A Posy with Love ~ Happy PPF ~

Hello !

Love is certainly all around, so here's my little contribution for Paint Party Friday:

"A Posy With Love"
Acrylic on canvas board

Its one of a number of paintings I took in to our local Art and Information Centre today to be for sale, so I've been varnishing, labelling and (drying ... well, waiting for them to dry lol) over the past few weeks. 
I feel really happy for my art to have been included with other local art and craft folk in our town.

Its also so nice to join other artists online over at Paint Party Friday.  Here's a link if you'd care to join us: 

I'd also love to catch up with any Blog-friends who are on Instagram.  Its fun to find each other and realise we know each other from Blogger-Land.  Here's my Instagram link   Cheerio for now xx

Paint Party Friday and Bits of This n That ~

Hello!

Lots of painting going on here and I remembered it was Friday so its certainly time to post one in readiness to join in with Paint Party Friday today:

"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
Acrylic on Masonite (fibreboard)
(not an original title, but it just seems so apt!)

I made some progress shots of this one, so here we go....

In a way, I kind of liked the blurry, abstracty-feel to this stage when looking back on the photos now that its completed. 
Just shows that its sometimes nice to take things slow, however I carried on with adding more details

So intent on adding those small details 😍

This was to be it... completed, however I really felt it needed something more ......

Yes, a little bit of silver bling seemed to do the trick!

so, that was my little bit of arty fun... much more to see over at this week's Paint Party gathering.  You'll always be made so welcome.  Just click on the icon below:

Some this 's and that 's over the past week or so ....

We were pretty impressed by this young pumpkin's self-support system
(I promise that we didn't manipulate that tendril on the hose)
This photo was taken a week or so ago and, with the larger growth, the pumpkin has dropped a little but is still hanging on for dear life! 

Phew! Our last day of January was a doozie ... hot, hot, hot! :

... but we were fortunate enough to have air conditioning, so the inside temp was very welcome.
(for Northern Hemisphere blog-friends, that 45degC = 113F)

Again, we were visited by birds to our verandah.  I made sure the water in their bowl was replaced every hour with cold from the fridge.
Here's a Wattlebird who'd just about had enough of the heat:

Heard me against the window as I took the photo but didn't move...

Now we're enjoying much better temperatures and had even had some rain which was widespread too - bonus!

Our native Correas were flourishing... laughing off the heat and lapping up the rain...

I'd taken a photo of these two Nectarines just prior to Hubby bringing them in for us to eat - oh...so...delicious

The bees went berserk in the Lilly Pilly again this year...

Finally, a batch of currant scones for us - not quite as yummy as the dates ones I usually make, but welcome with some lashings of butter and  a cuppa none the less.

Thanks for getting down this far!
Have a great weekend and I'll see you over at yours soon, Sue xx

Pink things ~ Happy PPF ~

Hello!

It seems that the colour pink has taken hold of my painting thoughts and so I succumbed!
Here are a couple which are my entries in this week's Paint Party Friday:

"Survivors"
acrylic on board

"Take Heart"
acrylic on board

Beautiful art abounds over at:

Thanks for your visit,
Cheers, Sue xx

Feasting ~ Happy PPF ~

Hello!

Joining in with Paint Party Friday!
So Happy to be back once again.
Here's my entry:

"A Feast of Correas"

Acrylic on canvas 

A stylised version of life in our garden, inspired by the pluckiness of our Australian native birds and plants

Thanks for your visit

Lots of wonderful art over at:

Cheers!

Sue xx

Bonsai Blossom ~ Happy PPF!

Hello!

Continuing to enjoy our Springtime - some days are cool to cold,  some are warm to fairly hot.  

Seems word has been spread amongst the plants, and they seem to be adapting to the chaotic patterns that our weather brings.

Here's my entry for this week's Paint Party Friday... blossoms, bonsai, some old card that had a previous life, a bit of a dab here and there and it all came together happily:

"Bonsai Blossom" Card
re-using an old painting for collage, watercolour and inkpen

~ thanks for your visit... have a great weekend ~ 

Sue xx

Spring in the Pond ~ Happy PPF!

Hello!

Enjoying our Springtime and all the nest-making going on by the birds.

I was musing that it'd be lovely if our fish would also breed this year - can always be hopeful.
In the meantime, I shall have a bit of fun with the fish I've painted over the years and (by digital magic) pop them and their babies into our pond until, perhaps, the real ones get going ;D)

So, here's my entry for this week's Paint Party Friday:

"Spring in the Pond"
Digital Art

Here's a link to Eva & Kristin's happy little PPF blogspot:

HBD Card for RJ ~ Happy PPF!

