But wait, there's more. So much can be achieved with a printer, felt tips and washi tape. (Especially washi tape). A few months out on our agreed deadline, but in this bird I have found my familiar...

What  ever will be our next adventure?

Better late than never. I am sure that is what all the greats say. Did Dickens reach all of his publishing deadlines? Did Pollock always have the time to throw paint?

Here is my contribution to the world of positive affirmations:


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Words And Frame - Geometry Edition

 Here is the second of my Word and Frame projects. I've really been digging on geometric patterns recently. (I blame Creepy and his gorgeous art.) So, I knew I wanted to mess about with some patterns. I put on some background tv (Ah, Once Upon A Time - how I secretly adore your trashy fabulousness) and settled in for a few hours of zen-like painting. I found this part of the project very very soothing and tranquil, almost meditative.

Once my pattern was complete I printed out my phrase and popped it onto my trusty lightbox to trace onto my painting with a pencil. (Sometimes my desire to own every single shiny art thing pays off. Yay lightbox!)

Did I mention the ferocious heat? I wasn't going to step outside for any.thing and this is where I encountered a problem. All of my scalpels were at work. And the one I borrowed from my boy was blunt. So I used a box cutter to cut out the letters. Arg! This was as frustrating and tedious as you think. But all things considered, I'm pretty happy with how the letters look.

Time for moar glitters! I did a quick background wash of gold acrylic. When that was dry, bam! All of the glitters were sprinkled onto the paper. (Yep, getting in touch with my five year old self. Shiny shiny shiny!)

I had a cheap ikea box frame kicking about, and this is the final result.

See that awesome glitter stripe on the frame? What you see there is a classic "Sam does not plan anything and sometimes things get out of control as a consequence" moment. It started as an elegant pattern painted with gold paint, extending the geometric pattern onto the frame. I didn't like it. So i added some glitter. I didn't like it. So I added MOAR GLITTER and decided to call it done.

I still have trays of glitter kicking around the studio, and as is to be expected there is glitter everywhere. Like a naughty weasel, that glitter will not be contained. But cleaning up is for another day.

Words and Frame - Sparkle edition

First up, choosing words is HARD you guys. I am a writer and you would think that would make things easier, but nope. How do you choose just-one-quote when all of the words are filled with FEELINGS and MEANINGS. So I cheated, and chose two quotes, both of which reflect the work I want to do in my studio this year. With my words chosen I had a celebratory cup of green-minty tea and a stack of gingernut biscuits. 

And then I spent the next few hours creating...

This was my original idea - buy an old painting and stick some words on it. But it has been so face-meltingly hot here that I decided to find my picture on the internet instead of going op shopping. After some cruisy searching I found Albert Bierstadt's lush landscapes. They were just what I wanted, old-school yet unfamiliar. (I didn't want the jolt of recognizing a familiar artist.) 

 Landscape Painting found, I did a wee little bit of photoshop cheatery laying out my text. Then I printed that bad boy out and got stuck into some soothing painting with a fine brush and some gold paint.

(Sidenote: At some point in the future you may just see me in an episode of Hoarders. I thought the paint I was using smelled a bit off and tried to remember when I had bought it... turns out it was well over 15 YEARS AGO - when I was in university. Damn well time to clear out the paints basket methinks.)

And then I put some glitter on it.  Because I deserve some sparkle in my life goddammit!

I prettied up my cheap ikea frame by painting on some spots using the same Jo Sonja gold paint I'd used for my text.

And ta-da, Words In A Frame! In the next installment I let my glitter freak flag truly fly.

Cardigans for All

Oh hello gentle reader. Grab a cup of tea and snuggle into your favourite cardigan and join us as we celebrate the awesomeness of girly friendship here at The Cardi Club. We are the very best of friends separated by vast oceans, one girl in the UK and one girl in the Australias, dedicated to keeping our friendship together through cups of tea via video calls, celebrating our mutual love of shiny sparkly things, and sharing the genuine joy and comfort that only best friends can give each other.

This year Cha and I are both going to try and slow down a bit - life has gotten way too hectic recently. I want to enjoy making things again. I want to make the most of all the Good Times. And dammit, I want to set myself free from this enormous debt I have carved out for myself through buying ALL OF THE THINGS. Basically, I want to simplify - Hallelujah! *waves arms in the air*

So, as a part of that we will be giving ourselves time and permission to try out some Making. Here is the very first of our Two Word Craft Challenges. The mission this month is to find a quote and stick it in a frame using whatever crafty means necessary. I was originally inspired by a project from A Beautiful Mess. Elsie used a painting she had scored at an Op Shop and painted song lyrics over the top. It looked gorgeous and the idea stuck around in the back of my head for ages, it would pop up every time I pinned a new quote to my big fat pinterest collection.

See you when the glitter settles...

I dream in glitter

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