Jeudi Journal - Don't Know How

"I don't know how to put this nicely so I won't" is the quote for this week.  I felt it needed a "But" after it and an explanation which could have been lots of different things.  So mine would have to be something to do with a scaredy cat - not sure who is the most scared - the two boys holding hands or the cat sitting on the wall.  The little Miss certainly looks like she is saying something over her shoulder - and has no qualms about it.

I painted the background with my Amsterdam paint in Naples Yellow Red and then put the brick wall at the bottom of the page via one of the brown Distress Inks.  I used Forest Green DI to stencil the leaves down one side and across the top.  

As you can see I once again used my new stamp from Christmas but this time used it with a smaller head.  I think this is a great plate from Dyan as the body is fine with both smaller and larger heads.  I almost used my new Zinnis but in the end chose to use the two boys and was delighted when I found that they can appear to be holding hands.  You can just imagine, if they were the types to be afraid of cats they would have those silly expressions on their faces and hold hands.

I think the cat I chose from Tim Holtz' Crazy Cats looks a bit perplexed with its crossed eyes - or is it scared of the boys?

Next week is the end of our quotes last chosen so at the moment we are coming up with a different set.  Lucky for me Wendy keeps a check of what we have done, many a time I would have done a duplicated quote had she not been there to wag her finger at me.  So I am off to find some and add them in a mix with hers.

I am pushing my luck and entering this again into Art Journal Journey's challenge.  I am using the body of the new stamp that I used last week but I figure it is still new and hopefully eligible, especially with a new head.

WOYWW 553

We are already one week into 2020 and today I went to see my cardiologist for the annual MOT and came home with an appointment for 2021!  Plus this is my second WOYWW this year.  Can you believe it!

I have been doing a lot of reading into the fires in Australia and I feel very strongly that I want to do something to help.  There are lots of organisations we can donate to and so I wrote a long post about the fires ending with a list of places that you could donate to.  Then my computer went silly on me and the whole post looked like it was on a piece of 'ticker tape'.  (Like a white strip with black writing on it, made for uncomfortable reading).  So I am going to set to and rewrite it but in the meantime please join me in praying for rain - lots of it for them.

As for crafting, well, I haven't done much.  I did stamp all those Zinis I showed you last week, cut them out and coloured them ready for my small Moleskin Journal.  Now I need to do backgrounds.  I don't make resolutions, because they never last with me, but I am going to go back to drawing and painting portraits like I was taught by Tracey (Scott) and I want to try to make cards a bit like those I see others do with Lavinia stamps.  Now I do not get on with Lavinia stamps but I managed perfectly well with Cardio silhouettes at Christmas so I bought a couple of silhouettes of fairies.

My desk shows my portrait journal, the two new sets of fairy stamps and my new journal which I found in the cupboard.  Brand spanking new!  I only have about six pages left in my current Thursday Journal so I was delighted to find two brand new ones - the other has all black pages so was not really suitable for what I want at the moment.

Now I am going to go to You Tube and watch a few videos to see how they do those lovely fairy cards I see.   See you next week - will it be fairies or faces?

Health Update:

Yesterday was not good, neither was Monday when I went to see a friend and walked up and down all the time nursing my back but Sunday was a totally pain free day.  I could not believe it!  Having had a visit to the chiropractor on Friday, first in three weeks due to the holidays, I did not expect a full day like that so it was lovely to reflect on it.  But on the whole I think there is a marked improvement and I keep telling myself there are folks out there far worse off than me.

Cardiologist gave me a thumbs up and as I said at the beginning I have an appointment for my next one - in 2021!

Jeudi Journal - Easy

No, I am not saying it was an easy page to do - it was actually a carry on from last week.  Remember last week's Journal page said "I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit but I can't get the flaming top off the bottle" - well this week a cheeky little miss has done it and is saying "Easy when you know how, isn't it?"

Love this little figure, she has such a cheeky face don't you think?  I thought she was perfect for this week and as she was a Christmas present from my friend, Lorraine, it worked in nicely that she had "the look" for this quote.

