MS Trust Spring Secret Art Show

Once again the MS Trust are holding a Secret Art Show in aid of the charity.  I have two pieces in this show - one that didn't sell from the last time and a new one.

Please, please click on THIS LINK and have a look at the fabulous artwork on offer.  You will only find out who created the work when you receive it.  Thats what makes it secret and fun!!

The sale opens for business at 9am on 11th May.  And, if you can, please buy a piece of artwork and raise funds for this wonderful charity!

Free download

My very talented friend Carrie has a free download of an old book page over on her blog.

Hop on over and download yours!!!

I've already got mine and my mind is in a whirl wondering what to make with it........

Journal Journeys CH07

Over on Journal Journeys Dawn set us the challenge of April Showers this month.  How apt.  Mind they've not been 'showers' as much as torrential rain at least for us in the North East!!

Dawn made such a wonderful page and it was hard not to copy her idea of the huge rain drops so this is what I came up with.

I coloured the background of my Moleskine by scribbling all over with Derwent Aquatone in kingfisher blue and activated it with a baby wipe.  I dried it with my heat tool and then flicked the same colour blue, zinc yellow and magenta all over the page by using a wet paintbrush and flicking off the end of the Aquatones.  The effect is brillaint and looked just like multicoloured rain.  Of course my camera was downstairs and I was in the 'zone' and forgot to take a photo.

I wanted to make the page seem almost psychadelic and used the Crafty Image Emporium CD from Crafty Computer Paper.  Its one of those CD's that I use time and again when I'm looking for something a little bit different.  I used a section called '1960's' and the small flowers came from a sheet that had loads of embellishments on it.

I used the same CD for the paper for the umbrella.  I found an free umbrella template on-line and fitted the papers into it.  My Mam said it looks like its silk.  I suppose it does a little.

I've realised that there always seems to be a mistake in all of my pages.  This time its the date.  I stamped March instead of April.  See I don't even know what month we're in even though the challenge is 'April Showers'.  You'd think I'd have caught on ;)

To bring it all together I used individual letter stamps to stamp the wording and stamped some flowers along the bottom of the page.  They didn't stand out so well so I coloured them with Spectrum Noir pens.

I also coloured the flowers in the rain with the same pens to make them stand out a little more.


And here is my finished page :)

A Box for Julie

A while ago whilst I was having a pedicure Julie and I got to talking about how she needed a box to keep clients jewellery safe whilst they have massages in her room at home.  She couldn't find one that was suitable so I offered to decorate one for her.

I found this box on Happy Daze and sent for immediately.  Julie has teal as the main colour for her business and I know her room is cream so the colours were nice and easy to decide!  I first gesso'd the entire box, inside and out.  I maybe should have sanded it but it seemed smooth enough already.  I then used Claudine Hellmuth Studio Classic Teal to paint the whole box.  The box had its clasp already attached and painting round it was quite difficult but thats where baby wipes come *really* handy.

I created the scalloped edge using one of Sir Tim's On the Edge dies (Scallops).  I used paper we were given at the Graphicus Paradise Retreat in 2009 (its still really fresh in my memory) to use on a Italian inspired Diptych book.  It was perfect for this project.

I originally tried to stamp some baroque style swirls directly onto the box but they just didn't work so I had to cover up my mistake and the scallops were it.  But they weren't quite tall enough so I put a Grunge Paper swirl over it too.  I painted all of the Grunge Paper swirls with Golden Titan Buff.  Its one of those colours I bought when Graphicus closed and when I got it I thought I'd never use it.  Its one of my faves now!

The littles feet that I put on the box are small wooden balls that Jo and I bought in the sale at Hobbycraft.  Another purchase that I thought 'that'll come in handy' and they finally have!  Painting them was fun ;)  I stuck them on with silicone.

For the sides of the box I used the scallops again and put shirt buttons on with silicone.  I tried to choose different styles of button but eventually just put some of them on upside down to change the look.

For the top of the box I used swirls (Elegant Flourishes die) and flowers (Tattered Florals die).  I covered both sides of some Grunge Paper in the same paper as the one I used for the scallops using Glossy Accents to stick it and then used the die with my Cuttlebug.  I shaped the flowers and the paper started to come off a little, so I ended up covered in Glossy Accents trying the stick it back down!  As the paper was coming away it started to show more Grunge Paper so I diluted a little Classic Teal and Titan Buff and painted a wash over all of the flowers.

I used buttons for the centres of the flowers.  I stuck the swirls on with Glossy Accents and used silicone for all of the flowers.

I gave the box to Julie last week and she loved it.  Job done :)

A post to help my state of mind

 I went to see my Neurologist a couple of weeks ago and after examining my legs which, I thought were getting weaker, he told me that I am on the cusp of Secondary Progressive MS. This was a *huge* shock!!!

