It's time ....

.... for a MAMMOTH catch up!! I have no idea where time goes, I seemed to just get back into the swing of blogging then a pesky 3 week trip away comes along and life is thrown into chaos again ;D

So in my last post I said I was off to Greece needless to say that remote island really was not Wi-Fi friendly and even the phone signal struggled most of the time but it was beautiful and really rather nice to not have the black hole that is cyber space getting in the way!

We stayed at a holiday centre called Atsitsa Bay

on the side of a mountain .... on the island of Skyros

these were the views out the front .... stunning!

Hubs was working doing comedy classes which was one thing on offer alongside music, writing, art, mosaics, dance, yoga, tai chi, wind surfing and mindfulness. A kind of holistic centre for creativity and self discovery.

We stayed in hutland .... not a prospect I was looking forward to but I have to say we loved out little hut ...

..... and we were quite happy with our 3 weeks of glamping in the end :D

I did the art course with a most amazing lady called Cat Bennett (click on her name for her web site and here for her blog) and rediscovered many things I had forgotten, mainly the joy of just sitting and drawing!!

I also did the mosaic course and even did Tai Chi at 7am in the morning on that beautiful mountain side. It really was an experience that is difficult to describe.

We met some great people along the way and made some special friends.

So that was my 3 week absence .... back to reality on my return and straight into

A saggy old, raggy old Bagpuss weekender with Serif shows on Create and Craft TV

That was followed by A Roald Dahl Pick of the week

 

 

And then it was off to the Rewind 80's festival in Henley on Thames which was Awesome!!

 

 

What a great weekend and a great line up including The Boomtown Rats, Marc Almond, Tony Hadley and Holly Johnson to name but a few.... we danced our socks off LOL

 

 

The layout is from the Sahlin studio shows that followed that weekend and I will share more of my samples soon with some step by steps.

After all that I then felt the need to embark on a mammoth house clean and tidy .... I guess the hibernation gene is kicking in and I'm getting set for the dreaded winter .... I even tidied the craft store room after my mousey visitors so I have to say I am feeling quite smug :D

And now? well I am working on some secret squirrel stuff that I hope to share soon but feeling good being back in my studio doing the Michelle stuff I discovered back in Greece :) And that's my life since the end of June in one brief blog post so I will love you and leave you with this ... and finally (it's been a while!)

My boys are just as adorable as ever and this is proof that they even like each other once in a while LOL

I hope you are well and happy, thanks for stopping by and I will be getting some posts ready to share some step by step CAP projects with you soon, until then, as ever
Happy Crafting
Love
MJM x

Scrap Around the World EPIC event!

Hi all

So do you remember me posting at the beginning of the month about the Scrap Around the World EPIC event? Well today is the turn of the uber talented Scrap365 DT to play along and I am lucky enough to be in there too!

 

Scrap Around the World is an amazing challenge blog they release a mood board to work with every month, you get to play along and you get to be chosen for the wall of fame and let me tell you there is inspiration by the bucket load over there from the lovely Helen Tilbury's design team and from the international blog visitors that share their work ... if you haven't checked it out please do and you're not too late to play along with the EPIC event, lots of amazing goodies up for grabs from some amazing sponsors!!

This is the mood board for the EPIC event

 

Please pop over to Scrap Around the World to see all the layouts from the sponsors so far and please pop on over to the Scrap365 blog to see what our DT has done .... gorgeous work that's what!!! BUT before you go here's my offering with some close ups

 

My lovely niece on her 17th birthday. I guess the reference to 'celebrate' on the mood board inspired me to choose this photo as I received the board just after her birthday. I love the fresh colours of the mood board with the turquoise and pink and decided to leave a lot of white space to keep the airy light feel I got from seeing it.

 

The balloons made me think of flying away so I decided to splat the colour onto the page instead of making it too heavy. I used a slightly watered acrylic paint to do this and kept the splats quite thick to add texture. If you have a go at this clear your work space and even take your page outside to splat it if you can, no matter how careful you are the paint gets everywhere LOL Once the paint was completely dry I applied gilding flake glue along the edges of the runs, using my finger to spread it and then used gilding flakes to add the gold like there is at the bottom of the balloons on the mood board

 

I picked out the pinks and turquoises from the mood board with flowers, dew drops and liquid pearls...

 

... as well as with ribbons, lace and twine for added texture

 

To me the doyley added that last bit of birthday tea party feel inspired by the photo of the macaroons.

 

and lastly the typeset on the mood board inspired me to add some of my own handwriting in different colours and styles

 

I hope you like my take on the mood board, I really had fun creating it! Please go and check out all the many, many different interpretations of it on Scrap365 and ultimately on the Scrap Around the World blog, you will be inspired just by the sheer amount of different takes on it let alone by the beautiful work produced! I look forward to seeing your interpretation!!!

 

Thanks for popping by, I hope you're well and happy. I'll be back soon with some stuff ... not sure what yet but lots in the pipeline :) and will definitely be back next Tuesday with my step by step tutorial for my little birdie project in this months Scrap 365 magazine ... have you got yours yet?

