Open your wings & fly

As you may already know, I recently signed up for the
Brave Girl Soul School.

There is a new theme each month,
video lessons to watch online,
supported by thought-provoking questions,
which can be used as journal prompts.

I wanted to make sure that I didn't just look through my Brave Box
& then just tidy it away somewhere safe.

I wanted to create a way of being able to refer to
& reflect on the lessons throughout the month.
To encourage me to do this,
I made a small journal, 4½ x 5½ inches,
held together with silver book rings.

My Soul School Journal

The covers are made from mountboard
& painted using acrylics.

Inside the front cover of my Soul School Journal

Each month starts with a Title Page,
using a 3 x 5 inch index card,
covered in patterned paper from the Brave Box.

Choose Happy Theme for May 2015

The tab is actually the heading cut from the contents page.

As part of my membership subscription,
I also have digital access to copies of the printed material,
so I printed a copy of the main graphic,
reduced in size, to fit on the index card.

Inside are the lesson notes &
miniature graphic cards,
both from the Brave Box.

One of the lessons for May 2015

Each graphic card is attached to the back of it's lesson notes,
so as you are working through the lessons, you can see both side by side.
 You then open up the folded flap to read the journal prompts.

I decided to write my notes from the lesson on another index card,
which then sits in the journal behind this.

Using an index card for my notes.

My journal card (blank one shown here) then pops in behind the flap.

There are seven lessons for May
& then we find the Title Page for June,
with it's seven lessons behind.

I Can & I Will Theme for June 2015

The original butterfly image can be found at The Vintage Moth.

Copy of my painted butterfly, on the inside of the front cover.

ICAD Week 4

ICAD  is the Index Card A Day creative challenge, which runs for two months from 1st June.

I am posting my cards daily on Instagram, but only publishing a blog post once a week.

My index cards are 3" by 5"

I had taken just one of the prompts for this week, which was academic.

Day 16

Science Lesson

Day 17

Philosophy Lesson

Day 18

Art Class

Day 19

Business Studies

Day 20

Music Practice

I have used white pigment ink Signo pen by Uni-ball,

dymo tape, printed text,

Distress Ink (black soot),

patterned fabric tape,

& gift wrap paper by Cavallini Papers & Co Inc.

In the Moonlight

A slight change to my

Waddington Weekly

altered playing card this week.

I have taken the words, but not complete lines, from a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Keen stars were twinkling

Fair moon was rising

Voice most tender, sing a tone

Music, moonlight and feeling are one.

The owl image is from The Graphics Fairy.

ICAD Week 3

ICAD  is the Index Card A Day creative challenge, which runs for two months from 1st June.

I am posting my cards daily on Instagram, but only publishing a blog post once a week.

My index cards are 3" by 5"

I had taken just one of the prompts for this week, which was Wabi-Sabi.

Day 11

Celebrate the inevitability of change

Day 12

Celebrate the smallness of things

Day 13

Celebrate the silence ...

Day 14

Celebrate the impossibility of perfection

Day 15

Celebrate the happiness of others

I have used Distress Ink (black soot),
label  images by Michelle Ward,
butterfly image from Dover
& gift wrap paper by Cavallini Papers & Co Inc.

Hurry up

Waddington Weekly

This week, the poem I have chosen for my altered playing card is by Lewis Carroll.

"Will you walk a little faster?"

said a whiting to a snail,

"There's a porpoise close behind us,

and he's treading on my tail."

Additional images are sourced from The Graphics Fairy.

ICAD Week 2

ICAD  is the Index Card A Day creative challenge, which runs for two months from 1st June.

I am posting my cards daily on Instagram, but only publishing a blog post once a week.

My index cards are 3" by 5"

Day 6

Today is the most important day of your life.
Yesterday has been.
Tomorrow is yet to come.

Day 7

Enjoy a quiet and simple life.

Day 8

You have to simplify the world
if you want to change it.

Day 9

Better to travel with hope than to arrive.

