Library Card Project

Jeanne over at One Day at a Time has got a few of us involved in a really fun project. She sent out library card envelopes to all participants with part of a story she has written in each envy. We each had to decorate the envy, take a photo of it and send it back to Jeanne. When all of the envies have been returned, Jeanne will publish the story in its entirety. I have just finished mine, and several other participants have returned theirs - so check it out on Jeanne's blog - she spins a great yarn!

I received a blog award recently from my dear Canadian friend, Kim at The Bodhi Chicklet. The award is called, Premio Dardos, meaning "prize darts.” This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Here's what it looks like:


Thanks so much Kim - sorry I didn't do the tag part of the award - if anybody is interested in doing it, check out Kim's blog and consider yourself tagged. I've been a bit busy lately!
I've been involved in several online classes which are and have been a lot of fun - Willowing's World of Whimsy, Paulette Insall's Organic Backgrounds, and Artella's Me-Flections - so lots to keep me busy and out of mischief.

Sketches for World of Whimsy Course

We have just had our second lesson for the World of Whimsy class with Willowing. The first lesson involved the "rule of thirds" and composition. The second lesson was all about sketching the whimsical creatures - heads, eyes, noses, mouths, bodies - a lot of fun. It is nice to do sketching that is less realistic and where really, anything can go. Sorry about the dreadful jpegs, I have had trouble with the scanner and camera - really consider yourself lucky you have anything to look at! Thanks to those who entered my Pay It Forward giveaway - everyone has sent me their snail mail addresses so in the next few months or so, look forward to receiving an original artwork from me in the post!

Pay It Forward Giveaway

I got this off Chavah's Blog. I had read about it before and had toyed with the idea of participating, but with so much happening in my life at the time I decided to postpone to a later date. Well, this is the later date!

According to the rules, you have 365 days to send out your homemade gifts. Rest assured, that if you win, I will not wait 365 days to send you your gift.

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. If you are one of the first three to make a comment, you are a winner! And you then agree to post this challenge on your own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

While I'm unsure of exactly what I'll be sending my 3 participants, it will more than likely be a mixed media piece, maybe a portrait or some whimsical art.

One World One Heart Blog Winners

There you have it - the winners of my draw. Congratulations. I will email each of you to notify you of your win and in return, you will need to supply me with your snail mail address so I can get the little elves winging their way to your home. Thanks for visiting my blog - hope you can come again soon.

Big Blog Browsing Butt

I have done it! I have visited all of the nearly 800 blogs that are participating in the One World One Heart International Blog Giveaway! I always used to call my butt "Browser Butt", but now I'm sure my butt size has increased due to my lack of physical activity through blog-hopping, my fingers may have lost some weight though! It is so amazing to see how many generous bloggers, worldwide, are participating in this amazing event. I have been blown away by the awesome talent that is out there, and the amazing giveaways they are offering.

I have been honoured with a blog award by Linda. It is the The Marie Antoinette, Real Person, A Real Award, thanks so much Linda.


The Marie Antoinette,
Real Person, A Real Award

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Put the picture of Marie Antoinette on your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Link to those blogs from your blog.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know you've shared the award with them.

Here are the wonderful bloggers I would like to nominate (in no particular order).

Kim - The Bodhi Chicklet
Fannie - Imagine, Create, Inspire
Martha - Martha Lever Lettering and Design
Vicki - Faint Heart Art
Annette - Annette in Oz
Jo - Art Heart Studio
Heather - Creative Solace

All these ladies, (and others) are a wonderful inspiration to me and have been very encouraging to me on my artistic journey. Thanks ladies. Even if you don't want to nominate 7 blogs, I hope you can accept this award from me with my heartfelt gratitude for who you are and all you do.

One World One Heart Blog Event and Giveaway

Sorry folks, comments are now closed for this giveaway. Stay tuned to find out the winners via random number generator. Good luck!

I've decided to hop on board the gypsy caravan and put up some giveaways for the One World One Heart worldwide blog giveaway.


I have six sets of these adorable little shelf sitters made from cotton spools, spelling out the word "peace". Leave a comment by February 11th and you will be entered into the draw to win a set. Good luck!

Fat Book Pages

Hi everyone, I know it has been a long time since my last post. I have been very busy in my new job and when I have been home I have been doing a lot of reading, to re-familiarise myself with the 0-2 year old age group (previously I taught 3-5 year olds). I am loving my new job role though, it is a pleasant change. Additionally, my sister and niece who are living with us at the moment, have taken over my art studio so it has been difficult to get in there, I like them to have their privacy. They have found a house that they like and are going to make an offer on it this week, so I should have my studio back within the month! Yay!

OK, today (Australia Day) I had no choice but to invade their personal space as I desperately needed to complete the 120 pages for the Fat Book Swap I am involved in. We needed to choose a technique that used recycled or cheap materials. I chose to use rubber band printing. I used cereal boxes as the basis for the 4x4 inch squares. I base coated these with acrylic paint (Payne's Grey). Using a brayer, I took off the handle and wound rubber bands of various widths around the brayer, overlapping them to get different sizes and effects. I rolled the brayer in another acrylic paint (Red Earth) and rolled the design across the fat book page. When that was dry (it didn't take long), I inked up the brayer on a gold Brilliance ink pad and again ran the design across the previously printed fat book page. It was a really fun technique to do, very speedy, very effective result. I found I could vary the design by curving the way I ran the brayer across the page, by criss-crossing, by shadowing, etc. Really there are so many options on how you can vary this technique. Give it a go. I have used it as backgrounds on my portraits for a different sort of effect. It would make a nice background for cards, ATC's, moos, etc.