You may have noticed that I didn't post anything last week, checks, actually it's been two weeks since my last blog post. I had hoped that easing off the (self-imposed) pressure to post regularly would have allowed me to catch up a bit — instead, I spent the time making two Mother's Day cards and… Continue reading A brief break
It's been another odd year. More Covid-19 but fewer people seeming to take it seriously. We're still taking it seriously in this house so I have been extremely grateful to have had my arts and crafts to keep me distracted. Card making I've just made the cards I needed to make this year. I even… Continue reading 2021 round-up
A self-portrait from 2005 — I really never liked taking photos of me... So, Wanderlust week three's reflections lesson was a literal one: take a selfie and paint a self-portrait. And... that's not going to happen. At least not now. I do want to have a go at creating a vaguely realistic portrait and I… Continue reading Self-portrait problems
Last year was not the most productive year I've had. I made fewer cards than the previous year (though not by a lot) and did a lot less other art (mostly explained by 2019's output including a series of art cards and about half of the projects from that year's Wanderlust). My favourite project of… Continue reading Last year and this
This is definitely not a book review, it's just me getting an annoyance out of my brain that has been bugging me since I read a pair of books about art and I'm hoping that after writing it down I can forget about it. Early last year I read A Short Book about Drawing by… Continue reading Not a book review
How is it the end of February already? And how have I not managed to put together even one blog post this year? It's not even lack of things to post. I've a handful of bits and pieces from last year that got skipped in the effort to get all the Christmas cards written up.… Continue reading Blogging inertia
I occasionally enter giveaways — though not the ones on Instagram because of the insistence on tagging other people to enter — but I never really expect to win anything. I've bought a few bits and pieces from Cooksongold over the last year; their main focus is jewellery making, but that covers a wide range… Continue reading Cooksongold Hamper
Just in time to give my motivation a much-needed kick, along comes the twelfth Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge. Any thoughts about maybe slacking off a little this time around were firmly dismissed when I was asked to help out as one of Kathy Racoosin's team of goodwill ambassadors! I've taken part in every… Continue reading The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge #12
(Some pretty pink flowers to help combat the grey January day.) I'm still not doing New Year's resolutions — I'm sure there must be some people they work for, but in my experience, they're just a way to set myself up for failure, which is not the best way to start the year. I also… Continue reading And January comes around again
It's that time of year. When I can no longer ignore the impending inevitability of the question. What do you want for Christmas? I don't have anything particular in mind yet — I know I've seen things that have caught my eye and that I really should have made a note of — but I… Continue reading Gift guide
Focusing on the blog and being generally unmotivated to do much in the way of actual creating (plenty of ideas, just really hard to get started on any of them) has meant that I have been mostly absent from Instagram recently. I have every intention of at least looking through and liking everyone else's work,… Continue reading The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge #11
So, out of all of the vast array of websites out there, which do I find the most useful in my crafty endeavours? That was the question that got my attention as I was deciding what to write about for this week's entry into the GESSO: Primed Creatives blogging challenge. And my answer? SHOPS!!!!! art shops...… Continue reading Invaluable sites
One of the reasons I chose to start making cards was that they are small and easy to store. Okay, that's maybe overstating it a bit, but storage space definitely is something that has to be taken into consideration when planning any project. There is a part of me that would love to try something… Continue reading The storage problem
I don't really do holidays. When you grow up on a small farm, you really don't get into the habit of going away regularly. And these days, it's not so easy finding someone to look after the ratties. And, to be honest, we're both homebodies... So going away isn't something that happens often, about the… Continue reading Creating away
I am fickle. Much as I experiment with different mediums and styles, so do I accumulate inspiration. Influences come and go, all leaving a bit of themselves behind when my eye gets caught by the next thing. As a teenager my biggest artistic influence was probably Roger Dean and while I still appreciate the artistry, that's… Continue reading Influences and inspiration
Crafty Rat 