Time Warp.....where's it gone?

I can't believe its 2012 already, and it's been 5 months since I last commented here....maybe one of my goals for this year should be to blog more!
I've previously mentioned my plans for my future, being that I'm learning to be a florist. Well, the course started in October, and I'm love, love, loving it! I get the self-doubt thing, which is typical me, never confident in my own abilities, which I am told is crazy, but....well, that's just me, and an area to work at I guess. Seriously though, some of my work I like and am pleased with, some areas need a bit of practice......and some areas need LOTS of practice! The picture shows an arrangement for valentines day, which I quite like.
And on the subject of goals and new year, I don't make resolutions, I set goals. These are easier to achieve, and there's no feeling of failing when your resolution doesn't work out. So, what are my goals for this year? (apart from more regular blog posts) For the first time in a long time, I don't have any concrete goals this year. I could do the usual of "get fit", "loose weight", but actually, they just don't seem real enough right now. I'll finish my first year this Summer, and so I will start to plan my new business around Autumn, and there will hopefully be some monumental, massive, life-changing things going on this year, which I will discuss at a later stage, when there is a little more to tell, but for now, it's known by just a handful of people until it grows a little more.
It could be a mega year of change, in so many ways, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out....

Off to Hogwarts...

So you know I love Harry Potter, right? I might have mentioned it before. So this little trip out on the last bank holiday of the year was a bit of a thrill really. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, my husband had chosen the destination and the outline for the day, and strangely enough, trains are not really my thing. I must be honest though, it was an enjoyable day out, and the sounds of an authentic steam train are amazing, it definately takes you back to by-gone eras. It really felt like I was on the Hogwarts Express, there were proper carriages, with a narrow walk way and seperate little rooms, with great wooden panels and doors. To put the cherry on the cake, there was a trolley lady too, but sadly, no pumpkin pasties!

This is a shot of Goathland Station, which was used as Hogsmeade in the first HP film, I was sooooo excited to find out this was on our route, and half expected Hagrid to come striding through the steam.

It was a good day out, and just goes to prove there is fun to be found in things you don't think you'll like.

Lovely Ladies

These are the fabulous ladies who worked at my "mother ship" The Scrapbook Shop. The closure of this shop has left a big hole in my life, I still wake up on a Monday morning and think "I might pop to the shop today..." and then reality sets in. Sigh. I have to try and get a silver lining from this, and the only one I have at the moment is that my bank balance might be a little healthier. Maybe.

Tears, jam and cake....

Wow, where does the time go to? It doesn't seem like two minutes since I last posted, but it's been an absolute AGE hasn't it?! Oh dear....

So, a quick re-cap of what I've been up to recently, which involves jam, cake and chocolate bark.

I find myself with quite a bit of time on my hands at the moment, I am, as they say, "between jobs" at the moment. When I have time, I tend to potter on in my kitchen, I do like be a bit of a domestic goddess, although my goddess like qualities run out when it comes to things like ironing and dusting. I'm aware that housework won't kill me, but why take the risk?

Well, I digress....back to business, this month has seen the closure of The Scrapbook Shop, which leaves quite a big hole in my life (but might give my bank balance to recover a bit). Not only was this the place I got most of my crafting supplies, it is also the place I go to crop and meet friends.

This is a shot of the "Last Crop", which involved quite a bit of chat, some eating and very little actual crafting, but that's normal.

There was a lovely red velvet cake from Nat, which was yummy, and I had made some chocolate bark, which is one of my favourites.

I have tried my hand at jam making this week, which turned out a lot better than I hoped. I am now the proud owner of a few jars of lovely plum jam, and the plums came from my very own fruit tree too. Now how Domestic Goddess is that?!

What I've been up to.....

This is a sneaky peak of another 3 hearts journal page, inspired by one of my sisters, and how the passage of time has made us into friends rather than just sisters. We are quite close and share a few interests, crafting being the big one. I'm really loving doing this journal, and trying out new techniques and playing with gorgeous arty goodness.

Last night, we went to see the Kings of Leon at Sunderland. It was a good gig, but the stewarding at the stadium was abysmal, and the band SERIOUSLY need to learn how to work a crowd. For me, there was just too long inbetween songs where nothing was said, but I've been to some amazing gigs by astounding bands in my time, so I guess I've been spoilt in that area.

And onto the rest of my life. There has been some activity and fact finding in recent days, and a plan is bubbling away, but is quite dependant on several outside factors over which I have no control, so it will have to be a waiting game for now. This is hard for me, because being a bit of a control freak, I like things sorted and to know where I'm heading, so right now, I feel a bit like a ship lost at sea. I'll make it to harbour soon.

On-line Classes and art journals

I've done a few on-line classes before, some I've enjoyed and some some were ok. I have trouble keeping up with daily prompts and tasks, I usually get completely swamped and fall behind, so I have one or two half done albums lying around.

However, I've recently discovered an American shop called Scarlet Lime, http://www.scarletlime.com/ run by the amazing Christy Tomlinson. I joined an online workshop that started the end of May, and oh my, is this a bargain or what?! Christy has shared sooooo many techniques it's almost overwhelming, some I've used many times before, but there are enough that I haven't done to make this so very worthwhile.

There is a weekly prompt on things to mull over and think about, but most of this is about the technique and I am loving it, loving it, loving it! When I started this course, I didn't think I'd be thinking the things I have, it has made me pause for thought a little.

Now I've done workshops on art journalling before, but it's never really clicked, but this time it has. So, I'm going to share a few of the pages from this new journal of mine, and it's really inspired me to journal a lot lot more.......who needs a counsellor when you can art journal?

This is the inside page, and is part of the proverb the journal is based on. I didn't realise my script stamp was upside down until I'd finished, ooops!

And this was my first attempt at image transfer, but didn't work too well, but I like the not-perfect way it came out. This page has a few "mistakes" on it, but they look ok and I'm happy to just roll with them, which i guess is just like life really.

A floral creation

This I am very proud of. I know that sounds quite big-headed, but I just love this. I love the colours, I love the flowers, I love the shape. Well, I like everything about it really. I made it during my floristry class this evening, at Houghall College, Durham.

I'm dipping my toes in the water to see if I like floristry and am any good at it, and I'm doing this because floristry is something I am seriously thinking of doing, so I'm doing some very careful research this time around, I'm too old to do this again in the future!

I can't believe how fast the time goes during these classes. Two hours disappears in the blink of an eye, and most of the people doing the course are nice.

So I have a bit more thinking to do, and need to do some experience in a florists, and then I can make a more informed decision.....