A Colourful Journal Layout Share

Aaaaaaaah....Sunday.......

*Sigh*......Peace, quiet, relaxation.......HA! No chance this week. I don't know WHAT has been going on outside my flat today but it sounds like a 'Die Hard' movie out there! There've been idiots on motorbikes revving the damn things on and off throughout the day - I have the greatest of respect for bikers, but these aren't bikers...they're morons riding what sounds like amped-up sewing machines on wheels! The police helicopter's been swooping up and down accompanied by police car sirens, apparently  unrelated to idiots on sewing machine bikes, plus some genius decided to demolish a wall with a drill and a sledgehammer (though no Myley Cyrus wrecking balls, thankfully!) It's been VERY noisy! The Colonel is not amused and has forsaken his spot in the garden in favour of curling up and sulking under a blanket ...poor little fluff-bag.

Strangely though it's been quite a good day! With all the hubbub outside there's no relaxation option so I've been cleaning the flat and tidying up - something I've neglected for...ooo....a while....a looooong while!  Shelves are dusted, nik-naks and doodads are cleaned and polished and sparkling, I've re-organised SOME of my books and even made small inroads on fixing the armageddon that is the studio. Productive! Maybe next week a sinkhole will open up and a tornado will hit and I'll actually jump-start that vacuum cleaner.... or not!

Today I've decided to share some of the pages of my current journal with you. This one is a wonderful little leather-covered book , 5" x 6,5", from a company called 'Authentic Models'. I've had this for YEARS so I honestly don't know if they make these any more. The paper's GORGEOUS though and takes anything I throw at it.

I've mentioned before that every journal I keep seems to evolve differently and have its own style. It just seems to happen. It would appear that this little journal wants to look like an illustrated storybook, so that's what's happening! I'm going to share some pages so that you can see how I've set it all out. I'm hoping that the layouts might be helpful to prompt some ideas for those of you who want to have some journaling fun. It's very much intuitive rather than planned and the pictures don't always happen at the same time as the writing. (Obviously, because this is my personal journal I've removed most of the written entries 'cos they're all private an' stuff. )  So then, here we go with my intro page (all my journals have their own intro page!) -

A simple way to find illustration space is to leave a little gap at the top or bottom of the page. It's a small space to fill, not scary, and suits any kind of doodling, especially something like zetangling -

You can sort of see that I've turned the book so that on these pages my writing goes in a different direction to just plain old left to right. With other pages I've illustrated across the spine and open spread but kept my writing a little more traditional - it just adds interest both when I'm journaling and when I look back at pages I've finished. This is my St George's Day page, illustrated across the top (I'm on the side of the dragon! This one ATE St George!) -

 
 ...and this one is an illustration (across the MIDDLE of the page) of the banner my mum made for my last birthday with her -

On other pages I split the open spread into quarters - four blocks. I like to illustrate one or more of the blocks and write in the others - these are from one such page split -

Here are some close-ups - 

They're not uber-detailed, but it's the colour that makes me happy. I doodle in black indian ink with my favourite nib pen, then when I want to wind-down or switch off my brain I'll go back and colour them. I'm using a lot of Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints so the illustrations are bright and shimmery. These are from another page spread with the same layout -

(The scanner's flashed out the shimmer quite a lot but you kinda get the idea I hope. )

Some pages have panels on the left and right sides of the open spread and space for writing in-between -

This one is a similar idea but I chose a shape that reminded me of stained glass windows -

....not coloured-in yet, but then I think I like them as they are. I dunno..we'll see... The box-borders are wiggly ("organic" in art-speak!) but that's how I prefer them to be. I'm not a big fan of straight lines.  On the 'window' theme, I have a greedy little fox awaiting some blinging-up as well -

(I'm SO not good with text!! NOT my forte!)

The next two pages were inspired by some beautiful photos from Valerie's blog, Bastelmania. She shares the most wonderful images, not only of her own work, but of the wildlife, landscapes and scenery around her. (I did ask her a while ago if it was ok to borrow a couple of her images, don't worry!). I'll re-share her photos and the doodle that resulted from them -

I decided to add some of my favourite poems and verses into this book - something I have always loved to do. On a day when I WANT to journal but have a brain made of peas and cheese I make a page like this to kickstart some THINKIN'! Doesn't always work, but at least I have a pretty page with happy writing!

