September 30, 2016

Art and Recycling

Normally school holidays are a time when I can get in and do some craft projects that I just don't have time for during the school term, but these holidays I have mostly been working ... and when I wasn't working there were other claims on my attention and time.

However I have managed to do a couple of arty things that have been planned for a while and do something practical, while recycling at the same time.

First up was a project I have been planning for a while. About this time last year I got very interested in Zentangle. It's a form of art involving repeated patterns. It gave me a name for the doodling I have been doing since I was a child. I found it to be very restful (some people think of it as a form of meditation). In a shop I picked up one of those plain black letters that are rather popular for home decorating at the moment. I wanted to personalise it and make it less boring, so I got out my sketch book, traced it and then started looking for some Zentangle patterns to use on it.

This is the result:

It now hangs proudly on my wall.
I used a white Gelly Roll pen. And the tangle patterns are Jacki and Pixie both originally by Sandy Steen Bartholomew. I slightly modified my original idea, but I love the finished result.

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Yes, I'm also interesting in colouring in, and this next piece of art is just that. I'm not a recent colouring enthusiast - I've been doing it for years.
If you haven't heard of Lorien Atwood you should totally check out her work. She has combined art work with Bible verses to give you something to really think about while you colour.
She has a couple of colouring books available and I have done one from her second book 'Reflections'.

My word for this year is 'Trust', so this colouring verse was perfect. It, too, is now gracing my wall as a daily reminder to trust God and to pray.


I used Gelly Roll Stardust pens and I really like the glittery result. Even when the light doesn't make it sparkle this still looks amazing.

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Finally, I have been in need for somewhere to store notepads, sticky notes and homemade stickers that is easily accessible. I hadn't found anything in the shop that really fit what I needed and most things around the house were just too flimsy.
We have been doing a little bit of spring cleaning - particularly sorting out plastic containers that always seem to multiply. Mum found an old icecream container, so today I made it look a whole lot better, I covered it with scrapbooking paper, then contacted the whole thing to make it last longer.


I'm really happy with the way it looks and it sits ready on my desk for me to grab what I need without needing to rummage around in a difficult to get to spot.

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There is just one more project that I'm working on, but I can't talk about it at the moment, so you'll just have to keep watching and waiting for that one to pop up in your feed!!

July 25, 2016

A Slow Year for Craft

Hello everyone! You must be wondering if I've dropped off the face of the earth. Well, I haven't ... but it's been a slow year for craft so far. Even the end of last year was pretty slow, although I have been trying something new - Zentangle. I haven't shared any of my tangles outside the family yet, but then I'm just learning.

In January I got crafty for Kids Camp. I made about 20 little treasure chests. Some were table decorations for our banquet night, while others were for the girls in my cabin.
I also drew a big treasure map as a wall hanging (sorry, no photo of that one). I'm really proud of this one.

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Cards have been few and far between.



I'm sure there were a couple of others, but I haven't got photos of them. I'll be doing another one within the next week.

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The best news is that I have actually finished my crochet rug/blanket. It was May when I finished so it took me 6 winters to finish it. I haven't got photos of it either. I'm loving snuggling up under it on these cold winter nights. The navy, maroon and purple colours are great. And I love the shell edging - it was the perfect finish.

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I'm having a break from large cross stitch projects at the moment. I do have a couple of very small cross stitch projects that are on the go - mostly so that I'll have something to do while waiting for family members while they are in appointments.