Beauty

This is so beautiful, I just had to share it from: http://alisaburke.blogspot.co.uk

 

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Fern

ideas like lightning

strike me by surprise, and when

it rains it pours

~

Joining in with our weekly Photo Challenge: FERN

One of my granddaughters has Fern as her second name and I have been trying to crochet some fern fronds to decorate a birthday card for her. I’m also wondering about using them for appliqué on a knitted jacket.

Here are my trial runs:

Not quite there yet. I used Lucy’s pattern as a starting point, but wanted to include a curl at the top. Rainbow Jane has a lovely picture of this on her FERN photo challenge entry.

I’m thinking they would be even better made in fine crochet cotton, I hope I can find the right colour – the right shade of green can be tricky to find.

Ferns seem to be growing in with my orchids, spores must be in the orchid compost. I used one of the leaves to see what effect it would have on my dyed paper – subtle, but I like it.

More ferns in a doodled mandala I drew when I was learning from Alisa Burke’s Online Mandala Workshop. With my granddaughter’s second name in mind I drew this mandala for her, with fern fronds at the centre.

This frothy fern sits on a stand in my bedroom window

I have no idea of its name but I love its delicate cascade.

Do you have any photos of ferns you would like to enter in our Photo Challenge this week? Just leave a link in the comments.

Also joining in with Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge with his prompt words of

LIGHTNING and RAIN

~

Next Week’s Photo Prompt

FRIVOLOUS

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Mandala-la-la

 

At last I’m out the other side! Energy has returned Hurray!

The upside of lounging about for 16 days is that I got to play in my sketchbook

Alisa Burke’s Mandala Magic, online course could not have come at a better time

some are still work in progress

some are complete

and they have all been supremely satisfying and relaxing to draw

I never know what will happen as I start drawingit is fun to let it flow and develop, sometimes over a few days

and because it is only a doodle and a sketch I can just do it knowing I can throw them in the bin if I don’t like them or tear them up and use in collages.

I like the last two best – do you have a favourite?

If you would like to have a go Alisa is holding a Summer Sale of her Classes. I can highly recommend them, full of inspirational videos and clear, easy to follow tips and guidelines.

 

Mandala Magic

I am taking part in my first online class.

Dipping my toe in, I have started with Alisa Burke’s mini-tutorial entitled Mandala Magic.

It’s fun, and concentrating on one simple form suits my need to dip in and out according to the weather and other stuff going on right now.

Alisa has a very distinct style and at first I thought my mandalas would turn out looking like hers, but no – not at all – I immediately went off in my own style adding colour from the start. The course provides some wonderful prompts and is hugely inspiring. I’ve started in a small ring bound 6″ square sketch book, so that I can carry it around easily and doodle in odd moments.

I had Miss E and Little Bro here this week. We were mainly in the garden, but needing to dodge the showers we retreated to Pippin (my little caravan in the garden) and did some mandala drawing together.

Here is Miss E’s so far

And Little Bro’s

 

 

 

and because Miss E enjoyed drawing a mandala so much and has a birthday coming up soon I have made her a card that she can continue to embellish herselfAnother experiment for the Etsy shop me thinks – maybe others would enjoy colouring this pattern as well, you never know!

Doodle Time

I always find Alisa Burke inspiring. There is a link to her blog in the blogroll on the right.

She often posts glimpses into her sketchbook and I just had to have a go at her latest style of doodle which she calls ‘Meditation’, and I can see why.

Here are my versions:

 

Thoroughly absorbing to do – go on have a go!