Summer Creations - and a few other little things

I was so inspired by Erin Leigh Butson in the Somerset Studio magazine's summer 2013 issue when I saw her darling little houses she created on canvas and decided since we live down near the water a couple canvases in this theme would be perfect for my home. Here's what I came up with. They sit side by side on my wall.

I used the mini pad from Christine Tomlinson's She Art collection to paper piece my houses.

I've also been doodling in my water colour journal and am loving simple little whimsical drawings painted with my Koi water colours. I've been finding adorable little images all over Pinterest and have re-created them in my journal. Some I have added my own little touches too, others I have used parts of the image and some copied directly. All are painted with Koi water colours. Most are from cute little stamp sets. (sorry I can't remember the artists to give credit). I always feel guilty copying an image from someone else, that's why I rarely ever if at all scraplift my scrapbook layouts but, I really want to improve my drawings and doodles so forgive me if anyone thinks its not ok and perhaps instead think that copying is truly the finest form of flattery ;o) Here's to all the amazing artist I get my inspiration from. I love you all!

Inspired from a cute little mug given to me as a Thank You for looking after a friend's dog.

Inspired from an adorable stamp set off Pinterest.

A little doodle from my own collection of these dolls.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting! Now go create something :o)

A Visit to Fort Langley

I've been wanting to check out the Little White House in Fort Langley for a while now. Whitney, Emily and I took a trip out the other day and went for tea. It was lovely! Here are a few photos from our day together.

More Pages in my Art Journal

I've started my summer off with a lot of painting. I'm loving it! Jo has come to visit and we played with colour and Sue C. is coming over today to play. I'm loving the sunshine and visiting with good friends.

These pages were done at Dina Wakley's Art Journalling class that I took with Jo and Sue C. I loved it! Below is a page I did at home inspired by Dina.

Here are some more pages I have done over the last few days.

I think I have to make more of these girls. I'm really happy with how she turned out. Now to just practice my shading.

This one is all acrylics. I am in love with Golden heavy bodied paints. They are like butter!

More acrylics, stencils and a wee biter of glitter.

Love this stamp! I paper pieced her together and want to make a whole new wardrobe for her now! lol

And finally, another Prima stamp that I am in love with and lots of acrylics, modelling paste and stamps. Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Some Art Journalling and Photography

What have I been up to lately? Well, it's always super busy for me at work this time of year so I haven't had a lot of time to paint. I really have to get back to my scrapbooking too! It's been soooo long! Anywhoo....above are a couple pages I did this weekend. I mostly used Tim Holtz Distress paints for this piece.

Below are some of my favourite photos from my photography course I just completed. I really enjoyed it and learned lots!  I'm planning on doing a lot more creating over the summer and going on some photo field trips so I'll be posting a little more regularly.  Thanks for stopping by.

Mixed Media and a l'il Watercolour

I've been experimenting with my new Derwent Inktense Pencil Crayons....LOVE them! They are soooo vivid! I've also been playing in my mixed media art journal. First, here's a sample of the gorgeous colours from the 24 count Inktense set.

and here's a little watercolour painting I did using them...

I've been watching lots of Youtube video tutorials on watercolouring and am really practicing my blending techniques. I've got a ways to go but am pretty happy how this one turned out.

Below are some new pages in my mixed media art journal. I love how you can just paint over stuff if you don't like it when you are working on a mixed media painting lol I just played with these pages until I liked the layers that I had put down. Hoping to find some more time to paint again soon. Thanks for stopping by to visit!

 

Scrapbooking Set Aside for Mixed Media

I've had lots of time to play over my Spring Break and have been inspired with all the amazing artists and their work on Pinterest. Here's a few more pages in my Art Journal along with a pic of what I did to the cover of my Dyan Reaveley art journal. It's so 60s no? Thanks for stopping by.

 

This piece was inspired by Tonya Gibbs. I love how she created her flowers and tried it myself. Super easy to do!

Another Mixed Media Piece

 

I spent the day painting and playing with Sue C. I used her beautiful rose stamp to make this new pag in my art journal. I love how it turned out! Did I say I am now officially addicted to Dylusion ink sprays?! lol

Another Page in my Art Journal

Jo picked up my new Dylusions Journal. Thanks Jo! LOVE IT! I played and played, adding more layers of colour to this page until I was happy with it. You should have seen my studio! lol Thanks for stopping by to visit :)

 Lots of supplies here, Dylusions ink sprays, modeling paste for the stars, Inka Gold, prisma colour pencils, stamps, Pitt pens, scrapbook paper, buttons, rik rak, stencils and glitter, lovely glitter!

 A couple close ups.

A Lovely Surprise...

I received a lovely surprise the other day, a blog award from Judy, a fellow Canadian blogger who's blog you can find here. Thanks for visiting my blog, your lovely comments and for this award Judy! It's so nice to meet you :)

ABOUT THE AWARD - this award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. Once you’ve been nominated you in turn award it to blogs that you like to visit that have fewer than 200 followers.  This is to encourage new visitors to visit these blogs. RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE - you must thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award on your blog. Give the award to 5 bloggers who you appreciate that have less than 200 followers.  Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award.

PAY IT FORWARD - Listed below are five blogs that I like to visit and it would be great if you dropped in on them.

Jenny:  Jenny has a beautiful art blog filled with inspiration. In fact, it was Jenny's work that inspired me to delve into water colour painting. I just love her whimsical style. Be sure to check out her journals and her amazing sketches! 

Micki: I love to visit Micki's blog for inspiration. She has created some super colourful mixed media art that are right up my alley!  I love the way she always lists the supplies she uses for her projects!  I'm slowly building up my stash.

Shahrul: I really enjoy stopping in to visit Shahrul's blog. She's all the way over in Malaysia and does some beautiful water colour sketches in her journals. She also creates some gorgeous little projects!

SamSam: SamSam is from Kuala Lumpur and I follow her on Pinterest as well as her blog. She has lots of inspiration to share! I really enjoy her adorable Project Life layouts and unique style!

Jo:  Jo is a dear friend of mine who's blog is full of amazing creative projects. She is one uber talented gal and never ceases to amaze me with her creations! 

To my nominees, please accept this award in the spirit that it is given which is one of admiration and friendship. Keep on creating!
 

A New Passion? Mixed Media and Art Journaling

Well, I think I've got the bug! I've always loved colour and now that I have been playing with my new Dylusions ink sprays, stencils and water colour paints I just can't get enough!

Here's what I've been up to the last little while. I'm now on a search for glossy magazine pics that are a little retro, and a little bit funky to add to my journals. It's been ages since I scrapbooked and I'm actually contemplating on just taking my art journals with me to my next retreat!