Insert Creativity Here

The Punisher hot chilli oil

2012-02-21T10:00:00.001Z

Aka Mama Williams' "The Punisher" chilli oil.

To make your own first start by collecting very hot things. Think fresh chillis, dried chillis, chopped and bruised chillies, chilli flakes...

Warm a pan of olive oil through and add your very hot things. Remove from the heat and leave to steep for five minutes.

Whilst warm, funnel into a sterile glass bottle and use whenever. The oil will keep for several months and will get stronger over time. Refrigeration may cause cloudiness but this will disperse when the oil is allowed to return to room temperature.

Gifts for Men: Nail Polish Cufflinks

2012-02-20T10:00:00.017Z

Another alternative to this Nail Polish Ring tutorial is to make cuff links instead for your men folk.

Cufflink backs can be sourced from jewellery making suppliers in silver or gold and in either flat or cup shape styles. I went for flat ones, similar to the rings.

More subtle glitters and colours work better for masculine types (blues, navy, grey, black, burgundy) or also try crackle effect nail varnish or metallic foils. Otherwise match to your bridal party colours, paint a fun design or even stencil in their initials. It works just as well as the rings.

How to make nail polish rings

2012-02-19T10:00:00.001Z

If like me you have a lot of glitter polish and collect interesting cocktail rings making your own one-of-a-kind nail polish ring might be right down your street. Even if you just have lots of craft glitters or flat sequins and some clear varnish you can join in with this craft.

First buy your supplies. You'll need

Ring bases
Glass cabochon or pebbles (pebbles tend to be cheaper but aren't as predictable quality, colour or shape wise
Superglue or craft cement
Glitters and Clear Nail Polish or Glittery Nail Polish

Following on from my DIY glitter nail polish topcoats I simply took one I liked and applied several coats to the bottom of a glass pebble (the flat side). To do this with craft glitters apply a coat of clear polish and sprinkle you glitters over it, applying the larger glitters first so they show up best. Make sure everything is settling flat and no larger glitter particles are sitting up. Mix different polishes if you wish with a clean brush so you don't mess up your original polishes but ensure you try and keep as close to one coat as possible so all the glitter sinks the bottom and shows clearly through the glass. Layering polish can mute the effect of the sparkles as the polish gets in the way. Let this dry for 12-24hrs.

I recommend creating a handful of designs even if you only intend to make one ring as you can choose the best to wear.

When dry, choose your rings gemstone and apply a blob of superglue to the back. Then drop the ring base's head into the glue to join them (so the ring is still upside down). Gently press the ring into the gems glue and leave to dry upside down again.

This should take, at most, an hour but leave it that long before you move it or try it on, just in case the glue is still wet. I cannot be held responsible for any glue misdemeanour's.

Then wear with pride. Here's my favourite:

How to make your own nail polish glitter top coats

2012-02-17T10:00:00.016Z

Frankenpolish's are my new obsession. Especially the glittery top coat kind. They're so stupidly easy to make and they add a personalised touch to your manicure.

The hard part is sourcing the supplies. Online shopping is most definitely the easiest way forward but you can recycle old bottles and brushes if you really need too.

Nail Polish bottles (empty, with brush)
Clear nail varnish
Cosmetic or craft glitter, loose (available in craft shops or try Barry M etc)
Bottles of glittery topcoat
Mixing pots or bags
Paper
Ball Bearings 5mm
Spatula or Spoon
Cocktail Sticks

First of all set out a paper sheet to work on (and help collect fallen glitter) and choose your glitters. Mix about a third to half a nail polish bottles worth of your glitter concoction in a mixing bag or bowl. I found a bag easier. For me, this equated to about a teaspoon of finished glitter blend for my 6ml bottles.

Using a paper funnel, (created by making a paper cone and cutting off the bottom) feed your glitter into your dry, empty nail polish bottle.

Then slowly start pouring in your clear varnish until it fills the bottle, but not the neck. Stir the glitter into the polish with your cocktail stick and this should make the polish sink to the bottom and give you more room to top up. Fill the remaining space in the bottle until it reaches the neck once more, add two ball bearings to help distribute the glitter in future, put on the lid and give it a good shake.

Your polish should be ready to use immediately. Mix it up a bit more with your cocktail stick if your glitter is being stubborn and not blending well.

A good way to try out your polish before wearing it is on one of those nail wheels.

All that's left to do is make some names up for your new collection and show them off or give them as gifts. Here are some swatches from my own DIY nail polishes. I'm tempted to offer them up for sale so let me know if you're interested.

Our Valentines Day

2012-02-15T11:40:00.001Z

You've got the Love

Chocolate Truffle Dreams

2012-02-14T13:54:00.000Z

Happy Valentines Day everyone. I hope its proving romantic. If not here's one last minute treat you might be able to prepare for this evening.

Every Valentines Day needs chocolate. Preferably the intensely delicious kind which you can only eat a few of before needing a nap. Cue chocolate truffles.

I made these following Hestons recipe from here but I found them a little chewy and the whole melon ball technique is a blatant, impossible, lie and i had to dig and roll the truffles out by hand (and I'm sure you're aware, dear chocolate lover, how maddeningly tempting that is) so I wouldn't entirely recommend this exact recipe if you're after complete and utter chocolate perfection BUT they tasted fine and satisfied our dessert cravings very quickly after our V-Day takeaway binge last Saturday.

My contribution to the recipe was to roll the truffles not only cocoa powder but dessicated coconut, chocolate sprinkles, and crushed hazelnuts. I served on a heart shaped platter I got from Sainsburys.

If you're still on a new years healthy eating plan I recommend visualising the coconut ones as your healthy alternative. But that's a completely unscientific opinion.

Valentine Gift or Favour Boxes

2012-02-13T17:00:00.033Z

{ How to make a Favour or Gift Box }

These are super easy to make and give a lovely personal touch if you give a handmade gift on any special occasion.

For Valentines Day i gave our dinner guests each either a hand made ring or a set of cufflinks (tutorials and photos to follow over the next few days) and to make them extra special i also gave them in little individual handmade favour or gift boxes at dinner. Each box was 1.5 inches high, but this cube design can be made to any size as long as your card stock is stiff enough to cope.

I simply chose the paper stock i wanted (as they're small i didnt even need to use card, just heavy paper), traced a template out onto the back (for some reason i had remembered this from Mathematics at school when we were drawing out nets, but if you're stuck for a template look here), cut out, fold, and glue into your box shape and finish with tissue paper stuffing, or similar, and tie them up with a pretty ribbon to give to your guests or loved one.

Valentines Heart Mobile

2012-02-13T15:00:00.028Z

{ For Valentines Day }

I had another go at Salt Dough/Salt Clay (this time with plain flour) and created this heart mobile for Valentines Day. I still dont think i've got the recipe or process right but i'm going to keep trying and this turned out okay.

I rolled out my salt dough into long, thin sausages (about the size of a little finger) and then arranged them into heart shapes on a baking tray. I made three, all different sizes and thickness's for an eclectic look. I then baked them on a very low heat in the oven for about 20 min and then a further hour or two air drying by a radiator.

When they were solid i painted them with white acrylic gesso and then gold acrylic. I then attacked them with copious amounts of glitter and even gold nail varnish to get a hyper-sparkle finish.

When this had dried i attached various ribbons and threads to them and then hung them on a door so they all fell at different lengths and at different angles.

After Valentines day i think im going to move them to our bedroom and attach them to our mirror, which is also gold, as i dont really want to put these away after.

Cupid Heart & Arrow Cutlery Holder

2012-02-13T14:48:00.000Z

{ For Valentines Day }

For Valentines Day this year we decided to do things a little differently and invited fellow new parents round for a 'romantic' evening last weekend with our babies and toddlers by our side. With take-away on the menu i set about making a few little decorations to make our dining environment a little more festive.

I originally had this little cutlery holder idea in mind for chopsticks but then i noticed the prongs of the fork also make excellent fletchlings on my cutlery arrow. But it can be used for both.

I simply cut out heart shapes from red card and vintage music paper (making sure i captured romantic lyrics in the template) and then stuck it all together with a pretty doilie lace border. I created a band for the cutlery to slip through underneath the heart and then made an arrow head by flattening a paper cone and sticking that on the end.

With it arranged correctly on the plate it looks like a heart with an arrow through it.

A blogs death knell

2012-01-25T14:20:00.001Z

I'm often found strolling round the garden early morning with nothing but my slippers and dressing gown on taking photos of anything that grabs my interest at that special time of day- namely early morning frosts, fogs and dews, because lets face it: they're pretty and make easy subjects. Here are some photos from my latest wander to accompany this fairly boring, but important post.

I've been thinking about the purpose and style of this blog over the last few weeks.

Its boiled down to this: I want everything i post to have VALUE, so to ensure im doing that and encourage myself to blog only for myself and my own standards i'm going to turn off comments today.

Scary, huh?

Apparently turning off comments is a blogs death knell but as i've always said- im blogging for MY benefit first and if i happen to do something useful for other people, then great, but thats only a secondary pleasure. I feel like im being distracted or pressured by stats and comments which is BAD. I'd rather nobody give this blog a second glance and for my 'real life' creative standards to triple, ten-fold.

Blogging has opened up a whole new door of creativity and fun in my life (i'm SO inspired) but its taken over a little from my initial goal which was to use blogging as a tool to inspire, record AND socialise, in THAT order. You know that feeling where you have to explain yourself if you've been away for more then a week? I hate that. I dont blog for that. So im removing myself from that so i only blog when i have something good to post about.

As from today i'll only be taking emails, which means people can still contact me if they wish and i'll still be commenting on other peoples blogs but i'll no longer be permitting comments on my own blog posts. Im also going to edit a lot of previous posts to exclude any 'junky' micro-event posts or combine short posts on the same subject into one big 'project' post. That way this blog will have a nice dense quality to it, rather then 'Facebook newsfeed', which i feel like its leaning towards, much to my horror.

When i feel like i've gotten into the swing of posting things in the style that i'm aspiring to then i'll probably switch comments back on. I just dont need the distraction atm and i know you'll understand and support me on this. Thanks for reading,

Lianne xx

Sunday Simple Things

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000Z

Baby giggles. Baby coos. That acknowledgement they give you when they recognise you as their one and only Mummy.

Miss E as a baby was a mothering baptism of fire. She was not an easy baby. People thought i was exaggerating but i realise now that if you've never experienced a difficult baby you have no comprehension of how bad it can get. Miss I in comparison is a walk in the park. Shes not easy by traditional standards- She needs feeding every 1-2hrs still, day and night, and struggles with colic, moans as much as any newborn, gets rashes etc but she is an angel compared to my first... She even SMILES at me. Amazing.

I value every moment she acknowledges me or is awake and doesnt cry. I didnt even know babies did that. All i remember from my first time round are tears and exhaustion. I lost weight. I got ill. I wasnt even depressed, it was just life. Its a world apart from today where my day is spent cuddling and laughing with both my children, who are happy and content as much as they can be. Miss E is a pure joy to be around. Even when shes being naughty. Miss I is fun. Actual fun. I've never experienced motherhood like this and it is wonderful.

I'm content.

Finding my personal style- Makeup Colours

2012-01-14T10:00:00.008Z

Following on from this post i've set about finding the colours that should primarily feature in my beauty/makeup colour pallet based on my eye colour.

My eye colour is a strange pale greeny-brown (described as 'mud' coloured once by an insensitive male, but i describe it as Gold) so it doesn't suit every colour in my style pallet. The blues and purples clash, as do the oranges and yellows so i know to only wear those colours on my body and not on my face. I also need to avoid the particularly bright colours, the muted tones work better with my pale eyes. Looking at the colours in front of me it makes perfect sense but for some reason ive never paid attention to that sense so clarifying this has been really useful. According to this I have quite a bit of makeup that looks pretty but just doesn't suit me so it will be good to go through it all and throw away the stuff that doesn't work.

I'm considering donating everything i don't want as a bulk 'cool toned' makeup lot if anyone's interested? Obviously its been used (mostly, there are still some sealed pieces) but if you fancy some free makeup let me know and ill list the contents for perusal before throwing it away. Waste not want not.

Learning

2012-01-13T16:00:00.072Z

Mr W can get frustrated with Miss E when he tries to show her how to do something. She'll watch how its done and then when its her turn to copy she'll ignore everything shes been shown and do every other thing apart from what she's been shown or told to do. To him, this makes no sense. It often comes across as if shes rebelling on purpose. But she's not. I understand because i do it too. To me its the only way I can properly learn.

She learns through making mistakes.

We have to not only know the right way to do something but we also need to test all the other outcomes too because we need to see things for ourselves. I can never just learn something parrot fashion.

Its the same with my art and creativity. I want to try everything and see what fits and what doesnt. Im experimenting and ticking off boxes. I feel like things are very slowly coming together and im proud of that. People reading this might see nothing special, nothing impressive, nothing talented. But i dont care. Thats not the point. Im learning right now and that means i'll be anything but perfect. And thats Okay.

Some journal pages of experimentation and exploration. Learning.

How do you learn?

Flower Collages and creative block

2012-01-11T16:14:00.000Z

Stepping back into creativity after a break is the hardest thing. I started making some journal pages and felt everything i did was beneath me and poor. I had creative block. I ignored that feeling though and carried on playing and just making 'stuff' until i started to make things which looked okay and didnt produce negative feelings. It wasnt a case of doing something different that improved the results, it was the process and quantity of work that helped- like i was flushing my system out of bad work. I kept telling myself 'it doesnt matter, just PLAY' and it worked. The first thing i made which i liked were some flower collages:

I really liked the colours and patterns. I used some photographs i took for Christmas cards a few years ago (which i never liked in their original form but i didnt want to throw out the print outs so instead i saved them with the intention of making something from them) and the other day i just grabbed them and set about ripping them up and applying them to my journal pages with other papers to see what i could come up with. It was fun and quite satisfying.

Much better then this:

Finding my personal style- Colours

2012-01-11T15:40:00.002Z

One of my goals for this year is to de-clutter and refine my personal style and, in turn, my wardrobe. I really hate wasted space and it feels like i hardly wear all of my clothes and i just want to chuck a huge portion of it. Not only that but my approach to fashion and beauty is very much part of my creativity. I dont wear it to just hide flaws or enhance bits i like. I wear what i wear to express myself. I like the characters and theatrics and inspiration that comes from it all. So i feel its really important to have a good look at the messages im giving across with my style and tweak it to ensure im being true to my inner self and that im representing myself in the best possible light. Its a journey of self discovery. Its not 'who am i'. Its 'WHAT am i' that im trying to explore.

A few years ago i came across Colour Me Beautiful which is a styling process that takes a look at your overall colouring (hair, skin, eyes) and defines a palette around that, which your wardrobe should majoratively feature. Choosing the right colours for yourself enhances your complexion, makes your eyes brighter and generally suits you better then colours that don't.

If you're like me and cant afford the style consultation offered by Colour Me Beautiful, you can DIY a consultation and hold coloured articles up to your face and see which look best. I decided to do things the lazy way and simply found a photo of myself, made sure it was white balanced so all the colours were true to life, and then compared myself to colours digitally in PSP. Every time i found one that suited me i added it to my palette in a separate image with the dropper tool. This is what i created:

I tried to find a tone in every colour that i could more or less wear including pastles, brights and darks. For example, true black doesnt suit me and neither does grey, but a slightly charcoal black (warm toned) works a lot better. Lemon and greeny yellows do not suit me. Sunflower and olive yellows and greens do. A few blues suit me, as do a few purple colours but they all have to be on the warm scale. The most flattering colours are salmons, pinks, raspberry's, sages and teals. Its not that these colours make me look 1000 times better then normal, its just that the colours that dont suit me make me look flat and grey. Unflattering colours are most blues, cool pinks, purples and aqua greens.

Happy with this i printed the palette out so i can pop a copy in my bag as a reminder for when i go shopping.

