Hi friends!
Happy Tuesday! It’s been a busy old week since last Tuesday. I had some work done on the house – badly needed – last Wednesday, not all of it could be completed because of the low temperatures so they will have to come back when it warms up. Consequently, there is still chaos in the house as I can’t really move everything back, only to move it again. This unfortunately means that a lot of extra stuff has been dumped in the craft room (like that room needs more stuff!) and I have a work surface that’s about the size of a postage stamp! The worst thing is that Miss P has been completely traumatised by first the noise and scary strangers in the house, and then the changes to the back of the house which includes her room. The main problem I think is the new doors sound different to the old doors and so she doesn’t recognise them, and every time I open them she runs away and hides. I had to go to the vet and pick up some Feliway (calm-me-down cat pheromones) in diffuser form to see if that might help her anxiety. The other two cats are totally fine with the home improvements and next door’s cat also gave it two paws up and was first in the door, but Miss P… not so much. Oh yes and we had snow at the weekend! Not much, just a centimetre or two. Here’s Mr G regarding it safely from the comfort of his cat tree, next to the new doors that are causing Miss P so much anxiety!
Anyway this is a busy arty post so I better get on with it…
This month I am joining these daily art journalling challenges:
1. Dephemerember (an ephemera junk journal challenge in December). It’s hosted by two lovely people in Austria – Barbara from 49 Dragonflies and Luise Heinzl, and you can find the challenge on Instagram and Youtube (ephemera creating videos 4x a week).
2. Care December run by the Wanderlust people on Teachable, here’s a link to sign up for free and you will have lifetime access to the lessons. It starts on December 8th.
3. Art Journal Advent which is an Instagram challenge but the prompts are usually on her website too if you want to join in and you can get them by email also (that’s what I’m doing).
Feel free to join in the fun! My plan just now is to try and combine the prompts into one page per day instead of three separate pages. I will be trying to post daily on Instagram but I won’t be posting daily on the blog. Let’s see how that goes!
Today’s Art . . .
Today’s art is first my December calendar page which has a winter sky with snow and stars, and so I am joining Art Journal Journey’s December challenge of Above us only sky hosted by Wendy K from Wendy’s Craft Journal. I am also linking this page to Creative Artiste who have a Christmas mixed media theme this month for their 100th challenge and Try it on Tuesday who also have a Christmas theme. Ingredients for this page are listed at the end.
I also have Days 3, 4 & 5 for Dephemerember and Art Journal Advent coming up below and also a tag for Tag Tuesday for which the theme is Farm Animals – like I said, it’s a busy post today!
December Day 3 page: Dephemerember prompt: none/free day ¦ Art Journal Advent prompt: self effective
Background: Paperartsy Fresco paints in various blues + white. Layered on top: some stamping using one of Tracy Scott’s mark-making stamps, Dephemerember freebie, teabags, book paper, postage stamp, and tag.
December Day 4 page: Dephemerember prompt: butterfly and three torn things ¦ Art Journal Advent prompt: a question of perspective
Background: uses the new Paperartsy Just Walnut Infusions on watercolour paper and the big butterfly is from the Tracy Scott Printed Tissue. The remaining ephemera are little bits and pieces from my stash including napkin butterfly, teabags, postage stamp.
December Day 5 page: Dephemerember prompt: salvaged birds ¦ Art Journal Advent prompt: proud
Background: this page uses a bird napkin and bird postage stamp for the salvaged birds prompt, an old gel printed feather, various other ephemera and the Tracy Scott Printed Tissue carried over from yesterday’s page. The words read “SINGING SINGING SINGING, a most unusual voice, how proud we are of it too,” for the Proud prompt. I always think that birds are quite rightly very proud of their song.
Tag Tuesday: Farm Animals
For this challenge I made a pair of cute cow tags using a Paperartsy stamp that I recently received as a free gift – how excited was I to first receive a free stamp and then to discover a farm animals challenge where I could use it immediately!
Currently Reading . . .
I’ve started December with this book, a bit of Scottish Sci Fi by a Scottish author who usually writes mystery. Here’s a short blurb: When three people suffer strokes after seeing dazzling lights over Edinburgh, then awake completely recovered, they’re convinced their ordeal is connected to the alien creature discovered on a nearby beach… an adrenaline-soaked, deeply humane, life-affirming first-contact novel from one of Scotland’s most revered authors…
Genre: Sci Fi
TOTAL for 2023
124 books so far
December Books so far – 1
(re-reads if any are in bold)
Kitties . . .
Miss Lily was pleased that we were back in the craft room today for our arting and not sitting on the sofa where there was no place for her to observe.
Any night the stove is on (which is every night at the moment!) this is where you can find Mr G – he is right in front of the hearth – the state hearth is just visible in the background. Eventually he has to move to cool down a little, but then he is straight back to this little bed for another session.
