Travelling

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“Believe you can, and you are half way there” Theodore Roosevelt

Will be travelling for the next few weeks and checking in from all over. For now I am sharing a photo for Sky Watch Friday fans, click the link to see what other bloggers have found in their view of the sky.  Am working on some cool new creations for CHA galleries that I can’t wait to share soon.  

Always exciting to be asked to create for a manufacturer's gallery. That is my canvas in the middle, bright yellows and reds, maple leaves and autumn theme with lots of 7 Gypsies accents.

And and art journal for the road trip using Imaginarium chipboard.

The Best Day

“Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.” Ralf Waldo Emerson

Click to enlarge the view from Gurnet Point Duxbury Beach

Isn’t that a lovely thought to start a day, and I love the view up this very long road on the beach, some days it is foggy and overcast and some days it is so bright you can almost see to the earth curving over the horizon.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what other bloggers have found in their own patch of the sky.

For me the best day is any day I get to follow my dreams and play with colour.

Making the best

"Things turn out for the best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out."Art Linkletter

click to enlarge a pretty morning walk around Gurnet Lighthouse

Click the link for Sky Watch Friday to see what hundreds of bloggers from all over have found in their sky to share with us this week.

Adding a link to my post for Tattered Angels using Prima products and lots of glimmering colours and fabulous news about a Bella layout challenge with a yummy prize pack linked here.

Optimism

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic and we’ll change the world."  Jack Layton  

 

A great quote from a Canadian politician who beleived we all have the power to make a difference.

Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what bloggers from all over the world have found in their sky to share this week. Updated to confirm the bird is a Cormorant or yes in deed a shag on a rock.

Adding a link to our post on the Tattered Angels site with lots of tutorials about colour and paint techniques.  Another favorite company is Ruby Rock-It by a great little Aussie company Fynmark.

They will have a design team call in the USA shortly and well worth having a look at, there is a fair bit of me in both their galleries. One of my favorite design teams is the gang at Helmar Adhesives, lots of fun and creative ideas on what you can do with glue. This is my contribution to their sketch challenge for September.

 

Making Wishes Come True

"We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing."  Louisa May Alcott

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Happy Sky Watch Friday everyone. This picture is from Chicago airport full of people scurrying off to someplace at the end of the hall is a great big metal globe that reminded me how small the world is some days. For the last few weeks I have been mostly viewing the sky from inside airports and buildings. Click the link to see what bloggers from all over have found in their skies this week.

Added a tutorial to the Helmar site this week on making shabby chic flowers to quick and easy way. And speaking of shabby chic, I was lucky enough to spend some time with Melissa Frances at the CHA in Chicago. It was really nice to see her looking well and telling the story behind her new range of papers called 5th Avenue. Loving these pretty shades and can't wait till they ship down under to Australia.

Beauty and Grace

"Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will sense them. The least we can do is try to be there." Annie Dillard

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And click the link to Sky Watch Friday where bloggers from all over share in the fun of showing the many moods of the sky from their part of the globe. A card from the Tattered Angels collection using their new paint systems and a canvas using a resist techiques. 

 

Believe to achieve

"You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve."  Mary Kay Ash

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Sharing a view of the horizon and evening sky complete with pretty colors. For our friends of Sky Watch Friday where 100s of bloggers from all over come together to celebrate the simple joy of appreciating the show nature puts on for us for free across the skies.

Adding a link to my Helmar post packed with lots of pretty pages using all kinds of adhesives in different ways.

And another to our Tattered Angels post this month with a theme of don't forget to write. 

 

Finding Beauty

'If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere.' Vincent van Gogh

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Spied a spot of colour on the horizon during my early morning commute that begged me to stop and enjoy the light show.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what bloggers from all over have found in their sky to share this week.

Adding a link to my Tattered Angels post full of all kinds of bright and cheerful colours. 

Day in day out

“It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.” Jenny Craig

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Bit of an usual choice for a quote from me but I liked the message. Another Friday and yet another sky, am enjoying the weekly hunt for something new in our skies to stop and enjoy and share with fans of Sky Watch Friday. A moody and changeable sky, with something interesting in the late afternoon light.
That time of year when we need so many cards for many extra special occassions.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Creative Block, stop by for a chat and say hello.

Hopes

"Hope is the thing with feathers....that perches in the soul" Emily Dickinson

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A quiet morning sunrise at the marina is always a pleasure to see, you never know what the day might bring.

Linking to Sky Watch Friday with all the wonderful views other bloggers have the share and Sarah’s Good Life Wednesday for celebrating the simple joys in life.

A thank you card for Candy Rosenberg for helping us research an article on the topic of Steampunk published in this month’s edition of Scrapbook Ideas magazine.

Every day moments

"Every day is my best day; this is my life. I am not going to have this moment again." Bernie Siegel

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Board riders waiting for the perfect moment in the early morning surf is an every day occurrence in our part of the world. That is the Gold Coast city sky line on the far horizon.  Click the link to Sky Watch Friday to see what other 100s of bloggers from all over have found  to share with us this week.

Playing with some new color combinations on a tropical themed project with Tattered Angels paints, click the link to see the rest of my post for this month's team challenge. What do you think of hot pink fishes?

Fabulous colours in this project by Wendy Senger for the Color Connections workshop at the end of May in sunny California. Wendy has a little comp going for a free ticket to what looks like a wildly colourful creative day.

And another give away link for a She Art Workshop

Boards, Moods and Bulletins

This is the story of a little bulletin board that grew. Creative folks like to call our boards ‘mood boards’ because that is where you stick bits and pieces of inspiration until the mood strikes up an idea.

Living by the bay it was a natural that our board would take on a coastal mood.  As a bric-a-brac collector it seemed to just grow and grow.

Natural textures are the theme for a real beach worn style.  What do you think of a little faux panelling? Big lengths of wood are too heavy to mount on the wall and did a bit of creative painting instead.

Working on faux leather masking tape got me to thinking, hmm with the right colours this could almost look like strips of wood. You can read more about my faux leather on Gaal Creative. 

And it is one of the few times when the cheapest tape gives the best result. I used Sello brand from the local dollar store, the trick is to find the lightest weight tape but in a wide width of 2 or 3 inches or 6cm+.

It was really easy too. Simply cut cardboard to fit the inside of the frame and run the masking tape in long lengths up and down your ‘board’. It is ok if the tape is not completely flat or you get small wrinkles in the tape, this adds to the texture and authentic feel. Leave a little gap .5 cm or 1/8inch between the tape to create groves and a bead board effect.

Paint the grove between the tape with a glaze paint to create a resist, and you know I recommend Tattered Angels Sugar Cane or Cowboy. Before cleaning your brush, wipe it against the raised wrinkles and a couple of light brush strokes up the panel to add texture. When the dries it is time to paint your beadboard.

Using multiple colours will help build up your faux wood effect. Randomly mist splashes of Yellow Daisy in places and before that can dry, wipe down the length of your panels letting the colour catch on raised edges.

A broad sponge brush with a thin light coat of white or cream paint is next. Depending on the level of moisture in your paint and thinness of the tape you may already see bubbles lifting. Let that dry and add a second coat of paint. You will see bits of the darker glaze peeking through in the grove and variations of colour in the wood panels that give you a presto bingo there you go – faux wood panelling.

The Tattered Angels design team is celebrating this month with a peek into our craft rooms follow the link to see what other creative projects are on show.  Linked to Sarah's BC Good Life Wednesdays and Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday.

Thank you Maya for featuring my mood board on Completely Coastal.