Busy days.
Had a fab time in Loughborough on Friday.  Not sure why I get nervous about going shopping on my own.  Maybe I'm nervous that I'll spend money!  You'd think it would be a foregone conclusion by now, wouldn't you?!
I've bought a Faber Castell Pitt pen and I'm having fun with it, it's the perfect pen. 
I also finally found time to go to the library there.  I was instantly transformed into another world.  It's much bigger than our library.  I saw so many books I didn't know existed and that I now desperately need to read!  But in my new quest to keep things simple, I just got out a couple of french books as I already have a book on the go, so there's no point having a library book just sitting there, is there?  By the time I'm ready to read it, it'll be time to take it back.
I also bought the book on Paris that I saw in the W H Smith in Nottingham last week.  It's extremely good.  Have I said that we are going back to Paris in October?  I can hardly wait.  Reading this book has brought it all back.  I'm determined to learn as much french as I can.  If I learn lots of new vocabulary, will the german I know fall out of my head?  I'll be very disappointed if it does! (I am a bear of very little brain, so I have to make the most of what I've got left!)
It's still very hot here and I just want to state that for the record, as every winter we say the summer was rubbish, but this year that's definitely not true.  I've actually had the lily white legs out, so it must be warm! 
We took Tessa to have her stitches out on Saturday morning.  We had to pin her down on the vet's table, but that's only because she hates being at the vets, it's not because she was hurt, it was obvious she couldn't even feel it.  She looks fine anyway and can now go for proper walks and go in the river by next weekend.  I'm so glad she's well, she's so precious to us.
Saturday was red hot.  We went to the retail park between here and Nottingham, primarily to buy Ebony's birthday present, but also to go and see this film at the cinema there.

I'm sorry, that picture just doesn't do the man justice, does it? 

Let's try again:

That's better!

The film is brilliant.  We were so tired as we'd woken up at 5.30am but this film kept me wide awake and on the edge of my seat all the way through it.  I adore Hugh Jackman anyway, and love these films.

Anyway, do you remember I'd done an art journal page with Dylusions not long ago?  I bought a sweet little book in Loughborough to use for art journaling.  I suppose the pages are A5, but they could be slightly smaller, I'll have to actually measure them.
I couldn't resist playing a bit more with the inks, so I did this as the title page:

I've used a mix of stamps and my die cut balloons.
Here is the first proper page:

I just wanted to illustrate the Bible verse that says that man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.  The background is Dylusions.  The woman is a die cut that I've had for ages.  It was white, but I painted it black and stuck it down.  Perfect for me at the moment, until I can draw figures properly.  I punched out the little red heart and coated it with glossy accents which worked out really well.
The funny thing is, I was convinced that this was true at the time, (the bit about not being a material girl, I mean) but actually, the more I think about it, the more I am quite materialistic.  I just seem to be going through a phase of buying clothes, but that's largely because I haven't had any new ones for three years and all my clothes are horsey ones, which I can't wear out really, can I?  Maybe I can be forgiven, it's not as though I'm vain or anything, I'm just having fun buying a few clothes that reflect my true personality.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?!
I'm off to gesso a few more pages...
Jane x

Art Journal Freedom

On one of my many travels in the land of Google I stumbled upon a woman called Dina Wakley and her amazing book called Art Journal Freedom.  It looked really good (and do-able, even for me) so I bought it.  What an absolute treasure it is.  I'm using it as a course, to work through and explore at my own pace.  It covers concepts like symmetry and asymmetry, white space, continuity and closure etc and it's absolutely brilliant.  I am having such fun working through the projects in there.  This is my first go:

I had such fun with this.  I love to CASE cards, so 'casing' this was no trouble at all.  It also means I now know what Dylusions inks are and I'm very, very impressed.  Soon I'll show you what this lead to next.

Anyway, I sprayed some dylusions onto watercolour paper and stamped it with my SU dot dot dot stamp and put some random numbers on an acrylic block and stamped it onto the paper, then cut the paper into four squares.  I haven't got a sewing maching, so I've drawn faux stitching around the edges. 

I stamped in Spiced Marmalade using my Clockworks stamp onto a tag and cut it into pieces, and flagged the ends.  I was very pleased because the collage uses music paper, but I just ran my SU music notes wheel in black ink over a piece of scrap paper and tore it into the size and shape I wanted.

And there you have it.

Now, this is my dilemma about stamps.  Loads of people make fabulous stamps that are great for art journaling, don't they?  But they are not cheap.  What if I buy one and it arrives and it's the wrong size for the project I want to use it for?  Or suppose I like it but I only use it for one project and then never use it again.  I've been down that route many times before getting into Stampin Up stuff.  So I am learning from past experience.