And here is a photo of poor Miss P doing her best impression of an alarmed cat spooked by a new door.
T Stands For . . .
Last Friday I was out doing some errands, and getting the cat pheromone diffuser for Miss P – that’s the instructions I’m reading in the photo, and it got a bit busy on the roads. I was at a retail park on the edge of town and the car park exits were jam packed full of cars trying to leave. It was 2.30pm on a Friday, I had to ask myself who all these people were out shopping at that time, but then realised I was one of them haha. I thought maybe Christmas shoppers but one of the staff in the Range said this happens every Friday at 2.30pm, so now I know what time to avoid going there. (I had gone there to pick up 6 x bags of cat food I’d ordered online to collect from store.) Anyway, I can’t sit in traffic like that going nowhere – seriously there were 100s of vehicles all trying to get out past one tiny roundabout – it makes me a little crazy, so I decided to head over the Costa Coffee there, have a coffee and wait it out. I had a decaf iced Americano and a Mince Pie! Half an hour later, all the traffic had gone and I could exit the retail park stress free!
Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom today. I’m a little late in posting due to all the chaos happening in my house. Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading and Happy Tea Day!
Ingredients
accordion journal made from packing materials, other as listed above,
Challenges
Art Journal Journey – Above us only sky – December Challenge
Art Journal Advent
Care December
Dephemerember
Creative Artiste – Challenge #100 – Mixed Media Christmas – entering my calendar page, list of media used: Paperartsy Fresco chalk paints, Slime Infusions, JOFY stamp, acrylic ink, Versafine Clair ink, Faber Castell Pitt Pens, Gold Leaf on one chipboard star and Gold embossing powder on the other chipboard star,
Tag Tuesday – Farm Animals – a pair of cute cow tags
Try it on Tuesday – Traditional Christmas – entering my December calendar page with the Christmas trees
An impressively created calendar page. Lovely starry night sky and wonderful trees. Fabulous Christmas themed word snippets too.
Thank you for joining in with our December challenge “Anything Mixed Media Goes” at Creative Artiste Mixed Media. Merry Christmas and good luck x
I was sure I left you a comment earlier, but I don’t see it. I was in the hospital and that is why I’m late visiting this week. I also am sorry both you and Violetta weren’t visited last week. I SO apologize. Truly.
You asked how I got a free pound of coffee each month. I give an exorbitant amount of money each year to my PBS station (public television, aka public broadcasting station) because it’s the ONLY charity I sponsor each year.
Thanks for sharing your Art Journal Advent prompts. Not sure I can do them, but I am saving all. I did one page and that is Just Do It. At least I have an idea of what you are doing since I’m not on Instagram. Also, thanks for joining AJJ and Wendy’s theme.
POOR Miss P. I hope the medication works.
You were wise to park and wait. And a minced pie. I WANT ONE!!! My grandmother used to make them every Christmas season.Thanks for sharing your art, your minced pie and your coffee with us for T this week, dear Elle.
I’ve popped back to thank you for joining us at Try It On Tuesday, Chrisx
Thanks for visiting for T this week. I am sorry to be late visiting, but I have just been released from the hospital where I have been since Monday night. Before you ask, I DO NOT have Covid. I will be back tomorrow to visit each person who dropped by this week.
Your December calendar night sky is just beautiful. Your ephemera art is wonderful, too. Very cute cows. Poor Miss P. She sounds a lot like Calli jumps at the slightest sound or movement. Having a coffee and a treat sounds like a great way to beat a traffic jam. Happy T Day
I love your calendar Elle, perfect for this month and for Wendy’s AJJ theme too! All of your journal pages are wonderful , I’m impressed you can join so many challenges! Hope the cats begin to settle soon! Costa to avoid a traffic queue is definitely a good plan! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx
What a fun art post today Elle. Your calendar is perfect for AJJ and TIOT and so before I forget, thanks for linking up to them both. Your journal pages are great too. I like all the details you add, and your calendar is really lovely with those trees and the snow. I see you’ve had some snow also. Same here. It’s supposed to warm up this weekend and rain so it will be gone quickly. And I like those cow tags. I have that stamp set (or is it 2 sets? Hmm.) but those bovines are lots of fun, aren’t they? Hope all the kitties settle in and your work and get finished up soon. And I hope it was a good T day. I was out all day and last night I crashed in front of the TV, so I’m a little late getting by. Have a great week. hugs-Erika
Wonderful collection of art and cat photos, thank you so much for joining us on Tag Tuesday and Art Journal Journey, much appreciated.
That mince pie looks good. I’m going to try to make the little ones this year. Happy T Tuesday!
You have been busy. I have to tell you I love the cows. The rest of your art is beautiful. Have a nice day.