Get Messy Season of Adventure Prompts 6

This week's Get Messy prompts were extra super exciting for me because I actually wrote two of them!! And I had to keep it a secret!!! Ok so I told my husband who was suitably unimpressed but I was itching to see when they would go up. I had posted on facebook after the new season was announced as "Adventure" that we had better have some prompts based around the movie "Up" I mean come on?? ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!! I love that movie. Anyway the very lovely Caylee said "Why don't you write some?" After peeing my pants  After careful thought and consideration I sent her on my two prompts from the movie.

I actually made my "Up" page ages ago so I had a little head start on this week but I couldn't share it as that would ruin the surprise!! So here's my "Up" page all about where is my Paradise Falls location which is of course Japan!!

My challenge to everyone was to do some hand stitching on their pages so I stitched in the ropes for my balloons.

Ah Tokyo, one day I will get to you I promise!!

Here's my second page. I challenged everyone to name their travel companion for their big paradise falls adventure. Mine is, of course, my Daughter, Maya. Travelling the world with a child is not without it's challenges but she has really taught me how to appreciate the joy and wonder around me.

I used some of my Gossamer Blue Project life kit for this page. It was very heavily influenced by the talented Caylee Grey if you haven't checked out her work you totally should. This page was thrown together very quickly and I love the "white" space on it and the muted pastel colors. Of course, I had to put a bird on it! This one was from my Mum using a die she was trying out. Hurrah for crafting mums!

And the final page was back to my usual layers, layers and more layers and loads of color.

I just kept painting layer after layer after layer. I was going to use some texture with my modelling paste but I called it good as it was .

I added some little embellishments that Vanessa included very generously in her package she sent me with the art journal I bought.

I cannot wait to see what everyone made with the prompts I put up this week. It's one of the things I love so much about the Get Messy community seeing how everyone takes the same prompts each week and yet produces something completely different.

Get Messy Season of Adventure prompt 5

This week has been way too nice weather wise and it's been very hard to find the enthusiasm to sit down and work on my art journal when there's so much sunshine outside! And feeling icky, sticky and tired doesn't help either.  The art mono has been slow to come this week and only finished the spread below just today!

We had to make a bucket list this week and I decided to write down all the things I'd love to do but can't because of the job I do. I work in hospitality and it's important to be smart and presentable when I'm in work. Sadly that means I can't have a mad hair colour or loads of visible tattoos.

I also don't have a very creative job and it's really quite corporate so I'd love to have one where I can be creative and make art all the time.

Here's a closer look at my dolly stamped me. Note the turquoise hair 😉 dreamy! The doll stamp is from Prima and I stamped it again on the cherry paper and layered it.I love the little cross stitch on the heart for a bit of texture.

I decided to make a set of ATC's for the other prompt to describe our perfect day if money was no object. I know mine might not seem very exciting but it's my idea of heaven and better still doesn't cost much money!

Below is some close ups of the cards.  One of the art prompts was to use abstract painting to make a background so I did this first before cutting them up

I ordered some really cool washi and a beautiful journal from
The lovely Vanessaand they were perfect for these cards!

Next week is the last week and I'll be sorry to see this season go but will be looking forward to the next!

Get Messy Season of Adventure 4

This weeks Get messy prompts were a whole lot of fun to make and I really enjoyed making them. Some weeks it flows better than others and this was definitely one of those!

We had to use a photo from a magazine to create a sketch and I picked a nice sassy gal for mine. I used my Gelli Plate to create different colour backgrounds and make a ombre style colour combination.

Here's a close up of the sketches and I used some wrapping paper I bought from paper chase at the start of the season knowing I'd find a good use for it 😉

We had a write a poem this week. Not my favourite task so I figured Haiku was the way to go! No rhyming needed! I painted over the spread with gesso and wrote my haiku in colored sharpie.

Next up was an exotic experience we'd had. Well for me it was the first time I was introduced to sushi by my husband many years ago now.  That first taste of Salmon Sashimi.... nothing was better than that!

I raidid my paper stash and torn them up for this week's art prompt.

I used my gelatos for the background here and a small heart stamp I've had lying around forever.

I really like these pages a made this week and I feel much more in my groove after last week's rough time.

Get Messy Season of Adventure - Prompt 3

I have to say that I have not been feeling much like doing anything of anything this past week as I have been struggling with some very sad news here and I have found it very hard to want to focus on anything but my family.

I work in a hotel and for the past three years we have had a very lovely man stay with us every week. Every Friday he would fly home to be with his family and after such a long time staying with us he had become like part of the family for all the staff here. Sadly he collapsed here in front of the hotel last Thursday and he died from a brain hemorrhage on Saturday morning. He has young children and a wife who had to fly over from Poland to give permission for the hospital to turn off life support.

