Q&L #06 - FLOWER

I went with the permitted plural for the Craft Barn's Current Challenge prompt of Flower and/or Travel.

I really love colour (you'd never guess I used to be a Goth where black ruled the day!) so even using white space is a challenge for me.

I drew in the hair shape with a pencil, covered it with Wild Honey distress paint and yay my only yellow distress marker is the same colour so I low lighted it with that and highlighted it with a bright yellow marker and further with a gold gel pen.

So anyway I just added a diecut title and the flowers and a few leaves and left it at that, and am trying to resist anything further.

I used the "All About Eve" song "Flowers in our Hair" which is now playing in my head all the time!

WOYWW #251 - Harp Teacher

Yay I found a harp teacher and had my first lesson on Monday and my next this coming Monday. Hence the harp on my workdesk today, thought some may have missed it last month!

I have also come across a great way to combine my harp and crafting from the latest post on the website, My Harp's Delight.

It's about playing from the heart and one way is to find a picture for your music piece, I have done that and will be doing a page in my journal with it and the music score.

I have Craft Club tonight so thought it about time to alter my project folder so this morning I gave it a good spray.
The book page is my first entry for their competition.

Just had a look back on my week and despite not feeling like I have crafted I seem to have managed quite a lot!

My Craft Barn entry for the last fortnight using the word "ART" - great hymn.


A Timmy Tag inspired page in my DLP

An art journal page in the round robin I have been doing for the past 2 years.

A scrapbook page from my last printed photos from last Summer (must order some more now).









Oh and 2 collage pages for Psalms 18 & 19.


I wonder what everyone else has been up to this week?
To join the mega WOYWW blog/desk hop, go to Julia's place.
(Oh and don't forget you can click on my photos to get bigger versions)

Psalms 18 and 19

For these Psalms I have used the week twelve DLP prompt of "cut up a magazine - add" and made two collage pages. I needed a change from inks and paints, nothing like a bit of cutting and sticking to ease the mind. Also amazing what you come out with in the end.


For Psalm 18 I focused on the word "Fortress" and sifted through my magazine folders for pictures of buildings and castles.

For Psalm 19 I focused on God's creation, mountains and sky.

Really glad I keep magazine pictures which "speak" to me to sift through when the moment comes.

Scrapping & Journaling

A few other things I have been up to today.

1) I finished off my latest scrappage.

Can't believe I am still back in August of last year. The fields behind our house were definitely golden then.

I adore Sting's  - "Fields of Gold" song, so here is the Youtube video.

2) I have also done my latest page in a Round Robin Art Journal Challenge started a couple of years ago now.

Only a few pages to go before I get my journal back for the last time.

Timmy Tag 2014 #03

I did my take on Timmy's March Tag as a page in my DLP diary. 

Knowing I was rather devoid of his supplies this month I did it from memory in my own way.

I used my new egg dies cut in acetate as stencils to create the egg shapes and used a speckled stamp on top.

Q&L #05 - ART

OK I had quite a giggle to myself when I realised this hymn contained the Q&L word of "ART" in it. I'm assuming this meaning of the word wasn't the intended and I haven't peeked at the other entries as yet so I don't know if anyone else came up with it either.

Been doing quite a bit with book pages since last Craft Club (it was their theme!) so thought I'd print out the words of the hymn and take the page from there.

I sprayed, stenciled, stamped and doodled and picked out a few words in the hymn which spoke to me.

So this is my entry for The Craft Barn's prompt this fortnight.

It also ticks the boxes of "Stars" for Journal 52 and at a push their prompt of "A Cause" - Christianity, which is so often sidelined these days.

"How Great Thou ART" indeed!

WOYWW #250 - Scrapping

Another week of more harping than crafting but I did push myself to get last Summer's photos scrapped.

I have done 4 pages and have 2 more lined up to stick. Only one more before I get to order some more prints.














I really ought to think before I order my prints as I always order too many and either cram them on a page or leave some out altogether.


I did buy some new Xcut dies last week, had been thinking of the egg for some time especially as Easter is round the corner but the paisley gave me ideas of that nature too. Hmm I wonder what...?


I finally received the DVD from the States to go with my Harp book. I am struggling a bit on the end of lesson 2 (English Country Garden) and lesson 3 uses TWO hands and I am all over the place with that! This could take some time!

