Being Creative Gallery Check In: August

Hello

Welcome to the August 2011 Gallery for the Being Creative Project.  The theme this month was Travel.  Have you taken part this time?  Are you ready to share some work with us?  I do hope so as I'm looking forward to seeing how you have used the theme this month!


I have been travelling about a fair bit myself this month ~ we were lucky enough to visit Northumberland for a spot of camping and I was inspired by the beautiful Farne Islands that we took a boat trip to whilst we were there...the RSPB ranger on Inner Farne (where our boat docked for an hour of exploration and tranquility) explained that this time of year the islands are used as a resting place for birds passing through on their migrations.

This got me thinking about birds and travel, and the amount of miles that these feathered souls fly to reach their destinations.  I wanted to share a piece of work that would depict this time of year and a flock of migratory birds travelling their annual journeys. 

I seem to like the wistful feeling that arises as Summer draws to a close and the first signs of Autumn appear.  There are gentle changes to the landscape and unseen movement in the natural world that tell us that the seasons are changing; it's often more of a 'feeling' than anything visual at first.   But the sight of a faraway flock of birds, their distant calls just audible in the still air seems to lend itself to something melancholy, lonely and magnificent all at once.  In that moment you know that you're seeing and hearing the rythmns of nature repeating their age old patterns, ones that you can really feel, that you're connected to and that beat like a drum in the very centre of soul.

Here's a piece of work I did a few months back which captures the very essence of this time of year, and the theme of Travel...

'Home' - available in my gallery at www.juliacrossland.co.uk

So!

Gallery Posting:  You can share a URL link using the link tool below.  Use this to link back to your Flickr, other photo hosting webpage or Blog page, but please do not link back to Folksy, Etsy or other online marketplace stores.

The gallery will be open from September 1st ~ September 30th so you can come back and post your links through the whole month if you're still working on something, which is absolutely ok by the way - this isn't school and there aren't any concrete 'deadlines'.  I prefer to not restrict projects by killing them off with a deadline anyway, it sounds so terminal and causes unnecessary stress and worry - and this is meant to be fun remember!  So, worry ye not if your work isn't finished already.  Why not consider giving yourself an extension...oh and I love what author and artist Sark did with that word; she disected it and turned it into a word with new meaning: ex - tension...get it...?!! I just love that idea and it completely works for me!  Feel free to gift yourself with one if you need to!

In case you lose this page during September, you'll find a link in the right sidebar which will enable you to find the Gallery post again, once new blog posts replace this one.

You can also post in the Flickr Group pool (there is also a link in the right hand side bar) and your work will be welcomed by the friendly and supportive members of the group.  You can also use the Flickr Group as a place to open a discussion, to see what other people have been working on, and to find inspiration for your own creations.

*Note about my role as Being Creative Project Host:  I am really enjoying hosting this group on my blog for all of you but I am choosing to step back from the actual creating side of it and will be running it in more of an administrative way.  By this I mean that I will be focusing more upon the supportive element of the group; dealing with personal emails, sending out the newsletter and working on the monthly gallery pages.  I will of course share art/craft and illustrations with you where possible but I have to allow for the fact that I'm sailing this little ship single handedly and there are other business and family commitments that I have to allow for too.  I am thinking about choosing a piece of work from the Flickr Group to feature on Gallery Day when I don't have a relevant piece of my own to share...what do you think about having your work featured on my blog?  I hope that these little changes don't upset you or cause a problem for you ~ please share your thoughts with me in the comments section below.

I would just like to thank ALL OF YOU who have signed up to receive the FREE e-newsletter so far - there are heaps of you (wowzers!!!!)  I hope that you are enjoying the newsletters which I aim to send with scoops of guidance, ideas and support for your creative journey.

