The big reveal

Hi everyone

What a lovely weekend we had in Melbourne, the sun was shining and spring is just around the corner. It was the perfect time to get out in the fresh air and do a bit of spring cleaning around the house and enjoy the weather. Come on Spring and Summer...

So I would like to finally show you my studio. 

I still have to sort through magazines but it I have been blissfully using it for a while now so thought I had better show you before it gets too messy.

So last week I finally made labels for my boxes, which are somewhat clear plastic, mostly with little wheels on the bottom for easy moving on the shelves, all with lids to keep the dust out. I made them out of shipping tags and inked, stamped, stenciled them.

 So this is looking towards the back corner of the garage. There is my clothes dryer and my fridge for refreshments :) and then a filing cabinet and storage cupboard. On top of that I have my Big Shot ready to use and next to that my TV. Since this photo I have replaced this old analog tv with a digital one so my favourite shows can keep me company and the little bar fridge is now in the caravan giving me more space.....

 

On the top of all the bookshelves are my blank canvases and plastic palette cases. In the bookcase on the left are my sketch books of all sizes, my art journals and my pads of watercolour paper, canvas pads etc. Under that are my paints and mediums and under that are my folders of patterns, lessons etc.

In the middle of the two bookcases are my reference books.

Can you see the lovely comfy office chair I bought from Officeworks? It swivels and reclines but is also supportive for my back. It matches the nice soft thick carpet on the floor.

In the bookcase to the right of my reference books is all my scrapbooking and other art journaling supplies from stamps, to papers, stencils etc.

The nice big desk is an old office desk  that I sanded back and re-stained years ago and has been in my sons room until recently. On my desk I have an overhead daylight lamp, my heat gun and of course for winter I have a nice little heater underneath to keep my feet warm. I also have some computer speakers so i can plug my ipod in and listen to my favourite musice or Hayhouse radio shows. 

The trolley beside my desk is also from Officeworks and has 10 draws for all my pens, sharpies and little bits and pieces.

In the large bookcase at the end is all my MDF pieces ready to be transformed, my paintings that are unsold or waiting to go to an exhibition and also half done paintings. On the right hand side is another little bookcase I had in my laundry and is great for my projects on the go.

These photos were taken with the doors closed so I didn't have reflections but there is ample light at the moment and when I open the doors I have lovely sunshine and fresh air.

It might not be the perfectly colour co-ordinated room, and it might look a bit like organised chaos but it works for me and I am very grateful to have this space that I can call my own. 90% of everything has its own space and it is very easy to keep tidy. I love just being able to get up and leave a project where it is, to have dinner or do something else, and come back and immediately be able to pick up where I left off. My family now have to come out and remind me that it is bed time some nights because I get so lost in what I am doing. 

Can you tell I am a happy woman?

I have a new page to show you this week so will leave you with a little tease....

yes it involves finger painting and a bit of fun.

Hope you are having a great week everyone. My bed is calling after a busy weekend of catching up with great friends and Monday back at work. Don't forget it is a New Moon today so make your lists for your new ventures and goals. Let go of what is not working for you and look forward to the positive and your dreams. 

See you all later in the week.

 My thoughts go to those affected by hurricane Irene and I hope you are all safe and sound.

Namaste

Lee

Exciting news...

Hi Everyone

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments, and thanks for taking the time to come visit me. I am grateful.

Well, I have been a busy bee over the last few weeks and have a few things to show and tell.

First my exciting news that on the 10th September I will be teaching my first art journaling workshop at Scrapper's Warehouse in Hallam. I will be initially be teaching a couple of technique classes to initiate the first timers and then we will let loose on our creativity. So if you are in the area please come by and see what we are up to or join in with us.

Here is a photo  of my first class which will ease them in with a little painting and stenciling and stamping. The page is called Dream, Inspire, Create. I have used the fancy frames Crafters Workshop stencil and the Darkroom Door Artist stamp set in a tin.

 

I also have a second workshop planned for October the 8th called Be Who You Are where we will be doing a bit of collage with serviettes and scrapbook papers.

The stamps are from a StampIt set and the papers are Kaisercraft Chapter One.

Last week I also helped celebrate my friend's 50th birthday. We had a great girl's day out,  shopping, then lunch and then seeing Jane Eyre at the movies. It was really lovely to spend a day with my friends just doing whatever we please, time to chill out and celebrate our friendships. When I first moved to Melbourne from Sydney 25 years ago, fresh out of the family home, this friend was the one who took me under her wing and we have been firm friends ever since through babies, moving house, celebrations and commiserations. We may not see each other every week but we just pick up from where we last left off each time.

