It's that time again - the year is coming to a close and we all take the opportunity to look back over 2011 and forward to 2012.
Like many crafty/arty bloggers I like to post some of my personal favourite makes from the year passing. It is a little self-indulgent I know but I like to think of it is an analytical exercise, a way of charting my progression through the year and to see what areas need more work. You may only see my favourites in this post but to get to these I have looked at everything I've published on my blog through 2011 the good and the bad!
So here are my 2011 personal favourites, in no particular order, and each title is a link to the original post if you wanted more details, materials links or something catches your eye:
I love working with fabric and stitch, it is one of my favourite mediums, this piece uses quilting methods, image transfer, pencil colouring and distressing.
Another one of my favourite mediums is metal and rust and I just love recycling and constructing 3D forms so this altered sardine just resonates with me and was great fun to make.
Ok so this make may be a little less tactile than the first two makes but it still uses many different techniques with book pages, maps, stamping, embossing, watercolour stamping, grunging. I just love the ethereal look of the girls and the promise of mystery with the door in the background.
This CAS card is a complete change of pace from the other makes but it is still one of my favourites and was a bit of a shock to me at how well it turned out LOL! It was obviously a fluke as I haven't coloured this well since!
This was my first piece trying out PanPastels and I loved making it! It uses several different techniques with the PanPastels such as stamping, masking, colouring, grunging, blending and I've used a little bit of stitch as well.
Another mixed media piece using several different techniques to add texture and another of my favourite fun makes from 2011 where I just got all inky and messy!
So I am flip-flopping a bit between ultra messy and totally clean makes for my favourites list! But I am the sort of person that flip-flops between styles - commitment issues LOL! I just love the simplicity of this one and the Summer Orange and Cerise colour combo which is one of my favourites!
Ok so having said I love CAS - which I do, but if I had to pick one thing that makes me very happy it would be getting messy with paints and that is what you see here with this Art Journal page. I've again used lots of different techniques for this one with some experimenting with inkjet printed photographs and stabilising them enough so that I could hand tint them with pens from Kuretake. Me in my element - experimenting and making a mess!
This was a tutorial I put together for my guest Muse spot with Gingersnap Creations blog and is all made from recycled items, sweet wrappers and card. Super fun to make with a bit of stamping and free motion embroidery thrown in for good measure!
So I started with a fabric favourite so what better way to end than another fabric make, this one uses some paint, rusting, stitching, distressing and stamping techniques and is definitely a favourite for 2011.
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I would love to see your 2011 favourites so please do drop a link in the comments below and I will pop on over!
Thank you so much for joining me in this arty journey over 2011, I've loved all your comments and visiting all your wonderful blogs so full of inspiration!
I look forward with excitement to travelling with you through a creative 2012.
Have a Wonderful New Year!
Kim
xx
