[Taking a little blog break....]

Above all.. be true to yourself...

.....Carl W Buedner

Taking a little blog break...

and some time away from the computer...

all is well...

just a little quiet time needed to collect my thoughts...

and rejuvenate...

I will be back in June my friends...

see you on the other side x

Jenny ♥

[She's finished...]

Remember... all the answers you need

are inside of you...

you only have to become quiet enough

to hear them...

.....Debbie Ford

Remember the beginnings of this pastel drawing

from my last post...

 well she finished like this...

once again on patterned paper...

and blended without gesso...

Can't tell you how happy I was to read too...

that some of you are now pulling out your pastels...

resurrecting them from their resting places...

and playing...

big smiles here...

they really are SUCH fun...

I sketched this little one last night...

and plan to draw her on this pastel board...

I imagined it would have quite a gritty surface...

but is is beautifully smooth...

the kind of surface that I love :)

and I also wanted to share with you...

a wonderful promotion that Denise is organizing...

if you would like to promote your Etsy Shop...

and share your creations with a wider audience...

then you might just love this idea..

 

 basically it involves  helping each other to promote our shops...

you sign up on this page...

and on May 1st... Denise will email you a list of five shops...

 during May you feature the five different shops 

on your blog...

and of course... in return  your shop is also featured 

on five different blogs...

I think it is a lovely way to share our creativity...

and expand our Etsy Shop audience...

so if it sounds like something you would like to do...

then hop on over...

happy week my friends...

Jenny ♥

[An afternoon of play.....]

Courage doesn't always roar...

Sometimes courage is the little voice...

at the end of the day that says...

I will try again tomorrow...

.....Mary Anne Radmacher

I haven't been feeling particularly inspired 

the past few days...

and then this morning our little mixed media group

got together at the sweetest little coffee shop

to share our work... 

and chat... and laugh... 

and inspire each other...

and...

it must have been just what I needed...

because I came straight home

and pulled out my soft pastels...

and played...

no gesso this time...

just soft pastel over patterned paper...

with my finger as the blender :)

I am completely smitten with the pastels..

this one a work in progress...

it may have taken me a couple of years...

to realize that I loved them...lol

but the wait was worth it....

Linking to Manon's Paper Saturday :)

happy days my friends...

Jenny ♥

[Artful Reader's Club - March.....]

Your curiosity is your growth point...

Always...

.....Danielle LaPorte

'Creative Thursday' by Marisa Anne...

my book for the Artful  Reader's Challenge in March...

the front cover reads...

Everyday Inspiration to Grow your Creative Practice...

and that is exactly what this gorgeous book is all about...

Filled to the brim with the most adorable whimsical art...

Marisa shares her adventure in finding her own creative voice...

and offers lots of lovely ideas for you to find yours...

whilst this book most probably does not hold anything new as such...

it is filled with some wonderful inspiration

 and is a beautiful and practical reminder in committing to a daily...

or at least

 a regular art practice..

as well as the reminder of

stepping outside your comfort zone...

and those few words...

were the inspiration for my art piece this month...

a couple of years back I bought a set of soft pastels...

had a play with them and decided I really didn't like them at all...

not only were they really messy... 

but I didn't know how to blend them...

and so they were put away...
pushed to the back of the cupboard even...

where they sat patiently...
 waiting for the day 

that I would want to play with them again...

 SO....

not only did I pull them out...

BUT I even added a couple of new colors as well...

and using only gesso, soft pastel and charcoal...

I drew this young lady...

and I have to say that they are NOW
my newest art supply friends...
I love how they blend with gesso..
and...

I have already started my next piece...

for me this little book is a keeper...

it will have a permanent spot in my book case...

mainly because

I adore the artwork... it is so incredibly sweet...

and because sometimes it is nice to be reminded

of things you already know..

but so often forget...

Happy Weekend my friends...

Jenny ♥

Easter... and a WIP...

Our attitude towards life...

determines life's attitude toward us...

.....Earl Nightingale

Thank you sweet friends

for your beautiful comments

on my Mother-in-law's passing...

so very touching and heartfelt...

 and very much appreciated...

well with one thing and another...

I realized today that it has been close to three weeks

since I have picked up a pencil or a paintbrush...

and I have missed it SO much...

