Farewell old friend

Last week we had to say good bye to our faithful old lab, Bertie. We had from a puppy 11 years ago, and in a Marley fashion, he gave us the usual amounts of trouble and joy. In his younger days, he used to come running with me, would regularly accompany me on long hacks with the horse, and was the kind of dog who just wanted to befriend everyone. In fact we have several friends with children who were nervous of dogs until they spent time with Bertie, hew days just such a calm, soft old thing. The sad thing about pets is that they don't live as long as us, and there comes a point when you have to make a decision about their future. Ultimately, with Berts, it was a case of who are we keeping him going for, us or him? So, Mr H and I took him to the vets last Monday and had him put to sleep. We are still getting used to how the house feels without him, and it's going to take a long time until I stop looking around for him. Last week, when I was trying to fill the hours before the appointment, I did this page.

May ready

Like many people in blogland, I have been enjoying trying out some doodling in my Art Doodle Love journal. Coupled with the fact that I have a kids class to prepare for, and needed some child friendly characters for them to use, the little fella on my May journal page is one I created by doodling into my Doodle journal. I then drew him onto paper, coloured him with Distress Inks and finished him off with a bit of pan pastel and oil pastels, as with his little planet. I wanted the background to be bright and cheery, seeing as the weather has been so miserable, but then miracle of miracles, we had the most glorious bank holiday weekend, with wall to wall sunshine and warmth!

I have found Art Doodle Love really liberating. It has been everywhere with me and consequently I find myself filling those little moments whilst waiting in the car for a child to finish another club. It has given me the new angle I was looking for, to reduce my dependance on stamps and do something of my own. Just a few swirls on this page as a starting point ended up with the collection of flowers below:

And the swirls on this page ended up being these little critters:

Happy May everybody, hope the spring continues to spring!

Marmite?

Its usually considered best to avoid religion or politics, but since the first years of my life were so coloured by this woman, I felt I had to mark her passing in some way. Love her or hate her (and most people seem to agree that Mrs T was the original Marmite), the death of Margaret Thatcher has revitalised both her supporters and her detractors over the past week and a half.

I have never been a political activist, but I have been quite shocked at the level of vitriol pouring out of people on the radio and television, so much so that I have ended up turning the radio off, not something I ever do. Neither am I a very religious person, but I do think that the level of hate that people have been expressing is quite scary. I'm a great believer in live and let live, and to be honest, whilst she is by no means my political hero, there's a part of me that longs for someone as decisive and principled as her amid the quagmire of political blandness that currently plagues us in this country. And, let's not forget, she was still someone's mother, grandmother and friend. A little respect, even for your enemies, is surely not too much to ask?

April on time!

I actually got my April journal page ready on time. In fact, in advance! Something of a record for me, these days.
My little striped character has made a reappearance, this time looking up at falling snowflakes and cold words, bearing in mind the start we have had to April. On the 1st, I went for a ride with a friend and we ended up having to negotiate 6ft snowdrifts! The horses were unphased by the situation, but we were slightly concerned at the thought of having to retrace our steps several miles when the gates had so much snow banked up at either side, that they couldn't be opened!

April is a busy month for us, as it is my eldest child's and my husband's birthday in the same week and our wedding anniversary at the end of the month. Still, it is also the Easter holiday, so I am hoping to have lots of time to journal, plan some of the classes I am teaching in the next few months and catch up on some chores...

Happy April everyone.

Buses....

No word for months and then two posts come along in a week! I just had some enforced time inside, due to the terrible weather here, so I have had time to do some playing in my journal. I was inspired to create the little character by one of the children at work, who has the most adorable pair of gloves, just like this. I think I'll be drawing this little fella in a few different poses, or even carve him into rubber, so watch this space.
This page was nearly entitled 'less is more', because I felt I'd gone a bit over the top with it, but having come back to it a few times, I've decided I like it. You may be able to pick out a new stamp that I've carved as well? The concentric circles were inspired by an old bathmat I was putting down to catch the mud off the dog's feet!

Remember me?

I can't believe that it was August when I last posted on here. I imagine most people think I've given up! Sometimes I can't understand that as the children get older, and I have more time to do things for me, in theory, I don't seem to have any more time! I have still been journaling though, and teaching and have finally finished the house (apart from the kitchen), so I have been busy. Standing in front of paying customers and extolling the virtues of journaling does make me feel a little bit uncomfortable when I haven't exactly been prolific in my creations! I have though, kept up with my calendar journal, as you can see here.

I have been struggling a bit for inspiration and new resources, so I decided to see if I could create my own images and stamps. The green pear on this page is my first attempt at carving a stamp, and I have to say, it is immensely satisfying. I have since carved a couple more and I'm sure you'll see the evidence as I get back into this blogging malarkey!