Happiness is . . .

It is the midway point of Path of Positivity's current challenge with the optional theme of Happiness. I have made a scrapbook page for the midway sample using a photo of Rufford Abbey Country Park that I am quite proud off. It was taken on the 28th of January this year and the red and yellow colours of the bushes are the bark not new leaves. They look so striking with the blue of the water. We were blessed with a cold but bright winter day so the sky is reflecting in the water to give that beautiful blue shade.

I love a good walk out in the countryside enjoying the scenery and getting some fresh air. These days my walking exploits are more reliant on gentle flat walks, mountain climbing is a thing of the past, which is why Rufford Park was so good. The walk around the lake is fairly flat and where we stopped to take this photo there is a lovely little tea room. Needless to say we tried it out!

That day was a very happy day spent in beautiful surroundings with our daughter Rachel, son-in-law Richard and his parents. Rachel and Richard were celebrating their birthdays, Richards on the previous day and Rachel's that day. Now that they have moved further up the country we do not see them as often as we used to so it was wonderful to spend some time with them. A very happy day.

Materials Used:

Scribbles Designs - Sneakers 

Scribbles Desings - Wander 

12" x 12" white card

A3 printer paper

X-Press It card

Copic pens:

shoes - B91, B93, B95, B97, B99   C1, C3, C5, C7, C9  100

laces - R35, R37, R39, R56

The challenge at Path of Positivity  finishes on 5th May. We have two sponsors, our guest sponsor Limited Runs and our ongoing sponsor Scribbles Designs both offering a prize. For full details and the link up visit the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog. While you are there take a look at the inspiration from the rest of the team.

I hope you can join in the fun this month and tell us a bit about what makes you happy.

Thanks for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa

(I think the red bushes are Red Bark Dogwood, and the yellow ones Yellow Twig Dogwood.)  

                       

Living to the beat of your own drum

Another of the 'missing' posts, this one from last April!

My daughter got a drum kit for Christmas last year from her husband. Fortunately they have a very large workshop at the bottom of the garden! I could not resist making this for her birthday.



Materials used:
Sheena Douglass - Music and Dance acrylic stamp set (free gift with Creative Stamping Magazine)
versamark inkpad
stampendous detail black embossing powder
Daler Rowney Art Masking Fluid
Cosmic Shimmer mica powders: Purple Orchid, Frosted Scarlet, Lime Frost, Frosted Lemon
Polychromo pencils (greys)
white stamping card
black and gold card

The drum kit image and sentiment were stamped with versamark ink and embossed with black embossing powder then shaded with grey pencils. It was then painted over with the masking fluid and left to dry.

When the masking fluid was dry the mica powders were diluted with water then blobbed and splattered onto the card to make the background then left to dry. When dry the masking fluid was carefully peeled off.

The topper was trimmed, matted and layered onto black  gold card then attached to the front of  a 15cm square card base.

Thanks for dropping by. Take care.

Pippa

Entering the following challenges:
A Bit More Time To Craft #89 - Anything Goes 
Crafting With An Attitude #50 - Anything Goes 
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #424 - Anything Goes 
PIP Challenge #1913 - Anything Goes 
The Crafty Addicts #59 - Anything Goes 

Get Well Bear

I am ashamed to say that the beginnings of this post have been in draft form since last May! I think it is best I get on and actually post it, if I can remember how I made it!




Materials used: 
Gerda Steiner Designs - Have A 'Beary' Sweet Day Digital Stamp
Scrapbook Gems - Get Well Hospital Clipart and Papers 
printer paper
X-Press It! card
Copic pens:
fur - E31, E33, E35, E37, E39
nose - E50, E51, E53, E33
shadow on clipboard - C0, C1 

The bear image was added to the clipboard image from the Get Well set and printed as one image. After colouring it was fussy cut and attached to a card blank with the background paper already added.

I have a feeling there may be a couple more 'lost' posts lurking in the drafts section, probably from when I transferred the blog from WordPress. Hopefully I can get them posted soon as well.

Thanks for popping in. Take care.

Pippa

Entering the following challenges:
Artistic Inspirations #214 - Anything Goes 
Crafting From The Heart #240 - Anything Goes
PIP Challenge #1913 - Anything Goes 
A Bit More Time To Craft #89 - Anything Goes 
Gerda Steiner Designs Share Your Design Challenge - April

Path of Positivity Happiness

A new month and a new challenge at Path of Positivity. This month the optional theme is Happiness. I found an image of a lighthouse by one of our sponsors, Limited Runs. I have a thing about lighthouses and love them for a number of reasons. Firstly they are coastal and I am drawn to the sea, whether it is a flat calm day or a wild wave crashing one. I find the latter rather exciting and frightening at the same time, the pure energy of the sea as it whips the shore or lashes the harbour walls and cliff faces. Living not far from the coast my childhood and adult memories are full of seaside visits and the full range of beauty the sea can produce. At it's wildest it is reassuring to see a lighthouse showing the way to a safe harbour.

I tend to be a bit of a hermit so the idea of the solitude living in a lighthouse appeals to me, as does the thought of being able to help towards keeping those at sea safer. Now I know that the lighthouse keepers of the past had a very hard life and some lighthouses are more remote and dangerous than others but even so that lifestyle is one I think I would have enjoyed. In some respects it is sad to think that most, if not all, of our lighthouses are now automated.

Finally some of my favourite Bible verses speak of light as a guide. Jesus described himself as the light of the world and in a very dark world we need all the light we can get. Even a single candle flame can bring a comforting light in the darkness.

I decided to use my lighthouse image in a bit more Bible journalling to illustrate a passage in Matthew's gospel where Jesus talks about his followers being the light of the world. Whether you have a faith or not we can all be a light for someone, maybe by offering advise or guidance or maybe just some TLC and understanding. If you know someone who is 'in the dark' why not see if you can bring some light to them.

Materials used:

Limited Runs - Lighthouse 1 

printer paper

Polychromo pencils 

black micron pen

This time I tried a different approach to adding my picture. Rather than print it out on tissue paper and then gluing it to the page I printed it out on copy paper then traced it onto the page with a black pen. It was a bit tricky to see the image through the print in places but I think I got most of the image correctly added.

Having coloured it in with the pencils I then used an electric rubber and gently rubbed out some of the colour on the relevant verse so that it would show through better.

This is the third bit of Bible journalling I have attempted and I am beginning to think that maybe I should invest in a proper journalling Bible instead of using my very old one. Something to consider for later in the year maybe.

The challenge at Path of Positivity starts today and  finishes on 5th May. We have two sponsors, our guest sponsor Limited Runs and our ongoing sponsor Scribbles Designs both offering a prize. For full details and the link up visit the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog. While you are there take a look at the inspiration from the rest of the team.

I hope you can join in the fun this month. Thanks for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa