Try not to cry!

I keep forgetting to add this You Tube clip, I came across it on someone else's blog (sorry, I can't remember whose)

It is such a powerful reminder of God's love in the most dire circumstances and I thought Id share it with you....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxa70NF_fPs&feature=related

Sister's Day Out!

Every year for our birthdays, my sister's and I make sure we have some quality time together, just us four (although one year we did let our Mum come!) Brenda's birthday is the day after mine so we share the day and take it in turns to choose.. The sister whose birthday it is gets to choose where we go, this year was Brenda's turn. The sun shone for the Jones girls (no relation to Indiana) as we set off bright and early to Biscester Outlet Village. A two and half hour drive later courtesy Sandy Schumaker (just kidding!) we arrived. The village itself is lovely, had a kind of New England feel with painted clapboard buildings. Lots of designer gear at (supposedly) knock down prices. Well we set to and trundled in and out of every shop.... stopping only for a gorgeous Italian icecream ... just to cool down you understand... it was hot!

After our shopping experience at the Outlet Village we headed off into nearby Oxford for a little more retail therapy...My sisters bought me these gorgeous shoes for my birthday....I could pretend that I bought them from the Jimmy Choo boutique or LK Bennet's, but I didn't- they're from Schuh, which is fine really - I don't need designer gear, just have to like what I'm buying ...

Our Diane thought they were good enough to eat!

Seriously though, Oxford is beautiful and Diane pointed out Trinity College where my nephew (her son) studied for 3 years and his "quarters" during his first year... the architecture is amazing!

Apparently, this is the most photographed building in Oxford..... (I overheard a guide telling some people on a walking tour as I was taking this shot!)

Mr.... er ... don't know.... but he must be important to have his head adorning this building!

A bit of latin....not that any of us understood what it said but we thought we'd get a shot to show that we are women who appreciate culture.....because we do!

After trundling round this very beautiful place, we went for a meal at Michaels Kitchen, the restaurant was in this gorgeous building.....Brenda and I held back here because we're the babies and they are the oldies in our sistership!

The meal was gorgeous, we decided on a 2 course meal (watching the waistline!) my choice was goats cheese gallette starter and red snapper with pesto mash and lavendar carrots for my main meal...... oh my! The chef must have known it was our birthdays because he sent out complimentary pumpkin cappucino before our starter (a pre starter, starter???) and then after our proper starter, he sent out four tiny dishes of bananna semifreddo with the smallest mother of pearl spoons, to cleanse our palette before the main meal. Just perfect.

I shall be 50 next year.... its my choice of where we go, I wonder if I could get away with choosing a weekend in Paris or Rome or something like that ....

Ah Yes!

We spent a day at Filey this weekend with our daughter, her partner and his son...it's years since Andy and I went rock pooling with our own kids on Filey brigg, so it was a real treat to take Charlie and it made Laura-Beth happy too as it brought back loads of memories. We had parked on the cliff top so we clambered - yes I say clambered! down the cliff to the brigg (NOT advisable!!) and we had a brisk walk back along the beach to beat the rapidly incoming tide!

Charlie loved crabbing and we saw a seal right at the end of the brigg....

Steph and Al joined us and she brought my birthday present.... a melt pot!

It was Tuesday before I could have a quick play... and it was quick! just enough time to melt some beeswax and make this card for a friend....

Andy is away this weekend so guess what I'll be doing......

Eclectic Post!

I thought I'd better catch up with this space! We've had a busy 2 weeks. We've got 6 birthdays next week so today I've made a start on some homemade cards.... Alcohol inks and thistles for Al

Girls just wanna have fun - for Niamh...she so appreciates all my arty stuff so she'll love this..




And for my baby sister - a "you & me an' stuff" card....there's a story behind this, She likes to tell the tale and is always adding "an' stuff" on the end of her sentences... you know blah blah blah... "an' stuff"! It makes me laugh so I thought she'd appreciate the sentiment.





Our youngest daughter graduated from York University in July, so I took the opportunity to scrap the photos while I was preparing a few pages for my scrapbook classes at Elsecar




And a page of me singing at Sun Studios in Memphis - famed for the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins (don't worry the mic wasn't switched on!)

But I really did sing here....Drax Northern Soul Night... these two lads (...em.. 50 year old men!!) in the foreground are our mates from the 70's when we used to dance all night. I haven't got the stamina now. but they obviously have!

Some friends came for a visit from Nottingham, we haven't seen them for 10 years so we had a lovely meal together and lots of catching up to do

Another card, this is for a friend (Jane above - next to Andy on the right) who loves gardening - appropriate eh?

And I'm reading Malcom Gladwells new book 'Outliers' This guy has some seriously good insights into postmodern world thinking. Very enlightening.

We have a wedding at Church tomorrow and I've still got their card to make...better get to it!

Metal Work

This project was in the August Craft Stamper mag, inspired by Linda Brown using the Ten Second Studio metal. I was up at The Craft Box busy preparing scrapbook pages for my classes when Lynn, showed me the article. She had just stocked up on all the TSS materials so we decided to have a play with them..... It was so therapeutic and indeed we were busy for a few hours - poor hubby at home wondered what was taking me so long! Working with the paper stump to stretch the metal and define the images was my favourite bit....i think....or it could have been splashing the alcohol inks on and seeing them run into the patterns I had just made using those gorgeous moulds, or scuffing the black metal and seeing the silver gleam through...or.... well I just loved it all!
So now I shall be having a go at creating something of my own - though I'm sure I shall end up having to make another of these mirrors (purchased from IKEA) as I have two daughters - can't have them squabbling over this one can I? Somehow I don't think my son would appreciate his morning shave using this baby - though his girlfriend Niamh would totally love it....so that makes it two I have to make!
I only got one photo because the batteries need charging and the camera switched itself off, so it doesn't do the actual thing justice, get the magazine and check it out. Fab. Thanks Linda!

Beeswax

I've spent a fab couple of days at Art from the Heart this week with my buddy Shelley. On Sunday we made a Quotes mini book....

And today we played with the melt pot and produced a set of beeswax cards using images from Lisa's Altered Art and Tim Holtz stamps. Mine are a work in progress....

This is similar to one of the first workshops Shelley and I ever attended at Dy's, (an updated version!) we worked it out that it was 5 years ago! For me, it shows that the best techniques stand the test of time, what goes round comes round! Beeswax is here to stay

In the afternoon Dyan produced a mini canvas in 7 minutes flat - paint, images cut out, beeswax the lot! That was a demo and a half! She told us we'd all gone quiet because of the calming smell of the beeswax but really we were concentrating on trying to remember what she'd just shown us! Here's my version....

I also made a couple of ATC's for a swap but I posted them before taking a photo! Now I shall be looking to add beeswax to everything I make.... I really do love that opaque look it gives to your art.

A Woman of Substance...

I've been working hard doing a teaching course at college so I haven't had much time to create for a while. The course ends next week so assignments are handed in and I've had time for a little therapy. Here's the first look at a project workshop coming shortly up at the craft box. The title says it all!

What do you think? Those who are old enough will remember Barbara Taylor Bradford's book which inspired the title! Earlier this year, I made a mini book using this same title for Lynn's birthday and she loves it so much she sits and strokes it!

That was made using paints and ink, this is made using the gorgeous Black Society papers.