I've finally got around to posting a new tutorial and as I have been asked a few times about bookbinding I have gone back to basics with an accordian journal, really simple and fun to make and play around with - have a go! If you want to see what goes on inside the book I will post the pages on my whispers blog.
Remember this? I bravely started a new painting with the intention of pulling together all my different skills on one canvas and here she is. You can tell from the previous photo she has undergone a transformation, in fact she was completely scrubbed out and re-drawn. When I started this I didn't have much of an idea which direction I was going to take - I have trouble doing paintings for the sake of it, they need a story or a theme to exist - which is why it has taken me so long to finish it. However Inspire Me Thursday this week is about tears and emotions which fitted in with her look, she looks calm and serene on the outside but there is a hint of pain so I added a little poem and the broken butterflies to suggest inner turmoil. I'm not entirely sure it's worked, I'm out of my comfort zone so will put it away for a while until I make my mind up what to do with it.
Opening pressies while still in pyjamas...
Going to the park for fun and picnic...
walking along the river looking for baby ducks...
eating ice cream (don't think she was too impressed about me taking this one!)...
and the all important birthday cake!
Doesn't time fly - my crazy, puddle jumping, fun loving girl has reached the grand old age of 2! Happy Birthday darling xx
We spent the easter weekend with family in the cotswolds ... 
...walking up the magical Malvern Hills...
...and through the beautiful Forest of Dean - tree heaven! I am too exhausted to write much but going back home always affects me slightly, feel like I leave a little piece of me behind but I love Cambridge so much I can't bear to be away too long either. Home from home.
...the things on my list bit by bit. Above is a new wedding stationery design based on my smitten print, both of which can be found in my shop, and I've also started a cafepress shop with both this and some of my other collages - I will gradually add more and more but let me know if you would like to see a particular piece on there that I haven't got to yet!
Easter holidays have officially begun, we've just been out for a run around the park and after nearly a week of hardly being able to move it's good to be out and about and feeling normal. This one tree was in full bloom despite the cold and the orange glow of the setting sun made it look magical. I am looking forward to the next few weeks...
Feeling much better today, the painkillers are doing their job and although I won't be turning cartwheels for a while yet (!) I don't yelp every time I try to walk / sit / bend / stand / reach etc. I even managed to get these little pages ready to post for an Around the World book swap I'm in. Sorry guys for being late but they are on their way!!
Well as if I didn't have enough to do already I went and pulled my back and have rendered myself useless for a few days. I'm not looking for sympathy as it's all my own doing and there are people with real problems and health issues much worse than mine but it has made me appreciate how much we take for granted. Suddenly a simple thing like picking a toy up off the floor or going to the loo or even going in the fridge to get milk for a cup of tea seems like a mountain to climb. So I am enjoying my rest time (difficult for someone who never sits still) and spending quality time with the little one, something I realised I don't do enough of even though we spend our days together and everything else can wait. (Could do without the pain though - see the picture, that's what it feels like!)
I so wish I was like this orchid, I yearn for this kind of peace and stillness in my crazy chaotic life. It was a mother's day pressie from my little angels and I just hope I look after it properly as I am not known for my gardening abilities. The last orchid that found it's way into my house lasted all of two days but this one seems a lot happier.
As for everything else, I have a long list of things to finish or start and life keeps getting in the way. As much as it pains me I am going to have to write a list and get organised again, start ticking things off before time slips away and I collapse in a heap trying to finish everything at the last minute. Having winter return with a vengeance just as I was getting excited about spring arriving hasn't helped. We've had hail storms, snow, bright sunshine, more hail and back to sunshine in the matter of minutes and it is soooo cold. I am in a spin again and need it to stop. Now!
I have been trying to complete a piece for Inspire Me Thursday for weeks now but the week flies by and it's Thursday again. This weeks topic is art and architecture which spurred me on to finish an abandoned painting started last year. This is about windows, a favourite motif of mine although I couldn't necessarily tell you why. I do like the idea of framing and structure and the idea that you are looking into a place different to where you are standing. Make of that what you will!
Wired pretty much describes how I'm feeling at the moment, too many late nights working, too many early mornings because of the little ones, and a lot of running around in between is not good for mind or body. One of the things I do to relax is doodle, I flick through magazines and draw faces. As you can tell I started with the old hag in the top left corner and they thankfully get better as my mind relaxes and my hand takes over. I really should try to make this more of a daily thing, I'm not the meditative type but this is the next best thing.
Spring is here! We wake up to light mornings; it's still cold but the sun is stronger and brighter and makes me want to get up and on. We are spring babies, this is our time. 
Well I don't know where the last week went, don't exactly feel like I've achieved anything either. The week before I was full of enthusiasm and excitement, had lots of new ideas buzzing round in my head but I seem to have lost focus. Last week I started lots of things but couldn't find the energy to finish them. Now I am in that familiar whirlwind of 'which do I tackle first' caught between what I have to do and what I want to do and going nowhere fast. Thought I had a grip on this side of my personality but it has sneaked back up on me. So I am going to have a cup of tea and start on the mundane jobs and get them out of the way. Maybe then I will be able to relax a bit and get back in to the swing of things.
A while ago I posted this card design but felt something was missing. Appropriately enough I decided this morning to add a bright orange balloon any little birthday girl would be proud of!
Have babies. NO not me, the cat. Anya loves to create relationships between people and things, anything smaller is a 'baby'. So the left over ball of wool from fuzzball above was 'baby cat' and imagine her delight when it magically transformed overnight into a real baby cat. Now we have 'Mummy cat' and 'Anya cat'.
Walking in muddy fields looking for robins and snowdrops, eating apple pie and toffee cake, drinking lemonade and hot tea under the apple trees, coming home cold, wet, but very satisfied.
This gorgeous ball of fluff is the reason I've been quiet for a few days, knitted for a very special person's birthday back home. I must confess I did intend to have a go myself but a teddy on the fly was a bit much for my poor old brain so I found used this kit instead. Kamal made a pressie too without any interference from me, and I was seriously impressed. I know I'm his mother and by definition biased towards his talents but this really bowled me over, go and have a look!
And I should tell you who's responsible for this sudden renewed interest in kntting, she's an old friend from college and has just started her own business making beautiful crochet hats, artwork and clothes for babies at her site Giggleicious. I haven't crocheted since I was a kid and never really liked it but seeing these gorgeous flowers on her blog I wanted to have a try. Haven't managed it yet as I have only mastered one stitch but did do this little bag for Anya, and then dug out the knitting needles for THE cat.
I daresay the novelty will wear off, after 4 days of solidly knitting the ted I am desperate to get the paints out. It's half term this week and we are having an art day with Kamal and one of his friends so I might get to do something myself too.
I was invited to join pookieville's valentine postard swap and finally got them all posted yesterday. I will post all 10 cards on my whispers blog (and to think I was going to shut it down) and on flickr. To see everyone else's click here
Make it snow. Real, proper, crunch under your feet, snowman making snow. We showed it to her at 7 in the morning when daddy went to work and she refused to come back in for breakfast. She had her coat and boots on over her pyjamas running up the road, screaming in protest as I scooped her up and brought her back in the house. She kicked and screamed louder (goodness knows what the neighbours thought) as I wrestled her wet boots off and then ran to the front door, boots in hand demanding to go back out. Then threw them at me when I said no. So she sat there, bottom lip out in a sulk for a good 10 minutes or so. Like any good mother I left her to it and concentrated on getting Kamal ready for school. I think he was hoping his school would be closed, but his is the only one in the area that managed to open. A very long hour and a half later she finally made it back outside, this time properly fed and dressed and very happy. 
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