Kitchen... Getting Super Organised

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000Z

Flour packets are ugly and flimsy. Plus, if a small naughty child magically gets hold of a bag without your knowledge a HUGE cleaning problem is bound to follow. I dont personally know first hand, but i've been moments away from a flour induced nightmare after finding Miss E rifling through various kitchen cupboards (whilst munching on raisins and dried pasta that she had found- yum) and becoming far to close to my baking supplies for comfort.

So i've gone ahead and put everything suitable into large glass kilner jars and labelled them in a pretty fashion. I bought my jars from Ikea and Asda (but im not recommending Asda because of some horrendous customer service i experienced with them last month where i swore to never ever ever ever ever ever EVER use them again. And i wont) but Ikea are good and fairly cheap, so i'll recommend them but bare in mind they can only be bought in store.

I simply bought some oval cut stickers and stamped them with a pretty border. I wish i'd used a more oval shape now, but oh well.

Remember those babygro's i made?

2012-01-09T16:13:00.001Z

Well here is my little nut wearing hers at 6 weeks old:

If you don't remember these are some hand printed babygro's i made last year. The patchwork blanket she's lying on was a gift from some very dear friends and is all handmade by Sue Hall from Green Star Quilts. Isn't it beautiful?

Sorry for all the baby themed posts. I promise I'm not turning into a Mummy Blogger. Im still fresh and edgy and cool i swear ;D... maybe... But until the newborns novelty has dissipated (never, probably) and I'm back to my official non-Mummy Blogger status here's a shot of what Miss E was doing on her new trampoline whilst i was taking photos of Miss I. Check out the pigtails. Shes so big now! I cant believe she's two in March.

The Simple Things

2012-01-08T20:29:00.000Z

It's not the thought that counts: 'They may not believe what you say, but they'll believe what you do'.

Three little words, New Year Resolutions.

I don't really make them. Not those traditional 'punishment' resolutions anyway. I'd rather veto vows to drink less/eat healthier/get fit and instead eat doughnuts, whole heaving boxes of them, and ENJOY my year a little, then bully myself into doing things i dont really want to do.

I'm going to run after my children, laugh until my body shakes and turn to face the rain when it pours. With boxes of doughnuts.

Im inspired by Mr W who came up to me this week proudly and said 'I saw some really beautiful flowers and thought about getting them for you... but didnt'.

Long pause.

'Thats nice' i said.

No further explaination.

Apparently 'its the thought that counts'. Well... it doesnt. It really bleedin' doesnt. Otherwise i could get away with only thinking about cooking dinner, paying bills and showing people i love them. And you certainly dont go up to the person and say 'Y'know, I thought about feeding you tonight buuuuuut changed my mind. Starve. Bon appetite!' because 'its the thought that counts'. That's just plain mean.

He saw his obvious error and bought me these:

Silly man. So, joking aside, when it comes to my goals for 2012 im only going to list things which im likely to actually attempt, let alone achieve so that MY actions speak louder then my intentions. And why stop at 2012? My goals are life goals. There's no deadline. Infact im sure i wont complete them all, but then i can carry them onto 2013. So, apart from the obvious (to be happy and healthy blah blah blah) I want to:

Get my body back into its prenatal shape. Nothing to do with loosing weight but just recovering from 3 years of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, and getting my posture sorted, my hormones settled and growing my hair back after it all falls out in a few weeks time (groan).
Define my personal style and edit my wardrobe strictly. I have this theory that you can strip your whole life of clutter right down to the material essentials. I envision a world of only one shampoo, one perfect pair of jeans, one essential white shirt etc. No clutter. No unused products. No leftovers. Everything serves a purpose. My wardrobes are chocker so i'd like to really refine my clothes and figure out once and for all my own style so i can just stick to that and not my tempted by silly trends.
Do a blog tour. Basically visit all the blogs in my feed and examine and enjoy each one closely. I want to delve deep into archives, look closely at all the other pages in the blog and actually get to know the people i read about every week. Then i might report back here with my thoughts.
Work my way through 'The Great British book of Baking' and Raymond Blancs 'Kitchen Secrets' cookbooks. Lots of great British classics and French skilful cooking. I want to learn some more techniques and boost my confidence with unfamiliar procedures and ingredients.
Work my way through '200 projects to get you into Art School' and a sewing project book. I was doing this originally on my official portfolio website but got distracted and stopped but i think it would be perfect to pick it up for this blog and carry on. I figured it would take me about 3 years to complete it all but i quite like that. Theres also a Fashion version which i also want to attempt.
Learn how to photograph makeup and beauty well. Its how i got into blogging really. I wanted to do some photography of my eyes and mouth for an art project but couldnt get it to look the way i wanted. Then i went googling photography techniques and came across beauty and fashion blogs and then very quickly craft and art blogs. I quickly forgot my project but would like to refine my skills in that area anyway.
Drive. I want to get my confidence back here and stop being utterly terrified of driving so people can stop nagging me and LEAVE ME ALONE. Some people are so unsympathetic of peoples irrational fears.
Create playlists for my iPhone. I dont listen to enough music. And its mainly because my iPhone is plagued with things like Hypnobirthing, Puppy Xmas Carols and 100 Childrens Nursery Rhymns and im genuinely too scared to listen to it.
Enter and win an art competition. I havent decided which one yet but it will most likely be something low key from Deviant Art.
Maintain positivity and happiness. I've been really happy recently. Its been brilliant.
Take an online class in something. Probably art/sewing related.
Move house or progress in property. I have to put this one down even though i'm still bitter and twisted from last years appalling housing market because property pays my way and its time to do something new. Even if its not moving house. Our last project completed in 2009 and weve been having babies since then but now its time to do another. There's plenty out there even if its not exactly what we want. We can distract ourselves with little projects until our dreams come to fruition. Grumble grumble grumble.
Celebrate yearly events/festivals and create traditions. I want to focus more carefully on special events and start making family traditions for us. Watch this space.
Embrace solitude. I seem to be happier and a better person when i avoid the human race. Its taken me a while to enjoy my own company but these days i feel like its important to be alone. Friendships are dying. People are moving on. I've lost patience with being a doormat. And im too confident to settle for anything less these days. Instead, id rather be free of all that baggage and embrace my own company until new fulfilling relationships appear. And they will. I just want to get to know me more. And besides, its fun in the shadows. Close friends and family understand and respect this thankfully.
Grow a sunflower. April is planting time.
Repaint bad paintings. Inspired by some blogs i read im going to repaint quite a few of my paintings. When i was an artist i found myself painting with only the customers 'wants' in mind, not mine, and because of this i became disillusioned and angry at my work. I didnt like what i was painting but i felt i had to paint it because no one would buy what i actually wanted to paint. Its the reason i stopped working as an artist and decided to only create things as an hobbyist. Now though, i want to recover those ugly paintings and turn them into something I love and recapture that passion i used to have for it all. I want to save them and in turn save Me a little.

And 2012's word is:

LAUGH

The Simple Things

2012-01-04T20:43:00.000Z

The simple pleasure of fragranced candles filling our festive home with the smells of warm apples and cinnamon.

They mean a little more to me then just that too. A lit candle in our home usually means the house is tidy/clutter free (as to avoid a fire hazard) and im relaxing (well why would i light a candle when theres stuff to do?). It is a symbol of peace.

This week we've been deep cleaning and organising the house to a whole new level of order in ready for spring. It feels amazing, like a huge weight has been lifted. I finally feel like im using my house as a home for once. And a candle was lit in celebration of this purging. That was my simple pleasure for the week.

If you'd like to see more Simple Pleasures or take part yourself pop over to Rebeccas blog and join the link party.

2012 is nearly here!

2011-12-31T23:25:00.001Z

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2012 is a happy and exciting one for you and your families.

I do love New Year. Not for all the parties and faff- no, just the freshness of the calendar and that opportunity to revel in hope and possibility with a glass of champagne in my hand. 2012 is a blank canvas and whatever happens, good or bad, will be interesting and enriching.

It's also a time to reflect and learn without any regrets. 'Non, je ne regrette rien'.

My thoughts? At this moment I'm happy, content and excited and that's really important to acknowledge. I am relaxed. I am grateful. I am hopeful.

I am fully equipped for the future and looking forward to it.

Thank you 2011 for all that you taught and gave.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T15:39:00.001Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Backgrounds from Watercolour Crayon Shavings

2011-12-22T22:44:00.001Z

Im back in the arty saddle today! Miss E and I spent the afternoon drawing and colouring so I got the opportunity to rip through an entire notepad and experiment with my Aquash watercolour crayons. Primarily, the shavings, which gave a very cool spiky effect.

I'll share some better photos tomorrow when the lights a bit better for taking photos, but for now, Instagram can showcase a glimpse of what I did. By-the-by does anyone use Instagram? I only found it the other day and was immediately struck by how hardly any of the top popular photos have been taken with an iPhone like the app promotes... Or are we not supposed to mention that? I quite like the concept though even though I won't be using my account publically. I just like the filters :D

Christmas wise we're all ready to go. Mr W did his Christmas shop and came home fully loaded from Sainsbury's with junk. It's the only time he's allowed in a supermarket unsupervised. He's completely impulsive and the Christmas shop is the only opportunity he has to buy all the things his kiddy-heart desires without me secretly putting things back on the shelf before we reach the tills. He bought candles, two types of toothpaste, fish fingers and jacket potatoes. This is quite restrained for him. I'm proud.

Adventures with Salt Dough (salt clay)

2011-12-16T14:33:00.000Z

The premise is pretty simple. Mix flour, water and salt into a pliable dough and mould as you would clay and then air dry or bake in the oven until hard. It can then be sanded down and painted. It can even be drawn on. Faultless.

Unless you pick up the wrong jar or flour and make your dough with self raising flour and bake it in the oven where the dough will start to rise and completely distort the thing you've just made. Like i did.

Oh well. At least i know to use PLAIN flour from now on and i did manage to salvage these little hand print ornaments before they got too warped and i finished by air drying them. I'll sand and paint them later.

The great thing about salt dough is that it can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to a week so it's great if you want to spend a few days experimenting with a large batch of the stuff.

The recipe i used was:

2 cups flour (plain)
1 cup of salt (finely ground table salt)
1 cup of water

However i found that i needed a lot more flour to get a dough i could sensibly work with without it sticking to everything so 3 cups of flour may be more appropriate. You simply mix everything together by hand (it will break your mixer if you try to use that... trust me, i nearly did) until it makes a pale, smooth dough. It shouldn't be sticky, crumbly or lumpy. If it is, keep kneading and playing with the flour/water ratio until you get the desired consistency. Then you can either work with it straight away or wrap it in cling film and save in the fridge like i mentioned.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with salt dough if you're not inspired by baby hand prints or the typical Christmas tree decorations:

Source: evencleveland.blogspot.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Source: katyelliott.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Source: forum.threadbanger.com via Lianne on Pinterest

You can set your work by baking in an oven on a low heat for a few hours or letting them air dry for several days in a warm dry place. I popped mine on the radiator and rotated them every few days to ensure thorough drying.

I'll definitely be trying the beads and ink stamping techniques when I make a fresh batch of dough.

DIY- How to make your own pinboard

2011-12-16T13:41:00.000Z

This craft project is a follow on from the DIY whiteboard i made a few weeks back and is just as easy.

Materials

Photo or Picture frame

Polystyrene Sheeting with 1cm depth (you may need to double up 0.5cm sheeting)

Cork or Fabric (enough to cover the polystyrene and fill the frame)

Method

Dissemble the frame and safely discard of the glass.

Cut your polystyrene sheeting to be the same size as the back board. You can find sheeting in the printing section of art and craft stores or in builders yards around the insulation section. You could also recycle some.

Take one of the sheets (this will be your top sheet and the one you pin things too) and affix your cork sheet. I bought a roll from Amazon which had a sticky back. You could also use a layer of pretty fabric over your sheets instead if you want something a bit more decorative.

Then slot the layers into place within the frame with the cork or fabric side exposed, allowing it to be 'pinned' through the frame. Then clip the layers into place. You may find that with the polystyrene sheets this makes the fit a little tighter so i used a screwdriver to bend the clip holders over more effectively then my fingers could manage.

I decorated mine with brass drawing pins around the edge. It just seemed practical and it looked quite nice too. We'll be using ours to display shopping vouchers, loyalty cards and gift cards. We always lose them so its handy to have them in one place, displayed, so we don't forget they're there.

Baby, it's cold outside!

2011-12-12T16:00:00.000Z

Brrrr, its definitely winter now isn't it? We've all been snuggled up indoors slowly going mad with cabin fever but today Mr W has gone back to work and i'm officially alone with two children. Oh. My. God.

So far everything is fine though. My hormones are starting to settle down now so its only a matter of time before i go bald (thats one of my utterly delightful post-pregnancy quirks) but as long as im no longer going through the rollar coaster of emotions that have dominated my life for the last three years, i dont care. I'd shave my head if they left my frazzled body quicker, horrid things.

We had the pleasure of registering Miss I's birth the other day which was nice, if it wasnt for the person booking her in who basically interrogated my darling husband over whether I really, REALLY, really, 100% sure, absolutely, wanted to be described as 'Home Maker' on Miss I's birth certificate... like it was degrading to women and i was locked up at home chained to the over baking bread or something. Feminism is not about dictating to women what they can and can not do. Its about giving women the equality of choice to do whatever they choose. And i CHOSE to be a home maker. Not Full Time Mum. Not Stay-at-home Mum. Not House Wife. Home Maker. Other Home Makers will empathise. I'm proud to cook, clean, and care.

Source: Uploaded by user via Lianne on Pinterest

Anyway. Enough about busy bodies imposing their misguided opinions at me, we've been getting ready for Xmas. The tree has been bought and decorated. The gifts are being delivered and wrapped. The cards are being sent. The turkey has been ordered. Now to wait for Father Christmas!

On top of this i've managed to make a DIY pinboard and some salt dough ornaments with baby hand and foot prints so look out for those in future posts.

Our first days with Miss I

2011-12-05T15:31:00.000Z

Hi everyone! Just a quick update on how things have been going with a newborn in the house before i go back to enjoying it all.

Miss I is thriving and getting on well with big sister Miss E even though they are complete polar opposites personality wise. Miss E is sensitive, bossy and independant. Miss I is mellow, tactile and social. We're enjoying co-sleeping, cuddles and bottles this time so mummy remains reasonably sane beyond the first week (I suffer from severe D-Mer) and i am feeling really good about it all.

Miss Is birth story is a rather interesting one. I'd had a day or two of feeling really distant and sleepy but like i could go for a 20 mile walk at the same time which i thought was very strange but I just put it down to hormones. I slept most of the time and just ignored my very irregular, mild, random and 'normal' braxton hicks. By Tuesday evening i was getting stronger cramps but they were even more irregular so i was just very confused and got on with my life. I remember saying to Mr W that i wasnt in the mood to have the baby and that i just wanted to sleep. So i slept! By 2am Wednesday morning i'd woken up, more out of concern then anything and discussed with Mr W whether it was worth me going to hospital to be examined as i'd had two days of these strange cramps and i was curious to see if anything was actually happening. The baby didnt feel engaged or anything, in fact she was turning over side to side and still getting hiccups which babies just about to be born are supposedly not meant to do... but i was curious. And i felt a bit guilty because Miss E had been sent to nanny and grandads 'just in case' by Mr W and i felt i had to do something to justify the false alarm. So we went to hospital and i explained what had happened and they examined me. Nothing particularly interesting was happening. I was 3cm dilated which as a second time mum doesnt mean much as the cervix usually opens a little anyway and my cramps had pretty much stopped. The baby was fine though so we went home and i accepted i was just in false labour and should try and sleep. I took two paracetamol as i was getting a little sore from it all. Then at 4am i woke as my cramps were definitely hurting and i wanted a bath to try and switch them off (baths tend to switch off false labours). So i got in the bath and endured two or three cramps over ten minutes with breathing exercises before deciding to phone the hospital and ask to be considered for pain relief as 'if this is false labour or early labour there is no way i can handle this all the way! I was pushing at this point with Miss E'. Oh, how stupid i must have sounded. The hospital asked me to go in again to be examined to see if they could give me pain relief as they only accept women if theyre in 'active labour' which is when your cervix has dialated to 4cm or more so i got out of the bath, got dressed, put my socks and shoes on, dragged myself muttering and moaning to the car saying 'theyre going to send me home, i bet im not even in labour and they'll just give me stupid paracetamol, and these things are really hurting now!!'

