Sandy Poppins

Yoohoo!

2012-01-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

Well I've only gone and got myself an iphone at last... my faithful old Samsung is no more. Of course I've got lots to learn so I can use it to its full potential - posting to blogger from my iphone? well not just yet but one day!

And I have managed to have a little play in my art journal...

This is a page my A5 moleskin - its the first journal I ever bought in 2008 and I haven't worked in since 2010 (last year I made three Teesha Moore style journals and have been working in them) I enjoyed looking back on the pages I had done when my journaling was in its infancy.

Hopefully I'll get to do this more often :D

2012-01-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

After a month away we are back home at last to a very cold house in the North east of England!

Just sharing a few photo's of Laura-Beth and Jim's wedding to get me back into the world of blogging....

This snap was taken in our hotel room on what we called 'wedding eve' - we were all in our PJ's having a glass of wine - she suddenly blurted out "I'm getting married in the morning" ... of course we all replied in our best sing songy voices "ding dong the bells are gonna chime"!

We have gained an adorable step grandson, Charlie ....

This was the morning of the wedding - how happy and relaxed does she look... she was talking to Jim and Charlie on the 'phone...

Andy popped in to her room to say lots of Dad things to our baby.... who of course is no baby but a beautiful and accomplished young woman....

She wore her hair up to show the detail of the dress...

And a fur wrap (fake of course) was needed to keep out the December chill

This is my new son-in-law!

I didn't get to take many photos - too busy enjoying the moment but the official photo's were taken by Stan and his loverlee wife, Shelley (who just happen to be our best friends) and they look amazing, they are both artists in their own right using light and the environment with great style - can't wait to see the finished album :D

So, 2011 was the year that our two daughter's got married (the bank balance doesn't look too healthy at the moment!) next up is our son and his lovely Irish lassie, Niamh...

A few more years yet they said - they are just too busy enjoying their skiing holidays to buy a house and settle down!

I'm feeling the need to get some art journaling done - its been over a month since I did any, except for filling in the daily snippets for my 365 Calendar.... tomorrow is going to be a paint filled play day!

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

Just signing out with a few photos of end of term stuff for Andy and I.. here he is singing carols in his newly bought outfit for the Alpine Christmas do at Cranmer Hall...

... but nobody could top Russ's lederhosen outfit!

..a mulled wine toast...

... o oh... these three guys are sneaking off for a tot of the real stuff... love Mike's guilty look!

we had exercise in the form of a fantastic Ceilidh band...

Andy got straight to it :D

Next up - the one and only Dyan Reaveley at yesterday's AFTH preview day for forthcoming workshops in the New Year...

There seems to be some sort of 'coronation' going on here! Andy wore his Christmas jumper again in support of....

... Our Ben, looking magnificent in his daily Christmas jumper... Katie said "..smile Ben" ...Ben said "..this is me smiling!"

Go on line to check out the workshops - A BIG tip... if you are able, do try to come along to the preview days as there is a 10% discount for classes booked and paid for on the day! You will get to meet lovely Kate Crane and me - (I'm nice too :) plus you get first choice and you can join in the fun and activities.. and there are always fun and activities when Dy is around!

... the activities in question... taster sessions....

No preview day is complete without number 1 special lady Su (provider of refreshments extraordinaire!)

and Teresa and Amelia's fabulous cup cakes

We will be having a fun filled and VERY happy but busy holiday season this year, our daughter, Laura-Beth gets married on the 30th December and then we are going to on to Cambridge for the New Year to visit our very dear and long time friends Cliff and Jane. Then its back to Yorkshire to celebrate my parents Diamond Wedding Anniversary before coming home to Durham (for a well earned rest before the start of the new term)

So have a wonderfully happy and blessed Christmas, remember the reason for the season.

I'll see you in the New Year - ooooh, the excitement, what new adventures will it bring!

The End is Nigh.... of the year, that is!

2011-12-02T03:47:00.001-08:00

Quick post as I'm on my way up town to the Christmas market :)

November finished...

Here's how December started out,

and the detail... a little bit of masking, technique a la Dyan

Gave the trees a snowy look with my sharpie pen

Decided the page looked a bit stark so added some colour with these house stamps from Teesha Moore
End result (so far anyway - might add to it as the month goes on)

So that's it for now except to remind you of the preview day at AFTH next Saturday (1oth December) I shall be doing a one hour taster workshop, along with Kate and of course Dyan... hope to see you there!

Lumiere Durham 2011

2011-11-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

Wow oh Wow! That's all I can say about the Lumiere light festival .... yes it was busy and yes we had to be herded in crowds around the city, especially up the narrow streets to the Cathedral, but generally, folks were chatty and happy and patient and it was so worth it. The city has been buzzing with a real feel good factor over the last four days...

Go here to see some of what I've seen over the last three nights in Durham...

We had a fabulous weekend, our dear friends Dave and Jayne came to stay and they have just left so I thought I'd do a quick post - I haven't downloaded the photos from my camera yet so I hope I've got some images as good as these :)

Its the last night of the show and we have enjoyed it so much we are going to brave the crowds and go to see the Crown of Light show at the Cathedral again - spectacular - if you get chance to go when the event comes here again (as I'm sure it will!) don't miss it!

Chasing my tail!

2011-11-05T01:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe November is upon us already! Time is passing by all too quickly for me - while I was in the process of preparing November pages for my 365 journal, I flicked through earlier months - such a lot has happened this year some amazingly happy, such as the marriage of our youngest daughter :D and some desperately sad, like serious illness for family and friends :((

And I can reveal that in less than eight months we will be moving to Brighouse in West Yorkshire where Andy has been placed as Curate to St Martin's & St John's churches.

Yikes! It seems like yesterday that we moved to this lovely city of Durham and I confess to feeling more than a little sad to be leaving :(

But things are gearing up and if there is one thing I know, its that time waits for no man so my motto is "Onwards and Upwards"

I seem to have got out of the habit of blogging regularly but I do make stuff - honest - just never get round to posting what I've done! So here is a little of what I get up to in between posts....

I bought this book a year ago and love flicking through the pages.....

I thought I'd finally 'dip in' and have a go....this is my first attempt at making paper cloth, it was fun :) I shall use it to make ... something... don't know what yet but I'll let you know how it goes.

Here is the October page in my 365 journal, a challenge set up by Kate, which rolls over each year - jump in and have a go, its great fun, this is my second year and I've enjoyed looking back at my daily snippets.... quite enlightening!

And this is as far as I've got with November....

... choosing the background papers for the journal blocks...

.... and this was how I started...

I'm sure you've all read the news but I'm still giving a celebratory shout to Dyan, Ranger's new signature designer... we all know it is well deserved and now she will get to impart her wonderful quirky style further afield! Congratulations Dy!

Better late than never....

2011-10-27T00:20:00.001-07:00

Recently, I spent a fabulous weekend at my fave place to learn all things arty, with international artist Dina Wakley

And being in the company of our good old Yorkshire home grown international artist Dyan Reaveley also made the weekend for me.... fun and laughter all round!

...they are a bit of a comedy double act!

Kate, Sarah and lovely Jude...

Emma and Ali ...

That was Day one - I got so absorbed after this, the camera was forgotten. We learned how to draw birds (the easy way with the use of tracing paper!) and paint them, feathers and all ...day two was making a mini book depicting where we have come from, where we are now and where we are heading and then binding it altogether using a Coptic stitch method. (sorry, no photo's as I'd left the camera in my other handbag! Mine isn't quite finished but I may post it here when its done) But my favourite day was day three....entitled "Intuitive Art"

We had tutorials in stages.... scribble???!!!!

....brush over the scribble lines with water....

choose colour, paint in between your scribble..... don't forget the shading.... we also removed paint by rubbing with water through stencils and added texture using modelling paste pushed through stencils...

...you will end up with something like this....

Then Dina held up our work one by one and we all said what "saw" it was quite amazing really - we all "saw" different things, people, people riding a bike, fish, windows, doors....

.... so the next stage was to "force" what you saw - go over the areas you wanted to keep, making the "person" "fish" "window" or whatever it was you "saw" then block out the surrounding area with colour and paint in as desired.... here is Dina's finished interpretation of what she "saw" - herself, with a basket full of balls - and some of them were up in the air...

So here is how I started.. scribble...

Once it was painted in - no photo of that stage! and my work was held up, Bezzie Su said it was like someone was praying over me... which is quite appropriate for me, I went with that theme and I've called it "The Blessing" My soon-to-be Vicar husband is praying over me... this is my nearly finished version....

We went on to use the same process to make a book which I LOVE.... I will post that next time... don't want to overload you all :D

Great Days!

2011-09-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

I've been playing in my Teesha Moore style journal - mucho fun....

...lovin this one...

and this one is a work in progress..

We've had some great days with family and taken opportunity to make the most of this gorgeous weather - been off day tripping on the Northumberland coast. And managed to spend a couple of days with our beautiful great niece, Freya Lily.... looks like she's strangling me here! (we're in the Undercroft restaurant at Durham Cathedral)

...and she always cries when Andy picks her up...

365 Calendar

September completed... and I love how October is looking - couldn't resist giving you a preview - I love how the leaves look...

...close up...

Didn't we have a loverlee time!

2011-09-12T08:18:00.001-07:00

Just a quickie post to share the few photographs I managed to take of the Birthday weekend at AFTH...

Dyan was kept busy at her demo stand..

Fabulous cupcakes were on offer all weekend made by Teresa...

Of course Bezzie Su was there keeping everyone refreshed in between texting and facebooking and demo-ing and generally making everyone welcome...

Ben and Katie manned the till and stocked the shelves as all the goodies were snapped up....

Kate dressed for the occasion....

My class hard at work - where am I? I'm behind the camera!

Happy Birthday AFTH!

2011-09-03T01:16:00.000-07:00

Well here is my Dylusions contribution in celebration of the 10th birthday at AFTH

It's a page in my art journal....

The background paint colour is Dylusions periwinkle, the head and legs of the image are from Travelling Travis, the outfit is made up from Dyan's Downloads - body and arms and I've also accessorized with sunglasses! the 'skirt' is the top of a large toadstool from the Doolally Doris plate. The banner is stamped onto paper, coloured and (patiently) cut out and comes from the Bags of Bunting plate.

The rest is doodled and coloured by moi!

Happy Birthday AFTH - one of my most favourite places on the whole planet!

Just messin'

2011-08-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

Since Andy arrived home on Thursday, we've had visitor's and 'phone calls from family and friends wanting to know how his trip went, so another busy weekend flew by.

At this moment in time he is sleeping like a baby! I think the jet lag has finally hit him, so I took the opportunity to have a little play....

I did a resist technique with perfect medium and clear embossing powder on both tags, then let loose with paint and spray inks before stamping images and quotes, cutting out and arranging nicely...

Here's a journal page from last week....

I told you I'd started sorting out my supplies, well, I re-discovered stamps and images I've had for ages and like I said, my mission is to use them. Of course the paints and spray inks are Dylusions, the stamps are a mixture of Invoke Arts, Teesha Moore and Wendy Vecchi, the image is also Teesha Moore.

Andy is stirring now so I'm away to do a little packing ready to go back to Durham. I am taking my arty stuff so he's helping me pack the boxes - many, many, many of them!

Creating at Last!

2011-07-31T09:15:00.001-07:00

Phew, what a month I've had while Andy has been away working (and playing) in the States.

Not that I've had a great deal of time to create.... I was rather busy socialising! Friends and family thought I might be lonesome and made cunning plans to occupy me...Much as I appreciated all the visits, 'phone calls and days out, I would have liked a little me time :)

I did try to have a little art time but decided some organisation was in order first :) I started sorting out my room, well, I confess - I am using TWO rooms at the moment! (Our offspring have all flown the nest and so I kind of SPREAD!) However, that project went awry - I tried to sort and I moved things around until I couldn't find anything! Aaargh!

Anyway, this weekend was my final fling to be creative as Andy arrives home on Thursday :D

I have missed him dreadfully.

Yesterday I went to a textile class at the Craft Den, taught by this clever lady - Jo

We made a sewing roll - mine is unfinished - I just have to stitch the edges. I am very pleased with the outcome and enjoyed it very much.

sew...sew like the wind...

Yep - that's my fancy stitching round those hearts - I was dead proud that I managed to make it look this good!

And this is the front - like I said, I still have the binding edge to hand stitch...

This has all been in preparation for my next project to make a patchwork quilt.... which I will begin in a few weeks... (watch this space) I have this sentimental idea that it will become a family heirloom :)

And then today, I went to my FAVE place AFTH for the regular Art Journaling class - it was great to see Dy and hear of her escapades in Chicago and Baltimore. We all loved looking at her fabulous samples and we touched and stroked them (well I did) while she was teaching her masking technique. She set us all off using her NEW stamp sets. They are all fab but if you love art journaling and you love quirky satire, you ought to be getting yourself those quote plates! Fun fun fun!

Here are the two pages I did today...

Oh, and I couldn't resist buying this stamp set while I was there....

And finally, its that time of month again - time to show and tell our 365 Art Calendars (see Kate's blog for more info) ... I was late starting July plus with all the blogger glitches, I didn't manage to leave comments on many blogs last month, I hope to rectify that this month, I enjoy seeing the different pages that everyone comes up with :D

And, going with my mission to use more purple in my art, here is August. Once I'd done the background I felt uneasy for some reason so ended up using some Spring Fling paper for the journal blocks to add a bit of pizazz.

