Mixed up post

Today's post is a bit of a miss mash to be honest but i thought i would show you what I have been completing this week so far.
I have completed the other 3 postcards for the January theme on Calendar girls group . These have been a lot of fun to do and so nice to work on different lay outs. I have made a start on the Febuary card and will hopefully be able to show it to you by the end of the week.


I have taken up Sharon B's Take it further challenge and this month is based on someone you admire and why you admire them. in addition the colour palette below can be used if you like. I like it and will be using it I think.
Now saying who i admire has been hard, I could choose so many people but the whole thing of this being on a blog has got me to thinking about bloggers I admire and the fact that I have found like minded people who give me inspiration, encouragement and drive to do more and more exciting things. Firstly i find colours on the screen hard to deal with so i went straight for a magazine to find similar colours. Then i wrote up my thinking about this piece. i have decided to use this idea for my mandala page for Emmy this month on FAF. I am going to use the influence of styles of other artists I truely admire to complete my mandala. I have chosen Emmy first of all as it is her page and she works with such amazing strength of colour and with a real encrusting of surfaces with stitch. The second is my friend Jan, who has been having a hard time of late and so hasn't had time for her blog, but she does a lot of recycling of plastics and paper and so i am going to do something in her style. The next is Carol M, who makes the most stunning things with metallics and foils and lovely surface texture, like her article on lutrador and lace. Then i have chosen Lynda, i do so love Lynda, as a great mate and in her innovative and amazing style, i have been wanting to do some hand stitch and emulsion and ink for a while so i am going to pay homage to Lynda's many samples in this style and then finally there will be me. My style, my voice is something that I am struggling with at the mo, so this might be an opportunity to define myself a little! I am excited by this and can't wait to have enough time to get stuck in!

The next thing is my effort for Art Journal Fridays. I found this lately and thought it would encourage me to do something in my visual diary. The theme was related to to new year and resolutions and was based on your hopes and dreams for 2008, and here are mine!
Last thing is for Cathy who has been chatting with me about creating with Ellie. i thought you might like to see how Ellie kept herself amused on Sunday afternoon, collaging a picture of her and her friend! Note the curly hair on Ellie, made from curls of paper, and the stamps on the face - don't know why? lots of fun hey! Mum did help with cutting the hands, after all she is only 4! The rest she did herself.