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.....

This is a little project I've been working on, and I'm quite pleased with how it's come out. It was inspired by a piece of work completed by my good friend Gill Watson, but not quite the same. It started life as a bit of a naff multi-photo frame, I sanded the frames and painted them with a hand mixed paint glaze (Claudine Hellmuth studio paints) and then sorted out papers to fit the appertures. I added some chipboard words, a few embellishments, some charms and a twig I picked up from Fountains Abbey (which was a fab day out!).

The papers and chipboard pieces are 7 Gypsies, Conservatory range and the glass phials are from the Tim Holtz idea-ology range. Most items were bought from The Scrapbook shop www.scrapbookshop.co.uk and the charms came from Happy Daze www.happy-daze.net

The rusty key was bought at one of my favourite shops, RE at Corrbridge. This will hang either on the stairs, or in my craft room, to remind me that I can fly, if I just dare to let go....

And life goes on...

So, this is the first week of the rest of my life. I have recently lost a work contract so 90% of my work has disappeared, so I have a lot of time on my hands right now. I COULD wallow in self pity and cry "woe is me", or I can view this as an opportunity to try a new direction. Its all a bit scary, but time to bite the bullet and get on with things, so, here is my plan for my future (as it is right now, who knows when it will change!) 1. Make some lovely crafty products to sell at local markets and fairs. 2. Possibly do some part time temp work to tide me over Summer 3. Re-train in floristry in September, for one year 4. Get a floristry business!! It is my experience that life turns on a sixpence, so anything could happen, hang on to your hat and fasten your seatbelt, it could get bumpy...

There's a first time for everything....

So, when I first came to the dark side of papercrafting and all things inky, I was a scrapbooking girl. I liked it neat, straight lines and with form. Oh how far have I gone into the dark side?

Over the years I have gradually moved away from the 12 x 12, its now mini books and making actual items.

I have been bitten by the altering bug....big style!!

This is my first foray into this area and I am absolutely LOVED it! This was made for a friends birthday, so was working on it for a few days, and I am sooooo pleased with the outcome.

The original book was purchased in a French market last September and sitting on my shelf, just waiting......

When I spotted the little heart in a local cook shop, the idea just leapt into being, and my little book was born.

It has now been passed on to the intended recipient, and she loves it too, so I'm pleased it's gone to a good home.

I will definately be doing more of these in the future....

More colours.....

At the start of the year, it was confirmed that the funding for a good percentage of my work will not be renewed after March. This means I have to do quite a bit of thinking and assessing. Do I re-train (again!) or get what some people would consider a "proper" job......

I LIKE working for myself, I want to do something creative....I have NO idea what I'm going to do that will provide me with a living. To help me with this process, I'm working in my art journal, hoping that some sub-conscious eureka light bulb moment will happen.

It's a scary time for me.

And on a lighter note, I'm going to share another of my colour journal page, this was one of my favourites to do as well as being one of the first. The colour was gold and white.

Gold is not a natural choice for me, I'm a silver girl, so this was a bit stretch therapy for me.

I loved the end result, using a couple of techniques I hadn't done before, which was the point of this circle journal. As gold and white are Angels and vanilla to me, I just had to add in a vanilla pod, so it smells lovely too. I am still pleased with this, several months on......

In real life, this has a lovely metallic golden sheen, and the word "Believe" stamped into the acrylic paint stands out a bit more....but I was pleased with how it cam out.

I am a dreadful blogger! I manage to read blogs I like, but keep up with my own? well, obviously I'm shocking as I haven't written for MONTHS!! I promise I will try to keep up more....

So, a very quick, very brief update, I've been running a circle journal for a while, and this was my first page for someone else, which was handed on a while back now. The circle was inspired by the amazing "true colours" book by Lynne Perella, so everyone has a colour theme.

This page was black and white, which also had a challenge of altering something into black or white, so I altered the string, the picture frame and the moon. I was rather pleased with this page and loved doing it. Several months on and this album has some amazing pages completed by some very talented ladies.

"By day she was tied to her housework..."

"...but at night, she danced by the light of the silvery moon"