Back At It With A Work In Progress

Hi Guys!!! Well after two weeks break, I'm back on the Polyies colouring up a storm... Still taking it easy, so this is just a work in progress picture to let you know I'm still around and living!! :)

This is a gorgeous image by Mo Manning by "Wiz" which you can purchase HERE

This is the picture of him with his First Layer of pencil on his coat.. 

And this is with his second final layer on his coat... Isn't amazing how much difference that second layer makes.. really increase the depth and colour of the image.

Ironically, Now having created SO much contrast and shadowing in his coat, I'll have to go back over his Beard and Skin and darken them up to match... but I'll wait till I finish the piece before I muck around with those little edits. :)

Will I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek. Hopefully the next post will be him all finished and framed. :)

Happy Crafting. 

Xo Amanda 

My 1st Year Of Learning at Kit and Clowder (Photo Heavy)

Well today on fac book I had a "memory" post come up that showed me a photo I posted on this day last year, all excited at how much I had learnt from just doing ONE CLASS of Kit and Clowders Online Copic Class... I was so over the moon with how much of a difference the information I had learnt could make to my drawing in such a short amount of time. 

Well... seeing this post and photo today made me realise just how far I have come with my art in that year since that I posted that...

So I sat myself down, and quickly... lol, yes.. I never thought I'd say that regarding my Copics... and WITHOUT THROWING A SINGLE ONE!! I sat down and quickly coloured a face on my "Face page" I had put together as a means to practice my copics before I had gotten my marvelous Kit and Clowder Class, next to the "Face" I had coloured last year on this date... so I could demonstrate to myself how far I had come. :) So with the face done...I just HAD to colour the hair as well.. cause I mean.. I can do hair now too.. I'm not an expert, but I can do it, and getting better and better each time I practice... So once I had completed that I thought I have to come on here and share with you all some of my early work, in comparison to some of my work now... :) So we can ALL HAVE A GIGGLE!!!

But first... the photo that started this journey today.... The first face is my go at a face (with features and shading!! LOL :/ ) prior to Kit and Clowder.... the second face is the first face I did after reading through the lesson one of my Kit and Clowder Copic Lesson on May 3rd 2014.... and the third face on the right is today's face, done quickly, to demonstrate where I'm up to today, May 3rd 2015... One year later...

These are some "Other" attempts at skin in my earlier tries... LOL

And how bout my Earliest Hair Attempt to laugh at!!! :/

ARGHHHHH!!!! Look Away.. Look Away!!! *covers eye's in Horror!!*

 So Comparison!! 

And now for some recent images... :)

Now for the Distressed Inks... Which I also started a year ago...

To something a little better ;)

And now onto Pencils.. Polychromo to be exact.. Now I have only just started in the last few months with these so I haven't done a lot, but the wonderful Alyce from Kit and Clowder has a wonder Pencil Class that you can learn how to use these beauties.. and what can I say.. IM IN LOVE!!!

My First attempt.. LOL, She was turned into a monkey because I STUFFED her up so badly.. 

Now for something a lot better... 

 So that's it my dearies.. All of my Ups and Downs... All I can say is that if you are struggling with your colouring, whether it be Copics, Pencils, or Distressed Inks.. there is two things you can do... One... you can keep on practicing.. because practice DOES MAKE PERFECT!! and two... you NEED.. and I mean NEED!!!!! to head over to Kit and Clowder and check out all of there marvelous online classes. They are delivered online, with no time period in which you have to take them it.. once you purchase them, the class is yours FOREVER!!. You get not only the classes, but access to the marvelous and talented Miss Alyce Keegan whom will help you through your colouring journey. You are encouraged to upload your practice images onto the class site for feed back from Alyce with she does every 48hrs roughly, to improve your skills, but if there is anything you really are stuck on Alyce is always contactable via Private message through Facebook to give you one on one help... She is THAT amazing... 

So Please come check out the Facebook Page "Kit and Clowder"

Or the Website "Kit and Clowder Website" 

and get the colouring you always dreamed of. 

