WOYWW 865 Happy New Year

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.  

My desk today

If I turn around this is what is behind me.  I have been trying to create another desk area.  You can see the book cradle my daughter bought me for Christmas.

I had a plan!  Use up some of my 6 x 6 papers.  I sorted them out, thin, thicker, thick.  I wanted to make an accordion with the thick ones.  Somewhere along the way I decided to use up my 12 x 12 for the same purpose.  I scored a complete pad at the 6 inch mark, then cut them down to 8 and a half, leaving the 3 and a half for a little collage book.  The plan is now to use the thin 6 x 6 to cover the pattern side of the larger pieces to give a collage background.

I came across Dina Brodsky the other day.  I like her style.  She uses her sketchbook to sketch and journal in and later uses the pages to add photographs and paint.  I particularly like the trees she had sketched, something I had always felt a bit daunting.  I started looking for bare or dead trees to sketch in the usual free photograph sites.  I didn't find anything suitable so I tried Ai.

I didn't think the Ai were that realistic.  I was after a tree that was old and partially dead.  I went back to Google and came across Bristlecone pines, below left.  I began to think my Ai ones weren't so bad after all!  Below right are two magnolia partially dead Ai trees.

Two more Bristlecone pines:

This is what I am thinking of getting for next year!  

WOYWW 864 Merry Christmas

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.   I am sure everyone has had a busy time getting ready for Christmas.

This is my design for this years cards.

It started off when I thought I would give my sister a few items for crafting with her granddaughter, then I thought I would get rid a lot of images that I had had for years, I put them on our local recycle asking if anyone knew of a charity graft group that would like them.  Once I had got someone interested I looked to see what else I could give away, so before I could say "Happy Christmas" I was having a big sort out!  Just a bit of putting away to do now!  

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas.

WOYWW 863

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.   

I was amazed to see a family of longtailed tits in my garden the other day.  We have not seen them before.  After watching them for a few moments. I went to get my camera, I switched it on and the battery died!  I haven't seen them since, but I was very happy to have seen them and you never know they mat come back.

A month or so ago I spotted a Robin mdf Christmas decoration in the Range.  I thought I would buy one, my husband suggested we buy three and I could paint one each for our children.   I thought it would be nice and easy. - Wrong!  Each layer piece had an edge and I kept getting paint on the layer underneath, so I was continually touching up.  I tried a spray on the first one, but it wouldn’t dry so I washed it off under the tap.🙄  now they are finished I am quite happy although I probably wouldn’t buy anything similar.  The backgrounds are gold, the photograph not quite the true colour.

Mary Ann sent me a link for a half price year on Creative Fabrica’s Ai.  There was a free trial so I signed up. I clicked on a download button to download the coins to “pay” for the images, I didn’t read it properly and clicked away my free trial!  The cost was £26.99, so I chalked that one down to my fault!  I have had a go and of course it’s different to the one I have been using.  Then a blinking eye appeared and it means I have a viewer, which feels a little uncomfortable, so I need to find out about that.

I was pleased with the candle and holder, the backgrounds are a little OTT, but I only had a quick try.

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Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.   

My daughter returned from her trip to Hawaii with gifts.  The shell decoration she made herself.  The friend she stayed with makes these to sell.  I get much pleasure from seeing it everyday.  I have nothing to display, good or bad.  My MIL returns home on Friday, I have enjoyed sitting with her in the mornings and our trips out to garden centres to see plants which she loves and of course the Christmas decorations.  We had a trip to the Range yesterday, despite wandering around the art stuff, I didn't buy anything (I have put several online orders in this month 😄)

WOYWW 861

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.  

I took part in Trovember, a treasure hunt of a collage.  One prompt a day for the month of November.  I decided I wouldn't print out anything, but instead , use what I can find.  I don't normally have magazines, we had the latest Caravan magazine and I picked up a couple of free ones at Tesco.  The Caravan magazine was surprisingly useful and I was glad to use some images that were years old.  It was a very different challenge, but I enjoyed it.

My desk, nothing much going on.  I was looking for a particular flower template, but had no success in finding it.  I did find two of the three flowers I have, but the third one wasn't with them. 

