Arty malarkey 2

Hi there, and it's about time. I've just realised how long it is since I've been here. Today I make a new resolution to get into a regular pattern of posting as quite a lot goes on in my arty malarkey  world and other areas of my life. 

Yesterday, after church, and being unfriendly outside, I was very happy to get into my studio and play. For a couple of months now I have been on a mission to do 100 days of arty stuff in this journal using materials from my vast stash of papers, bought, salvaged from mags etc, and ephemera, collected and stored over these past 2 1/2 years. Laurierichardsonhaley on Utube called it her 100 day project using her pile of happy mail, which I don't have much of, but my stash. Oh my!! 

So yesterday I began a couple of pages, then after a Utube fix and inspired, I cut out some inchies,and circles for tiny art. 

An example of some other pages.

You will see words on the pages. This was also part of the 100 day project. Laurie also made a list of words then cut them up, put them in a container and would pull one out when nearly finished a page, and include it when finished.

As you can see. Ther is a big range of papers, ephemera and some arty malarkey going on in these pages, and it is " such fun"!

This is how full my book is so far. It's getting fatter by the day.

Papers, cerviettes, leaves and flowers made from painty papers, was hi tape and doodles. SUCH FUN! 

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I also spent time in my cabin.(I'll do a tour another day). This is a big journal I made from an old book, with pages made from all sorts of old papers. Again, I'll show another day. 

This is pages 2&3 . Unfinished but exciting to work in.

I have also been playing with totems, after admiring a group of them outside a school, decorated by the children, then inspired by Pinterest pics, so, here's 1&2 , with more in the process. 

Oh dear. There is just so much arty malarkey going on, both here in the cabin, in my temp studio in the cottage, and on my lap in front of tv in the evenings. I will just have to come back on a regular basis. 

Bye for now, and huge blessings, Trills.xx

Artymalarkey

Yes. Artymalarkey is my name for the arty journey I am on and at the moment I am larking around painting papers. I mean I am obsessed with painting papers. The above is some results that have been cut up to use in other arty projects like hand made journals.

I have colour moods where I play with one colour and its relations, just enjoying different combinations 

Etc. so this was obviously a day for the greens.

And this was a day for gelato shades. Yummy creamy, sweet colours. I am using waste paper from my daughters uni studies ,she is doing from here at home. She likes to have hard copies to browse and make notes in, and then discards them.

I saw them in the recycle bin, so grabbed them to use for fun stuff. This is the latest pile she dumped in my arty space. I've got a lot of fun stuff to keep me going a good while.

Back to my painted papers. I have a habit of squeezing too much paint out on my paper pallet each time, so end up making marks and shapes on other pieces of paper and these are some of those.

I will have fun extending their content in the evenings, with markers and my favourite metallic gel pens.

Or, cutting them up for other projects.

The evenings in front of tv is a time for scribbling and making marks and designs on these papers, ready to paint the next day. As you can see, there is a mounting pile of them too.

And a mounting heap of painted papers. I have Suzie Denis to blame for this. I have followed her on Utube and also taken one of her workshops. I just love the way she plays with paint and marks on the papers. Mine don't seem to turn out the same, but that is how it should be, I reckon. Each of us has to develope our own style, and I can see and feel mine developing a style of its own.

More painted papers with more strutted design, and do you see the one in the top right corner? Well I dabbled with it one evening.

And came up with this. I just started doodling with a fine black marker and the metallic gel pens, and this happened, and I was very happy with it.

A close-up, but it still doesn't show the metallic sheen very well. This happy result gave me ideas, so now I am working on a bigger project to use this picture with. Can you guess what it will be. Sorry I'm not telling till its done.

Meanwhile, I am making a very ugly mess while mixing paints. I do love mixing colours to make a colour I want, but this effort was not successful. I was going for a dark red, maroon sort of colour. I added a little black to the red on my pallet paper (the one on the left) but it was obviously too much, so then came more red, then some fluorescent coral, then more red, then white, but still didn't have what I was after. But I did have an overflow of paint on the paper.

What was I to do with it? Well, I have these little pots from the dollar store for such things, though usually especially colours I love, like me coral shades. Anyway here is the offending colour in its pot and you could see in the previous pic, the papers I used to clean up the mess left behind on paper and brush. I'm sure I will have my day, when I succeed in making some lovely colour from this mess.

So that's where I'm at. There are on coming heaps of papers to mark and paint and doodle on, and maybe even put in some journal pages. You can see here, another colour scheme happening. I wonder where it will take me. Oh! So much fun. So much joy, messing around with paint and artymalarkey.

Till next time, many blessings and love, Trills.xx

A love affair

It started with a beak

This ladies beak. The colourful Magenta caught my eye and I was under its spell. I've been painting papers.

