Be Ready for Anything

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

I followed the mood board prompt for Week 30,
which Marta is tagging as #MaremiWhispersBoard

The quotation Marta included in her prompt,
which I think is by Iain S Thomas,
lead me to include a family photograph.

It shows my Grandmother with her parents,
my Great Grandparents,
who together, make up a small part of me.

Along with the treasured family photograph,
I used a neutral colour palette,
to create this simple paper collage,
together with a phrase I had cut from that week's newspaper.

Summer Tournament

Something new for the summer.

Click on the image below to find out more.

There are some amazingly talented people taking part.

Are you going to take part too?

The One Day Project: Stationery Chaffinch

Today I would like to share another page in my vintage collage journal.

The journal is made from altered 3½ inch square drinks coasters.

Just using scraps of paper & a gluestick.

Scissors & a sanding block.

Blending colours,
following the movement of the images
& enjoying the pure essence of creativity.

You can read the story behind this project here.

Thrive

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

The prompt for Week 29 was another mood board,
which Marta is tagging as #MaremiWhispersBoard

I took the idea of tiled squares,
soft florals &
a large neutral coloured circle.

For the focal point,
I added words cut from that week's newspaper.

A Mood or Two

For the art lesson of Week 29 on the Wanderlust online course,

Kasia Avery was inspiring us to make mood boards.

Everyday we are bombarded with images,
more now than ever, with smartphones & tablets on the go,
computers & televisions at work & at home.

Mood boards are a way to slow down & actually look at printed imagery
distilling those which speak to us personally in some way,
whether it be the colours or patterns that excite us
or the memories they evoke.

Whether you then use them to inspire further work
or just to capture your feelings at a certain moment in time,
creating them enables you to shut out the noise from the rest of the world
& tune in to yourself,
an act of meditation,
of listening to yourself
& learning what is important to you.

Below are a couple that I made during the week.

The first has a palette of cool blues & greens
with a highlight of yellow.

Round & oval shapes.

"The Simple Things"

It evokes a feeling of home comforts,
my morning coffee,
the smell of home baking,
the greenery & flowers of the garden.

"Stop away from the daily grind
and reset your mind."

The second has a warmer, more energetic palette.

Strong reds & oranges,
hard linear brickwork,
restricting lines & rectangles.

It reminds me that there are new places to explore.

A challenge to be more adventurous maybe.

To be bold.

"Isn't it time you tried something different"

Take Two

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

The prompt for Week 28 was another visual one,
which Marta is tagging as #MaremiWhispersBoard

I took the idea of black lines of text,
a line of black washi tape, which had white dots,
  Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs instead of stickers

& a winged insect.

With a blue tissue paper background,
allowing the black circles from the playing card to show through.

Fly

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

The prompt for Week 27 was a visual one,
which Marta is tagging as #MaremiWhispersBoard

I took the idea of black text,
a butterfly,
birds sitting thoughtfully on a wire,
waiting to take flight
& pink flowers.

The One Day Project: True Blues

Today I would like to share another page in my vintage collage journal.

The journal is made from altered 3½ inch square drinks coasters.

Just using scraps of paper & a gluestick.

Scissors & a sanding block.

Blending colours,
following the movement of the images
& enjoying the pure essence of creativity.

You can read the story behind this project here.

Stay true ...

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

The prompt for Week 26 was Z for Zentangle.

I covered the playing card in Ranger's Texture Paste
& once dry, painted it black.

A few splatters of white gesso completed the background.

I drew my tangles on a piece of heart shaped watercolour paper
& added my printed words.

As we are halfway through the challenge,
I put together a short video flip through
of the altered playing cards thus far.

Do you have a favourite?

I'd love to know which one & why.

Just leave a comment below.

Be yourself

Another altered playing card for
#52CafeCards
which is the year long creative challenge

using prompts & inspiration from Marta Lapkowska.

The prompt for Week 25 was Y for Yellow.

I used a layer of white mulberry paper
to partially obscure the playing card image of the Queen of Hearts.

Next came a piece of pale yellow handmade paper,
edged with Distress Crayon (black soot).

The butterfly is an image from Brave Girl University
& the girl is a Tim Holtz Paper Doll.

There is also a small piece of lace,
three yellow glitter gems
& printed words.