Painting: Cottage

 Another Matthew Palmer paint along from last night.  This was slightly more taxing for my eyesight, but pretty pleased with the result.   I might try and paint it again on a larger scale.

I actually painted along in real time, rather than watching the lesson on Rewind, so that I could paint at my own pace.

Needle felting: "Daybreak Poppies"

I haven't done any needle felting for a few years, but decided to try out this landscape by Solway Woolscapes.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this craft.

There is loads of wool, and fleece left, so I will have to find something else to make

Painting: Inspired by Harlech Castle

I caught up with the Matthew Palmer's "Paint along" the other day, and this is what I produced.   The painted using just three colours - blue orange and red.   The size is 5.1/2 inches x 3.1/2 inches.  So quite small.  I think it is sometimes more difficult to paint small pictures than larger ones,  particularly with my dodgy eyesight - but I do have a nice new daylight lamp that shines directly over my work on my desk!.  Anyway I am quite pleased with it.   

I will own up that there was a slight "hiccup", when I removed the masking tape from under the mountains, which took off part of the paper, but as we then had to "rough" up the sea with a craft knife at the end of the painting to give the impression of surf - it actually did me a favour! - lol!

All my readers will know that I have always said that I can't paint or draw, and I had to chuckle at a pal's comments on this picture "I know you say you can't paint and draw, but just think what you could achieve if you could paint and draw!"    I did reply that it was all down to the great instructions by the teachers, but left to my own devices, I doubt that I would produce anything without guidance!

Oriental Birthday Card

It's not often I buy a stamp or a die that can't be used in more than one way - but I fell in love with this one by Tutti designs, called Asian Landscape.

I die cut it twice - once in white and once in dark blue mirri card.  I then stuck them on to the card at slightly different levels to create "drop shadow" with the white one.   I think you can just make it out in the photo.  (I was dreading applying the glue to the intricate die, but I had taken on board a little tip I saw by Lou Withers, and put the glue on a sponge, and sponged the glue on - Result!  A lot easier than the way us crafters tend to do it by smearing glue on the back of our hand to try and add the glue!)

I also had some thin "oriental" washi tape - so just add a strip down the side.

 

Drawing: Three random flowers

The exercise for this lesson was actually to fill the flowers with zentangle shapes or doodles, but I knw my eyes weren't up to that, and would spoil it, so I opted to just colour them again with my polochrome pencils.   Again blending with Dorso oil.   I actually used a water colour pencil for the background and "painted" it.

Drawing: Toadstools

 

Another drawing today - this time fungi - or rather Fly Agaric toadstools.    Once again coloured with polychromo pencils and blended with Dorso oil.

Drawing: Tulip

 

I have been catching up on the drawing again, and this time colouring in the image too.    Coloured in with plychromo pencils and blended with Dorso oil.   I am beginning to believe I CAN draw - Taken me the best part of seven decades to achieve it though! lol!

80th Birthday Card

I love this stamp and the triangle stencil, so I used it again for my neighbour's birthday   The photo doesn't do it justice (think I had a bit of a wobble taking it).    The card looks as though it is coloured, but it is all white with a pale green/grey triangle.   The flower spray is watercoloured, and the dots around the triangle which were the same colour as the triangle have been also dotted with a micron pen.
My neighbour loved it and said how pretty it was!

MDF Train

 

This is a large MDF train that I have built and painted.   The train was a Clever Cut kit from Stamps Away.   I have kept the colours fairly simple, as guided by Ali Reeve, although I did add ted to the front and rear, as that seemed to be the norm for engines.   I just need to decide a name for it,  to go on the "headboard! - There isn't a lot of room, so as this is a present for my train-loving son-in-law, it will probably be called Sir P.

A bit different to my norm

Something a bit different for me - a semi grunge card.   I made a mask for the stamp, and then used a stencil for the background using mainly pink and purple Artistry Inks, with a little yellow for the centre of the "flower".   I then removed the stencil and stamped the images, and painted them using the same inks.    Finally a sentiment from the same set of stamps was added