Does my bum look big in this?

 

 

Armed with all the tips and techniques picked up from Dyan earlier in the week, I got out the Claudine Hellmuth paints last night, created my background with pink, brown, blue, and stamped with Tim Holtz stamps. A little highlighting in oil pastels and some computer generated text, and then a layer of beeswax. I'm quite happy with it:)

More Claudine-y stuff

Yesterday I spoiled myself to a day with Dyan at Art from the Heart. She was running a class to teach some of the different ways that you can use Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line paints. Happy coincidence seeing as I now have the full range! It was great fun as usual and verrrry relaxing. Anyway, here are the results....Now for some reason my computer won't let me rotate the images today, think I must have upset it...

A Tale of Two Houses

I decided to do this journal page yesterday, but it wasn't supposed to look like this, or at least not quite so shamelessly Claudine Hellmuth-like. It was the paints you see. I painted the background and had the idea of the two houses to illustrate the fact that my parents are in the process of moving into separate houses after forty years of marriage. It was the colours you see - as soon as I had painted them (new paints for my birthday) it just made me think of some of Claudine's art. After that, the Charlie and Lola collaged details and the black and white photo additions were obvious. I was reading last night that you have to try on different styles until you find your own, so if Claudine were ever to see this, I hope she would take it as such, and not just as shameless plagiarism. I really enjoyed doing it though.

Happy Birthday to me...

I love birthdays. I love other people's birthdays, I especially love my birthdays! I have never been one of those people who dreads getting another year older, but maybe it's just that I love presents more than I dislike edging closer to middle age! Mind you, if you had a husband who had ventured into a craft shop all on his own, and had chosen you this little selection of goodies, you'd have a birthday twice a year wouldn't you? I could say it's a shame that he picked six Claudine Hellmuth paints that I already have, but then I'm hoping that Dyan at Art from the Heart will let me swap them for something else when I go for a class later in the week. It's like a gift within a gift!

Decided to break the artistic fast brought on by the holiday with a journal page. I have spent all week planning, cleaning and catering for my own birthday party, so I thought I would spoil myself to an afternoon at my desk with my new colours!

Holiday ups and downs

You might wonder what downs there could be on a holiday where every breakfast was with this view. Quite so. It was fantastic, hot, sunny every day, the kids loved the pool (for hours every day)and we thoroughly chilled out. BUT!! How I wish I had taken some art supplies with me! I even looked for some whilst we were there! I thought about before we left, but decided I couldn't carry all the things I would want. I'll know next time, and prepare some journal pages before I go like my clever friendKate, and then when I am bored of reading and sudoku, I can take advantage of the lack of washing, ironing, dog walking etc. My clever nine year old was smart though, she took her journal look: