SparkleFlowers

Hello everyone, as I write this we have 50 mile an hour winds outside and its also pouring with rain. So pleased I'm snug as a bug and hope you are too.

Today I  have a card for my second inspiration for this months challenge for Country View Crafts which is use black and white and a colour of your choice. I chose silver. I made this using my Cricut Maker a fabulous machine which can make so many of your crafting projects.

I first designed my flowers on my iPad with Procreate. I have included those designs on this page and you are free to download and use them in your personal projects. if you share them with social media please acknowledge where you got them.

I started designing these back in the Autumn but with Christmas and preparations for my course I put them on the back burner. However for my course I designed a butterfly and cut them out and thought while cutting I might as well cut the flowers as well.




they are all filled in for the maker to recognise and cut them out. I chose the ones wanted for my card and using a glue with a fine nozzle I drew my pattern onto the flowers and leaves and then added my sparkle glitter.

While I waited for the glitter to dry I cut my background paper to size, mixed up some white fluid acrylic in white with a little water and flicked it onto the black card.

I then assembled the card. These designs can be used in the Cricut explore or Maker or if you have another cutting machine thats allows you to input images.

There are lots of dies of flower shapes in the shop which you could use in the same way to create this simple but effective card. I finished it with some large chit chat stickers but you could also use your favourite quote or stamp on yours.

thats all from me 

hugs xxx

Week 1 first brief and I loved it

Hello everyone, some of you may be aware I’ve started studying an MA in Illustration with Falmouth University which is totally taught online. Well my first week is completed and I love it. Having the whole teaching online really suits my style, we seem to have a wonderful cohort who already work in illustration in some way or have a degree so I have some very talented people to learn from.

Our first practice brief was to create an I (for illustration) which shows something of yourself as way of introducing yourself to the group and as I have now uploaded to my course I can share it with you here.

For anyone who really knows me it is self explanatory as I haven’t gone for anything cryptic

But those who done here goes.

The top is filled with mountains which I love, a nest with 3 birds represents my grandchildren and my daughter flying in to feed them.

The tree itself is a huge love of mine and the vine is for all the country side around me. The light,  my guiding light,  is my husband who is my biggest fan as well as my biggest critic lol. 

Then the tree is filled with some of the important things to me, my cat, books, pens, sheep, my iPad (lol) my home with its picket fence and my baby girl who lives in heaven. Then we have the deep roots which I feel I have already put down in my not so new home. (Almost a year when we moved)

And here is how I created it

Onto an A3 piece of mixed media paper I sketched my final draft. I had sketched it out several times in small scale to finalise my ideas. I then used making fluid on the leaves and small items on the tree. Once dry I added a water glaze to all the background and the dropped in purple and blue watercolour paint. (Danial Smiths) once that was dry I sprinkled brusho on top and activated it with water.

I finished painting my mountains and once dry rubbed off the masking fluid. This actually gave me a huge blister on my thumb. 

Then using watercolour I painted in the rest I added more details with pencils (polychromous by Fabre Castell) the mother bird I drew on a separate piece of card, cut it out and stuck it in place.

Let’s take another look

Hope you like as I had so much fun creating it

Hugs xxx

It’s black ... it’s white ... as the song goes but this portrait is both- new challenge for Country View Crafts

Hello everyone welcome to the February challenge for Country View Crafts which theme chosen for us by the super talented Sue is Black and white and a choice of 1 other colour. I decided to sketch a portrait as I just love drawing! Don’t forget to enter your creations to be in with a chance to enter the draw.

I started by mapping in the basic shapes ( I’ve recently started to use reference photos, as they are helping me with shading and proportions. I always refused to use them as I thought being able to draw out of my head was better. However I’ve realised that to improve and develop I need to have something to help me as I was really getting anywhere) I didn’t copy exactly just enough to help me with shadows and lights.

Building it up 

And more - I used a Derwent mechanical Pencil which is quite light in value.

And the final piece

I decided to switch to soft pastels at the end just to get some more contrasts in shadows and lights. 

I quite like how she came out and hope you do to.

Come back soon to see my piece I completed for the course I’m studying (MA in Illustration) with is to illustrate the the letter I

Take care xxx