The images are from artchix which I've had for ages - I'm on a mission to use up the stuff that I already have instead of keep buying more - that's one useful tip I gave myself whilst I was cleaning/tidying/sorting my stash!

Canvas Panel

2011-07-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

A quickie post....

I taught a lovely class today at AFTH.... Dyan is away teaching in the States so she left the classes in the hands of myself and Kate, not forgetting lovely Pam who was teaching the kids - I assisted Pam on Tuesday as it was party day - ha - I didn't know what was letting myself in for - its a while since I did a kids party!

... I wonder if that's how Dy will look at us when she gets back? "What HAVE you been up to?" The reason I say that is because Su facebooked her during today's class telling her that we were trashing her studio!

Well, the tables did look a bit of a mess for most of the day as we were making this lovely canvas panel.... (sorry, no evidence as I forgot I had my camera until the end!)

Here are some of the ladies with their finished project... six panels (one of them was mine) only four ladies.... Clare was shopping (what else can you buy Clare!)

That's the last of my classes until September so I intend to do a little art just for me - in fact I have a day planned on Tuesday with my buddy Ann. We're going to spend the day getting inky :)

Then it will be back to the grindstone planning and preparing other projects for the preview day at AFTH and also for the other places I teach (hehehe - my job IS fun!)

On a LARGE scale!

2011-07-07T14:29:00.001-07:00

I've had a great time today at my favourite place. I got good and inky as did the other ladies on Dy's canvas workshop.... here's Mel showing just how painty and inky we all got...

We worked on a 24x24 inch canvas - very LARGE for me and I have to say I was a bit daunted by the size but eager to 'have a go' Dyan is superb... there is no better teacher in the world who can lay your fears to rest (about all things arty at least - not sure if she could chase all your boogey men away but I'm sure she'd give it a go!)

Dy took us through the process - all 37 steps - oh but they were great fun!

We gesso-ed the canvas and used torn book text, music manuscript and lacy paper doilies to add texture....

Skip a few steps... well you didn't want to see them all did you? Well you can't 'cos I was too busy actually working on the canvas to take photo's of every step!

I chose red and brown as this is going to hang in Andy's study - perfect man colours I think :D

(Plus it will go with the décor)

The others were all fabulous - I didn't get all of them 'cos they whizzed off at the end while I was still working on mine - go and check them out on Dy's blog

This one is Clare's

Dy's and Bezzie Su's....

Emma's....

And my own....

Close up of those dribbles....

...I just love them....

Dyan has slotted in an extra workshop of this canvas on July 15th .... I urge you to get yourselves booked on - it's a great class so don't miss the opportunity - it was liberating for me to work on this large scale and I'm really pleased with the result :D

Fun, fun, fun!

2011-07-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

I've enjoyed a creative day with some lovely folk today making this.....

Its still unfinished, I shall add a few dangling charms from those stick pins I think, but overall I enjoyed making it.

The other ladies had fantastic ideas for their torso... check them out

......fab aren't they!

Anyway, its July already and I haven't started on my 365 Calendar, a challenge set up by lovely Kate Crane, where a group of us keep a daily log of our goings on, create a page in our journal and share with like minded folk. Its lots of fun and great to look back on, this is my second year - although having said that, I didn't manage to blog my June pages due to all the blogger issues....in fact I spent many frustrating minutes trying to comment on other blogs until I walked away in frustration! Just had to leave it alone for a while :) Thanks for all the emails from my cyber friends saying they were having the same trouble.... I'm hoping all goes well with this post.

Here are my finished June pages....

...and here is July! Yep, not started yet... but I have finished my course now - no deadlines to meet, no reading to do, no essays to write, no observations.... Oh thank goodness! so the summer stretches before me and I intend to enjoy it.... doing things I like with people I love!

I'll be posting what I get up to and visiting you all in the hope that blogger is kinder to me than he has been for the last month or so... hehehe - notice that blogger is a HE!

Yoohooo!

2011-06-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

Well that was the month that was! I've been beavering away finishing all the last minute bits for my course and I'm soooo glad to say I'm almost there - I hand it all in on Tuesday YAY!

So, not much time for creating lately - well, I have done one or two things, which I will post over the coming week :D

But for today, I'd just like to say: who wouldn't want these DVD's by the fabulous Kate Crane?

Well I do for starters, that's why I'm entering Kate's give away!

To be in with a chance, check out Kate's blog here

Our own Royal Wedding!

2011-05-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

The day of our own 'Royal' Wedding dawned - a little windy but the sun was shining.
Some bloggy friends have asked me to share a few photographs so here they are - I was so busy socialising (I LOVE being with my family) that when I uploaded the photo's, I realised how many perfect shots I missed!

The dresses await the Bride and her bridesmaids.

Steph's hair..

I love this shot of our two girls...

Laura-Beth bought these 'I Do' blingy crystals for the bottom of Steph's shoes...

"I'm so excited Mum!" That's me in the background and yes - I had my hair straightened!

The Wedding car caused quite a stir - the races were also on in York so it was very busy and a large crowd gathered outside the church, when Andy and Steph arrived they cheered, whistled and clapped - Andy said they felt like celebrities! (Move over William and Kate!)

Jim, Laura-Beth and Charlie

Is this a proposal?
Actually, they are getting married next year :D

Mum and Dad

Andrew, Stan and Shelley

Niamh's Kurt Geiger shoes also caused a bit of a stir - not least, everyone asked how did she walk in them! (those plastic heel caps had to be worn to protect the floor of The Merchant Adventurer's - a medieval hall)

Martin and Niamh

The absolutely fantastic Ceilidh Band...

A special day was made even more special because Andy's beloved sister Marilyn was able to be there, indeed, here she is dancing!

That's me cautioning Andy not to embarrass Steph during his Father of the Bride speech! My cheeks are rosy from the wine!

Mr and Mrs Taylor!

And yet another stir was caused by the fantabulous choccywoccydoodah cake... I don't know if you've seen the tv show? Everything on the cake is edible - sculpted from chocolate! Spot those lego people on the top? It was served with coffee after the meal - I didn't even get a piece and they are away on honeymoon now so I hope its still OK to eat by the time they get back!

Late!

2011-05-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm late posting this month's offering for the 365 calendar Challenge and I did the background in March because I knew April was going to be busy.....just goes to show how good intentions go awry sometimes :)

But here it is, better late than never eh?

And this is April all filled in...we had a busy month but it was filled with my favourite pastime - spending time with family and friends :D

Right, this is an early morning post and I'm off to get ready to go to Harrogate for a play day at my favourite place with my buddy Shelley - first time we've had chance to get messy together in ages!

The Good Life

2011-05-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I taught a workshop at Art from the Heart - we made a gorgeous book with 7Gypsies paper and lots of their gorgeous metal trinkets.

We worked hard (well they did!) we laughed a lot and generally had a good time. Dyan observed me (for my teaching practice) and gave me 10 out of 10 for remembering to do risk assessments etc. hehehe - the bane of everyone's life.
One more essay and one more observation and I'll be finished...and what a celebration that will be...the course has been fraught with disaster. The first year I had a poor Tutor, really disorganised, didn't mark our essays or give proper feedback - basically, we had to muffle through ourselves, and then although we got a fantastic Tutor for the second year, sadly she died in February and I haven't been to College since then - you've heard the saying 'Physician, heal thyself'? well its been like that 'Teacher, teach thyself'!

Anyway, back to The Good Life.... Julie kindly emailed these photographs to me as my camera died :( - They seem small - don't know whether that's how I loaded them or whether it's how Julie sent them - you know Jpeg sizes and all that, but I hope you can see them anyway.

Top: - L-R Karen, Julie, June and Andrea
Bottom: L-R Jackie, Janet, Jane and Lisa

There are lots of pockets and flaps and envelopes and pullouts in this book so it was a very hands on morning - and really - you can see them all working hard - so hard that they did daft things like gluing the edges down BEFORE making the pockets... Sorry Jane - I had to spill the beans!

It made us all laugh a lot that we do some really daft things sometimes when we know we are all competent and intelligent people! What is it that makes us do that? Anyway, it was certainly an icebreaker and we all relaxed and just enjoyed playing and chatting the day away while creating a thing of beauty!

I shall be posting my 365 Calendar May pages when I get back to Yorkshire (seeing as that's where I left my journal and I need to upload photos of it!)

The Demise of the Original Frappucino (sob)

2011-04-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter at home in Yorkshire. Its been a busy time, visiting family and friends and writing essays. I haven't had much time for creating except to begin the May page in my 365 art calendar which I will show you in another post.
April 17th was Andy's 12th transplant anniversary - I cannot believe how the years are flying by... its always a thankful day for us and a day of reflection...we take off and go walking, but that was a bit difficult this year as I had sprained my ankle 3 weeks previously, so we packed a picnic and went to Rufford Country Park

Andy set up the picnic spot...

We chatted, read our books, had a lovely picnic lunch courtesy of Marks and Spencer (they have some fabulous ready made salads - I had lochmuir salmon, Andy had feta cheese and falafel) then we went for a gentle stroll around the park and up to the abbey...

The weather has been exceptional lately hasn't it, and people were out in droves... ususally we like to be alone and quiet, but this day it just felt right to be among crowds - strangely enough, we had all the 'space' we needed for our reflective moments :)

Later on, we called in to see Marilyn....

And we rounded the day off with a BBQ with our dear friends, Stan and Shelley...

The rest of our 'holiday' has been a round of visits, being visited, reading (for essay purposes!) shopping for wedding shoes (achy achy achy feet!) and Andy was a guest speaker at St Helen's Church for three nights during Easter week.

Easter day arrived and with it, my last original Coffee Light Frappucino (double blended of course) at our favourite Starbucks - Xscape, Castleford.

Now you might not think much about it, but I only drink water, hot or cold, and the Starbucks Frappucino mentioned above.... oh, and the occasional glass of wine...

So its a big deal to me... I have written and pleaded with Starbucks to bring back the original, because the NEW way of making a coffee light frappucino is nowhere near as good .... is that because its the lighter version? it actually tasted like water - when I told them this they put in two extra shots of coffee but that made it taste smoky... it wasn't nice at all!

Having said that, Joanne, one of the Barista's at the Xscape branch, spent some time yesterday, trying to make a frap that I could drink, she was so helpful because she knows that I have drunk this drink for nearly 8 years ( I am a creature of habit.... plus it tastes nice!)

I was definitely 'all frapped out' after this tasting session! (Our three children will find this hard to believe and I'm sure after they read this they will ring me with some jokey comments!)

I hope you all have had good Easter holidays and didn't eat too many eggs... of the chocolatey kind :)

It's just over three weeks till our youngest daughter's wedding so there's an atmosphere of excitement building in our house. It means I won't be in creating mode for a while longer yet, except for some much anticipated painty, inky respite at AFTH for the Dina workshops in a couple of weeks :D that will give me a whole two weeks to get my hands nice and clean for the wedding....

Woe is me!

2011-04-01T12:01:00.001-07:00

Hiya one and all... I've just arrived home in Yorkshire for an overnight stay, we've done a little visiting and we were going to go dancing tonight except that I'm on crutches! I fell in a (very big!) pot hole on Sunday and I've sprained my ankle! I have an aversion to hospitals (when I'm the patient!) so I didn't go for an xray until Monday, thankfully my ankle isn't broken but I have been given a set of crutches - "Use them," he said, "or you'll cause yourself other problems" and I believe it - I had been hobbling around and now my hips and my knees are hurting! So I'm doing as the Dr ordered and using the crutches - I feel silly and they are very cumbersome so I'm a tad grumpy!

Anyway, onto the 365 calendar challenge ..... March finished....

And April ready....

I've taken the photo's tonight so I'm sorry about the shadow... I can't do it tomorrow because we're up early and away back to Durham... on the way we shall make a pit stop in lovely Helmsley - I am going shopping for an outfit for our daughter's wedding in May. Don't know how I'll fair with the crutches but I've got to stick to the plan!

Do the eyes have it?

2011-03-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

Nobody laugh.

I love art... I love being able to mess around with paint and ink and images and all - I would love to be able to draw - but I can't. Simple truth.

But today, when I called in at AFTH to see Dyan, she just happened to be teaching a class, and they just happened to be drawing...

"Sit down, join in," said Dyan. Which I did with some trepidation... I have been admiring Chris's face drawings for a while and I thought "I've got to start somewhere..."

First we drew a face. This is mine - titled 'art by Sandra' - age 7 - because it looks like what I used to draw when I was about 7!

Dyan showed us how to draw different styles of eyes, these eyes are similar to Kelly Rae's style......well my version of them anyway!

This is Dyan's own inimitable style...

Dyan unleashed us to have a go at drawing both eyes together - which is the difficult part - see my first set crossed out? I told you not to laugh!

So because you laughed, I'm not going to show you the WHOLE faces that I drew!
(...no really...you don't want to see them!) hehehe. Now if I was talented sketcher like Jill, I might show you.

I will have another go at doing some sketching though because like I said, I would LOVE to be able to draw, and they do say practice makes perfect.

I left the ladies looking forward to moving their work onto canvas after lunch...I shall look forward to seeing how they turned out.

Now onto the art calendar challenge, here are my February pages (almost) finished...

And March (nearly) ready to go...

AND...drum roll please... I have made a start on APRIL! Yes you read that correctly...I have a busy month ahead so I thought I'd better get a head start on you all...

