Some more art...

So I've been keeping going with the Fabulous Faces course via willowing.ning.com and practising different shapes but until today just doing pencil drawings.
However today was a bit of a write off due to significantly bad hangover. But then late afternoon I had an urge to paint as so I created this.




Quite pleased with how she looks especially as I wasn't directly copying the video. Shading isn't fab, but for a first try and using watercolour paints not on watercolour paper, I am proud of my efforts.

Hope you enjoy.

Happy crafting.

More drawing...

So I've had a bit of a blip on the health front and been nowhere near my craft stuff until today for a while. But today not only did I do Xmas envelopes but I also made another batch of Xmas cards, and I finished off the circle journal (update to be posted as soon as it arrives with the next in the sisterhood) and I watched another of the willowing videos for fabulous faces and created a 3/4 portrait.

Now the videos have moved onto colour but I haven't yet... mainly as I watch the videos in bed rather than somewhere where I can safely paint or add colour. But think I am happy to just get the drawing part accomplished for now... painting will have to come later.

So I am back to work again tomorrow, feeling on the right side of health for a change. So sleep time for me... so much for the early night I promised myself... although was in.bed early just no where near sleeping.

Enjoy my girl... and before you say anything I don't like the nose... but for my 2nd ever attempt at a portrait I am still very pleased.



Happy crafting all and thanks for dropping by!

And now drawing...

... will Catherine's love affair with art ever stop?

So I have joined in with another online course, courtesy of some of.my circle journal friends to do a class all year next year. As I am on my phone I can't do a complete link at the moment but it is at willowing.org and it is the life book class. Now this doesn't start till the new year so now I am busy thinking how the hell am I going to be able to do this and so am doing one of the other self guided courses, fabulous faces, to have a go at drawing faces. Now this sort of drawing I haven't done since I was in primary school so I felt incredibly nervous doing my first face. But I followed Tam, the teacher, and created my face! Obviously not my face, but a face I made up!
Ok so its not perfect but I am pretty amazed ... especially as I drew it on graph paper in a moleskin and using a hb propelling pencil so rubbish for shading.

So I'm now feeling more confident about the life book and curious about how my faces will get better as I follow the other 5 lessons.

The other good news is that I am starting to feel better. No pain killers since this morning and managed a long day in work too. So fingers crossed I am finally on the mend.

In other news another journal has landed at my house and after just staring at it for days in awe of the previous artists... work has started on the pages I am doing for the lovely Becca.

Happy crafting all...
Enjoy my first ever portrait...

Birthday card for a special person

So the other night when playing along to Barbara gray I created a card for a friend of mine... and here it is.
I know she likes it so I hope anyone viewing it does too!




Having a night off crafting and watching top gun. Happy crafting all.

Circle journal ... my first work on someone else's journal ... eeek!

So Marie's was the first journal sent to me to work on after my own and boy was I scared! Her work is so different to my own, plus the responsibility of not ruining her book was definitely in my mind. But then inspiration struck.


Inspired by the colour she had used on her cover and the eye kn the flower on her inside page in my head I went with peacock. I then spent ages tracking down a suitable poem and practising drawing peacocks. I soon realised I had no chance of achieving a peacock but maybe a feather was possible.


So here is what I did...





I used inks and gesso to make the background so it was a more muted green but still peacock shaded. Then I painted the peacock feather using inks. Then I added mica paints to make the eye of the feather shine.





Then I added texture with paints and spray inks to create a different effect from a flat painting. The poem from SaDi I then wrote on strips of card which I inked and stuck to the layout. I decided it needed some more texture and balance so I added the painted book print to the corner and lastly some rub ons.


Now the tag I used a similar colour for but wanted to use a star theme poem that spoke to me...





I.also wanted to crackle and sparkle the star as the main feature so I painted it silver and added a small amount of glitter and then did triple embossing and stuck it in the freezer and then crackled it.




I then added the poem with some words picked out in the inked card and then some more rub ons.


I really wanted to add some ribbon to the tag so I took a scrap of crochet lace and inked it in the green ... resulting in very green.fingers. then I added some other ribbons and wrapped it round the top of the tag.


And the back of the tag has a little.about me and ties in (hopefully) the page and the tag with the painted book print. I also added the key stamp just because I love it and it seemed to work.





So this was my work...

I should be getting Becca's journal soon. I hope the nerves don't come back and I am suitably feeling inspired!


Happy crafting all. Snooze time for me.


C xxx

Barbara Gray night

So tonight I caught up with Barbara's c and c weekend whilst making my friend a card. I can't post the card here just yet as she may be looking but will do as soon as the card has been received.

Loved following along with the classroom session and made quite a good job of the winter scene but a bit.more practice needed for the spring scene especially as my clouds were a big mess. So I ended up chopping up the spring to make a notelet topper. Think that might go into the Xmas box as a present if I make a few more notelets on the same theme.

My passion at the moment though has to be the circle journal and so I am going to do a separate post all about the work I did in Marie's journal now it has been received by Tracey.