All posts filed under: CatsEatDogs

Things I am doing and reading and making.

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What are you doing in these strange and new times we find ourselves in. What are we all doing to stay sane, to use our time wisely and productively? I have been working on a few projects for the library (where I work part time in the normal world) but is of course closed now until we don’t know when.  I like to have the focus of these projects because they are not optional but still fun to complete, not a class I found on Instagram which I may or may not finish.  Having said that I have found so much goodness on the inter webs and most of it via Instagram. I made sourdough bread from a starter my friend shared with me and I have sown zinnia seeds given to me by the same lovely lady!  It is nice to be in a time of sharing and helping, I have made  some sketchbooks and given them to friends and shared novels when I finished them.  I do like to think that most of …

The 100 day project 2020

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The 100 day project starts tomorrow and I am in! I have done the project for about 5 years now and I have always got into it and ended up with a nice chunk of work. Some themes worked better than others and I hope this years will be a winner! In the past I have drawn mandalas and recorded ideas and last year I did 100 days of blueand I think this and the first mandala year are my favorites.   This year I have made a book and I am going to fill it with 100 days of black and white.  This way it will have a theme but I will also have enough scope for lots of ideas to fill it with.

Get Messy Season of Reflection week 1

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For this season I explored the Japanese stab stitch book binding technique.  I have to admit that I have always looked past this method as I didn’t think it would be a great journal binding as it doesn’t lay flat readily.  I always thought it looked too bulky to work with the papers I like to journal on and I was right, it would not work very well with a  watercolor paper even though I am sure it could be persuaded to open flat. So I explored some different papers. I followed the advice of the experts and went for the four hole binding to start with and I used a soft unbleached mulberry paper and my trusty waxed linen thread.  It opens nicely and I like the folds at the outside edge of the book. This technique does not require folded signatures, you can use single sheets or folded sheets with the fold at the spine or the open edge.  I am thinking of all the possibilities to be had with this book binding …

I Planted some Garlic!

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After much research (ok I read an article in a gardening magazine) and waiting for the first frost, I have planted half a pound of garlic. If it all grows I will have a stall at the end of my drive or I can be a French lady with a striped shirt and a string of garlic around my neck (stereotype? Moi? Never!). I even have a bale of hay at the ready for when the ground gets chilly and it needs a straw blanket, I also have a snack if any horses pop over! Happy Tuesday x

Get Messy, Season of Habit pages from my Art Journal

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When I made this art journal a couple of months ago, I was sure of two things, I loved the look and layout of it and it has way too many pages to fill in one season of Get Messy. Turns out I was correct on the first one, I loved this journal every time I worked in it. It transpired over the course of the Season of Habit that my second assumption was very wrong, I filled this treasure up with maybe one page to spare.  Not only did I fill it, I added a pocket full of art cards and two mini accordion books. I used all of my favorite techniques, starting with making the book itself, machine sewing, collage, simplicity, spray painting through old doilies and using old photos.  These are a few of the pages from my completed journal. Happy Sunday x  

‘I like Friday’ some new art books.

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I love books and I love books I can learn from and be inspired by!  For this Friday post I thought I would share some of the latest books to my collection.  I always borrow fiction from the library as I know once I have read it, I won’t read it again and I don’t have space to store a load of read books.  However, non fiction/reference/learning/inspiring (yes some novels are inspiring but I am usually after pictures!) books I will often buy. These three all have valuable information and lessons both practical and mindful. Find your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon A Big Important Artist: A Womanual by Danielle Krysa Happy Friday x

Ways to use Vintage Fabric in my Art Journal.

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I found a fabulous length of lacey vintage fabric at an estate sale this weekend which I think must have been used as a tablecloth.  I snatched it up with my mind already planning things to do with it. So here are a few ideas for using vintage fabric in your art journal. Sketch it in as much detail as you want. Trace through it, follow all the shapes or just a few. Print with it, using a gel plate. Photocopy and add to your journal page. Spray paint through it and use as a background. Dip it in some ink and sew it into your journal. Cut out a section and stitch it in, use matching thread or a contrast colour, hand sewing or using a sewing machine. Add a piece of fabric as an extra ‘page’ by sewing it down the edge or the middle of an existing page. I added this section of the fabric by sewing it into the existing page of my journal with the original ribbon which I used …

Making Artist Trading Cards.

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I started this project completely backwards!  I cut out my nine cards and then promptly put them back together into a rectangle in order to paint and play on them all at once.  I really should have done all the painting and stenciling then cut them up, but that is what happens when there is no plan, just the decision to make something. As it has turned out, putting them all together on a cutting mat, held down with masking tape, is working out and I this way I can take them up and rearrange them to carry on mark making. Now I have painted, spray painted and stenciled, I am going to mix the cards up and see what marks I can make. Layering is not usually something I do, but I am enjoying this and I am excited to see where it ends up, I am also slightly nervous that I will add a layer and wish I could remove it! Let’s see what happens. Happy Wednesday x    

Holiday art journal/sketchbook all filled up.

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I filled my holiday sketchbook!  I made the sketchbook before I went on holiday at the beginning of June, the post about that is here. I didn’t put a million pages in because I wanted to be able to fill it and I could have done with a few more to be honest! On the inside cover I swatched the paints I took and for the inside ephemera I used books I found in the ‘outside’ section of Parnassus books in Yarmouthport, MA.  This is where the less worthy books reside and prices don’t exceed $3.00. Bargain! I bought a 1938 book called Gloucester and Cape Ann for $2.00 and The American Almanac Year-Book Cyclopedia and Atlas for 1903 for $3.00. Both full of pictures I could use. I also found a tub of vintage photos at the Wellfleet flea market, so I used some of them in my art journal along with stickers and bits and bobs I found along the way.  I even managed to get a print from a crocheted doily I …