Mythical Mail (p16) Dougal & Illustration Friday

Recycled postage stamp

below - illustration friday challenge - expired

pen/felt tips

the owl is live & kicking but the mole ........

Altered Flower Book (p11,12)

Leaf stencils & a leaf made from a car wash cloth, painted [imitation leather look]

Altered Flower Book (p9,10) & Foam Stamps

The large bluebells are made from fabrics, the one on the right has been stitched, both hand & machine, (paper stalks/leaves) the smaller flowers are playing card foam stamps.

The picture with spade is a watercolour with outlines stitched. The stamps (all over pattern on background) has been made from a foam playing card [as seen in yesterday's post]. The design has been drawn on with a black Sharpie pen [some other pens work too] & ink pads for colour. Sometimes the print leaves a black outline, sometimes it looks white like batik, sometimes a bit of both. And you can stamp more than once, the colours & marks last for ages! Various samples are shown below including some on fabrics. The larger bits were done on fun foam, these can be left floppy or they can be glued down with doublesided sticky tape onto something firm like flat polystyrene or wood.

Altered Flower Book (p7,8) & leaf stamps

Different kinds of leaves,  stamped, stencilled, screen printed fabric, painted fabric including metallic paints, leaf from an artificial flower. Pen & watercolour robins.

One of the stamps was made from a kiddies foam playing card as shown below.

Two foam cards were used to make the flower stamp below. The flowers were cut from one & stuck to the other. You could also use fun foam if you don't have playing cards.

Altered Flower Book (p5,6)

the white flowers above are actually sleeves/parts of clothes from a fashion magazine

 fabric flowers, dyed fabrics & one with a shisha mirror centre

Altered Flower Book (p.3&4)

Flowers on left made from layered fabrics, stitched in the centre, covered string for the stalk

a handmade stamp was used on the left

Thought I'd have a rest from the mythical mail for a few days, but it will be back - there is lots more to come.

Mythical Mail - Page 15, Old King Cole

 Old King Cole was a merry old soul,

And a merry old soul was he;

He called for his pipe,

And he called for his bowl,

And he called for his fiddlers three.

Ev'ry fiddler had a fiddle,

And a very fine fiddle had he.

Tweedle dee, tweedle dee,

Tweedle dee, tweedle dee,

Tweedle dee, tweedle dee,

Went the fiddlers three,

Oh there's none so rare

As can compare,

With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

Mythical Mail - Page 14, Sleeping Beauty

Mythical Mail - Page 13, Dumbo

Mythical Mail - page 12, Jungle Book

I have to thank Helen for the gorgeous recycled stamps here.

I had a fright the other day. I was straightening the bed covers when I saw a creature scurrying across the bed behind the pillows next to the headboard. What the hell was that? Was it a giant cockcroach or a small mouse? Well I was going out & I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep later knowing there was something lurking, so I thought I'd better be brave & investigate. I moved the pillow & there the creature was. Bet you can't guess what it was, so I'll tell you. It was the round replacement sponge from my headphones! The headphones were hanging around the post on the headboard & one of the sponges must have sprung off & rolled off across the bed. What a relief & a laugh.

Mythical Mail - Page 11, Ba Ba Black Sheep

Mythical Mail - Page 10, Watership Down

Click on the image for a bigger picture, if you can't read it let me know.

I'm a member of Vervey & we put up our new exhibition today at Arc, Stockton called Layers.

Mythical Mail - page 9 - There was an Old Woman

[collage, recycled postage stamp]

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

She had so many children she didn't know what to do

So she gave them some broth without any bread

and she whipped them all soundly & sent them to bed

Click here for Illustration Friday Challenge - Brave

Ice Cube Bags

Want to do something different with ice cube bags?

Squeeze different coloured paints [I used acrylics] in them, allow to dry. Using freehand machine stitching attach to backing fabric [I used an old sheet] then embroider on top [I've done running stitches & French knots].

Altered Flower Book - p2

Painted page, collage, flower stamps, the purple flower was a mono print and has a button centre, recycled paper painted leaves, painted yellow flower

the flower petals in the top left hand corner are made from balloons - party mix

Altered Flower Book (p1)

This is a garden book which I started to alter last year & finished a few weeks ago. The poems are part of the book, and it is called a 'Portrait of a Garden' by Rosanne Sanders. My original plan was to do garden plans but I changed my mind when I realised how many pages were in the book. In the end I didn't do any garden plans at all, but the alterations are still to do with gardens, mainly flowers.

There is still plenty yet to come from the Mythical Mail book but it is not on the computer yet - but it will be coming soon.

Mythical Mail - Page 8

Lion King

Mythical Mail - page 7 Jack & Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down and broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after.

Up got Jack, and home did trot as fast as he could caper

He went to bed and bound his head

With vinegar and brown paper.

Mythical Mail - page 6 Duke of York

Oh, the grand old Duke of York he had ten thousand men

He marched them up to the top of the hill

and he marched them down again.

When they were up, they were up

and when they were down, they were down

and when they were only halfway up

they were neither up nor down

 

The postage stamps are not my art work but are original ‘recycled’ stamps from around the world. The extra post marks which were not already on the stamps were made with rubber stamps purchased from ‘Crafty Individuals’.

Mythical Mail - page 5 Dr Foster & curly snow

Dr Foster went to Gloucester

In a shower of rain

He stepped in a puddle

right up to his middle

& never went there again

I thought I would also show these photos of the snow on my car windscreen, there wasn't a lot of it, but it had curled over & looked unusual [well I've never seen it do that anyway]. There is not much snow left anywhere else, just on my windscreen

Mythical Mail - page 4

Mary, Mary quite contrary

[click on the image if you can't read it very well]

Mythical Mail - Page 3

the owl & the pussycat

Mythical Mail - Page 2

Hickory Dickory Dock

Mythical Mail - Page 1

Mythical Mail - cover

I had a sketch book sitting on my shelf for quite a while as I wasn’t sure what to do with it. As the pages were brown paper, the kind you wrap parcels in, I eventually decided that the book would be good for a subject to do with mail. I had fairy tale characters in mind and made a start but soon got a bit ‘stuck’. Thanks to my friend Helen & her daughter we had a brainstorming day which got the old brain cells working and after that the ideas kept coming. The book was finished last year & I really enjoyed doing it.

All the postage stamps in the book are not my art work but are original ‘recycled’ stamps from around the world, which I have been collecting for years. Helen kindly donated some too from her stash. The extra post marks which were not already on the stamps were rubber stamps purchased from ‘Crafty Individuals’.

Flower Sketch

 flower sketch [pen & felt tips], flowers are also the theme of my illustration friday challenge

link to Illustration Friday challenge

Book of Rules - Games

I was rooting thru my drawers when I came across this book of alternative [games] rules. It was done for a project at college a few years back, games related. [the project was for fabric designs, shoes & wellies which can be seen on my website] It is made from playing cards which have been covered & joined together, painted, drawn on, with alternative rules printed & collaged.