When you're playing with art in your book there's also nothing wrong with going 'full art journal' and just illustrating a whole page just for the sheer joy of 'arting'. This is the joy of keeping a diary - anything and everything you do is fine!

Equally, there's no need to place everything in a formal panel....just draw what feels right -

Beltane

Some of mum's favourite flowers

I also have pages with doodles, scribbles and splashes of colour still waiting for me to write on them.

I think what I want to do by showing you these pages is to support the idea that when you keep your own journal anything goes. You don't have to follow a prescribed format or style; you don't have to compare your journal with ANYTHING or ANYONE - it's yours and it's a part of you. It's the same as working with textiles, or beads, or felt, or clay, wire or wood...whatever you create is a part of you: the only difference is that with a journal, no one will see it unless you show them. It's a part of you, created BY you, FOR you. It's special, it's unique and it can look however you like.

I have some more thoughts on journaling (surprise! ahaha) so there'll be more rambing on the way (apologies in advance! Break out the gin and cd of whale-song for recovery!) For now that's it, as the cheesey peas are already taking over my brain. That's what happens after a 'Die Hard'/housework combo day! Back tomorrow, so 'til then, have a big ole bunch of  squooshy hugs from myself and the Colonel (the snoring lump in the blanket). We loves ya! xxxx

Memory Doodles - A Child's Imagination

Hello again!

I'm so sorry to have missed my Saturday post - blame the migraine fairy! Ugh!  Belated Beltane  blessings to any fellow pagan types out there...it's officially summer! And we have a new Royal princess to welcome the sunshine, which is a nice thing.

For today's Sunday post I thought I'd share a few more of my memory doodles with you, so without further ado, here we go!

I was feeling a little sad that I'd had to dispose of a lot of my baby toys when I moved home. I mean - it WAS necessary...we can't keep EVERYTHING, right? I DO have some precious things that you'd have to pry out of my cold, dead hands of course, but sometimes emotions can over-balance the sentimentality scales. So I decided to doodle a collection of some of my favourite remembered baby toys.....from left to right -

There's Gloria,the very first doll my mum made for me and gave me on my first birthday, which I remember very clearly. Mum didn't believe me when I said that I remembered the day until I described my 'party' in minute detail! (Don't ask me what I did last Friday, though! Accursed memory...) My Grandpa named her 'Gloria' and I remember being righteously pissed off but didn't have any words to say that I wanted another name! (In all honesty I'd probably have called her 'Anna'....I called most dolls 'Anna'....no idea why).  There's my little wind-up 'Blue Bird of Hoppiness' which mum bought for Christmas after I saw it and liked it in a shop earlier that year. I was terrified of clockwork as a toddler so she leapt at the chance to divert and disperse my fears.  There's 'Owlie', who was filled with jingly bells and clanged mightily when he rocked, then 'Baby Beans', a bright pink baby doll filled with tiny plastic beans, hence her name. Teddy Edward was a fabulous and much loved gift bear - from my Grandparents I think - and had a handsome blue bow. The dingly bell was a pull apart puzzle, and then there's 'Mmfff' the duck.  I named him when I was about 9 months old so 'Mmfff' was a good as that one was gonna get. I still have Edward and Mmfff!

Mum started having driving lessons when I was about 18 months old, so that she could get a better job with the advertising agency she worked for, who gave her a car to in which to learn. The instructor (who 17 years later taught ME to drive), called to pick her up every week and off they'd go with mum chattering animatedly as always. I'd watch her from the window (we lived with my grandparents) and would CRY to beat the band. I was convinced - with absolutely no good reason whatsoever - that the poor driving instructor was my daddy and was afraid he's take my mum away for good. I was a complete weirdo as a kid! Logic not my forte!

My mum encouraged me to read from a very early age. We didn't have a lot of books, but the ones we had were SO precious and I would gaze at the pages, fascinated, and loved when she or my Grandma would read them to me. As soon as I learned to read for myself, I'd hide away in my room and travel through the books to magical lands and would be oblivious to the 'real' world around me.

A couple of times a month we'd go to the bookshop. It was quite a long bus journey to get there and a proper day out as we'd then go to the beach and have a full, fun day. In the bookshop, mum would take me to the children's book section which was filled with all manner of wondrous and beautiful books and we'd look through them carefully so that I'd know what to ask the fairies for on my birthday.

