ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY !!!!

Good Morning and the Biggest of Waves to my beautiful Rockettes and Rockers out there, how does this fair Friday morning greet you - well I hope?

Yes that's right - Friday - when did that happen?  Well once again life is racing by, my sister reminded me that we are nearing the longest day of the year which means - well what it actually means is the days start getting shorter - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr but we shall not think about that yet - we shall celebrate the bright blue skies and the summery days (when we get them)

So top of my list are those blue sky days - just sitting in the garden with a cup of tea I have really enjoyed doing this recently, you forget sometimes that the little things in life give the greatest of joys.

Next was a fabulous day out to celebrate my sister's birthday at Chatsworth on Sunday which was her actual birthday.  We were blessed with a dry day and went along and had an amazing time, we also had the world's strangest picnic courtesy of my Mum - now tell who normally would purchase a plus in cool box, a gas stove, table and chairs and a windbreak for a picnic - well actually not my Mum but her husband, however it was a great success!

Once I've downloaded the pictures I'll share a few on here, it has been years since we went in the house and had forgotten how amazing and how ornate the building is inside - absolutely awesome!

Then there was the day out at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park which proved to be hot, unusual and a little costly but predominantly lots of fun!  Our favourite creatures were the Meerkat

the rescued Romanian lions

and the gorgeous mischievous ring tailed leemars, this was one of the most patient Mum's I've ever seen because these baby leemars had a whole lot of energy!

Then there is last nights craft night, Mum, Melanie Nirvana, John and Fi, John enjoyed utilising the Wi-fi he's been internet free for some time so enjoyed just surfing last night and Fi tucked into my 'card making' box of goodies to produce some cards and the rest of us were doing a bit of art journaling - I actually was fighting with mine - quite a lot - not the most productive of evenings, decided that the black paged book I bought doesn't blend easily with my art journaling pictures - I'll get there just not sure when!

E-mails from friends informing me of good reads and providing a good giggle - you know who you are!

The black dagger brotherhood book that I got the other day provides an 'insiders' guide and actually has a 'mini-book' at the beginning which tells part of the story of one of the books that you don't see!  Honestly made me cry and smile and cry and smile a bit more.  It's been a good read up to now!

Pinterest - dearest Carmen what have you got me hooked on now, up to now I've not 'joined' I've just been looking but wow there are some pretty awesome things on there - I mean seriously awesome!

Making some progress on emptying the loft - honestly how do you end up with that much stuff?  And it's currently only half emptied - crazy absolutely crazy, what it has meant is me going through boxes and find parts of my 'past life' reading the diary of me as a 17 year old is truly mesmerizing seems like I'm reading about someone else's life!  Most of it I remember but occasionally I'll find something that I simply can't and then it seems strange!

Finally Cardinal Crafts for providing a timely Internet order full to the brim of exceptionally well priced double sided tape and I do use absolutely shed loads of the stuff! 

Anyway that's the list for this week - quite a full one if I'm honest!  Here is a 12 x 12 layout that I've done in the last month, really enjoyed doing this one, it was from a sketch but can't remember whose and I really enjoyed working with the papers!

A Close up showing the bunting and the hole punch.

And a little art journal page from our visit to York!

If you join in don't forget to Linky but also put a comment so we can find you in the future too - plus I like to hear from all my amazing Rockettes

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - FINALLY!!!!

Well I thought I was being clever getting all ready on a Thursday for the Rocking Your World post, just a little bit of tweaking here and there and it would have been good to go - but nooooooooooooooooooooooooo they decided to break it so it's been MIA all day and now it's back it's lost the prepared one!

Hey ho - my week has still been Rocking so let's touch on the reasons why!

Firstly and at the top of my list is the return of my circle journal, this is my second one and the subject was Rock in Peace, we had to pick a Rock idol that had passed away and document about them and then send on to my fellow circle journallers for them to play with.  Now when I set out I made the pages individually, the only specification was that it should be 6 x 6 inches - not a problem - however the depth was never agreed - whoops! 

So what went off was already super huge before all the gorgeous artwork was added!  Now didn't Jasmine do a beautiful job of sending my circle journal back all ready for me - how gorgeous is that packaging?

With a little note from Jasmine - thank you hun!

