Competition!!!

Hi all

I decided I wanted to celebrate my first digi kit collection being released into the big wide world with you all http://shop.daisytrail.com/Products/BrandDesigner/MJMDesignStudios/ but as I can't invite you all round for a glass or two of fizz

I thought I would give you the chance to bag a piece of original art work from yours truly!

Sunflower from 'Sunflowers and Stars'

Dragonfly from 'Lilies and Light'

Poppies from 'Lilies and Light'

Apple Blossom from 'La Senora Mexicana'

These are 4 of the paintings I created for my kits and as they were to be scanned in and cut out digitally I wasn't over careful round the edges of the papers so you may see a few experimental scribbles but it makes them more authentic right? :D

Want to play? All you have to do is share this

which you will find on my FaceBook page @MJMDesignStudios, Like the page while you're there (if you haven't already) then share the image/post across your social media and in your corners of cyber space and then come back here and leave a comment under this post. Easy Peasy! I will pick 4 winners at random at 6pm on Friday 30th September!

I AM AWARE SOME OF YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM LEAVING A COMMENT HERE SO NEVER FEAR IF YOU COMMENT UNDER THE COMPETITION POST ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE MJM DESIGN STUDIOS YOU WILL GO INTO THE WOOLY HAT OF POSSIBILITIES ;)

Before you rush off to do all that can I say a huge thank you to you all for your love and support, well wishes and lovely comments about my kits, I appreciate it all! Right..... ready ..... steady .....Go!

Shouting after you as you dash .... until soon
Happy Crafting!!
Love
MJM x

My DigiKits have been launched ... eek!

Hello there

Just a quickie from me to squeal with delight and say my digi kits are now available on daisytrail.com and to drop off this little ad ;)

Enjoy! I'll be back at noon with a little competition for you!
MJM x

The cat's out the bag!!

Hello, Hello, Hello

Well I am beyond excited to say .....

The cat's out the bag :D At last I can breath!

This is one of the most exciting things I have done as well as the most scary! Little old me releasing my own craft collection .... So this is the next chapter!!

After a long break from the craft industry, tomorrow, my digi kits go on sale at daisytrail.com eek!!!

At this point I will say if you don't use Serif CraftArtist2 professional software but still want to get your hands on my kits .... NEVER FEAR! You can get a FREE copy of the CraftArtist compact software which will allow you access to all the artwork! In a blog post coming soon I will talk through it in more detail! (it can be used as a click and print option or to save the imagery in a format you want go get it!)

So what are these kits? Well here they are!

La Senora Mexicana inspired by the life and art of Frida Kahlo. Full of bright colourful imagery full of fun and fiesta!

Lilies and Light inspired by Claude Monet. Strong pastels and garden imagery alongside vintage French imagery make up this kit

Stars and Sunflowers inspired by the life and art of Vincent van Gogh. With a bold colour palette of blues and yellows this is a kit of art and magic.

Bizarre and Fantastic inspired by Clarice Cliff, the art deco era and the brand new age of jazz. Bright, quirky and fun!

I have used artists as my starting inspiration for each kit BUT you do not need to know the artists work or anything about their lives to create with them. Every craft collection starts somewhere and artists inspire me so I thought it was a good place for me to create from. Each kit started with a strong colour palette and the rest of the imagery kind of followed.

Everything in each kit that is hand painted I did myself

All the backgrounds are hand painted

A lot of the elements are hand made

And those that are not hand made or hand painted are treasures that I have collected over the years and photographed in my little studio to put into digital form for you to create with again and again!

The alphas and all text and fonts are hand created too!

I really enjoyed creating these kits, they are unique in content and have been a real labour of love. I hope you enjoy creating with them and I can't wait to see all your projects!

I will be back tomorrow with a competition so please visit to see how you can win one of 4 original pieces of artwork I created for my digi kits!

Thanks for surfing by
Until tomorrow, as ever ....
Happy Crafting
Love
MJM x

A little introduction!

Hi

Thanks for surfing by!

I thought it was about time to get this blog rolling so I thought I would start with a little post about me just in case you were wondering who I am and where I came from ... I wonder myself sometimes!

