Christmas {R}

Christmas {R}

For my Christmas page R I have chosen Reindeer. I have used some photos of some deer from our local park and also a special Christmas card received from some good friends last year.

Inspiration {Q} Quotes

If you fancy adding any quotes to your Christmas Cards or Christmas scrapbook pages then take a look through these:..........



What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic.
-- Unknown



Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
-- Norman Vincent Peale



Somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others, is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart's possessing, returns to you glad.
-- John Greenleaf Whittier



Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
-- Hamilton Wright Mabi



It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, "God Bless Us, Every One!
-- Charles Dickens



Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
-- Mary Ellen Chase



Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.
-- Unknown



If there is no joyous way to give a festive gift, give love away.
--Unknown



Why does Scrooge love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Because every buck is dear to him!
-- Unknown



What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.
-- Agnes M. Pharo



Many banks have a new kind of Christmas club in operation. The new club helps you save money to pay for last year's gifts.
-- Unknown



Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!
-- Charles Dickens



I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.
-- Shirley Temple



I do come home at Christmas. We all do, or we all should. We all come home, or ought to come home, for a short holiday - the longer, the better - from the great boarding school where we are forever working at our arithmetical slates, to take, and give a rest.
-- Charles Dickens



It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart.
-- Marjorie Holmes



I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
-- Charles Dickens, Ebeneezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol



Christmas is a race to see which gives out first - your money or your feet.
-- Unknown



I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the word seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.
-- Taylor Caldwell



The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.
-- W. C. Jones



The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
-- Burton Hillis



Whatever else be lost among the years, Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing: Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears, Let us hold close one day, remembering Its poignant meaning for the hearts of men. Let us get back our childlike faith again.
-- Grace Noll Crowell



Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.
-- Joan Winmill Brown



Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart... filled it, too, with a melody that would last forever.
-- Bess Streeter Aldrich



Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day.
-- Helen Steiner Rice



Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered. What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.
-- Phyllis Diller



There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.
-- Erma Bombeck



I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.
-- Harlan Miller



Christmas ... is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.
-- Freya Stark



And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, Which shall be to all people. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, Lying in a manger.
-- St. Luke ii. 10-12



From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another - the warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.
-- Emily Matthews



Heap on the wood!-the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We'll keep our Christmas merry still.
-- Sir Walter Scott



Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display - so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again.
-- Unknown



Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.
-- Helen Steiner Rice



A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; it makes no noise at all, but softly gives itself away; while quite unselfish, it grows small.
-- Eva K. Logue



Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance--a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.
-- Augusta E. Rundel



Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.
-- Washington Irving



The merry family gatherings - the old, the very young; hhe strangely lovely way they Harmonize in carols sung. For Christmas is tradition time - traditions that recall the precious memories down the years, the sameness of them all.
-- Helen Lowrie Marshall



He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.
-- Sunshine Magazine



The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.
-- Louisa May Alcott



Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

-- Clement C Moore



Christmas is the day that holds all time together.
-- Alexander Smith



May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; The spirit of Christmas which is peace; The heart of Christmas which is love.
-- Ada V. Hendricks

Christmas {Q}

{Q} is a letter with very few choices of what it represents during Christmas. The only 2 I could think of were queing (in shops!) and the Queen's speech. I have done a very simple page about the traditon of the Queen's speech and how it used to fit into my life when I was younger.

P is for Paints

There are many different types of paint but I’m only going to cover 3 of them here, Oil, Watercolour and Acrylic. Paints are generally manufactured in 2 qualities, Artist or Student. The Artist ranges are a much better quality but they do cost a lot more than the Student equivalent.

Oil Paints



















As the name says, they are oil based paints traditionally thinned using Refined Linseed Oil and Turpentine but you can get Oil paint thinners from Windsor and Newton.

The most commonly used good painting surfaces for oil paints include Canvas and Illustration Board. Linen canvas is best but linen/cotton mix can be used. These and Illustration Boards are widely available from art shops and they are normally ready primed, although you can prime them yourself using something like Gesso.

A good colour palette to start would be Titanium White, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Cobalt Blue. You will notice that no black has been mentioned, try not to use black or if you do, use it sparingly, its use produces muddy colours.

Generally when using oils you would start by doing an Underpainting using either very thinned down Burnt Umber Oil paint or alternatively Burnt Umber Acrylic as this is very quick drying.

Once you are happy with your underpainting a good guide is to then build up the colours working from dark to light, although this is down to personal preference, just have fun and experiment.

Don’t fret if you go wrong either, oils are very opaque if not thinned so mistakes can be covered quite easily.


Watercolours



















Watercolour paints are, believe it or not, water based. They can come in tubes, a paste form, or in pans, solid paint until a wet brush is applied.

Paper is probably the best painting surface, there are an abundance of papers available in differing textures and weights.

The lighter weight papers will need to be stretched to prevent buckling. To do this, soak a sheet of paper in water for a few minutes and lay it out on a drawing board. Tape around the edges with wetted brown paper sticky tape.

A good colour palette for watercolours would be Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Indian Red, Sepia, Cadmium Red, Crimson Lake, Prussian Green, Cerulean, French Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, Paynes Grey. Again avoid black if possible.

Watercolours have a beautiful transparency and painting is done with mainly washes of colour. Picking out details are normally done by dry brushing and a good rule of thumb is to work from light to dark.

To maintain the beautiful transparent look try to avoid using white, hence why it has not been mentioned in the colour palette.

Acrylics



















Acrylics are incredibly versatile, they are used with either water or Acrylic Medium and they have the opacity of oils but are very quick drying as they are water based. They can also be used like a wash as in watercolours but once dry you are not able to blend them again as in the way as you can with watercolours.

Acrylics can be used on a variety of surfaces, primed or unprimed, although it is better to seal wood before you paint. Canvas, illustration board and paper can all be used.

A good colour palette for acrylics would be Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Naples Yellow, Paynes Grey, Burnt Sienna, Chromium Oxide of Green and Lamp Black.

Tip for making black.

A good way to make black is to use Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue, more blue and you have a cooler black, more brown and it warms it up a little.

Why not get experimenting.

Christmas {P}

For Christmas {P} I have used the word Presents. As my journal is getting a little fat this is a nice skinny entry. The tags were made last Christmas for a Bubbly Funk Design team challenge, I never used them on a gift so I thought they would go nicely here.