Two things came out of this:

1.  Use images found on google etc as you can size them to any size you need for your projects.

2.  Learn to draw.  This is a biggie for me, as basically I can't do it.  But some weeks ago, before we went on holiday I searched for 'How to draw a face' on t'internet and found a step by step way to do it and I'm very pleased with the results.  Now I'm beginning to draw whole people and I'm really enjoying it.  I'm not ready to add them to a page yet, but it's fun to practise in a sketch book.  I, never in a million years, thought I'd see myself drawing things at this stage in my life, so I'm quite surprised by this.

The adventure continues...!

Back soon with more, I'm sure

Jane x

Paris Art Journal #2

Such busy days!  Finally we have a new granddaughter, who looks like this:

This is Elyssa Marie Ann and she was born on Wednesday morning.  We went dashing up to see her on Thursday but had to drop Tessa off at the vet's first to have her operation.  It was very, very nerve wracking, but she is fine.  It cost £470, which is enough to be going on with.  We drove down to collect her and it was a relief to see her okay.  She came home and was laying there with the dressing on, feeling very sorry for herself.  She was doing little whiimpers.
She wasn't allowed upstairs, so I dreaded going down the next morning and sent John down first.  Fortunately she was waiting to greet him and couldn't have been happier.  Bless God.

And so onto my latest journaling page:

I had such fun with this.  The blue colour is Pool Party.  It talks about going near Disneyland Paris, which is where they have a hot air balloon.  The page on the right is from the Paris map.  Do not ask me why she has an Eiffel Tower strapped to her head, but as soon as I saw it I knew the picture was going in my art journal!
What did I learn?  That loads of inks go through paper.  I don't really know how I got onto it now but I started researching gesso, as there isn't any on this page.  Several YouTube videos later I'd ordered some and couldn't wait for it to arrive.  So these pages are gesso free, but I still like it.
This is the day that William and Kate have had their baby.  We know it's a boy (hurrah!) but the name hasn't been announced yet.  It feels strange that I was around at William's birth (not literally!) and now I am here at the birth of his son.  I must be really old!
Off to bed in a thunderstorm.  Tessa hates it so she'll probably have to come up with us, even though she's not really meant to go upstairs.
Back soon
Jane x

Paris Art Journal #1

I'm having a bizarre time with Blogger at the moment.  I've been trying for several days to put something on, but it won't let me type anying in the body of the message until now, and only now because I've managed to upload a picture first.  It's driving me crazy because I've got so many things to show you.

Anyway, this is the first page of my art journal for our Paris trip.  I'm not saying it's anything great, but I'm having such fun making it and it's already turning into something really special.

I'm really glad I took a journal with me and wrote everything down as we went along, as it's helped so much in writing this.  I've just played about with watercolours and used some distress ink on a mask.  I'm adding pictures as I go along, too.

This page is the first day, which mostly consisted of coach travel and the ferry crossing.  Back soon with some more, I'm sure, now I've got things working again.

Jane xx

Scaling It Down

Since Barnaby left I've been giving a great deal of thought to the way my life is.  Basically, I've spent the last 2-3 years gradually becoming more and more convinced that I've got some form of Alzheimer's.  I can, in all honesty, put a bunch of keys down, and within five seconds I've got no idea at all where I put them.  Please don't think this is some sort of feminine ditziness, as it makes me cry on a regular basis.

Now, bearing in mind that I work in a care home for the elderly, I decided to go to the doctor about this a couple of month's ago, because I am also definitely entering the menopause.  I've always had problems with this because I have endometriosis.  I've had a few hot flushes recently (I think in America you say hot flashes?)  I decided to google it and it turns out that loads and loads of women think they have Alzheimer's at my age, but what is actually happening is that the oestrogen levels in women at this stage start to drop.  Oestrogen is the hormone responsible for good memory.

So in fact, all I am is menopausal and I don't have Alzheimer's at all.  Thank God.

What I do know for sure is that I need time to concentrate on the things I need to do so that I can do them properly.  I know that when I go to the yard I have certain jobs to do, eg. muck out, do hay nets, feed bucket and waters etc.  When I've finished with everything I like to check I've done it, otherwise I can lay awake at night wondering if I've put Barnaby's water bucket in his stable and actually break out in a panic sweat at the thought of him standing there dehydrating all night.

The worst thing that can possibly happen is John coming along and saying it's time to go before I've had time to do my checks.  He can be very impatient and drops massive hints that I need to hurry up.  I can't stand this, because I hurry to please him and then I lay there awake at night stressing.  It's awful.

But now Barnaby is gone and so not only do I not have to worry about him, but I now have a lot more time to get other things done at home, because I'm not spending 3 hours a day at the yard.  I understood this in the winter, when I had to go to the yard, muck out, poo pick, ride, put Barnaby away and give him his tea, but for some reason it takes me 3 hours in the summer when I only have to ride and poo pick.  I really don't understand it.