 

Until soon, as ever,

Happy Crafting!

Love

MJM x

On a journey with a Prima review

Hi all

Over at Scrap365 this month we have been reviewing some Prima goodies, you really need to check out all the review posts if you haven't seen them as the DT have done some awesome work and it amazes me the diversity of the collections we all had to play with!

I got to play with some product from The Cartographers collection and I created these 3 projects

 

If you hop on over to the Scrap365 blog I have posted a few step by step pics and instructions and also you can read what I thought about the collection .... needless to say all good ... after all it's Prima :D .... enjoy!

 

Please check out the other reviews too you will be inspired and don't forget we regularly review new product over on the blog as well as lots of other bits and pieces to accompany the magazine so why not book mark it as a favourite place to get your mojo going!!

 

Thanks for popping by and join me at the weekend to see how that floral art workshop went ... If I dare share LOL

I hope you're well and happy and as ever, until soon,

 

Happy Crafting

Love

MJM x

 



It's Epic!!!

Hi all

No excuses, no begging forgiveness for my absence and all that I know I just need to get my blogging backside in gear LOL and this month is gonna be EPIC! in more ways than one!!

First up is this

EPIC ANNIVERSARY EVENT COMPETITION AT SCRAP AROUND THE WORLD

 



That link will take you to the uber inspirational challenge blog Scrap Around the World where the lovely Helen Tilbury will share instructions on how you can play along and get your mitts on some AMAZING crafty prizes! Scrap 365 magazine has been invited along to join in the celebrations and I was lucky enough to go along and play

 

 

Click the badge and it will take you to the Scrap Around the World blog .... be prepared though your jaw will drop when you see the amazing work on there ... it is a challenge blog and then some with inspiration by the bucket load!!

 

 

The challenges on the blog every month come from mood boards, here's the one that we had as a starting point

 

 

There are already layouts up on the blog from the SATW design team and there are many, many more to come from the teams that are guesting this month as part of the celebrations so you need to check out the Scrap Around the World blog regularly starting from the 11th May for the rest of the month to see the many diverse interpretations of the mood board .... I know it will inspire me! Scrap365 magazine team are up on the 20th May so I will share my effort ;) And don't forget to check out the prize list and read about all the amazing companies involved in this EPIC event!

 

 

And talking of inspiration before you go have you got yours?

 

 

Out today!!!! Available in WHSmith, craft stores and of course on the website. Summery inspiration to chase away the grey sky and showers and a little project

 

 

By yours truly that I can't wait for you to see in its entirety .... but you'll have to buy the mag ;) Oh and there will be a tutorial going on line to see how I created it on the 25th May so go grab a copy and enjoy .... this too is EPIC ;)

 

Ok I am loving and leaving you .... what else is epic? well I may be here a few times in the coming weeks, maybe it will kick start my blogging mojo? who knows funnier things happen at sea!

 

Until soon I hope you are all well and happy and as ever

Happy Crafting

Love

MJM x 









Hola!

Hey all

Well here we are nearly at the end of the 2^nd month of 2014 already …. Eek!!!! Time sure does fly especially when you’re having fun … and I HAVE been having fun ;) So I thought I would pop by and share some pics with you so you can see a little of what’s been going on in my little world!

As a lot of you will know the last two years we have been on a working holiday on a cruise ship to the Amazon and Caribbean (I taught craft classes and hubs made ‘em laugh!) but this year we decided it was time for some us time so we have been on our jollies to our beloved Mexico …

We went on some great trips (all by public bus, we try and avoid the tourist trap as we have visited so many times we know how to get around under our own steam ;)) Highlights were Playa Del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Xcaret and Chichen Itza as well as many visits to the locals beach we frequent in Cancun where we have so much fun with our Mexican friends especially the day we went (un knowingly) on their bank holiday … crazy times!

I am on inspiration overload from all the artwork, culture and colours we experienced, as ever, on our travels

And completely relaxed from such a lovely time. This picture shows the boat we travelled on to the Spa under that waterfall for a Mayan massage at Xcaret, bliss, although the stripping off of the clothes in the boat was an experience, I won’t go into details but let your imaginations fill in the blanks LOL

We had (lots of) good food, (lots of) good wine and lots and lots of laughs. I love my husband and I love our Mexico.

So I have returned recharged and raring to go …. Well now the shock of being back in the cold and the jet lag has worn off LOL.

Friday saw my return to Create and Craft TV after my break with some Serif shows with Craft Artist 2 professional and the Darling Buds digi kits

I had such a blast with everyone and it really is like visiting family going to the studios.
I’m also thinking about posting little tutorials from some of my Serif work so watch this space ;)

On my return this little beauty got packed and sent on its way to Scrap365 magazine HQ

It’s one of those pieces of work that I cannot wait for you to see, I love it but you’ll have to wait until the June/July issue to see it in all it’s the glory. In the meantime though did you get your copy of the Feb/March issue of the magazine available now?

