A PLACE TO BUILD brings together four complementary PDF guides designed to support an intuitive, layered approach to mixed-media making. We begin with paint, move on to mark-making with acrylic paint pens, and finish with stitch.
What’s included:
PDF 1 — A Place To Build: The Main Workbook
The heart of the bundle. This guide takes you through the full process of creating an intuitive mixed-media artwork on canvas, from the first layer of paint through to a stitched and embellished surface.
It is not about replicating a specific piece or following step-by-step instructions. It is about developing a way of working, one that responds to what is already there, makes decisions as the work evolves, and allows each material to suggest the next. The workbook includes photographs of the process at every stage, written in a calm, reflective voice throughout.
PDF 2 — Painting Structure Guide
A practical reference for the painting stage, ideal for beginner painters, offered at two similar, but slightly different levels of support. Whether you prefer a clear sequence to follow or a set of decision prompts to guide your instincts, this guide offers a starting point without prescribing a result. Colour, style, and approach remain entirely your own.
PDF 3 — Visual Framework Guide
Three numbered composition frameworks - loose arrangements of shapes to paint in order for painters who prefer something concrete to respond to before they begin. Each framework is illustrated with a demonstration painting and a step-by-step guide to the shapes involved. The frameworks are deliberately exaggerated for clarity; in practice, edges can be soft, colours can blend and overlap, and transparency and opacity can sit alongside each other freely.
PDF 4 — Mark-Making & Pattern Guide
A visual reference for the mark-making stage. This guide illustrates a wide range of marks and patterns to explore with your acrylic paint pens, from botanical forms, abstract flower and geometric shapes, and repeat motifs. Keep it on the table while you work.
This collection is for you if you:
• Are curious about mixed-media making and want to explore paint, pen and stitch together
• Enjoy intuitive, process-led work rather than following fixed instructions
• Want support and structure without prescribed outcomes
• Are drawn to abstraction, pattern, texture and mark-making
• Are a confident stitcher ready to take your practice in a new direction, or a painter curious about adding stitch to your work
• Prefer exploration over perfection
Please note
• These PDFs do not include stitch tutorials or step-by-step painting instruction
• There are no set colour palettes or prescribed outcomes
• The guides are designed to support your process, not dictate it
• A basic familiarity with embroidery stitches is helpful for the stitching stage, but no specific techniques are demonstrated
Format
• Four downloadable PDF guides
• Instant access after purchase
• For personal use only
This collection offers a place to build — and the materials, structure, and permission to begin.
A Place To Begin — The Intuitive Stitching Collection brings together two complementary PDF guides designed to support a slower, more responsive approach to stitch work.
What’s included
PDF 1: A Place To Begin
Designed for stitchers who enjoy working intuitively — responding to fabric, thread, and instinct rather than following step-by-step instructions.
This guide offers a gentle framework for intuitive stitched mixed media work. It is not about replicating an image or learning new stitches, but about beginning without a fixed plan and allowing the work to unfold through process, layering, and return.
The PDF includes four abstract pattern frameworks that provide an initial structure and starting place. From there, makers are encouraged to explore freely — choosing their own colour palette, stitch language, materials, and pace. The patterns are deliberately open, offering guidance without prescription.
Written in a calm, reflective voice, the guide includes gentle prompts throughout to support a slow, responsive approach to stitching. It assumes a basic familiarity with embroidery stitches, but does not demonstrate specific techniques. Experienced stitchers are invited to work confidently with whatever stitches and materials they prefer.
PDF 2: A Place To Begin #2
A deeper exploration of intuitive stitching through lived process.
Using the Held pattern from A Place To Begin as a foundation, this guide takes you inside my working method — sharing how decisions are made as the piece evolves, what I respond to along the way, and the thinking behind when to add, pause, shift, or stop.
Rather than teaching stitches, this guide focuses on the why and how of intuitive decision-making — offering reassurance, clarity, and permission to trust your own instincts.
Bonus: Colour Inspiration Guide (Free PDF)
Designed to support colour exploration without prescription.
This guide offers types of colour palettes and prompts to help you approach colour intuitively — encouraging confidence, play, and responsiveness rather than fixed choices.
This collection is for you if you:
Feel drawn to intuitive, process-led stitching
Want guidance without rigid rules
Enjoy abstraction, texture, and mark-making
Are curious about how artists make decisions as they work
Prefer exploration over perfection
Please note
These PDFs do not include step-by-step instructions or stitch tutorials
There are no set colour palettes or prescribed outcomes
The guides are designed to support your process, not dictate it
Format
Two main downloadable PDF guides
One free colour inspiration PDF
Instant access after purchase
For personal use only
This collection offers a place to begin — and the space to continue — grounded in curiosity, responsiveness, and trust in the making process.
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