We still have my MIL with us as my SIL had on operation on her knee. Another garden centre yesterday, but I didn't buy anything this time,

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Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing. 

The last pages of my Revelation journal, the border is the only thing I added to the beautiful horse image.

The word art I did in Ai then deleted the background and placed the words over an amended image of the horse and rider.

I have a stack of sharpies I wanted to use up, so I did some doodling, once finished I gave the pages a thin coat of gesso to mute the colours.

I think I will try a thinner coat next time.

I decided to join in with Trovember, I was a bit behind (15 days!), so I took screenshots of the prompts, but I was very strict and didn't look till I had done the previous one.  I was determined to only use what I could find.  So it really was a treasure hunt.

I am finishing off with this old poster for Wrexham Lager.  It was on the wall in a restaurant we went to last week.  I had to go up and take a closer look, because I noticed that Wrexham was in England!  At the bottom it says, Wrexham. North Wales, England!  I wonder what local opinion was at the time!

WOYWW 859

Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing. 

I am so excited about the Ai these past two weeks.  Yesterday I did the one above and below.  The left side is a before and the right side, the finished piece.  I loved the tree, but wanted to get rid of the roots.  The bottom third has lots of lovely texture, I just kept working at it in PSE `until I was happy and I was very happy :)

I did several angels before I decided on this one.  He is described as illuminating the earth.  This is another before and after.

The text in Revelation mentions an army, led by Jesus, of every tribe and nation. The first image gave me an army of bald headed white men!  The second try gave an army of  women with long hair and the third gave me an army of black and ethnic people.  So I used the heads of people from all three!

I have finished my Revelation journal, but decided 9 more pictures would be too much, so half the pages this week and half next week.

WOYWW 858

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

We have been to a couple of garden centres with my MIL, the last one had some lovely decorations I bought two, but I could have bought several more.

I have done several more pages in my Revelation journal, accompanied by a few more Ai images.

This last one wasn't right for my purpose, but I did like it, it reminded me of an old cigarette card.

WOYWW 857

 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

I have been busy with Ai, it's proving an ideal occupation for the state of my health at the moment. 

The left hand image is a combination of two Ai images and a grungy layer in between in PSE Although the open book image was what I was after the text apart from the title was gobbledygook! So a little erasing of the text covered by a grungy layer, sorted that out.  The other two images I used a direct quote from Revelation and was very pleased with them.   There are seven angels with trumpets in Revelation and this time Ai did not want to play. I tried over several days with varying degrees of success.  I just wanted two wings and one trumpet per angel!😆

I will be adding more pages tomorrow.

We have my dear MIL staying with us for a few weeks.  Her doctor wanted a biopsy organized while she was with us for a lump she has. He sent a letter for our doctor and photographs.  We had an appointment yesterday, the doctor knew nothing about the letter till she looked at her notes! She then said we don't do that here and suggested she go back to her own doctor!  What in the whole of Wales a biopsy cannot be organized!  My MIL also has a lump on her head which the doctor was asked to look at, she declared it a family event to treat with baby oil and pick it off!  

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 Welcome to Crafting With Jack and What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, a day when we link up to Sarah's Craftshed and have a look to see what everyone has been doing.

I had a great afternoon yesterday, a belated birthday present from my sister, lunch and painting a piece of pottery, which I won’t get back for two weeks, I think they only set the Kiln up when there are enough pieces.

That’s not the only arty fun I have had this past week.  I watched a tutorial by Helen Wells which involved painting a sheet of a jug and flowers and then using the ideas on a second sheet.  I rounded up some jugs and sketched 3 different ones. Helen’s were more abstract. But I was happy with mine.  

I did several pages of my Revelation study and decided to add inset pages  so I did some collage on them. The back of the book still has the flap, ready to add on more pages. which I think I will need and then I can put a cover on.

My delivery from Temu arrived, several stencils, some black and white  washi tape. And several pairs of gloves, some chunky ones which I ordered for several people, only to find I was one pair short!  So I need to make another order.  The grey gloves, my daughter and I wear practically all the time, they stop my hands hurting. Amazon sell exactly the same thing, but they are more expensive!