Thursday Treasury

I haven't been blogging much this week (at all really) because my Dad is here visiting me. He arrived on Monday morning and we have been having a lovely time together. So far we have had some lovely meals together, had a few nights out, walked the length and breadth of the city exploring and of course, I brought him to see my exhibition.

Today we got out of the city for a few hours, deciding instead to visit the nearby village of Bakewell. This is where the Bakewell pudding originates from and so that, combined with it's scenic surroundings seemed like the perfect place to head to for a coffee and a treat.
And it is really no surprise that this is also where I got my inspiration for today's Thursday Treasury.

 There is something about the red of a cherry that makes me happy inside! It is most definitely my favourite shade of red.

You can find all the relevant details for this treasury, including shops + sellers here.

I adore all the items in the treasury (as I do every week) but this painting in particular really caught my eye. I love the knife technique that is used and how much depth and texture it brings. I also love the use of colour. That complimentary cherry red and turquoise together are so beautiful.

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It caught my eye so much that I have decided to give this technique a go myself in my own artwork. However, you will all have to wait till next week before you witness that results because I am too busy spending quality time with my Dad.

Speaking of which, I'm gonna go now as we are off out!

As always, I hope that you are inspired by this week's treasury. I think the lesson I learned from this week is that if you open your eyes and look around you, I mean really look around you can gain creative inspiration from almost anything. Even something as humble as a little old Bakewell tart.

Happy Thursday

Ciara
xoxo

Thursday {Treasury}

Hi everyone!!

As promised, I didn't forget about Thursday Treasury this week (oops for last week) and I also think you are going to enjoy this one a lot.

Depending on where in the world you are reading this from, you may have noticed that the seasons are changing again. The summer is slipping away and we are now entering into the chiller evenings of Autumn.
So that is what I have designed this week's treasury around, the fabulous colours that Autumn brings. Oranges, reds, yellows and browns.

You can get all the relevant information about this treasury including the shop + sellers here

I was inspired by this beautiful picture that I came across on Pinterest. The colours and the shapes of the leaves are just perfect! 

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In other news, I moved into my new studio today!! Woop! I haven't taken any photos yet though because it's still a bit messy, I'm still only getting settled in. It's really cool though and nice to be around other creative types all day but I have to be honest and say that ever since the exhibition night I have found it hard to get back to creating. Ok not hard as in I don't want to and feel like it is a chore but hard as in I kind of don't know where to start. I had so many ideas for when the exhibition open night was over and now....well now, I feel kinda lost. Does anyone out there have any advice on this subject?

I'm sure it will wear away after a few days and I probably just need to get into the swing of things again and of course get settled into the new studio as well. I'll keep you updated anyway, I always do ;)

I hope you are having a wonderful Autumn day!!

Take care

Ciara

xoxo

Thursday Treasury {On Friday}

Hello my sweet friends

How are you all today? Can I tell you how I am? Tired. 

Oh what a night/morning I had on Wednesday/Thursday. I'll tell you what the story is. Some of you may already know that I am home in Ireland as we speak for a holiday, spending time with family + friends and having a much needed retreat from the daily routine. I might even be holding a bit of an impromptu art class at my Mam's house for some friends for fun, but that is another blog post. Anyway, Wednesday night (or should I say Thursday morning. 3am to be exact) myself and himself sailed on the ferry across from the U.K. to Rosslare after driving all night to get to it in the first place. Boy oh boy, let's just say it was an experience. I have only ever been on the fast ferry before which only takes 2.5 hours but this one is slower, it took 4 hours to cross. Well, guess what, I am a prone to sea sickness. Nice to know isn't it? Just a pity I had to find out the hard way. And on top of that, it seemed like everyone on the ship was fast asleep except for me. I couldn't get comfortable on the hard floor, I was chilly from the draft coming in and with my tummy feeling like a washing machine it just wasn't going to happen. So, basically long story short, after that traumatic experience lol, I didn't have a whole lot of energy to even keep my eyes open long never mind sit down to write a blog post so apologise for it being today instead of yesterday. Hope you weren't too disappointed but no need cause I have the treasury here for you today.

This week's theme is words + letters. I have hand-picked some items that display interesting typography, charming quotes and well designed monograms. Sometimes inspiration just needs to be spelled out!

You can find out more about this treasury, including the seller's + items here. 

I found this colourful, embellished monogram on Pinterest and it inspired me to create this treasury from it.

