Mail Art swap: Look what I received!!

Do you remember me saying in this post that I was mail art swapping with Heidi from Little Nore? Well the most amazing post arrived for me yesterday. I don't actually get that much post anymore as most bills and communication is done via email so when something does land on your door mat I get really excited. Even more so when it is in a handwritten envelope as that usually means the contents is going to be good.

It was.

Look at this most amazing piece of art that Heidi created...

I love it soooooo much. It is beautiful and my photo doesn't do it any justice! It made me smile so much so thank you thank you thank you Heidi! I wrote a note to Heidi and in it I said that I was struggling with feelings of not being good etc etc etc and she wrote me back a really positive and inspiring letter which really boosted my confidence today. I feel so very happy today I am buzzing and have loads of enthusiasm for creating.

When I thought it couldn't get any better, I logged on to the computer and Heidi had also written a blog post with mail art she had received and mine was there too. Awesome Happy Day!

Go check out Heidi's blog here: http://heidimmcdonald.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/mail-art-magic-part-one.html 

Craft Space Envy

This month's craft space envy...

Love the idea of an idea board above the desk!

if nobody cares...

I saw this on pinterest and just fell in love with it!

Source: bubbelsoda.tumblr.com via Anna on Pinterest

my mobile studio

You know all that stuff I showed you that is my workspace? Well we needed to use the dining room so here it is all boxed up. That is it. That is all my art stuff all in that one box. OK well there are a couple of blank canvases upstairs down beside the wardrobe but shhhhhh my hubby doesn't know about that little stash lol!

I mention it a lot but I just want to reitterate that whilst having a beautiful big craft space is lovely and what I aspire to, it is not essential to getting creative!

Making people happy!

My hubby uses Twitter alot and has connected with lots of people over the years. I think it is great but I must admit I can't always keep up with the amount of tweets that go flying around.

Anyhow when Seasidedolly tweeted that she was after something creating I was only too happy to oblige.

I enjoy creating art for other people. It makes me happy! It took me a while to get round to it as I was super busy with work (I am a photographer) and then I was poorly.

But I did it and here is the finished result...

I now have an Etsy shop!

I am so excited and nervous and everything else in between. I have got quite a collection of art works now so I thought what the heck open an etsy shop you never know. So I have. Eeeeek! I am excited as it could mean new and exciting things for me but I am nervous too. What if no one sees my stuff or much much worse still, what if no one likes it and wants to buy it, how disheartening would that be! OK I just need to quieten the gremlins inside and just, well, be.

So if you would like to take a look over at my etsy shop I would be very please that you did.

My etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MrsBrimbles?ref=seller_info

I have a couple of pieces in there already to get me started but please bear with me, more items will be added as time goes on. I am new to all this and learning the ropes.

Pieces that are in there already are:

Book Review - Mixed Media Girls

I like to read blogs but sometimes I want to get away from the computer screen and read a book as it is so much more relaxing with a cup of tea. I read Suzi Blu's blog which I came accross by searching on the net for mixed media art. She is a nutty crazy lady but in a lovely way! I love her kookiness and it is what makes her the person she is.

This book is just fab and really great if you are just starting out. Most of the girls that I create have blank expressionless faces. I kinda do that for a reason (I am sure I will blog about that!). Suzi on the other hand creates beautiful doll like faces to her girls and the way she does it is all explained and detailed in her book, Mixed Media Girls. So if you need help and guidance in drawing faces this is so definitely the book for you.

Of course the book has great photography and also pages of both Suzi's work and also the work of others which is really nice to see as it helps to put things into context. There are tutorials on how to create backgrounds the way Suzi does and also how to turn your art into an encaustic piece.

Get it. Read it. Love it. Flick through and drool over the pages of art supply photos. Errrrmmmm maybe that is just me!!

And here is a video of my review...

**Please note this is my own personal opinion and I have created this review myself to share with others. I have not been paid, sponsored or endorsed by anyone to create provide this review** 

My workspace

I was playing with the camera function on my kindle to see how it worked and I ended up accidentally taking a picture of my current work space set up. I am certainly not pleased with the quality of the kindle camera and won't be making a habit of using that!

Anyways I thought it might be a giggle to show you what my current work space looks like!

Here goes...

This is actually quite tidy as I had just had a spruce up this morning. I don't have a dedicated room or even a dedicated desk. I have a big plastic tub with all my bits and bobs in that gets moved around the house. Generally when I am not creating it is kept in the spare room and then when we have house viewings (our house is currently on the market) it gets shoved up in the loft. As we are trying to sell our house, our spare room is kitted out all nicely with a made up bed and wardrobe in it. I don't think having a desk is that great for the look of the room so I totally understand, you have to make some sacrifices if you want to sell your house right!

But... I just wanted to show you that not having a fancy pants work space or craft studio does not stop you from doing what you love and loving what you do. This is just some of my stuff out on the dining room table from when I was painting a canvas last night.

The pink box has my alcohol inks, ink pads, a small (because I don't have many at all) selection of stamps and my pro markers. The box next to it has my modelling paste and my acrylic paints. The box next to that is empty. Jon got a Paddington Bear mug for Christmas and I have stolen the box it came in to store some bits in. My pent and brush pot I painted myself and I will show you that in more detail in another blog post.

I do have craft space envy though and one day I will have a beautiful space. One day!

Just a doodle

Just a little doodle of a sock monkey...

Mail Art Swapping with Heidi

Have you heard of mail art swapping? It is something I have done before and is great fun. Basically you pair up with someone and create something and send it to them to brighten up their day. We get so little mail nowadays which is a great pity as it is so much fun when you get something through the post.

I have a romantic idea of post and would love to have a beautiful box of hand written notes all tied up in ribbon. Is anyone else with me on that?

Image credit: http://worldofvieta.tumblr.com/page/189

I am really pleased to say that I am doing a swap with Heidi M who is really well known for her fantastic Little Nore characters. If you would like to find out more about Heidi's swap then click on the image below to be taken to her mail art blog post...

http://heidimmcdonald.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mail-art-swap.htmlhttp://heidimmcdonald.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mail-art-swap.html

The  pressure was on I felt. Whilst I love creating art and really really wanted to do this swap, Heidi is such a fantastic artist and I am not. Anyway this is the piece that I created for Heidi and I hope she likes it!

Just a little canvas with mixed media, acrylic paints, inks, stamps, alcohol inks, papers, pro markers.

I chose the "Time to Fly" inspirational phrase as I think sometimes people need reminding of that and also it follows on from my starting to fly blog post.

If you would like to take part in a swap with me then please let me know, just email me on: bugbabe2 AT yahoo.com letting me know your address etc and I will get back to you with mine. I would love a regular pen pal too so if you are interested just let me know.

If you would like to find out about other mail art swaps join the facebook page here