Creative Play

Thanks to a blog post by Jennifer, I have been in the middle of a creative adventure.

I wet some pieces of watercolour paper,

added some dried bits and pieces of petals i have, and stacked them up.

When I had 4 or 5 pieces stacked up, I folded them in half, flattened them the best I could, and secured them with a piece of string.

 

I made 3 bundles, that I then placed on top of a bowl inside my crock pot.  I put a bit of water in the bottom, with the idea that the paper wouldn't get soaked, just steamed.  I then left if for about 8 hours.

Here is what the bundle looked like after I took it out of the pot.

And some pages when I opened them up, but before they were dry, and had the petals removed.  The brownish pages in the middle of the picture, fell into the water, and are a more all over brown colour.

The pages are mostly a variety of brown colours - good thing I like brown.

I like how I can see where some of the petals were put.

I haven't decided if I will make a book with it or what. 

The whole experiment got me thinking.  When I make handmade paper, and put petals in it, I do get the colours from some of the petals staining the page.  So I took a couple of the pieces that didn't have too much colour on them, and I got them soaking wet, and sandwiched petals between them. Then I just left them to dry.  

   Although some of the colours did transfer,  I didn't really like how the pages turned out.  I may have to try it again, and remove the petals when the paper is still wet... we will see.

Summer Time

It seems like it has been a long time coming, but I think it is finely time for summer in the Yukon.  It is 22 degrees (or 74 farenheit), our warmest day yet. 

I have been enjoying the colours

of the wild lupines.  They are so beautiful and plentiful right now.

I have continued to work on some jewelry,

and finished another messy necklace

a couple of pins

and a pair of earrings. 

One of the pins and the messy necklace will be for sale in my Etsy shop

Drawing With Pen

I made this book some time ago, but like many of the books I have made it has sat empty.

As I continue along my healing journey (from a concussion in February) I decided

 to  be brave and draw with pen in this book.   There is no turning back and no erasing. I was quite nervous at the start, and still am whenever I start a new page.

So with many strokes of my pen I drew my tea pot and cups.  The pages are too long for my scanner, and so this picture goes together with the part below.

These drawings take me a long time to do, but they are meditative, as I was sitting still, quietly drawing for 2-3 hours a day. I really enjoyed it and I have almost finished 8 drawings in my book.

This one has a big bird facing these youngsters on the page beside it. 

But this good thing had to end for a while, as all that repetitive motion hurt my shoulder, and I had to stop.  Now I can draw again, but only for about 45 minutes a day. 

 I decided to play with these two drawings a bit.  I printed them out, added a touch of colour and made them into cards.

I had a really difficult time just adding a swoosh of colour and ended up wrecking a few before I got these ones. I will continue to practice.

And as you can see I continue to enjoy teapots, cups and birds....

My Usual ...Tea Bag and Bird Art

It seems what I am drawn to create lately is tea bags combined with my drawings of birds, and although that was not what I planned to do today, it is what I did.

I was invited to submit an art piece for a cancer fund raiser.  There was no theme, just a request to do it in your signature style.   So this is where I went. 

I transfered the drawings on to tea bags and added some collage and colour.

The pieces are done on matte board that are then mounted on  5X5 inch heavy water colour paper.

I made two in case something went wrong with one of them.  But it turns out I like them both.  Now I have to decide which one to send.   Let me know what you think! 

A Messy Necklace

I just finished making this messy necklace, and I am loving how it looks. 

The bird bit is made out of metal with an image on with a topping or resin and wax.  I then added bits of metal chain, beads etc.

I  wrapped  and sewed the loops on the ends of the cotton cord  to attache the metal hook and links for an adjustable closing to the necklace

I also finished the last of the single pendant necklaces that I have been busy making. 

What fun I have had!

In My Journal

I continue to work on my journal, and wanted to show you a few pages that I have created, and are ready for me to write on. 

Lately I am enjoying how the pages look before I add my daily (or so) thoughts and words, but don't like how they look so much after the words are added.   I am hoping that that will change soon.

Another page

with some close ups.

I am really enjoying drawing with pen lately.  It is something that I actually have not been brave enough to do.  I prefer to draw with pencil and be able to erase things.  Therefore I have made my self sketch in pen, on a painted page in my journal, and I know if I really don't like it, I can always paint over it. 

These sketches are all on one page in my journal, and will probably stay, and so I added a bit of colour to them.  I think they will stay, and I will write around them. 

For some reason I am in a real teapot and cup mood right now.  

And now I think I will go and make a cup of tea. 

What Have I Been Up To?

What have I been up to? 

Well.... although these have been a long time in the making, I have finally finished a few necklaces.

I really enjoyed making them.

and now a few of them are heading to my Etsy shop (selling for $25 Canadian).

Besides making this jewelry, I have been busy with the following not so fun things

• cleaning up the downstairs of our house after it flooded
• missing my computer as it needed fixing (thanks to my nephew in law for taking care of that for me)
• helping my18 year old daughter move out of her apartment, (100 miles away) and prepare to camp for a month
• attend medical appointments (100 miles away) as I still work towards healing
• REST my brain as much as I can, as that is the only way I will heal from this concussion I am still struggling with.

I am still smiling lots and remaining positive, and enjoying many many good things every day.