The sky is the only limit

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,
using a blank page from my Wreck This Journal book,

prompted by this months theme of

Sea

I love being by the sea,

listening to the Herring Gulls overhead,

the rhythm of the waves breaking on a pebble beach

& the sound of the small stones rattling together

as the water flows back to the sea.

I always take a moment to close my eyes,

take long deep breaths of the salty sea air,

as I listen & absorb the essence of the place

& feel the fresh sea breezes on my face.

Here I am rooted.

The background is a picture from a magazine.

I used images from Eliza's collage sheet
 (the butterfly, the label & elements of text).
gold glitter tape recycled off a parcel from my sister
& some MT washi tape.

a quiet word or two

Those of you among us who already receive the daily email

A Little Bird Told Me

from Melody & Kathy at Brave Living,

may have seen that Melody has started a weekly newsletter called

a quiet word.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with the last two weeks worth of prompts.

I turned Melody's graphics into inchies,

1 inch by 1 inch little tiles.

These are for when you feel doubt.

These are for when you are weary.

I used mountboard for my bases,

which I had already cut out & were lurking in my Project drawer.

The background uses patterned paper from past Brave Living projects,

again found lurking in a drawer.

These were both backgrounds for Truth Cards.

All I needed to do was print out Melody's artwork from her newsletter

& put them together.

I love the calming  relaxing nature of fine cutting

& sanding the edges. 

Now I need to finish off writing in my journal,

before the next edition arrives.

The Morn Awakes

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,
using a blank page from my Wreck This Journal book,

prompted by this months theme of

Sunrise

A line from Pride & Prejudice asks the question.

 The lines of poetry are taken from a poem written by Phillis Wheatley.

I used printed text &
images from Eliza's collage sheet

Patterned paper & card from Brave Girls Club
with gingham fabric tape
& a drop of Glossy Accents for the bright eye of the bird.

Finding the Right Words

Lesson 14 of the Wanderlust 2018 online course was with Cat Kerr.

She used metal pieces with soldering equipment
to make a bobbin style object.

Then she wound mono-printed paper around it to make a scroll.

I opted to make a 3¼ inch tall cardboard bobbin.

I used the inside of a roll of cling film for the middle

& cut two circles from a cardboard box for the ends.

I used Golden Soft Gel Medium to adhere the pieces together.

Once the medium had dried, I painted it with DecoArt Media Black Gesso.

I selected a piece of scrap paper 

& cut to fit around the middle of my bobbin.

It was a page from my old typing workbook.

I swiped DecoArt Media White Gesso lightly over both sides
& left to dry.

Next I found a poem that spoke to me.

This was one of my April Prompts,

(see previous blog post).

The poem is Friendship

by Elizabeth Jennings

Such love I cannot analyse;

It does not rest in lips or eyes, 

Neither in kisses nor caress. 

Partly, I know, it’s gentleness

And understanding in one word

Or in brief letters. It’s preserved

By trust and by respect and awe. 

These are the words I’m feeling for.

Two people, yes, two lasting friends. 

The giving comes, the taking ends.

There is no measure for such things.

For this all Nature slows and sings.

I also used washi tapes
fabric tape
two old buttons
Distress Marker (black soot)
printed text &
a butterfly image from Percy & Bloom

I enjoyed making this piece,
using what I had to hand,
created in my own style
& made with gratitude to Cat for her inspiration.

The Simple Things

A quick project inspired by a regular feature in The Simple Things magazine.

Each month they print a list of things to try.

I have taken their words,

added them to background images from Emily at Sweetly Scrapped

& adhered them to a kraft card backing.

Each month the prompt card can be used

to help me start something new,

give focus in my journaling,

lead me on an adventure

or just spark my imagination.

April

I will be keeping them in an altered matchbox.

My cards are 7.5 cms by 5.5 cms

The kraft card is Tim Holtz Resist.

The Present always has a Past

A 6x6 inch piece made for the #ArtfulEvidence challenge.

The theme was

Spring. 

The Present always has a Past

Lateral interpretation for this piece.

Spring is a new season,
a time for new beginnings,
but none of that can happen without that which has already been.

This photograph is part of their story.

Intrigued?

Why don't you make up a story for them.

The base is Mixed Media paper by Daler Rowney.

I also used

free images from Cloth Paper Scissors

a bird image from The Graphics Fairy
fabric, black satin ribbon & old lace
a black Micron Archival Pen
& Ranger's Glossy Accents.

Going on an Expotition

This is my One Word card for April.

My word is

Explore.

As for the rabbit, well today is Easter Sunday
& they seem to be appearing everywhere!

The original aim of this monthly project
was to use up all those little bits & pieces,
scraps that might otherwise have been thrown away.

This rabbit has been sitting in my little piles of scraps since March 2009,
that's over nine years!

He was originally printed out to use on a specific project,
(see below)
but was actually too large for my Moo,
so I had to print off & use a smaller version.

You can see the original project here.

Moo 2009

So why did I choose Explore?

I am a curious person.
I love to explore,
be it my thoughts, creative ideas or new places.

I worked for a while in Pooh Country,
home of the Winnie the Pooh stories.

It is a beautiful place to explore,
where nature is all around,
where your imagination can run free.

There is nothing finer than a walk through the forest,
& you never know what adventures you may find.

The piece below is taken from a photograph taken on one such walk,
(see here).

I must do more exploring this month.

Digitally Altered Photograph with Haiku 2011

My previous One Word cards

Begin - August 2017
Change - September 2017
Inspire - October 2017
Believe - November 2017
Joy - December 2017
Thought - January 2018
Love - February 2018
Grow - March 2018