Don't forget, if you haven't signed up to get your copy of the Being Creative Project E-Letter yet, then you can do so by filling in the form on the Being Creative Page; there's also a FREE MINI CREATIVITY E-BOOK for you, to get you started on your creative journey!  Aaaaaaannnnnnnd....talking of books, I'm sooooo excited!! Some of you may know that I've been working on a brand new Creativity E-book these last few months and I'm pleased to say it's all finally coming together and will soon be ready to lauch!  As well as it being chocka-doodle full of illustrations, guidance, tips, inspiration and support, I'm really delighted that there are also a gorgeous scoop of creative entrepreneurs who have dedicated their time, wisdom and experience to contributing to this book too.


I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all ~ sign up to the newsletter to be the first to hear about the launch!

Righty~ho!  This month's theme is Autumn.  I hope you will be inspired by misty mornings, carpets of golden leaves, the scent of bonfires, home baking and walks in the forest...what does the word Autumn conjure up for you? 

I'm looking forward to finding out.

Sending much love, thanks for taking part!
Julia x

Delicious August

Hello!

At long last I manage to find a few moments during this full to bursting month to sit down and write a blog post!  How are you?  I hope you're having a glowing August!

It's been a while since I was in Blogland; I've been here, there and everywhere you see ~ a spot of camping, time with visiting family, out with friends, play dates...oh my it's been a rather pleasant whirlwind of lovely things and I must confess to not getting much done in the way of Work or crochet.

Speaking of which, and assuming you have noticed the rather enticing snapshot of those curly skeins of wool at the top of this post, you might be wondering 'Another Project?? What can she be up to now!'

Let me explain :D

I confess I gave into temptation and purchased (as a Holiday Gift to myself, as you do) some of that gorgeously soft Debbie Bliss Andes wool...oh how very dreamy it is!  Perhaps one of the nicest yarns I have ever had the pleasure of being able to buy.  It's not cheap no, not by any means but sometimes a girl has to indulge in a little luxury and I must admit to feeling like a child in a sweet shop as I was choosing the colours!  I have plans to make a cosy Winter Scarf and I'm very much looking forward to choosing the exact pattern for it (still in a quandry about that to be honest!).  I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime I'm pleased that my Japanese Flower Scarf is literally just a hand~full of flowers away from being finished...

Here it is, draped over the sofa and I'm really delighted with how it's coming along.  I might have got this finished had I taken it on my recent camping trip to Northumberland, but alas I FORGOT MY CROCHET STUFF!!! Oh dear, HUGE heart sinking moment as several miles up the M1 I realised my mistake.  Nothing like a nice bit of hooky by the sea, but it wasn't meant to be this time.  However, we were more than occupied by our destination when we arrived, filling our days with marvellous things...let me show you:

 

We took a boat trip to the beautiful and lonely Farne Islands...

In the bright morning sunshine, seals basked lazily on the rocks as we sailed by...

...and mooring up on Inner Farne, we were able to tiptoe up to the cliff edge to witness a Mama and her fluffy brood on the nest.  The guide told us that there were many birds using the Farnes as a resting place during their migrations at this time of year.  It really is such a peaceful and special part of the world.

Back on dry land we enjoyed the miles of white sandy beaches, paddling in the crystal clear seas...

 ...and not without company!  Curious Eider ducks decided to come and meet us, my daughter was completely entranced by them (as was I, they came so very close).

Evenings were spent at the tent, wrapped in blankets sipping hot chocolate in our mugs whilst watching Mother Moon rise; a soft apricot globe in a dusky blue August sky...

...or at our lovely local pub, The Jolly Fisherman at nearby Craster...

...isn't this one of the best views to enjoy a nice crisp pint of local beer with?
A walk past the harbour and beyond was a nice way to walk off our tea too - if you're ever in the area I cannot say how good the food is at this place and highly recommend you drop in and enjoy it!

 

So here we are back home again.  And when the weather is dry we've been out walking in the most glorious late summer scenery.  Our moorland heather has suddenley burst into bloom and it's the most outrageously beautiful purple this year.  There is mile upon mile of the stuff and it is heart stoppingly beautiful.  I feel very lucky to have this all on my doorstep to enjoy :)

 

And so, August melts dreamily away and soon it will be September.  Soon it will be time for school runs and uniforms again.  I have loved every minute of these holidays; rainy days spent indoors building dens out of the clothes horse and old travel rugs, playing Snap and Pairs for hours on the living room floor, spontaneous picnics, camping, painting, planting, baking, walking, having family to visit and tasty barbecues infused with laughter and joy...Simple, wonderful, glorious summer holidays.

