Art Journalling Workshop

Last weekend despite all the snow I drove to my friend Heather's in Newcastle for a.weekends scrapping. On Saturday though I drove to Middlesbrough to attend an Art journalling workshop.organised by Jean from 3d Jean and taught by Kate Crane. I was so looking forward to it but on the drive down, the nearer I got the.more nervous I became
Im not he best at going into places.on my own and especially when I dont know anyone.  I neednt have worried though as everyone was.very welcoming and friendly.
The day just flew by and I had a ball. When I got back to the.crop at Heathers everyone.had a good.laugh at the.stays of.my very inky,.painty hands
I just love playing around with inks and paints, Im finding it very.relaxing and theraputic and something which is just for me.
Kate is a great teacher and very generous with the use of all of.her own personal stuff and I came away with some great pages and my head stuffed full.of.ideas and information
It was well worth all the travelling and I hope I can manage another one of Kate's classes at sometime in the future.
Here is my favourite page of the day done in my favourite colours.  I loved the stamp with Every Silence Speaks on so stamped in on some vintage  book paper and cut the words out seperately.  I think this phrase could be.interpetated  many ways but when I saw it I  knew what I wanted to write and so journalled round the figure and continued on the bottom of the page.   My journalling reads  "I am happy witg my own silence.  People  who know me well know that my silences usually signal that  I have had enough.  I love to be sociable but but then after a while  I need some time to  myself."

To Blog or not to blog ..........

Im Following an excellent series on blogging by Julie Kirk from Notes on Paper called The Push up Bra approach to blogging. Pop along and give her blog the once over.  Its one of.my favourites due to her very entertaining style of blogging which draws the reader in and makes you feel you have made a new.friend in the blogging World. I would post a link but well due to blogging vía my phone I just cant seem to Master that as yet.

After reading her prompt yesterday and then promptly! Pardon the pun having that McFly song stuck in my head *sigh* I got to thinking about why I dont update my blog as often as I would like.  Then I realised In ok at updating when Ive made something Im happy with, a scrapbook layout, a piece of painty messiness or if I am following a challenge. But I find that when the crafting mojo toes walkabout then I neglect the blog as I feel I have nothing to say.

So we suggested by Julie out came the notebook, a funky chevron  one with kraft pages no less (at a great cost of 74p from Sainsburys) and let the note taking commence.  Hopefully this will give me the zing back to.blog a little more often.

I will definately have a reason to blog after Saturday as Im off to Middlesbrough, vía an overnight stop at Heathers in Newcastle for a Kate Crane Art journalling workshop so Im mega excited and even more so to realise that the aforesaid Julie Kirk will be there.  I will report back hopefully along with somehing lovely I have created

Lucky Snapping - Lets Reflect March

This month Anne gave us the Word Laugh to use and although this should have been an easy one I had a  piece of news the previous  week which meant laughter was not on the agenda for me.  One of my lovely local crop friends Heather Cuthbert lost her short but bravely faught battle with cancer on the Monday leaving behind her husband and three children.

Laughter was in very short supply and I thought I might just miss the prompt out all together but having  reflected a bit I have decided that laughter is indeed the best medicine.

I dont think we laugh enough in life really and it really is wonderful when we get together with family and friends and end up laughing.

At my crop yesterday we all gathered together to say a few words and release some balloons in a tribute to Heather and as we stood outside the Church Hall in the middle of an unexpected snowstorm watching the coloured balloons soaring high into the snowy skies someone remarked that no doubt Heather was up there looking down and having the last laugh saying look at those numpties standing out there getting soaked.  It made us all smile and when we went back inside and dried off we were able to share some happy memories. 

Yes indeed laughter is a great healer.

Rest in peace Heather the East Kilbride crop will miss your laughter.

Lucky Snapping - March View Challenge

Still really enjoying this challenge and managed to take my view during the first week of this month but Im just a bit late getting it blogged and linked up, sorry Jen.

This month I stopped by the Heritage Park on my way home from work.  How lovely it is that its light enough now to do that.

It had been a beautiful bright day but extremely cold and I managed to catch the last of the Sun.

I got some lovely Studio Calico snippets stash from Ángel zcrafts at the crop yesterday and the alpha sheet has 12 little tabs with the months of the year on so Im all set now to get my photos scrapped into a mini book.

The Annual birthday Shirt

The weekly challenge on UK Scrappers last week was set by my cropping friend Linda. 

We had to pick three layouts from the gallery and scraplift One, take the colour combo from One and a technique from another.  I cant Link to.the ones I chose as Im blogging from my phone as my computer hasnt been fixed yet *sigh*

I used papers from my latest Quicky Kit.  The photo is my son Fraser,  when he was young he always seemed to get a new St Mirren top for his birthday.  He still supports St Mirren but as he is 21 buys his own tops now.

Colour Me Happy

My lovely Team on UK Scrappers, the Rík Rak Ravers are taking part in our first Team cj.  After much deliberation and changing of the mind I picked colours as my theme and called my cj Colour me Happy. Im asking for my teamies to pick their favourite colour for their entry.
Ive always been a Blue girl and of all the shades on that side of the spectrum turquoise is my favourite.  Heres a pic of my Cover, very bright for me but hey its a cj all about colours after all lol along with my entries.  Ive used another one of the freaky Stampotique mermaids which Karen stamped for me.  I definately need to treat myself to one of them. My page is very similar to my canvas I made before.  My second page uses a lovely wavy and bubbly lost coast designs stamp which reminded me of the sea and I filled in some of the circles with white pen.  The little flap unties to reveal journalling explaining my colour choice linked to my love of the sea. 

The journalling itself reads "Its no surprise to most people who know me that my favourite colours are all on the blue side of the spectrum. I have never been a pink girl at all.


Off all the shades though my absolute favourite is turquoise and its my first choice for make up jewellery and the main colour I am drawn to for my crafting

I am definitely a beside the sea kind of girl and I guess turquoise reminds me of the sea on a beautiful summer day

For me there’s no better place to be than walking along the beach anywhere really but preferably at my beloved Beadnell or Bamburgh on my own and out of season when its quiet. I like to walk by the edge of the sea listening to the sea lapping the shore and watching the ebb and flow of the tide while trying to make sense of the muddle and stress that usually fills my head.

I can sit happily on the beach for hours lost in my own thoughts or with my notebook and sometimes my best crafting ideas happen there. There is both a power and a peace to the sea and I always feel better both physically and mentally for a trip to the beach"   I cant wait to get started on my teamies cjs now and will blog my entries as I go along