Day 10

I have used washi tape by Stampington,
white pigment ink Signo pen by Uni-ball,
black Pigma Micron pen,
Tim Holtz Pocket Cards & Tissue Tape,
Distress Ink (black soot),
images by Jessica Sprague,
dymo tape, a thread of Hessian,
& gift wrap paper by Cavallini Papers & Co Inc.

Lessons Learnt

I've hit quite a few snags during the second lesson.

It's all about Archival Inks & my old Jet Black has run out of fuel.

And I do not own any of the lighter brighter colours.

Also for one of the tags, Tim uses his wonderful Sizzix Vangabond machine & embossing folders, 

neither of which do I own or have access to.

So, I've had to rethink my objectives.

Basically we are learning how the different products work by themselves & with each other,

so if I don't have those products, then at this stage, I don't need to learn how to use them.

Instead when I hit a hurdle, I can still watch the techniques,
make notes, recreate the tags,

but I will use Tim's own tag as my reference image.

I was pondering over the Brushless Watercolour tag from the first lesson

& realised that a much simpler way to colour the stamp is to use Distress Markers.

But I only have those in a couple of colours.

Before Distress Markers we used Cut-n-Dry pen nibs,

which have a brush tip that you dip/press into the ink pad.

But I don't think these would give enough coverage.

My conclusion was to dab my selected ink pads directly onto the craft mat

& pick up the colour using my water brush.

A much easier way to get the right colour in the right place.

No more muddy flowers for me!

The Skylark

The poem for this week's
Waddington Weekly
altered playing card is by Shelley.

In the golden lightning

of the sunken sun

O'er which clouds are bright'ning

Thou dost float and run

I used Uni-ball Signo metallic pens, Rangers Glossy Accents
& washi-style tape made from my Collins' Commercial Reckoner.

Not feeling it, in so many ways ...

The theme for May at The Documented Life Project was

Touchy Feely
(Textures)

The Art Challenge for

Week 22.  Textured Paper

& the Journal Prompt for

Week 22.  I'm So Not Feeling It!

Well this turned out to be an interesting journal prompt.

I 'm so not feeling the inspiration for this weekly challenge.

It may pass & I may be back later in the year,

but for now I will put this challenge to one side.

Sometimes, you just need to let go ...

move on ... 

do what stimulates your own creativity ...

follow your own path ...

do what's right for you.

ICAD Week 1

ICAD  is the Index Card A Day creative challenge, which runs for two months from 1st June.

I am posting my cards daily on Instagram, but only publishing a blog post once a week.

My index cards are 3" by 5"

Day 1

Creativity begins when you challenge assumptions

Day 2

Embrace the beauty of imperfection

Day 3

Beauty is the mystery of life.
It is not in the eye,
it is in the mind.
Agnes Martin

Day 4

Envelope unopened

Envelope opened revealing insert

Message on the reverse of insert

Day 5

He is a wise man who does not grieve
for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.
Epictetus

I have decided not to make any over the weekends, so I am aiming on making just five each week.

I have used washi tape by Stampington,
white pigment ink Signo pen by Uni-ball,
black Pigma Micron pen,
Tim Holtz Pocket Cards,
Distress Ink (antique linen),
patterned fabric tape,
images by Jessica Sprague,
dymo tape, metal eyelets, staples,
page torn from on old English dictionary,
old map illustration from a 1928 edition of Philips' New Pocket Atlas of the World
& gift wrap paper by Cavallini Papers & Co Inc.

I can & I did

My Brave Girl Soul School Brave Box for June arrived with yesterday's mail.

It was just such a delight to open.

This month's theme is
I Can & I Will

To make the Truth Cards, I chose which sentences were personal to me

& used the patterned paper from the Brave Box..

To fit inside my storage box,
I cut some Dark Chocolate Soft Touch cardstock measuring 3½ x 3½ inches
from Inspire Me Papers.

I also used Dovecraft Lace Ribbon (curiosity corner) & various paper punches.

Feeling Blue

After a visit to the dentist yesterday, I was feeling rather blue

which is reflected in this week's

Waddington Weekly

altered playing card.

The poem I chose this week is by W S Gilbert. 

It's true my prospects all look blue

But don't let that unsettle you!