient of a fantastic swap package recently, courtesy of the lovely Terrie over at Creative Explorer - a mahoosive envelope stuffed to the hilt with beautiful patterned papers, gelli prints, textured paper, vintage pages, wood veneer, lol I would be here all night if I carried on!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, I fished out a few bits that caught my eye and had a play in my large altered book journal, one sheet had the most amazing tribal/ethnic animals and patterns on it and I managed to get 2 single spreads from it by using every scrap of it, here you go........

I started by sticking patterned paper down for my background, this was muted by brayering on some white acrylic paint. The animals were very carefully fussy cut and stuck down to create my 'totem' pole. I did a quick border around the edge of the page and the animals with a black copic brush marker and white gel pen.

I wanted to do something with the beautiful patterned pieces that were left after cutting out the animals, this is what I came up with........

Tee hee, a quick painty background to start with!! I had originally planned on creating some kind of border with the patterned pieces but as I was playing with the layout this tree appeared on my page, a serendipitous moment methinks!! The leaves are courtesy of a JOFY stamp set from Paperartsy.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are much appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - Letter D

Evening all,

lol what a miserable day we have had in North Cornwall (UK), very wet and gloomy but thankfully not cold!!  Ha ha ha, my photos are not too good because of the poor light today sadly but the scans should give you a better image!!

I'm soooooo enjoying this challenge still and if you fancy a peek at what it's all about please pop on over here, if you would like a nose at all the other entries for D please pop on over here.

Anyhoo, still sticking to my mythological theme, my entry for the letter D is Davy Jones........

Tee hee, my usual painty background (God I LOVE paint!!), smooshed on with my fingers to try and achieve a more fluid, watery effect. I used Decoart Americana, Adirondack paint dabbers and Pebeo Fluorescent acrylic.
The fantastic Bill Nighy as Davy Jones came courtesy of Google images, with a little washi tape to frame him. The 'treasure chest/Davy Jones Locker' was made using a manila tag sponged lightly with an espresso paint dabber to try to achieve a wood-grain effect, this was then stamped with a magazine freebie flourish using brilliance ink. The key is by Tando Creative and also coloured using Brilliance ink. I grounded the chest to the page with a little more washi tape. The chest is held closed using velcro dots.

Ha ha ha ha ha, any of you curious as to the contents of the chest????????

I decided to grant Davy Jones' wish of claiming Captain Jack Sparrow (a la Pirates of The Caribbean!!!!), I knew I would find a way of getting Johnny Depp in here somehow LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Image again found on Google. 

YUMMY!!!!!!!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always much appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

A seahorse for BJ and Elizabeth........

Awe,

thanks for the great suggestions BJ, Elizabeth and Tracey, sorry Tracey though I saw yours too late!!!!!! Hmm, challenge for another day methinks!!

After yesterdays post with the mermaid I had asked for some ideas for the adjoining page, 'seahorse' came in first last night tee hee, here you go........

A simple painty background, stamped seahorses (Stampendous) and my hand-drawn seahorse (adapted from a variety of photos lol), which has been watercoloured using distress inks.

Great fun, tee hee hee.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts mean a lot.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Mermaid magic........

Ha ha ha ha ha,

my gorgeous 6yr old daughter, Millie, challenged me to draw a mermaid in my journal - lol how could I refuse!!!!!!!!

We have been playing with an Usborne children's drawing book which teaches you to draw mermaids and fairies (from a childs' perspective of course) and we have been having soooooooo much fun.

Here is my take on it, a single side in my large altered book journal............

Childlike maybe (lol I kept to my challenge brief!!) but so very liberating!

Products used were Decoart Americana and craft acrylic, pebeo iridescent acrylic, a multitude of glittery gel pens, a TCW stencil, and seaweed stamps from a 'Little Big Tree' set.

Hmm, what to do on the adjoining page now!!??

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Technique play........

Afternoon all,

ha ha ha most of my journal pages start off as backgrounds of left-over paint from more specific projects - lol I LOATHE wasting paint!!!
Anyhoo, I had one in my large altered book journal with a real miss match of colours that I thought would be perfect to use for some technique trials. Dina Wakley very clearly explains a paint removal technique in her fab book (Art Journal Freedom) that I have been wanting to try - all you need to do is remove paint through a stencil using a baby wipe in order to reveal the layers underneath. If I remember rightly Dina takes this further than I did by reapplying the removed paint elsewhere on the page - I didn't do this!!!!!!!!

Here you go, clean and simple fun........

I simply covered my whole spread with paint and removed it through a stencil using a baby wipe - fun fun fun!! It revealed the colours underneath beautifully. Lol I got a little carried away in places, and I think my wipe was too wet, as I took off some of the layer underneath but I still like it.

The stencils I used for the paint removal technique were Tando's random circles and tyre tread (designed by Andy Skinner), nice open designs to work with as I don't think this would be so successful with a smaller, more intricate design??!!

The large black chevron around the edge was created using a template/stencil I made myself from some acetate, the stamp is a JOFY mini from Paperartsy.  Lots of doodling and colouring using a variety of gel pens and markers ensued and I added a computer generated quote for good measure.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always greatly appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x 

Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - Letter T

Evening all,

wow what a thunderstorm we had last night - very loud and loads of flashes of lightening!! I love them and luckily for me my tiddlies don't bat an eyelid either. My eldest sat with me waiting for the lightening to flash and my youngest went straight off to sleep at bedtime and slept right through the loudest claps of thunder bless him!

I'm thoroughly enjoying this challenge still, even though I'm notoriously late to submit most of the time!! If you fancy a peek to see what it's all about and all of the other beautiful T entries please pop on over HERE.

Anyhoo, my chosen word for T is Tantalus, the journaling on the spread explains all........

I inked my pages with Barn Door and Walnut Stain DI's before splatting it all with drops of water from the tips of my fingers. Not too effective on this surface as the pages are very absorbent!! Ha ha ha I wasn't expecting the 2 DI's used to create a purple tinge but they did, you can just about see it in the pictures - all I can think is that the Walnut Stain may have some blue pigmentation to it??
Next came some stamping, with one of Tim Holtz's classic sets by Stampers Anonymous, to create a border.
I then added the picture (sourced from google) which had been colour-washed with inktense pencils.

The journaling explains the mythology - I hope you can read it ok??

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always greatly appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Playing again................

Evening all,

I'm soooooooo lucky that my 2 gorgeous tiddlies play so well together and that I managed to sneak some play time myself!!!!!!!!

Here is another page from my large altered book journal - lots of layers (ha ha ha, I lost count!!) of inky painty fun. No real purpose to the page either other than the total enjoyment of the process - happy days!!

I started by collaging some scraps I had lying around in the kitchen and paper recycling box (naughty mummy sneaked some of Millie's birthday wrapping paper, tut tut!!), lots of layers followed before I added some lettering, doodling and a stamped image. The stamp used is a Prima mixed media doll by Julie Nutting, one of my faves at the moment - this incarnation is the mask that I had used for a previous journal page, I liked it so much that I kept it back to use on another page as she looks just like my hands do when I have been crafting!! I did tart her dress up with some watercolours though!

Lots of space for some journaling when I feel like it too - bonus!!

Ha ha ha ha ha, the above pic shows the 'assault course' my lovelies had built and been playing with while I was sneaking some crafty time. Tee hee you can just see Max poking out of the tunnel at the top of the pic and Millie balancing on some cushions. Much fun and laughter as you can probably imagine, and yes I did have a go!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always appreciated.

Huge hugs 

Dawn x