Such 'utter class'

For many, many , many years I have been lucky to have known Dyan Reavely of Art from the Heart in Harrogate. Those of you who know me will know just how much of an inspiration she has been to me over the years. I have not been able to visit her lovely studio for classes as much as I would have liked due to me not having the guts to drive out of town! However, luckily for me, my friend Denise has recently finished working, and due to having the time has been more than eager to drive us to take part in some amazing classes.

Although I have always enjoyed playing around with mixed media, altered books, splodgy paints and all that goes with it, I struggle to journal. Writing things down on paper does not come easy to me, so I am hoping to get over my fear and begin to journal.

Dyan is 'THE QUEEN OF ART JOURNALING' Her journals are absolutely out of this world. Her talents have not gone unnoticed. She is now one of the 'Signature Designers' for Ranger! She totally deserves the success that is coming her way........GO DYAN!!!!!!

The photo's show some of the pages in preparation. We used all Dylusions products for the backgrounds. I have to say, I have loads of different makes of paints, but the creaminess of her acrylics is amazing, I had to indulge in a little spend! The sprays, used in the backgrounds above give great effects and there are so many techniques you can do with them. Dy is a fab teacher and oh soooooooooooooooooooooo classy. We were spoilt with Marks and Sparks choccy biscuits, swilled down with tea poured from a vintage brown tea pot into beautiful miss-matched china cups and saucers. Here's Lady Dy, enjoying her 'cuppa' during the day...............utter class! Don't you just love her eh?

Can you see now how you cannot fail to have a great day? The first class we attended was the anatomy of a page. We were guided through, stage by stage and used lots of different mediums.

I really must get hold of some magazines.......

I had a go at home using a slightly different approach, below. Not finished, yet though....

Then I went off and 'did my own thing' Sticking, splodging, stamping, ripping etc using VERY BRIGHT COLOURS, which I NEVER use generally. This is where I can experiment with things I don't find easy, such as journalling and using bright colours. My style at the minute is very pale and vintage, so we will see where this leads me.

I still have a long long way to go with all of these pages, time always runs away with itself for me, but at least going away for classes with Dyan gives full days of crafting without interruption.

The absolute added bonus is making new friends. We attended the class with all the regulars last weekend and have to say, it was a fantastic day!!!!!! We had a great time with the ladies who had us in stitches most of the time. I was also lucky to meet a couple of ladies who's blogs I have followed for a long long time and they both recognised me! How cool is that? Ann of Flutterby Crafter (http://flutterbycrafter.blogspot.com/) who has some amazing work to show, love her 'she doll' stuff, and the very talented Kate Crane! http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/ (sorry, been trying but can't add the links)

Kate has excelled in her art journalling after attending Dyans classes. She has her own unique style and has her own DVD's out as well as contributing regularly to magazines and running her Calendar Challenge each year on her blog. I am SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to my next visit to Art From The Heart. Maybe Dyan can teach me how to add a bloomin link !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.afth.co.uk/workshops.html) It was great to meet up with you all and can't wait for our next visit in a couple of weeks.

My unexpected meeting with these lovely ladies has prompted me to get back into 'blogging mode'. So much has been going on lately I have found it very hard to grab enough time, but I'll get a catch up post done soon showing more crafty bits, family, the bungalow etc etc. Until then, thanks for popping by.

Sue x