It took me two attempts to get in the car between my 'cramps'. And then when we got going they actually stopped completely. Bare in mind i had only had six or seven of these particularly painful cramps since first getting up and they were still irregular and i could walk and talk through the majority of them. I really didnt think i was in labour. By 4:36am we had arrived at the hospital (we only live round the corner) and i then proceeded to slowly march grumpily through several contractions (Mr W asked if i wanted to stop and rest but i said 'no, i just want to get in there so they can send me home again, i cant be bothered to stop'). So i walked through the hospital, up two flights of stairs and down several corridors to the labour ward where i approached reception at around 5:00 and said 'i dont feel too great to be honest'. A few seconds later i had a massive contraction which made my waters break with a huge pop (my poor shoes!) and I immediately needed to push. The strange thing is i remember this part completely crystal clear... all the midwives yelling 'don't push dont push dont push, we need to examine you!' and me yelling 'i cant, i cant, i cant'... and then hearing them go 'Oooooh yeah, the babies coming Lianne, just breathe' and me yelling 'I know!'. Being wheeled through the corridor to the midwife led unit on all fours refusing to move biting a pillow with my bum in the air yelling 'i dont like pushing, i cant do it, cant you get the baby out for me? Last time i couldn't push the baby out, im really bad at it, can you do it for me please, please please'. Then finding myself in a delivery room and very consciously and quickly delivering Miss I into the world and into my arms. At 5:22am she was born- perfect and content, full term, but two weeks before her due date and weighing 6lb 14... one ounce off Miss E who was born on her due date at 6lb 15. So i wonder if my body can only handle just under 7lbs before it triggers labour? Who knows. The first thing i said was 'Ooooh Hello Trouble!!' A 20 minute labour according to my notes. It was great!

And then my womb went and ruined everything by deciding it was going to hold onto the placenta, so even after all that i still needed to go into theatre two hours later, have an epidural and then spend the night in hospital recovering from the procedure. Boooooo me. But i've recovered very quickly as i didnt have any stitches and it was just a case of taking some antibiotics and resting lots, which im more then happy to do.

So now were back at home just enjoying each others company and trying to figure out how the household is going to function for the next few months until Miss I starts becoming a bit more predictable. Currently were just organising Xmas and feeling just a tiny bit relieved that we've missed any December snow fall and catching up with all those little jobs we needed to get done in the two weeks we thought we had before she was due. We didn't even have a pram until last week!

In regards to this blog and art/craft dont expect anything from me for a while. Its not that i dont want to do or make things, its just that i cant guarantee how regularly i will and i dont want to disappoint anyone or more importantly, put too much pressure on myself. If i do manage to find time then thats a bonus. I'll be back in the new year most definitely though and most definitely lurking online reading blogs etc so i'll still be around.

So if i dont come back soon, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Miss I

2011-11-24T20:16:00.001Z

Some piccies of Miss I.

We're home safe and sound now. Speak soon!

Pop! Baby's here!

2011-11-23T22:16:00.001Z

Welcome Baby 2 aka Miss I. Born naturally at great speed (20 min labour) at 5:22am on 23rd November 2011 weighing 6lb 14.

She is utterly scrumptious and doing great.

Miss Es midwife did warn me second babies just 'drop out'. Wish I'd listened! Whoops. Never mind.

DIY Kitchen Whiteboard

2011-11-19T16:00:00.000Z

One good habit i got into when i moved in with Mr W many years ago was to write out a weekly meal menu for the household as it helped reduce leftover waste and made me only buy what i needed from the supermarket. Planning meals in advance also had a positive impact on our health levels too as we were less likely to snack or order take away when we couldn't think of what to cook after work. I would simply print out a list and bluetack that to the kitchen cupboard. But I've always fancied a more permanent fixture.

After a serious craft fail at making a DIY blackboard (the paint went streaky and then peeled off) i came across this suggestion on Pinterest which looked like a quick and easy solution. So i bought a very cheap frame from Ikea and set about making my menu board.

Clearly i should have paid attention to the whole 'GLASS' photo frame point as I'm now having problems finding a pen that will work well on the plastic pane i have in my frame (doh) but otherwise i think its come out great.

I used a roll of old wallpaper sample that i got for free from B&Q as the backing and then printed out 'Menu', 'Don't Forget', 'To Do' and 'Shopping List' templates which i arranged behind the pane so i could write on a clear white surface.

Supposedly, dry wipe eraser pens (i.e. whiteboard markers) should work on plastic, but i found they set and stain. I actually patch tested various brands of pen to check they would work and they wiped off fine within the first five minutes but when i used them overnight that's when the problems started and they wouldn't come off. I did my research but it didn't work for me. Just to warn you. After a quick splash of white spirit and an Amazon order later i used some non-permanent markers instead which can be used on plastic and removed with water. These have worked fine, leaving minimal marks after removal. Its still not perfect and I suspect this would be a whole different story if i had used a glass pane but, oh well, its not the end of the world is it?

Turning body lotion into body scrub?

2011-11-18T17:08:00.000Z

Body lotion. I dont use it. I'm an oil or body butter girl so when i get givenbottles of lotion, as nice as they are, they just sit in my bathroom untouched and unloved. Once a year i clear it all out and donate what i can and much to my horror, bin the rest. This year though i wanted to find a more thrifty solution and set about finding other uses for unwanted body lotion. One suggestion i came across was to change the lotion into a body scrub... something i use frequently.

It was pretty straight forward but i wouldnt say for one second that i know what i'm doing or what the product will end up like but basically i just emptied some lotion into tubs and then mixed in fine marine salt until it turned to the right consistency. I also threw some coarse sea salt, some baby oil and glycerin in there too. God only knows what i've made but it looks right, smells nice and from patch tests done it seems to work okay too.

It seemed to go a little watery after a while and i think thats the salt melting (?!) but i added more salt and i held together fine. I think the ratio of lotion to salt was about 2:5 but clearly every lotion is going to be different and will react differently so there is no clear cut recipe for this i think.

Next time i have a pamper session im going to try this out and report back on how it performed. Has anyone ever made this? What were your findings?

DIY Luxury Bath Salts with a hint of magick

2011-11-18T15:08:00.000Z

This is a fun and romantic gift using the basic bath salts recipe and method here and then kicking it up a notch with some thoughtful fragrance brewing and spell weaving for an extra special bathtime treat. Yes. Spell weaving.

Start by choosing the reciptant of your gift and get inspired from there. If you're after a truely magical blend of fragrances consider looking here at some ideas of what oils to blend together to get a spell brewing or go by instinct. I chose Rose, Jasmin and Ylang Ylang for mine. I was inspired by the energy of the crystal Rose Quartz, Love, Beauty and the Goddess Venus and had her in mind whilst i blended all this together. You could say this is a 'romance' blend. I wanted something that would draw positivity, love, enhance beauty and just give an all round indulgent bath bliss experience either for one or for couples.

I then took some extra special ingredients. Firstly i added some dried rose petals which were from my wedding and stirred those in. Not only are they rose, but they're empowered with love, not just from us but the people who threw them over us.

If you cant think of anything special to add and which will work in the bath (dried herbs and flowers are good- check out their magical properties here) consider stirring with a really beautiful mental image in mind and imagine that feeling transferring from your heart to the bath salts. It sounds crazy but trust me, it works. If you want something more symbollic try stirring in rune shapes or writing phrases in which mean something with the spoon or your finger. Just go with it and enjoy.

I then dived into the glitter box and added the tiniest amount of Barry M dazzle dust (a cosmetic glitter) to really get the sparkle going.

Finally choose a beautiful jar and enjoy. For extra magical oomph leave for 24 hours in direct sunlight and in direct moonlight so it is 'blessed' and 'cleansed' by the Sun and Moon. Or just dive straight it and run a bath with it, whatever floats your boat. And dont forget to say thank you for all the blessings in your life when your enjoying it. Gratitude moves mountains.

DIY Bath Salts

2011-11-18T14:35:00.000Z

If you're looking to give something a little more personal then a Boots toiletry gift box this Christmas (guilty as charged) look no further then making your own home made bath salts.

{ Tools }

Storage Jars (i used RAJTAN from Ikea)

Epsom Salts (try Boots, your local pharmacy or online)

Coarse Sea Salt

Bicarbonate of Soda

Essential Oils/Fragrance

Food Colouring

Mixing Bowls

{ Method }

The ratio of ingredients is 1 part Bicarb to 3 parts Epsom Salts to 6 parts Coarse Sea Salt. The RAJTAN jars i used took 2tsps of Bicarb, 6tsps of Epsom Salt and 12tsps of Sea Salt. Fill your jars and give it a good shake with the lid on.

Choose your fragrance and add a few drops. Use essential oils or fragrances designed for use on the body. A safe bet are pre-blended aromatherapy or massage oils from places like Boots, Neal's Yard and The Body Shop. Give the jar a good shake/stir to make sure the smell is properly distributed.

Then as a final touch consider adding a few drops of food colouring or even dried herbs, tea and petals like lavender or rose. Just make sure you give everything a good shake after. Then label up however you wish and don't forget to add usage instructions: to use, simply add a large tablespoon size of salts to a bath of running water, stir in and then soak away.

From bottom left clockwise i made Sweet Orange, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, Fresh Aloe Vera, Sweet Pea, 'For Men' (smells of tea tree and sporty smells) and finally Lavender.

How to make your own personalised writing paper

2011-11-17T13:48:00.001Z

It all started when i decided i wanted to help preserve the art of the hand written letter and find myself a pen friend. My very good friend Susan offered to join me in the challenge and we immediately set about sourcing pretty papers and inks to write to each other with. What a problem that turned out to be! In the end i decided to have a go at making my own little batch of printed paper and this is what i did.

How to make your very own hand printed stationary

{ Tools }

Paper of your choice suitable for writing on

Ink pads

Pretty rubber stamps/acrylic block

{ Method }

Trim your paper to A5 size if you wish.

Test your chosen ink out on the paper (a spare bit) to make sure you get a pleasant colour match. I chose a similar tone of blue to my paper so that when it came to writing on top it wouldn't distract. Try grey on white, purple on lilac etc. If your ink contrast is very strong compared to your paper choice consider only applying your print as a border. Just make sure that a) you can write on it and b) you can see it through the print.

After you've decided that, set up your work area, your chosen stamp block and begin applying the ink. I've gone for a floral spray which i then roughly and lightly sponged with ink to get a light and worn feel to the print.

Then starting top left press your stamp down, over the edge of the paper, and begin creating a pretty design wherever you fancy. I stuck to the edges and avoided over working the top right corner as this is where you tend to put the address and date. Notice how not every area of my stamp prints? I also kept stamping away as the ink dried out getting fainter and fainter markings which was very pretty and helped add to the overall delicate design.

Stamp away until you feel its done. Have fun. On some pages i creeped right over to the middle or only did one or two borders so each sheet is individual. If your pattern is a bold image or flourish consider only stamping in the top center, for example, or keep a simple element on the front of the paper like a dot border and then create a really bold lace print on the back of the page.

A fun way to expand this is to add a metallic touch with metallic ink. Simply apply as before but much more sparingly and only in a few areas just to catch the eye.

And there you have it. Your own personalised writing paper.

I went the extra mile and also printed some envelopes too in pearlescent ink which look amazing. You could also stamp your address on etc. Experiment and see what you can do. They can be as simple or as bold as you like. These would make great gifts for writers/paper crafters/vintage fans/romantics or a nice change from Christmas cards if you went down a festive route.

Just dont give up on handwriting! And whilst im on the subject, if you'd like to join in with the preservation of the written letter drop me a message and i'll be happy to write to you.

Accessorize Lace Nail Art Transfers

2011-11-17T09:13:00.001Z

Just a quick post to say how much I LOVE these little nail transfers I found in Accessorize a few weeks ago.

They're £2.50 for a set of ten and are the easiest things to apply compared to foils and wraps. They're clear so you can put them over whatever colour polish you like (I chose silver) and since my nails are seriously bashed up and splitting from mid nail up due to house work damage the extra support the stickers give until my nails grow out is great!

You just peel off and stick down on your nail and file the ends off. They hardly wrinkle either as they're quite soft and bendy rather then those crispy kinds which look dreadful in profile and feel all rough. These are very forgiving.

Don't know how long they'll last.

Can't remember if they do other designs.

Don't think they're waterproof (topcoat should fix that).

And the stickers are slightly on the small side even for my creepy child size hands so don't buy these with massive expectations.

But for £2.50 I am very pleased.

Seasonal Eating

2011-11-16T13:00:00.000Z

Apple Puff Pastrys and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. Nom.

{ Apple Puffs }

Ingredients

Ready Rolled Puff Pastry sheets

Sliced cooking apples

Golden Syrup

Cinnamon

Sugar

Method

Cut your puff pastry into rectrangles and distribute thinly sliced chunks of cooking apple along the length leaving a minimum 1/2inch gap around the sides. Drizzle golden syryp all over the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon and then a teaspoon of sugar. Fold the edges of the pastry over to gently surround and encase filling. Then bake for 15min at 200C on a lined baking tray until the pastry is risen and golden.

{ Toasted Pumpkin Seeds }

Chilli and Seasalt

Cinnamon Sugar Spice

Ingredients

Pumpkins

Flavouring:

(Chilli Sea Salt- Chilli flakes, salt, pepper, corriander seeds)

(Cinnamon Sugar Spice- Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)

Method

Hack open and remove the seeds from your pumpkins. Try and seperate as much of the stringy membrane as possible. Rinse and dry. *consider roasting your leftover pumpkin shells in the oven and removing the flesh for soups etc.

Spread your seeds out on a lined baking tray and prepare your flavourings by bashing them up into a fine dust in a pestle and mortor. You will need a handful of flavouring for two handfuls of seeds. Cover your seeds with the flavourings and then roast for around 15-20mins at 200C or until the seeds start to pop.

My Last 5 Pins off Pinterest

2011-11-15T11:00:00.002Z

Salt dough, stamped Christmas ornaments. Very beautiful and pretty easy to make. They can be cut from cookie cutters, hand molded, painted, drawn on. A very flexible medium

Source: evencleveland.blogspot.com via Lianne on Pinterest

A beautiful rainbow crockery bottle. I love the work of Julien Schnabel so these sort of things always grab my interest.

Source: flickr.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Im after a pair of spats boots but there doesnt seem to be any around at the moment so until they come back into fashion i may start sporting some knitted versions similar to this.

Source: etsy.com via Lianne on Pinterest

A great idea from Hobbycraft- an advent calendar you can reuse each year and fill with your own little treats.

Source: hobbycraft.co.uk via Lianne on Pinterest

I love this clutch- the colours, the metalwork, the whole Baroque drama of it. Very cool.

Source: red.imgfave.com via Lianne on Pinterest

I'm back! Bump Photoshoot

2011-11-14T15:15:00.000Z

I think I'm back. For now. We'll play it by ear until the new year i think, since I'm so close to popping! It's fair to say I'm going to be pretty distracted over the next few weeks. Here are some shots from a very recent bump/pregnancy photo shoot i did.

I've put down my midwifes due date (9th) but everything else (scans, GP, due date calculators etc) says it'll be the 7th. I dont actually know why im down as the 9th to be honest but there you have it. Its an extra two days avoiding induction if i go over due. Hah. I know only a tiny amount of women give birth on their due date, but I did, so for us the due dates are quite a good indication. We always take bets on the due date. I won last time: i figured Miss E was as organised as me so would most definitely come out exactly on time. And she did. For baby 2 i'm thinking she's going to hijack either my mums or my father-in-laws birthdays (Nov 27th, Dec 7th) or possibly just keep life really easy for me and come out on Dec 8th, right in the middle of my due dates. Miss E was born on the 8th too so it'll help me remember their birthdays ;)

Otherwise it has to be 13.12.11. as shes missed 11.11.11.