I LOVED the magical worlds of fantasy, the talking animals, princesses and fairies.....howEVER - right next to the kid's section was the HORROR section! (yeah, I know, go figure....It was still the same when I went to work there when I was 16!)  And OOOOOOOOO I loved the monsters!! Mum would despair as I'd swing on my kiddy harness, desperate to get to the werewolves! THEY WERE SO FLUFFY! As I grew older my love of monsters and scary stuff was fed by the cool movies - Universal Studios and RKO ones - that were repeated endelessly on tv. Monsters = cool. Fact.

When I was three years old, my Grandpa helped mum get a little council flat. Other that my nan's house, which was the best place in the world ever, this was the happiest place we lived in. When I was four, she the fairies made me a multi-coloured ballgown with a gold bodice and with a matching tiara and little wings. 'The fairies' were very inventive and talented! Although I was never much of a 'dress-up' child, I wore that thing TO DEATH! Mum would put records of polkas and waltzes on her big old turntable and we'd dance around the room until it felt like we were flying. Wouldn't life be the best thing ever if we felt that free all the time?

My mum and uncle had both been 'dress-up' kids - aside from the ballgown I really didn't do that at all. BUT - that's because IN MY HEAD I totally saw myself as whatever character I wanted to be. I wasn't hugely good at being 'girlie' - I had dolls but they kind of sat on a shelf and looked nice. Well...apart from my Barbie. I accidentally set fire to her an had to extinguish her in the loo! Poor thing. I PROMISE it was [mostly] an accident.

I LOVED old tv shows and movies. I'd watch as much as I was allowed - Zorro, Flash Gordon, Tarzan, King Of The Rocket Men, King Kong, King Solomon's Mines... I was totally captivated by these heroic dramas and would rush out to my Grandpa's workshop and hammer-up a wooden sword or a 'ray-gun' (which would mysteriously disappear as soon as I went to bed) then play in the garden, battling evil villains, robot men and whole armies, triumphing every time. I didn't need a costume - after all, I WAS Zorro...I WAS Flash Gordon! And not ONCE did I ever want to be a princess - they needed rescuing and the frocks were hugely impractical for climbing or fighting! I was never good at being a traditional girl, but I was a kick-ass hero!

Imagination - where would we be without it? I'm glad my life was filled with monsters, talking animals, trolls and fairy folk. It would have been a whole lot more dull without them!

Have you tried drawing your life yet? Have you doodled a memory? I'd love to know - and I'd recommend having a go! I bet you'll have fun. AND now, as I've rambled away QUITE enough for one day, I'll bid you a very fond farewell and send you some summer sunshine to brighten your day. Love and hugs from Shroo :) xxx

Art Cards In My Etsy Shop

Back again!

Well....three hours sleep is better than nothin'! Would have been longer had the Colonel not landed on me like a furry sack of wet cement and woken me right up! Not to worry. I don't recall EVER having a regular sleep pattern so I'm used to this and a couple of snuggly hours in soft blankies with a hot water bottle is very refreshing! Things only get dodgy after a five+ day run without sleep - that's when the world goes a bit 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' as my mind makes up a toon world that'd make Walt Disney weep bitter tears of envy into his cryogenic chamber! Can't complain - there are flying blue toon bunnies. Aaaaawesome!

So, against the odds I have managed STUFF today....nooooooo, no vacuuming still.... I'm writing that off for the week with all hopes for next Monday, but let's not hold our breath there! I've picked up the big bits. That'll do fer now!

I HAVE, however, listed my new Etsy stock - a range of little art cards/tiles (each slightly larger than an ATC or ACEO). I had such fun making them and I'm quite pleased with the colourful results. Best part is that they don't cost a kidney to ship! WOO! So, without further ado, here they are -

I'm quite nervous - I've not listed these little things before so I am going to keep fingers crossed and hope that people like them enough to buy them. Wish me luck!

My next project will be to make some more journals - all the elements are ready so I have no excuse!

I still like Etsy... I have sold on Ebay for years as part of my old job and they're a nightmare. Etsy, by comparison, are far more reliable - and a hell of a lot cheaper! There are some incredible shops on there and some GORGEOUS unique works of art. I thought I'd just take the opportunity to share just few favourites - click the picks to visit some splendid arty Etsy shops. These belong to some lovely fellow bloggers:

Patti Vanderbloemen's Shop

Karin's Shop - GinkgoetCoquelicot

Isobel's Shop - Threadnoodle

Kathy's Shop - KathyinozarksFibers

Jill's Shop - Kiln Fired Art

Niina's Shop - Fairychamber Fantasy Art & Illustrations

Just a taster of what's available!