Eager to get going I stamped three of these figures on one sheet of cardstock and coloured them all in differently when my back was hurting yesterday.  I then played about on an already black background and settled on the oranges and browns one.  A bottle with the top flying off and a few stars (there were so many flying about the sky last night weren't there - fireworks I mean) soon had me making a page for the New Year so I decided to go along with "Happy New Year" in coloured letters.  The words are meant to represent streamers along the top.

So there we have the first page for 2020.  Nearly at the end of the last lot of quotes we chose so I think it's a 'heads together' moment so we can come up with more for the coming weeks.  Hope you like my page.

Ooh, just gone along to Art Journal Journey to see what the new theme is and I think my page will fit the bill - I have "New Year" on it and a new stamp has been used so here we are joining in with the fun at Art Journal Journey.  Thanks Jo, a great theme again.

WOYWW 552 Happy New Year!

Cor Blimey!   Christmas has been and gone and here I am wishing you all a Very Happy New Year - may it be a good one for you all and bring you Love and Good Health in abundance.  

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got some nice crafting goodies in your stocking/sack.  I got a new Dylusion figure to stamp with from my bff and yesterday some Zinis arrived courtesy of someone on WOYWW who had picked up on the fact that I had missed the PaperArtsy sale earlier.  Thank you - you know who you are, you wonderful enabler you.  

My Dylusion stamp has come in useful already and she will be making her first appearance on here tomorrow when I have to do a journal page for my challenge with one of my crafting friends.  I stamped her several times and enjoyed colouring them all in whilst nursing my back on Monday and yesterday I decided which one I would use but have left the page naked until today when I will be completing it and no doubt stamping those little Zinis so I can play with them in my Moleskin.

My desk (ok, set up)

On the left is what was really on my desk - my journal page painted ready for decoration - and to the right at the top are the new stamps that I will be using, courtesy of Father Christmas (aka my bff, Lorraine).  Below are my Zinis and my one JOFY bought in the sale at Country View Crafts.  In case you are wondering about the green and red at the back - it is a little bag like a pair of legs and feet for a Christmas Elf.  You can't see but there are some striped braces at the top of them.  These belonged to my friend Mary in America and I loved them so much she gave them to me one year.  Christmas without them to remember my lovely friend wouldn't be Christmas.

To finish off I must show you my surprise present to myself.  Was browsing the internet when I saw a friend of mine, from my polymer clay days, had an Etsy Shop and she was showing a brooch she had made - I knew straight away it was me and so I got in touch with her and said I wanted to buy it but could she make some ear rings.  I expected just some white ones with dots on but what a surprise when all these ear rings came through the post.  I really wanted a pendant and so I asked if it was possible for her to make me one - it arrived yesterday.  Now I have all these to dress up in.  I am so lucky to have Irene as a friend.  She is so talented and I have lots of her jewellery pieces (mainly cane work) that she has made over the years, but for the moment these are my new favourites.

Happy New Year again Everyone!

Jeudi Journal - Christmas Spirit

The quote for today is "I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit but I can't get the flaming top off the bottle".  It was one of my choices that we put to one side until nearer the Christmas period - can't get much closer than this!

I had forgotten all about it until Wendy reminded me and so I then had to get my thinking cap on in good time to do it, so it is the day before Christmas Eve, and I have finished it.  A scheduled post which will be going out shortly on what we Brits know as  *"Boxing Day".

I chose a page I had already stamped some things on that I was not happy with and so I painted it all over black.  Decided to put a load of bottles on the floor and put a figure kneeling on them with one between her knees.  That's the one she is struggling with but there is one on the floor she has abandoned.  

As it is Christmas and to make it appear a bit more festive I put a Dylusion Christmas tree to one side, its small so hopefully gives the appearance of being in the distance.  The best head for this figure didn't have a top on so I used some bits from other figures to give her a Christmas hat.  A garland of silver and gold metallic stars finished it off and made the page all sparkly but it doesn't show in the scan.  

So here it is - my page for Christmas:

Bet those bottles are uncomfortable beneath her knees but once she gets into the Christmas spirit she will soon not care.  

I am entering this into Art Journal Journey, did hope to get more done this month but life got busy and took over.  Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! 

