Final post for 31 Hearts in July

Have struggled to get any art time this weekend as eldest returned home from uni with stuff, and we were babysitting. I needed 3 more hearts to complete my 31 Hearts for July collection today.

Look what I found while washing and repacking his stuff!!!!

3 in 1...result!!!

I'm guessing it is his girlfriends :D

Heart shaped mug...

with heart shaped lock and heart shaped key charm....I WANT ONE!!!

Thank you to Martha at Ayala Arts for suggesting this theme for July, it has made me smile...a lot :D XXX

I love Paris in the Springtime

Actually, I've never been to France...but it's Dawn's fav, and it's her birthday this month so I thought I'd make the effort to post for her Journal Journeys Challenge #10 Paris :D

Paris to me is the glamour of Moulin Rouge and the Folie Bergere.  I wanted to be one of those dancers when I was younger...

If Paris was a colour it would be hot, smouldering pink!!

I would have dressed in feathers...

Fishnet stockings..... 

and sparkly jewels :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Also linking this journal page to 31 Hearts in July...heart #26

Germany, Ireland and a soft heart

One of the extra manthings that came visiting yesterday is a computer wizard...took him 3 minutes to reset my printer/puter wireless connection :D

So, while I wait for layers of gesso to dry, I managed to get my postcard pages done...

and the 21st of my 31 Hearts for July

Soft - Hearted :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Lady Ophelia walks with Giants

Week 29 of Darcy's Postcard Challenge....IRELAND

I think everyone knows the national flower of Ireland is the Shamrock, but have you noticed how perfectly heart-shaped the leaves are? They are the 20th heart of my 31 Hearts for July :D

"My Dearest Lillian,

I am writing to you today from Ireland...I know...why we did not come here before going to Germany is a mystery to me also. Miss Francesca says we could have swum here from the Isle of Man!

We are visiting the County of Antrim, where it has long been rumoured that a "giant" resides. Richard thinks this stuff and nonsense, but the locals assured us that proof would soon be shown. They say that a Mr Dyer found the remains of one such being whilst prospecting, and has it in safe keeping. We visited the "Giant's Causeway". Again Richard says this is nonsense, and that the attraction is merely a "Geological affectation, caused by ancient volcanic activity". Really! Have you ever seen a volcano in the British Isles?

You know how I so love to walk in beautiful gardens, well the prestigious Belfast Botanical Gardens have this year been opened to the public. Miss Francesca and I took a stroll there this afternoon. It was lovely to see all the children marvelling at the exhibits, and playing on the lawns. Richard was at another of those damnable "footie" matches.

I am so glad that you like the kitten, and that you named her Effie. Now no matter where I am, I will always be with you too.

Yours affectionately, Ophelia xxx" 

"My Darling Ophelia,

Feel free to remind Sir Richard that, although Science is a marvellous thing that benefits mankind greatly, Folklore and Imagination are the things that fuel it! This belief in beings greater than ourselves has long held an interest for me. The Irish believe that their nation was once inhabited by Giants. They call them the "Formoiri", and there are many reported cases of remains of Giants being found, Even noted individual such as St Patrick recorded such happenings. And did not the scribes of ancient times write in the Holy Bible of such creatures? Genesis 6:4, and the story of David and Goliath,"Born of the Giant". there is too much anecdotal  evidence for Science to just brush this belief aside. Perhaps it would be for the betterment of all, if the men and women of Science looked deeper into such stories. With all their new abilities who knows what they may yet prove?

Apologise if I sound a little terse...I believe I am suffering from what is known as "wedding jitters". I still can't believe that next month I will be Mrs Lillian Harrup!

your adoring friend, Lillian xxx"

Not sorted printer yet so no page again :S

In 1895 Mr Dyer of County Antrim sent his "Fossilised Giant" to Manchester and London, though it mysteriously disappeared before scientists could get a good look at it.

Also, last week Janet said she would like to see a picture of Effie...

(a water colour sketch of Effie by Miss Lillian , the summer before she married Sir Richard)

..then as I was adding this pic it occurred to me she meant the kitten lol...I guess I will just have to work on a post introducing all the Characters with a small biog for each of them :D

Enjoy :D XXX

If He only had a Heart!!

Today Oma Linda of Old Bags and Stuftshirts is holding a blog party to celebrate the phenomenon that is OZ

My favourite character from the story is the TIN MAN, he has my 19th Heart for 31 Hearts for July

As a child I watched in awe as he was able to detach himself from situations that others found distressing or hurtful. Most people saw this as a bad thing, that it made him uncaring...he was Heartless.

I envied him. I am a very sensitive soul, who as a child suffered other peoples pain without understanding why. My dad used to say "she will cry at a dead bird on the roadside" ...and I did...often. Even this week, I moved a recently deceased squirrel from the road because I couldn't stand the thought of it being squished...like it's existence had no meaning.

