Although it seems ages since new year's eve, it's my first blog post this year, so happy new year, everyone. Here's what I've been up to in January so far:
I finished my December Care Journal with some additional pages from the Ugly Art Club challenge. Here it is on my desk and a few of my favourite pages inside:
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
WOYWW #712: Hello 2023!
Wednesday, 28 December 2022
WOYWW #708: December Recap
Here we are, the last WOYWW this year, and as such, my last blog post in 2022. Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I started writing this post well in advance on Christmas Eve, just to make sure I don't run out of time and I'll only have to press the publish button on Wednesday. I've been working on both my mixed-media and sewing projects throughout the month, so here's a quick recap: (picture heavy but will try to keep the blurb to a minimum!)
Desk No. 1 - working on my Care December journal in an old book with ecodyed papers - I used a combination of fabric and paper - I got stuck on day 15, but plan to finish it before the end of the year or perhaps combine it with Junk Journal January:
Desk No. 2 - I've made a quilted cover for my sewing machine with some Moda fabric strips from a mystery scrap bag (caution: very colourful!):
I've also finished my first quilt, which made me super proud - I'll be working on one for my hubs next as he is now jealous and keeps hinting at being "cold and exposed"!
I also completed these Christmas projects listed below:
- an advent calendar that was perfect for chocolate coins...
- a table runner for the living room side table (spot Santa in the background)...
- place mats for the dining table (again using some strips from a Moda scrap bag):
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
WOYWW #704: November check-in
Hello again on the last day of November! I've been looking forward to this day, because it means I can start opening my advent calendars tomorrow! It's all very exciting and the countdown to Christmas always makes the cold, gloomy days of December a lot more pleasant. But more on that later. First off, here's a shot of my desk #1 (the messy one):
That's a little quilted, scrappy journal cover with ecodyed papers inside. Don't let the neat cover fool you - it's pretty messy inside! It's almost complete now. Here are a few examples of the pages:
I've got some boxes to store my fabric in. On the right is my first attempt at crazy quilting with the quilt as you go method (it just happened to be the same size to fit the top of the box perfectly!). I've also made some coasters - this one's hand-pieced and hand-quilted with some lovely Indian batik fabric, which is quite different from the Indonesian batik - I love both! I'm a big batik fan!
Happy #704 and Merry Christmas as I probably won't be back until after Christmas!
Take care, everyone and enjoy the festive period!
Wednesday, 26 October 2022
WOYWW #699: October Update

Wednesday, 28 September 2022
WOYWW #695: September Round-up
Here I am again with my end of the month recap! September has flown by at supersonic speeds! I've flittered like crazy from one media to the other this month: from watercolours to stitching and even rock painting, though I haven't got very far with that one yet. As soon as I'd collected the stones, I moved on to something else! Perhaps my desk shot will give you an idea:
Centre stage is a card/scrapbook for my son's 18th birthday. Yep, he's officially an adult now - crazy, I know! It is New York themed with some of the photos he took while he was there and a few others I nicked from the internet. (It's allowed for personal projects, isn't it?) That's a printout of a digital collage on fabric on the cover and I'll show you the inside pages as well - all mounted on recycled cardboard backing from my watercolour pads, with a couple of waterfalls inside for the photos:
Rather than copying my project shots off Instagram like I normally do, here's a little group photo of some of them just to speed things up:

(2) Slow stitching pieces - my new passion! You know I'm not good with perfect straight lines, but I can sure do messy and organic! These were my first attempts on dyed and rusted fabric. I want to incorporate this practice in my mixed media work.
(3) The completed Ugly Art Club Five-minute Challenge journal - a quick flip-through below:
Wednesday, 31 August 2022
WOYWW #691: August Round-Up

Today is the last day of the meteorological summer! How on earth did that happen so fast? I won't miss that intense heat though and we might still have a nice quiet Indian summer to look forward to if we're lucky. Today's also my last chance to recap the month of August here on my blog and join WOYWW for my monthly check-in. I've been quite busy with numerous challenges on Instagram, which keep my art-making motivated and focused. But first off, a picture of my desk - it's a total tip - probably the worst it's ever been. I've been planning to tidy up for weeks and never got around to it. I will - one day when I feel like it! (and yes, I'm ashamed of it - I'm just trying to desk-shame myself into taking action)
What else? Oh yeah, There was also the reelsforartistschallenge run by Roben-Marie Smith. I've created several reels inspired by this challenge. I think this was my favourite, though not the most successful in terms of likes and views - you can see all of my reels HERE.
I'm also sharing my "completed" ecodyed journal from last month for the #flowersmagicchallenge. I don't think it will ever be truly completed - I can go on sticking random bits in it for ever and I still have that sidekick journal to fill (a journal within the journal)!
That's it folks! A busy month for me in August - I'm actually off work this week, just taking it easy before the mad rush back to school next week. Early mornings again when I got so used to sleeping in until 9.00 - 9.30 on my days off - I have a lot of sleep to catch up on since January as you know! Such a relief that I can sleep again!
Sending you all hugs! I'm not sure yet if I can make it to the crop in October - but I'll try! xx