Stamps Ahead

I recently completed an on-line course with Laly Mille called "A book of whispers".  Here are the photographs of each page.  It turned out a bit more 'clunky' than I intended but I love it. First time doing the book binding - don't think I will be coming out of retirement to be a book binder! Have you read the novel - Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams? To quote a blurb on the novel "The Bookbinder of Jericho is a story about knowledge - who makes it, who can access it, and what is lost when it is withheld. In this beautiful companion to the international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams explores another little-known slice of history seen through women's eyes. Intelligent, thoughtful and rich with unforgettable characters." Thank you for looking, Margaret

We were treated to a bonus day to Laly Mille free online retreat.  Laly Mille shared one of her favourite ways to quickly create a page by combing an intuitive background with a meaningful photo.  Here is my art journal page inspired by Laly. I did not have a photo that I wanted to use so I went with a window print from a magazine. I find myself more and more drawn to 'windows' they let in light, you can imagine what is outside or inside! I used colours, which is not usually my "go to" colour choice.  I used Dylusion Sprays, acrylic paints, gesso, watercolour pencils, fabric and paper.  These pages are definitely a work in progress and I may add or remove other elements in the future. Thank you for looking, I had a blast. A big shout out to Laly Mille, follow her and be inspired. Margaret

Day 3 on Laly Mille's online retreat was finishing touches.  In the words of Laly "Finishing touches are such a magical part of the process! Get playful and try new things, infuse more light, color and contrast into your page, and find that special touch that makes your art unique!".  Here is my finished art  Up early this morning to complete this outdoors, as I started on Day 1. We are expecting record high temperatures today 40c and we are in Autumn/Fall!  If I have a problem area it was the trees added - lesson learned for future pages I think.  What this photo does not show that there is a lot of sparkle and glittery aspects to this page. I hope the following bits from the page show that.  Laly in her video for Day 3 said we would be looking at the magic of the page and that art journalling is the experience of creating. A British informal definition of 'magic' I found online was 'Wonderful and Exciting" and that is how I feel after completing this wo...

Day 2 of Laly Mille's on-line retreat saw us working on our Day 1 layouts.  I drew and coloured some naive flowers along the top of the green gills (might need more of these).  I found the tree images in a magazine, tore them out much smaller (the one on the left might need a bit more added, but I will worry about that later) than original and placed in the centre.  The Tim Holtz wildflowers I had in my stash from card classes taught previously and just could not throw away!  What else have I done today - painted the sky area more and generally dulled the paint I added at the top and between the trees to give the appearance of walking through the trees.  The stars/fairy lights light up the sky (I hope)! I have always had an interest in the vanishing point in paintings so let's see what tomorrow brings as we finish up our art journal page.  Thank you for looking, Margaret

For the next 3 days I am participating in Laly Mille online retreat - Art Journal Dream. At the end will be a completed double art journal page. Here is my Day 1 layers - more to be added in the coming days. Here is my process - I hope you get a sense of what the retreat is all from this starting point. I first selected the first 2 pages in my art journal - I usually move all around the place. I chose it because it had marks from previous entries down the centre line.  Laly's usually encourages writing for first layer - she uses marker pen I was not so brave I used pencil.  I am seriously thinking about travel to USA next year and so I wrote down some of my thoughts about this.  Don't worry they are covered up eventually.  In past workshops I have been reluctant to write and did move to putting a few words down but today more words than I have incorporated. The next layer was to take colouring medium of choice and create deeper colour at bottom of pages. I went with ...

For Christmas I was given some money so I registered for Laly Mille's New Beginnings course on her website , and each year she selects a 'word of the year' and she suggested that we join her in selecting our own word of the year. Mine is DISCOVER. I have never been one who went in for this in past however I have found since doing Laly's on-line classes that I have expanded my horizons and put the inner critic to sleep!!! This is a single art journal page I created. I found the selection of my word did not come easy. I recently ordered several items from Natalie May Scrapbooking including the Scrap FX stencil I have used on my art journal page and this I felt this was the word that was 'calling' me, although I did not buy it for this purpose. Serendipity!  I also purchased Tim Holtz idea-ology Chit Chat stickers and I selected several I thought would help me on my 'discover ' journey this year.  I also used more pastel colours that I usually would use - s...

Laly Mille has a free art journal workshop over on her blog - Poetic Secrets - using images from magazines and words from books and/or magazines.  Here is what I came up with  The quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a favourite and it was on the front of an old card.  I cut out the "W" and "R" and applied over original bright colours.   There is a secret opening - lift this flap and discover more I love the image of the drawers from a magazine - I loved that it fitted in with "compared to what is in us".   A little bit of whimsy with the bird and little insect also from a card front. This is what Laly had to say about her process  "Storytelling might be the most magical part of the creative process, especially in an art journal. So, what if we invited words to weave themselves into our art? What if it sparked inspiration for a page or a painting? Let's invite serendipity and watch the story unfold! In this intuitive activity, I share my favourite pr...

Yesterday, the time had come to welcome 10 ladies to my Creative Canvas workshop. Please enjoy their beautiful and colourful work.  Rather than compress the photos I am giving them to you in all their glory.   I want to thank Laly Mille for her Art Soul Retreat back in July that has inspired me greatly. I have sent a thank you to her for this inspiration.  Want to know more about Laly why not check out her website   A big thank you also to the ladies who attended - for all this was a new creative experience - I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did putting it all together for you.  Margaret and to quote Albert Einstein Creativity is intelligence having fun.

Day 2 - Let's get painting!  Abstract painting, having fun painting.   We were to use the mood board we created on Day 1 to start the abstract painting process. Here is what I came up with and it is another longish post A set of 4 5" x 5" art pieces using watercolour paper.   I cut my paper from a 12" x 12" sheet so I had 4 2" strips left over - okay, Margaret use them as well today and here they are:  And here are all 8 pieces close up  I will admit I started with the smaller pieces first I have used Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips for the words I have used - I selected ones that I thought matched my process on Day 2 My mood board was the starting point - the finished result was a learning opportunity and I did have fun!  Laly's video was full of ideas that helped me to make these pieces.  There not perfect but hey that was not what I set out to achieve - I love the finished results. Thank you for looking,  and here is a quote that Lal...

I was awake early this morning ready to start the free Artist Soul Retreat over the next 4 days. It is an on-line retreat. Laly Mille is a Mixed Media Artist & Creative Guide from France. Day 1 - is a quest for inspiration "Grow your wings". We were encouraged to create a 'mood board'. A long post today. Firstly, in her introduction Laly requested "Let me call you an artist" - thank you Laly I accept your invitation.  Her video takes you though how to create your mood board. I will share with you some of the process I went though in my selection of what to include I have always liked colour and even though I wear a lot of black I always ensure that colour is included - it could be a scarf, a top, a wrap. Yesterday, my sister and I went to Taking Shape clothing outlet near us and I purchased a cardigan - see top left on the right hand side.  I loved the pattern and the buttons.  I used this as the starting point for my choices. Before Kaszazz (an Australi...