(shiny metallic silver paint) 

Don't get me wrong, I eat animals as well as plants, but that does not mean I don't love and respect all life. I am not Heartless. I struggle to distance myself from the "conciousness" of living energy, so when I start feeling overwhelmed by life, I remember the Tin man, and how he remained good though distant.

You don't have to bear everyone else's emotions and pain to understand and help them. Sometimes it is better to be able to set your heart aside and see a situation just with your eyes in order to find the best solution.

That does not make you Heartless

Why not pop over to Oma Linda's place, and see where the yellow brick road leads you?

Enjoy :D XXX

Missing hearts :D

2 quick and easy "hearts" backgrounds.

1st, ink pads, cheap shaving brushes and stencil sheet(you can always make your own stencils from a sheet of paper)

I've used 3 colours, but you don't have to....started with lightest colour first...

and then just built up layers of colour...simple!

2nd background, embossing folder. Couldn't be bothered to get out a machine, so I just gently rubbed  the folder with my bone folder(don't be too rough as you may damage the embossing folder), then lightly sanded the surface :D

These are my 17th and 18th....31Hearts for July projects.

Enjoy :D

...and don't forget to come back tomorrow for my piece for Oma Linda's Celebrating OZ blog party :D XXX

Shrinking heart

Do you have a mounting pile of mankie baby wipes? You know the ones you've wiped excess paint from your sticky finger on...

Can't remember if it was Darcy or Donna who told me about this, but if you attack them with a heat gun...

they melt, and shrivel and shrink and stuff, and you get neat texture to play with.

This was one we used to wipe our hands on when putting handprints on the BIG canvas this weekend, so I cut out a big heart shape from it :D

And I love the multi-colourdness of it :D

Enjoy :D XXX

"Together we are a force for Nature"

Continuing from yesterdays post....

I decided on a family portrait, but didn't want to get hung up on "likenesses". It was more about the feeling of us being a family unit.

I drew 4 outlines representing each of us, and dulled the background with white acrylic.

Next I emphasised the figures with soft brown acrylic... (working with the 4 colours from the had prints)

and slapped some more colour over the background with a glue spreader(I wanted to keep the work loose)

I blocked the figures using the colours of each personality (as discussed in yesterdays post), representing the 4 elements...and highlighted the "Heart" that appeared from my sons hand print :D

I thought the white showing through was too harsh, so I used a weak brown glaze to blend the background...

and add depth to the figures.

I am very pleased with this piece, it went from an uptight piece about me, to the flowing piece about us :D

I would like to thank, Tee Thompson, Virginia and Rita for their inspiration :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Big Canvas, Phase 2

So...haven't arted properly all week, and now I have a whole weekend to do as I please. Grab BIG canvas and carry on.

This is where I left it last, and looking at it now it felt a bit..."twee" and "Contrived" and "disjointed"...in fact, it still felt like a blank canvas....:S

It was supposed to be a piece to hang in the family room, about family, but it was only about me.

My 13 year old was proudly showing his dad a pile of maths papers he had brought home from school(he loves math). So, remembering how Tee Thompson had used her kids homework for a base layer in her art, I scrounged some(it was a big pile, the rest is now safely stored/stashed in his room)

...and I covered "me" up with "him", including his revised timetable... 

and one piece showing how he writes his name on the back of every sheet, usually accompanied by a doodle of some sort(angry face)

Next I went back to the original inspiration for making a BIG canvas, Virginia

She had started he canvas by getting her family to write on it with her, then cover it with handprints :D

There are 4 of us(3 of them, 1 of me), and a few years ago Zac drew a picture of us all in different colours. He said we each represented a different element(he's into stuff like Last Airbender and Naruto). He found this helped him cope with our different personalities.

Yellow = air = thinker = big brother

Green(I substituted brown) = earth = worker = dad

Blue = water = healer = mum

Red = fire = uncontrolled energy = him

So I got them to make the handprints in their colours, and surprisingly we all have very similar sized hands (though the thinker is away at uni still, so I did his :D)

While I was drying the paint I noticed several heart-shaped prints, made by my hubbies hand (the pad at the base of thumb)

So this is my 14th heart for my 31 Hearts for July collection :D

Paint should be dry now so I is off to play some more!

Enjoy :D XXX

I like Boobies!!

Last week I got a message from Stacy AKA Magic Love Crow, saying I had won a "boobie prize" in her recent give away...

She sent me 2 original Crow ACEOs she had made during the Goddess challenge hosted by Timeless Rituals earlier this year

This pic does not do justice to the vibrant detail of her work(forgot to take them out of plastic sleeves), the sky on the top one has the most stunning storminess about it :D

Thank you Stacy, they are gorgeous!!!

and to illustrate my pleasure ..."Hearts filled with Joy"

...my 13th piece for 31 Hearts for July

Enjoy :D XXX