I had a little play with painting this face today...

which began with alcohol ink and gesso...

then pan pastel... crayon and  a little acrylic...

a little bit of everything...lol

wonder how she will finish up...

and feeling in need of some more arty relaxation...

I signed up today with April's sketchbook 30 day challenge...

I'm thinking it will be LOTS of fun...

and a great way to practice my drawing too...

lots of random stuff on this page...

and although I worked a lot of Easter...

I did manage some fun time with Mum and Dad...

and the munchkins...

the grandies all found great vantage points...

to watch the street procession from...

and there was lots to see and do...

our little town really does come alive over Easter...

 we even managed to visit one of our favorite little spots...

for chai lattes and delicious scones...

and today...

amongst the sketching and painting...

I set up a new facebook page...

it has been something I have been wanting to do for a while now...

a special space to share just my arty play...

if you are on facebook

I would love you to pop over

and like my page

Hope everyone had a happy Easter...

holiday or celebration...

Jenny ♥

[A Mother's Love... and some art...]

Mother.. the ribbons of your love...

are woven around my heart...

.....author unknown

My beautiful Mother in law  passed away peacefully yesterday...

after a long battle with cancer...

how these photos make me smile...

the love transparent between mother and son...

click for a larger view...

the love cards that I made for Maureen last Christmas...

touched on...

 just some of her many... gorgeous qualities...

we were so blessed to have her in our lives...

 

 A life so beautifully lived...

a battle so bravely fought...

you were a beacon of love... 

Shine on Bright Star...

we miss you already...

++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Jan received the prayer flag that I sent her...

so I can now share it with you...

it was a fabulous swap...

and so much fun to create...

you can see the stunning prayer flag that Jan sent me

in this previous blog post...

and my last  postcard arrived at her final destination as well...

 last but not least I wanted to share this Couture Smash Book with you...

the moment I saw it...

I knew I had to have it...

these are just some...

of the gorgeous and inspiring pages...

the images are beautiful...

I love them SO much...

and I plan to fill it

with my arty adventures...

until next time...

happy days my friends...

Jenny ♥

[Reflection, Project Life and Postcards].....

Decide what you love...

what excites and inspires...

then make that your purpose...

and watch what transpires...

.....Doc the turtle... in The Journey Begins

Well... three of the four postcards that I sent have been received...

so thought I would share them....

this young lady reminds me of a fortune teller from a side show...

I'm not sure why...

perhaps it is the stars... or the ticket stub in her hair...

 and although this little one has that 'pout' look happening...

she is all show... 

secretly she was thrilled about journeying somewhere new...

and this little pumpkin...

with her vibrant hair and raven friend...

they were ALL so much fun to create....

 and here are the stunning postcards that I received in return...

I just adore them...

 click for a larger view...

my order of note cards arrived in the mail this week too..

 and I was really happy with the end result...

I have been unwell over the past week or so...

a bout of bronchitis...

so have spent time away from my art table... 

resting and  recuperating... 

wonderfully it also gave me time to reflect...

you see now that the 29 faces challenge is finished...

and that I have caught up with my swaps...

I seem to be all over the place with where

 I want to challenge my creative energy...

I've been procrastinating... and achieving very little...

and so with time to think...

I realized that I want to focus in pushing myself with my faces...

 and backgrounds...

work some more with plaster...

and a little with Project Life... 

it feels good to have some focus again...

and so today I signed up with Misty Mawn...

it is a class that I keep coming back too...

and seriously... I cannot wait to begin...

so while I have been waiting for the sign in email to arrive...

I had a play with a Project Life spread...

I bought this box of 60 divided page protectors at the Paper Show recently...

there are ten each of six different pocket pages...

and I think this is the way I want to document my photos now...

Although I love scrapbooking...

and will no doubt continue to do some pages...

it is harder to get a lot of photos onto one page...

and sometimes just thinking about how I want to begin a new layout

ends with me not even beginning...

Project Life is so quick and easy...

I rounded all the corners of the photos...

added a little embellishing.. some handwriting...  

and it was done...

the perfect solution to my never ending stash of photos

that I have both sitting on the computer and in a trunk...

I have one more photo to add to the second page...

where the piece of star paper is...

but other than that it is finished...

and the extreme heat that we have been experiencing...

day and night... is gone...

 and we are able to pull up the covers at night time again...

hello Autumn... so nice to see you again...

happy days my friends...

Jenny ♥