Latest creation

They're not the greatest scans, but here's the card I made at the weekend for my dear friend Pippa's 40th birthday. She's received the card now, so I can post pics without worrying :o) Inside is a tag she can use as a bookmark and a lovely quote from Jane Austen's Emma about not finding a better daughter or truer friend... I do so enjoy my vintage craft pieces and they may always be a first love, and I SO enjoy collage. And of course making crads for friends and family is so much fun!

Sam's birthday cash stash

My gorgeous boy is 11 today!! Hardly seems possible. Here he is with his stash o' birthday cash! I managed to buy him some OK gifts: book, PS2 game and lego - money in an envelope just doesn't seem much of a gift from Mum and Dad - I love the buying and wrapping up too much... But thanks to other folks' generosity he got cool gifts AND loads of dosh!!

Bedtime silliness

Here's my poppet enjoying some crazy time with her dad before bed last night. Kids never stop being adorable when they're all clean and in their pj's - it starts with that newborn baby smell and just never ends...

New CD

Just bought this yesterday - I LOVE the Scissor Sisters. They were one of the best acts at Live 8 last year, and I loved watching their Red concert in Trafalgar Square on the TV last weekend. At times they sound like Elton John, at others George Michael, and they know how to get you on the dance floor - not to mention boogeying round the living room as I was yesterday when I first played it!!

Links working

Thankfully my friend Fran figured out how to make my links work - and I'm so happy!! The links to artists are those whose work I really love - and their blogs are such fun to read. Etsy is a great place to buy their art - as well as ebay, of course. The artpad is just a blast - I love having a doodle. And the 99Rooms will just blow your mind - make sure you have your volume switched on when you enter... it's a fabulously surreal virtual experience... And Artella was the first site I found last year when I started to acknowledge my inner artist... I even won one of their poetry competitions in July 2005 :o)

Art class 3

Well, they may not look like much, but these little sketches are the result of 2 hours of hard concentration at my third art class! Boy, do I ever feel out of my depth! Drawing people is sooooo hard!! These wee sketches are drawn from action photos and the focus was on trying to convey the movement of the figures... It's not the clearest picture (my scanner couldn't pick up anything, so I took a photo), but I think you can kind of tell there's a footballer, runner, dancer and jet-skier in there! I was quite pleased with the little guy jumping up in the air with the ball under his arm (top right).... I just have to keep telling myself this is the first time I have EVER done anything like this, so they're not likely to be brilliant - but it's hard...

My other loves

The pic on the left is the cover of my latest read - Steven Gerrard's Autobiography. I've so enjoyed every minute of reading about this remarkable footballer's life. My dad questions how anyone can write an autobiography at 26, but Stevie G has had a remarkable life so far, and he is without a doubt one of the top footballers of his generation. The book reads just like he speaks - so lots of expletives!! - but it also rings true. He is a Scouser through and through, and it gave me goosebumps reading how he felt after Liverpool won the Champions League last year - when Liverpool came back from 0--3 down to AC Milan (yes, I confess I have it on dvd and watch it far too often...)
On the right is the cover of the programme when Liverpool came to Lincoln City back in August. Of course they didn't field their first team, but it was fun to see the likes of Robbie Fowler on the pitch. It is still on my To Do Before I Die list to make it to the hallowed ground of Anfield and see the team I've grown up supporting on home turf. Ideally I'd share the moment with my dad, so maybe when he retires later this year we can get something organized...

My inspiration

And here I have wonderful artwork from friends around the globe for inspiration. Plus work by the kids - Esther drew the cheerful singing bird, and Sam did the delicate watercolour. It's wonderful to have these pieces beside me as I work. I feel their creators are close by, watching over my shoulder, being a part of my creative journey.

My sanctuary

Here it is - my haven - my art cabinet! It's actually a computer workstation from Argos, but for me it is a place of magic. I love the fact it's totally plain on the outside, and organized, creative chaos on the inside - a powerful symbol of how I see myself... And the pull-out keyboard shelf is a perfect work surface! I love the fact I can work on something, then store it all away till next time. So much better than trying to work at the kitchen table where everything had to be cleared away, even when I was in mid-flow.

Art class - weeks 1 & 2

My first attempts at perspective (week 1) - yes, those straight lines are all hand-drawn and fill an A3 sheet; and watercolour (week 2) - the colours are much brighter in reality. The class is held at a local art shop here in Grantham. The teaching is excellent and the other folk in the class really nice. Can't believe I finally took the plunge and started taking a class - only took four years - I feel so proud of myself :o)

View from the back of the house

Here's a pic of the ponies in the field behind our house - sadly none of the horses are ours. But we get the most fantastic sunsets over the field - especially at this time of the year. We may be pretty landlocked here - and I would so love to live by the sea! - but no one can deny we live in a pretty lovely part of the world!

View from my desk

Having been inspired by a friend's blog where she shows the fabulous seashore shots of where she lives, I thought I'd share some of my neighbourhood pics... This is the view from my front window which I look out on every day from my desk. The cosmos plants are getting past their best, but they've brought beauty and colour throughout the summer. The Green across the street is the kids' favourite place to play - Samuel and his friends play football, Esther and her friends build dens under the trees and have tea parties... It's the loveliest little street, and we feel very blessed to live here!

Lazy Sunday

These beautiful cosmos blooms were picked by my beautiful daughter Esther from our garden to adorn the table. They are one of my favourite flowers - I love the colours - we have deep purple ones as well as these lovely pink ones - and their fragility. Their name reminds me of just how fragile our own cosmos is - a suitably deep and meaningful thought for a Sunday....

Sort of getting the hang of it...

Well, I've managed to upload a picture... it's not a recent one, but a favourite - I call it my 'very jolly pic'! It was taken at a friend's 50th a couple of years ago. I've been growing my hair ever since then, so it's nothing like in the picture, though I do look at it and think 'What a cute cut!' Longer hair is more versatile though, so today it's up in a clip...
When I get the hang of it, I'll post more pictures of my art stuff. Although I haven't done any recently - I'm struggling with terrible headaches. Unfortunately the herbal remedies I'm trying are just not working, and it's impossible to feel creative while your head feels like it's in an ever-tightening vice! It's all at the back of my head, which is weird and runs from behind one ear to the next. It does just feel like someone is screwing in a metal plate - all the time!!
But enough wingeing!! I don't want to turn into one of those Moaning Bloggers - at least not just yet!

New beginnings

September always feels more like the beginning of a new year for me than the traditional 1 January, so I figured now was the time to actually start my blog!! The kids start back to school tomorrow, and then I'm hoping to have more time to play with templates, settings, pictures.... So, to state the obvious - watch this space...