Start....

...by adding a little stem stitch outline...

Take...

...a funky 1970's place mat...

A Bigger Peek...

...or should that be beak? The Spudgies have landed at last on the runway of their new home; The World Renowned Spalding Craft Studio on Lincolnshire's High Sierrras. I hope they will be very happy there and raise many a brood of little Spudgies. They were already canoodling in the sausage tree just before they left...
I found the pattern here.

Just a little peek...

...of what I've been working on. It left for its new home this morning, and all will be revealed when it arrives.

Post

Two postcards arrived today; my first arrival in the Cloth, Paper, Scissors Swap on ArtWeMail, and my second incoming on the Black & White Swap on the same Group.

Charlie has used paper napkin, paint, and glitter on the centre section, and used cloth to frame it. Her choice of thread to edge the PC is spot on!

Sharron has used 11 different B&W fabrics in her log cabin and two different braids; Oh how I covet an extensive stash!

Two little Dicky Birds..

....not sitting on a wall.
One named Peter and one named Paul.
Cheer up Peter! Pass the salt to Paul;
He might save you a little bit if he can't eat it all!

A couple of ATCs to show this morning. The first is Peter the little bird I drew yesterday on a scrap of note paper while listening to The Best of Natural History Podcast from the BBC; he turned out rather sad with his droopy bottom beak. The second, Paul, is a test run for the postcard swap coming up on ArtWeMail that involves drawing on fabric and using crayons to colour in the outline. The background here is a pale grey cotton. The outline is OK for this scale, but I think for a larger image to fit a postcard, I may need to use a thicker pen. I found that dry watercolour pencils worked better than my rather hard crayon pencils. On a larger scale I may try Crayola type crayons on the larger areas.

Friday 13th Blog Candy...

...can be found on Poekietoe's Corner. Go on over and take a peek, especially if you are a fan of Justjohanna stamps...

Ducky Duo

I've borrowed a stamp and now have a dozen images, half on white card and half on cream. I've been attempting to colour the ducks using watercolour pencils in various shades of blue, a damp brush to blend the colour, and a very hit or miss method. I definitely need better specs, as now I have scanned them I can see how much I need to improve my technique! Now that I've done them, I'm not sure how I shall use them on a card, or with what caption, but I have enjoyed the process. If anyone can think of a suitable sentiment to go with them, it would be very much appreciated.
P.S. I've changed the Blog template and added a new, more up to date Blog Roll using a direct import from Google Reader.

More Blog Candy...

...here on Jozza's Funky Blog. There are lots of goodies on offer, but take the time to have a good look around while you are there, you won't regret it!

A Couple more Funkies...

...while the Funky Hands papers are still out. This one looks skew-wiff, but it isn't really; the bow pushed it off line in the scanner.
This next picture just goes to show that I need to clean my scanner bed; rather a lot of extraneous blobs on the background, including the little bird. This is the latest stamp carving. I was happy with it until I decided to put the line up the middle; now I don't think I like it.

..

A Difficult Card

When you are told in a phone call that a friend, on a short visit to the UK, had been diagnosed with a small cell, rapidly spreading cancer that gave him 6 months at best, it comes as something of a shock. When the Chairman of the Bowling Club asks you to make a card to send from the members, you have to stop and think hard. Get Well Soon won't do. Feeling Under the Weather? is fatuous...so
...is what I decided on in the end. They made the decision to stay in England, in a rented apartment near the hospital, so as not to have to overcome the language barrier. He doesn't want to go through chemo; she is desperate to persuade him. We are, indeed, thinking of them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before putting the Funky Hands folder away, to cheer myself up a little, I made some more cards. All the papers are Funky Hands, the crystal flowers were a gift from my crafting friend Dilys, the dragonfly was punched from a scrap of painted paper, and the tiny pink resin flower was from stash.


When you are

In the post...

This lovely stamped card came to me from Chris on CSFR. I had to send my card to Jeannie.
The rose stamp was a gift from my friend KR. Go and have a look at the excellent work on these Blogs!

7 Fold Flower Card

...or at least my attempt at a 7 fold flower card. I followed a link on Mel's blog to this tutorial. I used a Uhu Micro Line glue pen that stuck the paper together well and quickly, but I think I put too much on the petals that attach to the card; rather than just putting glue on the tip of the petals, I put it on the length of the petals as well. That'll teach me to follow instructions to the letter...