I shall miss them, yet I shall remember them for a long time to come.  I hope your August has been one to remember.

Sending you love, thanks so much for dropping by;

Julia x x x

 

And Now for Something Different . . .

I've been doing a different kind of art today - textile art:

Journal Sketch Page ~ Oyster Catcher

In the hub-bub of life I sometimes hatch a little idea which I don't have time to pay attention to right away and it has to be quickly drawn into my sketch book so I can remember it for later.
This was one of those ideas, and it was born in September of last year whilst up on the Northumberland coast.

One very early (and particularly beautiful) morning, I was the first one up in our little holiday abode, and whilst enjoying a hot coffee I had a trawl through the rather fascinating book case that the owner had thoughtfully crammed full of fabulous reading material and discovered a very old bird book.

I wish I could tell you what the title of it was but I'm afraid I can't.  It was one of those little books bound in soft navy blue leather, and all the wording had been rubbed off.  The pages were well worn and yellowed with age on the edges, and did I just fall in love with those black and white illustrations?  You bet I did, and I hastily scribbled in my sketch book that morning as the ideas ran riot.

My idea was to create a journal type sketch book piece using mixed media mounted onto a small box canvas.
Using creamy white calico as a base to work from, I drew a lined journal background and my oyster catcher in pencil and then coloured it in with acrylics, adding a couple of smooth round pebbles he could nose about in and a bit of turquoise for the shoreline.

When the paint had dried, I ironed the calico and began my freestyle embroidery.  I used two contrasting colours of thread throughout as I like the fact you can see both colours if you look carefully.  It's also a nice way to shade.

I really love the freedom of this kind of sewing, it's a very organic process and I enjoy the occasional serendiptious mishaps that end up enhancing the work! 
To give it more of a page-like feel, I sewed in the lines and added text using a vintage typewriter alphabet stamp, and also a bit of my own hand writing.

To finish, the work was mounted on a painted box canvas.  What do you think?  
You will be able to find this in my Folksy Shop.

(Detail)

So onto other stuff:  I've been doing a bit more work on my shawl this week, in between looking after a poorly Small.  It's slow progress but it's coming on a treat.  I'm looking forward to sharing some new pictures of my current WIP with you very soon.

Talking of crochet...Oh my goodness did I go weak at the knees with the Wanties or what!?!  Being pretty much housebound this week playing nurse to Small, I decided to treat myself to a magazine - the ones I promised not to spend oodles of cash on anymore, except as a treat (but I reckon being a nurse qualifies to a bit of self indulgence).
Anyhow!  Flicking through the pages of a rather colourful and splendid Country Living I saw this:

Can you see it?  
Look closer...sorry to behead the poor woman in the picture but check out that crocheted waistcoat!!!  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeals of delight, just LoOk!! LOOK!!!

Sorry the picture is slightly blurred - but you get the idea!  Apparently it's a CK one although I can't find it anywhere online to look at in more detail.  It's worth £68 squideroonies and you know what I thought when I saw it don't you?

I could make that.

It looks like a granny stitch affair to me - and it is ever so likely that this will be my next project once the shawl is finished. I'm already choosing colours for it - the other half raised an eyebrow and indicated with a slight nod of his head the rather full to bursting wool basket in Crochet Corner...'What about that lot in there?'  Well what about it?  It's all odds and sods, suitable for blankets and cushions, this is going to need New Wool!!  And that for me is half the pleasure of it all - picking new wool!


If any of you has a link to a better picture of this waistcoat, would you be a dear and send it to me please?


Thank you.


Sending you love ~ thank you for dropping in today, have a wonderful weekend!
Julia x

A New Love Affair

Hello dear souls.

I'm here at last, and I'm a day late blogging (which means I'm a day late with my 100th Post Celebration Draw ~ sorry about that!) but it has been a whirlwind week involving a Very Important 3rd Birthday for a Little Someone amongst other things!

