A Different Journey

 

It's been a while since my last post as life has chosen a different path for me to take for the time being. I'm not going to post on this page anymore (at least not for the forseeable future) but merge all the areas of my life...crafting 🎨, gardening 🌱, my new journey and all the other stuff I do to keep myself outta mischief 🤪 ... together in one place. 

If you would like to carry on following me I'll be over on Instagram... beyondthetidygarden otherwise I wish you all health and happiness for the future ❤ 

Jane x

Thank You NHS Heroes - FREE Colouring Page

These are humbling times and there are many heroes out there at the moment, from those keeping our food chain going, maintaining our home energy supplies, caring for our relatives & friends in residential homes and many of the day to day equally essential services that we often take for granted.

We were all super proud in our house the other day when we saw my husband's best friend Colonel Ashleigh Boreham on TV, being interviewed about his role in the building of the Nightingale Hospital in London. The ability of some people to step up in these challenging & scary times and just get stuff done is truly amazing. 

The superheroes in all this though has to be our NHS staff, the men and women on the front line caring for those with the coronavirus and also those patients with all the health issues that existed before Covid-19 stole the headlines. There are still people out there with dementia, cancer, heart disease, people are still having accidents, ladies having babies. The NHS is there for us all.

Thursday nights at 8pm, here in the UK, is our opportunity to clap as loud as we can, bang saucepans, cheer and shout a big THANK YOU to all those superheroes in the NHS. It's an emotional couple of minutes out of our lives to show our appreciation for this incredible bunch of people.

(Copyright Jane Clempson)

I have created this FREE colouring page which I will stick in my window to show my never ending gratitude to the NHS.

If you'd like to print off a copy and show your appreciation too then you are more than welcome to. You should be able to click on the black & white image, save to your computer and print off on an A4 piece of paper or card, ready to colour. Send me a photo of your coloured image in situ and feel free to share this post with your friends if you think they'd like to join in too. 

Please use the #NHSFLORAL so I can find you.

Enjoy, stay safe and well xxx

***Please note this is a free image for personal home use, for printing on paper or card, colouring & showing your support to the NHS. If you wish to use it for any other purpose please contact me. ***

Thank you

Floral Watercolour

Welcome back, I hope you are well.
The world has changed so much since my last post 4 weeks ago.
More than ever we need to look after ourselves, physically, nutritionally & mentally.
Things we've taken for granted for too long are now at the forefront of everything we do...even our survival. So when I say 'I hope you are well'...I really mean it!



One of my new years resolutions was to learn how to watercolour, something, along with learning how to play the piano, that I've always wanted to learn. I've been watching heaps of amazing artists online & am so grateful to those people happy to share their skills & techniques for free.

My lovely husband bought me a beautiful paint set for Christmas and along with a good friend (shout out to Beth Boyer Benton) who has displayed a never-ending level of top tips, supply information & encouragement, I have been putting paint to paper over the past few months and coming up with a few pieces worthy *Cough!* of making into cards to give away.

So for those of you who are interested, I have settled on Bockingford 300gsm Cold Press paper to work with. Paint brush wise, I have a few different types that I've been playing with, trying to find the brand that feels most comfortable to use. I'm still at the experimental stage so will report back when I fall into a comfort zone.



These flowers are the result of 2 pages of just playing. Painting along with YouTube videos, practising, practising, practising.
I had 1/2 dozen fairly decent images that I could cut out for a card and added Wink of Stella glitter on the petals & Glossy Accents in the centres.



The leaves on the card at the front are hand drawn, the ones on the other card were simple painted shapes cut out. So my watercolour journey is just beginning, VERY early days and I'm only doing basic strokes but I'm loving what can be achieved so simply.
Stay safe and well everyone.
Don't forget you can find me on INSTAGRAM (Jane Clempson) and if you're a gardener & need a bit of a floral lift, you can find me at Tidy Gardens by Jane.
Hope to see you there x

Bee Friendly - Hobby Art

Today's project is another ATC (Artist Trading Card) and, as with most things I make, it has a garden theme. My life revolves around the great outdoors, flowers, foliage, nature and if I'm not outside immersed in them, then I'm inside nurturing my 'little' (Cough!) houseplant collection or creating something crafty along that theme (in between washing, ironing, dusting...UGH!)

I started with a Strathmore Illustration Board ATC for my base. These are sturdy little cards, perfect for taking a lot of mixed media liquids, water and weight.

Then it was a case of playing with different textures and mediums. So I started by spreading Liquitex Super Heavy Gloss Gel through a honeycomb stencil. You can use any gel medium, matt or gloss, it doesn't matter which brand and there are loads of them to choose from. Once dry (a few hours later) I drizzled a selection of yellow, orange & brown sprays and paints (if you're interested...Prima Colorbloom 'Spring Dandelion' & 'Pot Marigold' sprays, Distress 'Vintage Photo' spray and Finnabair's Dark Chocolate Impasto paint).

I then stamped, coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut the flower and bee from a stamp set by Hobby Art called 'Bee Friendly'. I also painted Glossy Accents on the bee's wings.

Once stuck onto my card I added some glass stones and gold Micro beads and then drizzled on more spray liquid where I felt it was needed.

The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

Honestly...just play with what you have. Faff, like I do (lol) until you're happy with your project. Step back (or away) if it's not quite going to plan and then return to it another day. I do this all the time...I have a vision in my head of how I want something to look and then more often than not it doesn't work out that way. Just play and have fun!

Now...go out and help those bees!

Do Not Adjust Your Eyeballs

No, I'm not on anything!

No, you are not tripping!

Yes, I went a bit mad with these cards...lol

Honestly, sometimes I sit back after making a card and wonder what the bloody hell I was thinking.

The idea in my head was brilliant...but somewhere between my brain and the final result I clearly inhaled something 'groovy-man' .

I started by stamping the cat stamps (a freebie from an old magazine) onto my card base, then created masks with Post-it notes to cover them.

Then I went a little (Cough!) crazy with my Altenew inks in a mad, frenzy of bright colours.

The flower & foliage images are from lots of different mini Majestix stamp sets from Card-io Crafts.

I made a few of these cards, simply stamping the little images and then removing the masks.  

On the one above I drew collars and added a little jewel name tag.

On the one below, I just added some random gems.

No need to adjust your eyeballs...these cards are as mad as they look.

Butterflies & Foliage

It's a cold but gloriously sunny day today!

Stand in the right place in the garden & there's definitely some warmth in the sun...spring's coming!

For today's card I used images from Altenew's 'Leaf Clusters' stamp set and some really pretty, fussy-cut butterflies from Lemoncraft.

I love VersaMagic Chalk inks - such beautiful, creamy, rich colours.

A really simply design...3 sets of leaves falling from the top of the card, one left plain, the middle given some Gelly Roll pen leafy veins & on the third some glittery highlights. 

If you like butterflies then I can't recommend Lemoncraft highly enough. 

A few glass gems and this card was complete.

I hope you have a great day, stay warm but embrace those rays when they appear.

Back again soon.

Artist Trading Card (ATC) - Mixed Media

Ahoy and welcome back!

Today I have something a bit different to share with you. Different for me anyway as Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) have been around for over 20 years now. 

 ATCs were started by the Swiss artist Vänçi Stirnemann in 1997 and are mini, creative projects measuring 2.5" x 3.5". They are handmade, unique pieces of art or sometimes part of a small series, that are then signed and dated on the back by the creator and exchanged and collected by fellow artists.

I love this concept, just making something small, something unique and in the case of this one, something personal to the recipient...a fellow gardener / artist on the other side of the world. 

Shona contacted me out of the blue, at the end of last year and asked if she could send me a handmade Christmas card. I was so touched when it arrived with a personal note too and it got me thinking how can I repay such out-of-the-blue kindness with something other than a card? 

The problem I have, probably like most of you, is a huge desire to make things (when the ol' crafting mojo is in da house...lol) but nowhere to store all the things I want to make. I can only make so many cards for friends and family and when it comes to mixed media I could make bits n' bobs all day but what do you do with it, unless it's a commissioned piece?

So the humble ATC has become a little outlet for me to still make the things I love without having to rent an enormous warehouse to store it in. It's also a great way to share different ideas and materials with others as well as inspire, motivate & encourage with maybe a sentiment or message.

So my first ATC is a garden themed arrangement using a variety of textures and pastes, glass, paints, glitters and stones. The floral (seed heads) and leaves are from Mintay's new Flora Book. 

The ATC itself is a Strathmore 500 series Illustration Board.

I've made a few more since (which I'll share another day) but I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who makes ATCs and swaps / shares them with others.

Back soon x

Mixed Media Tag

Ahoy!

It's cold, rainy, windy, grey n' gloomy out so I thought I'd share some delicate, warm, summer shades with you today to help chase away those winter blues. 

I love making tags. They're great for either prettying up gifts or for giving as a gift itself. I especially like making them either with a photo of the recipient, or of a loved one, or simply with a message of some kind.

I started with a tag from Prima, covered it with a sheet of paper from First Edition's beautiful 'The Promise' collection. then began decorating...the best bit!

As per...there's ooooodles of stuff on here... wooden embellishments, Nuvo Drops, mini art stones, glass stones...

...beaded decorations, flowers galore (from Wild Orchid Crafts) and even my first attempt at a paper clay mould (that swirly bit at the back).

I resisted adding any glitter on this one...SHOCK! HORROR!

A simple message of encouragement et voila!

Job done.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back again soon...I'm on a roll...lol.

Altenew - Cattleya & Weekend Doodles

Ahoy and welcome back!

I'm a sucker for anything 'planty', be it real, ornamental or in stamps and Altenew are great at feeding my floral addiction.

This is their gorgeously, delicate Cattleya stamp set, which, if you're not a plant-addict like me, is an orchid originating from Central & South America. 

It's a layering stamp so I used some Altenew inks that I got for Christmas. I kept ummmming n' arrrrring over these inks for ages... put in a request to Santa, got a few sets and fell in love (with the inks, not Santa...although he's a fairly decent chap when it comes to gifts...lol)

The beauty of these inks is that the thinking about what colours go well together is taken care of for you. If you're not familiar with them, each colour comes in a set of 4 shades from light to very dark, so using them with layering stamps is easy-peasy. 

The leafy wreath behind my floral image is from Altenew's 'Weekend Doodles' set. 

So my resolution to remove my crafty stash from it's packaging and actually start using it has begun. In fact I'm on such a roll I made 5 cards the other day... I know...Shock! Horror! 

Thanks for stopping by, have great weekend & I'll be back soon.

Layout 'Special Friend'

Hello there!
Welcome to 2020 chez moi.
Today's project is a 12" x 12" framed gift that I made for someone for Christmas using a selection of beautiful papers from AB Studio, Lemoncraft & Fabrika Decoru.

Fussy cutting on these cold, grey, winter days has become my way fav' way of cosying up & keeping myself entertained and trust me, there was HEAPS of fussy cutting on this one.

So this project all centered around the recipient's beloved hound, Harvey.

To start, I spent about 5 years (lol) pontificating over the background sheet of paper and where on the paper to place the photo. 

Then came the easy & fun bit...

...decorating.

I started by stamping some leaves from Altenew's 'Leaf Cluster' set with 'Wheat' Versamagic ink for a subtle kinda shadowy backdrop behind the photo. I also stamped & embossed the same images with WOW's 'Mojito' glittery embossing powder, die cut them, then started piecing together the layout with my fussy cut flowers & leaves from AB Studio's 'I Love You' & Fabrika Decoru's 'Sentimental Story'.

Getting the layout just right takes slightly less time than choosing the background paper...about 4.5 years. Then it's a case of sticking it all down before adding the 3D embellishments of flowers, pearls, glass gems, art stones & thread.

The finishing touches included glittery highlights and fussycut butterflies from Lemoncraft, then the whole piece was framed. 

Ta-Da!