Xo

Amanda

My Illness and A Goodbye To My DT Team

So I have these stupid chronic illnesses right that tend to get in the way of LIFE!! LOL... I have a vestibular disorder, that Dr are still trying to classify, because I'm just a medical mystery and it doesn't quite fit into there "categories" very well... But presents like Meniere's without hearing loss, a nasty little blighter, that basically gives me EXTREME vertigo, like lets chuck you on a roller coaster doing the loop to loop for hours, so bad that you are LITERALLY stuck to the floor and unable to move... oh, that's after you have FALLEN to the floor, because this hits quite suddenly many times, or you have stumbled like a drunk person.. to the floor... and then basically sat there, unmoving, except for the heaving up of what feels like all of your internal organs... lol.. as you vomit away merrily for the duration of the attack... 

Thank fully, this is how my attacks used to be, I haven't had them this bad in a while, now, I just get the room is spinning feeling, and massive nausea (or vomiting) and am confined to sitting on a couch for the day... using my walls and furniture to walk/stumble where ever I need to go, or my crutches if I need to leave the house.. Sounds like fun hey!! This was the reason I was made unable to work anymore, and left my career as a nurse and started Papercraft and stamping in the first place... 

If that wasn't enough I have chronic migraines.. both the classic, OMGoodenss, some just smash my head in with a brick, it would be better then this!! but also another lovely type, called Vestibular Migraines.. which.. you guessed it.. Gives me VERTIGO.. that awful spinning I was speaking about.. and nausea.. and ARGHHHHH Vomiting... So, as you can imagine, when you are dealing with these to nasty things.. life is pretty darn difficult... It's made me have to reevaluate my entire life and prioritise what energy I DO have each day into the most important things.. Myself, My son, the household absolute must have cleaned cleaning.. LOL.. and of course my CRAFTS!!

Sadly... when one of these conditions, or both flair up, I have to be even more strict on myself and prioritise even further what I can or cannot do.. because I need more sleep, and more rest, and less of everything else.. These conditions take a lot out of you.. Your balance is one of your executive functions, like your beating heart, or your breathing... you may not think about it, but when it doesn't function properly, your body actually turns off other "less important things" to devote more brain power to it to get it working right... So out goes things like "Thinking!!" "problem solving" "memory recall" "Speech".. yep.. my speech is not needed apparently (thank goodness I can type.. LOL Phew) So on bad days not only do I stumble around like I'm drunk.. I slur my speech like I'm drunk too... but in the end.. all of this stuff is just PLAIN exhausting... and then it throws in a MIGRAINE.. and we add Pain to the mix and I'm just a ball of stumbling, slurring, vomiting, incoherent rambling mess, with a cringe on my face, trying to get you to understand what is going on... which is why I carry medical alert info in my purse.. So I'm not randomly picked up by the cops for drunken disorderly!!

But it's not all bad... these illness have taught me to slow down my life and not take things for granted.. they have made my explore interests that I had as a child/teen , such as art, that I would never have MADE time for... and hey, I worked out I have a talent for... and so I find my curse is also a blessing... 

One of these blessing was that my illness lead my to look for a hobby... I was sick, I was now after 2 years (at that point DEC 2013) not working and it was time I look for SOMETHING for me to do at home to keep me from going insane, and my precious mother introduce me to her stamps.. little wooden blocks and a few clear ones she owned... never would I have thought that that, would have lead me researching about the culture of "stamping" and "colouring" something my Mother had NO CLUE ON... but more importantly.. never would I had imagine it would had lead me to discovering Mo Manning...

I was so mesmerised by these GORGEOUS story book type images I was seeing, images that reminded me of my childhood, and the books I used to read and LOVED.. and here you could buy rubber stamps to replicate these images and colour them in.. that was it I was hooked... From the very first image I saw... "Little Elf Fin" and to the very first Rubber I purchased... "You Are A Peach"... (along with 10 others) I knew I wanted to colour this Mans art for the rest of my life.. (yes yes.. I'm sorry Mo.. I thought you were a man.. It was such a shock to find out you were indeed a woman!! LOL) 

and this led me to facebook and finding a group all about Mo Manning, and eventually I was the luckiest girl in the world..because my work was noticed, my work, which I still think was crap!! LOL.. at the time... but anyway... when the Guest Design Team position came up.. I thought GO FOR IT!!, Whats the worse that can happen.. You get to sick, cannot do it, and thats the end of it, but at least you have given it a try. 