First of all though, I would like to share some of my photographs with you from our trip last weekend...

I never expected to be so totally smitten by a place...I never expected such a huge expanse of blue sky to greet me and an amazing sense of space. I never believed that beaches could be this white on the east coast, I never realised such a beautiful corner of England existed until last weekend when we journeyed north to Northumberland.

My dear friends, a new love affair has begun!

Beyond the sea grasses lay miles of soft white sand, and crystal clear seas which turned gently turquoise and then denim blue upon the horizon. Surely places like this are only found on foreign shores...?

Cheerful bunting was hung across the lane that wound its way down to the harbour at Seahouses.

And we were all quite in love with the soft calls of the beautiful eider ducks..

There were far too many beautiful views, I love looking at the beach through the fronds of dusty green sea grass...a magical descent to the beach below through warm sand dunes...

...and from the sandy path that ran along the low cliffs, we could see the Farne Islands clustered in that crystal clear water, the sun shone all day long and we felt so happy to be in this beautiful place...

Our travels took us to Alnmouth, where huge blousy red poppies grew in abundance by the estuary.

I was completely and utterly blown away by the brilliance and size of these wild flowers - and I thought, if I tried to paint this scene with the vivid blue sky and the scarlet petals it would look too much somehow. Only nature can carry off this sort of beauty I think!

Come evening, molten sunsets bathed everything in a rose gold glow...

...it's 9:30pm here, but Someone Small cares nothing about the time...there's always time for a paddle at the seaside!

I won't forget those long days in the fresh air and the sun which was hot from early morning when we first opened the door of our caravan at just turned seven o'clock. There's nothing quite like scent of wild flowers, grass and salt breezes as you sip a good cup of coffee and know that a whole new day lies ahead, full of wanderings and discoveries.

Now, I have always had a deep fondness for Cornwall and Devon, having holidayed and lived there over the years, but I'm starting to think those places may just have a teeny weeny bit of competition! I'm looking forward to going back to Northumberland some day not so far off, there is much more to see and do and three days, although heavenly, just weren't long enough!

But anyway...I think an important matter needs to be sorted out!!

Who, you may be wondering, is the winner of the 100th Post Draw?

Well my dear friends, I carefully checked and counted up the comments that you all kindly left for me (and they were all so very lovely, thank you all so much for taking the time to write them) and then I found me a Random Number Generator...

The number it drew for me was.....23!

And the winner of the little Cath Kidston address book, and two of my art print cards is

Jacquie!!

Well done! And thank you to everyone else who took part :D

So, at the beginning of this post I mentioned a 3rd Birthday, which is one of the reasons that I'm a day late with my draw - you see we didn't get back until late on Monday evening, and Tuesday was spent in a whirlwind of shopping and last minute present buying (and wrapping) not to mention cake baking at 8:30pm that same evening...whew!! Im weary again just thinking about it!! Wednesday was our Little One's birthday and she had a lovely day, although how she got to be 3 so fast is beyond me!

We had a little tea party for her, and here is a picture of the Smartie Cake she requested (I used the vanilla sponge recipe from 'Cupcakes from the Primrose Hill Bakery and it's a really good one).

Needless to say, yesterday was spent catching up with chores and the like (how come there is always so much washing after only 3 days away??) and before I knew it, it was early evening.

Ah well, better late than never eh?!

Before I go...(are you still with me?), I wanted to share an illustration piece that I've just finished for my portfolio.

I thought I'd continue with my animal theme, hence the bear. I painted this slightly different to how I usually do, in that I used my acrylic paint very thinly and in lots of layers. It built up gradually and I think it gives a nice depth, which I finished off with some soft crayon here and there.

Whilst on the subject of paintings etc, I'm going to be sharing some new cards with you soon. They are going to be hand illustrated, so therefore very unique and special, and I'll be posting them here for you to see very soon.

Just before I go, I'd like to welcome some new followers, and to say once again Thank You Very Much for visiting my blog, for your kindness and support ~ it means such a lot and I do enjoy reading your little messages!