The picture is quite poor, but I've laid down a background of Dylusions mustard and rose, I have done a little spraying too but of course I shall add some more splodges and lovely grunginess to it ...I suppose I am being that 7 year old from above saying "ner ner ner ner ner, I'm in front of you!"

That stamp on the page is what I shall use for the days (which are also missing from the other pages)

I'll be popping by to see what everyone else has been up to with their calendar pages for this month :)

Making Memories

2011-02-24T10:42:00.001-08:00

In the midst of a busy life, we took a day off to spend some time with Andy's sister, Marilyn today.... and there is nothing more precious than simply being with those you love. We spent the whole day doing nothing in particular, just chit chatting. I rubbed cream on her sore legs, made us a light lunch and plenty of drinks, you know, just normal stuff. It was lovely - she said she felt like the Queen of Sheba....

Yesterday I was teaching a class at AFTH, we made a vintage style nature box using the gorgeous 7Gypsies Botanical range of papers...

They were a very quiet bunch ... kinda freaked me out a little, even Ben asked what I'd done.... said he'd never known a class so quiet! but they said it was because they were concentrating on enjoying themselves so I think thats OK.

We used lots of nature quotes - the title in fact is the well known classic quote from Aristotle... "In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous" which is of course so very true...

Unfortunately, as the day wore on, I forgot to take any more photo's so I don't have any of the finished projects which turned out so wonderfully.

Right, I'm going to do a little prep on the March page for my art calendar - yes, can you believe its March next week - is it only when you get to the half century mark that time rushes by faster than the speed of light.....

An award...for me? Well it is Oscar season!

2011-02-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ann very kindly passed on this blog award, thank you Ann...

What I need to do now is reveal something unusual about myself and pass it on to eight others...

Well don't get your hopes up, I'm not going to reveal too much because my grown up children read this blog and I don't want to give them any reason to think that their mother is some strange 'other' person!.... So I'm keeping it 'heroine' style...

I'm a strong swimmer, I once had to swim out to sea (off the gulf coast in Florida) to rescue our son and two friends, who had been leaning over the side of their dinghy 'snorkelling' not realising that they were drifting too far out to sea....their dinghy had caught the current and they couldn't get back to shore because they hadn't taken the oars. Once we realised the danger, I ran into the water and swam out to them, hooked the dinghy rope over my shoulder and pulled them all safely back to shore. But when we looked back out to sea, there, just about where we had been, were three dorsal finned dolphins - but to me, they looked like sharks! Someone told us that the dolphins would have sensed distress in the water and had perhaps come to help.... but when you see those fins in the water, you think SHARK don't you... My legs were like jelly - and not from the exertion!

Now you are wondering why Andy didn't do the hero bit aren't you? Well he did swim along with me for part of the way but I outstripped him - that was my son in that dinghy and there's nothing like a mother's protective instinct concerning her children!

I pass the award on to

Carmen

Rosie

Donna

Sarah

Chris

Cath

Tracey

Chris

Great project, great company!

2011-02-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

At last the day had dawned for my Christmas prezzie from my offspring... it was a wonderful day at AFTH because you know who was there teaching a fabby workshop. So have a look at these piccies for a flavour of what we got up to...

Jude was the lucky winner of the FREE golden ticket that Dyan offered and travelled from the far reaches of Scotland braving high winds and lashing rain and snow and hurricanes and....naw I'm kidding, she did have to do a bit of juggling to get childcare, but it was so worth it...and it was great to catch up with my bloggy friend.

A piccie of the kit...

That's Emma's hand holding that book clip in position... I've got to get me some of these...well I have ordered them and if you want some you'd better get 'phoning Ben up and get your name on the list...

Emma and I sat with Ali and her Mum Pat,

Those three were troublesome - it wasn't me - I was a good girl, but Tim kept his eye on our table...

...and then Dyan had to step in and get them under control... hehehe (don't you love that face)

This is my ever growing pile of inner pages for my journal...

And this is the extra surprise that Tim pulled out of his hat...er bag for us - stuff - NEW stuff from CHA - not even stocked here in the UK yet - and we got to play with it, along with the new pearl mister's the new style dabber paints and oooh lots of cool stuff - yummy!

Bits from my - what Tim called "Lose-ables" bag - made me smile every time he said "in your lose-ables bag you'll find a ...."

This is my journal coming together...

And this is mine and Emma's - we all had the same kits but got to choose different colours and how we chose to embellished the pages inside... gorgeous eh?

Course after that workshop, I had a list as long as my arm of goodies that I wanted to buy.... kraft resist paper stack, glassine, stamps, stamps, stamps, more yummy stamps, art parts, book clips etc etc etc....

Oh and Tim had a give away during the class too...six packs of his new release stamps - I didn't win but my buddy Christine did and there were five other very happy ladies who did too. Bernice also won a Tim Holtz designer hold all - apparently, a much sought after item!

Ah, look at Our Ben, uncomplainingly worked hard kerchinging that till ALL day :D

Click on this piccie for a close up of my (nearly) finished journal - I chose one of my fave quotes from Hippocrates for my title - "Life is short, ART eternal" Pretty apt don't you think?

Soul Satisfaction!

2011-02-15T12:42:00.001-08:00

It's been a tough few weeks for Andy and I and there have been a more than a few tears of sadness for us, so we took some time out and went Soul Dancing on Saturday night with friends.....

Recognise Dyan?....bet you didn't know she was a mover though did ya?

We danced a lot and it did us all good - I really can't describe how soul music gets into your heart and lifts you to places like no other music...it really did us a power of good :)

And then today, I had a 'Ladies Who Lunch' session with Ann, Pat, Jill, Margaret and Jane

I took along my Dylusions inks and stamps and we had mucho fun making a little book of friendship quotes.

Three of the ladies had the pleasure of using these fabulous inks for the first time and they were hooked from the get go! (Can't blame 'em can you?)

So I can definitely say I've had a bit of much needed 'soul satisfaction' this week
and there's more to come...I'm going to my fave place in Harrogate on Thursday for the Tim Holtz workshop AND my buddy Jude was the winner of the golden ticket that Dyan offered up for grabs, so I get to see her too!

A Painful Post!

2011-02-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happy February everyone...although its not so happy for me...we had some sad news that my sister-in-law is seriously ill and we had to travel back home to Yorkshire to see her and while we were here my back went - I am suffering from a prolapsed disc and struggling to move. So I hate to say this but I am behind with the 365 challenge already! (See Kate's blog)

Here is January filled in but I still haven't titivated it yet....

Luckily, I had painted my February page early on in January...

...so all I have to do is 'art it up' and finish the journal blocks...don't know when I'll be able to do that - I need to keep moving but its painful to move - takes my breath away sometimes! So I don't feel able to put my mind to anything :(

But let me show you these lovely pages, given to me by Donna (who received a very big Sandy hug in return!) She had this large ledger style book bought to use as a journal - she was removing some of the pages to make space and I was one of the lucky recipients (Dyan was the other)

It's a lady's newspaper, lovely and old and the images are just gorgeous!

I just love reading the snippets of news held on these pages - if it was mine, I don't think I would be able to use it... I shall scan these pages before using them -I know they won't have the texture and feel of the originals but they are so precious - a real glimpse of the days of yore!

so Donna, THANKYOU again, They are fantabulous!!!!

A big sigh!

2011-01-20T10:01:00.001-08:00

Thought I'd better do a post to show what I've been up to lately ...I've been in Yorkshire for a month but now I'm gearing up to go back to Durham and start the trekking back and forth again... a few mental adjustments will be required!

Andy went back on the 12th to finalise his work for a 90 minute seminar he has to give (today actually - I'm waiting for a 'phone call to tell me how it went) I stayed down here as my parents have been ill and Andy's Dad in hospital so I was left with 'family duties'!

Anyway, yesterday I was guest Tutor at Art from the Heart The project was 'Facebook' Everyone I know (except ME) is on Facebook, I like the title, great for a minibook full of your favourite faces!

I only took two photographs, I was too busy, er... enjoying the conversation...

Their books were gorgeous and they went home delighted that they had finished the whole book - apart from the addition of glossy accents, I love that stuff and go through bottles of it...my fingers always ache from squeezing dots on this and that...you know how it is ...well I discovered that Dyan sells little bottles - much easier on these old fingers and one (or two!) just happened to fall into my basket...see that's the trouble with working in places where you can SPEND what you earn before walking out of the door!

Last Sunday was Art Journaling at afth ... a FULL class, stuffed to the doors. Here are a couple of pages...

...both in this little journal which I bought in Whitby (the Abbey gift shop) a couple of years ago. Gorgeous isn't it? The paper is handmade and has great texture. I glue two or three together for a better surface for paints etc... Dylusions of course - I LOVE them!

And then, as I was still in Yorkshire, Ann invited me to join the 'Ladies who lunch' on Tuesday, they are a great bunch of ladies who get together regularly, have lunch, have fun and MAKE STUFF. How can a girl refuse such an offer?

They had decided to work on Tim's configuration boxes - well I just happened to have one (found it under the Christmas tree hehehe!) so off I went and I had a great day meeting new people and messing about. Mine looks like this so far, although none of my pieces are stuck down yet because I don't know if I want them where they are now - or even if I want them in there at all! Although I love the carousel and the policeman. Anyway there is lots more titivating to be done.

Right 15 minutes till Andy calls - I shall go get comfortable 'cos I'll be on the 'phone for a while... I miss him dreadfully :(

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-01T04:42:00.000-08:00

A very Happy New Year to everyone!

Can you believe 2010 has been and gone? It has certainly been a year of change for me... and I'm glad to say I kept to the 365 challenge because I've got a little snapshot of daily goings on in the life of Sandy!

Here are last year's monthly journal pages (sounds weird saying that as it was only yesterday!)

And I'm sticking to the challenge again this year, this is my January, all ready to go...

It's great fun and I'm looking forward to being inspired by everyone's art.

2010-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

I've had the day all to myself ... now there are LOTS of things to DO in the run up to Christmas, today I've cleaned the house here in Durham, a bit pointless really as we're going down to Yorkshire tomorrow for a month, so I'll have it all to do again at our house down there. But at least this house will be lovely and clean when we get back! I'm looking forward to Christmas with our family and lots of catching up with friends down there so I think it will be a busy time for us, but a welcome kind of busy if you know what I mean :)

I made some time this afternoon to play a little catch up with Dyan's advent tag challenge...

...but now I'm going to beautify myself as it's Andy's College Dinner/Dance tonight, I shan't be drinking too much 'cos I've got an early start in the morning...I'm doing a taster session at AFTH for preview day - hope to see some of you there!

Have a WONDERFUL and peaceful Christmas everybody - don't forget the reason for the season! x

HO-HO-HO!

2010-12-07T04:33:00.000-08:00

Today's tag offering...

Love his Santa legs don't you? hehehe

Here he is in all his glory - he looks like he's totally strutting his stuff doesn't he?

And so, onto some exciting news...I'm teaching some more workshops at Art from the Heart again next year and PREVIEW DAY is coming up soon...18th December. Put it in your diary and aim to be there as a fun treat to yourself in the midst of the busy Christmas season. I am going to be doing a taster session on that day along with Dyan, Kate and Marie. Dyan and Bezzi Su will also be - I want to say demo-ing - but really they will be messing around!

In my session, we shall be making a little mini book that looks something like this....

... mine is a little book of sister quotes, you can add your own favourites... they are lovely dinky little works of art - great to give as a gift.

I first made one of these back in March at a Dina Wakley workshop which she taught at Dyan's. They are simple to make but look stunning, now I'd like to pay it forward and show you how to make one of your own. Hope to see you there!

Short 'n' Sweet

2010-12-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

You will be pleased to know, this is the first tag I've managed within the 15 minute time limit.

I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it!

I had to keep it really simple though.... a DI background, cut out the image, word and quote, a torn piece of Blonde Moments Festive Feast, a border of German Scrap and that's it - done!

I'm hoping to drive North tomorrow, weather permitting (more snow forecast for the North East) so I'll have to show the tags on a less regular basis as time allows - it'll be back to the grindstone if I do manage to get there and the snowy honeymoon will be over....for commuters, perhaps that isn't a bad thing, but for my unexpected artistic interlude.... :(

Day 5

2010-12-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

Ho-Ho-Ho! That's the title for today - and rather apt I'd say, going with the quote!

I used a 7Gypsies stamp from the AVIGNON plate, a Chocolatier crest ...rather fitting I thought given my challenge pack for today! In our house, we always have a box of Hotel Chocolat choccies for our after dinner treat on Christmas Day - we don't eat the whole box you understand - but one or two, rounds the festivities off very nicely!

Wouldn't it be great if this quote were TRUE!

Snowbound and Challenged!

2010-12-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather continues to be a source of disruption for many, including me...I would very much like to be with my husband in snowbound Durham, but I am NOT going to attempt to drive up there in unsafe conditions.

The last time I remember snow like this was 1981 when our son was born, I'd almost forgotten what it was like to get this much snow. It does look pretty outside our house though...

But it does mean that I'm not going anywhere soon...the car is under a foot of snow! We do have a garage, but its a big car and won't fit in there!

So, snowbound me is finding lovely, most welcome time to keep bang up to date with Dyan's tag challenge... today's bag revealed these...

And look what I found in my paper stash Dy!

This is today's offering, after rushing and trying hard to keep in the 15 minute time limit, I thought it looked a bit flat....

...so I added a few splats of paint.

Still not sure, but at least it looks like snow!

