Update on the college course!

Many apologies for the lack of blogging, but I've just been so wrapped up in this course, Got loads to do and masses of homework involving lots of research and also lots of experimenting!

anyway, I just wanted to show a few of the results I've been getting by using some products for the very first time! Quite pleased with some of them to be honest.

This was my first attempt at using Willow charcoals! Great stuff but really REALLY messy!! Absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out. didn't think i could draw like that!  The object of the exercise was to concentrate on the shading , hence the big metal pot!

This next piece was done using Pastels....now everyone in the class had a total blast with these. Our lecturer asked us to bring in 'clothing' and we rigged up a washing line and hung up our clothes! lol....everything from wooly socks to t-shirts to funky scarves and hats! Everyone's results were amazing and the whole lot of the 'drawings' are now on the wall of the classroom! As you can see by the image I brought in a little denim waistcoat, Jane (my lecturer) LOVED this and thought I had captured everything beautifully! Was I chuffed with what she said or what! :)

These next projects were a little more tricky...they involved 'blown up thumbnails'! .... taking a photo, framing part of it off, drawing the framed off part them blowing the whole thing up to fit the page! Quite difficult but once you get the hang of it it's not too bad. We basically had to experiment with different mediums.... I framed off part of the former Scotsman newspaper building in Edinburgh and 'destroyed' that three times lol !!

The first one is done using acrylics! I HATE this piece! It turned out looking like camouflage!! EEKS.... but we only had to use the three primary colours we had to mix those to get the secondary colour we wanted! ..... I may 'do something' else with this later on because i really loathe it!

The same piece again only this time using Gouache paints and I went for a green tone this time...

and finally yet another piece only this time we were allowed to use a full colour palette and watercolours! Quite like the way this turned out despite the fact that i am not really very comfortable using watercolours.

we were allowed to experiment with these first and tried out lots of different things to give different effects, table salt, sea salt, masking fluid, cling film, paper towels, wet on wet, wet on dry etc.....

I must admit to enjoying these little 'practice sessions because I think they give you a feel for the paint and let you know what you can and can't do with them, which gives you just a little more confidence when the time comes to actually use them 'properly'.

There is one final piece I am going to show because I do LOVE this piece and it is so far one of my favourites, (the denim waistcoat come a very close second).....it was another experiment using Gouache paints! I painted over a photo of the Tron Church in Edinburgh and it has turned out suitably 'retro spooky' !! Ewan my  colour theory lecturer also loves this.... the smudge ability factor with these paints is just great, be good for rainy day or fog or even reflections on water...

Am I enjoying this course?... well yes!! I have learnt so much in the short time I've been there so can't wait to see what everything will be like once the course is finished!

Thank you for dropping by and let me ramble on about my college experiences, I do appreciate it.

Take care

Jackie x

Well Hello there......

I have been a bad blogger! :( I haven't updated my blog in SUCH a long time and I apologise unreservedly for that.

I do have some pretty good excuses though, I've been caught up in a lot of general 'life stuff' AAAAND I have started a college course as well, it's a full time NC Art and Design course. I've only been there a couple of weeks but boy have I been hammered with homework already, so I haven't really got a lot of free time for crafting just now.

Anyway....part of this course includes "Media and Software skills" i.e. Photoshop and 'stuff' ! lol...Now without boring you all rigid with the techy stuff I'll just give you a quick overview :-

Basically we have to try out 3 different graphics packages - Photoshop, Inkscape and GIMP....we have to just explore these packages and basically find out which one is best for what purpose! doesn't really matter if things a re right or wrong, it's all about 'experimenting and learning!

Now for those of you that know me you will have gathered that I'm not exactly a 'genius' when it comes to computers lol...... but I had a go anyway, not quite sure if I've achieved the 'brief' or not but hey ho! I'll have a word with the lecturer on Wednesday!


So here's what I did....


I started out with a piece that I had drawn in art class, A red pepper done in chalk pastels with an oil pastel background textured using a fork!!

NOT the best artwork but I have got to start somewhere lol...



I then opened that in Photoshop and played around with some of the filters and other stuff and ended up with this image below

Of  all the programs I used I MUCH prefer this one despite the fact that it's the professional version of Photoshop and it is supremely technical and complicated it seemed to be the easiest of all of them to use in the end! Whether or not that was because I briefly touched on it last year in the access course I don't know!



The next program used was Inkscape!! Now heaven only knows what happened with this but boy did my PC throw a hissy fit!! It practically ATE the memory for lunch!! lol.... I absolutely loathed this program....it just seemed a struggle from start to finish....I just don't know enough about it to really pass much of a comment I'm afraid, but everybody I have spoken to about it seems to be of the same opinion! ..... the image turned out....well....erm... see for yourself....lol

I have no idea what happened (or didn't for that matter lol) but looking at that image that program looks like it would be great for large text stuff..... IF I ever get it to work properly I might have another play!