I was up front about my illnesses with the lovely Miz Pat, the DT Coordinator, and was so worried I would let everyone down, I just wanted to put it out there that this was the case ahead of time, so that way if the event should arise I should have to leave, it would be understood why.... 

Well.. despite the odds... That Guest position in June 2014... followed on with a permanent position on the DT team. and I was LOVING IT!!.. it was hard.. and it challenged every ounce of me.. and yes.. there were days that I was pulling my hair out, and days when I sat there colouring my card image, marker in one hand, vomit bag in the other!! :/ but I continued, to prove to myself more then anyone that I COULD do this.. and I improved and got better at my colouring, and my card making, and I got faster... but my illness didn't let up.. and there were times it was all too much and it prevented me from completing a project.. and they were the weeks that I really hurt, cause I felt like I let everyone down... particular Pat and Mo, which hurt me so much... but I kept on trudging along.

Unfortunately things were not to be however... the toll of producing all of these cards, and the stress I place on myself to do them, plus a flair up of my illness this year, and an increase in our DT requirements to one card a week instead of 1 a fortnight, sadly just became too much... and I was becoming more and more overwhelmed and colouring and creating was becoming less fun as my illnesses flaired up and I just became exhausted all the time... so I made the decision after 10months of being with the best est DT team in the world to leave... It was such a hard decision... but I learned from this illness, that it does not care what you love and what you care about... when it says enough is enough.. you need to stop, listen, and prioritise your life again... and so I had to let the DT team go. :( 

I will not give up my colouring, or on promoting and supporting Mo's Manning.. cause she will ALWAYS be one of my favorite artists as well as a friend... but for now I will take a bit of a break, and rest for a few weeks to recharge... and then get back to it all... and also look at exploring new avenues of art in the future... 

Thank you for whoever has managed to read this great big long post!! LOL.. it was not meant to be a novel, but turned into one. :)

Happy Crafting. 

Xo

Amanda

Jumping Lamb Card Featuring "Emmy With Lamb"

This week I've made ANOTHER baby card in preparation for a little baby girl who will be coming into the world in June. This card though features something quite special. it's interactive!! yep... The little lambs actually rotates giving the card an appearance of the lambs leaping!!!

I'm totally in love with it and so glad it turned out. 

I've used the sweet little "Emmy with Lamb" image that Mo Manning created earlier on in the year.  It was just right with her little lamb doll fitting perfectly with my theme. 

A match made in heaven. :) What do you think!!

 

 "Emmy" has been coloured primarily with Copics, and finished with Polychromo Pencils.  I thought she needed to be sitting in a field of grass.. Only fitting really!! :)

 This is the button handle on the inside of the card that you turn to make the Lambs turn. :) I thought it would make a cute handle. It's actually two buttons stacked on top of each other, to make it a bit easier to "handle".. Teehee.. I made a funny!!.

Card Ingredients:

"Emmy with Lamb" by Mo Manning

Coloured in Copics and finished with Polychromo Pencils

"FQB - In The Meadow" Digital Scrap booking Kit by NitWit Collections

3D foam Dimensional used through project. 

Stencil Plastic has been used to create the Jumping Lamb "Wheel"

Superglue

1 Medium and 1 Large Button. 

Silhouette Cameo to fussy cut the pieces

"Antique Linen" Tim Holtz Distress Ink used to distress all of the edges of the paper pieces. 

Well I hope you have enjoyed this weeks little card from me. 

I look forward to bringing you something new next week. 

Happy Crafting

Xo HUGS

This card has been entered into the following challenges:

Challenge #121 Anything Goes w/Optional Humorous Sentiment & FREEBIE

Little Red Wagon : Challenge # 287 - "B"elieve It!