My Good Things Jar 2013

As the year draws to a close it's easy to focus on all the negative things that have happened throughout the year. 

I saw this idea sometime in mid December 2012 and was determined to start one for myself.

The concept is simple. It costs very little to put into action And will help you realise it's the small things in life that bring the joy and reflections of all the good things that happen Throughout the year.

Take a Kilner jar or something similar, This could be a pretty box or container with a lid like a teapot perhaps And starting on January 1 fill the jar up with pieces of paper writing on each piece anything good that happens. 

                                     

Then on new years eve of that year open up the jar to see all the good stuff that has happened that year. I am surprised and impressed with how full mine actually became. With all the bad news in the media and the normal struggles of everyday life it's easy to become entangled in the web of negativity. 

I'm thinking of creating some of these jars for my brides and grooms And will call them wishing jars. Guests can write on pieces of paper or card and add them to the jar. The bride and groom can then open the jar and read the messages from their friends and family. 

Why not start the jar for 2014? I think you'll be as surprised as I was as to how much good stuff happens. I wish you all the very very best for 2014

If you are on Facebook.... come and join our dedicated group: Good Things Jar 2013

Want to draw and paint some Doodle Leaves????

Did you enjoy and try the Doodle Flowers

 I showed you how to do in this post?

9 easy steps t Doodle Flowers!

If you did and are spurned on to try some more Doodle Pictures... 
be sure to check back this Friday where we will have more fun... this time with leaves!


AND... this time we will learn how to paint them too.!
My way... the easy way.....


So... get your kit ready to rumble.....

YOU WILL NEED: 

A fine line, permanent pen in BLACK

Some water based brush pens

And a water brush.

If you don't have a water brush you can simply used a fat, round ended brush and some clean water.... but water brushes come with their own reservoir and I find them so convenient.... for a few pounds you can have a brush and water pot at your finger tips wherever you are!

OK.... see you Friday.... until then.... happy creating! :o)

FUN FRIDAY - 9 VERY easy steps to draw Doodle Flowers

Drawing a Doodle Flower is easy! 
This 9 step process will have you drawing Doodle Flowers in no time.

ALL YOU NEED IS:

A fine line waterproof pen 
and some good quality cartridge paper.

STEP 1

Draw a circle or an oval

STEP 2

Draw a spiral in the centre 

STEP 3 

Draw 5 spider legs coming from the round shape

STEP 4

Join the lines up to make petals 

STEP 5 

(You are half way there

to drawing a Doodle Flower! 

From the centre draw 3 lines and 

on the centre line draw 3 dots

STEP 6

Draw a shading line on the 

corners of each petal.

STEP 7

Draw a line around the whole of the flower shape

 STEP 8

Use a squiggle pattern to fill in the outline

STEP 9

Join up the shading lines at the top 

of each petal with lines or dots.

 There you have it!

That's all there is to it!
Your Doodle Flower is complete!
Just add some CRAZY colour!

NOW: Using the same formula,

go and make some of your own.

Try drawing some leaves as well!

Changed the shape of the petals....

or add some more.

Get the kids involved and above all else,

HAVE FUN! 

Next week on Friday Fun Day

I'll show you how to add some colour,

my way!

All you will need 

are some WATER BASED BRUSH PENS

(Non-waterproof, non-pigmented) 

and one of those WATER BRUSHES 

will come in handy too! :o)


Oh.... and one last little thing...
Don't forget to share this post 
by clicking on the share buttons below 
Sharing is Caring! 

Are you ready???? For some Doodle Fun?

Are you ready???? For some Doodle Fun?

I received such a response after my blog posting about

Fun Friday and Doodle Inspiration

I decided I'd show you just how east it is!

Check in tomorrow.

Have some good quality cartridge paper handy,

and some 'Permanent' fine line pens!

And BE WARNED - They ARE ADDICTIVE!

So a pot of lovely coffee on the stove may be a good idea :o)

See you tomorrow xxx

FUN FRIDAY! - Doodle Inspiration

 I seem to have somehow 

caught a bug!....

a flippin' great dose of 

DOODLE BUGS that is!