Ta-Da...

2010-12-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm really into this tag challenge! And three posts in as many days - well, Janeyb, I suspect you will be dropping off your chair at this new regular blogging Sandy! hehehe

Day 3 - I'm a star! (Or maybe not if you read today's quote!)

To make today's tag, I used Mustard Seed, Fired Brick and Crushed Olive DI's for the background then I stamped and embossed Santa, from Tims 'Letter to Santa' plate - only you can't see him very well, but I know he's there. I smooshed a little black paint over the star (my charm for today!) I bought these a few years ago as dangly embellishments to add to wrapped Christmas presents.
Anyway, back to the tag, I wiped the paint off after a minute leaving some stuck there in the crevices to give the star a more aged look as it was a little too bright to begin with.
Next I cut out the image and words from todays lucky pick, added some legs from elsewhere, stuck them all down, inked and doodled around the edges and added my handle...

...very simple but such fun!

If you are joining in the challenge, let me know and I'll come visit.

Artistic FREEdom!

2010-12-02T01:41:00.001-08:00

First things first... now I have every intention of working on my next essay for College today...but I decided to have a little 15 minute play to make a tag for day two of Dyan's challenge (got to get my priorities right people!) 15 minutes is only 15 minutes! I don't know whether I will post them on my blog every day but my intentions are good :)

When I saw what was in the bag I'd picked for today, I decided to substitute the charm for these little bells which I got from Paperchase last year...you'll see why when you read the quote. I think I may be breaking the rules slightly - you're supposed to go with what you 'pull out of the bag' But I'm on a journey of learning to be FREE ... and I felt free enough to do this, so there you have it!

I have the idea to hang these tags on the tree (hence the 'handle') and I have a colour theme of red, green and gold so I think maybe I'm going to stick to those colours throughout...but you never know what being FREE might bring...

So here is today's offering...

I used Fired Brick and Frayed Burlap DI's for the background, stamped the fir trees from Tims Reindeer Flight plate, stamped Dyan's fir branch (Blonde Moments Just Plain Xmas plate) around the edges, splatted white paint, stamped the stitched border (Dylusions Around the Edge plate) Then I cut out and stuck Mr long Beak and the quote, threaded the bells with wire, curling it a little and attached them by poking the wire through the back and adhering it with lots of tape. Backed the tag and titled and labelled it on the back. Job done - 28 minutes - so yes - still outside the time limit - but you know what - I feel FREE!

So I hope I'm forgiven in my bid for freedom! I thought of the bells immediately when I read the quote for today - I couldn't resist and they are kind of charms aren't they?

I'm in - just....

2010-12-01T15:37:00.001-08:00

I didn't make my train back to Durham so I'm stuck here in Yorkshire under about a foot of snow. Besides that, I've been unwell today so I felt pretty miserable all round....until I read Dyan's blog this evening and decided to take up the challenge...and it has definitely cheered me up! Dyan explains it all so go here to check it out.

Now why is that charm flicked over like that...tsk...and I apologise for the shadow...its an evening shot:P

I used Barn Door, Aged Mahogany and Crushed Olive DI's for the background, stamped the wreath swirl from Tim's Spring Sprung, Dyan's tree from Bits and Bats, coloured the tree, added some snowy layers on the branches with a sharpie poster paint marker(topical don'tcha think?) stuck on Mr cynical Robin, (from Dyan's NEW Downloads) added the Christmas quote (also from the new downloads) added the charm, inked the edges with Pine Needles DI, backed the tag and added a 'handle'....

...I used the word as my title for this piece and then labelled it Jags of Christmas...yes it should say TAGS... be gentle with me, I've been unwell....

But it was mucho fun, although I confess, it took me 25 minutes! The challenge is to make a tag in 15 minutes....could you do it? This could be YOUR mission should you choose to accept it!

365 Challenge...

2010-11-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

I think two posts in two days is a first for me!

I had an appointment with my GP and a hospital appointment to attend today, but didn't I say yesterday that snow can't half scupper your plans - and you know what they say about speaking too soon...me and my big mouth... I couldn't get the car off the drive this morning and I had to ring in to cancel the appointments. Of course I took the opportunity to...... PLAY in my adopted room!

I've outgrown the little bedroom I used to work in, so when Dad gave me this larger table after we had moved half of our belongings up to Durham, (including the bed from this room) I decided to stake a claim on it! I put the table in front of the large window for lots of lovely natural light, you can see that boxes of things are starting to creep in, but for now I am walking between the two rooms to get what I need, then I take it back (or not as you can see!) I'm even using a linen basket as a side table!
It would be nice if Ann's husband Maurice took pity on me and made me a side table cum storage area like the one he made for Ann! Or if I had Shelley's THREE massive IKEA expedit storage units....In my dreams.

This is the street view now outside my door, and I feel frustrated that I haven't been able to keep my appointments - if they had been afternoon one's I would have gone, but it was really snowing at 8 o clock this morning when I had to make the decision to go or not - Andy had just 'phoned me (he's in Durham) to say it was snowing like a blizzard and lightening at the same time up there! Crazy weather.
Now I've got to wait for more appointments AND make the trip back down here to attend them. GRRRR.

Ok, moan over, I did have a happy couple of hours playing... preparing the December page for Kate's 365 Calendar Challenge

I decided a blue background would suit the chilly weather... I used the Dylusions tree stamp (above) and lovely holly images from collage anonymous (below)

I'm using old bits of 7Gypsies 'sushi' papers and also Blonde Moments 'Suet Pudding' range for the journal blocks

I used a Magenta alphabet font for the 'December' title. Nothing is stuck down yet but I'm happy with how its coming along so far....

Oh... and here is my lovely tree - complete with lights but no baubles - note to my girls...are the memories calling you? "Come home to help Mum..." (The prickly boring bit is done!) hehehe!

If I keep this up, I might see you tomorrow....

Brrrrrrr!

2010-11-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

Have you got your thermals out? I never used to feel the cold but since I was told I'm anaemic I quiver like a jelly on a plate at the slightest temperature drop... slight exaggeration but I'm sure you understand. Anyway, when the first snow fell last week I snapped this view from the window (in Durham) Although the snow is pretty, doesn't it scupper your plans!

Its a good job Mum, Dad and my sister's came to visit the previous week or my plans would certainly have been scuppered! There's a funny story to these shopmobility scooters... Mum and Dad were so worn out after I trekked them up hill and down again (and believe me, Durham has hills upon hills)

We had visited the Cathedral and Dad suddenly said "I'm not walking any further" He suffers terrible pain if he does too much walking and he knows his limits, so Andy and I had to go find them a ride - courtesy of shopmobility scooters...

You might be having a chuckle at me (or Andy) here, but if you had seen my Dad run his scooter 'aground' you would have howled! The Bailey (the street from the Cathedral down to the town centre) was being re-paved, so there were those rubber protector things laid over the jigger pick cables so people didn't trip - you may see where I'm heading here - Dad tried to drive over it and 'grounded' his scooter! He tried to go forward and then to reverse back but no... he was well and truly stuck! There were a few strange looks from passers by... Dad was concentrating hard at trying to get free and was oblivious to anyone else... I couldn't do anything for laughing!!! The workmen came to our rescue and lifted the scooter over... Dad just got back on and set off un deterred. I'm still chuckling away to myself every time I think about it!

You know I'm living two lives - one in Durham and another (tougher) one down in West Yorkshire, well I don't get too much time to get creative and play, in fact I feel like I'm only half hearted about it when I do get the chance, even though I'm longing to let go and push all the other crazy, messy, work related worries out of my mind. I sometimes make backgrounds in my journals and go back to them at another time, or add images - as in this case...

I did manage to spend a carefree day at Art from the Heart regular journalers day last Sunday. Dyan challenged us to use a background from a magazine and also to cut out random words to use as our journaling.. I enjoyed the exercise, this is my first attempt - I've done a couple of others which I may show you later...

These two were made using Dylusions paints, inks, stamps and downloads...

It was a day of fun in my busy schedule!

Now I have a confession to make...we put our Christmas tree up on Saturday (in Yorkshire)...now listen to my reasoning before you judge me! We have a BIG tree, it lives in the loft and it takes two people to get it down. We were down here for Andy's routine appointment at the transplant clinic in Leeds so we decided to take the opportunity to make a few Christmas preparations while we were both here (he won't be back until 18th December) It will save us much time as when we get back there will be a gazillion other things to do. I have put the lights on but no baubles. That's a tradition I will keep for the 14th December as I shall be home on that day - my last night at College for this year! It is our son's birthday and we made a tradition that we always put the Christmas tree up together as part of his birthday celebration - I shall be doing it alone this year - well the bauble bit, the tree is up now! Unless my girls decide to take pity on me and come home to give me a hand ... although it would probably take twice as long - they always dig through the box that holds 'everything they ever made' when they were at school - but I love those "Oh can you remember the year we made this Mum?" moments - part of what makes my Christmas magical!

And Breathe.....

2010-11-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

Oh yes people, I am feeling mighty relieved after handing in unit 005 (fifth essay of eight) for my teaching course... I'm more than half way there, on the home run, so I thought I would give myself a little treat and splash a little paint around...and I LOVE LOVE LOVE these fabulous paints by Dyan Reaveley

This is my new desk - purchased from IKEA, for the house in Durham - it has shelves above, very handy storage space, although it's casting a shadow here. Andy bought me a couple of spotlights that fasten on so it gives plenty of light for that late night journaling - although the only late night journaling I've done for the past few weeks has been on 'reflective practice and continuing personal and professional development'... such fun! My next assignment (should I choose to accept it!) is about Curriculum building - you can see I've already got a book out. More fun! (Do you detect a hint of sarcasm there?)

First I'll show you some pictures of the ladies at our regular scrapbook class at the Craft Box having their first experience of spray inking... we were making 'serendipity leaves' don't ask me how Janice managed to stay so clean

..because Karen certainly didn't!

We randomly stamped leaves and embossed them, then we collaged and stamped again, then cut out leaves using Tim's tattered leaves die...they turned out beautifully.
I'll show the pages at a later date because something is in the offing with this scrapbook page...watch this space...

On to a few journal pages - and these pictures aren't brilliant - I could do with a few lessons from Jill - go and check out her blog, not only is she an amazing artist but she takes some wonderfully creative photgraphs.

This page was a challenge that Dyan gave us at the Regular Art Journaling session - we were given a piece of wrapping paper with these fun munsters on and we could use Tim's halloween stamps... this is what I came up with... the idea came from a Jack Savoretti song Dr Frankenstein. I LOVE his 'Between the minds' CD.
You can see there is a hidden pocket - that contains my secrets - the 'monsters' in my mind!

This page was one I made the night before we moved to Durham - I was over tired and couldn't sleep, so I went into my little, soon to be vacated, room and scribbled a few thoughts.

I like to have a few pages 'ready to go' for that very reason - one night I might need to scribble some thoughts down, this is one of those 'ready to go' pages...

This one too...

The Chilean miners story was close to my heart...I added the Octopode images later.

These last two also use those kooky eyed Octopode images too...

I love being inspired by other creative, like minded people and being a blogger has certainly exposed me to lots of different arty styles, so I think I will always be that pilgrim on an art journey, experimenting with different styles and new images as the mood takes me...now THAT is what I call fun!

Things 'afoot'!

2010-11-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still finding my feet since we moved to Durham in September...I'm sure things will settle down soon - at least I hope they will - I thought I might have found a routine by now but nope - I'm still frazzled!

And our youngest daughter had an operation on her foot last Friday - the Consultant gave her photographs of the procedure... I'm not posting them here because they are a bit gruesome! She had an ankle arthroscopy - they cleared out (lots) of bone debris from an injury she had five years ago - we're hoping it will give her more movement and less pain. She is a nurse and very obviously needs to be on her feet a lot.

Steph and Alastair marry next May so we're relieved the operation is done and out of the way - you know what waiting lists are like and we didn't want her to be hobbling down the aisle! We had a lovely day together recently, shopping for her wedding dress and next Saturday we are going bridesmaid dress shopping! Fun!

Right, here is my October page for Kate's 365 Challenge...

...I had fun with Tim's tattered leaf die, I will tweak this at some point... I quite like adding to things when I look back at them.

And November is ready to go...

I decided to add this photograph of Andy outside St John's College (he is an Ordinand at Cranmer Hall) it was lying on my desk as I was wondering what I could fill the space with!

My nose is dripping and my chest feels tight - but I can feel my body valiantly fighting off this cold...so I decided I need a quiet afternoon messing about - and indeed I did - I had great fun doodling a 'barbed wire effect' around the edges of the journal blocks... mindless but satisfying!

2010-10-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello people of blogland!

Here I am blogging from County Durham at last....we have been here for a month and are now finally connected to the internet!

Alas, I cannot show my 365 calendar challenge because although I dutifully photographed my page, I have left the camera lead back in Yorkshire! I'll show October and November together. I've had fun with Tim's new leaf die.

I am still too-ing and fro-ing up and down the A1 between Durham and Yorkshire so my creating time has drastically been reduced because I have college commitments which unfortunately will not step aside! Plus I have been busy discovering the joys of this new city that I now live in... follow the link and check it out...

I have had a little fun of late though - Dyan asked me to teach at her Studio recently (yes - what an honour!) ....here is what we made...

Nice eh?

My sister is visiting us for the weekend so I'm tootling off now - just wanted to drop in and say Hi to you all!

