Phew! I have been on holiday for two weeks with the kids and barely managed to survive, let alone craft, make art or blog.
Still, they had a whale of a time, and I managed to snap a few pictures. The sea colours were dazzling (much better than in my images) and I got some great inspiration. Now if only I had the time to make something with them…
PS: Major, positive upheaval about to take place in my life. More will follow soon…
OK ladies (I don’t mean to offend gentlemen, it’s just that the summer giveaway entrants were only women). Thanks to the useful Random.org, we have the six winners.
Lindas rule in the printable collage sheet category: one goes to Linda, one to Linda B, and the third to Nina, who surprisingly made it into the group even though she is not called Linda.
Peggy and Betty land the two blog banners.
And the background paper goes to Janine.
Congratulations everyone! I will email you later today with further details on your prizes.
And for everyone, here is a little ATC background to download and print. Just click on this ATC background link for the file in actual ATC size at 300 dpi settings (bigger than the one shown below).
Wow, what can I say? I am overwhelmed by your kindness. Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and inspiration. I have decided I am going to make a summer journal to start with, before tackling a more ambitious altered book project.
However, for a bit of instant gratification, I have decided to put together another background paper. It’s my vision of a Victorian summer somewhere in the north, where the sea is somewhat choppy and chilly even when the weather is warm and flowers bloom. What do you think?
And don’t forget that I” be announcing the giveaway winner on Friday!
Phew, putting together this giveaway took me a lot longer than I though. life kept interfering. But finally, finally it is ready, and I can officially launch my artsy summer (with just five days’ delay over the start of the season).
So my plan for the next two months is to fill up my days with art in order to make the heat and seaside more bearable. And the plan for this giveaway is for you to leave a comment below telling me what artsy project you are hoping to work on this summer—I am looking for things to do, and I am sure your comments will inspire me.
A week from today, on Friday 3 July, I will pick the winners, courtesy of Random.org. And the prizes are…
1. printable collaged paper for one winner
2. blog banners for two winners (actual size is bigger than the one shown below)
3. printable collage sheet for three winners
So if you like what you are seeing, please leave a comment below and you may win it. Best of luck!
After the collage for my son’s teacher, I managed to complete one for the classroom assistant. I must admit I liked the first one better, but school is about to finish and I was running out of time. Nothing like a looming deadline to make you accept your work for what it is!
Phew, what a week this has been. So much to do, so little time. Lots of work, lots of children to take care of, travelling, and the odd little extra thrown in.I am glad I survived it. Anyway, I did manage to squeeze in some collageing—I made a little end of the year present for my son’s teacher. I meant it as a thank you for doing so much for Niccolo, and put a picture of him in the collage so she would remember who gave it to her.
I must admit I worried that she may not want to gaze at my son’s face after having had him in class all year…but she seemed to like it!
I have just finished making this for a friend of my son’s who is turning five today and is hugely into princesses. I am dashing off to the birthday party now…Hope she likes it!
Back of collaged card to the left, front to the right
OK, I clearly needed to get that collage out of my system, because after I finished it, I managed to work happily on the background paper. The giveaway package is not complete yet, but I am posting a sneak preview of a corner of the background paper to whet your appetite.
I had one of those days today. Those when, no matter what you set out to do, fate (or your brain) have decreed you’ll be doing something else. I wanted to finish the summer giveaway package and set out to create a downloadable background paper. So I switched on Photoshop, got out my selection of imagery and paintings, started selecting this, feathering that…but the background paper kept morphing itself into a digital collage.
I restarted it four times, and every time, a pesky image of a sailing boat and another of Victorian children playing in the sea kept making their way into my artwork and sabotaging it. Because once they got in, the background paper no longer worked as such—the images were too big and too well matched to break them up.
In the end, I gave in to the pull of the images. So I have no giveaway ready for you, but I do have a sea-themed digital collage.
And the background paper? Well, if my brain co-operates, it will be ready tomorrow!
Anyone who has ever talked to me for more than five minutes knows I detest summer. The oppressive heat, the hundreds mosquitoes, the senseless boredom of beach life are all things I could happily do without. It’s funny because I really love autumn and winter, and rather like spring, but I do have a difficult relationship with summer. Maybe it’s because I was a midwinter baby?
Anyway, every year I try to come up with projects—both of the artistic and the ‘having fun with children’ kind—that will make the hot season more bearable for me. To kickstart the whole thing in style, I am putting together a little giveaway to celebrate the new season (and secretly psyche myself into liking it).
It will be up early next week, but meanwhile, here is a little ephemera taster….