Look at this little beauty, it took an age to digest all the gorgeous gorgeous work that everyone has done!  Honestly it's divine and deserves an entire post of it's own - which is what it will get - but like I said it's back not only in one piece but has also been beautifully looked after with some amazing and gorgeous artwork!

Next up is my annual appraisal that went really well the other day which was great!  It's been a tumultuous year at work but I'm still smiling which is the main thing!

Fencing - I know boring as hell but you wouldn't believe how nice it is to turn into our road and see the new fencing which actually stands up straight rather than leaning, it's taken an age to save for it but has been so worth while.  And we've finished the fencing the back garden so now I'm now looking through the hedge at the people that back onto us.  They finished it with the last panel today, all that and I only got the guy to look at it last weekend! 

Marks and Spencer's two for £10 deals (with the non-alcholic drinks) - yep it's back on and we've bought for tonight and tomorrow - so that's tea sorted! 

Crafting time in the evening - always bliss even if I'm not managing much past nine too early a start to be honest!

Lovely comments from Carmen indicating that people may just fancy a journal done by me if I join in the PIF for the WOYWW - still considering at the moment!  If you don't know what I'm talking about don't stress it!

Morello cherry and milk chocolate muffins - don't ask I know I should be being good but hell fire they were rather naughty!

Little man finishing his practice SATS means I should have a slightly more chilled out child this weekend - not altogether sure the stress that he's had over the last couple of weeks is the sort of stress he should be having to deal with at 10 if I'm honest! 

So I'm going to leave it at that just in case we have further problems posting LOL!

Bit of crafting this is a double page - documenting the now infamous Bate's Motel gingerbread house from Christmas day two years ago courtesty of my brother - hence the title Only John!

The other page with the detailed pictures including the frontage and the massacre!

then the up close detail ribbons and layers of papers and embellishments

and the title a combination of stickers and stickers mounted on cardstock!

and for those art journallers out there another layout from our weekend break to Scarborough in February!

So what's been Rocking Your World this week... if you join in leave a message and a link to your blog so we can come and annoy you!

NEW BLOG LAYOUT AND A FEW BITS OF CRAFTING TEE HEE

Morning all it's Saturday morning and I thought I'd share a couple of crafting bits with you and celebrate my new look blog - do you like?  It took me all evening and it's still not perfect but I like - it's more me (well it should be it's my art work LOL), the last blog layout verged on twee and I don't do twee - might still adjust a few things but I'm hoping it will be easy to read - let me know if you don't think it is and I'll tweak I sometimes struggle with blogs when you go and want to read a post and then find the font or the size of the font a little testing on the eyes - so do let me know.

Anyway I'm sure you're not here to talk about font sizes and colours so thought I'd share a couple of art journal pages, this one is now one of my all time favourites, documenting the gorgeous Rotunda museum in Scarborough, added some bunting which was a hybrid download off UK Scrappers last month and add ink and paint and words and well you get the idea, this is as my style started to take a new direction and I'm so pleased with it. 

This page was done on the turn and I'm still not happy with it but sometimes you just have to accept it and leave it as it is 

On the scrapbooking front I've not done as many pages this month but enjoyed the ones I've done, one of the challenges on UK Scrappers was to use white space - not my style at all so I knew this would be a genuine challenge and it was!  

Some people would have left more white space but I couldn't, however, on the plus side I really enjoyed doing the layout particularly when I managed to add paint to it (tee hee) 

Close up on the detail 

Did a wiggly ribbon using some of that ultra sticky red tape - two strips on the back of the ribbon and then overlapped the ribbon as I went!  

So there you are a little Saturday morning crafting - didn't manage any last night (I fell asleep - don't ask) which has meant that I was very grumpy when I went to bed (due to lack of crafting) so I am planning on doing some later today however!

ROCKING MY WORLD FRIDAY!

Crikey - Friday again - how did that happen?  

I mean am I right, have we now had the Easter weekend bank holidays, the May Day bank holiday and the Spring Bank holiday?  That leaves us the late summer one and then it will be Christmas right?  Right? Scary!

So firstly I've made Rocking your World picture to be used as a button - yes you heard me right - I've no idea how the hell to turn it into a button so at the minute you just get to look at it, (if anyone out there knows how to turn it into a button with the little gadget stuff at the bottom so people can pick it up and take it then let me know because I'm so bored of reading the internet to fathom it out - something to do with the attention span of a gnat!  

 OK eyes - down let's do grateful - this morning I'm going to go for the smaller things in life

Firstly this little guy made me laugh out loud last week 

why?  you may ask - it's just a squirrel - it's a squirrel who came to our squirrel feeder when it was raining fairly heavily last weekend so he did this

Yes that is him sat inside the feeder - I mean inside!  Literally got in there had breakfast kept dry - genius don't you think.  Occasionally he'd obviously get warm and poked his nose out for a breath of fresh air and then back in he went!

Complete genius I tell you and cute to boot!

Then it's music, I'm loving being able to listen to music again, it's been very therapeutic although my play list has been mainly angry loud rock music!  It's still alllllllllll good! 

Time to think - so important, we all run around doing, cleaning, cooking, working being busy generally, learning, juggling juggling juggling and then you think - what for?  We're in the sixth month of the year and I haven't even stopped this year, I mean stopped and enjoyed time just literally time - you know - to glance at the blue sky, to really taste the coffee, to ruffle said 9 years olds hair, the year is slipping away and I'm just not taking it in, so here's to time and me appreciating it a little better! 

Then it's finding my creativity - it's been missing this week (literally), I know you probably thought the giant art work last weekend had got me back on track, but I just kept sitting to my table and moving things around.  

I just couldn't settle to anything, but a little bit of card making and I was back art journaling - now please be aware that I don't do cards - why you may ask? 

because I'm rubbish at them 

but I love my new stampotique stamp I bought at Dyan's 

 and this is what I made

which in turn led me back to this, to be honest I've had the blank page with the image on for ages - I've even considered covering the image up - but then it hit me and away I went - wiggly zig zag lines are great.  I then dug out a Tim Holtz mask (which are such fun)  My now totally abused star stamps = tattooed image and my new wings stamp!  

That's it everyone's going to have wings and tattooes from here on in!

then I managed yesterday to finish off a circle journal I've had for a while, because I've been all over the place I was struggling with this one which was called hopes and dreams!  But I persevered - significantly, as I can't show the full image (wouldn't want to spoil things) - here are glimpses

So there we go - grateful (ooh and the one I always love - happy to be here again for another day - it's always good to say thanks for that don't you think, because life is so precious and yet also so fragile!)

So here's the bit where I put a linky - this is where you put your blog if you are joining in Rocking Your World Friday!

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN ART JOURNAL AND SHOPPING

Well I sat down last night to a little art therapy, I've officially started my 'year in the life of an art journal' which started from this blog I'd scribbled and scrawled the other night through the "WHAT?" question so it was about really going for it last night.  

 

As you can see scrawly writing on the left hand side, just having a little rant, although the original prompt said to cover it up I've made it scribbly and scrawly enough to struggle to see what I've written, only I really know what I'm waffling on about so I added a little water to make it look a little more 'lived in' and pretty much left it as it was

but boy did I go to town on the right hand page

 

I started with a little paint, and then had a rummage in my desk box - this is basically where I throw all the things I haven't used on layouts so it's full of all sorts of things, from ribbon and buttons to sparkly stars and eyelets.  In amongst this I found some 'free gifts' from a home magazine I got before Christmas, they were silver stars and pretty uninspiring but then I realised that the other side was shiny - so out came the few alcohol inks I've got and away I went making a mess - I mean having fun!

I tried sticking them down with glossy accents but they kept coming unstuck - so nothing for it but to get our the paper piercer and some embroidery thread - much more like it!

In the box I also found some test pieces of alcohol inking from a scrapbook class, so they were torn up (lovingly of course) and stuck down!  Then eyelets and some offcuts of ribbon from my Christmas day top that I bought before Christmas - does anyone use those silly bits of ribbon on tops - whilst they are still on the tops or have manufacturers actually colluded with scrappers and art journallers alike and agreed to put ribbon on for us to cut off and embellish pages?