I think it's a really clever and cute project and it would look great it a child's bedroom or on the front of a greeting card. Of course you could always spell out a name or a word using this technique, a separate canvas for each letter. Actually I think that would be really unique. Oooh I'm feeling inspired right now!! I know I'm supposed to be on holidays but I might just have to crack out the glue gun and some buttons (yes I did bring more art supplies than clothes on holiday with me and yes I realise I'm a little crazy) 

Anyway this is just a quick blog post on this week's treasury and also a little about my recent travel ordeal lol! I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you get creating on foot of this treasury and why not share your projects with me, I'd love to see what you come up with! I am gonna go and chill out now, do a bit of relaxing, after all I am on HOLIDAYS, YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! :)

Take care

Ciara

xoxo

Thursday Treasury

Hi pretties! 

Those of you who are familiar with Etsy you will know that they have a treasury section where members can create lists of up to 16 items that are usually based around a theme e.g. "Tropical", "Blue", "Love"

I have decided to start creating treasury lists as a way to bring inspiration into my own + to others art or creative projects.

This week's treasury is inspired by lime, yellows, greens, zingy + zesty colours. When I see these colours I immediately think of lemonade,  Key Lime pie, Mojitos. It is bright + bold with a Spring feel. I can almost taste the tartness of the lime! 

You can find out more info about this treasury here, which includes all the relevant shops and sellers where you can purchase the items.

I created this treasury off of this colour inspiration journal page

I centred the page around this picture of a lime/yellow flowery make up bag that I found in a fashion magazine. I loved the fresh colours but also the retro feel of it's pattern and I tried to incorporate that into the treasury through some of the items that I chose.

I pulled some paint colours + patterned paper I had in my stash that I felt matched the bag in the photograph and before you know it, the colour scheme was born!

I might go on to create a canvas or journal page to co-ordinate with this colour scheme/treasury so stay posted for that. I don't ever use these colours together so that would be interesting for sure, and challenging. But, I like to challenge myself, especially in my artwork because that is how I keep things fresh + interesting. 

I hope you are inspired by this week's treasury. Let me know what you think of it, leave comments below.

Why don't you send in some photos of projects you make using this colour scheme and I will show them off here.

Have a great day!

Ciara

xoxo

Colour Inspiration

Hi everyone!

How are you all today? My day has been good, it has been relaxed and off schedule which was nice. I have been working on a colour inspiration journal!
I am not claiming this as my own invention however, I signed up for one of Christy Tomlinson's online workshops and she shows us how to go about making one, what it is used for and basically how it benefits your artwork. I. Am. Loving. It! Loving it!!

The idea of a colour inspiration journal is to explore new colour palettes that you may not have thought of before or wouldn't normally be drawn to. It forces you to choose colours out of your colour comfort zone. You can collect images from magazines (like home decor, fashion), from the internet, photographs etc, add it to the journal and then take colour inspiration from that to create a project. 

So, today I went out and bought a new notebook + some magazines that I thought might be fun + colourful and then I spent a lovely afternoon snipping out images and sticking them into the notebook along with paint swatches and pieces of patterned paper and trims that I felt matched the colour scheme.

I think this is a brilliant, lightbulb idea to kickstart your inspiration. Sometimes I can get stuck in a bit of colour rut + I have noticed that I tend to reach for the same colour palette over + over. Turquoise, seafoam blues, red....... Which of course are gorgeous and are my favs, but obviously I need to move on!! For everyone's sake.

I am hopeful that this new exercise will help me to explore new colours and be excited about colour again, you know? I say this often but it's so true, there is nothing better than that excited feeling you get in the pit of your stomach where you know that there is something creatively amazing about to happen. 

I'm looking forward to sharing with you all, the projects that come out of this. 

Do you have a special way of getting yourself out of a colour rut? What colours are you automatically drawn to and what colours would you never use? Do share, I'd love to hear.

Leave a comment about anything and everything!

Take care

Ciara

xoxo

May You Be: Envious

Hi everyone!

Green is the colour of Ireland, emeralds, grass, life, innocence and of envy. And although envy is not an emotion that I particularly admire, these beautiful green photos are definitely something to be envious of.

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Oh jealous! I think my favourite are the vintage green glassware. How posh would I look drinking out of those!

Anyway just a short post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a comment or an email if you wish x

I hope you are having a beautiful + creative day

Ciara

xoxo

May You Be: Married

Hi everyone!

Seen as we are considered to be in the middle of "wedding season" at the moment and that almost every second person I know is either getting married or getting engaged, I thought it would be fun to do a little post on wedding inspiration!
Just a bunch of photos put together randomly in a kind of moodboard if you will, to inspire any of you who might be engaged, getting engaged, getting married OR if you're like me, just like looking at pictures of pretty dresses and such.
So, enjoy my friends...

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Aww so much romance and prettiness! If you just got engaged or married then congratulations, I really mean it, I hope you have a very long and happy marriage :)

Now time to get my butt out of the clouds and get back to business! Leave me a comment for any old reason, I don't mind x

I hope you have a beautiful + creative day

Ciara

xoxo