To elaborate on my profile I originally trained as a theatre designer, mainly set design as I loved wielding a hammer and nails and through my time in the crazy business we call show I fell into stage management and had a crazy ride for quite a few years touring the length and breath of these fair isles. I met amazing people and had a great time but I did miss being creative and I did start to miss home more so took a leap of faith and 'retired' back in 2007 to pursue who knew what?

I knew I wanted to create and design again and floundered about in my little room trying to work out what that was ... in the end it found me! Scrapbooking was becoming a big deal then and my mum kept telling me to look at Scrapbook Inspirations (a much missed magazine) and that was it, a light bulb went on and I knew this was something I could play with combining my love of collage, story telling and creating art with a purpose. Now, it has been said that I'm kind of an out the box thinker and maybe my scrap pages went beyond the scrapbook at times but I loved it and was thrilled and proud to be announced a Best of British Scrapboooker in 2008 ..... cue the next chapter in my life!

The award opened many doors in the industry, I was published in the magazines that had inspired me and I got to work on some amazing design teams, designing for companies in the UK and US. I got to teach workshops, taught at some awesome retreats and guest blogged all over the place .... it was another crazy, fun filled ride! As things progressed a new chapter started!

I was asked to demonstrate and guest present on Create and Craft TV UK for Purple Cows (one of the companies I was on the design team for) Me? in front of a camera? the girl that was always back stage wearing black, lurking in the shadows! It terrified me! But, I was swept along with it all. I have to confess to having several melt downs on my husband on the way to that first appearance ... how had I got myself in this position? Then the first show was suddenly happening! I spent the first 10 minutes like a rabbit in headlights, sweaty palms and heart beating so hard I was sure it would be picked up on the mic and then something very strange happened, a little voice in my head made me take a breath and look around ... everyone was so lovely and supportive and as I did look around the studio I realised this is not rocket science or brain surgery, I'm showing people how to cut up paper and all the fear and dread ebbed away and suddenly I found myself enjoying it and the 1st live hour was gone! I then uttered the words I really enjoyed it and shocked myself!! More shows came and went and then the next chapter on my little journey started.

I was asked if I would like to demonstrate for (the then) Digital Scrapbook Artist from Serif .... oh no I thought, I love my paper, glue and scissors too much! Then I was shown the packaging .... now if you're here you're probably a crafter and I think most of us are suckers for some gorgeous packaging! I decided I needed to explore it and snaffled it away home. After my first hour of playing I was well and truly hooked .... the possibilities were endless and it was a revelation when I thought about the hybrid crafting potential, so my Serif journey began. Digital Scrapbook Artist became CraftArtist and eventually it became CraftArtist2 professional (which it is today) I spent over 5 happy years demonstrating it on Create and Craft TV and have met some fabulous and creative people on the way. But I got to a point where I needed to take a break from everything and with a heavy heart I stood down in 2015 and now here we are today!

And yep you have guessed it .... time to start a new chapter which I am super excited about and will share with you very, very soon .... sorry!.... You made it all the way through my meanderings and I still leave you hanging!

So that is me. You might have known me as a scrapbooker, the one that likes to do a lot of paper tearing and inky distressing, or the one that creates crazy 3D scrap projects or maybe the one that cuts heads off peoples photos and creates paper doll bodies for them. You might have known me as the crafter with pink hair, the create and craft guest presenter, the Serif demonstrator or even mjm-thearttart. Maybe you have no clue who I am but I am all those people and more and I look forward to you all being with me for the next chapter of this crazy, wonderful ride I call life!

Thanks for stopping by (and congratulations if you got through my whitterings!)
Until Soon, as ever,
Happy Crafting
MJM x

My Brand new Home!

Well hello!

If you have stumbled across this blog on your cyber travels you are very welcome but at the moment I am sorting out the decoration and furnishings so to avoid paint splats and plaster dust you may want to come back .... unless you enjoy seeing things appear, disappear and re arrange :D

I will be up and running very soon and would love to see you then to share my art, craft and products, a little know how, a few laughs and hopefully some inspiration!

I do hope I will see you again!
Until next time
Happy Crafting to you!

MJM x