I feel like I'm in a washing machine being tossed around.  Its the same feeling as I had when I was first diagnosed.  Its the 'not knowing' whats gonna happen and having absolutely no control over it in anyway.  I like to be in control if I can and its taken me 10 years to relax (slightly) into the 'not knowing'.

I knew I was getting slightly worse but nothing has prepared me for this.  I have a great relationship with my Neurologist and we have been totally honest with each other and once I calmed down at home I realised that I'm pleased he told me.  At least my legs still have strength in them so I know they're not gonna collapse which has given me more confidence.

All of the problems I'm experiencing now, like the pain and stiffness in my legs, is a result of damage that happened when I was first diganosed.  The second time I went into hospital I literally couldn't walk and now my MS has decided to have another go at that part of my brain.  But at least now I have my wheelchair.  I'm so pleased I got it before all of this happened.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have the do that now on top of everything else I'm feeling!

I had a few bad days where my mind has been all over the place.  So after nights of not sleeping properly I decided to journal it out.  I found the picture in my bit box where I keep loads of pictures from magazines when I was looking for something for the Spring page.

I used water soluble crayons for the background and a white Sakura Souffle pen to draw lightening onto the background.  I needed to wite down how I felt but ended up just writing what you see here.  I *know* why the journal page was made and I know what I was feeling.  This has helped me enormously.

I used a stamp that Jo gave me for my birthday a while ago and it sums up my life beautifully.  I stamped it onto tissue paper and used Golden gel medium to attach it to the page. 

Its taken me a long time but I think I have my head round it now.  I am the same person who walked into the clinic as walked out.  Nothing has really changed apart from a name, but its a name that can literally strike fear into you.  I'm seeing a psycologist from the Pain Clinic tomorrow and my counsellor on 2nd April so I can let rip then ;)

Thank you for allowing me this little therapeutic indulgence.

Journal Journeys Challenge 06

At the beginning of the month Dawn posted the new prompt for the Journal Journeys Challenge.  This time, very appropriately, its 'Spring'.

I knew I wanted the page to be really fresh with lots of greens and yellows.  Now you know me by now.  I either take a glut of pictures or forget to take any.  This is a forget kinda thing!

Here's the finished article.

I did the background at home using Derwent Inktense blocks in 2 shades of green and a yellow.  I smooshed them around with water, dried it and took my journal to the Art Club.

I found the picture of the snowdrop in a Living North magazine that someone gave me.  it has *the* most fanatstic photos and this photo of the snowdrop is perfect as they are truly Spring to me.  I applied the picture and the wording using Golden Gel Medium (matte).

The wording is from a short story by Hans Christian Andersen aptly called The Snowdrop.  Its a lovely tale and worth a read.  I printed on tissue paper which I put through my printer taped to an A4 sheet of copier paper.  Because I have a kodak printer and the ink dries incredibly quickly you can put anything wet over it and the ink won't bleed.  Fab for doing gel transfers!

The stamps I used are clear one from...erm...Martha stewart....Anna Griffin...someone like that.  And the word stamp is from Inpression Obsession clingables and suits this page perfectly.  I always wonder how those gorgeous snowdrops manage to bloom in such adverse conditions.  I guess Hans Christian Andersen explains it all

Art Exhibition

Yesterday I went to fab art exhibition organised by Colour Your Life.  It had artwork in from the various art clubs run by them in my area and even included a couple of mine!!!

Between me, my Mam and Dad we never thought about taking a camera but luckily Carrie came along and reminded us that it'd be lovely to have photos and promptly started snapping my art on the walls.

I had one more piece in the show too.  Its possibly the same size as the mask canvas (I can't remember!) and I didn't take many photos while I was doing it.  Simply because I was having too much of a good time, laughing with Lisa and Len.

I started by brayering yellow acrylic paint onto the canvas.  I've now learned why brayering doesn't work so well on canvas but I really like the effect.  I highlighted the wooden stretches on the back of the canvas by rubbing the paint in with my fingers.

Next I mixed some ochre paint with the yellow to get an almost orangey colour that I sponged through sequin waste with a paper towel and dabbed some paint off the towel directly onto the canvas.

The colour that the canvas turned out to be, was determined by the fact that I managed to die cut the word 'dream' from sticky back chipboard on the wrong side.  Jo was having a play with alcohol inks so I got her to colour it for me.  Hence a green and orange canvas with yellow added in for good measure. 

I used torn Brenda Pinnick scrapbook papers and a piece of corrugated cardboard my Dad had ripped from a box that he was putting in the bin.  The bird is from a Sissix die and cut in sticky back chipboard.  This time it didn't matter which was the right side.  I used a picture from a magazine of logs for the body and trees for the wing.

The branch was in the stash at the art club and *had* to be used ;)  On the left hand side of the canvas you can just make out some white netting.  Its from a bag that contain tasters of cheese and gives the canvas another texture.