Still day 4...

Thanks to East Coast Wi-fi I bring you...

Mark Knopfler, or at least my version of him. Drawn using a 4B pencil on plain white paper. He's not perfect, but the best I can manage on a train!!

It's great to have free Wi-fi and a power socket when you're travelling, however today it seems like the least they can do. I arrived at Edinburgh station ready to get on my train to London and about 15 minutes before it was due to leave - they cancelled it!!!

Although I had a non-transferrable advance ticket, I saw a very nice lady at the ticket office who validated my ticket for the next train. So an hour late but I'm on my way...

Creativity day 4...

...with a little help from Google and Safmat...

I have finally finished my Fairy Tales Art journal entry and it will be posted off today (though I know a little bit late - but it was late getting to me.)

My favourite part is actually my wicked witch page. I found the witch picture on Google Images and printed it on Safmat. If you've never used Safmat, buy some right now and try it - I love it. It basically is a transparent sticker material (Self adhesive printing film to be correct). It comes in A4 sheets which you can print onto with your inkjet or laser printer.

You can buy it here!

I laid down stickers spelling 'witch' then painted the background in green, with an almost dry brush effect at the edges. I then cut round my witch's face, peeled off the backing sheet and stuck her over the green which then showed through the sticker to give her a greenish complexion - lovely!

The right hand page is another picture from Google images, this time, the cover of a Brothers Grimm fairytale book which I stretched to fit the 8"x 8" page - again it's printed on Safmat and this time the brown cardstock shows through.

I'm off down to London today and will be taking some drawing to do on the train - if I'm able to I'll photograph and upload it tonight or tomorrow.

Creativity day 3 - housebuilding

I spent most of today sorting out my new classroom and unpacking my things, but this afternoon I had to get on with finishing my entry for the art journal CJ I'm in. The theme of the book is Fairy tales and I decided to make my entry a pop-up gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel.

This is the Karen Burniston house design that Jane Dean taught at the 'A Trip Down Memory Lane' retreat last November. I covered it in brown cardstock and embellished with lots of stickles and some stripy candy circles that I punched from Christmas paper.

I made my entry like a Brothers Grimm story book and when you open it the house pops up - will take a pic of this once the Stickles have completely dried!!

Managed to get all of my DT work sent off today, my favourite thing was actually an altered jar that I'm using to keep the Go-Cat in (Bengals can easily break into a box of Go-Cat!). Here are a couple of teaser pics of the jar... there'll be a proper pic on the ATDML shop July gallery.

Creativity day 2 - photo shoot

Well, today's creativity had to be to get my Design Team work done to send off to Mel at A Trip Down Memory Lane - but since I can't show you that I'll show you some of the photos I took instead. The papers for the DT work were from the Max and Whiskers collection by Basic Grey so I thought I'd take some up to the minute pics of the cats to scrap.

Here are some of my favourites...

Skye - aka Bagpuss...

Roxy - looking wistful...

Claudia - playful as usual...

Gracie - working it for the camera...

and last, but not least...

Freddie - looking very regal...

Look out for them in the ATDML July gallery!

Do something creative...day 1

So, for the first day of my 'Do something creative every day' I have created...

...aching muscles!!

...and a new front garden.

I don't have pictures of the proper 'before' when this little plot was full of dead broom bushes, grass and other weeds. But after a lot of digging over the weekend, here's how it looked this morning...

A lot more digging and 'riddling' out the stones and lumps of clay and this is how the garden looked by mid afternoon...

I mixed a bag of compost through the freshly seived soil and added some fertilizer before planting it with some Salvias, French and English lavenders and mixed heathers. I now just need to finish it with some chipped bark or cocoa shells.

I did also create a lot of mess in the process and so I ended up taking 10 bags of stones, gravel and clay to the local tip! Now just to clean up the soil trail I created through the house!

Do something creative everyday

A few years ago when I first discovered the shop 'Paper Source' on Boylston St in Boston, I bought this great little rubber stamp. Like a postmark but inside the circle it says 'Do something creative every day' (edit: see photo above!). I've decided this is going to be my personal goal for my summer holidays. Working full time I don't always get the opportunities for creativity that I'd like and so I want to make every day of the holidays count. Whether it be my design work, scrap-booking, drawing, art journalling, sewing, gardening, cooking, photography, play-writing, home-making, playing my saxophone or even just displays at school.

Some of the projects I want to do over the holidays include...

Making my own trousers (I've bought a pattern!)

Re-planting part of our front garden (already underway!)

Making felt jewellery (wool tops ordered)

Writing a play based on the Song of Hiawatha

Making new curtains for our bedroom

Making 26 'Memories of P7' books ready for my class in the year ahead

Adding to my musician sketches (I'm thinking Mark Knopfler to start with)

Making a holiday scrapbook ready for our Nile Cruise in October

Finish my paper bag book

Start to make things with mum for the Christmas fayre in November

But before I can do all that I have my new classroom to sort & decorate - I'll try to take pictures along the way! That's what I'm off to do this morning

Of course alongside this goal is the challenge to try and blog abut everything I do.

I see you quivering with antici.........pation!

At having to wait for my next blog post?... maybe - I know it's taken a while, but now I've finished making my 25 individual little scrapbooks for the children in my class and I'm on holiday I may be able to post a little more often (and actually have some sort of arty content).

No, today's post is a late update on my birthday present progress. June was 'The Rocky Horror Show' at Edinburgh Playhouse. Where else would I have the following conversation with my husband?...

Him: Jane, look at that man just wearing gold hotpants!

Me: Where?!?

Him: Behind the man with the basque and the beard!

Of course that was just the audience he was talking about and although we are not Rocky Horror virgins we did not dress up (both having come straight from work). The audience may have been good, but the cast were outstanding. For me usually nobody can compare to Tim Curry as Frank-en-furter but David Bedella was amazing. In fact the whole cast were excellent - and the staging was very well thought out and witty - I especially liked Brad and Janet's car.

We sang along, we danced the Time Warp and enjoyed the spectacle of Rocky in his leopard print pants! All in all a great evening and I have to give it a 10/10!

Janet: I don't like men with too many muscles.

Frank: I didn't make him for you!