I have passed the half way mark of the #the100day project! Woo hoo! It's pretty crazy to think that I have created 50 fairies already, and just as crazy to think that I am going to do the same again.

As the project progresses I am learning more and more and my fairies are getting better and better. Since, I have had a bit of press too, I feel the pressure to create something good each time!

Of course I want to create good work, but I do have a bit of a time limit, especially trying to fit it in around my crazy baby!

What I am loving about this though is that I feel like I'm falling a little bit in love each time I create one. It is so much fun. 

I am also buzzing with ideas and am thinking of creating a book with my best fairies in it. That is really exciting! There are a couple of websites that allow you to create your own book, I just need to learn how to do it. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my latest fairies!

Don't forget to suggest a fairy for me!

Bee fairy

Rabbit fairy

So I created this picture using a wide variety of techniques!

I started of with some flower shapes and some colours that I was attracted to. I had in mind to do mini fairies floating in between the flowers but I changed my mind!

I played with some old stamps, just trying to get some interest down.

I am following Lifebook at willowing.ning and the last lesson was really inspiring. Jenny Doh explained her process which was really loose and intuitive! It was great to watch and something I would like to play around with more.

So my picture looked like this and then I opened it up in Procreate. This is the first time that I have created a character entirely on screen. I usually have some basic structure in place first.

I felt like it needed a focal point though and so I went for it!

I got to this stage and it still wasn't working for me. I quite liked it, but it didn't feel true to me and so I wanted to add something else!

I actually added the bottom half of one of my pictures! This was a new thing for me as I hadn't considered using old work to create something new!

It grounded the picture really well and created a story. I then just added some highlights to the flowers and blended in any unnatural edges.

It's a bit crazy that you can't see hardly any of the original, but there is a slight hint here and there!

I am linking this project up with Kim Dellow 'Art it Friday - show your face' http://www.kimdellow.co.uk/

And also with the exciting 'Something Old Something New and Digital too!

http://oldnewanddigitaltoo.blogspot.co.uk

Hope you enjoyed my little experiment! Have a great weekend!

Jacs

Woohoo! I'm in this weeks The Cornishman on page three! I'm really excited as I hope that my fairy magic will reach more people and also I hope to get more fairy suggestions!

I had hoped to try to replicate the famous Cottingley fairy photos, but it was so windy that they would have been blown away!

We had a fun morning with Greg Martin, the photographer for The Cornishman. He brought a bubble gun which Tabitha loved and inspired her to have a very fairy day!

I wanted to welcome you to my home! Come in please! Don't worry about the dogs, they soon settle down...

Well, I thought you might like a little guided tour. I was inspired by Apartment Therapy to start thinking about vignettes, which as far as I'm concerned means a group of objects.

Now, I'm not an interior designer! Don't judge me too much on my style. I live in a really small cottage and the most important thing is that it's functional first and pretty second.

I'm very much from the William Morris school of thought that things should ideally be functionally and aesthetically pleasing.

I don't collect things, but I keep things that have memories. So here are a few memories.

This area is part of the kitchen/lounge and it's the only space that the fruit bowl will fit. The picture is of the first dog, Cookie, that me and my husband had together and she was an absolute beauty.

Sadly she passed away when she was only eight, but she was very loved and had an amazing life with us in Cornwall, chasing birds on the beach and getting lots of cuddles.

The lei was given to us by a dear friend, who actually officiated our wedding! He made us real leis on the day which were really beautiful and thoughtful.

The Russian doll was bought on holiday in Poland, which is where my dad lives! It brings back memories of snow and some artisan hot chocolate.

This is the other end of the shelf and is full of holiday photos. We did a house swap to Brooklyn and had an amazing week in New York. I proposed to Darren in a little restaurant called 'Two Boots' whilst nervously sipping a pink cocktail.

Our honeymoon was in California where we spent an amazing month travelling as much as possible. We went horse riding in Ojai, bathed in hot springs, went surfing, and then camped out way up the coast. We stayed overnight in San Francisco and then spent an incredible couple of days in Yosemite.

It was an amazing adventure!

Anyway, that's probably enough tales for now! I will carry on the house tour another time. Hope to see you again soon!

Something old, something new, something digital too.

http://oldnewanddigitaltoo.blogspot.co.uk

This is a new challenge by the lovely Massofhair, who writes the blog 'so much to learn' - a sentimnent I very much identify with!

http://massofhair.blogspot.co.uk

I have been following her posts for nearly a year and finally, I am delighted to find myself able to take part in a challenge!

I love the idea of using a mix of materials and techniques and so this is the result of my first experiment!

This is a butterfly fairy and first I drew a sketch of her.

I used my something old, which was a butterfly stamp I had made a year ago.

My something new was my colourful distress inks, which I hadn't really played with properly.

So I applied a couple of colours each time to see how they mixed and looked when applied.

Stamping is fun! And easy to get carried away with! There is something so satisfying about applying images in this way!

So I then took a picture with my Samsung camera which lets me email images to myself (very handy!) and then opened it up in Procreate.

I felt like the stamps had overtaken a little bit and so I smoothed out the background. My favourite tools include the chalks, 6b pencil and the technical pencil. Oh and the grunge effect tool which helps to add some texture.

I get some nice smooth results by using the blender (looks like the smudge tool on Photoshop) and wisping the wings!

The last thing I do, which I love, is to put it on Instagram and check out all the filters!

I have to check them all out, EVERY time! I just love seeing the difference it makes to my work, with just a quick click.

I think I used Juno to create the final image and I liked the extra warmth.

Hope you enjoyed the journey!

Look forward to seeing other people's experiments!

I was asked to do a triple moon fairy and this is what I created. The background was blue for quite a while, but I liked the symbolism and drama of the red!

I love playing in procreate now! It took a little while to get used to the settings and there is stll lots to explore, but I love how much choice you have.

You can choose from all sorts of brushes and pencils which you can then adjust in size, density and taper.

You can layer pictures, play with opacity and there are also some cool effects and textures to use.

I really think it's amazing! It has so much potential and is very intuitive. If you have an iPad and need an art fix, then I would really recommend it.

This time of year is beautiful in Cornwall. The flowers start opening up week by week and before you know it, summer is here!

It's also relatively quiet down here at the moment so you can still get beaches to yourself and enjoy the wildness!

I've just finished these pictures and will be taking them down to the Roundhouse and Capstan Gallery later this week. It's such a lovely gallery to be part of and I feel special to have my work there.

I like to think that my pictures have a bit of piskie magic in them. 💖