A little bit of Whimsy with Kate Crane

A couple of weeks ago I spent another creative weekend with Kate Crane at the Stamp Attic learning how to draw whimsical faces, I've been wanting to learn to draw Kate's style of girls for ages so this was a great opportunity.

The first thing we did on the Saturday was make a tiny little journal in a matchbox, using Dina Wakley's mini face stamps and washi tape we ended up with a great little mini journal ready to fill with mini ideas and thoughts.

Next was working on a bigger scale in our art journals, creating painted and layered backgrounds to which we added downloaded images and journalling.

I always seem to have some mishap when I am at the Stamp Attic before it was the windscreen wipers on the car, this time it was trying to stay on my feet!  I admit I wasn't exactly wearing sensible footwear but they do make me taller!  I managed to get over the cobbles fine, with the help of my stick, but whilst I was walking back through the car park, loaded with with my bag, shopping bags, handbag and walking stick, I turned to try and get the car keys from the pocket in my bag and wallop, down I went in the car park, my glasses flew off in front of me and I landed on my bag.  Two guys came over to see if I was ok, one of them picked up my glasses and bag and carried it to the car for me, but as you know when you do something like that it's always 'oh I am fine!' and then say ouch when they are gone!  I was most upset about denting my pencil tin after I fell on it!!

Luckily I wasn't driving home, only to Didcot Railway Station to pick up Mark, we had booked a hotel for the night which turned out a good choice, the room was lovely and the good was brilliant.  Plus they had my favourite Brandy, of which I needed a few medicinals!!

After a yummy cooked breakfast I headed back to the Stamp Attic (wearing flat shoes) for the second day. Again we started off making a little mini album in the matchbox.  Then it was time for drawing, there were a few moans and groans and 'I can't draw' comments but after we followed Kate's exercises everyone ended up with some great whimsical girls.

Some photo's of the projects: -

Drawing and shading practice

A small banner made with the whimsical girls

Mini matchbox journals 

And Kate, I have been practicing!

I think she looks like an England Player!

Thanks Kate for another great weekend, looking forward to the next one.

What you can make with Junk !

Well it poured down with rain again most of the way to the Stamp Attic and my trusty elastic band still held in place on the windscreen wipers (if you are wondering what that is about check out my post further down!) Must get around to getting the new clip on!

Who knew what you could make with lots of junk, I'll never throw anything away again, as I am a bit of a hoarder anyway the house is going to get even more messy!

This is what you can make, Kate Crane showed us how to put together her lovely junk journal from all sorts of pieces of cardboard, old envelopes, music sheets, magazine pages, anything really.

I love the spotty binding, sticky back canvas painted black and spots added with a bottle top.  We also painted the front cover and added doodling and stamping.

Here's the finished journal ready to fill.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend.

JOFY

Had a much less eventual trip to The Stamp Attic on Saturday for a day with JOFY making cards with some of her new stamps.  That is unless you count Sarah trying to head for London not Bristol on the way home and reversing back down the slip road, luckily she hadn't gone up it very far!

We used a couple of her flower stamp sets, using paints and distress inks to colour them, these are cards we made during the class.

Had a play today with the stamps that just happened to fall into my shopping basket and came home with me!

Also some journal pages in my little journal.

These are great stamp sets, very versatile and they all mix and match check them out here. 

Kate Crane Art Journal Day

For my Birthday this year my Sister in Law took me to The Stamp Attic for a day with the lovely Kate Crane.  The class was "Drawing in your Journal", everyone can draw, I guess I just need more practice!

We started the day with a few drawing techniques, sketching without looking, then drawing the person opposite you, sorry Alexa!  We tried drawing the person opposite with your non dominant hand, surprisingly my left hand drawing was better than my right!

For the journal pages I drew a funny bunny character and some houses, the first journal page was painted with acrylic paint then used stencils and bottle tops to add textures.  The second page we used the Dylusions spray inks with stamping over.  I still need to finish them off but here is the work in progress: -

My Bunny Page

Close up of the Bunny

Houses on the inked page

House close up

Inked page

Here are a couple of photo's Kate took of me busy spraying and all the ladies on the day.

Whilst I was browsing in The Stamp Attic (as you do!) I spotted this really cute paper by Prima so just had to buy a couple of sheets and made this page of Mark and I in Kefalonia last year.