Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - Letter G

Evening all,

ha ha ha ha ha I thought I would surprise you all and get my entry in early this time LOL!!!!!!!!!

If you fancy seeing what the fun is all about please pop on over HERE and if you fancy a peek at all the other G entries please pop on over HERE.

Anyhoo, I dusted off the big girl pants again!!!!!!!!!! I love drawing but have to admit that it doesn't come easily so I always refer to others for help, usually this involves pulling 'The Complete Guide to Drawing & Illustration' by Peter Gray off my bookshelf, it is a fab book in my opinion and breaks things down into easily followed steps - lol I think I would be lost without it!!!!!!!!

My chosen word, sticking to my theme, is GRACES, the Greek Goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, creativity and fertility........

Apologies for the poor photo, the light was fading rapidly!! I have edited it a little to try to improve it but hey ho ha ha ha!!!!! The scans are a little better I think........

Quite rough around the edges but I'm so pleased I didn't chicken out again and go for a collage option tee hee!!!!!!!!
Lol I must have been thinking about a film I love (The Bone Collector) while I was sketching as I think Thalia looks very much like Angie in the film!!!!!! Ha ha ha I WAS watching Tomb Raider again the other night, that's probably what sparked it!!

Products used - Tando Creative, TCW and Tim Holtz stencils, Decoart and Ranger acrylics, promarkers, stabilo marks all pencil and various alpha stamps from my stash.

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

Paint flinging play time........

Hi all,

just a quick post today. Ha ha ha I eventually managed to squeeze in some play time in my large altered book journal........

Julie Nutting mixed media doll stamp - Prima.
Sentiment stamps - Hero Arts (very old releases lol but I love them)

Ha ha ha can you spot my deliberate mistake!!!!!

Huge hugs to you all,

Dawn x x x x

Craft Barn Alpha Challenge - Letter Z

Evening all,

oooh didn't realise it has been a fortnight since I last blogged!!!!! Ha ha ha ha not much going on creatively at the moment anyhoo (other than flinging paint willy nilly in my various journals when I get a chance tee hee), I have been busy getting my tiddlies back into the school routine. Max, bless him being that bit older now, took a few days to get used to big sister not being here during the day again and was constantly saying 'I miss my Millie', sweet or what!!!

I did manage, eventually!!, to get my Z entry done. After TWO attempts at a more muted, darker palette I admitted defeat and covered the lot up with some brighter ish paint.

If you fancy seeing what the challenge is all about please pop on over here, and for a peek at all the other Z entries please pop on over here.

Ha ha ha ha, I bet any of you following my theme thought I would do Zeus!!!!!!!!????????

My chosen Z for this entry is ZEPHYR........

Ha ha ha ha he was VERY NAUGHTY!!!!!!!!

The picture comes from google images and is from Botticelli's Venus painting.

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

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