Anyway, without a horse in my life it's given me time to take stock of other areas in my life now.  And why I still have Alzheimer's moments.

The bottom line is, I have too much stuff.  I have about 20 coats.  Some are coats I wear to work and church but most of them are jackets to ride in.  So when I go out I can't decide what to wear because all these coats are looking at me.  At least 10 of them will have to go.

And the biggie is, I have too many bags.  How many bags do you have?  I have a small handbag with a long strap which I love because I can put it over my shoulder and have my hands free.  It lives in the downstairs cupboard and has my bank card and library ticket in it all the time.  And maybe a bit of cash.

Then I have my blue straw bag.  This is bigger and I love it.  I take it to church quite often with my Bible and notebook in it.  But not my cash or my bank card.  So when I go shopping I have to rearrange things.

I also love my cloth bag with the union jack on it.  I like to take it shopping.  It also came to Paris with me.  I take it to work, so it often has my diary in it.  But not my library card or my cash.  

Do you see a pattern here?

So when I go out, especially when I'm going to work, I have to find my keys (which jacket pocket?) phone, notepad, pen, magnet (for door security) maybe some cash if I'm going into the village after work, etc etc and it drives me crazy.

It makes me feel like I've got Alzheimer's because I don't know where everything is, and basically it's got nothing to do with it, it's because I've got too many options all the time. I am a naturally organised and methodical person, so I can't stand this feeling of being disorganised all the time.

Imagine what it was like if I was going to the shop after work and then onto the yard.

One bag for work stuff and phone.

One bag for riding stuff to get changed into.  Wear wellies to work and put work shoes in bag, to put on when arriving at work.

Handbag over my shoulder as I will need cash in the village.

So I'm cycling along wearing a back pack and a handbag with another bag on the handlebars. 

It feels tiring even writing about it like this.  No wonder I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

Don't even get me started on shoes!

So I have embarked on a mission to simplify my life.

1. Keeping up to date with laundry is key.  I do have time to iron something in the mornings but it's not ideal.  Knowing what I'm going to wear to work each day is very important.  We don't wear uniform at work.

2. Only have the coat I wear to work in the downstairs cupboard.  All other coats and jackets stay up in the wardrobe.  I can pick one if I fancy a change, but it must go back up there when I've finished with it.

3. Have only 1 bag.  I bought an awesome thing in Paris and it's big enough for phone, keys, diary, pen, perfume, even my kindle, and it's perfect.  I have disciplined myself to keep everything in it and now have no stress about lost keys etc.  Keys are only allowed to be stored in there, not in any jacket pocket.

4. Leave 5 minutes earlier for work.  Decide in advance whether I'll be cycling down or walking.  Pack any other stuff in advance.  Make sure I know where my shoes are (easier said than done when you have a dog who likes to put them in bed with her!)

5.  Admit it's highly unlikely I'll ever ride again and pack all jods away.  I haven't thrown them away, because you just never know.  But now I have loads of space in my drawers so I can spread my other clothes out.  I'm not throwing anything else out unless, by winter, I know I'm definitely never going to wear it again.

6.  Last job is to go through my coats and throw away what I'll definitely never wear again.  I'll need something to wear to walk the dog in in the winter but that's about it.

And there we are, a few steps to simplify my life.  It's really working and I'm much less stressed, so it's well worth it.  I've just got to steel myself not to buy any more bags when I go shopping!

Back soon

Jane x

A Word To Remember

I made this just before we went on holiday:

I had so much fun.  The base is watercolour paper and I just decided to radiate out from the middle, keeping the centre pale so I could write in it.  I've used a mask in the top right corner, but the red circles bottom left are directly from those little circular sponge daubers you put on your finger.  The three thin circles top left are from a loo roll!  I've used my perfect pearls mist (gold) but I must experiment with this as it's very hard to write on top of it, but what happens if you write and then spray on top of it, will it smudge the writing?  Loads of things to try out.
The script is from a Psalm that talks about waiting patiently for God to move, and the little stamped image from Little Claire's Designs seemed perfect for this.  I've used all sorts of things to colour her in, and then added faux stitching to make it stand out.  The chances of me ever using a sewing machine are minimal!
Quite pleased with it though and it hangs at my desk so I see it and read it every day.

Things have been very different since we came back from Paris.  At first I was very tearful that Barnaby wasn't here and we drove past the farm and I couldn't bear to look across and know that he wasn't there.
But slowly, slowly, I am reaping the benefits.  I am more at peace and much more organised.  I had yesterday off and got so much done because I didn't have to go to the yard for three hours.  Horses are wonderful creatures but they are also a huge burden and responsibility.  I didn't realise how much I was constantly worrying about him, especially when I'm at work (has he got suncream on? etc).  I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from me.
Back soon
Jane x