Oooooer! I forgot how therapeutic these were!

And with a little bit of colour here......

And a little bit there.....

they can look amazing!

Check out those quirky heart flowers!

Painting with colour 

makes all the difference....

and brings it all to life!

Doodles are easy, quick and

 a fun and funky way

to wind down and relax...

Plus you can use them for all sorts of other crafts,

from card making to scrap booking.

Try it.... once you start you can't stop,

and the ideas will flow and grow.

Happy creating.

Any questions?

please leave a comment :o) 

Painting Collage Doodles - Autumn Leaves

I don't know what got me thinking of Autumn,

when I love and look forward to Summer so much. 

Perhaps it was the colours in the scarf I was wearing

But then someone shared this on Facebook.

Which sent me to this Pinterest Page

and I was inspired to pick up those pens 

and water brush, and have a little play.

As I've been telling myself for a long time,

I really must get round to making an Art Journal,

I thought I would at least draw and paint 

some Doodle Leaves

to perhaps add to the front.

Then I got to thinking 

that I could, if I made a few of these

and cut them out....

make some sort of collage.

for the front.....

And here's the little pile I created...

I think they'll look fab on a book....

Then I took the design and added to it....

My art Journal seemed appropriate

and encouraging,

at least it's a start......

And of course.... ever the eternal caution filled Pixie,

I scanned and printed a couple out, just in case...

If I don't use them,

 I'm sure I can find someone else that will

And I'll probably add some of those loose leaves

to make the design even bigger

Proving that 3 into 1 does go! ... Confessions of a technophobe!

3 machines:

1 Prints,1 foils,and 1 cuts.

Sometimes I even make myself laugh! I wanted to write this blog post, about experimenting with the machines at the studio and show you how my mind works sometimes. 

It was only after I loaded the pictures in order, that I remembered this post about resisting change and technology  and how I do everything in my power to avoid it like the plague. In fact, I'm one of those that is the last to get anything, not the first... and usually this is because I HAVE to have it in order for things to still work.

After seeing that Blogger was changing to the 'NEW BLOGGER' in April and fearing I would be the last to leave 'Old Blogger' and wouldn't have a clue how to post, add pictures etc. I was extra brave a couple of weeks ago and bit the bullet! 

Then Google kept telling me to upgrade to Google Chrome.... again I resisted, until my hand was forced. 

After being told repeatedly that Facebook was going to change whether we like it or not, I clenched my bum cheeks as I installed, never to be able to return, to the NEW Facebook timeline.

Now all this above may not seem like a big deal, but as a self confessed technophobe who hates change and prefers the comfortable and stable these day, it was one hell of a big deal.

Which brings me to this..... I wanted to blog about my idea of bringing 3 machines I employ on minimum wage, to make one complete thing. These 3 machines are not really designed to work together but the more I did with them the more I wanted to push boundaries. Now that's something I DO like doing.....taking things to their ultimate capacity and beyond....just to see if the techie heads have got the specification sheets right, you understand. 

Anyway....it was then and only then I realised that actually I am more a techie headed geek than I thought I was. 

Are you with me so far? 

I have a laser printer, a foiler and a plotter (which cuts vinyl and card).... 3 machines, bought for very different reasons. Each I have used in their own right..... but what could I do if I worked all 3 together? I had an end product in mind.... I just had to work backwards and see if I could get it to work.

Here's what I did.....

First I used the plotter software adding my design....

. then printed it off......

Then I foiled it....

This is what the sheet looked like. 

Nothing special....it's how I print and foil all my Wedding Stationery

Then back to the plotter software,

in the hope that I had told the plotter where to cut around my design....

It didn't work....

Somehow the trace facility is still open to error 

and there has to be a bit of technical knowledge 

behind the thinking.....

A few buttons later and a quick test cut, showed that this time it did work! 

Here;s a close up so you can see that I have left a border around the image, 

I think cutting on the lines would have made for a long cutting time....

