Step back in time

I had to find an old page of mine for a project I was doing so I pulled out my very first art journal and walked down memory lane looking through the pages. I thought I'd share a few of my favourites as a lot of you weren't following my blog way back then. :) These were all done about 4 years ago....

This was the very FIRST art journal page I ever did.... I had so much fun playing with chalk pastels and Gel medium that I was hooked!


I think I did this next page with oil pastels?? I can't remember it was so long ago now... lots of stamping and I love that masking tape.


Played with embossing and oil pastels... I think this was the page that I discovered that if you have oil pastels down and then take a heat tool to it, it bubbles. So much fun!


Before Jenna was born, I was not a "pink" person at all.... and I didn't really use brown either so this was a different colour scheme for me.... I loved how it turned out though.


When I started art journaling I always used photos on the pages... I guess it was because I came from scrapbooking and that is what I was used to. I think I'll have to start using a photo here and there again... it's a good way to use those "imperfect" photos.

Well, thanks for coming on this walk down memory lane with me. Tomorrow is my 10 year wedding anniversary so we are leaving the kids with Grandma and going out for a nice, long, leasurely lunch. Can't wait....

My art... in a store near you!

Are you in the Rockhampton area??

The lovely Teneil from TT's Scrap Shak has allowed me to have my canvases on display over the next few weeks. I was in there yesterday afternoon setting up my display and having a chat and a bit of a play.

TT's Scrap Shak can be found on Kent Street, near the corner of William - just across the road from the Masonic hall. I think it's kind of funny, secret men's business on one side of the road and secret women's business on the other! LOL

Here's a few pics....

One of the canvases has already sold - so you may have to get in quick! It's the perfect opportunity to have a close up look at them and see all the layers - I love that you can notice something different each time you have a look.

While I was there I picked up these "to die for" papers.... I can't wait to stick them on a canvas and cover them with ink. :)


The pics are of the same 3 papers... just the front and back. I'm such a sucker for text and ledger patterns!

Thanks for stopping by!

Journal page

Yay! I finally did a journal page after going crazy with canvases over the last few weeks. I bought this journal ages ago for a class I was doing at the time and had done a few doodles in it so I thought... why not make it my next art journal?? It is double the size of what I have worked in before so it will be a great challenge. :)


I have another smaller journal that I want to work in as well.... sometimes I feel like I have no idea what colour looks good with what so I'm going to make this one a "colour" journal. I want to just try out different colour combos and write down what they are so I can use it as a kind of reference if I'm feeling stuck.

I'm SO looking forward to get started in these journals and have a play!

Gotta love Bookfest!

Today is a day that I look forward to every year - Lifeline's Bookfest! Although the local one in Rockhampton doesn't have the big selection like they do in other towns, I must say this is the cheapest I have ever been to. I got all the books below for just $11! Such a bargain... I only got a few as I was on a time limit so I could get home as Noel had planned to go out for the day.

I also got a Wiggles book for Jenna but I couldn't get it off her to photograph it with the others... LOL.
Now I'm just waiting for the girls to go to sleep so I can have some quiet (and hopefully creative) time!

How could I forget??

With all my canvas catch ups I forgot the "big one".... It's the biggest canvas I've done so far at 45x45cm! It's also triple thickness so it's nice and chunky.


I must go rug up now... it's starting to get a bit chilly here! I really don't like winter....

Last of the canvas catch-up

What a weekend! I attended my first ever markets selling my paintings and it was a great success!! I managed to sell quite a few paintings and a lot of interest in custom orders... I also received such great positive feedback - a great present for Mothers Day I must say.

So now to catch up on my last 2 canvases I have created - they are both 15x15cm in size - I did the first background and wasn't really liking it so I went over it with some white paint to tone down the colours. The ink ended up coming through but I liked it a lot better. :)


I love the background to this one - I had been using a white paper bag to protect the table I was working on and ended up ripping off a bit of it and using it on the canvas underneath the patterned paper. I love how it kinds of melts into the background so you can barely see it.


These two girls didn't sell on the weekend, so I have listed prices for them and my other canvases on my Facebook page. If you would like to buy a painting just put "SOLD" in the comments section, or if you aren't on Facebook, leave me a comment on here and I will get back to you.

Now for some time to chill and play with my girls. :) Oh, and if you are bored and looking for something to do... make sure you check out Today's Creative Blog!

Canvas catch up - Part 2

Still sharing some more canvases....

I love this first one... I saw the paper I used for her skirt and just had to buy it, so this one was done all around her skirt.


I had the background for this pink one done for at least a year now and it was just sitting there looking at me. Glad it's finally got something more on it and is finished. I had a few issues with her clothes - I didn't like the first set so I went over it with something different. That's what I love about mixed media - if you don't like something you can just cover it up and keep going.


This one is a 10cm x 30cm canvas... another background that I've had done for a while and just had to finish off.


And last, but not least is a 15cm x 15cm canvas.


Thanks for stopping by!

Canvas catch up - Part 1

The last 2 weeks I have been busy, busy, busy doing lots of canvases and haven't had a chance to show them on here yet. So I thought rather than hit you with them all at once, I'd ease into it and do a couple at a time. (Although, if you really can't wait you can see them all on my Facebook page... make sure to like me.)

I was feeling a bit brave when I put the words on this one.... I had done something that I'd wanted to do for a long time and it felt good to have finally done something about it.



I wasn't so sure about this next one when I started it... it just seemed like too much blue. But once I added the flowers and splashed some ink around I liked it a lot more.


Thanks for stopping by... only two more days before I go to the markets and sell my art for the very first time... wish me luck!

May 123 Challenge

Have you checked out this months 123 Challenge yet?? It's a doozy I tell you!

The challenge is.. the colour "fire engine red", the word "fun" and a stitched title. Now I must admit, the stitched title one had me stressing... I can't do any fancy hand stitching, my sewing machine and I are "just friends" so I had no idea what I was going to do. Let's just call my sample "how to do a hand stitched title without actually stitching the title". ha ha

I ended up stitching lines around my title with the sewing machine and then hand stitched the tag onto the layout. Make sure you stop by the 123 Challenge blog to see the rest of the Creative teams creations where you will see actual stitched words.

Be back later with a stack more canvases that I've been creating. :)