And finally GIMP ... the one my teenager loves!! He thinks it's great and I suppose it is but I haven't used it much either so can't pass comment....it did what I wanted it to and the end result is alright I suppose ...

I must admit to rather liking the filters i used for the texture on this... it has a fantastic canvas look to it....it's turned out not TOO bad but I'm still leaning evermore to the dreaded Photoshop!!


I am going to make a 'paper' version of this project.... fancy putting all the images in a journal along with lots of notes on what was done and what I liked and disliked....think it will make things a LOT easier when I need to find out the best program to use for whatever project I will be working on!


Sooooooo.........on that note I will bid you all goodnight!

Thanks for dropping by and reading these rambles, just wish i knew more about the programs to give you all a better idea.

Take care

Jackie x

A beautiful gift!

 On Monday I received a beautiful gift for my birthday from my lovely sister in law! She is an art teacher at high school and decided to get me a few arty bits because she knew I was going to college for Art and Design in August.

Now that little Journal is leather, embossed with a gorgeous big elephant on the front and is loaded full of hand made paper!

Sooooo....seeing as it has a very 'Indian' feel to it I decided to do these pages!

Handmade paper does NOT like water, so I covered the pages with Gesso and then inked them up with Dylusions spray inks, I just then drew some Mehndi designs on top!

Love the way these have turned out!


just a quick post tonight, not really got much to show just now anyway, still been a bit busy with appoinments and such likes!

Take care all , and thanks for dropping by

Jackie xx

Worse than the buses lol....

Don't see anything for ages and then it all comes along at once!!!

My humble apologies for being such a bad blogger, I've just been so wrapped up in 'life stuff' at the moment. So much so that I haven't even taken part in any blog challenges for a couple of weeks.

So instead of inundating you with loads of posts, I'll just do one mega post, so get a comfy cushion and a cupppa and get ready for a 'novel' lol!!

Starting off way back on June 22nd, it was my 'wee boy's' 18th birthday!! I can't believe that he's 18 already!, just where has the time gone! Anyway, he didn't really want a huge fuss because he's saving for driving lessons so he wanted me to put the money I would have used for a party into the bank towards that, that was fine by me ! A pretty sensible idea! So, I just took him for a slap up meal at the local restaurant and then into the pub for a few beers! A few of his mates turned up so it ended up a good laugh. Got evidence too lol !!

Yes that was taken fairly early on....note the fact that there are no empty glasses!! Anyway....we didn't do too badly, and I did give them all fright when they thought that I couldn't handle the Jaeger Bombs!! lol!! I showed 'em good!! lol..

Right, that's enough of the birthday shenanigans......or not....had to go and get some 'stuff' dealt with the day after and guess what?.... yup! We kind of ended up doing the same again lol!! This time it was some of MY mates that turned up! And it was a complete hysterically fun and enjoyable day!! Thought we'd both be ill on Sunday but it was fine :D

The next couple of weeks were really taken up with lots of legal meetings, letter writing, form filling....blah blah blah, catch up tidy up stuff!

I DID however mange SOME crafting, mainly journalling so I'm going to show you what I've done with an explanation if I can.

I did these pages for a reason, just got sooooo fed up with being criticised all the time! Plus the fact that it gave me the chance to practise my drawing! The background was done using Dylusions Inks the rest is all hand drawn except for the phrase which was printed out on the computer.

These two pages are pretty self explanatory so I won't bore you with the details but I think you get the idea...


A wee while ago I joined a journalling group on Facebook, one of the ladies did a spread about her tattoo so I decided to do one of mine....was quite pleased with the way this turned out, I printed off the photos of my tattoos and then just drew the the other images myself. Not brilliant and I certainly won't make a  tattoo artist that's for sure but I do like these pages...

These next two pages I just finished off today and I am thrilled to bits with them, sooooo bright and colourful and they really make you smile!

Done using Dylusions Inks, and stencils, and the stamps are from Chocolate Baroque and are coloured using Inktense pencils. Just really enjoyed chilling out colouring in these flowers and butterflies! That big butterfly is just perfect for shrink plastic!!

While I was in the middle of those pages I received a lovely surprise from the postie! It was a present for me for my Birthday on Monday! Dammit she remembered! lol...... thought I could be sneaky and just let this one slip by!! lol.......... seriously though.....it was THE most STUNNING card and gift! So much so that I shed a tear or two!........Everything about this piece just screams "ME"!! .......so without further ado, I'll quit with the waffling and leave you alone to look at the pictures of these exquisite pieces of art!!

