52 Tags : Week 13. First quarter check in

I'm participating in Anne Brooke's weekly Tag challenge. You can view her demo each week on Youtube #52tagshannemade. Week 13 : Layers (of gold). Anne gathered thread, little safety pins, scraps of fabric, small piece of lace - all in a yellow/gold theme for their Spring weather. Gold is also appropriate for me heading into Autumn and the gorgeous sunshine we are still enjoying {when it's not raining!}

I had lot more I could have added, but concentrated on colour and texture this time, using a combination of hand stitching and machine. 

We are a quarter of the way through this year and this challenge! Here's what I've done so far.

Loving this weekly focus

Wanderlust : Embrace the process

This was our last lesson for March on our theme of Serendipity : Week 12 with Mary Beth Shaw aka Stencil Girl. Our first lesson was to create 'parts' - We created serendipitous colour layers with tissue

I've bought a cheap silicone spatula from KMart to use for gluing - no more brushes being ruined. I just wipe it clean with a baby wipe or damp cloth between uses. 

Then I made little assemblages for collage fodder - I enjoy adding stitching to many of these.

Some learnings or good reminders : always art with paper beneath to get interesting pieces from bleed through or using up paint = lovely serendipitous pieces. 

Pull layers of paper serviettes apart easily using a piece of tape on each outer edge (seems so obvious but I never thought of it!)

Next up to create our journal spread. As Mary Beth suggested, I pulled out bits in a limited colour palette. First layers of collage from the underpapers

then more collage, including tissue layers, and paint. I've also started using old neutral scrap book papers for my underpaper. Hopefully I'll use them more with my own marks of colour added.

Mary Beth's style is very much about embracing the process of art journaling and to keep going until you are happy. I did just that and forgot to take process photos so that's a good sign that I had fun.

52 Tags : Week 12

I'm participating in Anne Brooke's weekly Tag challenge. You can view her demo each week on Youtube #52tagshannemade. Week 12 : Blanket stitch. I began by opening my drawer of batiks and being immediately attracted by the gorgeous turquoise. I started stitching and really enjoyed overlapping my stitches. It quickly felt like the ocean to me so I added beads and sari ribbon trim to complete the effect