A few tags and a Fodder Challenge reminder...

Hello all!  I'm just dropping in with a few tags that have been on the go lately... many of them as a result of Tim Holtz's brilliant nudge to make use of any unused or part-finished backgrounds we have lying around (you can see just some of my hoarded backgrounds here if you have access to Instagram).

I also wanted to add a reminder that the Free Fodder Challenge starts on Monday.  More than 12,500 artists from around the world have already signed up to join in... why not join them?  You'll get 12 free online mixed media art classes, one with each of the 12 teachers contributing to Fodder School 3 (starting in October)... and yes, one of them is me!  The classes will arrive daily from 10th - 21st July, and you can create along with the videos, share your creations on social media, or just watch for inspiration if you prefer.  All the details and registration can be found here... it would be great to see you there.  Here's another sneak peek of the project I'll be sharing...

And here are some of those tag backgrounds which have finally made their way to the finishing post...

That moth background is one of my all-time favourites, and it sat there waiting for so long because I didn't want to risk wrecking it with whatever I did next!  I made it by using the Perspective Moth die by Tim Holtz as a stencil, spritzed with some Distress Mica Sprays along with plenty of other Distress Inks and Oxides... something I must do again some time soon, because I love it.

Do you ever put your favourite backgrounds aside (for years!) because you couldn't bear to spoil them?  I'm just curious... 

I hope you all have an amazing weekend, and I hope that I'll get to see some of you joining in with the Free Fodder Challenge very soon.  Happy crafting, all!

Every moment is a fresh beginning.

T. S. Eliot

I'm a teacher on Fodder School 3!

There are several reasons I've been absent from Craftyblogland lately, but the main one is that I have been extremely busy behind the scenes preparing for a huge new adventure.  I'm thrilled finally to be able to reveal that I am one of the twelve teachers on Fodder School 3, beginning in October this year.  I've been on a steep learning curve of filming, editing and so on, which has been challenging but also very exciting.

The reason I'm telling you now is that in July you can participate for FREE in the Fodder Challenge... twelve days of mixed media classes, one with each of the Fodder School teachers, so that you can get a taste of what's to come over the Fodder School year.  And it will be your first chance to see some of my creative process in action, and create alongside me (unless you made it to one of my Ally Pally PaperArtsy demos in years gone by!).  

The photos in this post are some sneak peeks of what I'll be sharing during the Fodder Challenge, but there are teachers with so many different styles and techniques, that there will be something for everyone.

If you’re not familiar with the term “Collage Fodder “ it simply means anything and everything that an artist could use to create mixed media and collage art.  From found objects to vintage ephemera to hand painted collage papers and fabrics, they all count as creative fodder for collaging and making.

The Fodder Challenge gives you a chance to start exploring the idea of creating fodder, and it's completely free.  Starting on July 10th, you’ll get one new collage fodder creation and/or mixed media project lesson by video each day for 12 days, with access to the videos until August 5th.  (You will get lifetime access to those lessons if you sign up for Fodder School 3.) 

If you want to share photos of what you make in the challenge, you can post them on Instagram using the #fodderchallenge and/or join and share in the Facebook Group “Fodder Challenge 2023".  Last year, 10,000 artists participated in Fodder Challenge, so if you want to ignite your creativity and have a whole lot of fun, please join in!

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

Fodder School and The FREE Fodder Challenge are hosted by @willa.wanders and @tiffanysimplysharpe

The Fodder School 3 Teachers are:

Jennifer @jenniferwilkinpenick

Susanne @mitkrearum

Yetunde @yaytoonday

Alison @w0rdsandp1ctures

Chris @christinekarpiak

Di @di.venter

Kecia @keciadeveney

Shay @shaymichellestudios

Megan @meganquinlanstudio

Sarah @juicy.s.art

Barb @barbsmuckerstudio

Tiffany @tiffanysimplysharpe

You can register now for The FREE Fodder Challenge at willawanders.com

I hope you'll come and play along with the Fodder Challenge - I'd love to see you there... it would be really nice to have some old friends along on this new journey!  And maybe you'll be tempted to join in the full scale Fodder School 3 - of which more later on.  In the meantime, happy crafting all!

We keep moving forwards, opening new doors, and trying new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Walt Disney

Salty Rosemary at PaperArtsy

Hello all!  What on earth do I mean, "salty rosemary"?!  Well, I'm sharing a project over at the PaperArtsy blog today, where the topic this month is Tinged Blue.  We're looking in depth at paint-mixing with Surf's Up Fresco Chalk Acrylic as the colour around which everything is revolving... so the surf is the salty part.  And for my creation I've chosen to use one of my most recent botanical stamp sets EAB32 Rosemary Edition - so that's (obviously!) the rosemary part of it. 

My original colour mix was Surf's Up with Antarctic, but I ended up with another palette using Surf's Up with Magic Moss.  Do hop over to PaperArtsy to see the colour mixes, and hear the full story behind how this project developed.  And for a really brilliant exploration of colour theory, and mixing up tints, shades and tinges, have a look at Dounia's amazing introduction post for the whole topic - it's full of helpful images and fascinating detail.  

I hope you enjoy whatever you end up hopping to see, and I hope you're full of the joys of spring, whatever you're up to.  Happy crafting all!

