Another ACEO - Oh go on then!

Yes, Yes!..... I can hear all the grumbles! But as I confessed on the last post I am well and truly hooked.  AND, need I remind you, there is as much effort in these natty little cards as there is on a larger piece. That said, I  moved slightly away  from the norm  to do something a little more adult like! They'll be a few more to this series too.  The basque I posted early 2011 was such a hit I had a few commission pieces, and there's nothing like some pretty undies to get a girls heart pumping and purse pulsing - that and shoes of course! but don't get me started on shoes.....

So, my ACEO rampage continues, and I managed to purchase a little box to hold them in with clear sleeves that they will be sold in. Ive also asked number#1 son to make me a little mobile studio so that I  can take photos of them then & there. I'm very impatient when it comes to posting, and with larger pieces I have to wait until daylight.  Hopefully when the mini studio is completed I will be able to take pictures at all hours..... a god send for the rest of the household, as they will no longer have to listen to my gripes as I try to take not so clear pics in the evening after I complete another little ACEO.  I apologise for the clarity in colour of this one..... but on the other hand I just couldn't wait to post it. To me once it's posted it means I can crack on and start the next one.

Hooked on ACEO's

Yet another cute ACEO -I'm hooked to say the least. The only problem is the more I sit doing these, the more I'm putting off finishing the final tidy up in my studio area!!!!! They're just fun to sit and do in front of the fire after a day at work, rather than sitting at my desk and getting all my materials out..... I will get round to the final clear up though!

In the meantime,  it's Little Lamb again. I'm hoping to do a few more of her as a series. Mixed media, predominantly Polychromos with a little pastels,  but there's added texture this time from white acrylic paint. Its quite nice to get back to polychromos after going digital.

Little Lamb

So, the Christmas break is well and truly over! And I have to say what a fab time I've had.   For the first time in years I actually had a proper break, managed to make some of my favourite festive recipes, had dinner parties and even went out New Years Eve! It was so nice not to have Christmas day off then be dashing back to work... 

But with all the festivities comes the big clear up. My drawing area was demolished to make way for the huge tree we had this year, and on taking that and all the decorations down I embarked on a thorough cleanup and a lick of paint!  I thought I may as well seeing as how it was going to take a couple of days to put it back together again anyway..... so whilst I'm not quite able to start cracking on with any major projects I thought I'd start on some ACEO's.  Fun little things that I can sit and do on the sofa of an evening. Hopefully though, by next week I'll be fully up and running...... Just got to get some ideas now.....

For anyone who's an ACEO virgin, as was I until last year...

 Artist trading cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern Trading Cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm), small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged. When sold, they are usually referred to as art card editions and originals (ACEOs).

IF - Remembrance

IF this week is Silent - So I thought as its Remembrance Sunday something along those lines would be fitting.  A minutes silence to remember.

Christmas Card Design

Ive been a busy busy bee! After much grumbling and throwing my pencils out the pram, I ended up coming back to PS to create this years Xmas card design -or should I say designs!!!
I had so many problems last year with printers and not being able to get the depth I wanted from the carefully hand drawn prints I think I ended up hand drawing a select few, and then buying a pack from a retailer of some sort. So this week, with 12 days off work, the aim was to crack on and get at least one design completed on paper! Yup, I think I'm a digi convert now. And, after 6 days, and 3 all nighters and I mean all nighters, here are this years Christmas Cards. They've just been sent to the printers, and I cant wait to get them back. I hope you like them and can see the humorous take on this? I have to say when I sat talking with my good buddy Miss V we discussed what I should base my design on. She purred 'Snowman' - So this is for you hun! A fully fledged Snowman photo shoot complete with front cover designs! Enjoy! x

IF - Stripes

IF entry, Stripes.

Had my first major PS hiccup today!Had spent some hours doing this little piece for IF, finished and the lost it!!!! Have no idea where it's gone, but after myself, the kids and my techno whizz looked it was decided I'd obviously pressed the 'eject' button somewhere along the line! Ooooh I could have cried :( - so after a mini break of sitting on my hands through shear frustration I salvaged what I could. This isn't exactly what the original piece looked like, but the gist is there.... note to self this week. Save and triple save

IF - SCARY!

I didn't want to miss IF this week, so quickly put this one together. Work this week and last means I've missed out on quality time to spend on IF. Avoiding all temptation to submit the already completed Halloween cupcake, sort of along the scary line, I came up with one of my biggest scares!!!! Spiders!
Enjoy. x

Peanut Butter Cupcake

This one has taken me a while now.Take a closer look as there is some delicate detail on the cake stand. I'm hoping this will form a series of cake inspired pictures. And this is the first one I shall be sending off to the new printers, so fingers crossed the quality is pleasing. If you look closely there's a full recipe in the background, although most of it is hidden by the stand and cake. Anyone who wants to try the full recipe just inbox me, and I'll gladly pass it on. x

Little Bird -Collage

Another little PS collage. This time trying to get to grips with selection tool and puppet warp. I'm sure at some point I'll look back at these and want to alter them in some way, but that seems a long way off right now.

Souffle - Collage

A quickie on PS to practice again. Still trying to keep a rustic, painterly feel, with a twist of collage. I keep asking myself what inspires me most, and funnily enough I always come back to cooking! I'm currently working on another cupcake, Another passion of mine :)

little Annabelle

Again, practising PS..... I just cant put it down!