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