Workshop on the Web & an honour

First, I've got to say a belated thank you to Jackie at Stitchworks for giving me the Leibster award absolutely ages ago, how rude of me not to do it earlier! I was kucky enough to get another one the following month, the Vesatile Blogger Award,  from Suzy at Rustic Vintage Country  & the same one again from Kim at Numinosity Beads last month! Now don't get me wrong, I'm really pleased, but I couldn't POSSibly choose who to give the award on to & there'd be at least 35 I'd have to choose! So, I choose you all, you're all wonderful! ;)

As promised I made some painted papers using those rather loud curtains as inspiration. I made a notebook but I'll be honest, there's nothing in it yet ;) When there is I'll put it in my Etsy shop. Talking of that, remember I said I couldn't 'put' my Etsy mini gallery onto my blog? Well, once, while pootling around, it was there, hiding under open comments. Needles to say it wasn't there the next time I looked!

 Forgot to take a pic of the whole ground but you get the idea (look at my last post, first pic!)

 I made these stamps from cut up mount board & pva glue.

& some handmade art cards, blank inside. Can I call them art cards? I know people do; better than 'greeting cards' I think.


So I think I've finally finished making samples from Maggie Grey's book  Stitches Straps & Layers. It's been great fun & I'm so grateful to Lesley for lending it to me!

I got out some painted papers altho I did stamp with 3D paint on the first one & highlighted with gold. It's basically about putting a selection of things together in a variety of ways...isn't life, really! You can use watercolor paper, gold ink, stitched ribbon, stencilled tissue paper, & carrier rods.  I added a sort of hard scrim that lives on a roll on the left & the right side of the handmade paper I added a gaudy ricrac (but I cut the curves off coz I hated them!) & zigzaged up & down. I made some matching paper beads as instructed using similar paper wrapped round a wire wrapped satay stick but i forgot to pic those. Then I stitched ribbon to painted paper, then stuck strips of overly highlighted with a gold leaf pen ( don't you get pissed when your precious & expensive pen blocks then blobs out everywhere?!) tissue paper, then glued strips of gently gold waxed tussue paper along a sot of monoprint. Just having them there in front of me in my own sample book will give me such inspiration & I'm so glad Maggie has made learning new techniques such a pleasure thru her book. Thank you!

Speaking of Maggie, I feel the need to tell you a little about the quarterly online publication Workshop on the Web  (button up there, top right). I'm sure you all know about it, but it's the mixture of this 'magazine',  Cloth Paper  Scissors & going to quite a few workshops that have enabled me to drag what's inside me, out. Which has been a long, some times tortuous but entirely pleasurable experience! When I first joined WoW, about 6 yrs ago, I barely understood this new to me language but over the years I've learnt it & still am of course! For just £15.50 a year you get,  4 times a year,  7-9 articles/workshops beautifully illustrated by a huge variety of artists - Angie Hughes, Jan Beany, Kim Thittichai, Gina Ferrari, Beryl Taylor, Isobel Hall, Jan Messent, to name but a few &  of course, Maggie Grey herself.  Mixed media, textiles,  bookmaking, 3D vessels, printing & lots of stitch. It's where I enjoyed going when I started this artistic life of mine, where I found such a fabulous variety of things that stimulated my grasshopper mind, accessible projects to keep me happy, a sort of bible, really. So you can imagine my absolute delight when Maggie asked me to write an article for the June publication. It is such an honour & I hope I don't let her down.