A gorgeous card and matching envelope! The wording is from the classic Steppenwolf song "Born to be Wild"! Isn't that card just amazing?...........and here is the gift! I am totally blown away by this! It is absolutely gorgeous!!......

Just have a wee look and see what's above the 'door'! Now THAT was clever! lol....it's the Bacardi Bat....and yep! you've guessed it! I drink Bacardi! Such a clever little touch that :D

And here is what was behind that door...........

..... a sweet little 'parcel' with some adorable crafty embellishments! Beautiful roses on  clothes pegs, loads of divine little buttons and charms, some crystal teardrops, lace, 'ruler' ribbon and loads more.


I am such a lucky girl to receive such a beautiful gift as this and I will treasure for years to come! It didn't half lift my spirits I can tell you. Not really had too much to smile about recently so this just made my day!

THANK YOU MY FRIEND .... It means a lot !


So on that note i will be off......I have waffled on waaaaaaay too long and your bums are bound to be getting numb! lol


Take care and thanks for dropping by


Jackie x

WOYWW 159

Can't believe it's Wednesday already! First of all I would like to welcome some new followers - Thank You for taking the time out to read about my rather hectic journey in life!

Secondly many apologies for not making round everyone's desks last week, there were just too many and i simply ran out of hours ... *sighs*.... it's not going to be much better this week either, My son is 18 on Friday and I have 'things' to organise.... muhahahah ... !

Anyway, if you are wondering if I've lost the plot by showing you my my creative space then pop over to JULIA'S PLACE to see what it's all about! you'll love it!!

My desk this week has been caught in a mid mini tidy up! I had just finished that Collage canvas  - see HERE for a better look if you are interested..... so I was tidying away the paints and 'stuff' when I remembered what day it was!! So I just took that photo while I was at it!

I am going to take a couple of days off from crafting because I NEED to do the dreaded h*******k !! My place looks like a small thermo-nuclear device has exploded in it! It would be a whole lot easier if I could get rid of this 'stuff' I'm storing for my soon-to-be-ex-husband though...*sighs* ... I have the hairdressers tomorrow, and an appointment of Friday....then off out with the teenager on Friday night for his birthday (did i mention that already?) lol..... he didn't want a 'big do' because he would like  the money I would have spent on that put towards his provisional driving licence.... and who said teenagers were selfish.... I thought that was a pretty sensible idea and one i am more than willing to go along with! His mates will probably all take him out 'clubbing' for a night to celebrate anyway....so it's just basically going to be a night in the pub with me and 'him'  (ID card arriving on time permitting)!... lol... (poor kid doesn't know what he's in for)!!!lol..

Right, I'm off ! Got loads to do an not enough time to do it in...

Take care and Happy WOYWW

Jackie x

Textured Collage on canvas board.

I so wish I could have taken a better photo of this piece because there are so many different layers and textures on this piece! This photo just doesn't do it justice!

Anyway, it's done on a 10 inch by 12 inch canvas board, using magazine images, lots and LOTS of Gesso and acrylics along with some spray inks, die cuts and some odd bits of lace.

I saw this image in a magazine and loved it, so I tore it out and ran it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder then stuck it down onto the board using Gesso, added some mixed browns acrylic paint an more Gesso then stuck down some Alterations die cuts, mainly Vintage lace trim and also the Mannequin dress from, just slabbered <----- technical term that....lol...over some more acrylics and gesso with my fingers. did some random imperfect stamping then added some more die cuts, this time Tattered Florals, these were cut from a mesh fabric and look great when stuck down. again I just slabbered on some acrylics over the top. I also added an off cut of some old beaded lace which was white but I added some mixed browns and copper metallic acrylics to blend it in. I randomly rubbed over some Copper acrylic paint to try and highlight some of the the textures.

Hopefully here are a couple of close ups of some of the textures.....

The phrase was downloaded from the Internet and just handwritten onto an old torn book page. I distressed the wording with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink and then stuck the phrase down onto the board.

I am really pleased with this piece because it's my first proper attempt at collage!


Thanks for looking in,

Take care

Jackie x

Art Journal Challenge....

Yes another one! lol.....I actually managed to be on time with this one!!

Over on The Art Journal Cafe The challenge this time is a Colour one! I'm not really very happy with this because I screwed up in the middle of one of the pages hence the stupid position of the VW Camper van! So I ended up improvising slightly, I guess I just got 'put off' a little.  Still I've managed to cover the challenge and use what was asked for so it's turned out not too bad in the end!

That's one of the good things about journaling... if you DO screw up it doesn't matter too much....you always have it to look back and learn what NOT to do! It IS fun just playing with all the new techniques and thrying them out though.


Thanks for looking

Jackie x