September arrives!

2010-09-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

Well Autumn is dawning, but I hear we're going to have an 'Indian Summer' this month, with hot temperatures.

Now although my 'birthday month' is over, I received some more cards this morning from Carmen... once upon a time, I had a few curves like that burlesque lady in the glass! Somehow, the age of fifty crept up on me and stole them away! Thank you Carmen for the lovely words you wrote inside!

And how cool is this from Jude? It tells the story of our recent Dina Wakley weekend together at AFTH Jude has used the portafino joke, a quote from my blog, and the fact that I love Northern Soul - a touch of genius Jude!

I love them both! - all of these handmade cards are like treasure to me and inspirational - they will have a place in my room alongside the art journal magazines and books! That way I'll get to look at them often.

I've been very busy (socialising mostly!) this month, and although I faithfully wrote what I'd been doing each day, I didn't manage to 'embellish the August page in my art calendar (see here for the challenge that Kate set out)

It looks kind of bare here doesn't it? But I do intend putting finishing touches to it because I've so enjoyed doing this.

I used spray ink and a stencil for a quick background for September (which I did sometime in the middle of August!) but again I need to add an image or two because it looks a little bare on the right hand side. Also, I used the last piece of paper I owned from the 'Stella Ruby' range (Basic Grey) It has been my favourite out of their papers - sadly discontinued. I only had a small piece left, enough for 15 journal blocks so I lightly spritzed some cream card with walnut ink for the other 15 blocks.

I chose Autumnal colours, but as I said earlier, it looks like we're going to have an extended Summer, so I might have chosen summery colours had I known that. Never mind, the Autumn palette is my favourite so I guess I'll have fun this season, I've got October and November backgrounds to create.

Checking out until October, when I'll be blogging from a County slightly North of here!

The Carnival is over!

2010-08-31T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind month for me with lots of birthday celebrations with family and friends!

Cards kept arriving like this...

Ann made this particular card - its kind of her signature to use a childhood photo in her handmade cards - yes - that little girl is ME! I think you can tell with the eyes. I LOVE it Ann - thank you!

I was wined and dined by our friends Ellen and Tuck...

On Saturday we went to Lincoln and then Grapevine where we met up with other friends Cliff and Janice...

On Sunday, we had a birthday lunch at Ask... I wasn't expecting Laura-Beth, but Steph had arranged it all as (another!) surprise...

More surprise gifts to go with the not so surprise gifts!

When we visit Laura-Beth and Jim in Leicester, we usually pay a visit to Narborough Hall - especially at Christmas because you can buy some lovely and unusual gifts, so I was excited when Laura-Beth passed this bag over to me...

After the meal we spent the afternoon at Brodsworth Hall, there was a vintage car rally event so it was quite busy...

We had a fabulous afternoon - near perfect except that our son was unable to be with us - a day trip from Belfast was asking a bit much I think!

It was like old times, when the children were young, we used to visit this old Hall often, Laura-Beth was very impressionable and had a dream that she was one of the servants here... Steph still teases her to this day about that dream so we all trooped up to the servants' quarters to check out 'her' room...the beds are now obviously mattress-less and that was the joke - as a little girl, Laura-Beth was horrified that the servants had to sleep on a bed with bare springs! (she vehemently tells us that it was not a dream she had, but a nightmare!)

Now my birthday is one of significance as I told you, so you'd think it was me that would be nostalgic, but my girls asked if we could have a 'Saturday tea' like we did when they were children...

We are a family who eats at the dining table, but occasionally, on a Saturday, I used to make a 'high tea' and we would lay it out on the coffee table and we would all sit on the floor around the table and eat while we watched 'The New Adventures of Superman'!! Ahhh the memories.

I was feeling pretty elated by our day with the girls, but we still had Northern Soul event to attend that evening....

...and my friends had yet more surprises in store... Julie, Karen and Jackie had arranged balloons, nibbles and cake as well as flowers and gifts galore!

All this love, generosity and attention has overwhelmed me - I know its been a special birthday - I won't ever be 50 again - but I feel really blessed - there's no other word for it!

I've not shown all the photo's and gifts surrounding this birthday - it would take too long and I don't want to bore you! I'm going to be very busy starting tomorrow (when the boxes arrive) packing for our move in a few weeks, so I will be MIA for a while - I'll still visit other blogs but the only creating I will be doing myself, will be scrapbook pages for my classes.

Sister's day out - plus Mum and Dad!

2010-08-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

There are four of us Jones girls. Lynn, Diane, Me and Brenda (age order) We try to get together often, although busy lives and work sometimes prevent that. But we always make sure we celebrate our birthdays with a 'Sister's day out' around the time of our birthdays - Brenda and I share a date as her birthday is the day after mine. This year is her 30th wedding anniversary too - they married on my birthday - and they are going to Madrid for a special celebration, so we brought our outing forward.

We take gifts with us wherever we go and have 'an opening prezzies' ceremony! As you can see, we had an open air ceromony this year - on the cliff tops at Filey.
Brenda got to go first...

(I'm only showing these two so you get the picture...)

The piccies of me are on their camera's! I didn't have as many goodies to open as they decided to fund my need for art supplies so I was given cash this year, along with a lovely cup, earrings, make-up and things like that!

This year we decided to take our Mum and Dad with us as both of them have had poor health and we wanted them to see just what we get up to on our legendary Sister's Days Out! They were very excited when I picked them up, they love it when their girls are altogether - and they got us all to themselves - no husbands, no grandchildren! Just like old times.
Mum loved every moment of it and so did Dad - especially the fish and chips part!

So that was celebration number two... and its not over yet!
This will certainly be a month to remember in my art calendar - So far I have only recorded a snapshot of each day and haven't even embellished the pages yet except for the background - I'm too busy socialising! (You all know that means I'm worn out, right?)

Episode two - The Gifts!

2010-08-24T04:55:00.001-07:00

When I arrived at Art from the heart, two art journal buddies had left birthday cards for me...Sueq and bezzie Su, so that was a lovely surprise in itself besides all the trouble Ben and Katie had gone to...

...and I was more than a little overwhelmed to receive these lovely and very thoughtful gifts from ...
Ann who bought me an artists water pot, a moleskin journal AND

altered this box! It's gorgeous - I love it! inside the box were two pens for art journaling...

...a black one and a white one...plus - oddly you may think! a spaghetti measuring tool... ha .... what did she get me that for you are wondering...
Well I will be able to use this as a stencil to spray inks through for my art journaling... very thoughtful and a great idea eh?

Christine who handmade this journal for me... I absolutely love it!

She had thoughtfully tucked in some little bits and pieces that I can use to adorn the pages....

...and prepared a couple of backgrounds too!
Christine took over from Katie on the night and kept us all on track - especially when it came to stitching the lining into the purse...a tricky business! My sister Diane thought you were wonderful and calm amongst all the chaos of the 'party goings on' Christine!

Pat is another Starbucks fan and we usually meet at the Starbucks in Sainsburys if we happen to be on the same workshop at Art from the Heart An altered frame - I love it! and she also gave me this Scrapbook book(!) by Elsie Flanningan (great scrapbook style) so I'll be getting a few ideas from this!

Gill hunted down this antique cross - I just love it! As if that wasn't enough, she also gave me this note book. I do really feel overwhelmed at the thought that everyone put in to these gifts!

And Anne-Marie and Lesley bought me this lovely plant and some scrummy chocolates - I have been a good girl and not eaten one yet.... my actual birthday is 30th August so I shall indulge then...

Now, as it was a fun party, I had the idea of doing party bags (you know like children have - I'm trying to roll back the years a little!) and I thought I'd do a 'party bag' with a difference, so I made a fun pocket for each lady out of pages from a Starbucks note pad (they gave me this at our local store - ahem - I go there a lot!)
I used Dyan's downloads and heart stamps and obviously a head shot of me. Funny eh?

I loaded up a Starbucks card so the ladies could enjoy a drink on me. Everyone laughed because they know how much I enjoy a coffee light frappucino - it HAS to be double blended though! (And so far nobody has made ME one like Kristina does at our local store!)

I am really thankful for my friends. I have great friends.

Birthday Celebration number One...

2010-08-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

I'm quite liking the idea of a 'birthday month' as I've managed to do quite a bit of celebrating with friends and family!

The start of my birthday celebrations was when Laura-Beth, Jim and Charlie came for a visit. We did 'holiday' kind of things and enjoyed a few outings together - we are calling this their 'Museums Visit' as that's what we did while they were in Yorkshire!

Our first trip out was to Xscape in Castleford - although its a leisure park not a museum - Charlie loves ten pin bowling.... "I think this would be good for one you Andy" he said. "Not too heavy"

Then we had a day in York, the National Railway Museum is great (and free!)

Also in York is the famed Jorvik Viking Centre. TIP - if you go, do try to book online first - our youngest daughter has lived in York for nearly five years and every time we've visited her and browsed around lovely York (how can you NOT?) there is ALWAYS a long queue outside this place!

And we went to Caphouse Mining Museum ... Andy was a miner for many years, in fact one of the youngest Mine Managers in the UK before he had to finish on health grounds.

Charlie liked this place the best (he told us later) I wonder if its because Andy was able to tell many stories of his time down the mine - plus Laura-Beth told him how her Dad occasionally came home looking like those men in the photo above (VERY dirty!) because the pit showers were broken! (I used to groan at having to clean the bath on those occasions but the girls LOVED to see him like that and used to squeal with delight when he walked in the door! I have no idea why!)

There are interactive things for children to do as you look around the museum as well as comprehensive displays and lots of memories of the mining life. Laura-Beth took Charlie through a 'tunnel' to show him how dark it would be when we actually went underground. You need to book your trip 'down the mine' which I heartily recommend, although be warned, you have to carry a battery pack to light your miners lamp (a few pounds becomes quite heavy after a while!) and you go down in a 'pit cage' just as real miners have to. Squished in with about fifteen other folk!

They also visited The Royal Armouries museum in Leeds on the morning before they left (Andy and I were unable to go with them) So if you do come to Yorkshire, our museums have a lot to offer and they are definitely not boring!

A Birthday MONTH!

2010-08-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

Taking a leaf from Kate's book and Sarah's book, I have decided to post this story in episodes!

I recently had (one of!) my birthday celebrations at Art from the Heart. There was a sparkle missing because as many people know, Dyan has been ill and was unable to be there. However, Ben and Katie stepped up to the mark in true 'Reaveley' style! They prepared the room with birthday fayre, balloons poppers and all. Katie started us all off before having to leave and Ben was left alone to cope with all of us... it didn't faze him a jot....

We had planned to have Jude join in the celebrations (even though she lives about 300 miles away!) through skype - yes the marvel of technology eh? Jude had bought some of the canvas mats we were using when she was down in Harrogate at the Dina Wakeley weekend so she could 'join' us in making the graffiti canvas purse that Ann is showing here....

It didn't happen though because as I said Dy was absent, and she would have set up the link through her laptop .... but here are some of the birthday crowd... Shelley and Sharon....

My sister, Lynn....

My sister, Diane.... (our baby sister Brenda was missing - some of her staff were off work that day and as she's the boss she couldn't leave the office understaffed) When we are all together we are know as the Jones girls

you can spot Christine there about to impart some wisdom to our Diane...

Lesley and Anne-Marie... I have to tell all the ladies who attend my Scrapbook classes - they FINISHED their project on the night!!! They are notoriously known for chatting so much in class that they never finish anything - although I do add here that for the last few weeks Anne-Marie has made a concerted effort!

And Gill... ha ha, I HAD to post this photo - it makes me happy because photo's like these bring back to your memory the conversations that were going on at the time...
I shall just say that they were funny....

You can just see Pat there, hiding behind Gill... she managed to be hiding (from my camera at least) for most of the night!

Unfortunately, a few people were unable to make it too ...Lynn, Virginia and Janeyb.

I'm going to leave it there for now and will do a 'show and tell' post of the lovely gifts I received next time.

Intensive Art Therapy.........

2010-08-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have spent three - yes THREE blissful days at the artistic home of this lady...

That's because I've been to my fave place in Harrogate - Art From the Heart
And I created arty pieces like this...

..with other arty people like these...

...under the artistic tuition of this fantastic lady...

(another photo 'cos I LOVE her! I learned so much...) The talented Dina Wakley

The lady figure used in my work is a favourite image of Dina's and she calls her Betty - pretty apt I thought, as Harrogate is famous for Betty's.

Now there should be a photograph of the most beautiful Jude here but it seems to be missing - but this is her work... Jude and I are bloggy friends and met in person earlier this year at Dyans - it feels like we have been friends forever... and btw her husband is the BEST personal shopper in the whole wide world. Ask Anybody!

Another one of mine - Jude liked this one, she calls it my 'giraffe piece' because of the colours I think, and perhaps the markings! (I applied the paint with a credit card) Oh - can you spot Betty in there - perhaps she's visiting the zoo?

Now onto day three - Shelley was able to join me today and we had MEGA fun 'creating "painted" portraits' (We applied paint and pastels to colour a photograrph, mine was black and white, blown up and printed onto A4 card) It took a leap of artistic guts for me to do this - I was pretty nervous, (I think most of the students were) I've shown them in the order I did them... in this first one of me, my brush strokes were long, hence the effect I achieved here - I'm not saying I don't like it, in fact I'm quite pleased with it for my first attempt. Some of the others had fantastic results - Steph forgot her own photographs so she altered 'photo's of Dyan and John and wow oh wow, what an amazing job she did. (You'll have to check Dy's blog for them)

This one of Laura-Beth is better, although I still need more practice blending the tones...

