Noisy night!!!

Whew!!! what a noisy class the girls were tonight....but they achieved a whole lot so that's OK. First they painted the canvases that they had gessoed last week and while they were drying they made a Christmas card and after a short break for juice and ginger biccies they decorated their canvases. Not bad for their age I reckon.
Emily 6 Lauren 7 and Dayana 8.



Beautiful work girls and equally on a par with the canvases the older girls made last week.

and on Saturday morning Blaithin finished her canvas and a Christmas card.



Busy, busy, busy...so am now off to have some dinner and collapse on the sofa and watch TV. No idea what's on but who cares.

Bye for now
Sue

Why is it called a brayer anyway???

Does anybody know why a plain rubber rolloer is called a brayer??



Ruth asked could we use a brayer in today's class so...
"Today Matthew, I am going to be Barbara Grey"

...and so complete with laughter and inky mistakes I showed them how to make reflections and hills and use masking and they had fun trying all these techniques.



Ruth


Mu


Margaret


Thanks, Barbara for your wonderful inspiration. Today's class was easy peasy for me and the ladies all enjoyed it so what more could you ask? Happiness guaranteed.

Bye for now
Sue

I haven't been able to get into blogger for a few days so in true Sod's Law style I get Colin in to watch me log in ...and hey presto ...straight in!!! gggrrrr!!!

So, in reverse order.....

...tonight the girls completed the canvases they started last week. I forgot to take a close-up photo of mine but I will do so tomorrow.



Yaa was ill last week so I gessoed a canvas for her - her Dad and Alice's are sharing a joke while waiting for the girls to finish...delayed slightly while waiting for paint and glitter to dry...



Here they are working diligently...



...earlier today, as I do on the 25th of every month from June to November, I held a Christmas card making class...scaaary - this is the last one this year!! only 30 more sleeps till Santa comes!!

Amidst much merriment and singing of carols Q, Monica and Ruth made two cards, a black and white Crafty Individuals one and a red and green Artistic Stamper/Blonde Moments one.





so that's today, now on to yesterday...and the workmen - yes they are still outside but we now have two lots!! We are now on week 13 of the road improvements lot( yes, the one that the chief told me two weeks more or less on the day they started!! -methinks he meant two weeks before Christmas!!ha!ha!

and then there are the lot painting the outside of the building - well after they have sand blasted (with water) the loose paint off. This photo was taken at 10am - luckily only Erica was coming to class with Christine now in the UK for a while and Emma moving house....





so with a cushion over her head Erica dodged the splashes...and happily made a beautiful pop out card....



...and my loyal customers weren't going to let a drop of water!!!!! stop them from coming in - so a Universal "YooHoo!" got the man with the hose on the crane to stop the water while they made a dash for the door...

Tuesday evening saw me on the sofa with my journal doodling once more...




and then Monday the younger girls started their canvases but I forgot to take photos - I will take them when they are finished next Monday...

Over the weekend Sunday was designated a "don't think about the shop" day - Colin insists on this every once in a while - difficult I know but sensible I have to agree - and as I have been a fan of Teesha Moore for quite a while I opened my other blank moleskine journal and decided to try some journalling in Teesha style so I painted a dozen or so pages and stuck in some images and here are a couple of pages....





Well I'm glad you managed to stick with me to the end - I hope you thought it was worthwhile.

Heavy day today so I am going to get a mug of hot choccy and head for bed.

Bye for now
Sue

The eagle has landed...

This morning the chat was all about medical things until newbie Ruth excused herself for air (it had got a bit gruesome and technical by this stage - sorry Ruth) and then the ladies settled dowm amidst much laughter to make Christmas cards...thanks Bernard for taking the photo...

Margaret, Q, me, Ruth, Mu



...and then this afternoon I doodled a bit...




...and then doodled a bit more...



...and then I had a shower and washed my hair (one of the girls has nits so I have to treat my hair - yuk!! sorry think its called head lice now! but still yuk!! and Colin arrived about 9o'clock. He is so glad to be back and I am equally glad he's home. We have just got back from a quick meal on the Arenal - and walked Bailey - a chance to catch up on things...and now I am off to bed.

Bye for now
Sue

ps.. yesterday morning I had some fun with splatting dabbers in my moleskine journal....



..it is usually so quiet on a Thursday but there's an exception to every rule and this was one of them so this was all I managed to get done. It still needs finishing but that will have to wait for another day.

Yes!!!

Colin just phoned to say our daughter Victoria has booked him and Mum on a flight to Alicante tomorrow afternoon so they will be home tomorrow night - yes!!! one very happy bunny indeed.

Bye for now
Sue

my 15 minute challenge

If you read about any Zentangle type doodles you will find most say a time limit of 15 minutes - I thought this was impossible and so today I set myself a challenge. I pencilled in the shapes of 3 atc's in my journal and gave myself exactly 15 minutes to complete each one. I finished one just on time and went on to do the other two in 15 minutes too. I am amazed that it was possible. They are nowhere near as detailed as my others or as large (others are 8 x 5 inches) but they are OK. They all started off with a thick line (the tangle) going from top to bottom with a loop part way down and a curved line from one side to the other but they have all finished up very differently. (Kirsti you could try this idea. Don't fret what they look like - just stop after 15 minutes and see how far you have got in the time. You will see that you get faster and more confident with each doodle.)