Like this. I have been watching the lovely and very talented Suzi Denis on Utube and her practice of painting papers. Using old drop papers and other materials. Do you see the page in the top left. My lady with the beak came from there. Do you see it?

I cut up the page and stuck this bit in my journal, then started playing, resulting in the page I showed at the start of this post.

I have gone crazy, painting papers. It is so good for stress. I seem to only get short spells in the studio at the moment, so, just splash some paint around. I do a bit of scrawling lines first then paint in the spaces. Maybe you can remember this from your childhood. I certainly do. The swirling pencil pattern then coloring it in. But look at these pages. I have been painting several at once like an assembly line. There was nine in this batch.

Now see what happens when I add Magenta. In this one I went over every shape of 3/4 of the page. You can see what colors were underneath, and the rich transformation of every one.

So! Here is the object of this affair. My tube of Magenta paint, running out fast. These pages are leftover paint pages. I just love how the left one turned out. And without a though or plan. I often squeeze out too much paint, so use up the leftover on all sorts of paper and this was just an old partly used scrap book.

Other waste paint is mopped up with all kinds of paper. I also often use these small pieces as a palette, then stamp them over other dry ones when finished. Sometimes these end up prompting a picture to capture and use somewhere.

Do you see the green face in the top right corner. A paint blotch that spoke to me. I haven't done it justice. I should be brave and try to give her more life. Maybe one day.

Yes. The poor thing really does need a face lift.

Well I'm going to leave it there today, with another painted paper, cut in half and waiting for the next move. Do check out Suzi Denis's Utube videos. I have also signed up for one of her online workshops. So inspiring. 

I'll be back with more Arty Malarkey, here at Trills Patch. Bye for now. Love and blessings, Trills xx

Here we go again.

What's the bet? Yes hubster is away on a weekend visiting other blokes sheds with his vintage tractor mates. I just don't seem to get the blogging vibe at other times.

So here we go. Remember this. Yes the door to my studio. Well since taking up art journaling it has welcomed so much arty crafty stuff to accommodate this new venture.

Really! It has taken over a quarter of the studio. It had become such a shambles with all my gatherings for all my different crafts and interests. Yes! Unfortunately it had truly become to resemble a hoarders nightmare like you see on those TV programmers. I really did have to squeeze sideways through the maze to reach anything to find a chair. I'm not kidding' visitors would look in horror. I could read their " she's got a problem!" Looks and indulgent smiles.

Now look! I can walk quite freely between designated stations. I spent 5 whole days. Mostly while hubs was away again. Needed the clear head space to attack my " problem". 

The ironing board doesn't stay up all the time now. Making for more open space. I must confess I didn't throw heaps away. I already had several bins of fabrics set aside for a garage sale, so they went out in the garage to await that event, leaving a bit of space to play with.

I have rearranged my God Corner. Such an important place for those special times that I try to have daily, and am having more regularly these days.

The mostly yarn station, shared with some books and the Exercycle. 

The sewing station. Such a joy to be able to sit there so easily, with all I need to hand. It's busy there at the moment with little crafty thingys.

The doily collection still fills it's cupboard, though I have used quite a few lately, covering another lampshade for an order. Yes! A commission. A Wow moment for me, and very happily received. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo before I parceled it up.

My vast basket collection has taken to the rafters after I bought some long pieces of wood and some hooks. Also hanging some natty storage thingys has been a boon.

But let's get back to my journaling corner. I doooo loooove spending time here. Delving and dabbling with paper, paints, and all sorts of delicious stuff that has found its way here.

Prior to Jan this year I didn't own any paints. Now look! Mainly from the dollar stores. Quite adequate for my apprentice state, and such fun I am having splashing it around, trying different styles and techniques. I'm no artist, but that's ok. I am practicing drawing different things like faces and flowers and not too horrified at the results.

Stocks of recycling and wrapping paper. Such fun!

Drawers of " ephemera" a new word for me, and more scrappy papers and recycling. Sooooo much fun.

And under the table, old mags, papers, vintage books etc. etc. all so necessary and such fun.

A few products of my venture. From left. A journal made of recycled Christmas cards, (see Utube videos), three mini journals made from one sheet of paper(each one), this from Jennibellies workshops, she is my main "Muse" .

A larger journal made from a recycled cereal box with pages made up of different papers, some from old books, atlas' etc etc.

Pages of practising with different mediums and techniques and will eventually make up into a loose file journal. 

So you see, I am having soooooo much fun on this new adventure in my tidy studio. Such a joy. I am soooooo grateful for this retirement era of my life filled with many new wonders to fill our days.

I wish you joy in your life, and abundant blessings, love Trills.xxx