I'm not posting this here for sympathy. I don't need "virtual hugs", I've done my crying for this wonderful, gentle man and his wife and children. Any sympathy you have should be directed to his wife, god knows she needs it more than me.

I'm posting this to show that art journaling helped me this week. It helped a lot and I know we all read about the "healing" part of this process but I always took it with a pinch of salt, I'm not a great one for "writing" about my feelings I'd rather talk about them with my family.

One of our journalling points was "something we would never do" and I really felt that after the events of this week there is nothing and no one who would make me be away from my family. They are my greatest adventure and there is nothing to compare to that. We don't always realise how short and unfair life can be and we take things for granted. I know this tragedy has made me see that my family is the most important thing in my life and it is so important for me to cherish them and to make sure that they know how much I love them.

I kept my page very simple and used some black and white photos from a magazine. This was not a colorful week for me so I did not feel right reflecting this in my journal for this week.

The quote was added using a dymo label maker. I read this a few weeks ago and I thought it was a really beautiful sentiment. It seemed to ring very true this week to me.

I just journalled over the top of the photo I stuck on here and kept it simple and heartfelt this week.

I'm happy with this page because it's not happy. It's raw and I know I will look back and remember this time when I look at this page. I want to remember. To remember him and and his family and the lesson I feel like he had taught me about what is important.

Get Messy -Season of Adventure Prompt 2

This week was a little different on Get Messy.  Normally the prompts are put on the Monday and it's all systems go until next week. This we we had the get messy art journal game and we had a prompt a day to make up the whole prompt for the week. It's was HARD. I'm so used to just going for it in one sitting or sometimes two sittings if I've to wait for something to dry.

This week we had to take it easy though and slow and just allow the page to flow one step at a time. It was so interesting to see how everyone went off in different directions from the same prompts.

The first step shown above was to cover half the page in paper with lots of words on it. I used an old book I had to hand.

Next we had to add paint to a third of the page.  I was feeling in an orange mood on this day.

Next came the misting. Not a big fan of misting so this is a departure for me but still quite happy with the result.

Next we had to use stamps.  I used some number stamps I've had forever and this little doll stamp. God knows where I got this from I've had it forever but I've always loved it and never used it. Why do we do that?! What are we waiting for? ?

Here's a close up.....

Love it!!!!!!!!!

The final stage was to add in some journalling and pintrest to the rescue once again. The page has a lot less layers than I would normally use and there are a lot less bells and whistles but I really like it even so and I really enjoyed playing along with everyone else

Second Star to The Right - Get Messy On Thursdays

This week's Get Messy has us working along with a different prompt every week so this page is a bonus one I've been working on inspired by our adventure theme. Well you don't get much more adventurous than Peter Pan now do you?

The page is not my usual style as drawing would NOT be my strong point so I normally stay away from it and rely on a stamphoto or a found image from a magazine.  But in the spirit of adventure I had a go and I'm quite pleased with the result.

I used liquid acrylics for the background and I really love the pearlescent shine one then which really doesn't come across on the photographs.

 I used my colored sharpie collection to do the hand lettering and liquid acrylics in silver for the "star"

I also used one of my mists and sprayed them all along the edges to give the edges some interest.

Here's a close up of the cityscape I drew. I used my Pitt artist markers for this and you can just about make out the gold dots I added for the cars.

So just goes to show if you try something adventurous and push yourself you can make something you never thought you could!

Get Messy - Season Of Adventure 1

So so happy to be back in the "swing" of Get Messy and a new season! The season of Adventure!! Yah! \o/

This weeks prompt was all about a place we had been and we had to describe it using the senses. Well, it wasn't hard for me to pick Mumbai as my place as it is most certainly ticks all the boxes for the senses that's for sure.

A little background about me and Mumbai first though. My husband is half Indian (his Father is Indian and his Mother is Irish, it was all very romantic, she was a nurse and he was a doctor) and my husband was born and lived there for the first 21 years of his life. We've been to Mumbai three times and even got engaged there (that's another story for another day!) so when I go I am very lucky to have my own personal tour guides to see the local sights as well as the tourist ones.

So here's my page I've made for this week's challenge

I used some fibres and threads I had hanging around from forever for the right hand page and drew on some paisley designs from some Indian stationary I had bought. The embossed gold medallion is from a card again from a stationary set I bought over there.

Here is a close up of the texture page, I think I can get the extra bonus points for bringing in "touch" to my page?? 

 I made the photograph (which is actually a vintage postcard I bought whilst in Mumbai of the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel into a pocket to hold some rupees and a small tag (again part of my stationery stash from India) to make a note of all of the things which I remember most from Mumbai and what you can see, hear, taste,smell and touch)

Here is a close up of the left hand page. The Taj is a really special place to my husband and his family. They always went for Christmas Dinner there and by all accounts it was quite the production when they did. Of course I had to get some hand lettering in there, I seem to be gaining a reputation for it now!

Thanks so much for looking at my pages!