The owl, the fox, more fabric painting and a box of embroidery threads

I said the other day that I'd post a photo of the ATCs - a total of 30 - that I made for a Facebook group swap. Well, they're finally done and have been posted. I'm glad to have got them completed before the deadline, even though some weren't exactly my best work. Themes chosen by the group members were wide ranging and a few almost defeated me. They included Buffy the vampire slayer, Victorian architecture (preferably done in pencil), life drawing (ditto pencil), a Harry Potter creature, Shane Warne, and a horror film character whose image I definitely didn't want lodging in my head. I went a bit rogue with some themes, going for abstract images or - in the case of the pencil life drawing - just ignoring that and doing a version of a Matisse collage instead. Sorry!

Overall, I don't think I'd take part in this kind of challenge again. Partly because postage cost me £7.00, Royal Mail prices being as steep as they are, but also because I've realised I really, really resent having to spend time making something I don't enjoy or aren't inspired by. I don't want to google images of TV programmes like Buffy or Alf in order to try and cobble something together. I know that makes me sound tetchy - yeah, okay, I'm fine with tetchy - but if I'm being creative I want to enjoy the process as well as be pleased with the finished result. Anyway, there were a few of the cards I was especially pleased with.

I had a lot of fun making a collage version of Beaker from the Muppets. But I especially liked my collaged-from-gell-prints owl and also the fox drawn with watercolour pencils.

I've also spent part of an evening splashing paint on to fabric again, much as I did with the fabric used to make my mini dolls.

Not sure what this'll get used for, but something will occur to me.

Finally, I took delivery today of a box of embroidery threads. All the colours of the rainbow, and a few more besides. Before I sloped off to slimming club this afternoon I spent a little while happily sorting the colours into order.

Let's see how long the neatness lasts!

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