Oh, and we've decided on the name now. It's a secret.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T17:19:00.000Z

Remembering.

Blog Break

2011-11-07T17:24:00.001Z

I hope everyone had a good Bonfire Night? We fired rockets and had sparklers with family. Miss E despises fireworks so she spent most of the evening on my lap with me covering her ears. Shes just like me, bless. I don't like them either. I don't mind a roman candle but these things came in their own cage so you can imagine their power and noise. Mr W bought them unsupervised of course.

Anyway, I've decided to announce a very short blog break so I can focus on completing my mahoosive To Do list. Everything is taking three times as long to complete considering I'm the size of a small country and I'd rather just knuckle down and get it all done without the distraction of blogging too. Clearly I'm going to have to scrap Novembers drawing challenge, for now, as I just haven't been able to dedicate the attention to it and everything on my list needs to be done ASAP. As each day goes by I get bigger and more tired and I need to start tying up these loose ends and winding down before I can afford to amuse myself with creative pursuits. Priorities etc.

Hopefully I'll be back on track by the end of the week, but we'll see. I just wanted to warn everyone just in case you start to worry if I suddenly went quiet. Or think I've gone into labour. It's only 5 weeks to go now and I keep thinking that even though I think I look smaller at this point then I did with Miss E (bump photoshoot I did yesterday testifys otherwise!) the baby feels much much bigger and I feel further along... If that makes any sense? I don't know....... things are 'happening' sooner with this baby and she's so big and heavy! I was at least 37/38wks last time when I felt like this. It's odd. Ive always been a bit suspicious about my due date anyway, regardless of what a scan says, so its going to be really interesting when/how she arrives. Thankfully my bag is packed now and we've got all the shopping. I just need to finish sorting out some major clutter pits in time for Xmas and then I'm done. I may even sew a Poppy in time for Remembrance Day on the 11th.

I hope to be posting regularly again by then. See you soon :)

{ Myself }

2011-11-04T18:24:00.000Z

Day One, 30 Day Drawing Challenge

Better late then never huh? Are scanners pure evil? Er, YES.

Challenge one of the 30 Drawing Challenge is to capture 'Yourself'. Clearly there has been some vibrant... eh hmmm... incident with watercolour which elevates this drawing to painting status (i couldn't help myself, sorry) so here is also the original drawing for your perusal and comparison.

I personally feel the painted one represents me far more then just a plain B&W thing. I'll remind myself to stay away from the paints and opt for DRAWING tools like pencil and ink in future though. That should help with the major paper malfunction i had with this after applying the paints. Why i lost all common sense and decided to paint watercolours on printer paper i don't know. We shall blame pregnancy. Yet again. Either way it wrinkled crazy which in reality doesn't look too bad but as soon as you scan it all hell breaks loose. But i think i managed to salvage it.

A little about the drawing then? It's taken from photo reference. I drew it first in pencil and then in a 0.1 UNI PIN fine line and bulked out areas with a B Pitt Pen. I love those B pens. I then attacked it with paint. Just because. Well... to be truthful i was rocking my old red hair do' and some turquoise eyeshadow in the photo and i just had to embrace my inner Little Mermaid and add some colour to do it justice. You don't wear colours like that together and expect to be drawn in B&W.

Don't worry. There will be some more subtle drawings for the sensitive of seeing in the future, I'm sure.

Join me over a cup of Raspberry Leaf Tea!

2011-11-02T11:19:00.001Z

Where do you go to chat/network with other artists and crafters? I've just been wondering that's all.

Reading blogs has been a great way to connect and I've enjoyed that. Its been a very positive experience. I've tried some real life groups, forums and networking sites and some have worked out, some haven't. But what else is out there? Where else can I throw my net and meet like minded individuals?

Where do you go? How do you stay in touch? Facebook/Twitter need not apply. Any relevant recommendations or introductions would be welcome (have to say it like that to avoid being spammed).

On another note I'm sipping my first cup of Raspberry Leaf Tea. I did the same with Miss E and can't say if it did anything but I have some left over so thought why not. I quite like the taste of mine anyway.

Welcome November!

2011-11-01T17:46:00.000Z

5 weeks to go until i'm due! As a result most of this month is going to be spent 'nesting'.

To be honest I don't think i ever stop nesting. I'm Cancerian after all. My Home is a literal manifestation of my soul and creativity which is why i get so emotionally weighed down about living in a place i don't really like. I'm taking huge steps in improving that though. We may be ordering actual new furniture we like and making the house a HOME finally... Either way i NEED to sort out the massive mess in the third bedroom before the baby comes for several reasons. Firstly, that's where the baby will sleep if it turns out to be like Miss E and refuses to sleep anywhere near me. Secondly, its where the scanner is tucked away and if i want to do that drawing challenge that I'm supposed to be starting today then i need to get the scanner out so i can show you the results. Hopefully I'll have that out by the end of the week so i may need to bulk upload some drawings later rather then post every day for now. I'll see how it goes.

I'm still deaf. I went to the doctor today though and nothing is wrong. I'm just pregnant and it's one of those pregnant things so he's given me some drops which should fix it for me. Yay! I also saw the midwife too and we briefly discussed the labour I'm hoping for (Quick, hassle free and safe) so during November all those sort of things will be decided and booked in. It's my mums 50th birthday too at the end of the month and i have a few things to make and organise for her. Plus i'm doing all my Christmas stuff now so that when the baby comes during the first two weeks of December i dont have a huge mad last minute rush with newborn, toddler and impulse-shopper-extradonaire Mr W on tow. My main goal is to prevent him from buying a 15 person turkey again.

Creatively i think my main focus will be this drawing challenge and creating some very simple, very lovely Christmas gifts. October definitely got me in the mood for home made gifts and i hope to carry that forward this month.

What are you up too this month?

Octobers Top 5 Art & Craft things

2011-11-01T16:24:00.001Z

This month has been busy with making gifts and foody type things rather then artwork or crafts but I've tried my best to round up a list of things I've been using and have enjoyed.

First up is my new fountain pen. It's changed my whole handwriting experience. I'm so pleased i bought one. It was only a few quid off Amazon and does the job, but apparently the pen of all pens is the Mont Blanc Mesiterstuck 149 which looks rather sexy but at around £530 its a teeny bit out of my price range. At school we were only allowed to write in fountain pen and i think my handwriting must have evolved to suit that better then biro or gel. The ink itself is so charming too. I've gone for black but I'm tempted to get other colours such as green and purple just to see how they turn out. I'm used to writing in blue so black feels like a brave new step.

Next we have Photobox printing and this years family Christmas cards. I'll be appalled if this hasn't been done before because its such an obvious idea but basically we recreated the infamous film poster from that amazing Christmas classic 'Home Alone', Miss E center stage as Kevin. I then had it printed into Christmas cards:

I suspect I'm breaking a trillion copyright laws by doing this but i think its too funny not to. They're entirely for private use if that's any better? Oh well. I'll let you know if i get sued.

Next in my list is reusing family paraphernalia like birthday cards, drawings and wrapping paper to make art journals.

It just seems like a really quick, cheap, meaningful way to use all those bits of stuff you collect over the years without having them stashed away out of sight and never appreciated or used. Obviously all the really important stuff that i don't want to alter or damage I'm using in more sensitive ways but I'm definitely happy to sacrifice the majority of Miss E's scribbles, cut up my old birthday cards, tear out pages from concert programmes etc. and get some use out of them rather then have the clogging up my house. I'm NO hoarder. Let it be known.

Up next is this little single hole puncher. It's just so much more versatile then the standard double punch and I've already used it loads. I highly recommend getting one of these just to have around the house. I got mine from Amazon but loads of places sell them online, as should most stationary stores. You might find it in WHSmith.

Autumn Leaves! Aren't they just beautiful!? These were collected from our garden a few weeks ago and i was just amazed at the colours.

These ones dried as they were, unfortunately, so they're not usable in art work or scrap-booking as they'll crumble but i learnt my lesson and collected some more which are currently pressing flat in one of my journals ready for use. I doubt the colours will last so I've taken plenty of photos. Next year when I'm less burdened by my heaving baby belly i might try some leaf printing which looks incredible!

Happy Festivities

2011-11-01T15:02:00.000Z

Whatever you celebrated or acknowledged last night I hope you had fun and stayed safe! There be demons about dontcha know.

Our method of celebrating this time of year involved Mr W. going out last thing on a Sunday night, 30 min before the shops shut to get me a large selection box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts that have been tweaking my consciousness as a feeble pregnancy craving for days and I worked my way through several Halloween themed delights until I felt sick.

It was great.

They're all gone now. I hardly touch sweets when i'm not pregnant. I'm a cheese board kind of girl.

Autumn Crackle Manicure

2011-10-30T12:00:00.000Z

Something a bit different- an autumn inspired manicure which is very easy to do:

I created this by splodging various coloured polishes in various finishes inluding sparkles and pearlescents over a basecoat in no particular fashion and then when they had dried applied Barry M's black crackle special effect nail polish over the top. Et voila.

Perfect Autumn Goodies: Beetroot Brownies

2011-10-29T12:00:00.002+01:00

Turning a vegetable into chocolaty based goodness is one of those little baking alchemy's which shouldn't work, but does. Like carrots in carrot cake, the sweetness of beetroot can be transformed into delicious moist chocolate brownies without a hint of their former selves. Rumour has it that even the humble courgette can be turned into a cupcake. Who knew!

I used this recipe for mine and served warm with Haagan Daaz Chocolate Praline and Caramel icecream, which, so far, i've only been able to find at Sainsburys and is utterly delicous and superior to the plain Praline tubs.

Here are some shots of how it went:

The recipe is pretty complicated because of the beetroot i found. It uses a LOT of stuff including a food processor AND a mixer. So its definitely not for someone who doesnt enjoy washing up or a lot of prep. Plus beetroot gets everywhere if youre not careful and that can be quite a pain with a bump/toddler in the way.

They came out very moist compared to shop bought 'gooey' brownies but dried out nicely. I would describe their consistency as a light sponge mix rather then a dense chewy brownie but they taste very chocolately and are very moreish considering theyre only half the fat of normal brownies. Yes. Half.

The colour comes out 'rusty' brown which is actually quite pretty and i can detect a perfume of beetroot if i try really really hard to taste for it but its most definitely working with the chocolate rather then against. Its quite odd really. I think a hint of chilli would really take these up to the next level and maybe a slightly longer bake or a tad more flour to dry them out further.

Is it a recipe i'd try again? Maybe. I only made it because i had fresh beetroot to use up, its not something i normally eat or buy. Its not the easiest thing i've made so to go out of my way to buy beetroot etc. is a little unlikely.

Were they enjoyed? Mr W and Miss E both gave them their seal of approval even if they both ended up looking a little 'Resident Evil' zombiefied after... a perfect treat for Halloween in that case?

My first handmade art journal

2011-10-28T12:31:00.000+01:00

It's finally together! My first handmade art journal.

I made it to record a belated account of my pregnancy, birth and first year with Miss E and it' s made from 40 pages (for each week i was pregnant with her) of paper stock repurposed from a mix of paper and card thrifted from all the gifts, cards, tissue, packaging and cardboard bags friends and family bought her as a newborn and for her first birthday, as well as standard art paper and card. Theres also things in there i salvaged from Mothers Day and her first Christmas- gift wrapping paper, the tissue paper her first pair of shoes came in, newborn gift bags, the printed polythene bouquets of flowers were wrapped in. All those bits of tat i saved DID come in handy.

I drew the line at including birthday cards etc because i'd rather slip those in independently so they can be removed later if SHE wants them. Or i might photocopy and print that stuff in another way as to not damage the original.

I arranged the papers randomly but so that no same type of page was next to each other. I'm hoping to evolve it further into a very dense art journal with each page being a piece of art in its own right. This is just the bare canvas. I'll add to it as i see fit.

I used a gift bag for the front and back cover which already had holes in it for a cord handle. It's a beautiful butterfly print with a touch of glitter. After cutting and lining up all my other papers i punched them to match and threaded through the existing handles. After playing around with it i decided the original ribbon cords were too flimsy and decided to get some big hinged keyring loops to bind it with instead. This worked much better. My only problem is that that even though the book opens flat it slightly overlaps at the spine. This is because i used the pre-punched holes on the cover as a guide and they're slightly further in then the holes a standard holepunch would make which means they are slightly bigger then the desired radius measurement of the keyrings. It's not an issue, i just have to be careful about bending pages. I could trim the spine a little to make it fit seamlessly but i think that will make more of a mess then just leaving it. Its merely clipping the page opposite it which doesnt bother me too much. It's a lesson learned though.

Next i think I'm going to write a list of all the ideas and memories i want to include in it and start planning a structure to it with the 40 pages. Maybe half pregnancy, half the first year? Then i can go about gathering further materials and photos to put in it.

Its funny, because at the time, when i was pregnant, i didn't want to make one of these because the whole experience itself was so intense and overwhelming that i didn't want to spend even MORE of my time thinking about it, but in hindsight and after getting into art journalling more and breaking free from a lot of creative baggage i can definitely see this being a pleasurable experience now that i actually want to do it. Im planning on doing one for my wedding (another overwhelming experience) and this pregnancy too so i think its a sign im approaching these life events in the right way now, creatively. Creativity is meant to enhance your happiness. Not destroy it.

Your thoughts on blog comments please!

2011-10-28T11:48:00.000+01:00

I am honoured enough to receive the occasional comment on my blog and each one is always a surprise and usually a pleasure to read (I'm not at that point of being regularly spammed or abused thankfully), so for everyone who does read my jabberings and takes the time to comment, THANK YOU. My main point of this post is to address the appalling issue i have with moderating and replying to your comments within a reasonable amount of time... i.e. within the week. I'm RUBBISH at it. And for that i am sorry.
For your interest, this is what happens:

I drag the laptop out from wherever its hiding in the living room and find a perch out of the way of the toddler, pack my seat out with cushions so i can sit comfortably for an hour or two without getting heartburn or braxtons and then set about accessing my Blogger account to post whatever it is i post. Whilst im on it I also send all my reply emails or reply comments as its the easiest way to access them.

When that's done i put the laptop away and for the rest of the time i function entirely from my iPhone. And Blogger is a PAIN to access and use via your iPhone. There are apps out there where you can post but nothing allows you simple access into your actual blog apart from Safari... which has its own problems. As a result, i dont bother using it for blogging and even though i get email notifications saying 'you've received a message' on my phone i don't actually check them until i get back onto the computer and can easily view all my stuff. But by that point I've forgotten all about the notifcation and I'm busy getting all excited over the latest thing im posting. See where the problem lies? I dont have a system that works.

My options are to A) go on the laptop more so im encouraged to check my Blogger stuff more frequently... which means i'll settle down on it with good intentions that i'll put it away as soon as im finished but will most definitely get distracted by other laptop only things like The Sims or online shopping and not actually work on new art... or ever have a life... or B) i get over my iPhone anger issues and start logging into Blogger via that and posting replies immediately. Either way im not too happy. Is there another way im just not seeing?

My question is, is it a problem to YOU? Do you mind me being a bit irregular in that replying or is it just one of those things generally accepted in Blogland? Do you have any tips or advice on how i can make the process more efficient? Or are you happy with the way things are? What if i completely disabled comments so there wasnt an issue in the first place? Im open to suggestions. Whether i reply is the problem ;D

When i started this blog i did say to myself that i wouldnt let myself get bogged down with details like this, mainly because i didnt expect to have any interest anyway, but i can see it becomming an issue and as a reader of blogs it REALLY bugs me when bloggers ignore all their comments, even questions, just because they can. I want to show my readers the same level of respect that i expect from Bloggers so let me know your thoughts. Am i getting my knickers in a twist over something that doesnt matter or is me replying really important to you too?