Hello!

Was doing a bit of dithering for this week's entry for Paint Party Friday. 
Have been felting and painting but none of its completed yet... so I checked amongst my pics of cards I'd made for family and thought I'd share this one which was a birthday card a couple of years ago:

As I'd kept the process photos, I'll share them also:

always glad when the sketching out is done - I get ideas in my head but am never sure whether I can carry them out.

this is the fun part... filling in.

All but finished, just the bits of shiny bling and a border to add.

 ~ Thanks for popping by ~ 

Lots of art and lovely people to see over at PPF if you'd care to join us, just click on the icon below:

The Happiness of Daisies ~ Happy PPF !

Hello!

Time for some Paint Partying because its Friday!
Here's my entry... I had a daisy painting in my previous post but this is a slightly different version.
I couldn't think of anything else to paint today other than these happy little flowers:

Watercolour and inkpen and metallic pens
"The Happiness of Daisies"

and here's the process.
I started it early this morning and made it my project for the day:

I always try to keep a light touch with the pencil when sketching in the shapes but end up forgetting. Its amazing how absorbing it can be.
Background painted in... always happy when I've done that, guess it sets the tone of the painting.

After background has dried thoroughly then I could start painting the flowers

I got a bit too keen and started painting the petals before the heads had dried, a little bit of run-off in the top left flower but with my loose style and use of the ink pen it all seems to come right in the end!

~ Thanks for visiting.  There's more art and lovely things to see over at Paint Party Friday blogspot... just click on the icon below.  Cheerio for now, Sue xx ~

A little bit sassy ~ Happy PPF !

Hello!

Friday's here but on and off all day I've been feeling its Saturday. 
Now, I'm thinking, our lives scoot by too fast anyway... exactly what do I think I'm doing by helping it along lol.

So, quickly to choose a recent bit of artiness and here's my entry for this week's Paint Party Friday:

"Sassy Leaves" Collage with re-used artwork and inkpen
(thought it looked kind of nice with the pretty plate as a background so I included that in the photo too)

 ~ thank you for visiting... I hope you all have a restful weekend, Sue xx ~

Lovely art is waiting to be viewed over at Eva and Kristin's blogspot, why don't you join us:

Painting with Wool ~ Happy PPF!

Hello!

Sharing this week's entry for Paint Party Friday...

I'm painting with Wool this week.  Its fun to select a colour (or, intuitively, the colour seems to select itself!) and use my felting needle as a paintbrush to create my version of a Nest... many nests in fact.

Felting has been my latest go-to activity and making Nests has become an obsession!

Nests with eggs:

Nests with hearts:

Am looking very purpley in my comfy chair and surrounds but I do love that colour and all the shades of and around it!
Thank you to my Dear Hubby for taking that shot of moi... I gave him attitude all the way through lol 💑

Some random shots of others.
I enjoy taking photos of them as well as creating:

As such, when my obsessions hit, I've been known on occasion to suggest, encourage, ok, force some dear family members to make Nests too:

...and it was a lovely shared time together recently

My previous post on Needle Felting is Here... and its where my obsession began 😊

~ Thank you for popping in and taking a look ~

There are so many beautifully creative artists over at Eva and Kristin's PPF blogspot.  If you'd like to see what everyone is up to this week just click on the button below:

Bonsai ~ Happy PPF!

Hello !

Its Paint Party Friday and I've completed a recycled artwork/collage card as my entry:

Thought I'd include the process too.  It became a bit tedious, only because I didn't do very much forward planning... however, it was fun and distracting and that's why I love to paint.

Firstly, I cut up lots of shapes from an old card that I'd previously made but never used.

... pasted the shapes on to another spare piece of half a card and painted in my version of bonsai

Trim the edges to match the size of usable card stock

I usually use pva glue but this time I thought I'd try gel medium.
Was pretty happy with it, as it didn't buckle too much

(sorry for blurry pic)  I thought I was finished at this stage but on a second glance those darn pots were hovering in mid-air lol!

A rummage around in my bits n pieces box and I found a good solution.
A raised spine from goodness knows what that I'd saved and there, with a bit of a trim, it sat nicely between the pots and the gold trim.

I then started second guessing the bonsai foliage ... hate it when I do that.
Out comes the brush and paint and a while later I insist to myself that its done and to put the brush down and walk away ha ha! 

Thanks kindly for popping in.

There are many other artful/crafty activities going on over at PPF courtesy of Eva and Kristin's blogspot.  Just click on the icon below to visit: