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!