30 Day Drawing Challenge

2011-10-26T18:00:00.000+01:00

This is what i'm planning on doing for November.

Source: None via Lianne on Pinterest

I'm hoping to keep it fairly straight forward- line drawings mainly, maybe with a splash of colour. I'd like to get each drawing done within an hour and i want each piece of work to be beautiful and complex in its own right and hopefully feature the human form so i can practice that side of my drawing. I dont know if i'll be able to do this every day considering how late in pregnancy i am now, but i'd like to commit to doing the full 30 however long it takes me.

A special week and plans for the future

2011-10-25T18:04:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we spent hubbys birthday at Rowhill Grange in Wilmington, Kent, which is where we held our wedding reception in 2008, 3 years ago today.

We pulled out all the stops and booked the Groombridge Suite, indulged in champagne, fine dining and spa treatments to celebrate. It was also the first night weve spent away from Miss E (19 months goes very fast) and considering we have just 6 weeks until Baby 2 is due (SCREAM), it's likely this will be our last free evening together for another year and a half. Or more.

We had a great time.

I just wanted to share some photos from the break and show you how gorgeous this room is.

Those strawberries were incredible. The chocoloate was amazingly good. I ate lots of those.

This is the Groombridge Suite:

When we got married i dragged the photographer here just to take photos of the interior so i could have a record of actually being in this room. Walking through the door again brought back so many memories.

And the bathroom! That bath tub is basically two full size bath tubs next to each other. I cant touch the sides in it. Bliss. To put things into perspective the tap is the size of my head.

I love the tiling and the basins. It had a massive shower too. I've never seen a bathroom this big. Me and Mr W joked if we lived here we would cut the bathroom in half and make it into two studio apartments.

And the tap in full 'flood' mode. I want, i want, i want.

So that's what i've been up too. Im getting so big and heavy now lots of things are becomming a bit of an issue. I cant sit at a desk for long as the baby doesnt like it and it triggers braxtons. Plus i cant stand for too long either which includes most forms of house work, socialising and cooking. It means my productivity has taken a nose dive. Some days im bursting with energy and that's when i do the essentials. Some times i even find the time to make or create something. Most days i feel so still. Not tired, but just like i dont want to spend my energy doing something else. I just want to fester. I have energy but i dont want to use it physically. Instead im doing lots of mental and organisational jobs which will keep me distracted from The Great Wait and will hopefully make life a little easier.

Here are my plans for the next few weeks and months.

Firsty- GET BETTER. Im deaf in one ear at the moment. Im not sure if its supposed to be some kind of anniversary gift. Hah ;)

I've written a list of gift ideas and projects that i can make people easily for Christmas/Birthdays at the end of the year and researched and bookmarked what tools, methods and ingrediants i need. I've also planned their schedule into my diary so i know when to make them. I'll be blogging about those as they come.

I've made our Christmas cards and just need to print them- look out for those after Halloween.

Halloween has been written off. We just dont have a reason to celebrate it this year. We're too busy. And besides, we celebrate AUTUMN. I have some beautiful pumpkins and squashes i want to paint but have also taken photographs of them in interesting lighting set ups so if i dont find the time before they get eaten or go off i have a record of them to paint from.

Im looking forward to the drawing challenge im hoping on doing through November- more on that tomorrow.

I want to make a household organisational planner for the new year and a family recipe binder. I've already started the binder but i'd like to knuckle down and get those filled in and up to date.

I will be attemtping beetroot brownies at some point this week. Now that i have eggs. Doh.

I've made some liquid handsoap from bars of soap which i want to blog about alongside some other experiences with home made beauty and bath products. We always seem to have massive stocks of hand soap but we only use liquid so its a useful technique.

I went autumn leaf collecting the other day with Miss E and want to share those findings.

I made a pregnancy and baby journal for Miss E from all the wrapping paper and bags she got gifts in as a newborn mixed with other pages of interesting paper and cards so that i can create a little art book for her on her early life. I'm just waiting for some better keyring loops to bind it together (not happy with its current binding method) and i'll show that off. Im also hoping to make one for Baby 2 and for my wedding day. I've never made handmade journals before and its very interesting.

I attempted a blackboard for the kitchen using blackboard paint designed for glass and ceramics on a photoframe but it failed miserably (it all peeled off and acted very strangely) so im going to get some proper blackboard paint, make something else and blog about my failed craft and what i made instead at some point.

No sewing or textile work in the near future is expected. Much to my dismay. We just dont have the room. I may manage some crochet projects, however.

I've bought some watercolour crayons and want to experiment with creating different paper effects that i've seen on Pinterest. I have an idea for a mobile and maybe tree decorations.

I also want to make one of those loo paper roll quilled door wreaths. Or at least some kind of art work with that technique. I fear they might be a bit flimsy and look rubbish in reality but its worth a shot. They look like wrought iron. So pretty. I sense quilling is going to be huge next year.

What are you going to be up to?

Instax photography results

2011-10-25T16:26:00.000+01:00

I've been playing with my Fuji Instax Camera over the last few days and all i have to say is that its GREAT fun.

You get quirky, imperfect, flawed shots full of character and spontaneity. You go looking for the unusual in life. The detail.

I prefer taking photos with this camera then i do with my digital ones now because half the fun is waiting for the result and not minding how it comes out.

I've taken some good shots and some completely useless shots but all can be used in scrap projects just because of the medium they're in. I've been capturing special family events. Birthdays, anniversary's, get togethers. I leave a photo behind as a gift and a memory.

My only qualm is that the buttons on my camera are in very accessible places and i have managed to set the camera off without intending too by accidentally pushing them whilst trying to do something else. But the results were still interesting.

My favourite part is that taking the photo becomes an event again. It's not about taking hundreds of shots just to get one good one and then photo shopping what you can if someone has their eyes shut- people have to sit still, smile or forever hold their peace. If it goes blurry it doesn't matter. If they squint it doesn't matter. If you cut off their head it doesn't matter. It all adds to the FUN. Children are fascinated by how it works and how the photo develops before their eyes, the chemistry, the magic, the art. How there is only one existing photo in the world which they must look after and be careful with. Miss E carries photos i've taken around with her with great respect, keeping them safe in her pocket like precious gifts. These are photos people want to look at. Photos they will wait for to see and have a genuine interest in. It's almost like rediscovering photography.

Surprises in the family tree

2011-10-20T10:45:00.000+01:00

Not many people have a pirate for an ancestor do they?

The Phantom Pirate

Down in the yellow bay
Where the scows are sleeping,
Where among the dead men
The sharks flit to and fro.
There Captain Goldsack goes
Creeping, creeping, creeping.
Looking for his treasure,
His treasure down below.

Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho--
Creeping, creeping, creeping,
creeping down below.
Yo ho!

Down a mong the tangle weed
Where the dead are leaking
With the ebb and flow of water
Thru their ribs and hollow bones--
Isaac Goldsack stoops low,
Seeking, seeking, seeking, seeking.
What's he seeking there a-midst
A lot o'dead men's bones?

Ye ho, heave a ye ho!
Seeking, seeking,--seeking down below.

Twice a hundred year and more
Are gone across the bay.
Down across the yellow bay
Where the dead are sleeping,
But Captain Goldsack gropes and gropes
From year long day to day,
Captain Goldsack gropes below,

Creeping, creeping, yo ho! yo ho! yo ho!
Creeping, creeping down below, yo ho!

Captain Isaac Goldsack is a relative of mine from my maternal grandmothers side. I've known about him for several years but only found this poem about him the other day. Factually, I'm a little hazy over whether or not he really was a pirate but he was definitely a coastguard in Cornwall. My grandmother had written out a whole family tree going as far as back as the 15th century (before the internet) and i remember seeing 'Isaac Goldsack- Pirate?' in black ink alongside all the other interesting characters in my family.

Mr W has been avidly researching his family tree recently trying to find where the name Cinnaminta comes from in our family (it's his paternal grandmothers first name and Miss E's middle name) as its rumoured in the family to be descended from Pocahontas. I attempted to find out more a few years a go but only managed to find that it's mentioned in an 1876 book by R. D. Blackmore called 'Cripps the Carrier' who describes a 'beautiful gypsy girl' living in Oxford called Cinnaminta... which is also why there are roads named after Cinnaminta in that area. However we have no connection with Oxford even that far back so we can't decide if that is related to us. Apparently, the Pocahontas connection is based on the fact there is a window in a Gravesend church which depicts Pocahontas alongside the name Cinnaminta but i haven't seen it myself yet to clarify this. Anyway, its very intriguing and we're spending much of our free time investigating the interesting stories of our ancestors. If i find the window i'll let you know.

My Daddy is 30 T-Shirt

2011-10-15T11:00:00.004+01:00

A great way to surprise Daddys or other VERY special people on the morning of their birthday is to adorn young children and babies... even yourself if you feel the need... in slogan T-Shirts that properly announce in big bright letters the special occasion.

This can be done simply with fabric paints or printable iron-on transfers. You can get supplies for these very easily, possibly even down your local supermarket in the stationary or laundry section. Simply whip up your design and let it dry/set. I stenciled letters with pink acrylic mixed with Golden Silk Screen Fabric Gel on an old white shirt. I was tempted to add a sparkle effect to it as well but restrained myself.

On Mr W's birthday we wont be seeing Miss E until the afternoon so i'll have to involve Nanny into dressing her in this so that when we go to pick her up she'll be in her full celebratory glory. The surprise will come from Mr W realising what shes wearing when he probably thinks his birthday day is coming to an end.

And all he wanted was socks with 'old git' on! Tut.

Miss E's Daddy Painting- Using babys artwork in a more refined way then just sticking it to the fridge

2011-10-15T10:00:00.001+01:00

We dont have magnets anyway so its not as if i could stick one of her drawings to the fridge even if i wanted too....... our fridge is intergrated too with a wooden door... that's why we dont have magnets come to think of it. Anyway, here's Miss E's birthday gift to Mr W- a hand painted masterpiece, mounted and framed with the words 'DADDY' stenciled over the top.

Step one- dress your mini Picasso in a bin bag... eh hmm... or suitable attire. You choose.

Clip manic fringes and curls as far away from the paint as possible as you just know theyre going to do anything in their power to get messy. And with slightly watered down acrylic (poster paints are for wusses) being splashed around, that will end in tears... and possibly redecorating... maybe even A&E if your toddler is particularly adventurous.

Let them loose with the paint. Dont try helping or you'll be attacked. Dont even make suggestions. In fact dont even stand too close or you'll get beaten up and yelled at. That might just be Miss E though. Your child may relish your involvement. I got told to be quiet and take photos.

Arrange the incredible artwork out of reach to dry. Choose one which takes your fancy (i chose Miss E's very first painting) and get creative with it. This is not a time to be precious by the way, so if you're very protective over preserving the authenticity of your childrens artwork step away now- this isn't for you. Considering the general colour scheme and arrangement of Miss E's painting I turned the image landscape for a better composition and then I added a very faint purple watercolour wash in the white gaps to bring all the colours together and make the image more uniform and suitable for stencilling white lettering over the top.

After it was dry i took a cheapo frame and mount from Ikea and trimmed the painting to fit the frame. When i was sure that all fitted, I took some letter stencils and daubed big chunky white letters over the top in acrylic. When this had dried i took a black pen and just drew over the letters again to give a little more definition. Big letter stamps will also work. Maybe layering paint with a contrasting coloured letter first and then white on top, slightly off center, will create another bold effect. I wouldnt suggest handwriting directly or going too 'kiddy' as the idea is to get a refined 'naive' look from the painting, not just plain naive. The stencilled/stamped lettering helps mature it all so its something you would actually quite like to have on display as a genuine piece of art rather then just boasting rights...

... but lets just face it- Miss E is a frickin artistic genius and didnt need much help. Just a frame and some properly composed lettering. Amazing.

Hot Toddy (Mulled Cider) gift in a Jar

2011-10-14T17:03:00.000+01:00

Autumn means Hot Toddy in this family. Every year we will find a fireplace and gather around it with a glass of warm cider or apple juice which has been sweetened and spiced with various ingredients- mainly sugar, cloves and cinnamon.For those Hot Toddy virgins out there it's essentially mulled cider and very nice. For Mr W's birthday i created a jar of ready mixed Hot Toddy sugar and spice mix so he can simply warm a cider through and add a spoonful of this rather then yell at me on the other side of the house demanding lists of ingredients.

I simply washed and sterilised a Kilner Jar and then filled it half way with granulated white sugar. You could use brown too. Vanilla sugar might be nice as well. I then added touches of the following:

Cloves

Cinnamon

Star Anise

Dried Lemon/Orange Peel

Fresh Nutmeg

I'm not sharing the exact quantities because its entirely down to personal taste and the size of your jar what you exactly need. I wanted an equal ratio of sugar to spice (as you can always add more sugar in the glass as long as the spicing is correct) so started with half a jar of sugar and went from there. Just add or omit what you have or like. Test it out in a trial drink if you're worried. I then topped the whole thing up with sugar, closed the lid, and gave it a good shake. A teaspoon of this can be added to a glass and stirred into warmed cider or if you're wary of bits you can add it to a pan of cider or fresh apple juice, warm through gently and strain into a glass. Sweeten with more sugar if required... just a warning, warmed cider and apple juice can become VERY tart when warmed so dont be surprised if it needs more sugar even if your blend is perfect. Different ciders and juices and apples all have different sugar contents so you wont be able to create a blend that suits everything out there.

A gift tag written with ingredients and instructions was tied around the rim as the final touch. If you're going to, or hosting any seasonal events this autumn you could give this as a Halloween or Bonfire Night gift or even mini versions as table favours for an autumn wedding. Maybe even as an alternative to Christmas mulled wine. We drink this right through until spring comes in. It's also a great excuse to sample your local ciders and apple juices... so go make use of great British produce- our apples and pressings are superb.

My version of the 52 Reasons 'I love you' cards

2011-10-14T16:07:00.000+01:00

I'm sure most Creatives will have seen this idea floating around the web for a while now but here's my contribution/version of it anyway. The initial inspiration came from PaperVine and her interpretation of it but one of the very first originals seems to come from Peppermint Creative, but she also doesn't take credit for the original idea... so who knows who first did this. It could be one of those ideas that's just been around for decades. Either way its GORGEOUS and you need to make one for someone you love RIGHT NOW.

It's basically a deck of cards with a simple reason detailing why you love that person on each card, bound together and made pretty. I made it specifically as a little gift for Mr Ws birthday and our wedding anniversary but from what i've seen online it's most typically given as a Valentines gift. I think it could work equally as well as a 1st Wedding Anniversary gift (you give Paper for that) or maybe a 52nd birthday idea? It's very versatile. I just thought it was a super sweet, romantic idea that anyone would be delighted to receive.

Regarding its construction, I, being completely sensible and of sound mind (i swear), chose to just make it up as i went along and didn't follow any of the tutorials out there which is probably why i found the hard part wasn't coming up with the 52 reasons (like most people) but actually making the damn thing... but here's some photos of what i did for your interest. Don't forget to check out the original tutorials if you fancy giving it a go yourself.

My tips are to organise your cards in the order you want before hole punching and become best friends with keyring loops- they're amazing.

Handmade mixed media sketchbook by Chalk Hill Studio

2011-10-14T14:16:00.000+01:00

PHEW! I've been so busy this week making things for Mr Ws 30th Birthday on Monday and various other little commitments that I havent had a moment spare. As per. Oh well. So whilst i eat my lunch (a cheddar, watercress, cucumber and mayo sandwich just so you know) I just wanted to share with you this handmade art journal i found by Karen Jinks at Chalk Hill Studios on Folksy.This is the one i bought:

It was my first purchase off Folksy too. :D I was just SO impressed by the overall presentation of it i took some photos as i opened it. It felt very special recieving this, like someone had given me a present rather then just getting a typical parcel. I thought that deserved recognition because, basically, it made my day. Simple pleasures!

