Learn Something New Every Day - 2008

I have enrolled for Shimelle's excellent Learn Something New Every Day, as I enjoyed last year's so much. Although it doesn't start until September 1st I have been busy preparing for the first day of term.

This year I decided I didn't want a standard 6" x 6" album, so I've created a 15-page concertina-fold book, which measure 6" x 4", and it's now ready to go.



The papers I'll be using are from the Muted Mission collection in the Now That's Funky CD, by Funky Hand

This year I intend using less photography and more rubber stamping techniques. We shall see how I get on!

Two more six by four experiments

I have quite a lot of large stamps by Stamp Camp, but I'm never very happy with just stampiing and colouring them - I just don't feel I get a good effect. However, I love using the stamped images in Photoshop and this is using #S167 [Floral Bamboo]



The second uses images from several smaller flower stamps by various manufacturers.



There were about 25 layers in each of these images, to build a texture gradually.

Thanks for looking :)

Six by four challenge - August

This is for the first 6 x 4 challenge on the Stamping Mad forum. It's for any style of crafting, so I have chosen to combine two images from Joanna Sheen's Dancing with Shadows CD, and manipulated them in Photoshop.


Harebells by moonlight

I really enjoyed creating this, so I may add more before the end of the month!

Day 21

A totally different type of doodle last night - my mind must have ben going around in circles!

Day 20

Back to the combination of Sakura Micron and Marvy Le Plume pens. Instead of starting with a scribbled line, this time I tried adding one element at a time. Not sure it worked too well ...

Just Joey

No doodle today - instead I spent some time yesterday on a Photoshop 'painting' of one of my favourite roses, Just Joey. Unfortunately, there's not yet any way of conveying its wonderful scent online!

Day 19

Once again I used the Sakura Silver Shadow pens, to see if I like them any better, but I still can't see myself using them for anything other than doodles.

Day 18

I seem to have lost about five days through not being too well, so this is probably day twenty-something-or-other, really. However, in terms of doodle-days for me, it's day eighteen ... I suspect it shows just how wishy-washy I feel at the moment! This was made with Sakura Silver Shadow pens - I can't decide if I like them or not.



The second is chalk on a navy blue background, just to try to brighten things up. I realised it wasn't really going to go anywhere, so gave that up!

Day 17 - May Day

It's May Day today - the only day of the year when you can take a sprig of the May [Hawthorn] into the house without incurring bad luck! However, it's not yet Beltane, so no fires, even though it's cold enough! This little drawing was made with Sakura Micron and Marvy pens. I think I should have used a brush and a watercolour effect for the background, but I couldn't be bothered searching for my water brush!



My doodle yesterday evening was again made while the crown on The Apprentice attempted to reinvent the greetings card! Does it show? Again, Sakura Micron and Marvy Le Plume pens.



I also made a computer doodle in the wee small hours when I couldn't sleep ...



Enjoy !

Day 14 [late!]

I've just discovered Day 14's doodle lurking on my computer...

Day 16

Although I felt pretty rotten all yesterday, I did perk up just enough in the evening to created my doodle for the day.

Day 15

I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday, so last night's doodle is a highly unimginative scribble, trying to capture the flowing lines that Lynn Taetzsch achieves. It's very easy to see why she sells her art and I don't usually show mine in public!!

Sunday playtime - part 2

Once again I've been playing with some of my rubber stamps - scanning the stamped image, then manipulating them in Photoshop.

Sunday playtime

Back to doodles proper this morning, again using Sakura Micron pens, and coloured with Marvy markers, which is rapidly becoming my favourite combination for doodling.

Day 13

I realised that if I was going to use Photoshop to paint actual pictures, as opposed to abstracts, I would have to start learning how to use the pencils and brushes better. Unfortunately, Photoshop's descriptions aren't awfully helpful - hard brush v soft brush - which to use and for what?

I started from a photo, and what I've produced is definitely not in the David Hockney class, and I will forgive visitors for sniggering, but I'm sticking it up here so that as I improve - and surely I MUST improve with practice? - I can look back at this and have a snigger myself.



I certainly find abstracts easier, but is that a good enough reason for not trying figuarative work?

A doodle from last week has been lurking on my computer, and as I haven't actually made one today, I'll post this one instead.

Day 12a - I think!

I'm slightly confused about which day I'm in - that's what comes of posting last night's last night!

This is the scribble-doodle that goes with last night's computer one, even if it is the next morning!



The doodle was created with Marvy pens on cartridge paper.

Day 12

Tonight's computer doodle is derived from a stamp in my collection by Stramp Camp , and I've entitled it EarthShift. I'm really enjoying using these vivid primary and secondary colours after what seems like years of pastels!


At the moment, every day's an arty adventure, and I'm looking forward to more playtime over the weekend.

Day 11

I had a lovely day yesterday, meeting a cyber-friend from America - the one for whom I made this book. She had travelled across the Atlantic, navigated Heathrow's T5 without a hitch, flown to Manchester, then taken a train to a little station in the middle of Cheshire, and she was on time.

Embarrassingly, we were late!

We got to know each other over a lovely lunch in a Cheshire hotel, and my friend seemed to like her book.

I was very tired when we reached home, and only made a quick, but I hope effective, computer doodle last night, when I learned how to make different dots!

Day 10

The first doodle was created as I watched The Apprentice last night, which probably explains the lack of flowing lines!! Honestly, some of the people on that show!



My computer doodle is an experiment in creating textured backgrounds from scratch, combined with some Photoshop brushes created by Vered.



Back to the drawing board!

Day 9

Last night I discovered how to make text into a circle using Photoshop, so I thought I'd use the letter 'O' for my doodle. The temptation to go back to the pure colours I love so much proved too strong - sorry if it makes your eyes funny :)



For my arty project I drew, on my graphics tablet, a small portion of the blossom I'd photographed the previous day, printed it onto smooth cardstock, and 'painted' it with Derwent Inktense pencils, taking the colour directly from the pencil with a damp brush. I used only two shades of red, underpainting the dark areas with green to make a dark brown/black colour.



Back to the drawing board!