It wasn't on purpose...

...to lazily skip a week of blogging.  It was entirely due to yet another computer operator fail when I attempted to download the latest version of Microsoft Outlook.  I managed to mess it up so badly (I thought) that I lost contacts, calendar and my carefully constructed files.  The truth was that the 'new' Outlook doesn't have those capabilities, and may not for some time.  The repair shop was badly backed up, and it took ages to sort it all out.  Microsoft is, once again, on my 'What in heaven's name were you thinking?' list.  😖

In the meantime, I hosted a Bodacious Bookmarks morning for some artist friends.  We crafted some 40+ bookmarks to gift the local library, who offers them on a donation basis to their patrons.  As you know, any money in the library coffers is a boost for education, and who could say no to that?

We had a blast, and I'd be happy to use any one of them to mark my place.  Here's are photos of the fun, and the end results!

We've another one of these fun mornings coming up in February, so the library will score.  Incidently, so will I, as we're using up some scap papers of mine, and that means I can make some more.  That's a favourite passtime in the studio on both scores.  😉 

Having friends in the studio...

...is a great treat!  Louise Olinger is a long-time friend who was visiting in the Creston Valley this week, so we got to play together a couple of times.

She was working on a couple of bookmarks while in the studio,

and I know her little grandson, Nolan, is going to be delighted with his (on the left).  Wonder who's going to be the recipient of the one on the right - Louise was keeping pretty mum about that!

Meantime, one of my 'red' canvasses was sporting a thick layer of Kroma Crackle - it's going to take another couple of weeks to dry so I can add some more colour (because it's obviously much too quiet right now).

I had a blast taking this screeching collaged piece a step or six further, and can hardly wait to see where it goes from here.

Another piece got some more layers as well, including some alcohol ink pens that bled, and bled and bled. Goodness knows whether it's salvageable.  Lesson learned (perhaps, although I know I've done this before.  Mom always used to say that 'repetition aids comprehension', although in my case, I'm not sure that's the case).

And last week's 'dog's breakfast' is turning into a garden, so that should be interesting as it runs for the finish line.  Goodness knows where or when that may be.

Here's to making the world a more colourful place, bit by bit!

Jumping from project....

 ...to project seems to be the way to keep my muse entertained, and I've certainly been doing that this past week.  I started creating the paper for my next star book

and it looks decidedly different from when I started on hot press watercolour paper with a flurry of stamping.

I finished a bookmark that had been sitting on my table for weeks and weeks and weeks.

I created a card with a skeleton leaf I found months ago.

And that got me back into the mode for Christmas card assembly (and a darn good thing, too, as it's creeping ever closer and there are many more to build).

I painted three wooden panels, and secured works on paper to them, one of which was presold.  Don't you love it when a sale spurs on projects that had been waiting in the wings?  I'd been avoiding doing this for two of them for at least two years because it's a tricky thing to retro-fit a paper work to a panel,  Cowardice wins every time.  😨 

And I finally finished working on that large piece (well, two pieces actually) of Typar I started last month.

I suspect part of it will be perfect for a hinged binding I have in mind.

I have also started a 20 x 16" painting, which is at the really boring stage right now (that is much preferable to the ugly stage which is my least favourite part of painting 😖).  More on that next week - or month - depending on where the muse leads me!

Hope your week has been both productive and fun.  I look forward to hearing all about it.  

It's been a wild one...

... in the house and in the studio this week.  Seems like the loosening of restrictions has brought a number of people to town.

With a visit from our daughter and grandson, to a friend from a long drive away, it's been exceptionally busy here.  The friend, Louise Olinger, was in town housesitting for a week, so we managed to play for two mornings in the studio.  Louise is an accomplished watercolourist, and her website is pure delight, with enough eye candy to keep one occupied for hours.   Louise' wish was to play with mixed media, so the glue cave got a great workout

as did the studio tables.  You can likely tell from the photos that she is a bundle of energy and great fun to play with!

We were so engrossed that I mostly forgot to take photos, and only managed this one of the bookmarks she was creating.

I did remember to take a shot of the tags I created - some hours after she left!  

As I was tidying up the studio in the aftermath, I found some suspicious things lurking about - not sure where they came from, but they are obviously in the works.

I do recall working on this, the fifth in the Line Dance series, as I work towards a final design for a larger piece.

And the dryer sheet paper somehow mysteriously collected an array of circles - pretty sure it was after midnight, because they didn't appear until the morning.

All in all, it was a colour-full week, and you know that's my favourite kind of time!  Happy week, my friends, and do catch me up on your doings in the comments!

Well, wasn't that...

...a bookmark-making party at the library?   Those ladies were ready to go all night they were having so much fun.  With around 80 bookmarks completed, that's a lot of donation-funding from an event that was such a blast.

My inner colour pig was SO happy...

...and I was most certainly not the only one feeling that way.

In marked contrast to all that colour...

...we had an overnight snowfall this past week, and it was still falling at 6 am when I took my morning walk.  It was so beautiful - snow-puffed trees, lacy in the dark and aglow with lamplight. Just as I walked out onto the street something flashed in front of me and was gone. I walked a few steps to see, to my left on Cedar Street, a family of deer poised for further flight. There were half of dozen of them, standing in the middle of the street, frozen like a 1950's postcard, waiting to see if I meant them harm. We spoke to each other silently for a few moments and when I finally said good morning, they literally bounced once and then danced off towards 16th Avenue, flapping their tails in a cheeky goodbye. This world is pure magic. 

While these photos were taken later that day, it's easy to see how lovely it has been.

I had a studio visitor this week as well - Laura Leeder and I tested some acrylic markers by Amsterdam, Golden Hi-Flow acrylics and their markers, and some needle-tipped paint applicators.  Naturally we had a lot of fun, and made some great comparisons of the different styles.

It's obvious that we both need to add to our stash of tools!

And something that made me laugh hysterically...I was moaning to Laura that I couldn't get a good photo of some gel pen work I'd done, and she asked whether I'd tried to scan them.  Well, duh!!!  No, I hadn't, so here they are.  ☺️

Since we're coming up to Valentine's Day, I'll leave you with some love.

Happy week, my creative friends!

From one thing...

...to another like a distracted and discombobulated hummingbird, my creative juice is coming from all sides this last while.

As I prep for a bookmark-making playtime at the library this weekend I've been making examples,

jumping to one of my art journals for a spread,

clearing some studio space for an unexpected guest (aka John/hubby/Mr. Fixit),

roaring back to the journal again,

 (including a jingle, of all things,)

organising supplies,

heading over to a neglected love fest, 

and settling back into the journal yet again.  

I dream of being the kind of person who is focused, capably manages one task at a time, completes it and then basks in the feeling of job well done.  Dream, of course, is the operative word!

Since you're here, I'll remind you that if you're in the area this weekend, it would be a great idea to sign up now (register and pay at the library) for the Library Love event.  Using paper scraps, stamps, scissors, glue, gusto and a sense of adventure, we're going to create bookmarks to be donated to the library, who can then offer them to readers in exchange for a donation.  Three ways for us to win - creativity, community giving and clearing of some of the prodigious paper stash in my studio.  What could be better!  The $5 supply cost is the best money you'll ever spend for hours of mixed media play.