I've been following Karens blog for a while now and shes mentioned her little handmade journals once or twice and its slowly been stewing in my head that i should buy one. When i saw this mixed media one i knew it had to be mine, even though the ones covered in beautiful fabrics were equally tempting. Anyway, this is what it looks like... just a plain hard cover which i can personalise...

It's inbetween A5 and A4 size, 60 or so pages (i havent counted but theres a lot in there), lays flat and is filled with pages of light mixed media papers including a variety of plain weights, deckled edged and prints such as foreign newspapers and sewing patterns.

It's bound with keyring loops which makes it completely customisable- however she appears to offer a range of 'sewn' books too (sorry- my bookbinding knowledge is very limited and i dont know the proper description for books with a sewn spine) if you want something a bit more solid.

It's definitely added momentum to my desire to make my own journals at some point. I've started making one to record the pregnancy and birth of Miss E (before i forget) and plan to create another two, one for my wedding day and then one for Baby 2s pregnancy and birth. I havent a clue what i'll put in this journal. I think i know. But i'll keep it a suprise until i start working in it.

So, thank you very much Karen! I'm delighted with my new book!

Lush new/old books!

2011-10-07T17:00:00.001+01:00

You'll be glad to know I've been abusing my Amazon wishlist again.

Here are two new books that i'm enjoying, both which were published a while ago: Firstly 'Domino: The Book of Decorating' which i actually spotted in the background of a photo on another blog that was completely unrelated but i thought the book looked so interesting i tracked it down... and then a classic: 'Complete Home Crafts' by Miranda Innes which was published pre-2000 and is very dated but full of interesting ideas.

Domino is just a beautiful book full of delicious photos and ideas. Just look at the cover!

It takes you through the basic interior design process and then attempts to help guide you through different possible styles and selection processes for each room in the house with large illustrations and photographs to make gathering things for your dream home a little easier and less of a mine field of mistakes. It wont cater to every taste but it does have a lot to offer and if you love the cover you'll bound to love the inside too. Lots of tips, tricks and ideas so worth getting if you want a helping hand.

Next up is this craft tome from Miranda Innes and Dorling Kindersley. It was a bargain buy firstly (which is always good) and full of pages and pages of different craft projects of varying interest. Obviously, where its quite an old book a lot of the ideas look quite dated or the colour schemes a tad rank but all this can be modernised and updated for a contemporary crafter- the basic ideas are still very applicable and interesting however.

I found myself drawn to the papermache bowl idea and making your own kitchen clock but it also provides fairly detailed instruction on a whole variety of other crafts and techniques which i find both useful and inspiring. Some of the descriptions dont go into enough detail, in my opinion, especially on complex crafts and a little more research into their creation would be of use but this book is a very good starting point and it suggests new crafts i've never heard of which is what i wanted it for.

Just Dabbling- Fashion Silhouettes

2011-10-07T15:00:00.002+01:00

One thing on my list of things to dabble in over the next few years is fashion illustration and sewing. Not with any intention to take it beyond just dabbling and creating things for myself (believe me, i have no interest in becomming a fashion designer- gosh no. No no no.) but i would like to experiment with it, learn from it, design things for myself and see if it adds any depth to my own personal style and skill. It cant hurt.

Pose templates

A little history here... I studied textiles at school for AS level but i found it nearly impossible to work as i didnt have a sewing machine. I passionately wanted to be costume designer when i was a child (it's actually how i became interested in drama and film making- where i eventually ended up) and I would sit there drawing all these designs, hoarding pattern drafting books and printing fabric yet i had nothing to sew the stuff together with except my own fair hands. Infact i actually wonder-webbed my final piece of coursework it was that bad... but I still passed so i take that as a sign i was good in other ways :D

In the end I gave it up for A Levels (when sewing machine skills became vital) and waited 6 years to finally meet my treasured sewing machine which was a wedding gift from my inlaws. When i got pregnant 5 months later a serious lack of space and time became my next enemy, then we decided to move house and have another baby so to this day all my many many many sewing things are in storage waiting for us to move house so FINALLY i can spread out and start using my fabric stash. And yes, when our move fell through the other week i did weep a little bit about not being able to sew for the forseeable future, but it's okay. Until we move, and we will, i can do the illustration side of things and get my head around the big gaping black hole that is fashion design.

The world of fashion illustration intrigues me as its a whole different approach to the female form and i like the fact that the designs are beautiful AND useful.

Through drawing poses in magazines and looking at other illustrations i learnt quite a bit about my own drawing versus fashion drawing. Firstly, if i draw a female form from imagination it would only be 7 heads high whereas a fashion illustration seems to usually be around 9 heads high. By this i mean that the full fashion illustration would be 9 times the length of the drawings head, whereas mine was only 7 heads tall. By lengthening my drawings, mainly in the thigh region, my sketches became a lot more fashiony almost instantly.

They also took on more of an androgynous feel, which even though i accept is perfectly desireable in main stream fashion industry, that particular look is completely unrelated to me- I'm an extreme hourglass shape. So to make my final pose drawing templates vaguely useable i added boobs, a waist and a bum to my final drawings (top image) so i could design around them with ME in mind. Otherwise there's no point.

So after i chose a handful of simple poses and drew them up to be used as templates i went looking for as many different poses as i could that might add interest later on and drew them up in micro form as reference. I found i got more comfortable with blocking the forms out with lines and basic circles first and then filling in the detail after i got the proportions right and i did about 35 drawings in a few hours. Most of the time was spent trying to find new poses!

Next i'll start drawing models with clothes on, exploring fabrics and drapery, adding colour, pattern, texture, hair and makeup details and then move onto exploring different styles of illustration and how to figure out my OWN way of drawing these things... but only after i've got the basic rules down. I'm doing things properly and in order for once. And this time with a sewing machine to play with at the end!

Latest Sketchbook stuff

2011-10-06T15:33:00.000+01:00

Here's some of my latest sketchbook work focusing on prints, patterns and graphics, once again. These pages seem to be a little more focused on jewellery and accessories. I tend to wear quite simple stuff because it suits me more but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate the bolder designs. This cuff by Rosie Fox is just amazing!

Do you like my owl? The story i've written with it always makes me laugh. Apparently the Tawny Owl is the only owl that makes the 'twit-twoo' sound. And its a pair of owls making the sound... the male says 'twit' and the female says 'twoo'. Just makes me laugh the idea of this bloke owl flapping round yelling 'twit! twit! twit!' Had to do a little drawing for it.

Some typography practice. I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with it now. I've got plans to play around with some refined versions for DIY inspirational quote posters for the home. I picked up some old wooden photo frames a while back which would benefit from something like that.

More fashion silhouettes and prints. These are just unblended watercolour pencil. It's quite a difference in finish when they're not blended i think. I'll probably go back and wash these out later to get the proper effect. I really like the Aztec-ish pattern top left. Its from an enamel bangle.

Then i drifted into doing some poses, and sketching figures and faces. There are still elements of patterns and graphics sharing the page. These are from magazines but i bought a proper artist model pose book the other day which has nudes to draw from which looks great. There aren't any local groups to me who do life models so this is the next best thing. I'll let you know how i get on.

Here's some quick portrait sketches in both pencil and ink. If i draw in ink without a pencil sketch first it tends to go horribly wrong as i cant get the proportions rights straight away yet- especially if its just a line drawing (when I do ink tonal studies that's a little more forgiving). I need to see how it looks on the page with pencil before committing in ink so that was a useful lesson to learn.

A lot of portrait artists say capturing the eye is the most important part of drawing the face as it reflects the character and is the main point of focus, most of the time, for the viewer. I kinda agree with that. My portrait skills are limited but if you get the eyes right everything else tends to follow. So here's an eye. Beyonces eye to be accurate. I really hate where they airbrush the hell out of beauty shots these days so you cant see ANY true detail. I remember trying to draw a picture of Cheryl Cole once from a magazine hair advert and if you turned the image upside down and looked at her reflection in the floor the photoshopper had forgotten to amend loads of the reflected detail and it looked like a completely different person. There was all kinds of frizzy tufts, strange blemishes and teeth gaps suddenly visible. I'm not against photoshopping images BUT as an artist they're really not helping me, so damn them for that. I want to draw some pores please!

(I hope these bulk photo updates are acceptable? I draw a lot in one go and then update instead of doing it page by page as i work better that way. If i keep stopping and starting to upload every page as i go ill get distracted from my creativity and never work)

It's HERE! My Instax instant camera!

2011-10-06T13:07:00.000+01:00

Can you see the sheer joy in my typing? My Fujifilm Instax camera (with film) has arrived! Hurrah! I saved up and bought a kit of a camera and 3 lots of film as a treat to myself off amazon and it's taken me several months to achieve that so it's been a long time coming- hence my over excitement at something which probably isnt that amazing anymore. Since Polaroids are pretty much extinct now due to the cost of film (if my memory serves me correctly its because theyve actually stopped making the film you need for Polaroids so its ridiculously rare and expensive to get, even though the cameras are cheap) so you're next sensible option is the wonderfully white and very funky looking Fujifilm Instax which is more expensive but manfactures FILM.

I havent used it. I havent even loaded it with film. I literally ripped the packaging open with my teeth and looked at it in sparkly awe before thinking 'what the hell should i take a photo of' and then put it to one side to calm down, blog and ponder how i want to use this little beauty.

I bought it mainly because a) i've never had one and have never used one so i want the novelty factor and experience of using it, b) to have real photos in my hand immediately for journalling or art purposes and c) a bit of a gimmick, really, to take and show friends/family whenever we get together to remember and record the dinner/party/trip etc in a novel way that doesnt involve camera phones...

So what do you think? Have you got one? What do you use yours for? PS can you see me hiding in the second photo? ;D

A Question and Answer a day 5 Year Diary

2011-10-06T12:40:00.002+01:00

You may have seen that i occasionally post art journal entries labeled 'A Question a Day' and wonder what on Earth i'm going on about? Well here is the actual book i get all those questions from- a 5 year diary called 'Question and Answer a Day'.

I've never managed to keep a diary or journal for any more then a month because i just don't have the time to write down everything I've done or thought before i want to go to sleep. I'm all for capturing important moments and recording things BUT not at expense of actually doing them so i really struggle at dedicating time to a diary without thinking i could be spending my time more productively. This little book is a great way of capturing the mood of the day and takes up mere seconds of the evening. Plus if you cant think of anything interesting to write about it doesn't matter as you have a question to answer. You also have the benefit of keeping five years worth of answers for each day so over time you can look back and see how your life has changed.

I started mine back in June and I'm still going. Every day i answer the question or if I've missed a few i go back and answer in bulk. I feel as long as I'm capturing the mood of my general life at that time it doesn't matter if an entry is a few days late, which is great as it takes the pressure off and things remain fun and natural.

All the pages feature the date and a different question. The edges are all gilded and the book presents itself in a pretty, simple vintage style which would suit both men and women i think as a gift. Mr W is already taking an interest and wants to start adding his own answers.

Can i keep this up for 5 whole years? I don't know, but wouldn't it be amazing if i could? Do you keep a diary or a Q&A a day diary and how do you negotiate it into your life? Does it help you creatively too?

My Last 5 Pins from Pinterest

2011-10-04T16:10:00.001+01:00

Love the colour, love the style and shape. Perfect for autumn

Source: boutique1.com via Lianne on Pinterest

A super simple but very effective way to decorate all sorts of things including gift cards, note books- even applique on t-shirts

Source: alovelymorning.blogspot.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Beautiful DIY necklace idea for paper or book enthusiasts

Source: mandipidy.com via Lianne on Pinterest

I really want to make these, i use them all the time! DIY crystal bobby hair pins.

Source: annekata.blogspot.com via Lianne on Pinterest

Another way to use paper hearts. Cut, fold and paste one half down flat to make a 3D petal shape. Reflect with another petals and you make a flower!

Source: scrapmix.com.br via Lianne on Pinterest

Sketching patterns, prints and graphics

2011-10-01T16:42:00.000+01:00

I bought a moleskin sketchbook a few weeks back and have been filling it with shape, pattern and print designs I've found and like. It's not something i gravitate towards naturally so its been a real learning process in layout and refinement and all those things you need to develop when you're recording these things.

Most of my references have been fashion magazines, just looking at the textiles and jewellery designs. I've also been drawing the little borders and graphics they use, just to see what they use and how they work on the page. Typography, logos, prints and graphics are an alien form to me, one which i appreciate but have never got my head or hands round. And i want to. Collection, dissection and imitation are the first steps I'm taking to understand these things before i attempt my own originals.

Not surprisingly, with fashion magazines as my main resource, i find myself drawing the outfits and silhouettes i like as well and the more i draw the more i notice trends appearing, like the star print... the leopard print... polkadots.... I've noticed a trend where many prints and graphics are drawn in the negative i.e. white on colour, like a lino print, rather then black on colour which was something I've never noticed before. It seems to give designs that vintage, light, shabby-chic feel. Maybe darker outlines will appear towards winter? I don't know. I'm just speculating.

As mentioned in my September top 5 I've also been drawing from that stencil resource book i recommended looking at the shapes and designs. So many ideas and different styles... all free to use in your own designs. The borders i could use to frame an illustration. The florals can be transferred into glass paintings on wine glasses as gifts. The graphics can inspire hand carved lino prints for personal stamping or crafts. It's just nice having a catalogue of designs that I'm attracted too and I've made some attempt to learn from.

I'm trying to keep my referencing as accredited as possible so i can track things back later to the original, so I've been jotting down where i found it, when, what season, the date if available, links, the outfit a print came from etc. I've also been sticking in swatches of the designs i drew from so i can compare mine to the original. My drawings aren't always so flattering and its always handy to see what actually inspired the sketch.

I've also benefited from using a sketchbook as just that, a sketchbook. I've been making notes and using it like i would have at school and college and its been quite confidence boosting. I always thought i was a rather shabby art student but now i look at what i can do these days I'm starting to think maybe I'm just a late bloomer?

Welcome October!

2011-10-01T15:49:00.001+01:00

I had a surprise bouquet of autumn themed flowers delivered yesterday without a message. Aren't they pretty? I can only guess who may have sent them. They were a lovely end to the month and the week.

I get extra pleasure from receiving bouquets as i get to salvage all the packaging and ribbons they come with. Check out the little brown envelope, sheets and sheets of autumn themed clear plastic and metallic orange and burgundy ribbon which can all be reused in other projects. Its the gift that keeps giving.

I'm so glad October is here. It was the hottest 1st October for 26 years by 0.5C. (i know right, big whoop)

This is why i got married in October. It's always good weather. As soon as November kicks in though, it's winter. Almost immediately. We got married on a Saturday with blue skies and sunshine and then by the following Wednesday we were taking off for honeymoon amongst snow drifts- just because it was November. I love this time of year. I don't celebrate Halloween really anymore (the Playboy bunny outfit and cigar have been retired since everyone else started wearing it- le sigh) but i do acknowledge Autumn in its full glory for as long as its here. I wish it could be autumn all year round. Blue skies, crisp air, sunshine, colour, log fires, fireworks, apple crumble, falling leaves, knitted jumpers, knee high boots, gravy and mashed potato, hot chocolate, early nights, books, dark mornings. Its everything i live for. It even sounds like me.

I am Autumn.

I hope something wonderful happens this month.

September Top 5 Art & Craft Supplies

2011-09-30T19:01:00.005+01:00

It's been an eventful month! The 30 Day Photography Challenge that I've been focusing on has been completed and I still managed to find the time for a little bit of art and craft. Here's what caught my eye this September:

'2286 Traditional Stencil Designs' by H. Roessing

Such a fabulous book for anyone interested in graphics or interior design. This book features vintage decorative stencil designs which can provide a useful resource of repetitive images and designs for all sorts of creative pursuits.