After leaving the shop I had a wonderful catch-up coffee with two of my girlfriends - Lorraine and Chrissie - which lasted for just under 3 hours!!! yes, we met before two and when we left it was quarter to five.....

...so I went straight back to the shop to get ready for tonight's class.
The girls were just great with newbie Maddie settling right in. We have started on a canvas as I thought it would make a nice Christmas present but when I showed the girls the sample they seemed to think they wouldn't want to part with it once they had made it. We gessoed - see Alice's hands - Alcohol inked, stamped and dabbered and laughed loads.



Yaa has the flu and we send you big hugs and hope you are feeling better very soon.

Right, I am having an early night - no more doodling or it will be another after midnight and my body just can't take the punishment of all these late nights any more

so Bye for now
Sue

ps Kirsti, if you email me on sue.artyfacts@hotmail.com I will tell you where to look.

doodling taken to a new level!!!

...no not these.....

Yesterday morning I did zentangle type doodles in class. I love how different my doodles are all turning out.



I got home and did another one...



went to see the chiropractor, came home and fell asleep - happened after last session too...

On Monday, Louisa and Dayana finished their journals and Lauren, who has previously finished her journal decorated a dolphin...









...and when I said doodling taken to a new level... just take a look at these from an e-mail sent to me entitled " Why they can't find a job"






...hope they went out in clean underwear in case they get knocked over by a bus!!!!!

Bye for now
Sue

I love doodling...

After a very frustrating start to the day when I couldn't get my new i-pod to load any tunes - I even had Tanya and Bart on the phone and computer trying - I gave up and took myself off to the seafront with a journal and a couple of Pitt pens and had a relaxing lunch while people watching and drawing. I have had my first go at drawing a new craze called zentangles. It's just a very relaxing way of doodling, something I have always done but in a more undisciplined fashion.

This is my first and was done in the bar - the waitress kept popping over and a girl of about 12 kept peeking too. Blank page to finish 2 hours less lunch - see if you can spot the 5 words on there...



This next one was done when I got home thoroughly addicted...



These last two were random lines and random patterns but this third one is a little bit different in that it has a theme of a flower garden. I don't know if you are supposed to do this - but I just did!!!



If you look up zentangle on Google it says you should give yourself 15 minutes....my three took between 9 and 10 hours to complete...maybe I'll get faster with practice!!...but in fairness they are very detailed.

Again, it is well past midnight so I'll just make a hot choccy drink and take myself off to bed so

Bye for now
Sue

this is the photo I took my sketch from...



Will work on the picture more later but only just got up as went to bed so late...

Bye for now
Sue x

update on quick sketch...

aaaagh!!!
just realised that it's almost 3 o'clock!!! - I have been so busy doodling that I had not noticed the time...



so night night
Sue

quick sketch of Tanya and me

I shall probably watercolour and add some doodling to this pen and ink sketch I made from a photo e-mailed to me by Erica from when Tanya was here a couple of weeks ago. I shall have to change the hand though as it's too small. It was quite difficult doing the sketch. I had to sit and stare at the screen as the printer is out of ink and with Colin away it's going to remain that way until he returns. Oh well, only 7 more sleeps...maybe!!

Bye for now
Sue

Bailey's 4th Birthday

I bought my adorable, Lhasa Apso Bailey a squeaky happy face for his Birthday but he's not too sure about it yet!!!







In the shop this morning I did another journal page - not too sure about this one. I didn't know where it was going and I think it shows. I just started by sticking some book pages to the journal and gessoing over it. I then added more layers with tissue, masking and journalling.



I will probably add to it or gesso over it eventually...

More journalling this afternoon and tomorrow as I have a completely free weekend - yet again!!! Colin is still in the UK and likely to be there until at least the end of the week so

Adios amigas

Sue x

11.11.09

Just a sneak peek at a tag book I have made for an art exchange that Tanya has tagged me for. It is not yet finished. It will be winging its way to Arizona when it is.


Now on to tonight's class. The girls all needed a birthday card for a Christmas birthday so that's what we made


Alice


Yaa (with Emily, Melissa's sister peeping over her shoulder)


Melissa


Colin has been in the UK for a week now and is likely to be there for at least another week and it is so quiet here on my own. I know I have the dog and cat here but it isn't the same as having someone to talk to. I think I am feeling sorry for myself which is so unfair as there are so many people who are alone through no fault of theirs and I have no reason to feel as I do, I can only blame it on the medication and pain. To take my mind off my really non-problems I am going to settle with a hot chocolate and my journal and see what arrives on the page.

so Bye for now
Sue

Tags for Christmas

This morning we made tags using mica spray techniques...

We polished, sprayed, stamped, painted, resisted and distressed...but unfortunately the camera doesn't pick up the wonderful shimmer on here...

these two are mine...





...and these next two are Erica's...





...and Erica brought in a star book and a couple of Christmas cards she had made...





Well. I am still crawling the walls with the pain and Colin has rung his golfing buddy who does something with manipulation whether physio or other and so I am seeing him on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully, I won't be banging my head on the ceiling by then.

so Bye for now
Sue