And then my third attempt with a photograph of Steph, our bride to be.
It's a scary process you know, my tummy kept flipping and my mind was thinking eeeek, here's what it looks like after adding colour to the face and hair as the eyes and mouth are left till last..

I like this the best, although I still need to work on the contrast of dark and light.. but Andy Warhol watch this space!

Ah, here's Shelley playing away...

And here she is again with Jude - glamour girls together..

Dina giving instruction and advice with son, Carter (THE most amiable young man!) getting in on the act..

And here is Ann, who made me laugh the whole weekend - she brought along this netting so we could use it to make texture in our work and jokingly put it on her head (Ena Sharples style)

And perhaps the funniest thing of the whole weekend was the fact that she has renamed these wonderful pastels - they are now known as 'portafino' - and if you see Jude she will teach you how to pronounce it - true Italian style!

Well they do have a P and an O and an R and T and an F ....

It shall be quiet on this front for a couple of weeks as my arty goods are being packed away, my art room is a bedroom and we are going to be having a little visitor from Leicester who will need to occupy the space! Laura-Beth, Jim and Charlie are coming to stay. Happy times!

Bring it on!

2010-08-01T03:08:00.000-07:00

It's here! August 2010! Now August is an important month in the life of me...I am going to be having a significant birthday! I shall be fifty. Half a century old! I don't feel like fifty. (apart from a few back problems)
In my head I feel YOUNG and that's what counts isn't it?

Anyway, I'm still keeping up with Kate's art calendar challenge, I've quite enjoyed it, even though I still feel like I want to tweak some of the pages to finish them off, I have faithfully logged snapshots of each day.
I keep going back and reading what I was doing at the beginning of the year - it has been a tumultuous year for us in lots of ways. My favourite Auntie fell in the icy weather we had in January and died four months later, Andy was successful at his BAP and will begin Ordination training in Durham in September so a move is imminent for us. My Dad was (scarily) rushed into hospital, our son came for a visit from Belfast, (we only get to see him twice a year so that was precious!) our youngest daughter started a new job, our oldest daughter finishes her training contract with her law firm in September, (it's taken her seven years hard slog to become a solicitor!)and they offered her a job "we don't want to lose you" they said! (Proud Parents we are)! So, I think besides being mucho fun - this art calendar has been great for recording some of life's ups and downs on a daily basis...

Here is July...

and page two...

August ready to go. All those arrows are pointing at THE DAY of CELEBRATION in our house!

I don't mind being five O you know, I'm lucky, and I feel rich in love!

Graffiti v Elegance

2010-07-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Look at this gorgeous graffiti canvas purse I made at Art from the Heart recently....

I had so much fun with the canvas, and what do you think to this Jill I'm really proud that I mastered the sewing machine when it came to stitching the lining... pretty basic alongside your fantastic mixed media pieces of course, but I shall soon be picking up my Aunt's bequeathed machine and intend lots of 'messing around' creating more arty pieces using gorgeous material like this... (I had a bit of a dilemma when it came to choosing my lining from the lovely pieces that were on offer!)

I added an abundance of gesso circles to get that graffiti look, here's a close up...

Now that was messy play, and messy play makes lots of mess! Yes, I make lots of mess! When I'm journaling, even when I'm designing scrapbook pages for my classes... so I shall soon be having to deep clean my work area to ensure there will be no 'contamination' when it comes to making the wedding invitations for our daughter's wedding next year. On that note, we had our first wedding shopping outing earlier this week - albeit, we were only choosing card etc, to make up all the paraphernalia that will be needed on that special day, we managed to pick up a few bargains from Confetti in Leeds

I had a go at making up sample cards (which I'm not allowed to show you because they aren't being sent out until Novemberish!!)
It was really strange doing elegant as opposed to my normal grungy, messy, hand staining look. But I do love how elegantly 'classic' they look. Now all I have to do is make them all, alongside the order of services, the table names, the table seating planner, you get the picture. At least I know I have lots of creative friends if I get under pressure with time...

New Stamp = Journal Page!

2010-07-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

I teach scrapbooking at the Craft Box in Elsecar. On Friday, when I went to take the class, Lynn had just taken delivery of some Stampotique stamps.......I couldn't resist purchasing one (or two) She also has a sale of some Paperbag Studio stamps so a couple of those dropped into my basket too! And then there was the new stencils for my art journaling...
The downside of all this is that I spent more than I earned! That can't be good can it??!!

Anyway, I had a play with one of my new purchases, I altered her dress using an image from Dyan's Downloads and the borders are by Marsha of Tumblefish Studio, go here to check them out

I love this fish stamp which I bought a few years ago from Blade Rubber Stamps in London...

A close up of my new gal...

We are in the process of packing for our impending move in September but my art supplies are going to be packed LAST... I hope I can keep snatching a few moments to journal and of course I HAVE to create pages for my classes!

I'm up for this!

2010-07-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

For a chance to win some Tim Holtz blog candy go here Looks like a bag full of goodies to me!

Bliss!

2010-07-10T09:48:00.001-07:00

I'm feeling pretty peaceful today after another play date at AFTH. Lots of art journalers creating pages and chatting together and generally having a good old 'time out' from the mundane everyday stuff we all have to do. Olive even managed to put up with the Country music Dy had on today even though she didn't like it!

Today, Dy set us a challenge - we had to use some dressmaking pattern paper and a paisley swirl stencil - if we managed it, we got to take home some of the dressmaker paper...

So yes - I managed it - evidence!

Although this isn't the page I made - I loaded the 'photos in the wrong order!

This one is in my A4 journal...

Here it is - can you spot the dressmaking paper? Christine brought a bag full for Dyan- we loved it - some of the patterns had her name on - she has had them since she was a school girl - how amazing is that...just goes to show, all that stuff we all hoard does eventually come in useful for something!

I shall still add to this page but I like it already, Mrs Blackett is very bemused about her hat....

And then I just used the altered original spray inks to start this background - aren't the colours just gorgeous?

Right, I'm off to mess around a bit more...

Play Dates for Grown Ups!

2010-07-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

I've set aside some time for myself. I've written the dates in my diary (and I don't like crossing things out so it would have to be mega important for me to change these dates I can tell you!) Well the ME time is a few play dates at Art from the Heart.
I'm really loving the opportunity to get away from it all and play. I can't be interrupted by the telephone, I can't be interrupted by unexpected visits (we get a lot of those!) so while I'm at Dy's, I can allow myself to get completely absorbed in messing about...

Last week I posted a few backgrounds I'd made at the play day, today I started to build a couple of pages... I will still add to these two pages, but I like how they're coming together...
I don't know why the colour of the page below isn't showing true but I love these collage images from Dyan's downloads (see button on sidebar) and they are very appropriate for this page as we will be moving to Durham in September, so this page is all about that.

This one shows a new stencil I found - I used the altered originals spray inks to test it - pretty cool don't you think?

And this is a work in progress - I'm MAKING gifts for a few people that I know I won't see very often when we go to Durham and I love this paper from 7Gypsies....

Hope I have more pages to post real soon!

Phew! That was one HOT month!

2010-06-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but July seems to begin the countdown to Christmas for me...
The first half of the year is over and the next six months are upon us.
Here are my June and July art calendar pages... July is still in progress (I feel free to write that - see comment below!) I used Dyan's Altered Original spray inks and paints for the background which I will continue to work on throughout the month.

June came and went in a blink!

Well I thought I'd better bring this to your attention...

You are either very polite bloggers not to make reference or you didn't notice the spelling mistake about my 'pigrimage'!!! I was looking at my page after I'd posted on my blog and laughed out loud! (in my defense all I can say is that I was so involved in my desire to write neatly and make the word fit in the space I had that I made a mistake!!)
I did get a 'phone call from my mate Gill who seems to be the only other person who spotted it, she asked "What on earth is a pigrimage"!!
Anyway this is how I've had to amend it....

June has been a scorching month hasn't it? I'm not a sun worshipper at all but I have loved the sunshine - I feel as though we've had 'proper' seasons (so far!) this last year - a snowy Winter, a fresh Spring and now a hot Summer.

It's been a strange old month for me, busy on a few fronts, finalising work for College, (thanks for your words of encouragement last post) lots of hospital visits with both Mum and Dad who have had some poor health recently and are feeling weary of all the too-ing and fro-ing...

There is no stopping the onslaught of age and how it affects our loved ones and this year has been tough as we lost my Auntie to Alzheimer's just two months ago. I cannot, absolutely cannot bear the thought of losing my beloved parents. So whether it be in hospital waiting rooms or wherever, I treasure every moment I get to spend with them. Just writing that has been cathartic as I have been resentful because all my time seems to have been eaten up in hospital waiting rooms for the first half of this year - with Auntie Glad, Mum and Dad and myself. I'm looking forward to the next six months and better health for us all!

I'm also looking forward to more of this kind of therapy...

Art Journaling is one of my favourite things to do and yesterday I went for a 'messing around day at Art from the Heart and I got a whole day to play....

It was just wonderful to mess around with no pressure to complete anything...

Being in the company of other like minded people and listening to ordinary, everyday chitter chatter was just what I needed. I was telling Dyan how I flit about in my journals and so it takes me ages before I get a finished piece of work to post and she encouraged me to post 'works in progress' so here they are...

This one is waiting for spray inks...

This one for some words and more doodling...

And these, well I just don't know yet, but I love them even in this bare state. I certainly had fun with Dyan's new Altered Original spray inks...

My own set...

Dyan is really pleased with her inks...they have gone down a storm, if you love this kind of art I encourage you to get some here

Now I love the world of blogging and just to prove how friendly bloggy folk are check out this next photo...last Saturday Andy and I went to an all dayer (a Northern Soul all day dance extravaganza) in Bridlington and I was approached by this lovely lady who recognised me from my blog photograph... what a network of friends you make when you jump in (DO IT Janeyb!) This is chrisg

And as its been such a hot month, here is a photograph of Andy purchasing my favourite tipple at one of our favourite places...a coffee light frappucino - double blended of course! Try it and see what you think...

Byeeeeeee!

And she lets out a sigh of relief.....

2010-06-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

I feel starved... of creating that is! I've been slogging away on an assignment "Principles and Theories of Learning" for my teacher training course. Well I handed my whole TPP in last night so that's my first year over! After I left college, we had a drink and a treat...look away now Carmen....

I deserved it! It has been hard work...I enjoyed the learning, just struggled to convert all that knowledge into the essays. But it's done now, so today I took myself into my room and PLAYED....
A couple of months ago, I made a journal after watching a Teesha Moore You Tube video. I have also made something similar at Dyan's where I bought this gorgeous hanging adornment to embellish the journal when its finished. I haven't really attached it yet otherwise I won't be able to lay the pages flat to work on but I wanted to show it off...is it not lovely?

I used borders by Marsha at Tumblefish Studios, I followed a link from Kate and was hooked, a girl can't have too much choice you know.
Anyway, this is the title...

Andy thought it said 'A journey into the unknown, but I like the play on words here....

I added the little Stampotique guy 'cos I like the stamps, they are full of expression and you can make them 'fit' all sorts of situations...I guess Pat will approve, I think she has more than 50 of these stamps!

The colour isn't great here but I've also used a few collage images from Crowabout Studio ... you know, those weird one eyed people that kinda grow on you... I am really beginning to like 'different'. It's expression, and I want to express myself. (Although I don't think I'll be venturing into the spooky doll heads just yet Kate!)

AND, I am rather proud of this vine...I've seen other people do these after art journal workshops at Dyan's but never had a tutorial myself..can't wait to see what Dy thinks of these! Actually, I'd better not boast too much here, all I did was draw the 'vine' then I used Dyan's leaf stamp from the flower plate and coloured them in! I still I think it looks good though.

I used a couple of ART quotes for the journaling, lettering from a tutorial by yes, my buddy and mentor, Dyan

And looky here...more pages to create art on...and a whole Summer ahead of me to do it in!

I am going up to AFTH tomorrow, so I will be coming back with the new Altered Original spray inks that Dyan has just released, I can't wait to have a play with all those delicious looking colours.
I'm going to check out all the blogs I've been missing for the last month - I tell you what though, it was hard to discipline myself not to go blog hopping when I should have been researching for that assignment...are we blog addicts??!!

365 Challenge...and other interesting goings on!

2010-05-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

We paid a visit to our daughter in Leicester on Saturday...

Andy joined in a game of football tigs with Charlie, Jim and Ricky... what did Andy do but kick the ball into...well, into Charlie's very important place!!!

Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect Charlie's affection for Andy!

We went to Fosse Park to pick up a little shopping, Laura-Beth and Charlie travelled in our car, Charlie brought his CD and they sang all the way...with actions too! When he started singing, it made my heart swell - it took me back to the days when our own children used to sing at the top of their voices whenever we set off on a car journey - a truly happy sound!

I love this little man. He's decided he wants to grow his hair so I'll let you know how that turns out!

On Sunday night we went Northern Soul dancing at the Metrodome in Barnsley, met up with Dyan who got up to a few antics - not unusual eh?

One thing that amazed me was this 12 year old young dancer... I couldn't take my eyes off him all night - he had come along with his parents and he was dressed in "all the gear" If you're a Soulie and went to Wigan Casino, you'll know what I mean - baggy trousers and t-shirt. I wish you could see him dancing, it took me back 34 years - backdrops, spins and all!! Brilliant!