I bought it to help me design interesting borders, stamps, fabric prints etc. for personal use, but you can use the designs commerically too, i think. I cant remember the exact restrictions, so please check yourself, but i think you can use the designs in new pieces of work/services or products but you cant sell the designs themselves on, so its one of those handy 'go to' books for artists and designers which has a flexible copyright licence. It's also a fascinating catalogue of American interior history and taste.

The cover is pretty darn ugly... so i thought i'd show you that last. Available from Amazon from £3.50 used! Bargain!

Magazine reference

My favourite source for image reference. Obviously copyright law applies here so tread carefully if you use the images as direct sources of inspiration or reference, but tearing and collecting interesting images from magazines for inspiration and drawing practice is one of my geeky obsessions. Need a pose? Colour combo? Pattern? Hair style? Texture? Concept? Landscape? Font? Silhouette? Magazines of all kinds can cater.

I personally get one tried and tested fashion mag (Look Magazine), one home mag (Your Home Magazine) and then salvage the rest from newspaper supplements, junk mail, catalogues, supermarket magazines, brochures etc. If you're exceptionally stingy, like me, you can also source scrapbook backgrounds from them. That's my little tip for the week. Not to mention the collage and decoupage possibilities. And you're recycling. Bonus points!

Golden Silk-Screen Fabric Gel

This stuff has allowed me to turn acrylic paint into fabric paint. What's not to like?! It has opened up a whole new world of creativity! Simply mix the medium 50/50 with your acrylic and apply. I painted some babygros with mine but I've got ideas for all kinds of textile art now: cushions, clothing, shoes, tapestries, napkins, curtains...

The tub isn't huge but acrylic paints are perfectly usable as fabric paint in their own right, it's just that this medium makes them dry softer and cope with washing better so you could potentially use a smaller amount on things that won't need regular washing. I used the smallest amount though for my creations and unless you're going industrial with your fabric printing this will last an average Creative a long long time. Available from Artifolk from £10.16 for 286ml (don't confuse it for the Silk Screen Medium which is different)

Thrifted fabric from charity shops

I cant be the only person who does this... surely? Charity shops are havens for bargain fabric finds, you just have to look. My tip is to literally ransack the clothing rails for anything you can salvage. I personally choose the plus sized garments as you get more fabric.

These two pretty prints are from large floaty maxi dresses and contain a good amount of usable cloth and both came to under £5 total. I avoid anything with too much construction where the fabric has been cut up already, like shirts or trousers and i don't look at anything with sequin or tiny bead embellishment as that will all fall off when you cut it up. Pretty buckles, buttons, zips etc. are all worth looking out for and don't forget knits- interesting wools can be salvaged from just unravelling them.

iPhone apps

I've been using my iPhone a lot recently to manage my blog so I thought it was only right to talk about the apps I've used.

First of all my favourites iPhone apps of the moment are for mobile access to Bloglovin and Pinterest.
Bloglovin (free) is great for following blogs- something i never found the facility to conveniently do until i found this. It opened up a whole new world of creative networking and i read my feed daily on my phone.

Pinterest (free) is a image/idea collecting resource, very much like a digital pinboard, where you can store all those interesting images you find and share with others. Ive found endless inspiration from this community AND it seems relatively safe from slease/violence unlike other image sharing websites which is very appealing. It is however invite only but if you'd like to join please ask me and i'd be happy to add you.

I create and upload the occasional blog post from my BlogPress (£1.99) app which is okay but it lacks a lot of advanced function control compared to desktop versions but it's worth getting if you have a lot of blogs over various platforms and like to blog on the go. Its also handy for uploading iPhone photos straight to your blog which is what i used it for.

FX PhotoStudio (99p) is just brilliant for tweaking iPhone photos or adding a whole collection of filters and special effects. It's very extensive and I'd happily use this over all the other photo software out there now. Its just too fun. I recommend this over all the others i've tried including the popular Adobe app and for 99p its a bargain!

Day 30, 'Self Portrait'

2011-09-30T11:32:00.002+01:00

The final photo! Another self portrait. 29 days older. How do I feel? PREGNANT! 30 weeks gone now, 8 months pregnant next week. 10 weeks to go. Am I prepared? No. No. And No. How can you prepare for such a momentous life changing event like this? You can only play it by ear and hope for the best.

I'm rather proud I've completed this 30 day challenge. 30 days not distracted. That's an achievement for me.

Things I've learnt about photography:

I'm not a photographer. It's not my passion. I enjoy it when I see something but it's not my craft or way of expressing myself.

iPhones will never compete with SLRs in terms of quality however the apps are fantastic fun and worth playing with.

To get the most out of photography you need to think. It's not a case of just finding pretty things to look at. You need to look at everything in a different way and FIND the beauty within.

So what's next? I'd still like to play with certain aspects of photography that will be of use to me creatively as they're skills which can be applied throughout life. As a film maker I find photography a familiar territory which blends nicely with my fine art interests also. I've also impressed myself recently by actually SAVING UP for an Instax camera which is a whole new novelty for me and I can't wait to play with that when it arrives.

The most important thing I've learnt though is that photography captures a moment in life and you need to LIVE IT to get the best results. Which is why I've left my Facebook account, my final 'networking' tool. My thought was just think of all the interesting stuff I could be doing if I didn't have a newsfeed to check? And it immediately made sense.

This blog, even though it's not huge and is very new, has brought me a great deal of direction. The blog community I browse and learn from is inspiring, warm and calm. So for that, I thank you all for your support, input and your own blogs which I frequently find bliss and guidance in. I hope that I can repay the kindness in turn soon enough.

On to October!

Day 29, 'Black and White'

2011-09-29T13:27:00.002+01:00

Something I learnt from Dr. Sears today. Choose your battles.

If you're overwhelmed only focus on the things that really bother you. Anything that just irritates or annoys you can be ignored for now. It's better to do that then spread yourself too thin and think that the whole of life is one big battle. You might find you begin to win at some battles too.

Day 28, 'Flowers'

2011-09-28T12:26:00.002+01:00

It's so warm today so I thought I'd make the most of the garden whilst I can still safely waddle around out there. It's as much as I feel comfortable doing right now. I attempted the shops last night but that was a little too scary at the moment. I felt very vulnerable and just wanted to go home to worry. Ha ha. I'm fine though. No trouble came of it except my own fruitful imagination.
Im coming to the end of this photo challenge now which I'm quite glad about because I'm ready for something new. Not that I don't like photography it's just that I'm not a photographer and im greatful for learning that through this and now i want something which IS right for me. There seems to be a lot of things ending in my life right now. The year, pregnancy, moving house... It might be this which is creating the general sense of loss and lack of direction that's been really bugging me recently. Things add up don't they? I know it's only a matter of time before new projects start in life and you find a new path to move down but it's that bit in between, the shadow bit, where you feel anxious and confused, that I'm enduring right now and I'm really not good at it. Mr W is so much better at it then me but won't share his secret.
Maybe I need to look at the cycle of the flower and see the potent metaphor it holds for life rather then just take a pretty photo?

The smell of morning

2011-09-27T16:42:00.000+01:00

Little things that make me smile:

The smell of morning. Hairspray, fresh coffee and newspaper ink.

Day 27, 'From a distance'

2011-09-27T11:29:00.003+01:00

Centred, as far back as the eye can see, framed by the alleyways and back gardens of my local vicinity is the Dartford Bridge.

You can just make it out amongst the roof tops by the lamp post in the far distance. It's foggy today. Sometimes you can see ships sail by on the Thames. Most days you can see the lights and cars moving. If there is a storm approaching you can watch it consume the bridge in darkness before it hits our area.
You can only see it from one bedroom in our house, my old studio, and for some reason it's always represented hope to me. The real world. As long as I can see people moving about on that bridge I'm hopeful and I don't feel so isolated.

Day 26, 'Close up'

2011-09-26T19:07:00.002+01:00

A closeup of the tear drop pendant I was wearing today. It's one of my favourites. I think I got it from Boots actually, which isn't really the first place you'd think of for jewellery, but there you go.

Miss E went with nanny today so I spent the free time doing household admin, paying bills and doing a bit of online shopping for boring bits and pieces that I can't get in person at the moment due to my pregnancy complications.

Crafty bits for a gift I'm making for Mr Ws birthday next month arrived so I'll be sharing that soon. I spent most of yesterday drawing in my moleskin which I'm still yet to share (I will eventually) and I've also started making the Xmas cards. I swear, I'm not over exerting myself. Im very relaxed.
Promise.

Day 25, 'Something Pink'

2011-09-25T13:02:00.002+01:00

Easy easy easy! Pink & Girly we can do. Here's a photo of Miss Es bedroom taken with
the amazing Andigraf app that I discovered thanks to Natalie over at Awkward and Beautiful.
Miss Es bedroom is a mix of white, pale green, yellow and hot pinks. We figured if we ended up with a boy it wouldn't be too hard to swap the pink for blue or purple. It's a very flexible colour scheme.

In her room she has a white sleigh cotbed which we got in the January sales before she was born, a very good quality chest of drawers from Ikea (I was surprised at how good they were actually and will be buying more) and on the floor she has a very pretty quilt rug which our best man and his wife got her. Around the room, hanging from the picture rail are all her special and formal dresses. We have high ceilings so it's a nice way of adding colour to the rooms without causing permanent damage like hanging pictures would AND it meant we don't need to buy her a wardrobe yet for all of them. It's also nice being able to see all her clothes from birth rather then have them stored away after a few weeks of wear. They're so pretty they should be seen! And there's a lot of memories attached to each dress. Weddings, Christmas, birthday parties, holidays, family get togethers- all remembered through these little outfits.

Day 24, 'Animal'

2011-09-24T15:11:00.003+01:00

Ironically, I'm feeling more human today. I managed more then 4hrs sleep, I can function and my ribs hurt because the baby is back up nice and high- out of trouble. So I'm happy. Plus we had some really lovely viewers today. Polite, nice people. Makes such a difference.

We also made a decision last night regarding moving. We have one option left. One crazy ridiculous option which I have no hope in but it needs to be discussed before we can finally, sadly, close this chapter in our lives until something else comes along. But miracles happen right? If it will be, it will be.
So today's photo features the jugular. Metaphorically to represent us going for the jugular of life, that animalistic urge, and literally to represent my healing throat. Nifty huh?

Day 23, 'Solar Flare'

2011-09-23T14:36:00.002+01:00

Are you kidding me? Even the 30 day photography challenge has it in for me. Ha ha!

The sheer torture of looking any where near bright light with dry itchy eyes, scratchy throat, my nose streaming etc. sent my optic nerve ballistic when i attempted this shot triggering sneeze after sneeze- it was way too much for me. So I just stuck my arm out, looked away, and randomly snapped photos until I found something vaguely useable and then waddled back inside to find a tissue.

But the important thing is, I survived.

So this photo represents moving forward towards the sun. The light. The warmth. Making progress. Even though my whole body is repulsed by it and needs to be dragged along kicking and screaming out of the shadows.

We will keep trying.
We will never give up.

We will succeed.

Some days you just find a way through even if the path isn't on the map. Remember the New Forest?

How lovely it is to have daughters

2011-09-23T13:04:00.000+01:00

I wanted to share this page because i did it not soon after confirming we're definitely having another little girl and i was feeling rather smug about the fact because little girls are GREAT and everyone thought we were having a boy. Both our families consist of very few females so I'm glad I'm doing my part in adding a bit more pink and lace to the world. Or eyeliner and studs. Or coffee and books. Or a whole medley. Whoever she becomes she'll be awesome just like Miss E.

This page consists of the first flowers Miss E ever picked for me on our trip to Bath. These were picked just for me, by her own fair hand, no prompting, in the the garden of The George Inn at Lacock. They feature a clover flower and a buttercup. I sealed them into the page with some sellotape after I'd dried and pressed them. I did think maybe i should do something more precious with them, like put them in a little box and hide them away for ever but i always do that and i don't think things like that should be hidden away and not used. Not appreciated.

My grandmother gave me some Victorian newspapers last year and made me promise i wouldn't be precious with them because things like that are MEANT to give birth to new ideas and constantly inspire us- not be squirreled away and never seen again. And I've done just that. I've squirreled them away to keep them safe and LOST them.

Never again.

My seasonal colour themes for my blog

2011-09-23T12:33:00.000+01:00

I thought i'd share this today as i havent loaded any journal pages for a while and i have rather a backlog. Whoops. I'll only show you my favourites though. This is one of them as i like the look of it and it served a purpose.

I decided i wanted to change the blog header every season as a little way to be creative and to keep the blog feeling alive... i feel like my blog is almost an online sketchbook and its nice to be able to change it with my moods and interests to reflect what my tastes are right at that moment, so i created a little colour swatch and pattern log of ideas and colours that came to mind when i thought about the seasons and what i wanted to embrace from that.

I've used the summer pallet already as you might have seen- vibrant, bold colours and shapes focusing especially on greens and yellow:

This was done by digitally layering watercolour splatters, something i was really enjoying experimenting with at the time.

And this autumns header is up now, as you will be able to see- reds, oranges and pink in rich, intense washes:

This time i layered more watercolour splatters and streaks with digital textures and photographs of leaves as i'd been doing quite a bit of photography during that time.

Winter will be up towards the end of November, probably, and will feature a more festive banner, but not so festive that it wont be appropriate past Christmas and New Year. Winter is more then just that!

Spring will dip into florals and more delicate colours from the end of March just because my main preoccupation is waiting for the first bulbs to arrive and theyre normally Snowdrops for us, or Crocus. Is the plural for Crocus, Croci? Never mind, im sick, my head is full of cotton.

And then we start all over again towards the end of June with a new summer banner.

How do you visualise the seasons?

Day 22, 'Hands'

2011-09-22T13:32:00.002+01:00

Duvet day today! Miss E has been looking after me even though she has a cold (which Mr W and I also now have). Family sniffles aside, yesterday I was also sent to my bed by the hospital midwife after a difficult night. Apparently I have an irritable uterus (IU). To stop myself going into labour too early I need to rest, avoid stress, avoid doing physical stuff, standing (no, not kidding) and stay hydrated.

I did the food shop online yesterday and bought some bottled water as that's pretty much all I can do right now.

Currently I'm just trying to think of non-stressful activities which will keep me amused from my bed. It's a limited list.

Home and Moving stuff is outright banned from my presence.

I'm reluctant to think about the baby too much too as it's really worrying me. Ditto any upcoming events or festivities, just in case. So Xmas, Halloween, my 3rd Wedding Anniversary and Mr Ws 30th Birthday are all being put to the back of my mind until further notice.

I was considering focusing on my knitting crafts but I often struggle at those and get stressed or Miss E runs off with the wool. Similarly if I try to draw anywhere but the kitchen table she'll take a pen and start drawing zig-zags on the floor or tearing up my sketchbooks (sob sob sob). I think I'll attempt the 30 day drawing challenge at the start of November but not push myself too hard. I'll enjoy that. I was considering reading and making notes from my art and craft books. And obviously reading blogs and finding new projects and inspiration for when everything is ok.
I just feel frustrated that I've only just started being regularly creative again and now I have to find yet another way to incorporate it sensibly (and safely) into my life without losing it entirely. It's SO hard making it work some times.

Day 21, 'Faceless Self Portrait'

2011-09-21T12:10:00.003+01:00

Stay in there please! You've scared me enough for 24hours.

Day 20, 'Bokeh'

2011-09-20T19:57:00.002+01:00

Bokeh are what you call those little orbs of light you see often in deliberately blurry shots of fairy lights or roads at night. Sometimes people layer them over shots of eyes, teacups, romantic heroines etc for a whimsical, magical feel.

I was hoping to get some shots of cars through rain drops on the window but a) that has little to do with my day and b) it's not raining.

So I went for the second option which was to take a relevant photo and then fake bokeh with a filter. Im good aren't I?
Today I've been tidying, yet again, for one of our last viewings. We have to serve our notice with the estate agent and in that time we've decided to let any viewings go ahead just in case, by some miracle, someone decides to buy our house. Otherwise we'll try again in March.

I thought it would be poignant to take a photo of the spotless living room pre-viewing. It's the worse room for keeping clean. I sweep that rug by hand daily, sometimes more. The sunflowers are a gift of hope and positivity to the house. The bookcase is full of my art books which distract me. There is my wedge pillow on the chair which keeps me comfortable in pregnancy. The bokeh add a warm, dreamy feel to a scene riddled with stress which is JUST what I need, but in reality.

The midwife says my blood pressure is fine though so I must be coping ok.

Day 19, 'Something Orange'

2011-09-19T15:22:00.002+01:00

The Black Eyed Susans are out. You know what that means? The end of our summer garden.

Around September/October the flower beds all of a sudden explode with the brightest yellowy orange flowers studded with their little black eyes. They're not pure orange but the autumn sky makes them look more orangey to me. They can't get much brighter really. They dominate everything, even the buddleia and grape vine which have slowly taken over the garden. They signal the beginning of Autumn and hang around for ages waiting to be killed off by the early Spring frosts and then March time they're replaced by the Daffodils and Tulips. They get the garden through the winter.
I was hoping this would be the last time I saw this vibrant show of colour before moving house but since we've taken our house of the market this week I suspect I'll be able to see it all over again next year. It's bitter sweet. A bright reminder of how were not moving but that I can at least inject a little bit of joy into my world even during the darkest of seasons.

New Linton Tweed samples

2011-09-19T15:05:00.000+01:00

I love that time of year when i get a big chunky pack of Linton Tweeds new fabrics in the post like this morning. I've discovered their fancy tweed a few years back after hearing they're Chanels fabric supplier and i just love them. Just LOOK...

These are my favourites from the batch.

The great thing is all the swatches are a good size, about A5, so they can be used for other things. I'm currently using mine as backgrounds in my art journals but im also tempted to save them for little mini craft projects like Inchies or even a little purse! So pretty. I'm VERY tempted to buy some of the C9331 and A9341 because youre not going to come across that kind of cloth every day. The A93s have little metallic tufts in them and are so gorgeous. I can just imagine them as a little funky pencil skirt or even a cushion cover. Yummy stuff.

Day 18, 'Your Shoes'

2011-09-19T15:01:00.002+01:00

These are my Irregular Choice shoes that I don't wear. They are art as far as I'm concerned and I bought them entirely just to look at, like sculpture.
I fell in love with the material too. It's like a python print in iridescent blue, green and purple. Psychotic-peacock tones. Wearing these would do them no justice. These need to held aloft, at head height and worshipped.

A-Z of Me

2011-09-19T13:29:00.000+01:00

Rusty Butterfly

Just a little autumn themed photo from my portfolio. This one was from last year. Dont you just love macro lenses?

I saw this little exercise the other day and thought it would be a fun little way to get to know each other a bit more. So heres my A-Z and if you fancy doing it and leaving me a link, feel free. It would be cool to know a bit more about you guys :)

A. Age: 27
B. Bed size: King.
C. Chore that you hate: Nothing really. I just hate the repetition of doing the same thing over and over when i've only just done it.
D. Dogs: Im allergic to most cats and dogs. I laugh about it but they could actually kill me. Wierdly though every now and then i come across a cat or dog im not allergic to at all, or one that makes me REALLY ill so im trying to figure out why that is.
E. Essential start to your day: I cant get up immediately. I need to lie for at least 30 min to ensure morning sickness doesnt kick in. Then coffee or tea. I consider that to be breakfast and then I eat a larger brunch at about 11am which is essential to my day.
F. Favorite color: Red, but im also quite a big fan of Green or Orange.
G. Gold or Silver: According to Mr W, diamond expert, yellow gold makes diamonds look muddy, especially if theyre good diamonds, so when he got my engagement ring he imposed a platinum/silver/white gold only rule. Im not complaining. Just keep sending me diamonds.
H. Height: 5'4" and a half. I dont care, i just am, and half an inch is actually quite a bit visually.
I. Instruments you play: The recorder and glockenspeile.
J. Job title: I'm an Artist/Film Maker to the tax man. Property Developer on my CV. But really, im just a Hustler.
K. Kids: Miss E, 19 months. Baby 2, another girl (yay), due early December 2011.
L. Live: Kent, UK
M. Mother’s name: Mummy! Dur!
N. Nicknames: Lili and more rarely these days, Lan.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Two. Once when i had my adenoids removed and once when i gave birth.
P. Pet peeves: People who support certain social movements or beliefs but havent a clue what theyre actually supporting and/or are utter hypercrits. And then lecture people on how morally superior they are. Do some research into your opinions before trying to change mine thanks. Im actually informed.
Q. Quote from a movie: 'A whales vagina.' Anchor Man. One of the greatest films of all time. And i have a degree in film so i'm an authority on this.
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Two younger brothers. Ones 25, ones 15.
T. Time you wake up: Several times a night. I GET up at about 8:30am. Miss E wakes at 9am.
U. Underwear: Essential. Matching. Opulent.
V. Vegetable you hate: Boiled carrots. YUCK. Otherwise i'll eat them in any other form.
W. What makes you run late: Traffic or Mr W forgetting something and needing to turn the car round.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: I've had several on my teeth. Once when i fell down a flight of concrete steps and smashed my face in. I was 3 and drinking apple juice. And then to check my wisdom teeth as an adult.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Tagliateli, Crumble, Tom Yum.
Z. Zoo animal: I like the smaller animals like the really tiny monkeys and meercats.

Hand printed babygros

2011-09-17T18:05:00.000+01:00

These were so easy to make but so cute: A second baby gift for my friends and their recent newborns and my own December baby, a 3-pack of hand printed babygro's with little polkadot ties, bowties, necklaces and other shapes.

How to make hand printed babygros

Tools

3 pack of vests/babygros in the size and colour of your choice. You could also do this on tshirts for older children or even yourself.
1 thick piece of card
Stencils cut out in the shapes you want
Acrylic paint AND Golden Silk Screen Fabric Gel medium OR Fabric Paint
Cotton wool buds
Selotape

Method

1) Prepare and affix your stencil to the fabric wherever you want it with selotape. I made my own stencils. Place the thick card inside the babygro, directly under the area you'll be printing, so the paint doesnt bleed through to the back side.

2) Choose your acrylic colours and mix them up with the Silk Screen Fabric Gel. This medium allows acrylics, after heat setting with an iron, to survive frequent goes in the washing machine AND makes the paint dry soft like fabric paint. OR choose your fabric paint colours. I went for tones of blue and purple for boys and yellows and pinks for girls.

3) Dab your cotton wool bud in the colour and dab a splodge onto the fabric. It should print a little circle of colour. Practice beforehand if youre cautious so you know how much paint to use etc. Repeat until the stencil is full and looking pretty. Repeat on as many items as you like. Remove the stencil carefully.

4) Dry for 24hrs then remove the thick card. The babygro can then be heat set and washed following the fabric mediums instructions. It is then ready to wear. (Iron on the reverse in future for continued longevity)

Handmade baby gifts- door signs

2011-09-17T16:42:00.000+01:00

Handmade 'DO NOT DISTURB, baby sleeping' sign

One thing i really wish i had with Miss E, before the thousands of muslins, the nipple shields and changing mat cover for particularly cold days was a big flashing sign on the front door that said 'Baby/Mum sleeping. Knock and try and sell me something- i DARE you'. (Yes, those exact words)

So i made these little door signs for my friends and me a few weeks ago as newborn gifts. I went to CraftShapes and ordered a set of these wooden plaques and requested, at a little extra cost, holes to be drilled. When they arrived a few days later i primed them, buffed them with silver acrylic and waited for them to dry overnight. I then stamped them with a floral pattern in pink and red round the edges and then stamped the signs message with black. This didnt stand out enough so i went over it all with permenant marker and tippex. I should have just done that in acrylic looking back, but yknow, Pregnabrain and all that makes me do strange things. After drying over night i then sprayed with clear laquer and prayed to the Craft Gods that the ink wouldnt bleed (they didnt) and were maybe even waterproof. Apparently they are. Hurrah!

My friends Jen and Sam both had little boys, Reuben and Max, so i made them a blue and lilac verson with a silver ribbon for a manly edge.

Day 17, 'Technology'

2011-09-17T15:24:00.001+01:00

We went driving today looking for a new home. New hope. We didn't find anything and then we had really bad fish and chips so came home. We normally go for a drive at weekends looking for property. It's the best way to find things.

This is Mr Ws car. The family car.

As a very green manual car driver all the weird buttons, paddles, no clutch, hill start assist and what-not literally fry my brain. It's a semi-automatic, which I've driven before, but this one seems to be an especially fancy one with 'modes' and strange symbols, plus it's massive and fast so I look at it with a mix of fear and confusion. It might as well be an aeroplane as far as I'm concerned. Where's the handbrake? How do you switch it off? Does it even do neutral?

My concern comes from an incident a few years back (before I could drive) where Mr W left me in his car with the engine off and all of a sudden the whole vehicle started rolling forward on it's own towards a parked car in front, because the handbrake had failed! After figuring out i was actually moving, much to my horror, I had to leap into the drivers seat and figure out where the brake was and then sit there whimpering not knowing what the car might do next. Oh how he laughed. So that's always at the back of my mind. Now he has this car i feel all confused again. He tried to explain it to me but I'm one of those people that needs to physically do something to learn it rather then just listen to instructions so he may as well have been speaking Chinese. And I'm not driving it to learn atm thats for sure (another story for another day). Instead I've been preparing my alternative escape procedure. Simply put, I'm going to do the classic 60s cops/robbers TV series 'stop, drop and roll' manoeuvre before watching the vehicle launch itself off a cliff and explode, several times, in flames. As you would. It's the only way.

I succumbed to the box of Gloss

2011-09-16T14:39:00.002+01:00

I received my first Glossy Box today. What a treat!

Glossy Box (if you've been living under a beauty rock for the past year), is a company that sends it's subscribers a monthly gift box full of luxury beauty product samples for £10 a month.

Today I got a full size HD brows palette which I instantly love and actually needed as mine has just run out so that's very handy. A full size bottle of L'oreal Mythic Oil for dry hair which my hairdresser uses on me all the time (smells amazing too) and I was going to buy the other week but forgot. I also got a large tube of StriVectin eye cream which is great as I have been meaning to buy some from Olay but that's saved me the effort/cost. There was also a nice perfume sample and some face oil which I'm sure will be interesting to try as well. It was such a nice surprise for the end of the week.
For my first box I'm very happy. £10 well spent? Er, YES!!

Day 16, 'Long Exposure'

2011-09-16T12:05:00.002+01:00

I'm playing with words today as my iPhone doesn't do long exposures. Instead I'm exposing my feelings about the last few months... which will take too long, will be a bit too intense, will make people worry etc. So I'm sharing a photo instead which I think represents me pretty damn well.

I did think about ranting. Setting the score straight about recent events. Explaining. Justifying. But then that's what has been stressing me out too. Should I have to explain myself? I don't know. The way I see it if someone genuinely cared about me they would know already why, what and how as they would have enquired deeper into my welfare wouldn't they, rather then just assumed? That realisation has made me feel very alone. Nobody but Mr W has enquired. Ive clearly assumed things too.
So with all this on my mind I haven't been making the greatest of effort creatively recently. I have a lot of work from previous weeks to share though. I hand printed some babygros and made door signs a while back which I'm rather proud of and I've also been making page after page of drawings inspired by patterns and shapes and prints. I'm not sure how I'll share that. Might do a video.

I've been looking at retaking some of my GCSEs and Alevels too, which has opened more cans of worms (why, what will it achieve, where, do I even need too, what do I actually want to do with my life etc) but I'm strangely more settled and confident then ever in that respect. I think I've finally figured that bit out about myself. It was staring me right in the face of course but doesn't it always?

Oh, and photoshop. God I hate computers sometimes. I need to get CS5, well, I say 'need'... I'm surviving on a very old copy of PaintShop Pro at the moment but if I want to start doing digital art again or taking art courses I need to get my hands on some modern software so I've been looking at that and just raising my eyebrows with suspicion. Im pretty anti Monopoly's. Especially when I've always preferred my PSP to PS, even at Uni when I had access to the best of PS. But as an industry standard it would be valuable to have some comprehension of the current PS. I may even grow not to hate it. Hah.

Day 15, 'Silhouette'

2011-09-15T12:22:00.002+01:00

Today we received some bad news. This is a photo of us talking about it as a family. I had to record it. It's a very important moment. It was important to us.
There are only two other moments in my life where I've cried as much as this. But at least were doing it as a family. Together. We have each other. That makes it easier. Were no worse off. We just didn't get what we worked so very very very hard for. And that hurts. And I'm not going to apologise for feeling that way. I am FAR from happy right now.

So the silhouette theme for today was entirely appropriate metaphorically. Thankfully the shadows will pass by Sunday I think and light will flood our life again, slowly but surely.

Silhouettes are fleeting. All you can do is hold on tight and wait. Wait, wait, wait.

Day 14, 'Eyes'

2011-09-14T11:25:00.002+01:00

Can you tell what mood I'm in?

Day 13, 'Yourself with 13 things'

2011-09-13T17:10:00.002+01:00

13 is my lucky number.

To me it represents the unexpected surprises and problems of life. Chance. Luck. It is pure and unbiased. It is the roll of the dice. It can't be controlled. And I like my life to be that free and flowing. Good things happen. Bad things happen. I'd much rather that then be bored. I like the thrill of not knowing, and as a very logical person (to the point of my realism being so honest it borders pessimism) anything completely and entirely beyond my control or foresight is an utter joy.

Todays photo features yours truly with the 13 piles of paperwork I've been sifting through in my old studio aka the third bedroom after we converted it back to sell the house. It became a dumping ground which swallowed wedding certificates, bank statements and very whereby hair clips so I've been going through organising it again.

My paper mountains include:

Magazines

Books and notepads

Scrapbook images/Postcards/Reference

Photos

Art Materials

Bank Statements

Work invoices

Household invoices

Coupons

Recipes/Take Away Menus

Mr Ws Stuff

Non-Paperwork

Sentimental Stuff

I could easily break Mr Ws stuff up into six or more piles but that would be depressing and I'd rather pretend I only have 13 piles to file away. Not a kagillion or whatever that makes..... My maffs ain't good none izit?

Day 12, 'Sunset'

2011-09-12T20:56:00.002+01:00

I'm cheating slightly with this one as the sunset this evening was pants. This was a sunset a few days ago from our bedroom window. We get some really good ones.

What's really cool is that this photograph is completely untouched. This is what the sky looked like at that moment captured with my iPhone.

Imagine how amazing it could be if I had any skill in photography and my SLR!

Day 11, 'Something Blue'

2011-09-11T19:14:00.002+01:00

After a Sunday of not doing a lot, there's only one way to spend the evening.

Doing much of the same!

Here's to Sundays with Radox muscle soak baths.

Day 10, 'Childhood Memories'

2011-09-10T22:29:00.002+01:00

One of my earliest memories, at around 18 months to two years old was eating a rice dish my mum used to make me for lunch. It may have been cous cous but I'm pretty sure it was rice- with peas, red pepper, raisins and mushrooms. There may have been sweetcorn in it.

I remember picking out and eating the red pepper and raisins first, then the mushrooms, then the peas, then if I was still hungry I'd tolerate the sweetcorn and rice. I used to think how strange it was to put raisins in savoury food! And red peppers were meant to be salad! Even then! I remember being told it was hot. And it was. Eating it by the record player with my baby brother (thats how i know how old i was). How the red pepper would sometimes be burnt and bitter or the raisins had little gritty bits in them.... Ahh, such strange things we remember as babies.

Why is that so important though? Well, my own daughter is that age now and I assume already forming her first long term memories. I find that amazing.

I also serve her rice with mixed veg most days for lunch or dinner hence the photo. Every time I make it I think of those little shrivelled bits of red pepper and the squishy raisins with a tinge of butteriness.

I wonder what she will remember.