Quilt No. 031: From Scratch

I’ve been planning this quilt since August 2021 – at least, that is the creation date of my design file. I’ve created this one from scratch, designing the pattern, working out the fabric requirements, editing it for different dimensions and then choosing the fabric. The quilt was finally commissioned as a sofa cover back in March 2023 and I completed it last week having worked on it on and off since the summer.

blue, grey and white geometric patterned quilt created from scratch
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Bible Journaling: Colour Challenge (BJ-26)

For the first Bible Journaling Session of 2024, we’re having a colour challenge. All of us have our favourite colours that we reach for… Sometimes we can get stuck choosing new palettes and our work becomes a little samey. During our session, we will use different colour palettes to try and break out of our tonal rut. Here are my samples – carry on reading to see the colour palettes I used.

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AAA Cards DT: Sketch and cold

The last theme of the year has been set out over at AAA Cards’ clean and simple card challenge blog. It has a wintery feel with ‘sketch and cold’ being the design features to include. If you need a reminder, the sketch is there as inspiration and doesn’t need to be literally followed (though a couple of the DT cards have done so). The colour palette does need to be from the cold side though.

Sadly, this card will also be my last design team card for AAA Cards. I’ve made a card every fortnight for them over the last two years and it’s time to move on to do something new/different. There are plans to take the challenges into next year, so do keep joining in the fun 🙂

Here’s my take on the challenge:

sketch and cold themed Christmas card

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Art Journaling: A shiny Christmas

The last Art Journal Session of the year is on Monday, 4th December at The Studio in Leicester. Inspired by all things sparkly and shiny around this time of the year, I’ve come up with this shiny Christmas double-spread:

A shiny Christmas art journal layout with coloured glazes over aluminium foil tape.

If you’d like to come to the session, please let me know. I remembered to take step-by-step photos this time, so instructions follow…

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AAA Cards DT: Black, white and gold

A different colour scheme this week at AAA Cards challenge blog. We’ve gone for the fairly classic black, white and gold. The prompt guide photo has baubles, and I have also gone with a Christmas theme, but any subject matter is allowed as long as the colours are stuck to it and it is a clean and simple design. Here’s my design team card:

black, white and gold Christmas card

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LIM DT: D is for deck the halls

The last challenge for the year is up over at Less is More. We’re onto ‘D’ in our alphabet themes and we’re looking for cards on the theme of ‘Deck the Halls’. I guess we’re going to see plenty of Christmas-themed cards – after all, it is that time of the year… My design team card continues the carol lyrics and features holly and berries:

Stencilled Christmas card on the theme of Deck the Halls featuring gold holly leaves and red enamel berries
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AAA Cards DT: Fall/leaves

We’re still in meteorological autumn (just) and there’s an apt theme to the next challenge over at AAA Cards‘ clean and simple challenge blog: fall/leaves. I’m writing earlier in the year, so I don’t know whether there have been gales and thrashing rain or an Indian summer. However, I can pretty much guarantee there was the traditional leaf-changing-colours period and it’s to this I pay tribute with my take on the theme:

Fall/leaves sympathy card

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LIM DT: Anything goes (as long as it’s CAS)

In the penultimate challenge of the year, we’re looking for your clean and simple cards over at Less is More. Anything goes this week as long as you keep it CAS. Don’t forget to look at our definitions for more guidance on what this entails. I searched through my stash and looked for a rubber stamp that had never been used and found this one featuring a poinsettia. I chopped a strip from it to keep it CAS rather than use the full image. Here’s the card I made for the design team inspiration gallery:

Christmas poinsettia image coloured with watercolour paints

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Art Journaling: Up, Up & Away

My next Art Journaling Session is on Monday evening, 6th November at The Studio. If you’re recovered your hearing after the fireworks, do come along and join in! We’ll be working on the theme of ‘up, up and away’ for our mixed media layouts in our journals. Here’s the inspiration example:

Mixed media art journal layout based on the theme of 'up, up and away' featuring a bright ink background and hot air balloon.
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AAA Cards DT: Colour scheme – purples and blues

I’m occasionally accused of being monotone and predictable in the choice of colours I wear, typically blues and greys. The colour challenge at AAA Cards this week features tones of purples and blues, so I feel quite at home. I’ll also be picking the entries that we will be showcasing, so I look forward to seeing your makes based on the photo prompt below. Here’s my take on the clean and simple card challenge…

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