I'm fairly pleased with them and as usual can't resist folding the wings up!

Butterflies just don't look right with flattened wings.

Learning all this has made me feel like an expert......

But the best laugh????

I haven't the foggiest idea how I got it to work!

I guess I'm not as clever as I think I am!!! 

So... back to the drawing board :o)

5 Most Inspirational Creative Spirits I know.....

I've been meaning to do this post forever.....well for at least the last few months! I'm often asked where do I get my inspiration from. I'm inspired by nature, positive thinking, motivational quotes, philosophy, colours, oh and many, many other things. Most importantly I am inspired by other creative spirits and I'd like to share with you my top 5. I couldn't decide what order to put them in as they are all equally important to me...so I decided to put them in alphabetical order to avoid favouritism.

First off, I offer you the wonderful Joanne Sharpe of Whimspirations. Wild and free lettering, bright optimistic colours and a flair for mad doodling. Pop over and see her blog here....

http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com/

Then comes Joanne Fink and her wonderful Zenspirations. I first got to know about Joanne's work, when during my beginner years as a calligrapher and bought Calligraphy and Lettering Art Books from America. If you haven't managed to Doodle and don't know where to start, Joanne's Zenspirations will open up a world of simple, clean lined and funky drawings, which will amuse and encourage even the beginner in this art form. Joanne can be found here. http://www.zenspirations.com/

Then there's the beautiful Lori Vliegen from Elvie Studio. I love her blog and look forward to her 3 times a week posts which act as a quick fix for me. I love her lettering style and more subtle colours as she uses watercolour crayons and a simple waterbrush with a fine micro pen to create her magical little works of art. Lori's blog is here http://elviestudio.blogspot.com/

Ahhhh, the wonderful work of Martha Lever and her blog at Art Du Jour. Her work has developed and changed over the years and I love the enthusiasm that comes over in her art and blog posts.

Martha can be found on the following link at

http://marthalever.blogspot.com/

Finally we have Violette Clark from Violette’s Creative Juice. I've known of Violette for some 5 years now....ever since I started blogging. We share the same madness for colour, creativity and we seem to have not only read a lot of the same books, but go through similar events together. Sort of spiritual sisters across the pond. Her work is vibrant and there's not an ounce of self-consciousness to be seen. Her art is what it is. Every woman is a Goddess and every woman seems to go through the same rites of passage. Her work is optimistic and motivational and I would advise you to take a look at her amazing blog http://www.violette.ca/

Hopefully, you will see these artists work influence but not copied in my work. My Power Doodles were spurred on by these amazing women. In many ways they are all similar, working with positivity, but in other ways they are so different. I guess what I am looking for here is the common denominator that sparks something within my psyche and gets my Creative Spirit flying. Whatever it is, these 5 women do it for me and really float my boat.

I thank each and every one of them for their generosity in sharing their creativity in Cyberspace so that others can be motivated and inspired.

Blessings to you all xxx

Honest Blogger Award!

So What is The Honest Blogger Award?

Yesterday was 'One of THOSE days!'. I woke after yet another sleepless night and one where when I did sleep I had nightmares. Such terrible nightmares (thank you menopause!). Now I've never been prone to bad dreams, so this is all new to me....and to be perfectly honest they bother me in my waking life....A LOT!

Now, whether all this was the reason, whether it is the forthcoming winter, whether the full moon, planetary fights or just plain mental torture from a past relationship (long since gone) is the reason I have no idea and for once I really can't be bothered to psychoanalyse it either. I just want the dreams to stop and my life to stay on track.

I hate change....change of any sort disturbs me. Why I have no idea. Finally being in a stable relationship with a guy who is so balanced he should be a set of scales, certainly helps and he's great for being supportive and putting things into perspective.

Now, I wasn't going to blog about this. I really prefer to keep things to myself these days. Only those closest to me would know there was anything wrong. I wear my heart on my sleeve and have never been good at hiding things. I think this comes from the good parenting taught as a child that to be honest was the most important thing.

