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

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

Winter Wood and Pine Panels

Hello all!  I'm back in the UK for three months for work, so once again I've had to pack more craft supplies than clothes in my suitcase so that I don't get withdrawal symptoms!  I'll share some pictures of my temporary craft stash if you're interested, but for now I thought I'd show you this pair of wintry panels I created just before leaving the Czech Republic last week.

I wanted the new Tim Holtz 3D embossing folders Tree Rings and Pine Branches the moment I saw them.  I knew they'd make perfect settings for my PaperArtsy botanical stamps, and I just had time to make one panel with each while I was doing my packing.

The first one was this weathered wood panel created with the Tree Rings folder.

I tinted the gorgeous wood texture with Distress Sprays and Crayons - sorry, I can't really remember what colours I used but Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Walnut Stain and Weathered Wood were definitely in the mix...

some pinecones gathered on walks, and real twigs interspersed with die-cut ones...

and of course my EAB Hawthorn Edition stamps.

I kept the colours very muted and wintry - it's all done with Distress Inks, including the new(ish) Lumberjack Plaid mixed with Festive Berries.  The leaves are a combination of Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Weathered Wood.

The quote is from the same set, embossed in Wow Primary Bark powder, and it's resting on some coils of rusty wire.

The second panel uses the Pine Branches folder.

Again, the colours are a bit hazy - there's certainly some Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg, Evergreen Bough and Walnut Stain around...

a lovely Idea-ology Quote Token, with Picket Fence Distress Crayon highlighting the words...

the berries from my EAB29 Mistletoe Edition with a touch of Glossy Accents crackled with a heat gun...

background stamping with the theatrical ephemera from the same set...

and some more pinecones.

Of course, the BigShot was one thing I couldn't put in the suitcase (too heavy, too big, too awkward!), but I did pre-press a few more of these panels to bring with me.  Keep an eye out for them in future makes... they're definitely going to become a regular part of my creations.

I hope you like them, and I hope you are enjoying a gentle and peaceful weekend full of good things.  See you soon.

I prefer winter and Fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape--the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

Andrew Wyeth