The What I'm Working On Blog Hop!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to a different sort of blog hop! A couple of weeks ago, the lovely Jennifer over at Jennifer Grace Creates took part in the "What I'm Working On" blog hop and was kind enough to nominate me to join in - check out her post here. I hope I will be forgiven for posting a week late - these last few weeks have been so hectic it's ridiculous!

So here goes - first I have four questions to answer, then I will nominate three people to take part in the blog hop ...

Q1 What am I working on now?

Scrapping has been the main focus of my arty-fartyness for some years now, but at the moment I'm trying to make time to experiment with other things. Right now, my head is full of Summer of Color 4. Every week, Kristin puts together a delicious combination of colours and we can create anything we like using those colours. My plan is to make a journal page for each week, along with a matching snail! Here is my Snail Trail so far ...


Another Big Idea at the moment is to get back into crochet. My son Tom is really good at crochet - in fact he's better than me now, which is really annoying! This was one of his first ever practice pieces ...



Anyway, we visited a wonderful little kinitting and crochet shop called Abstract in Walthamstow Village last week, where I bought these lovelies ...



Alessandra, the owner of the shop, is passionate about knitting and crochet and I came away all fired up with enthusiasm. She is organising an exhibition in September and she also started a regular free market where you can go to buy and sell handmade goodies. Check out the FB page for details.

Q2 - How does my work differ from others of its kind?

Hmmm ... I'm going to apply this question to scrapping as that's what I do most of, but I don't think I have finished developing "my style" yet, so I'm not sure how well I can answer this one. However, I can say that my scrapbook pages nearly always involve lots of layers of paper, plenty of distressing, some "white space", a splash of mixed media, some kind of handmade embellishment and some creative "upcycling".

Here's a typical example ...


... I like to mix different patterns and textures together, I like strong contrasts and my favourite colours are "bright but faded". For this page I used some recycled packaging, a book page, a piece of microfiche and a rubber washer I found on the pavement. The design used up lots of scraps, which also appeals to me a lot!

Q3 - Why do I create what I do?

There are several reasons - first and most importantly, it makes me feel good - I find it therapeutic to spend time "playing in my room" and if more than a couple of days go past with no cutting and sticking time, it definitely has a detrimental effect on my state of mind.
There are so many creative hobbies which I enjoy, but scrapping is my main passion - it gives me time and space to think about what a picture means to me and record the memories that go with it. It makes the most of even the slightly "dodgy" photos. It's an excuse to try out all kinds of different techniques and play with pretty paper!


Q4 - How does my creative process work?

This varies a lot depending on my mood and how much time I have. I find online challenges very inspiring, because they make me try things I wouldn't otherwise and sometimes I surprise myself! If I'm scrapping, I really enjoy working from a sketch - although I tend to go "off piste" quite a bit, I find that a sketch is a brilliant kick-off point to get my mojo going.
I tend to spend a very long time dithering about choosing what I might want to use, and then even longer moving stuff about on the page deciding where to put it. It's not unusual for me to rip a page to pieces and re-work it if it's not coming out as it looked in my head!
I love trying out new products and watching YouTube vids to learn new techniques - I usually have one playing on my iPad whist I'm working.
I usually trash my workroom whilst I'm working on a page or other project, but I have to clear the decks before I start something else, otherwise it would do my head in :o)

Ok, so now for my nominees - very difficult to pick only three people actually, maybe I will throw in a fourth just in case ...

Lizzy Hill - so much fun and such an inspiration
Helen Allen - I love her YouTube videos
Val Thorpe - such a lovely and creative lady
Rinda - her blog is just bursting with ideas

These are all people whose blogs I follow, who fill me with inspiration and who feel like real friends to me, although I will probably never meet them IRL - I hope they all have time to take part in this blog hop as I would enjoy reading their answers to the three questions!

Thanks for stopping by today, see you again soon.

Annie :o)xxx





Comments

Maria Ontiveros said…
Thanks for nominating me. Someone else did already, and I've been mulling over my answers. Will definitely get to it soon.
Rinda
Unknown said…
wow how adorable they are. Love them very much
Helen Wallace said…
Hi Annie, What fun to read a bit more about you and your way of scrapping. I need to take a leaf out of your book and tidy up before starting the next project. I'm in awe of the crochet piece. Must get back to mine someday. Have a good week. :D
Unknown said…
Hi Annie this looks like fun! Thank you for nominating me. I will get to it as soon as I have prepped for my card class on Friday. What a great way to learn more about what makes us tick! Paint and ink I think ;-) x
Sarah said…
Lovely to read a bit more about you and your creative time! Jennifer nominated me too so i really must get on and do a post!! xx
Lizzy Hill said…
Hey there!! I've been away on hols & only just catching up on stuff --- this one missed me by;) I've said no to this a few times cos I I wasn't around .... But now I'm back I'll get to do this:):) thanks for your kind words too:) you never know ---- one day we might meet !!!!!!!