There are infinite shadings of light and shadows and colors... it's an extraordinarily subtle language. Figuring out how to speak that language is a lifetime job.
Conrad Hall (cinematographer)

Swatched florals

Hello all, and happy Spring to you.  After three months working in the UK, I'm just in time for the (later) spring here in the Czech Republic, so it's all go in the garden, getting things pruned, cleared, planted and generally ready for the sunshine.  

I just thought I'd pop in and quickly share some watercolour florals with you - these are usually done in quick 20-minute bursts in the morning when I get up, adding layers day by day, and both pages have more space to fill yet.  But I hope you'll enjoy them.  

And here's one with a colour palette that you don't often see from me...

Here are just a couple of close-ups and process photos.  The initial pencil sketch for the first one was done in the almost-dark, as an exercise in trying to keep it loose.  I'm really happy with it - in fact, it might be my favourite stage of the painting!

Making a note of the colours I've used is a good discipline for me.  I'm still learning so much as I go.

There are so many exciting things going on behind the scenes at the moment, but I'm not allowed to share any of them with you yet!  It's shaping up to be a big year.  I know I've not been a very good blogger lately, but I hope you'll be able to come along for the ride with some of what's coming up.  

Thanks so much, as always, for your company on this creative journey.  Happy crafting, all!

Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.

Matshona Dhliwayo

Blossom by blossom, the spring begins.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Brand New PaperArtsy Eclectica Alison Bomber Stamps

Hello all!  I'm thrilled to be here to announce my latest collection of botanical stamps with PaperArtsy - and it's springtime!  These three new sets celebrate spring botanicals - from the earliest tiny flowers appearing from the cold earth, via the ephemeral beauty of tree blossom, to late spring and early summer as the hardy herbs begin to flower. 

And along with the botanical sketches themselves, there is the usual eclectic mix of herbal, theatrical, historical and personal ephemera to go with them, as well as - of course - some quotes.

Do hop over to the PaperArtsy blog to meet EAB30 Violets Edition, EAB31 Blackthorn Edition, and EAB32 Rosemary Edition.  And I will be live on the PaperArtsy People Group over on Facebook to share the inspiration behind these sets and lots of samples!  You can now catch-up with that launch video (just click the link below), and I hope you love these new sets as much as I do.

PaperArtsy Eclectica Alison Bomber Live Launch video - Spring Botanicals

or watch here...

The arrival of spring can’t be done in one picture.
David Hockney

Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.
Gustav MahlerPaperArtsy blog

Grey and Green

Hello all!  I'm so sorry not to have been around.  I've been swallowed whole by the Royal Shakespeare Company again... I'm over in the UK for three months of work with them, and as a result there's been almost no crafting and almost no social media time.  I am, of course, travelling with some craft supplies (couple of snaps of my travelling craft stash at the end) but there really hasn't been much chance to use them!

One good thing about being here at this time of year is that it meant I could get my hands on the new Tim Holtz Idea-ology goodies much more quickly than I can when I'm tucked away in my little village in the Czech Republic.  So last Sunday I seized the chance to do a bit of quick collaging over some Lost Shadow ink splotch tags made last month (yes, I got my hands on the new Distress colour too!), and here they are...

When I do get some crafting time, I'm mostly working on top secret stuff behind the scenes (watch this space) but it was lovely to just play for half an hour.

Here are the tag backgrounds before the layering.  I played with all the Distress greys - so that was Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone (both as inks) and the new Lost Shadow in ink and oxide formulations.  

The Mosaic stencil looks like cobblestones to me, so that seemed perfect for the grey tones.  And I used one of the text stamps from my own PaperArtsy Botanicals sets for some detail stamping.

I've always been a huge fan of the Photobooth snapshots in the Idea-ology line, so these new slightly larger Photomatic snapshots were a must-have.  

And these Quote Chip Labels are really great as another way to add words to my pictures.  The collection contains words in rectangles and ovals (some of those coming soon).

There are some lovely new ephemera pieces but I started out gently by just pulling out some of the leafy stems from the pack to keep these tags looking organic and natural.

And of course I couldn't resist adding some of my favourite tiny Snippets labels (an essential part of the travelling stash).

Here, as promised, are a couple of photos of my temporary crafting arrangements.  We were rehearsing in London for six weeks, so this is my set-up from that period.  

Not all of this was in my suitcase... I have a couple of boxes of supplies stored in Cestina's little bolthole where I was staying (just outside London).

And this is my wonderful riverside view at my digs in Stratford upon Avon where I am now (two weeks down, four weeks to go). 

So all this did come in a suitcase, and my new purchases are going to have to be crammed in too for the journey back.  I also brought some of the few tags I have managed to squeeze in time for.  I'll try to share a few more of those here soon.

Much bigger windows, and I'll confess it's easy to get distracted by the beauty right in front of me.  I feel very lucky, even though I hardly get to spend any time here - we're working long theatre hours, six days a week.

So that's a little catch-up from me.  I hope you're all doing well.  In all honesty, I'm not likely to manage much more blogging before I'm back in the Czech Republic (flying home on Easter Saturday).

However, there is some very exciting news to share in a couple of weeks' time, so I'll definitely be here for that!  Happy crafting, all.

I read; I travel; I become.

Derek Walcott

Everything I was I carry with me; everything I will be lies waiting on the road ahead.

Ma Jian

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, 'As pretty as an airport'.

From The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams