Taking Time

I'm behind on my calendar  but I think having a work desk at the end of my craft table just for this journal will work out well and actually writing on the calendar for referencing will be most helpful!  lol

The peg board over the work counter will be wonderful.  I shall give it a light coat of paint and be on the lookout for the handy dandy peg board accessories. I've never really looked for them before.  Now I have options. ;^) Hopefully Canadian Tire carries them and I can use my Canuck Truck money to get them!

The reduced workspace is not a problem as I've discovered that no matter the square footage available I only manage to keep about 2 square feet actually clear!  :(

This is water colour crayons with salt sprinkled on the the wet surface.

I had to go for function over form and use the two old IKEA chests under the craft table as the shallow but large square drawers held so many odd shaped things.  The rolling shelving units they replace will go out to the workroom which is progressing well.  I still need to sort through a few miscellaneous piles of books and memorabilia.  I need a rainy day.

Now these were not actually necessary for my on-line workshop but I have always wanted to try Twinkling H2O's and a few Silks with a misting of Radiant Rain seemed nice additions.  I'm learning about what makes a useful stamp as well.  So I need now to set up a day for doing the lessons and take the time to make rainbows that lead to pots of gold.

A beginning and an end

I bought a sketchbook with 70 white pages.  On reading the fine print I see it is for pen and pencil.  I don't care.  I luv the clean white 2 page spread and splashed, smeared and scraped.  I also duct taped the spine which split.  ???  I don't care.  It is already messy and the duct tape is cool!

My supplies for my workshop with Joanne Sharpe arrived and the box was huge.  :)

It was mostly the paper stuffing around things.  lol  I am no comparison shopper nor am I very experienced in buying art supplies.  (see above sketchbook )  So I just copied recommendations off the supply list and pressed send.  I did see the gesso was on sale and I had already bought some for much more so I thought since I was in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.  I think that saying has British roots!

I am ready to begin!

But  they won't ship animal bristle brushes across the border so when I did an errand in the city I used 2 coupons at Michaels.  That has to end!  oye!

I am so very excited about my set up for doing some mixed media journaling every day.  I like it.  There is no end in sight and they are so easy to begin and end in a short amount of time.  No plan. Just fun.

While MQing the veranda quilt I realized how much I like doing it but my set up is not great.  I need an L shaped work space.  I spent a goodly amount of time tossing and turning over ideas the other night and I'd have leaped up to go get a tape measure except for the fact that I knew the Rooster would have thumped me good.  He was assuming the heat was making me restless.  HA!

Last time I did the room I figured it was as good as it gets.  So I really needed that 'what if...'  to happen.  It has so I have forewarned the Rooster I need some help tonight. I only have Friday night because he'll have me back and focused on the walk and fence for Saturday.  Friday's are date nights, right!  I shall remind him of the times I helped stack square hay bales when we were first dating!    But I almost killed myself hefting that 6 foot counter last time and we need to take down that cupboard that we shortened and brought back from storage from the last time I reorganized. The good news is that each time I part with more stuff I feel I can't live without. Meanwhile, the Rooster'll be sitting on the stool pulling daisy petals while I think!  I love her, I love her not, I  LOVE  her!  (I shall arrange for an odd arrangement of petals)

He is sceptical I can do it but while I'm not so hot on a tape measure, I do think I have a viable plan with some built in fiddle room. ;^)

So I hope to end the changes for my playroom/studio with this super creative plan. (again)

I am beginning a whole new exciting season of creativity.

CROWING

After watching some examples of mixed media journaling I determined to find better supplies so I could avoid some of the variables in my efforts to copy the same techniques.

Ranger products were prominent and I did a store search for my province and one of two places was surprisingly close.  So off I went and was appalled that they had N O T H I N G!  It isn't often I leave without buying some little thing to mollify my polite gene.  :( The owner was the sole person in the store and I still said sorry, I'm out of here. politely!!! lol  Nice store but I don't do die cuts or scrap booking.

I thought to stop on the way home at the tiny scrap book store in our own much smaller town.  The Prairie Scrapbook.  WHOA!  It was full of stuff I had seen on the internet.  I spent too much and I now have my own frequent shoppers card.  :O  The owner's mother kept giving me more tips and ideas!  I promised to return!

I also stopped for mail and got a package from my friend Margi at Scrap Wisdom Collage.  I met her when she was teaching for a month at 3 Creative Studios.  She has inspired me to try to do more.  I am learning PhotoShop Elements so I can learn to design my own art.  I won her pillow!  I ordered several of her screens and she says she'll be posting some ideas for using them soon.

Another inspiring friend is Leslie at  MarveLes Art Studios.  Les does more with her sewing machine but yesterday she tackled a project that I'd also seen on my blog travels.  Well, I think I can, too and I found a few flowers and some coordinating items to give it a whirl.

I also got a new book in the mail.  This is Surface Treatment workshop.  It has 45 mixed media techniques by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson.  It looks pretty good and I think I can start it right away as I have much of the stuff they both use.

I was trying a few things this morning.  They will have to wait for next week as I really must cut grass.  I also need to see if I can get my hands back to their natural colour as my homemade black spray (permanent) was pointed the wrong way and the inside of my left arm and hand is no longer pink! OYE!!!   The tip was worth while only the reinker needs diluting and operator error needs eliminating! 

So I am crowing a bit.  I scored some great products, some good tips, some fun goodies and a great resource book.  I persevered in spite of the black reinker disaster and I have Hope! Hope that in spite of an inky black wing I am going to soar right over a beautiful mixed media rainbow!  CAW!!!