Playing with Birds

I really enjoy incorporating my drawings into collage. 

The bird in this creation is a copy of a drawing I did sometime ago. 

I then added bits and pieces and some scribbles to create this piece.

Below is a bit of the original drawing as well as another creation this bird has shown up in. 

The same thing happened with this piece.

A bird drawing that ended up in a whirlwind of collage and scribbles.

And below is the same bird showing up in different creations. 

Christmas Decorations

I made these Christmas decorations just in time for 

the local Christmas sale a couple of weeks ago. 

They sold out very quickly, 

and I have been trying to find some time to make some more.

They have many layers, including paper pulp, tea bags, gesso and paint, 

and then images or stamps, some ink and collage bits 

before adding a final layer of paste wax. 

Maybe tomorrow I will have some time to play with some more of these

..... although I do have some snow shoveling to do!

Creative Play

There hasn't been too much creative playing happening 

in my neck of the woods lately. 

But I have added a few creations in my journal

'For the Love of Play'

This was the first addition of the year.... 

I was planning to fill all of the pages in this book 

by the end of 2016. 

At the rate I am going that won't happen.

But the real goal of this book

was creative play - create just for fun. 

No expectations. 

And that goal has happened 

on each of these pages.  

I hope you are fitting a bit of creative play into your days!

In Love with Little

A new year made me want to make a new book to play in.

And to make sure I finish it this year

I made it really tiny. 

I am really enjoying working little.

And I have already finished 5 pages....

and the book only has 8 pages.

I also love the beautiful lettering on the front and the back.

My sister was doing a calligraphy demonstration, 

and I absconded with the papers that she was getting rid of. 

Her lettering was of course beautiful and tidy.... 

.... I grunged them up for the cover. 

Old Year - New Year

 

Well, even though I wasn't ready for it, 

2015 became the OLD YEAR.  

It doesn't seem so long ago that I started this journal

and I expected to finish it in 2015.

I worked in it happily through out the year

and shared it here, here, here and here.

But it became obvious that I wouldn't finish it by the end of 2015.

And I decided it would be okay 

if I completed 1/2 of it before the new year rolled in. 

So on December 30 I glued some bits down

and drew a bit.

I added some paint and thought it was done.

Decided it was not finished 

so added some bits.

Then removed some and added others

until it was finished. 

December 31 found me busy on the middle page of the book

which I managed to finish in time for the year to wind down

and a new one to begin. 

This colourful earred bunny is now waiting patiently

to see what will be added to the NEW YEAR page.

I look forward to continued fun in this little book in 2016. 

2 New Pages - For the Love of Play

My 'For the Love of Play' journal 

has not been getting the attention it deserves. 

But I finally have a couple more pages finished 

that I can share.  

 After gluing a few bits and pieces to the page,

I drew these animals, and added a bit of watercolour paint to them.

You may be able to see my note 

saying this species went extinct around 1799.

 

 The next page contains a fictional fish.... 

or I guess parts of two fictional fish. 

Same process.... bits of paper glued down,

a drawing and then a bit of watercolour added.  

I really don't know why I don't play in this book more often.

Letting in Some Light

I needed to create today.... 

even though I had many chores that were supposed to get done. 

So I took a piece of my handmade paper

added layers of paint

and then with pencil, charcoal and pen had some fun creating.

I put it behind a mat to see if it was finished

and after some small tweaks, decided it was. 

The process of creating brightens my day.

Back to Books

 

One of the things I did this summer

was teach a course on how to make a pocket book.

And I finally finished putting together

 the sample I was making in class.  

The front is decorated with layers of ink, paint, stamps 

and bits of copies of my drawings. 

The inside pockets are made from small envelopes

and decorated in the same way. 

Each envelope makes a pocket

ready to store some sort of treasure...

a love letter.....

a quote......

a poem......

a drawing.....

And the back cover is finished off in the same style.

I also recently finished making a journal.

It's soft cover, 

is made with layers of fabric and paper 

and finished with a layer of wax.

I decorated the cover with paint and ink

 and then sewed leaves on it.

And inside I decorated the stitched leave patterns.

The pages are made of sketch paper 

and perfect for writing or sketching. 

 

The back cover is also decorated with sewn leaves.

And the whole book is kept nice and tidy 

with an elastic cord.