Ok - that's me for today. The Colonel's fixing me with his gimlet stare - I suspect that it's cuddle time, which means that he'll plonk his furry bum and prickly claws on my knee again....wonder how long it'll be before my legs lose all sensation! Kitties....what can ya do eh? Thank you for stopping by again! Sending hugs from me and gravelly purrs from The Colonel - see you soon! Shroo :) xxx

Why I Journal: That Special Day...

Hello Gorgeous!

I hope the weather is bright and clear for you today... if it's not, then you just snuggle in and treat yourself to something yummy and just be AWESOME!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I've had a bit of a break from splishy-splashy art supplies for a couple of weeks. It does me good to remind myself that there are other aspects of creativity that bring me joy and allow them some time. I did manage a couple of scribbly pen & ink doodles in my journal, but lost interest when the textiles and yarns made a colourful appearance....and that's ok. Playing with all that lovely STUFF made me happy!

I doodle when I can't sleep - the pen strokes quiet my mind. Every journal I keep is distinctly different - individual. It's not planned, rather it just happens. This one is full of these scratchy doodles all of which feature fairy folk, fantasy creatures, stars and light. It seemed natural that I should celebrate Imbolc with some doodles that represent my happiness at welcoming the arrival of longer daylight hours and the renewal of Spring! I didn't feel like writing so this was a happy and mind-calming option, with my candles aglow and crocuses sprouting in the plant pots outside my front door.

Calendar events and special celebrations are a good reason to journal. You can write - your thoughts, a record of the day's events, feelings, comparisons with other years past, your hopes for the coming weeks and months... or you can be a little more abstract, recording the day with a quote, song lyrics or a poem. You can save special items, ephemera, keepsakes or photographs. You can paint, sketch or draw, or collage - anything, as long as it records the day. It's a good EXCUSE to journal and a great PROMPT. Don't be afraid to use sources like Google, Pinterest, Flickr or Instagram to find inspiration, or words to copy that can speak for you if your tongue (or pen-)tied.

It doesn't matter if your journaling is a bit 'out there' or abstract - it's not intended for anyone else, really, is it? It's there so that next week, next month, next year, you can look at that page and remember the moment, the day, the place and the people. Record your smiles - they'll never be lost and be there when you need them the most, stored safely just for you.

Sometimes when I want to make a pretty page, I draw a loose and loopy spiral shape and I write poetry - favourite cherished lines - around the curls and curves. It bonds you with your page as you turn it round and round, following the lines and taking time to finish what, upon completion, is a work of art in itself. You don't have to be the next Rembrandt to make something beautiful!

My black and white doodles are useful when I need a reboot - they're an excellent colouring book!

Sometimes it's fun to just play!  Is there a day that you can journal about? How about remembering what you were doing this time last month, or year? Have a think - I bet there's something there.....

Hope you liked this post - and I hope you're enjoying your own journaling, whatever style you follow. I'll see you soon with a process tutorial journaly pagey type thingummy doo-dah (do forgive the use of such technical terms! ) In the meantime, stay awesome and show the world you much you totally rock! Love and hugs all round from Shroo :) xxx

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Additional add-on bit! - 

 I'm so honoured to be invited to link to ART JOURNAL JOURNEY and MOO-MANIA AND MORE ! Thank you so much to Valerie with her beautiful blog at BASTELMANIA and Susi with her bundle of loveliness at FROEBELSTERNCHEN for your invitations!

I always look with longing at link up sites but rarely seem to have a post that fits a challenge. I am completely missing the point of a challenge of course, which is to actively CREATE something that answers it! Useless woman I am!!  I should kick myself up the backside and pay more attention! I'd recommend visiting these exceptional sites - they're jam-packed with beauty and inspiration.

I've also been THRILLED to link up to the amazing INSPIRATION AVENUE - a site I haunt regularly and am always impressed by the wonderful artists who post there. Lou Anne from MISPLACED MERMAID allowed for it by hosting a 'Show & Tell' - awesome! Thank you, fellow mermaid-obsessive!

Sending out mahoosive hugs to you all for making my day bright and wonderful! I'm off now to gaze at your blogs for a while and marvel at the lovely! See you soon - Shroo :) xxx

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Making The Most Of Your Crafting Budget - Hints and Tips!