It is a great issue, full of inspiration and has a little contribution from little old me looking at hybrid scrapping or as our clever Ed has called it ‘Scrap Fusion’

This is a sneak but of course you will need to buy the mag to see it in its full pictorial glory. There will also be a blog extra going live on Tuesday to sit alongside the article. I have created a step by step screen shot tutorial to address the digi side of the layouts so I hope you’ll join me then for some inspiration ;) so go and grab a copy of the mag in the meantime if you don’t already have it and be inspired!

Well that’s me for this post, I have lots cooking at Art Tart towers and intend to be here on a slightly more regular basis from now on to share bits of me with you …. Hmmmm that sounds a bit wrong but you know what I mean!

Thanks for popping by and I hope you are all well and happy
Until soon, as ever, Happy Crafting
Love
MJM x

Scrap365 Blog Hop

Hi all

At Scrap365 we are getting your scrapping New Year off to a flying start!!!
This month we are teaming up with Finnabair and her amazing DT from Mixed Media Place :D

 
One of the things that we are very conscious of at Scrap365 HQ is that if you are new to scrapping it can be really overwhelming with the choice of products to use and the host of styles to emulate….the same could be said if you’re experienced!!

So we have decided that 2014 is the year to get BACK to BASICS!! It doesn’t matter if you have been scrapping for ten years or ten days...you will be sure to learn something new along the way!

Finn has very kindly donated a marvellous prize to either add to your stash or to get you started.

 
All you need to do to be in with a shot of the prize is follow the Scrap365 and Mixed Media Place blogs. Like both on Facebook and leave a message on the Scrap365 blog telling us which layout principle you are going to try! We would love to see your take on the Principles so be sure to upload them to our Facebook page :)

Our January Blog Hop is all about layout principles. This fabulous prompt was found on Pinterest, courtesy of SuzyQ Scraps. It really sums up the beginnings of every layout.

 

So continue your blog hop journey with us and see how this turns into some glorious pieces of art :)

 

And here is my little offering

 

 

I chose to work with the 6th principle on the sketch ... Texture. I love making my work 'touchy feely' and I like people to have not only a visual experience but also a tactile experience when I share my work.

 

Texture can be added to your work in so many different ways. It can be done with embellishments, material, paint and even the paper itself. I'm going to break down my layout for you to give you a few ideas on how you could add texture to your layouts and hopefully prompt you to explore other ways for yourself. 

 

There are so many gorgeous papers on the market now that already look textured and they are a great place to start from as with my base 12 x 12 from 7 dots studios, I then set to work with some distressing....

 

 

I do this by holding my scissor blade at a 90 degree angle to the edge of my paper and scratching it backwards and forwards. Start gently and add more and more pressure as you get the feel of the paper to create as much or as little distressing as you desire.

 

 

Ripping the edges also gives a different paper texture, rip towards you to reveal the core of the paper.

 

 

I created a 'scrunched' frame for my small photo which added a different paper texture and even more dimension to my layout. Distress the edges of a mat which is cut a bit larger than the photo and then curl up the edges, ripping into the frame as you go.

 

 

Once all my paper and photos were distressed I moved onto some fabric texture with ribbons and lace. All sorts of fabrics make for great textural additions to your work from net to hessian, ric rac braid to felt, velvet to denim.

 



 

I like to attach my lace and ribbon with staples by pleating them roughly as I go to add some movement to the strips I use. Also the metal of the staple plays really nicely against the texture of the lace.

 

And then I raided my embellishment boxes and added even more texture with metal, wood, resin, cork and wire. Pick textures that not only feel different next to each other but also textures that the eyes can see which creates a visually textural feast even if the viewer can't touch your work physically.

The last thing to add was my journaling (which is a quote from Bruce Lee) You can add texture with your alphas too, some are 'touchy feely' with so many great choices on the market and I also find by mixing up the styles of alphas I use I can create visual texture too.

 

The following close ups show the mix of textures I have used in a little more detail.

 

 

Layering up the elements creates texture in itself by adding dimension.

 





 

and doodling some of the title adds my own personal texture to my work

 

 

I hope this will inspire you to add some extra texture to your work and have a play about with different materials and embellishments.

 

That's it from me for this little installment of our blog hop, I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will pop back soon to *see me* Now it's time to hop off to the next lovely in our list, the uber talented Pascale and one of the lovely Mixed Media Place girls, you're in for a treat ... enjoy! (just click on her name to get there)

 

Don't forget to leave your comments on the Scrap365 Blog when you get back to the beginning and follow the instructions to be in for a chance to win that gorgeous prize! And maybe you could leave some blog love on the DT blogs along the way ;)

 

Thanks for your visit and until soon, as ever,

Happy Crafting

Love

MJM x

 

Materials used; Paper = 7 dots studio - Messy Head & Glitz designs - Wild and Free Arrows, Drip. Embellishments = Prima decorative wooden embellishments, Tim Holtz idea-ology cogs, Metal charms from PaperArts, Websters pages - Alison Kreft recorded stickers, Freckled Fawn cork arrows,

Alphas = American Crafts Thickers - Sentiment foil letter stickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny type