Friday 21 April 2017

Heritage tag and Moo face

Hello everyone

Here's something different from me today that I made yesterday while waiting for the delivery of a rustic looking garden bench. So with one eye looking out of the window and the other looking through some crafty bits and pieces ( I must have looked very cross eyed) I came across a few things to use for the Heritage challenge over at 'Tag Tuesday'. And then after making the tag and still waiting for my bench I decided to make a 'moo' for MM&M faces theme .

Initially I think of family history when I hear the word 'Heritage' and think of my ancestors and the places they came from and their trades. So this tag is in memory of my lovely paternal grandfather, who in WW1 was in the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) and was never in very good health after that. My granddad was a lovely, kind man and I do remember him doing drawings with me when I was small.


 
Next... as I haven't done a real 'Moo' size piece for a while, I thought it was about time to do one. So linking this to MM&M It was quite fun drawing this on this small area.
I used a mix of  Derwent artbars, coloured pencils and Neocolor 1(on hair)
 
 
  
Fortunately Dave had been baking the day before and had made some spice bars so that kept me going until the delivery men had been.
 
This was Valeries recipe that she kindly shared with us last Summer. (thanks again for that Valerie x )
Dave used Ginger preserve and chocolate chips in this one.
 
 
 
The bench arrived safely but as cold weather is now predicted
over weekend I won't be trying that out yet. It may be a weekend staying in the warm and having some more arty play time - I won't complain about that :) 
  
Thanks for stopping by today..
I hope you have a wonderful weekend
Gill x

Wednesday 19 April 2017

Magical Mystery Tour - back to 1902

Hello everyone

It's been about 10 days since I last blogged - I've been busy in the garden making the most of the wonderful weather we have been having lately. I've been weeding and pruning and having fun taking a hammer to knock down a little crumbling brick wall. And when not in the garden I have been busy making letter journals for Beo and Rike  - the first time I have ever done that - so that has been a little daunting but also great fun (and a learning curve). Not quite finished or posted  so I can't show them yet - but I thought as this month was going fast I better get in my time machine and make the most of the invisibility cloak that I have for this month to go on some  Magical Mystery Tours that Hazel is hosting over at AJJ and asked us to go on.
Today I am going back to the year 1902 and some where that might help me with my family history research - Dartmouth in Devon, England.


 For my journal page, the background was made with aquamarkers then a layer of gesso added - I traced the outline of a map of Devon to show where Dartmouth is and transferred it on to my journal page. The colour is a mix of  Derwent Artbars and Inktense pencils/blocks and coloured pencils. Other elements stamped. (Ship and anchor stamps by Viva Décor).


I am going in my time machine back to 1902
to try to find out some answers and clear up the mystery of
 'Ye Olde Mystery Album' which I know very little about. 

I have a very large tatty photo album given to me by my late father but I am assuming it was started by my great grandparents as my paternal grandparents were born about 1896/7.
 Although most photos don't have a good description or dates - one of the first pages are for the years 1902 and 1903. The album has a naval and military theme, with various old postcards etc and the last pages possibly c 1919 WW1 with lots of soldiers.


First stop in Dartmouth on 7th March 1902 to see if I can find out why this photo is in the album and who took it and how are they related to me. 


The above photo didn't have a date or description  on the page but by Googling the words on the stone I found out that King Edward V11 laid the foundation stone at the BRNC Dartmouth - which is The Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. Two of the photos below from July 1902 states 'Assualt at Arms Britannia'



So while I am here in 1902 I am going to wander around and mingle with the crowds (covered by the invisibility cloak so no one will see me) and see if anyone seems familiar from any other photos.



Looking on the internet I found a reference to Boxing/Gymnastics and Fencing tournaments held at the college. 'Assault' seems a strange word to use now - but I got the impression that these events here and other places led to what later was known as 'The Royal Tournaments - Military Tattoo'.

I'm back now in 2017 -
 thanks for stopping by
Gill x

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Pick up invisibility cloak - first stop on the mystery tour - for AJJ.

Hello

This month   Hazel from Hazels creative moments is hosting    AJJ Magical Mystery Tour and this is really exciting as it means I can use my newly refurbished Time Machine and go to all sorts of places and times and share with you what I've seen, but there's once last thing to do before going on tour....

'The Doctor' once said 'People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff. .... so remembering that of course then I had to think about the main thing - don't go trying to alter things from past as that could be disastrous and I could end up not even being here and then of course you wouldn't be reading this and... well... anything could happen..... so my first port of call in my Time machine was to 'Hogwarts' and although I could not borrow the original - Harry Potter kindly conjured up an invisibility cloak  - a special one just to last me until the end of April in 'real time'.

  
I stamped the wizard (by Stamps Happen?) and coloured him with Promarkers and coloured 'Inscribe' pencils.. background Pan Pastels and swirly stamps (by Artemio ?) and TH distress inks. 
I then added the digital buildings which from a painting I had painted sometime ago with watercolour paints and used in a digi-kit I made. Quote stamp not sure who made by??
 
 
original stamped page
 
Thanks for stopping by
hope you are having fun if you are away
 
Gill x

Saturday 1 April 2017

Leaving soon for a Magical Mystery Tour...

Hello

It's another sunny spring day here in the UK - hope everything is ok wherever you are in the world and your Saturday has been good.

I spent the day repairing my Time machine ready for a long trip and some exciting adventures this month.
The AJJ theme in April is 'Magical Mystery Tour' and the host this month is Hazel from Hazels Creative Moments  and Hazel would like to see where we will go.. it can be in the past or future, into a story or anywhere we can imagine - there are so  many possibilities and my head is buzzing with lots of ideas.

  
I digitally designed the machine using Serif Drawplus and Craft Artist and a few of my photos and pieces I had already created. The carpet is one of my Gelli prints and the other elements are either clip art or from digi-kits.
The words on the page say:
'My Time Machine
 has been serviced
And I'm ready to go today,
on a month long
Magical Mystery Tour.
P.S I'll be back before May!'

The idea for this Time Machine was based on the photo below
 of one of my husbands ancestors
 
 
Enjoy the rest of the weekend... 
Thanks for stopping by
Gill x