*Boxing Day is celebrated on the day after Christmas, December 26th each year in various countries around the world, generally those that were settled by the British Commonwealth. It is believed that Boxing Day originated because the servants of wealthy families typically had to work on Christmas Day. For their services they were usually presented with gift boxes at the end of Christmas Day, and they were allowed to take the next day off work to spend with their own families. Another theory of the origin of Boxing Day is that churches opened donation boxes in December 26th and distributed the contents to the poor. In the church, December 26th is also the Feast of St. Stephen.

WOYWW 551 - The Christmas Day Edition

Well, as no doubt some of you will do if you are posting today, this is a scheduled post.  My second to be precise.  Yep, I had just finished the whole post when it suddenly went off, the wrong time for it to happen too as I have this darned back pain right now.  Pass me a gin as I need a bit of Christmas cheer!  Rhubarb if you have it please.

I did promise you I would show you my hand made cards this week so I got Chas to scan them for me (scan too low for me) and here they all are:

Annie & Jo (the WOYWW sisters)

Shaz (silverwolf) & Darnell (in her American Playhouse)

Sylvia (a friend from KC) & Janice (cousin in Oz)

Thommo (a friend from RSS) & Jacqui (a friend from Vicky Stampers)

Margaret (WOYWW) & Hazel (a friend from KC)

Another Margaret (friend) & Julia (Head lady/friend WOYWW)

Janet (friend from KC & RSS)

Hazel (friend from KC)

Shirley (a print from one of her fabric pieces)

(ex colleague from teaching days)

Wendy (friend)

Lorraine (friend)

Cindee (my lovely friend in America)

Me trying to show you the fold in Cindee's card.  The King at the front of the procession stands proud of the card giving it the appearance of 3D.  Look at how she has cut out around the word "Believe".

Liz (friend from RSS)

I wanted you to see how this is constructed.  The words are free standing, swinging from the top of the card. The buildings are in two rows giving them the appearance of a 3D card.

I do hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.  When you open cards it is a delight to see the different choices people have made when buying them and it goes without saying that you appreciate the hours someone has put into making a handmade one for you.  

All that remains now is for me to wish you a Very Happy Christmas whether you are spending it with friends and/or family or simply on your own like we two, and to wish you a Joyous, Healthy and Happy Year Ahead.

Now tuck into that turkey!

(RSS - Ready Steady Stamp - Internet Group)
(KC - Katy's Corner - Internet Group_
(VS - Victoria Stampers [Vicky Stampers) - Internet Group)

Jeudi Journal - Naughty? Or Nice?

Once again this was a last minute page but due to me having gone out for the day (forgotten all about this needing doing) and then having a bad back.    I had painted the page blue though!

The words, chosen by me way way back were "I'm the reason Santa has a naughty list" - not that you would know it by the look of my page, it is not at all Christmassy.  Just blue all over.  Hopefully when I get some time I will put some colour on it.

Anyhow, I decided to stamp 25 all over the page, as it was Christmas themed, for part of the background and then I needed some words - but guess what?  I had an old stamp that said "Naughty or nice" - an old one of Dyans.  That went all around the page - what next?  The figure.

Oh dash!  I had stamped the numbers the wrong way around for the figure I was planning on using.  My page was landscape and not portrait!  Oh heck, my plans would not work so in the end I just stamped some numbers the right way around and so it became a hotch potch of numbers.  A couple of holly leaves and it had to be it!

I could use my original figure - the naughtiest one I could find.  So it was the one scantily clad, almost indecent!  She looked a bit lonely on the page - I needed a Father Christmas (or Santa as the words call him).  Apart from some 'heads only' and a few smallish ones I was stuck - then I had the brainwave to look at the cards we had received for Christmas and there he was - Father Christmas and some presents.  Thank goodness my lovely cousin Ken had saved the day - well, evening.  Perhaps very unethical but in an emergency and only for my own use I did a hasty copy, cut him out and put him on the page.  Shame he didn't have a list in his hand (I have seen either a card or a rubber stamp where he has, but obviously not today).  So here she is - the reason Santa has a naughty list!

Now to start on next week's page, I cannot get in such a pickle again.  I am entering this into Art Journal Journey's challenge which is 'words and numbers', chosen by Yvonne this month, because it contains both in abundance.

Oh, and a Merry Christmas to you all.