I say I wasn't going to blog about this, especially since I am trying to write articles to boost people up...I mean, what use is a mentor that can't help herself? But, I need to come clean on this and reading a few other peoples blogs it seems that they had a bad day to! And I got to thinking if they can be honest and come right out with it....then I owe it to them to do the same.....instead of commenting in the shadows and writing all sugar coated blog posts as if life is a dream and my life is just perfect.

I had no reason to feel down. I wanted to cry, I wanted to shut up the studio and never return...I mean, who wants this stuff anyway? I create my little heart out, I'd love to take an income from, what sometimes feels like my own madness....that's all. I don't expect to make a fortune and be able to retire in 3 years time. But sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder why I bother. Why was I not born 'normal' someone who could actually earn a living from a conventional job and be satisfied with my lot?

Thoughts of

whats the use?

Why bother?

Who cares?

Why am I doing this?

One thing is for sure....when I'm 'on one' or should that be 'In one', NOTHING will drag me away from it. I just have to ride the storm and see it through. Ironically, probably going to bed would probably solve the issue.....but at the studio this is not an option.

Today I feel ok!....Yes I'd like to put it down to the weather.....but the weather is the same..... bleak, dull, wet, dreary day it was yesterday....so why the change?

Ah yes....Menopause.....often called THE CHANGE....and as I said earlier...I HATE CHANGE!

So for now, I have spilled. All illusions of me being some sort of Guru have been dispelled.....but at least I have been honest, and that's why I created The Honest Blogger Award.

NOW... I am going to offer this award to the people who made me strong enough today to speak out loud and share my dark side....after all.....we are only human! And without the down days, how would we celebrate and enjoy the good. Without the rain, would we really enjoy the sunshine?

So for Kim Tillier at Witchmountain

and Thinking Too Hard.

I should also mention the wonderful Scarlelt Blue here for her most hilarious posts I offer you and all other honest bloggers out there

The Honest Blogger Award.

Please feel free to add this emblem to your blog or pass it on, in celebration of all those non sugar coated posts, that make us humans feel more human.

REMEMBER: Nothing last forever.....and tomorrow is another day xxx

Some hand made books

As most of you know, making books is a great passion of mine. Before I leave for the weekend I thought I would share a couple of the books I’ve made in the past….so here they are.


Above - The first page of a book before the calligraphy which will read 'Two hearts connected by one thread
The front page has a pastel heart wit little triangle windows cut out of the corners.


Page 2 of the same book has a cut out heart. Page 3 and 4 also have cut out hearts and a gold thread is sewn from page 1 to 4 making sense of the quotation.


And an Egg Box Book....Very simple and effective


A close up of the book

Squares of paper folded into 4 and then folded the opposite way to form a type of cup that are then glued back to back and concertina up when they are closed.

This post is from waaaaay back and I found it in my Drafts box when I was having a good clear out of the last 5 years of my posts.
I will, sometimes soon give full details and instructions on making thus book, Stay tuned and happy creating :o)

Believe in Yourself

And here's another little colour, affirmation doodle, to serve as a gentle reminder to:

Believe in Yourself

This is probably one of the hardest things to learn. I remember from way back, reading a book on Self Awareness, when I was told that it's far easier to remember the bad things people say about us than the good.

No wonder then, as adults the difficulty and struggle we have with this one. At times you may feel it's rather arrogant to 'Believe In Yourself'......But wait a moment....if you have no belief in yourself it's very unlikely anyone else will believe in you too.

Damaged self esteem can take years to repair. Starting is that hardest thing.....but once you do, you will find that it makes such a difference, you will never want to go back.

Start by making a list of all the things you are good at. However small you think that achievement is. Add to it daily....very soon you will build a list bigger than you ever thought possible.

Read this list on a daily basis. Repeat the list starting with the words:

I am good at.......
I am great at......
I am successful at......
I am brilliant at......

It will be hard at first....but once over the initial self doubt you will find that these daily affirmations will become more and more powerful and heal those long and deep ingrained beliefs.

REMEMBER TO: Stop judging yourself and being so harsh on your soul....treat it as a little child who lives within.
You would not speak to others the way you speak to that child within now would you? So make it your mission to STOP right now and pull yourself up when you catch yourself doing it.

You will exchange the negative destructive beliefs for positive creative beliefs and YOU WILL notice a difference.

Repeat after me (and shout this out loud)

I BELIEVE IN MYSELF!

Give this a try and let me know how you get on :o)

Follow your Heart!

I don't mind admitting it....I've got the bug! The bug for these little doodles!
Planning a workshop is never easy. You have to think from start to finish or rather how you will get the students from learning a basic technique and then running it through to a finished item.

People have different levels of experience and learn at different rates. The advanced students have to be held back, while the beginner students seem sometimes to be fast tracked..

It was while I was preparing this lettering workshop, that I got the bug for these colourful doodles.

For the advanced students my fear is that they will find it.....shall we say 'Kitsch' while I worry that the beginners will not grasp that the playful lettering is a different thing altogether than the formal lettering they are used to. Contemporary calligraphy can only come from a solid foundation and with experience of of formal lettering....no matter how easy it looks.

After, writing and rewritings my class plan, I've decided to 'Follow My Heart' and run with this idea. It will not suit everybody and it will appeal to some more than others. However, I have decided to take my own advice for once.

By following your heart you can be sure of one thing, you are being true to yourself, and from this comes enthusiasm which hopefully you can pass on to your students

So often we hold back through fear. When the head takes over and all sense or reason flies out of the window and the seeds of doubt creep in. Don't let your head rule your decision making. Just go wit the flow and 'Follow Your Heart', your most basic core instinct!

How will you 'Follow Your Heart' today?

Are you STUCK, before even starting?

I love my job as a Calligrapher...but sometimes need to escape from the hum drum 'formal' lettering styles that people expect you to come out with on their commission work.

These Pen Play Doodles have been great fun and a welcome pause to the Creative Spirit.

I was chatting to a friend the other day who is finding it terribly difficult to start her own business. I'm trying to help her as best I can.....and advice is freely given if not always taken.

One of the problems is getting started.

The actual producing of any work.

It's hard when you are juggling kids, jobs, housework, partner, pets.....We've all been there, done that, worn the T-shirt.

Oddly enough, this came up with another friend as she was starting her business, so I thought I would write a blog post about it here....

OK.....so you have all the gear (and more) to start creating.....but something ALWAYS gets in the way. My main advice here is to STOP RIGHT THERE.....hold your horses and BREATHE!

OK....so if this was a conventional job, you wouldn't be able to make excuses as to why you hadn't turned up for work. So, you need to treat it just like that....like a 'PROPER' job!

When you first start out there are lots of reasons and from now on we will call them EXCUSES - (I'll come to this one later) as to why you haven't done anything.

Sometimes, the problem is that you are looking at the BIGGER picture.....looking at having a shed load of stuff to sell, make, create and because you are looking at the bigger picture it becomes overwhelming and you never get round to even starting.

SO....make some ME time....go on.....write it on your calendar right now.....even if it's only time on an evening....and while you're at it.....pen in the following 4 weeks....same time and day.

RIGHT - From now on.....at these Me times you are BUSY....got that? Hell can freeze over, but you are BUSY!

It's better and more conceivable to schedule in one hour per night than try and cram in a full day once a week.....so think carefully before you commit yourself.

Once you have.....it's immovable.

The above little picture is for you.....print it out and hang it somewhere prominent....print and give them away....but PLEASE do NOT try to sell them!

....remind yourself daily that

YOU are WORTH IT!

Believe me, the hubby will be happier, the kids will be happier, the household chores will STILL get done )and quicker if the truth be known!) and the sense of achievement will be AMAZING!

REMEMBER: Take small deliberate steps....each one leads you closer to your goal!

What advice would you give to someone who is stuck before starting?