I just love this 'photo of Karen - Martin is looking at some old photo's of us all when we were young - I think she was laughing at what Martin looked like with hair!

Andy dancing... this is our new fitness regime - we are eating healthily and increasing our exercise in the hope that we both lose weight for our daughter's wedding next May - less than 51 weeks to go and we've set ourselves a target of losing one pound a week...watch this space!

Here is May all filled for my art calendar... at the beginning of the year, Kate set a challenge for any who wished to join in...not just an ordinary challenge .... a 365 day challenge! In the form of an art calendar. Well I love messing about with paint and I like keeping record of what I've been up to, so I was in!

and here is June, just about ready to go... nice and bright and summery...I used texture paste and a stencil to make a flowery border. I painted the flowers orange, they don't look very bright here but I'm sure you get the picture.

I shall probably faff about some more but at least I'll be able to fill in those scrumptious little journal blocks starting tomorrow!

News from Sunny Harrogate!

2010-05-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

I've just had a blisteringly hot five day break in Harrogate with Andy, he went to the Spa for a little pampering while I pampered myself at AFTH with a little art journaling along with a fantastic bunch of ladies...

We stayed at The Old Swan (a bit of luxury!) known as Agatha's retreat. Jude and hubby Paul stayed here too, so Jude and I travelled in to Dy's together, its really great to chit chat with bloggy friends.

We picked up loads of tips and ideas from Dy, had fun playing with her downloads (utterly gorgeously colourful and wacky!)

Had a tutorial on shading the balls....and we all did good...Dy said so!
They do really pop off the page don't they?

Then we picked a colour and created a page using only that colour...after I'd made the border, I used the first red image I came to and wrote a bit of drivel so I could see the impact of the completed page, I also cut out the white strip as the wording was so apt for what we were doing. I enjoyed doing this - very effective...

We made a journal out of water colour paper for another style of journaling, lots of painty, inky, watery, dribbly messy goings on here with a little Dina Wakeley influence thrown in along with Dy's inimitable style - although I applied so much water, mine fell apart! No worries, I shall cut these gorgeous pieces up and use them in something else.

And here are a couple of pages I created a while ago but haven't posted as I haven't had much blogging time. Our son came from Belfast with his girlfriend Niamh so we had a wonderful few days with them. Its a balancing act isn't it when it comes to blogging - you need time to create the art that you're going to blog, you need time to visit other blogs to say hi and leave comments appreciating THEIR art, but you also need family time too...somethings gotta give.

This first one came about because I felt I was being manipulated by someone - I know we all use manipulation to get our own way to some degree but its not a nice feeling when you recognise its happening and feel powerless to stop it.

And the second one is also a bit depressing....sorry! I needed to get this out of my system. I spilled all the private stuff out on a tag and hid it behind the doors. I liked the images I used here - well I say liked but it was a painful time, the images were fitting for the subject! Pedestals are precarious places to live and it can be dangerous/damaging to place people there. Lessons we all have to learn at some point in our life.

That's it for now folks... see ya soon!

National Scrapbook Day Celebrations

2010-05-10T23:29:00.001-07:00

As a tribute to all Scrapbookers out there, I thought I'd show you some photographs from the two classes I tutor at The Craft Box . Last week was National Scrapbook Day, so I prepared some games and challenges for the groups...

Here's Anne-Marie choosing her papers...

The ladies creating their pages

These are the pages at the end of the evening...
Angela's...she forgot to bring her photographs and 'phoned home to get hubby Kim to bring them down!

Anne-Marie's page - this class is the quietest she's EVER been - Claire if you're reading this, you'll KNOW what I mean! She worked hard tonight.

Virginia is also a bloggy friend
and she brought a mini book to show me, I'm sure she'll post it on her blog so check it out, Her pages were all painted and displayed the fabulous photo's brilliantly.

Lesley's page (Anne-Marie's partner in talking crime!) This pair are always last to finish (I love that these ladies have built up such friendships in my classes though)

Janice's page....

Jane's page... Whitby - Jane has recently had a hip replacement and proudly told me that she had managed to climb steps up to the Abbey AND TWICE up the the Whale's jawbone (both incredible feats as both features sit on top off the cliffs!)

Pat's page, this was Pat's last evening with us for a few weeks..she was like a giddy kipper because her husband arrives home this Friday. Happy reunion Pat!

Diane won two prizes during the evening by stepping up to the challenges..

And check out that Kapow on Karen's page...

A lovely bunch of ladies..

Lynn picked the winning page and Janice received a voucher to spend in the shop

That was my Monday class, here are the Friday class shannanigans!

Deborah and Mum Irene look quite co-ordinated don't you think...

Pages were coming along nicely so I thought I'd nip out to the loo... "carry on ladies, no slacking" I said..

I had such a laugh when I was uploading the photos from my camera - Julie had obviously taken this while I was gone - an unruly lot but I love 'em!

Christine's page

Cynthia's page

Helen's page

Deborah's page

Irene's page...Julie almost chose this one as the winner...just so you know how close you were Irene!

Elizabeth's page. Elizabeth joined the class today and boy was she thrown in at the deep end but she coped really well and won a prize for the best tag challenge.

Christine's page

Karen's page...don't you just love that heart frame?

Another lovely bunch of ladies..

Julie chose the winner... Christine, she also received a voucher to spend in the shop

I've been teaching at The Craft Box for five years and the classes have become a community in themsleves. It's a privilege for me to pass on something I love doing to others. In recent years I have taught classes for Age Concern and other Community groups, helping people to preserve their precious memories for future generations. Just love it!

My Party Bag is THE best!

2010-05-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

I had the most fun afternoon today...I went to The Mad Hatter's Tea Party at AFTH.
Yes I made a hat but I haven't got a photo of it - duh! You'll have to visit Dy's blog to see it - she took photo's of everyone's hat. (My hat was made from Starbucks plastic cups - very fitting for me as I love Coffee Light Frappucino - double blended of course!) They all laughed at me trying to keep the hat on my head - it was so tall I had to duck to pass through the doors!

Here's Dyan dressed up in her Mad Hatter regalia....

The sunlight streaming through the windows is causing the brightness.
Jay was dressed as White Rabbit - Emmy had de-robed by the time I arrived, I forgot to ask who she was dressed as. I went to see what everyone was up to in the studio - Katie was dressed as Alice and I tell you, the costume suited her perfectly - I didn't take photos as I know Dy will be posting them on her blog. Marie, Kirsty, Sue and Katie were busy demo-ing lots of goodies.

Anyway, I came home with a 'party bag' of the bestest kind...full of things to help my creativity of course! A few Tim Holtz idealogy goodies, some Ranger colour washes and a stencil for my art journaling, my first Stampotique stamp - three to be exact! six new distress inks - well there was an offer on if you bought six! are you getting the drift? This girl can't pass up a bargain! Well you can see the other bits and bobs... I also took part in a make and take and had a lovely chat with Sue (of Dy's bezzie Sue fame) you can see the tag I made right at the front of the photo, I chose the letter K 'cos the Stampotique characters are a bit Kooky don'tcha think?

While I was there, Kate arrived and I got to see her art journal in RL - Fantabulous - I had a little stroke!

If you go tomorrow, wear a Mad Hat - you get 10% off all your purchases - I made a killing!

Better late than Never!

2010-05-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a bit of a birthday lunch for Uncle Frank's 85th birthday...his first birthday without Auntie Glad. It was just us, being quiet...it wasn't sombre by any means, we just allowed him to 'be'. We chatted a little about the funeral arrangements, ate lunch, put the TV on for a while so he could watch some snooker...just ordinary everyday stuff, because life goes on. He put on his Sunday best, he looks quite dapper don't you think?

When Andy took him home, I thought I'd try to get my art calendar up to date...

I've still got a little work to do, but here are the pages so far. I used an image from a magazine ( see next photo) The lady looks like she has a lot going off in her head (kinda like me at the moment!) I can't believe how much I messed about trying to mirror the colours and the 'eye' doodley bits in her hair in the MAY title! I had to call it a day and couldn't bear the thought of all that wasted time so I used it anyway!

I decided I liked the tag size I used in my April pages as it gave a little more room to write (just realised I haven't photographed finished April - that will have to be next post seeing as I'm half way through this now!)

See those gritted teeth? That's what I feel like just now!
Sometimes you just have to hole up and wait for better days ahead.

Happy Times, Sad Times

2010-04-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

First I'd like to give a sincere thank you to everyone for your lovely comments and good wishes in my last post.

I've been missing in action because Auntie Gladwyn has died. It doesn't matter how much you are expecting death, it is still a shock. So I am having a little bloggy break while the family gathers in mourning.

I will leave you with some of my recent happy times though, (as you know our youngest daughter gets married next year and things are hotting up) Andy and I accompanied Steph and Alastair to not one, not two, but THREE! wedding Fayre's in York last Sunday.

The wedding reception will be at The Merchant Adventurers Hall in York...

It's fantastic inside...a real medieval treat...except for the loos which I am delighted to say are totally modern!

York is renowned for its quaint alley ways and short cuts...its just that Alastair is too tall for some of them! I had to take a snap here because he was carrying Steph's bag too and there was no mistaking it for a man bag!

Bye for now, I shall be back when I'm ready.

Reflection is good for the Soul

2010-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I woke at 5:45 am. The sun was casting its light onto the landing as it was streaming in through the window of the spare bedroom. I got up and went to lay on the bed in there, thinking that at exactly this time 11 years ago, Andy was putting his wedding ring onto my finger and saying "I want you to put this back on my finger when I come round"
Some who read my blog know our story, but for those who don't....this thought is significant in our lives because 11 years ago, (April 17 1999) after a frightening year of medical tests (and errors) Andy had a liver transplant at the age of 36. He almost died.
We always spend the day together, never letting anything get in the way of it, we are thankful that he is alive and that he has had the chance to see our children grow up, we remember Sarah's family who bravely donated her organs to save the lives of others...and best of all, we are now planning a future. When he had the transplant, they told us it could prolong his life for 5 - 7 years...thats scary, its not long enough (we thought at the time) but we chose life. And we have lived our lives with that always hanging over us...now, 11 years in and with excellent results at his last 6 monthly checkup, we are beginning to build a future and to believe that he will be around for many years to come.
So the day dawned bright and sunny and we were going to Whitby for our transplant anniversary this year (the ritual we have made for this day is that we go into the North Yorkshire Moors or the Dales as they hold the happiest family memories for us and because our children - who are all grown and left home - are wrapped in those memories, its almost like they are with us on this day too.

We had a quiet journey up, talking about where we are now compared to where we were then.... its a good exercise to perform on an annual basis, because you get to see where you've come from, life isn't passing you by in a blur.
When we got to Whitby, it was of course crowded - the sun brings everyone out - and rightly so - life is too short not to enjoy as we are very keenly aware of! We browsed in one or two shops as we made our way up to the Abbey.

(Stopped on the way for a photo shoot - this ones for you Dave and Jayne)

Climbed the 199 steps to the Abbey

The ruins are spectacular on the cliff top and we strolled around marvelling at the architecture as we do on every visit - is it just me or does anyone else think that some buildings these days leave a lot to be desired...you'd think that with all the tools and machinery we have to hand in our modern world, we (I say we but I mean they!!) could design great buildings to uplift the soul - like this must have been in its day.

This celtic cross is actually in the graveyard of St Marys Church, which is at the top of the 199 steps - can you imagine how healthy I would be If I worshipped at that Church? Or I could just drive the car around the road system!

but see what I mean about the detail..

and this.... now I was thinking this would make a lovely stamp....

I had a few happy thoughts as we stopped at this tomb...our three children used to lay in this when they were young. (I remember groaning at the time because their clothes invariably got dirty!

And they played hide and seek, Steph once hid in this niche and it took ages for Martin and Laura-Beth to find her. Of course, being the child she was, she tried it on subsequent visits and couldn't understand why they always KNEW where she was!

And so onto the photo I take every year... the one where Andy holds up his fingers to say how old he is (in transplant years) BUT this year (and I'm happy crying here!) he doesn't have enough fingers...the toes have to come out!

And so, back to St Mary's Church, we lit a candle and prayed to thank 'The Ancient of Days' who knew this day would dawn for us at the beginning of time.
We will all die one day, I know that, but its how we spend our days that count.

We'll spend the rest of ours being thankful for the precious time we got to have with each other.

And a big PS...I bought myself a new journal while we were there... its dinky, yummily leatherbound and the pages are handmade paper....

Arting around feels good!

2010-04-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here are a few art journal pages I've been working on during the night when I can't sleep...its really helped me to wind down from the pressures of the day. Once I've done that, I go to bed and listen to my ipod - usually Andrea Bocelli - last years birthday gift from a friend - yes Gill I DO listen to it and I like it very muchly thank you, in fact I'm listening to it now as I write this!

Andy loved this one - he's my honest critic and I value his opinion of my work.
*note to my daughters - I luurve you...hope this makes you laugh!!

I was feeling pretty poopy this day, I think the murky background colour shows it!

This was done after the one above but I thought I'd brighten it up a little more... don't want to feel morose when I look back at these pages! I used pastels to make the border.

And this image was from a Sunday supplement. I liked....well, more like I was drawn to the pink hair! I did this last night and haven't journal ed yet as the thoughts are still chunkling around inside my head.

I can see these pages have a theme in that Ive 'framed' them all, i.e. given them all a border which I quite like.