Hello Lovely!

It's THE WEEKEND! You know - I DO love the idea that everything stops for the weekend! Most of us are JUST as busy.... one way or another! I'm looking forward to my lovely Sunday morning though....*sigh*

First of all, you may notice that I've changed my blog banner again! You'll see this now when you visit me:

This is my kelpie - when you love horses AND mermaids, you just GOTTA love a kelpie! He's painted with my Derwent watercolour pencils, but I gave him a lovely shiny tail and mane using Glimmer Glazes  (Waterfall, Wicked and Mellow Yellow). One of the things I love about these glazes is the lovely bubble effect they can give. Combine that with a little gilding wax and it's a gorgeous textured effect -

Anyhoo - I hope you like him! On another note, I was browsing Pinterest (addictive, dammit!) and found this VERY TRUE little pin:

Oh you know that's SO true! All those pretty new releases have expanded my wish list so it's just plain scary! But the life of a starving artist isn't exactly compatible with spending on such things, and it got me thinking again about ways to enjoy arts and crafts on a shoe-string budget. If you've read my earlier posts you'll know that I'm all for finding affordable - or free - options, which I believe actually promote creativity! I thought it was about time that I did another 'hints and tips' post for anyone out there who might find it useful. So here goes!

Ok. First tip seems obvious, but when you have your eyes on the prize it's easy to forget:

SHOP AROUND! Don't dismiss your local shops - have a good root around. Local bargain stores, interior design dpeartments and even book stores often have craft departments selling all kinds of goodies which are EXCELLENT for mixed media art and any number of crafts. Often, they'll be in the office supplies or kids sections, but don't let that put you off. Remember that brands like Berol, Sharpie and Crayola are all experts in their fields and they make quality product ready for you to use. You can find excellent deals by searching the 'end of line' sections, sales and dump bins.

BE OPEN MINDED! It's always helpful to make a list of things you want, but that can blinker you and stop you finding great alternatives. Don't be afraid to pick up new brands to try out - and remember, you don't need to buy ALL of them.... pick up a couple to test. You can always come back for more. If you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, or getting out is difficult -

SHOP ONLINE - If there's no one near you with awesome, cool supplies, go rooting round the internet and see what you can find. It's best to take recommendations and place small orders at first so that you can test customer service, packing quality, product availability etc. Look for sites that have a blog attached - that way you can stalk them for a while and read customer comments before you spend your hard-earned cash. Check out whether they have Youtube videos, or demo days. Look out for post offers, for example "free shipping when you spend £20 or more". You can save a LOT that way. There's a list of links that you might like to browse through just to the left of this blog screen. I use all of these stores and can personally vouch for the superior standards of service, range of product, good prices and swift dispatch.

DON'T FORGET EBAY AND ETSY!  There are still bargains to be had on these sites and they're still WAY more reliable that Amazon. Have a regular search for branded products and don't pay over the odds - if you lose an auction or miss a sale you can pretty much guarantee that the things you want will show up again soon, so try not to be tempted into over-bidding at the last minute. I pick up some awesome stuff on ebay - check out this blog post for an example: "Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Mermaid". Remember - losing an auction isn't the end of the world!

USE YOUR AWESOME IMAGINATION-  Why spend a LOT of money on designer papers with map prints, book text or vintage images when you can shop wise in your local charity or thrift store? Car-boot sales, jumble sales or yard sales are also a GREAT place to pick up ephemera, and you won't be using mass produced product - your work will be truly unique. Now THAT'S pretty cool! Look for old travel maps, vintage magazines - the tatty ones are always cheap as chips, and you're gonna chop 'em up anyway.... And children's books provide EXCEPTIONAL art pages for collage or scrapping, and often lovely hard covers that you can re-purpose for albums or journals:

I paid between 10p and 50p for each of these books and magazines - a complete bargain!

COLLECT FREE EPHEMERA -  Yep....FREE! All those tourist places, theatres, cinemas, libraries and museums that you have all around you - you all have them - they all have leaflets and booklets. Even your local town hall or visitor centre will have booklets with images that you can use, not to mention text for backgrounds. Check out your local superstores and supermarkets for free catalogues. Our Asda and Morrison's stores produce a monthly glossy booklet full of recipes and interior design ideas which are great for smash books, junk journals and collage. Tea-dye order forms for a vintage look that will rival anything the big companies can release!

