A BEAUTIFUL GIFT

     It was my birthday recently

     & my beautiful friend Bevlea

     made me a beautiful gift.

     I love the soft colours,

     the lovely pic of the little girl,

     and  of course, the image of 

     the magnificent Eiffel Tower

       THANK YOU BEVLEA!!

          

 TAG & ENVELOPE SWAP
I have finished some more tags & envelopes for the Arty Oz swap.
The first is for Joanne whose chose the theme 'Alice in Wonderland"

The second is for Gail who just wanted "Vintage'"

The third is for Kaeren who wanted "Shabby Chic"

The last is for Nicky who wanted "Birds, Green, Forest". I found this the hardest as green is my least favourite colour.

PLAY DAY

             A few weeks ago, Bevlea, Glenda, Caro and I had a Play Day.         

 We had a free 'E' Cloth, Paper Scissors book & decided we would make the house project.

 Started off cutting board, adding papers then Bevlea sewed them together.  Added the roof & a button to hold the house together.     Enjoyed the process & the laughs!!!      

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL GIFT!!!!!

This morning, OTIS, "THE POSTIE HATING WONDER DOG", alerted me to the mail.
Went out to get it & along with a few bills was a small padded bag.
Now, I didn't think I had ordered anything online, but, thought maybe I had forgotten a purchase(an easy thing to do as one ages!).
Then, I saw the return addy & realized it was from Sarah Fawcett (Saimba).
I opened it and inside was the most gorgeous little hand made book.
Looking through the little key hole on the front I could see 'Alice" & inside all the pages are "Alice in Wonderland" themed.
Also wrapped around the book were some Alice themed charms, tea pot, cup & saucer, clock, rabbit etc.
Then, I read Sarahs card...............
She sent this to me because I am always so nice about her creations & she wanted me to know that she really apprciates my comments.

Well Sarah, it is easy to positively comment on your art because you are highly talented with a beautiful spirit.
A woman with a gift for art & a gentle soul.

THANK YOU Sarah, I will treasure this gift forever!!
Hugs Lucy

MORE TAGS & ENVELOPES

 MORE TAGS & ENVELOPES
Am into the swing of this tag & envelope swap on Arty Oz Group!
This one is for Micky whose theme was 'Industrial, Green & Rustic"
I used lots of cogs, some steampunk images,  an old tape measure & some great paint provided by my friend Bevlea.

The one below is for Ruth whose theme 'Tones of brown with some chipboard pieces, overall theme 'elegant'.

At the moment this is missing in transit thanks to Australia Post, hopefully it will make its destination sooner rather than later!

LOOK AT THIS!!!

I have long admired & lusted over Sarah Fawcetts art & have waited patiently till she decided to open her own Etsy store.

Well, she did a few days ago & I rushed in & bought this beautiful birdcage Pendant.

It arrived today packaged so sweetly that I was ALMOST afraid to disturb the wrappings, but, I DID!!!

I LOVE this piece of jewellery art, don't think I will be taking it off for a looooong time.

Thank you Sarah!!

NEW SWAP

 I am involved in a 'tag & envelope' swap on Arty Oz .

We are to decorate an envelope & tag for each person.

This one is for Bevlea, whose theme is 'Cream, White & Sepia with famous quotes.

The next one is  for Vanessa whose theme is Vintage fabric. I used fabric & also old lace doilies.

 

Only 10 more to go!

Got together yesterday with Bevlea & Eva to have some fun & make some art.
Bevlea & I had bought a kit from Maxine's Melange  a little while ago & decided it was time to put it all together.
Eva worked on a gorgeous Advent Calendar project for her Grandaughter.
The kit was relatively easy to put together with great instrctions from Maxine, but, there were so many steps we didn't get to finish it.
I decided while the Grand Final was on & my team wasn't involved, I would finish mine & I DID!!!
I love how it has turned out. Let me know what you think.

WINGS & THINGS

Three "Art Queens", myself, Bevlea, Glenda, & I got together last Friday for some 'arting'. Unfortunately our other 'Queen',Caro, could not make it.

We had all purchased a few kits at Paperific & firstly we decided to make up an angel kit from Collections.

Looked easy,  there were a few glitches, but, we all finished & liked the results.

We also planned to make up a shadow box kit from Scrapware, but, after lunch we just chatted & chatted and decided to make up the kit at home & show & tell about it next time we meet.

I have to say that I did not find this very easy, but, that could proably be because there were lots of little pieces(I don't like small!) and lots of paint & glue.
But, I did manage to finish it & l really like it.
Will have to see what my fellow 'Art Queens' think of the finished product next time we meet.

SPOOKY REVERSED CANVAS
I am involved in a 'Spooky Reversed Canvas'  swap on Paperarts Yahoo Group.
I used images from Itkupilli and lots of Golden Micaceous Iron Oxide paint, some cobwebs, tombstone, spiders, ants & a great bat to create mine.
Really looking forward to what I receive & hope that whoever receives mine likes it.
Let me know what you think.

INSPIRED

Inspired by Annette & Sarah, but, with a LOT more to learn, Bevlea, Caro, Glenda & I got together to try & make a cuff.
We etched & etched, laughed & laughed & etched some more. Scrubbed the metal, laughed, ate, scrubbed , laughed some more & decided we would finish up at a later date.
I have been looking at mine for a few weeks & finally decided to finish it off, good or bad.
Sadly, am not up to the high standards of Annette & Sarah, but, am at least pleased that it is finished.
Will see if one of my grand daughters would like to wear it.

RINGS & THINGS

Got out my Ice Resin yesterday.
Thought I should use it, as it has a shelf life of 12 months.
Made one bezel & inserted a pic of my great grandaughter Asya, put some bits & pieces in 2 blank rings & a bezel that I bought last week at the Craft Fair & here they are.

Tin Type photos and....

 I had some old tin type photos & decided to make some pendants with them.
Also had an old watch, added some wings & 'voila' new jewellery!

JUNQUE JOURNAL WORKSHOP

Early Saturday morning Bevlea & I headed out for the drive to Ro Bruhn's lovely, ecelectic home in the Dandenongs to do her 'Junk Journal' workshop.

Met some new artists & reconnected with some I hadn't seen for a while.

I didn't realise how large this journal is, must really learn metrics!

We made the covers and used stencils & masks & lots of paint to create lovely texture.

When  I came home, I decided to change the colours, now I have a lovely rich reddish cover.

We painted, stamped, collaged etc our way through the day, adding lots of 'junky' paper to make the internal pages.

Note to myself, must save more junk, including, flyers, menus etc. etc. etc...

A few days later, I decided to rummage through my collection of buttons & sewed them to the spine.

Lots more to do with this journal, as it will be an ongoing  project & one that I will treasure.

Thanks to Ro & her lovely husband for the day, great company, great food, great fun, great food, lots of laughs, great food, lots of ideas and, did  I mention, great food!!

JEWELLERY DAY

The three Art Queens, Bevlea, Glenda & myself got together to do another project.
When we arrived at Bevleas home we found that Queen Bevlea had taken a tumble in the bathroom & was sporting a lage 'egg' on her head. But, being the brave Art Queen that she is, she battled on.
We decided to go on further with making projects from Stephanie Lees book.
We used pieces we had already etched & made a necklace & then also, because we had time, made a pair of dangly ear rings.
Love all the creations.
We all had fun , a lovely lunch & lots of laughs.
Wonder what we will do next?

MORE JOURNAL PAGES

I have been inspired lately to work on some more pages for my AFFIRMATIONS JOURNAL.
Here is the first: JOY.

Now EMOTIONS

And LIGHT.

And STILLNESS.

Just couldn't stop myself using a gorgeous pic of my first Great Grand daughter Asya.

COLLABORATIVE BOOK SWAP

I joined in the collaborative book swap on Arty Oz Yahoo group.
 I had to make 12 pages & use old book pages somewhere on the page.
Mine was constructed using old book pages as the base, a schoolgirl image from Paper Whimsy & then I printed out a bike & an old school gate pic on 2 separate transparencies. I also added some typewriter discs with dimensional magic on them to create some texture.

I am really  looking forward to seeing everyone elses work, as I love a collaborative book where you can see the different styles & techniques others use.

