Going AWOL

for the next 10 days as my husband and I (blimey sound like the queen!) are heading to ICELAND tomorrow.

 My husband has wanted to go there for as long as I've known him so it's fulfilling an ambition and we are both very excited!

Will see you when we get back.....no doubt will bore you with lots of pics!

Quick start

to a journal page!

 I made this page in my pairs swap partners journal......it was REALLY quick to do but I liked the way it came out so thought I'd share it here in more detail.

First step.....swipe a couple different colours of ink pad across the page....

 use the edge of a black ink pad to add random lines.......

 ....use a quote stamp to stamp repeatedly in lines not worrying if the complete words come out or that they overlap........

 add some torn bits of washi tape following the lines again........add stickers and draw circles around them.......

.....post to swap partner and wait to see what she adds.....

repeat in own journal cos I like it!

Do you ever wish

that you had made something you hadn't??

 Well, I wished I had made this when I saw this FABULOUS page in my pair swap journal when it dropped through my letterbox a few days ago!

I LOVE THIS JABBERWOCKY PAGE!.....thanks Sam:)

 Apart from the Jabberwocky page Sam created some other fab pages......if you want to see them click here to go to the Collabor-art page.

So, onto the pages I made in Sams journal this time round .......plenty of scope to add more to these pages

 I added the orange dots and stamped swirls to this page that Sam started..................

 the colour and the cow head and the figures around the edges of this page........

 and finally I started these pages for Sam to add to..........................

Abandoned he-art

A while ago Michael deMeng started a Facebook group called

ART ABANDONMENT

.....here is what he says about it:

 Art Abandonment is a group designed to encourage random acts of art, left in various locations around the globe. The idea is that folks can make something and leave it for a lucky unsuspecting person to find. Artists can then post locations and photos of abandoned goodies…and finders can let everyone know that they are the lucky finder! O' sweet abandon!

So leave some art. Leave a contact email for the finder…and if you get notified share the message with this group. If you prefer you can use the contact email: i.found.artwork@gmail.com we'll be checking it often and share the results. 

It's an open group so anyone can join in!

 

So, yesterday I spent a very lovely afternoon/evening with my friend PALMA REA who is visiting the UK from Italy............after I dropped her off in Chester I found a piece of abandoned art IN MY CAR! 

How cool is that??

Inside the box was this BEAUTIFUL clay piece

 I absolutely LOVE it..............thank you so much Palma.....I'll treasure it:)

Eye eye

 I bought this fun eyeball stamp recently (from The Stamp Attic) and was playing around with it today for something else and suddenly thought.......it looks like an owl!

 So in my increasingly small work space......must put some stuff away...... I made an eyeball owl journal page!

 Like this ledger stencil......makes it look like you worked on an old ledger page:)

Another tag

 This tag was started while I was down at Wendys, I decided to finish it tonight

 it's got a giant press stud......buttons.......nails......

  zip......lace......bottle cap......

....... staples.....................

 skull charm.....wings......hooks and eyes.......paper doily......

Dragon tag

 Last week I watched Anna Dabrowska on Prima Live on UStream

she was making  tags in her own unique style.

I am staying with my friend Wendy who owns The Stamp Attic ....click the link to go see Wendys version......at the min and today we decided to have a play with the techniques and ideas we saw on the video.

 Now, the tags that Anna made featured quite a lot of product.....which is fair enough as it was a promotion for Prima........but that is not my thing, she also used flowers which again are not really my thing (in art work anyway....I LOVE real ones) as there are way too many around......so I decided to do "my" thing!

 Rooting about in my junk box I found this dragon charm and several Chinese coins so that set the theme for my tag! I also used some cogs cut from some scrap corrugated card, some press studs, a rusty heart, hair clips and a customs label rescued from the bin!

 The splats are Distress Stains......I might even buy one now:)

 Annas colouring method is interesting.....she adds everything and then sprays on the colour.....I find that a bit scary but interesting!

Incurably curious

that's what I think I am! 

Yesterday I headed to London and the first stop was just across the road from Euston Station (very handily)

THE WELCOME COLLECTION 

.......a free destination for the incurably curious!

A friend on Facebook said shethought I was intrigued with the macabre and the gruesome......I agree and I took that as a compliment:) 

So the MEDICINE MAN collection was right up my street!

Here a few pieces from the collection......some of the pics are not so good as they were taken through glass but you get the idea:)

 Birth forceps through the ages.......makes me squirm and brings back memories:)

 A scolds bridle......I think I might have spent a lot of time wearing one of these!

 A Japanese papier mache acupuncture figure

 Nail figure from The Congo....used to fix oaths and heal the sick.....like him:)

 Chastity belt.....apparently it was once lined with velvet.....gee thanks!

 Anti-masturbation rings......enough said!

 Japanese sex aids!

 Charles Darwins walking stick.....a man after my own heart!

And finally.....

a Chinese doctors shop sign with strings of human teeth hanging underneath!