Feet eating fish!!!!

2010-04-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly FEET EATING fish....but ugggh! I don't like my feet being touched so when Laura-Beth said she wanted to try a 'Appy Feet' experience at Meadowhall for her birthday, it was always going to be a NO-NO for me!

Our eldest daughter is now 25! She lives in Leicester, so she and Jim arrived the night before her birthday as we had arranged the Meadowhall trip for her actual birthday (23 March) Her Dad and I took her a champagne breakfast in bed...."well" she said, "I am a quarter of a century old, so it should be celebrated in style"

After breakfast (and a whole bottle of champagne between LB and I!) we visited my parents. Traditionally, Mum and Dad always 'phone up their four daughters (my sisters and I!) and their seven grandchildren at every birthday and sing "Happy Birthday to you!" well Laura-Beth turned up on the doorstep for a special in person rendition! (Of course the doting Grandparents were delighted!)

So, onto Meadowhall.... when we actually arrived and saw the fish swimming around in the tanks, Laura-Beth tried to wriggle out of it! "I'll do it if you do it Mum" she said.... Er, NO darling - you know I don't like my feet being touched!
Jim spoke masterfully - "We are doing this" he said "We haven't come all the way from Leicester for nothing!"

While they filled in their forms, I was peering into the tanks and couldn't shake the thought of piranhas from my mind! BTW - the fish are carp not piranha’s and if you want to try it - please don't let my bias put you off!

Andy, Jim and Laura-Beth gingerly lowered their feet into the tanks and let out ... well sort of sighing, aaahhhing sounds as the fish swarmed all over their feet!

At first, all of them were unsure about what they felt...but as people were passing by the shop window, they came in to talk to them all, asking what it felt like. I think it helped them to calm down and actually, describing their experience, helped them to decide (almost on the spot!) that they DID like it...they said it felt kind of 'feathery' (if that makes sense!)

The fish come from Turkey and are said to be good for people with psoriasis...they eat dry skin.
I suppose it IS a good thing if you could bear to be immersed in a tank with those little fish swarming all over you!
Personally, I'll pass thank you, I'm a bit too squeamish!

PS.
The champagne breakfast was lovely, but it took it's toll - champagne + trundling around vast shopping mall = headache!
Fortunately, a couple of paracetamol came to the rescue. For both of us!

Now, what shall we do for my birthday later this year - I shall be half a century old!

april art calendar

2010-03-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well - how do you like that! Been gnashing my teeth all day trying to work out this frustrating business with the photo's - I shouted at the computer, blamed blogger, blamed the camera (my new one is in Leicester - don't ask - but I'll just add here, it was Andy's fault!)

Anyway, he's been out all day, when he got in I told him I hadn't been able to blog my pages and it was the camera's fault! He walked into my room, clicked a few buttons and ta-da....there they were!

Anyway, the photo's still aren't great but at least the piccies are here. (I'm just posting two because they're not great)

The background is quite dark so I added a few splodges of white paint (Dina Wakely tip)

I made tags for the journal blocks and stapled on some sari ribbon - I like that shabby look with all the loose fibres.

I'll do some more work on it but it's ready for me to start writing tomorrow....

April is a special month for us as it's andy's 11th transplant anniversary on the
17th. We will be going off alone for a time of reflection as we do every year.
When he first had the transplant back in 1999, we were told a transplant can prolong your life between 5 and 7 years....here he is 11 years later and his liver results are excellent! We feel very blessed and thankful to God, hence the celtic cross to denote our faith.

Aaaargggh!

2010-03-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

I have just wasted I don't know how long messing about trying to get pictures uploaded to my blog and all I'm getting is a load of jumbled writing!

I did try to post something last week but the same happened and I thought it was something I'd done but didn't have time to go through it to see what was wrong.

As soon as I get this problem sorted I'll show you the finished March page in my art calendar for Kate's 365 challenge and the April pages ready to go.

Just thought I'd let you know I'm still here when you pop by!

The Age of the Storyteller

2010-03-22T02:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, another sleepless night. Another journal page. Its weird though, I still get up at the same time!
I think I need to tweak this a little but I enjoyed putting these thoughts to paper. Nothing deep, just observations, but they've been chunkling around in my head forever, now they are committed to painty paper!

I had cut the image out at some point and saved it in my saving drawer (which is FULL by the way!) As I was rifling through it last night, there was the puppet master peeking at me through the curtains, saying "choose me". So I did because I knew they fitted my thoughts perfectly!

Lastly, I'm sure THIS will brighten your day, it certainly brightened mine when I received it in an email from a friend.

Sanity for the soul!

2010-03-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Another sleepless night nudged me into a bit of art journaling. I did wrestle with the idea though, because I thought if I got the paints out, it wouldn't be a 'quick' play, like my last page (which was a doodle page where I added bits each evening and could play as long or as little as I wanted)

So this is what my overloaded mind led me to create last night while you were sleeping!

How goes it with you?

2010-03-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a few pictures of some of the things I've been up to this last week.

Check out this piccie of my ancestors! I'm not only pleased that I have this fab photo, I'm fascinated by their footwear... I used to own a pair of those pointy almost ballet like shoes in my youth when I trekked all over the country to Northern soul events! (I got them from a charity shop and they were in good 'nick' - also, they were great to dance in!)

I used the photograph on a vintage layout at the scrapclass I teach at the Craft Box at Elsecar Heritage Centre - subject "Ancestors" We had a great time talking about our heritage and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the class (and I'm proud of you Helen, you jumped in with both feet and scrunched that paper up even though you prefer 'neat'!)

We made tags using transfer images - this was the quietest part of the class - in fact it freaked me a little because everyone was SILENT! (would have been a different tale if Janet's sister, Ann had been there....)

This is Karen's creation. Everyone loved the technique, (the proof was in the silence!) so I'm sure it will be used again in the near future!

Look at this - everyone on task - they might talk a lot but they get on with their work too!

I really enjoy the classes, I've been teaching there for over five years now and some of the students have been with me nearly all of that time... it's a community in itself.

Most Thursdays Andy and I visit our friends Stan and Shelley. Stan is a photographer so he's usually behind the camera... on this particular day, I had my camera on me, so I snapped a photograph of him...

....and Shelley, who was in her PJ's and makeup-less!

On Saturday, Laura-Beth and her fiance (ooh I love saying that!) came for a 'day before Mother's Day' visit. We went for a walk as the day was sunny and crisp - my kind of walking weather!

Jim playing the joker!

I've also spent many hours this week taxi-ing our youngest daughter, Steph, and Uncle Frank around to various appointments - I felt like a prisoner in the car! Its quite alarming how much traffic there is on the roads these days.

Its been a sad week because Uncle Frank has come to the realisation that he won't be able to manage Auntie Glad coming home after all, even with support, so we've had to deal with the emotion of all that and look for a residential care home near to where he lives. There are still issues to deal with and lots of tears for us all. But for now, I feel relief. Does that sound strange? or cruel?

I've managed a page in my A5 art journal. Its a doodley page - because of the kind of week I've had I suppose... the doodling was therapeutic - I did a little work on the page every evening and it soothed me.

The Beatles image has got nothing to do with anything, I just liked it.

Withdrawal Symptoms

2010-03-10T06:02:00.001-08:00

Well I can hardly believe where the time has gone. Since my fantastic two days at AFTH with Dina Wakley, I haven't had time to do anything big along those arty lines! (moan)
I've been busy catching up on college work and running too and fro to meetings with Social Services, Mental Health, Doctor's and Care Workers about my Auntie Gladwin. Uncle Frank desperately wants her to come home, so we are working hard to put a care package in place to make that happen.
I took my Mum and Dad to visit at the weekend, its Dad's sister and they look very alike...once, my Dad put on a wig and my sister thought it was Auntie Glad! (she was only little at the time!)

Uncle Frank and Auntie Glad have married for 62 years so you can understand why he doesn't want to be parted from her.... its so sad because I don't know if he will manage to look after her 24 hours a day, even with a care package and me and my sisters not too far away. They are both 84.

The only thing I have managed to create, besides keeping up with Kate's 365 challenge ( yes, Kate, I'm hanging in there - its my 5 minutes peace every day!!) is this for Lynn's birthday - its a voucher for a meal at 'The Walled Garden' at Wentworth Garden Centre.

I like the look of the 'voucher' very much, two of the images are from a collage sheet from artchix, the one in front (yes, I know - they match perfectly!) is from the new Graphic 45 'On the Boardwalk' collection (bathing beauties) The background looked quite good before I covered most of it up!
I love to make these vouchers for friends so they've got something to look at and hold (and I know Lynn will stroke this!) - its much nicer way of saying "I'm taking you out for a meal for your birthday"! Also, Lynn will love this because she loves to escape to Wentworth....she'll just have me for company on that particular day!

The new restaurant is open at the garden centre and it's called 'The Walled Garden', I was captivated by the name because I am following Jill's story about a place she loves and visits often also called 'The Walled Garden' but this is actually a place undergoing renovation. Jill takes fabulous photographs and is telling the story each visit by making a journal incorporating her photo's. I love it. It's inspiring. Go check it out.

Two days of Arting plus Photographic Evidence..

2010-03-03T23:56:00.000-08:00

Dina Wakley taught a two day workshop at AFTH this week and I was one of the very happy bunny's who managed to book a place!

(The beautiful smiley girl on Dina's left - which is your right as you look at the photo! - is Mell, who lives just down the road from me in Doncaster)

Look who got to play!!!

Even Dina got to play....well actually, I suppose this is work as she was giving us tips on how to make our journal pages look good! (How lucky is she to have a job that is this much fun!)

Surprise of surprises, my old mate JaneyB was booked on the workshop too, which I didn't know until I arrived, so we sat together and had loads of catching up to do. (At this point I would like to say that we are NOT the people who laughed and caused the ruckus that Dy mentions on her blog!!! - well OK, we were PART of the group of people who laughed and caused a ruckus!)

See below for another member of the rowdy group...yes...it is Sue Roddis (sorry Sue, I only got this photo of you and your eyes are closed!)
The hilarity came because Beatrice had been sat with Sue and Sarah for the whole 2 days and it was only when Dy's delivery of the Craft Stamper mag arrived and she was checking out Sue's latest article that Beatrice screamed "Are you Sue Roddis? Oh I LOVE your blog!!!" We all dissolved into laughter and made fake bowing motions to Sue, who had to deal with all the unwanted attention! (She told us off!)

And look, Dy is still managing to play a bit, even though she had to keep jumping up to do this and that... you know like helping Emmi to make lunch and sort out delivery mistakes and such...

Anyway, here are my pages... Dina helped us to get our "toolbox" together - all the techniques to help us create layered and textured pages. One thing she said that struck me (and she got this from a Lynn Perrella workshop) "You can't get the layers if you don't put in the work!"
So ..... there you have it.... art is work..... So whilst I was having the MOST enjoyable two days...I WAS WORKING!!!

I loved adding the white to the page....Dina is big on white space on a page...in fact I took a piccie of Sarah, Sue, Milliande and me 'worshipping the white space' in Dina's gorgeously gorgeous journal.....which was really us just being daft but I forgot to load it in this post!

Works in progress....

I had a bit of a 'Charlie's Angels' theme going on here .... stage one

....stage two.... I manged to have a bit of a mentoring session here with Dy 'cos I wasn't quite satisfied with it, so we discussed my options... this may become a tryptich in the near future so watch out for it!

See, I put in the work... check out those textured layers!

And here's my other 'Charlie's Angel' piece. Looking at it now the image should have been offset to one side, but hey, I'm still that pilgrim on an art journey and learning all the time!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dina, I had a fabulous time!

P.S.

Check out the white space in the top LH corner - I am a good student!

Update!

2010-02-27T07:59:00.001-08:00

Mmm, this looks a bit pale here compared to real life... it is the March page in my art calendar journal. Go here to find out more. I have gone for lighter colours but the creaminess of them is definitely missing here... need more photography 'know how' me thinks!

I thought I'd go lighter because spring is in the air and also because I wanted a change from the deeper colours I'd used for February (below). I love being able to make choices to suit my whims!

I've also been messing around preparing pages in my A5 art journal, I've done so much running around to hospitals lately and have had to sit twiddling my thumbs in waiting rooms frustrated at not having control of MY own time, thinking about all the things I need to be doing... So I thought if I took along my journal to work in, I might feel less frustrated and definitely calmer!
(if Dyan can do it why can't I!)

So I shall add some background stamping and an image, then I'll be good to go....just take my pens with me and doodle away to my hearts content!

Blog Awards....

2010-02-24T23:29:00.001-08:00

Recently I was nominated for this "beautiful heart" award by Virginia. I have to confess that I don't like being in the limelight and struggle to accept compliments....I know that's daft...we all like to feel appreciated and I'm not saying I don't... (truth be told I probably need to be told more than you!) It's just that I feel kinda self-conscious about it. Why? Well I think there's a journal page in that! Any interpretations?????

Anyway, I thought I'd quietly accept it and forget about it, but then she went and awarded me another...... so Ginnie, I want to honour that and I'm being brave and posting them.... I accept both graciously.

You have to pass it on and name five others for the awards so I'm nominating:

I NEED those new distress inks!

2010-02-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie post...I was just having a little blog before I went to bed and came across this giveaway on Janet's blog... opportunity to WIN all 12 of the new distress inks or re-inkers!

I'll have a go at that! Check it out here .