TREE FOLLOWING - November 2015

Last month when I went to take photos of the two trees that I am following I had a surprise, because they showed little sign of seasonal change.  Other trees nearby had autumnal leaves and some had started to drop.

And just four weeks later there is a noticeable difference. From this:

THE LONDON PLANE. 

To this:

Some of the leaves are on the ground

This one I bought home.  I loved the colour and plan to wax it. Others I collected to use for printing.

 At the foot of the trunk the violets are getting bigger.  A couple more months and they will be in flower.  I still remember how they made me smile during the cold winter months.


And looking up you can see the seed pods.  There was none on the ground, it looks like they may be there to stay for a bit longer.

 Then I walked down to THE OAK.

Last month this tree also had green leaves.

 What a difference this time

Though the leaves I found were lovely colours.  I bought some of these home for printing too.

The only thing that looked fresh and green was this moss, growing on the trunk.

Next month will complete my one year Tree Following.  I don't think I will continue after that although I will often visit the trees as I have enjoyed watching the seasonal change. Maybe it is time to do something different... do you have any good ideas? 

 

Do I have any posts that you enjoyed and would like to see more of?

And I don't mean within the last few weeks, I mean all posts. Do any stick in your mind? Do you have any favourites?  I'd love you to tell me!

 

My 30 Day Blogging Challenge is nearing its end and I will be looking back on what I have learned, liked, and want to change.

Thanks for popping by today, it's great to have your company.

ATC WORKSHOP WITH MARK GOULD

As well as running my own workshops I also love going to ones run by other people. There is always so much to learn, and be inspired by, especially when that someone is Mark Gould. On this occasion there was a wooden box and a set of ATC cards to decorate and because there was so many different techniques we worked on a number of projects at a time. There was lots of painting and stamping, textured paste, and stencilling; and throughout Mark worked at a pace that suited everyone. Let me show you some photos:

Can you see the ATC above? I liked the 3D effect but decided to use the skeleton and coffin on another project, so here's what I did with it:  

I like the contrast of shiny metal against the rust. And here's the others:

 

I liked them all, but I think this is my favourite.  I have not used acetate in this way before and I liked it so much that I added some to my shopping basket while I was in the shop. This shows the depth of the finished ATC.

And here's the four layers, starting from the bottom up. 
 

The next two were stamped and painted on the reverse. There was lots of checking to make sure it was properly positioned:

Because we then put the layers together. The photo does not do it justice.

And here is the box. 

I want to add more stamping on it but for now it makes a great space for my new ATC cards.   
 

There was one more acetate ATC that I messed up. I loved the effect of painting on the back then stamping on the front but I chose the wrong image. I will see if I can rescue it. 

Although I have shopped at That's Crafty this was my first workshop there and it was a great space. This was also the first time Mark had run this particular workshop and it ran over time, but I'm not complaining. Far from it! I learnt lots of new techniques and ideas and I loved every minute of it. Thanks Mark!! I also had great company for the day and came home with new friends and blogs to follow. 

Talking of which, do check out Mark's blog, Spesh Ink, and if you like mixed media you might want to visit That's Crafty too. As well as running great workshops they also have an online shop with an extensivie range.  What's not to love!!

So, that's me for today. Thanks for popping by and I'll be back tomorrow. It will be day 27 of my 30 Day Blogging Challenge. Time soon to celebrate and reflect on what I have learnt and achieved.