This is the second of this year’s Copic-coloured Christmas cards and this one is based on the second lesson in the Winter Storybook class from Sandy Allnock over on Art-Classes. There were a couple of minor problems making this one. First off, I forgot to mark out the snow caps before colouring in the first… Continue reading Christmas bunny in the hills
This is the first of this year’s Copic-coloured Christmas cards. I would normally be panicking that I’d only just started but I have a vague plan to do some small batches and if it doesn’t work out then so be it. This year I’m putting myself first and crafting for my own well-being. This is… Continue reading Christmas sheep by lake
If I have any chance of making enough Christmas cards this year, I am absolutely going to have to do a few small batches of relatively simple cards. And this is the first of those. Not that it hasn't taken me most of a day to finish them off, finding time in between the daily… Continue reading Gold snowflakes on red
Series: Mandala Makers 2020 #2 After creating the colourful mandala for week one of Rachel Evans White’s free Mandala Makers 2020 class, week two went back to basics with black and white. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially considering I had absolutely no plan at all at the start. In some ways… Continue reading Mandala #2
When I made the butterfly grid, I had a few squares and butterflies left over. I decided to make some simple panels with them which could either be framed as is, or turned into cards with the addition of a sentiment banner underneath the painted square. The kraft squares were looking a bit too clean… Continue reading Butterfly drips
Back in October I joined in with the Lifebook 2021 taster sessions. I wouldn't take the full course because there is quite a focus on mixed media portraiture and figure paintings — something I'm happy to have the occasional play with but it's never going to be my go-to subject matter. But there were some… Continue reading Butterfly grid
Another leaf. After the success of the first leaf, I decided to have a go at painting another of the pressed leaves in my stash. This time I changed up the style, dividing the leaf into blocks and choosing some brighter colours. I had a vague memory of there being a rule about the minimum… Continue reading Patchwork painted leaf
The final project from the Artful Academy Visible Image Mini Collection. This tag was inspired by the lesson from Veerle Moreels; I've always liked Veerle's style and borrowed a design from her for some of last year's Christmas cards. [Previous projects from this class include butterflies, Stampbord owls, a dragonfly and a hummingbird.] There are… Continue reading Artful Academy butterfly tag
Time for mum's birthday again and I've used most of my critter stamps in the past, so this year I've done something a little different. A couple of years ago she was running low on her card stash and hadn't been able to get out to pick up a card for my other half's birthday,… Continue reading Mouse among blackberries
Every month we get a subscription to ScrawlrBox. Every month they have a themed challenge to make something with just the contents of the box. And almost every month the supplies end up being added to my stash to be used at some point. The one exception was when I actually grabbed the soft pastels… Continue reading Squiggle and stripes
Series: Mandala Makers 2020 #1 Oh what a time... I would put more of a definitive timescale on that but my sense of time has become even more broken than usual over the last few months. I had an actual face-to-face (or mask-to-mask) physio appointment a few weeks ago (good thing) and now have some… Continue reading Mandala #1
Another project from the Artful Academy Visible Image Mini Collection. This tag was inspired by the lesson from Katy Leitch, the founder of Artful Academy. [Previous lessons include butterflies, Stampbord owls, and hummingbird.] It was a pretty straightforward creation; the only problem I had was when the acrylic paint started to dry quicker than I… Continue reading Artful Academy dragonfly tag
This started out as a three colour abstract inspired by a video from Kim Dellow. I do like a lot of abstract art, though I am still trying to work out exactly what appeals to me and what doesn't. As I said, this started out as just three colours, but I decided it needed some… Continue reading “Swipe” abstract painting
I really ought to colour something other than Power Poppy images but they're just so pretty and perfect for feminine cards. Though, to be fair, I have coloured up a couple of other digis recently, they just haven't made it onto cards yet. This digi stamp has a single branch of blossoming cherry so I… Continue reading Cherry blossom
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #10 I finally caught up with the monthly journal prompts, finishing September's "Mystical" page only a few days after the lesson went online. The tutor went with a fairy motif, but I'd used that for my July "story" page and I didn't want to repeat myself in a journal that… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – September
Crafty Rat 