Anyway, I'm off now, I don't know about you but after this I need a nice cuppa!! :D

See you all again soon~

(I'll be catching up properly with your blogs now life has settled back into a slightly more gentle pace again!!)

Much love

Happy Bank Holiday to you!

Julia x

A Ta~Dah Moment and a 100th Post Giveaway!!!

Hello!

And "Hello" to some lovely new followers too!! While I think about it, I'd like to thank you all for the gorgeous comments you left me on my last post - it makes my day to hear from you!

So, on my last post you may remember me teasing you with a shot of some scrumptious circles that I'd joined together (the original pattern can be discovered at Attic24 for those wondering). I wasn't giving much away was I, but today I can reveal what I've been up to...and Oh My, it's a bit of a scrummy reveal if I do say so myself!

I had the idea to do this Project some time ago, and eventually I weaned myself away from my Rainbow Ripple long enough to do it. This is another In Progress shot...hee hee!!

I wonder if you can guess what it is yet...?

Perhaps this next picture might give you a few clues...

Look at those swoonsome buttons would you? Aren't they just the best buttons for a lovely piece of rainbow infested crochet like that???

Alright, alright...I won't tease you any longer - here is my Ta~Dah moment, imaginary drum rolls please!!

For those of you who haven't guessed already, here is my Rainbow Flower Bolster Cushion!!! Woot Woot!!! Hurrah!!

Brace yourselves for some seriously gratuitous Bolster posing shots:

What do you think? Isn't it the most happy, Rest-Upon-Me-Right-Now looking thing you ever saw?

I was surprised how quickly I managed to do this actually. There are 70 little flowers (circles) that are joined as you go (which speeds things up enormously), and then the two main edges were finished off with white, green, turquoise and blue.

Let me tell you that it was very much a Fumble Your Way Along kind of pattern, in as much as there was no pattern - I made it up as I went along. The end circles are both made up with different colours and finished with some little picot stitches around the edges. You see the main point of this project was to use up oodles of bits of wool I had left over from my Big Blanket, and to be honest I only had to invest in a couple of new balls to supplement what ran out midway, and of course I had to buy the bolster cushion too.

So it didn't cost that much :D

And I love the colourful roly poly~ness of it, sitting on my sofa like a big rainbow sausage roll!

Ahhhh...I do like a good Ta~Dah moment to share with you lovely people!!

In the midst of all this evening crocheting, I found time to make the Little One some Proper Bunting at the weekend. She has been asking for flags in the garden for weeks now, and on Sunday morning I had a flick through Homemade (a gorgeous book by Ros Badger & Elspeth Thompson) and followed their very easy pattern and came up with this, which is now draped about the garden making it look very summery and festive!

Needless to say, there hasn't been much time for any painting this week. The other reason for that is because we are off to Northumberland to spend a few days by the sea and I have been busy washing, ironing and packing like a mad woman. I cannot wait for this little break, it is a much needed tonic for us all!

But before I go, there is one more important thing to share! Yes, today this is my 100th post. I know I am not the most frequent of bloggers and it has taken me quite a while to get to 100 as I generally only post once a week at the moment. But I love it, I enjoy writing my blog, I really enjoy getting to know fellow bloggers out there and the whole experience of reaching 100 posts has been wonderful.

So as a little Thank You to you all, for coming by and reading, following and commenting I would like to offer a Giveaway:

I have a very pretty Cath Kidston address book for you and two seasidey art cards of mine for you!

Isn't that a pretty address book? It's full of pretty designs like the Strawberry one above, and I thought I would treat one lucky reader to their very own as I love mine (the one Im showing you above) so very much indeed.

If you would like to be included in the giveaway, just drop me a comment here and your name will be added to the draw which will be taking place next Thursday the 27th May.

Im off now to treat myself to some new summer footwear, the weather forcast has promised sunshine and warm weather (fingers crossed) so Im away to the shops!!

I will try and catch up with your blogs when I come home, I wish you all a lovely weekend and send you lots of sunshine and happy times!

Love Julia x x x