Colour me Creative – Summertime Blues

I may have a slight case of the Summertime Blues. All I want and need right now is more summer.

I can feel life slowly starting to shift around here. The  mornings are damp, the air has a crispness to it and there is talk of going back to school.  I have four weeks to go until September and my plan is to savour every minute.

Cool refreshing water, grass tickling my toes, the colourful pop of flowers, blue sunny skies…

Inspired by my mood, this weeks colour palette is brought to you by the colour Blue.

Life is just a bit crazy around here these days with guests and a never-ending stream of kids in my kitchen.

I have taken to working in small short bursts that do not demand too much concentration. Small scraps of painted cut art  are working in my favour. When I finally do get a moment of uninterrupted time, I can put them all together into something that works.

I have also continued with my sketchbook explorations inspired by Lisa Congdon’s Creative Bug course.

Blogpost all about it here

Playing with patchwork and motifs in my art journal.

Playing with patchwork and motifs in Photoshop.

My head is spinning with applications for these designs. As a surface pattern design I can see them on rugs, fabric, ceramics, paper and even stationery,combined with some fun hand lettering.

I feel a September project slowly starting to develop. I love a new project – almost makes me happy and excited for the Fall to roll in.

Until then, you can find me in the lake!

Enjoy yourselves,

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Inspired by Papercut Art

I am happy to announce that my large-scale papercut art is almost done! 19″ by 25″.

I am really happy with it. I can see myself using alot of the shapes and patterns in my surface patterns.That’s next weeks post:)

I am still undecided on my finishing touches. There is quite a bit of detailed cutting I can do.I am debating whether to leave the birds as white space or more detailed. I am also considering leaving more white space around the edges.I think I will for now until I decide how to frame this. I quite like the white space leading into the intricate cuts.

I have found this great new paper by  Canson Studio called Mi- Tientes Touch. It’s beautifully textured pastel paper and comes in a great palette of colors, perfect for placing behind  papercut art.

My next step is to find a unique way to frame or display this. I am going to have to protect the paper so thinking a plexiglass type box. However, I would also like it to be very organic, so thinking wood and airplane wire. Hmmm…a visit to Pinterest may be in order. I know I will find some inspiration there. Any suggestions?

Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement on Facebook when I posted this on my page. I always appreciate the support and encouragement I find there.
March break begins today.Yay! We woke up to 30 com of snow yesterday! Just when you think it’s the beginning of the end, it all starts again.Whistler is hopping!

Enjoy your weekend!

Inspiration by airmail

It’s Friday and my weekly goal of spending some time art journaling has been accomplished. Two efutos complete!

I enjoyed searching through my old stash of paper and combining my favorites to make these lovely, mixed media handcrafted envelopes.

I had even more fun organizing all of my paper.Lots of old treasures re-discovered.I am amazed at some of the obscure places I have  found wonderful, patterned paper.Start looking around~ it’s everywhere!

The plan was to get rid of just a wee bit of paper ~to make room for more, but truth be told, I didn’t get rid of one single piece (although it is nicely color coded now). Instead,I have decided to recycle it into these pretty paper packs.

I like to share and if you promise you will put it to good use and make one of your very own envelopes, then I would love to send one your way.

One of these efutos is accounted for and being sent out to the lovely Bethania Lima.
Bethania is a fellow designer and friend. She is an active commentor, always positive and enthusiastic. She is a great contributor in our community and her design work is beautiful too!

The other efuto is homeless, but could be coming your way. All you have to do is say hello.

Are you interested in spreading some mail art love?

I am loving this concept and plan to spend some time this weekend exploring the online world for others who do the same.I am hoping to start a series Stamped with Love showcasing others who are also inspired by this.Email me at jules@bollah.com or leave a comment if this interests you. I would love to link to others and show your work on my blog!

I will have more info, and of course efutos, here next Friday.
If you havent already checked out the online directory The Little White Book of Surface Pattern Designers then you must. All created by efutos! Check out the new blog too. It’s going to be good with lots of pattern and illustration activity.

Have a great weekend.