Then I found out some alphabet stickers - you know the ones lurking in the back of the cupboard, and stuck any 'W' 'H' 'A' 'T' that I had on the sheet, any letters that were too offensive (ie - shiny silver) I altered with alcohol inks!  Forget how fast they dry!  Then it was done and I'm really pleased with it!  I then added some eyelets to the front of the book, I've decided that each prompt I'm going to add either something to the front of the book or the back of the book that goes with that prompt - that way the covers reflect the book inside!

And yes I've got the backs of eyelets and messy backs of stitches to contend with on the next page - they already look awesome mmmmmmmmmmmmm - definitely liking this anything goes messy style - what do you think?

Just have to share a little purchase from last night, now yes I know I should have been buying blinds for the bathroom but I couldn't resist how gorgeous are these?

Apparently vanity cases - I think not - ripe for altering!!!!!!!!!!!!!The insides are just as delish!

And what about the clasps!

I mean I just couldn't resist them could I?  Would you have been able to refrain from buying them?  Particularly when I tell you the smaller one was £3.99 and the larger one £5.99 - now what do I do with them?  No honestly what would you do with them?  I don't want them to land in my cupboard of thinks to alter I want to do something with them?

Answers on a postcard or better still comment on my blog!

 

Hope everyone is having a happy Friday, I'm off now to try and buy a few bathroom fitments, we're going to attempt to methodically go through the house this year decorating and making general improvements.  Now what I'd dearly love to do is rip out the bathroom and start again - but money doesn't grow on trees so it's a case of tart it up a bit.  So we've been pricing up some new bits and I've bought new towels etc, then said 9 year old this morning decides to lean with some force on current towel rail - needless to say he was mortified when it came off the wall - screws and all!  So whether we want to or not - new bathroom fitments it is LOL!  Ooh and I've got something else I need to show you, personally think we were barking when we bought them but I wonder what you all think - I'll try and include photo in next blog post - now that's got you thinking hasn't it!

IT'S NOT PERFECT, NOT NEARLY IN FACT IT REALLY ISN'T BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

Well I think it could be said that I'm truly inspired - it's the only way to describe it, I've been blog hopping and it's always fun but then sometimes I think if I spent less time blog hopping I might get more crafting done, but then I think I become so inspired when I blog hop that I can create - anyway enough of me going around in circles.  

Sometimes I see glimmers of the little creative person inside of me, now being a Virgoan is not always conducive to creating something 'out there' and I never describe what I do as 'awesome', I tend to like neat lines I even tear paper neatly, I'm not great with messy - it has to be controlled and that's me just the way I am not learnt behaviour just part of me, but sometimes I wish I could create something on a wing and a prayer - and this time I think I've managed it

We came back from a great weekend at Center Parcs last weekend, despite the weather (yes we were there during the snow and the ice etc) it was overall a great family weekend, in amongst this weekend, I picked up leaflets and brochures and ended up with clean coffee cups from a particularly well known coffee shop that changes its cups to red at Christmas, we had paper bags and handles and lots and lots of bits of paper and at the end of the weekend I gathered them all up in an "I'll do something with them" kind of way (I've got a cupboard full of those - you know the must haves that you see in the charity shop but never quite finding the time to 'create').

However this bundle was different, I recently came across this awesome art journal blog - talk about inspired!!!!!   http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/ thanks to Carmen who I might add also helped me find Lara's blog which is just as inspiring - do you get the theme here, inspired!  Anyway thanks to them I created this little gem

The front and back covers are made of cardboard, covered with the Center Parcs paper bag with the stickers from the Made shop that we went to - bound with my trusty bind it all then on the inside ...

 

I've gessoed, ripped paper bags and used scraps (quite literally) from my scraps box! Even the clean cup got used!

I love the feel of it, mod podge all the way and gorgeous paper bags

Badly punched paper bag that in normal circumstances would get side lined, got included because I think I could thread something through this bit

Pamphlets, were torn, included and covered

More scraps of paper put down in an "I don't care" kind of way

More offcuts and envelopes

Pamphlets refolded so they still 'pull out'

Where the leaflets were all too heavy on the publicity side I just went for it with paper!

Now the big question is what do I do with if from now, although it encompasses all things Center Parcs it has just about the right number of 'pages' to begin the "Year in the Life of an Art Journal" so what do you think?  Should I go for it?