You'll be building up a collection already! Not much of a spend, if you're careful, but a GREAT collection of paper and supplies that you won't have to hide or make excuses for!

But what about those pretty background papers? Oh they're lovely, right? OOOOO yeah! We ALL want ALL of them - in multiples, but as very few of us are a Rockerfeller, we have to budget. So why not ....

MAKE YOUR OWN BACKING PAPERS! I use up ANY paper I can find, cover it with excess paint and squiggles and doodles. You can paint them, zentangle them, stamp them, spray them - whatever you like that suits your style. Store them up and very soon you'll have quite a collection that you can use as a base for your designs, whether you're a journaler, artist, scrap-booker, crafter....anything! Here are a few of my scrappy odds and ends papers...

....and here's a blog post about what I do with some of them: "Arts & Crafts For Free"

When buying designer papers it's worth checking sales first. It's so much more beneficial for your bank balance if you ignore the PUSH that happens with each new release... MOST of them only stay on sale at full price for a single season, then they get marked down to a fraction of that cost. Crafting and artifying your life isn't about competition - if we resist the pushy marketing, use up some of our stash and wait for sales and offers then WE'RE the winners, not the big companies... When it comes to actually buying that designer paper - 

CHOOSE WISELY - With some careful selection, you can make a very little paper go a very long way. Designs from companies like Graphic 45, DCWV, 7 Gypsies and K&Co. - amongst others - are versatile and varied, which is really great for the thrifty crafter.  I think the phrase I hear most on Youtube is "a lot of bang for your buck!" Love it. They're worth their weight in gold - even at full price as they're jam-packed with possibilities.

Look out for designs that you can cut out in order to make the most of them. With a little patience and a good pair of scissors you can build up an ephemera collection second to none in a VERY short time - and with very little outlay, moneywise... Here's a selection of vintage-look ephemera that I cut from a few sheets of 12"x12" paper. It took me an afternoon and an evening to cut and ink them, but it was well worth it...

Yuh-huh. There are about 300 individual pieces there, all cut from printed papers. They're perfect for any number of projects, and as free time is often a barrier to craft time, it's handy to have these pieces all ready there when I need them. Here's the rest of what I cut out at the same time-

At least another 300 pieces. I LOVE the packs that K&Co, October Afternoon, Bo Bunny and other companies release, but the PRICE! When I think of how much it would cost to BUY 600+ pre-cut pieces of brand-name ephemera it makes me shudder! It's also worth noting that I STILL have LOADS of this paper left over to use for backgrounds or anything I like.

This is such an economical option for boosting your collection and works whether you're a scrapbooker or journaler, or if you work with collage, altered art - pretty much ANYthing. 

It's worth mentioning that I managed to pick up most of these papers at LEASt half-price - some of them even less. That makes me VERY happy indeed!

While I'm on the subject of using paper wisely... don't throw away offcuts! Save, save, save the bits and pieces - you'd be surprised what you can make out of nothing. The best way that I can demonstrate what I mean is to show you the crazy amount of bits and pieces I cut from some Steampunk Debutante G45 images - waste not, want not! Here's the original sheet design:

And here is the result once I attacked just ONE of the images with scissors -

 ...over 20 collagable pieces. Cutting borders, hearts, pennants, banners and such will leave you with a selection comparable to anything My Mind's Eye or Bo Bunny can provide. If you want dimensional embellishments, just break out the foam pads and get creative! I chose this paper as it was the best way to illustrate my point, but you can do the same with almost any design.

Even the smallest image can provide a number of possibilities. It's worth thinking beyond the design your given, so that you can add your own uniqueness to your work.

Lastly in this big long list of listy stuff -

UTILISE YOUR COMPUTER - There are PLENTY of sites now that offer free digital prints and downloads. They're GORGEOUS and, frankly, WAY prettier than many of the commercially sold designs. With wonderful sites such as The Graphics Fairy, you can download and print stunning images ideal for ANY project, and all it will cost you is a sheet of paper and some printer ink. Look around blogs for site advertisements - we all love to share these things so the information is there if you root about a bit.

Ok! That was a LOT of blog post! There are so many ways that you can increase your stash effectively for little outlay. I REALLY hope that some or all of the suggestions here have been helpful

Thank you squillions for visiting! As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions and I look forward to reading some more of your amazing art blogs - you're epic! Love and hugs - Shroo :) xxx

Ps - Have fun - you deserve it!