Anyway here is her card

I had a lot of fun playing with the Tim Holtz die called Tattered Florals and an embossing folder called Damask. Add a touch of silver pen, perfect pearls, some floral ribbon, stamping and some layers of patterned paper and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

In the same week the other friend that I was with at the movies, had her birthday too, so I made her a card as well. A simpler one but I quite liked this one for a quick one.

I have also joined networked blogs so if you prefer you can follow me on Facebook.

My studio is all but finished too so I will post some pictures in my next post. 

Until then I leave you with a quote from Rumi

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. "

Rumi

I hope you are all having a great week, 

keep on creating

Namaste

Lee

Hi Everyone

Well I am back from the weekend at the I Can Do It in Melbourne. As with last year we were treated to lectures by some of my favourite authors including a short introduction by Louise L Hay herself, the founder of Hayhouse publishing company and author of "You Can Heal your Life"  I tell you that if I look that good and am that positive, energetic and full of life at 85 as Louise is then i will be a happy woman.

My two girlfriends and I decided to spend the whole weekend in the city instead of driving in and out each day, and it was a great decision. After attending the conference each day it was so nice to just relax and reflect on the day we just had, listening to inspiring speakers, motivating us to be the best we can be. 

So, I am back into the swing of things today and wish to share with you a page I completed before the conference when i was feeling at a bit overwhelmed by the lack of time I have at the moment to do any sort of art. I am happy to say that the conference gave me a few tools to deal with this so this weekend will hopefully be quite productive in the studio.

Anyway enough talk, let's see some art

I started with scraping on some Jo Sonja Orange and Napthol Red Light..

 The next step was using the Crafters Workshop Stencil called Flutterby in the 12x12 size. I sponged some Jo Sonja Yellow Orange over the stencil.

to end up with this...

I then used a Kaisercraft butterfly stamp and Jo Sonja Napthol Crimson to stamp randomly over the pages

 to give this...

now at this stage it was really bright and I wanted to tone it down a bit so swiped the whole spread with Distress Stain Antique Linen

 See how it sat on the stop a bit because the page was no longer porous. I let it dry like this so I could retain some of the textured pattern produced by the bubbles.

 So my next step was some background stamping. I used the Timber Brown Staz On with another Kaisercraft musical stamp

 Then with the same ink pad and a couple of flower stamps

 Plus another butterfly stamp. I think I got this off the Craft Stamper magazine.

 So here I am with the background and stamping done.

 Some ribbon and pieces of torn patterned paper were added

 and then the quote. I inked it with impress inks in Tangerine and Lemon yellow with my cut and dry foam. Highlight some words with gold gel pen....

 cut out some butterflies I had printed on photo paper from the Graphics Fairy blog. Then inked the images before sticking down to the pages...

 added some journaling in gold gel pen

and voila, here is the finished page

My journaling talks about how sometimes I feel as if I am treading water but I just have to trust and take a leap, believe that all these steps are necessary on my journey, and instead of thinking that they are setbacks or stagnation, look for the purpose in them, like time to tweak ideas, time to relax and regroup, time to just be.

Robert Holden said something poignant on the weekend

"We didn't come here to play it safe. The purpose of your life is not to arrive safely at your own death."

So what are you waiting for? Where are you playing it safe? Grab life with both hands and take that leap into the great unknown, take notice of now and just be in the moment

Have a blessed weekend everyone doing what makes your hearts sing..... 

Namaste 

Lee

Breathe....

Hi everyone

Wow how time flies, it certainly seems to be flying past at the speed of light this last couple of months. I can't believe we are in August already! 

I always stop(well, I try to stop) and take note of whether I have accomplished all that I wanted to in the first half of the year. Sometimes this is empowering, sometimes stressful. Either way it helps me to ground myself and see if I need to reassess my goals for the year or whether I need to make new ones. This year I think I have accomplished a lot of ticks on the "to-do" list so I am quite satisfied with where I sit at the moment. How about you? 

Do you take stock at this time of the year or only each New Year? 

What do you find works for you and what does not?

On a lighter note(and with perfect timing), this weekend I am off to the "I Can Do It" conference in Melbourne to see more of my favourite authors lecture and to spend a great weekend with my friends, no cooking, no cleaning, just lots of inspiration and feeling good. Can you tell I am a bit excited!!

I have a doodle to share that I did last week when I was at my wits end with a headache and nerve pain that was 2 weeks old and I was feeling overwhelmed. It was a reminder to breathe and relax. 

I also have a sneak peak of a page I did in my journal. 

I will show you the step by steps next week but now the conference calls and I have a train to catch.

 My quote today comes from Deepak Chopra, one of the speakers at the conference this weekend.

"My thoughts create my outer reality, and determine the quality of my relationships" - Deepak

Have a great weekend everyone

Namaste

Lee