ENAMELLING

Went to an enamelling workshop at Evas on Monday. The teacher, Erica, teaches at the school where Eva works.

Also there were  Bevlea, Glenda, Jen, Sarah & Deb Moss.

Only a few were burnt in the  800 degree kiln.

Had a lot of fun, lots of laughs, lovely food &

 some great results.

THE BIG 60!!

My fellow Art Queen Glenda turned the BIG 60 recently.
I decided to make her a silly little present, because once you hit the 60's you can be as silly as you want!
So, I found a papier mache 'G' and painted, stamped & decorated it with a few  funny & silly images from Land Of Nod Studios.
Gave it to Glenda yesterday & she had a giggle.
She especially liked the words on the top(hidden in photo) that read: "This is just the beginning'!

SARDINES!!

On Paperarts Yahoo Group, we had an 'altered sardine tin' swap.
I love altering 'stuff', but, found this one a tad difficult.
I HATE sardines, I HATE the smell of sardines, etc. etc.!!LOLOL
But, for 'the sake of art', I managed to complete my task.
I decided on a Steampunk theme and rusted my tin with paint, added a Steampunk image, some old cheescloth, cogs & bits 'n bobs and an old rusty cupboard handle that I had found at Camberwell market.

Bevlea, Glenda & I got together on Monday to make more backgrounds for our Affirmation Journal.
I ditched the torn paper technique used previously & used paints, stamps & napkins.
My affirmation for this finished page is: ALLOWANCE.:Allow yourself to be who & how you are. Allowance is the well worn, worthwhile path to Peace.
After a lot of trepidation re making a journal, I am now really 'into it' and am looking forward to our next 'arty day'.

LOOK AT THIS!!!!!!

Yesterday I received this wonderful ATC from my friend Ellah.
Ellah is Bevlea's great niece and she is my friend.
Isn't this a beautiful ATC?
I have to tell you that Ellah is only 6 years old!!
Obviously she has inherited her talents from Bevlea!!

JOURNAL UPDATE

Bevlea, Glenda & I are making an art journal. 
We are just at the very start and, I really have no idea what I am doing!!LOLOL
But, getting together to work on our pages is a FUN way of  making art & having a great time.
I have made my first page, titled "FLEXIBILITY"
We are using 'affirmation' cards to determine what the subject will be for each page.
Not sure if I like it, but, I love the image of the fat lady, appropriately named "Lady Bulldog Burton"!

PINK!!!!

Pink is a colour I never use, but in honour of the birth of my first Great Grand Daughter, Asya, I decorated a carriage & a canvas for her room.
The carriage will have pictures in the windows and I hope my grand daughter & her husband will like it.

Thoroughly enjoyed the process decorating these, BUT, I may NEVER use pink again!!!

THE BEGINNINGS OF.....

Last week Bevlea, Glenda & I got together to start a journal.
We have wanted to do journalling for quite a while & so we decided to make our pages first.
We all just slapped around paint, stamps, moon glows, stencils etc etc... to form the backgrounds.
Bevleas & Glendas look great, mine, on the other hand, look like a 'dogs breakfast'!!

But, I will keep trying, adding to what I have already done and hopefully some words of wisdom!!
Stay tuned!

CSR TWINCHIES

At CSR this year we had a 'Twinchie' swap. The subject was 'All things Leonardo Da Vinci'.

I love all the different little pieces of art, so I glued them to a canvas, and have hung it in my studio, so I can gaze at them whenever I want.

Thank You to all who contributed.

AND....

Bevlea & I got together and did some soldering.

We cut some brass & soldered some copper rings cut from some pipe onto the brass.
Now, getting these looking 'just right' is hard work, but lots of fun.

Another day we made some different bezels.
My DH cut & scored them for us, then Bevlea & I folded, and folded, and folded, and managed to make them look somewhat OK.
Then, the soldering began again.
Lots of issues, way too much solder, then trying to burn it of, which was really comical, with solder running everywhere.
A few minor burns, them my torch started shooting out large FLAMES! Managed to turn it off, and have since had it replaced, but, it was a tad SCARY, but so much FUN!!!