All posts filed under: CatsEatDogs

Looking back at 2018, a year in review including books read.

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I like to look back over photos and diary entries from the past year, remember what I did,what I learnt and where I went.  Here is a brief summary from 2018, what did you get up to?  Any surprises?  I had no groundbreaking moments, but some new techniques were learnt and new places visited. I have also included the books I was reading each month. January  I started my tutorial making year for Get Messy and it was quite the learning curve! I got this fabulous typewriter which works very well. We went metal detecting and found things like ring pulls, a screwdriver and a swallow brooch. Book – Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. February  I have been working at the library for one year. We went to the Contemporary Art Museum and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation to see some art (darling). Book – Started The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan, but I had to return it to the library, so I made a note of the page I had …

Daily Moleskine 2018. December pages.

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The month of December saw me carving a stamp everyday, something a few months ago I would not have even considered.  I love all of my stamps and am so happy with my collection! Each page in my daily Moleskine planner for December has the stamp I made. I am not using a Moleskine for 2019, but I am still arting daily! Happy Tuesday x

My pile of art journals from 2018.

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It is always a revelation when I gather my journals together to see what I made in a year.  Some I thought I made last year and one I had completely forgotten about (thanks Instagram!).  Most of these are full and a couple are my current journals which should be finished soon. What this pile has made me think about is that I want to use one journal for sketching and one for art journaling and work my way though them.  This is such a higgledy piggledy pile I lose track of what I did when.  I am terrible for not dating work too, so I need to be sure to do that more next year! All of the journals I have used this year are handmade even though I do use bought sketchbooks for general sketching and note taking.  I usually use Moleskine and Hahnemuhle books for this. Are you filling books? Do you intend to in the New Year?  It is well worth it and such a joy to be able to look …

Half way through Carve December.

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I am now just over halfway through Carve December and I am enjoying it so much.  I tried carving a stamp a few years ago and didn’t get on with it at all. I think I was using the wrong rubber block and I found it very frustrating. Since then I have looked in a few books and watched a couple of tutorials and have made a handful of stamps. While I was in Portland in October the artists I was staying with were talking about Carve December and I thought it sounded rather intimidating and almost impossible to make a rubber stamp every day. December rolls around and I have forgotten all about it until I see my friend’s post and I am reminded that I said I would give it a go.  So I jumped in and the water is great! Carving stamps has made me slow down in my creating, take my time and not rush. I tend to rush most things I make, mainly because I feel like I should be …

Books I like and some on my wish list!

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Here are some books that I have borrowed from the library and love and a couple which I have not seen inside but I really really want to! Ottolenghi Simple This is a book full of really interesting and delicious sounding recipes like ‘Thai sticky rice with crispy ginger, chile and peanuts’ or ‘Sweet potato mash with lime salsa’ which also are completely doable. The ingredients are not a mystery and the method is straightforward. Breakfast with Beatrice I love me a cook book or even better a pile of cookbooks, even though they are huge and heavy to carry home, I don’t even care! This one also has a beautiful cover (yes, I do judge books by the cover). ‘Walnut pear coffee cake’ and a delicious sounding ‘Belgian waffle’ recipe are on my ‘to bake’ list. Some more unusual ingredients in this one, but nothing inaccessible. Smithsonian Flora I have not clapped eyes on this book but I have seen a couple of peeks on the interwebs and it looks so gorgeous I need to see it! …

Get Messy Art Journal Season of Freedom Beginnings

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The new season in the art journaling community of Get Messy is the Season of Freedom.  What a perfect way to end the year and begin the next, the freedom to create and create what you want! Of course there will be prompts and tutorials to keep us all inspired and working in our art journals, but they will all be freeing (see what I did there!) and full of ideas. I have made my little journal using book rings which hold together a variety of vintage envelopes, recipe cards and plain postcards.  It is higgledy piggledy and that is how I like it. Some pages have been started and maybe finished, I will see where the season takes me. More information on Get Messy can be found here. Happy Friday x

Taking Stock on my Birthday November 2018

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A stock take on my birthday, my 49th year, last one before I make half a century.  Bloody hell, that makes me sound like an ancient relic!  Ha ha, good job I don’t feel like one! Credit to Pip at Meet me at Mikes for the Taking Stock concept, thanks Pip. Here is what I am up to tonight and today. Making : Christmas cake Cooking : Nothing, it’s my birthday! Drinking : Gin and tonic Reading: ‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver Wanting: More reading time Looking: At the light disappear as the sun goes down Playing: The ‘La La Land’ soundtrack, I can’t help myself! Deciding: Which ramen to order for dinner Wishing: I could visit all of my family for my birthday and eat cake with them Enjoying: Wearing scarves, I like winter clothes Waiting: To go the the gym, yes, on my birthday I still go to class Liking: Trying new art supplies Wondering: If I will get used to the massive sumi brushes I just got Loving: Learning all the new things …

Super Saturday – The Creating Edition.

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Are you a creative person? I bet you are.  Creativity is in the air at this time of year, from baking a batch of cookies to choosing Christmas cards all the way to making the cards yourself featuring your own art or photography.  All creative and all satisfying. Currently I have a loaf of bread in the oven with 15 minutes to go until it is baked and I am all ready to go to a sweaty cardio/strength class at the gym, the bread I created (ok, mixed up and baked, which counts right?) and the gym session will dust my cobwebs off and get my brain moving as much as my body.   Later I need to work on my Christmas cards and make a new art journal for a December daily project and make a Christmas cake!   This month in the creative department, I have been hand carving some stamps, I have a small collection of little Christmas trees which I am using on my cards.  I also made a very simple …

Daily Moleskine 2018. October pages

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I thought I had missed a lot of pages in October, so I was pleasantly surprised that most pages are filled as they should be. I did drop the ball for a couple of days and they are as blank as unfilled pages!  Nevermind, I carried on regardless. Lots of pages are covered with inspiration and instruction from Lisa Congdon’s October daily class at Creative Bug which helped keep me going. October saw lots of piles of rocks once I had made some pebble stamps along with botanicals and some stickers and postcards from my Portland trip. Happy Thursday x