Think that is me for this week, pop over to Julia's for more desks across the globe in the infamous WOYWW.

WOYWW #249 - Craft Club

I had Craft Club at my house on Monday and the cards I have from there are still on my desk!


We made up backgrounds with strips of coloured papers.

There is also my DLP diary with my latest page of a list of words which make up ME. I love writing words in wiggly lines.

Also for the DLP this week we were tasked to add birds and having some leftover diecuts from Monday's Club I stuck some on various pages in my DLP.

PHOTOS - Do remember that if you upload your photos in their original size, blogger will resize them according to the size you choose per photo (default Medium). Therefore, despite how they show on the page when they are clicked on they will be shown in the original size and thereby we can have a great big nose at your desk! LOL.

For more Wednesday desks, pop over to Julia's stamping ground.

WOYWW #248 - Sunshiny

Well look at me, it's a quarter to ten and I have just realised it is Wednesday!

Blame it on harp playing (or visits) or the menopause, take your pick! Well at least it is sunny for my photo.




We focused on "book pages" at craft club last week and I made the 2 bird cards. (Do click on the photo as it will be much bigger then)

The page in my DLP is on "found poetry" using a book page too. Book Pages is also the theme for this month's swap on UKPC and I fortunately found the magazine article so am having a go at that.

I did my Craft Barn quote on AGE using Victor Hugo's quote:-

Forty is the old age of youth

Fifty the youth of old age.

Quite appropriate for my ripe old age don't you think!

Oh and here's the garden this month. After last year's photo a month I couldn't resist carrying on with it.

So come over to Julia's to see what I am "harping" on about with this WOYWW thing!

Q&L #04 - AGE

OK, so I have been doing Lyrics so far for the Q&L challenge over at the Craft Barn but how could I resist this quote from Victor Hugo?

Forty is the old AGE of youth
Fifty the youth of old AGE

Had a play with paints again which is most unusual for me. I used a purple biro instead of my black pens this time and that seems to have worked better - for the pens anyway.




Caught up with the last 3 Psalms earlier today too. Now I see them together they have remarkably similar colours despite one being paints and the other sprays. Curious, it wasn't intentional but seems to fit in with the Journal 52 prompt this week of  "Colour Inspiration".

Challenge Update

I've been combining my yearly challenges and have just added some heart flaps (DLP week 8) to my heart flap page in my little diary.

I made a tip-in recycled collage with magazine pieces (DLP week 9) and bits and bobs I have collected or were left over on my desk.

The smiley face was on a Happy Mail package I received last month.

My harp page was for the "When I grow Up" prompt (J52 week 7).















Our Craft Club was focusing on book pages but I didn't seem to get much inspiration whilst there so came home early.

I used the little scalloped hearts inside my husband's anniversary card.

I used one of the pages for the "Found Poetry" prompt (J52 week 8). I ended up with 3 triplets of words.

Earnest, Frivolous Enjoyment
Puzzled Peculiar Trifles
Wisdom Leaping Summer.

I just need to do my Psalm pages now...

Pilgrim Harps

What else do you do on your 16th wedding anniversary but go to visit Pilgrim Harps! I guess I was slightly biased as I got a small folk harp a fortnight ago for my 50th and well, I have been bitten by the bug...

I think the 47 string orchestral ones are a bit too big for me, but the smaller 34 string lever ones feel just right. Although the one I have has only 19 strings which I am pointing out in the photo below!




My husband has hold of a soundboard here. He is well into sound so quite appropriate.

Seeing the workshop and the guys making the harps was just delightful. All deep in the Surrey countryside on a sunny day, coming home via the scenic route and we even went up Harps Oak Lane! 

Certainly a trip to remember.

12 Months In View - The Finale

The 12 Months In View Challenge draws to a close.

Many thanks to Bernice and all her contributors for making this journey so special.

I now have a chunky, colourful Journal of the past year.

I have celebrated each season with art challenges and techniques. I made calendar pages each month depicting the flower of the month. I used the monthly giveaway papers to make tags with pockets and made up zines with poetry too.



I took a photo of my garden each month.

Here are my final set of photos. Also my final pockets and tags.

My posts are labeled, just click on the "12 months" label below to see them all.