Life isn't all flowers

My house is being inundated with seed catalogues at the moment, so I decided to put them to good use and cut them up before they go in the recycling bin! So, they made into a journal page in my little moleskine, and I have scanned them in to my computer as a kind of homemade collage sheet. I'm not sure that the image particularly goes with the subject matter, but I'm told that doesn't always matter...I think the phrase I was thinking of was 'life isn't all sunshine and roses', but this is how it came out. I kind of wish I had stopped before I did all the black and white, but I was watching the skier-cross at the same time and I kind of got carried away. Have you seen those guys? Nutters!

Do you want the truth or something beautiful?

I love collage sheets - they give you a starting point when you are stuck, a finishing touch when you aren't feeling very confident in your own arty abilities, and they are a legitimate way of using the bits of other people's style that you admire. However, sometimes it's good to challenge yourself to create something all by yourself. This page was inspired by my children - I had been reading a book with my daughter about mermaids, and what with Christmas and losing teeth, I get the distinct impression that they are asking ever more challenging questions about things that they just used to accept. Add to that the fact that I got the Paloma Faith CD for Christmas (which has this title) which I LOVE, and this page was born. It was just one of those evenings when I was half watching something on the couch, and couldn't be bothered to move myself to go and find any more materials, so I just used what I had to hand, namely pens and pencils. I find people really hard to do (note the rather surprised look on her face!), but at least with a mermaid, you don't have to worry about legs and feet!

the next installment

I said that I had been busy over the Christmas period, and I have. I know some of you have felt that I have been TOO organised getting my monthly journal pages up to April ready, but I have just been fortunate enough to have some child free, guilt free time. As well as that, my little journal has seen some action, mainly because we have been through some fairly emotional times at home, so these pages reflect that:

The image is from itkupilli and the background is painted in Adirondack acrylic, partly covered in Tim Holtz Hard Candy and then the cracks highlighted in Frayed Burlap distress ink. The corner stamp is Tim Holtz too.
The next page is one I prepared a while ago, and was just waiting for inspiration. The images are from itkupilli again, and the text from an old novel (I still get a bit twitchy about cutting up books though). I used the Tim Holtz scratchy tool to distress the pages and Neocolour IIs and charcoal to 'bed in' .the images

January into February

It's not often that I get ahead of myself. But get me - I have not only finished my January journal page, but got my February page ready to go! I really like this format - just enough to have something to do each day, but not enough to feel any pressure to complete a whole page. I have taken to keeping a bucket of pens, pencils etc in the lounge so that I can doodle in front of the tv each evening.

The balloon images are from Rian. I also helped my 8 year old daughter make a journal today, she too is now taking part in the 365 challenge, starting tomorrow!

I'm baaaack!

At last - normal service is resumed! You don't realise how much you rely on a computer until you don't have one! I must say though, I'm not sure that it is a coincidence that I have had more time to do 'real' stuff since I haven't been able to spend ages cruising blogland!Anyway, some catching up to do!


I prepared this background using neocolours ages ago, and sat and filled it in on New Year's Eve when we were talking about what we wanted to achieve this year. I didn't like it to start with (might have been something to do with the fact that I had had a couple(!) of glasses of wine when I did it... However, I added some 7Gypsies rub-ons a few weeks later, and I am a bit happier with it now.


This is my own personal challenge for the year. A couple of years ago I started going to swimming lessons again - it makes a change from running and I wanted to improve my front crawl. Little did I know what it would turn into.... We are now a big group of swimmers who whilst not competitive with each other, are very competitive with ourselves. Last year some of the girls swam the Great North Swim - a mile in Lake Windemere. I can't do that kind of thing - I have this weird claustrophobia thing that makes swimming in large groups give me panic attacks, but it started a chain of events where we have taken any opportunity we can to indulge in a bit of 'wild' swimming. Co-incidentally it has become a real growth sport in the UK recently, and there is even a fabulous and beautiful book about it. Anyway, this year I want to swim the mile loop of the lake at our local racecourse, as much as possible in front crawl. I appreciate that for some it might not sound like much of challenge, but that putting your head in freezing cold water thing is quite an issue for me! The images are from Tumblefish Studio The lettering is from Cassiscreations on etsy.

Back (briefly)

I have a small amount of computer time, before the battery runs out and I am still waiting for a new power cable to arrive, so this will be brief! I have had a great Christmas, and even managed to get in a bit of journalling! First of all, here is my January page for Kate's 365 challenge:


After all the grey and whiteness of the past month, I needed lots of colour! I have had a lot of fun doing these pages, and found the little square quite manageable even during the hectic Christmas period. We have just a weekend away, and I even prepared the pages Feb, March and April!

Here's a page from my little journal, in which I have completed a staggering (for me) TEN pages sine I last blogged!:
This was our first Christmasat home as a family since my son was born 6 years ago, and I loved it!

As the snow began to melt, I felt I had to mark the occasion of a whole month of winter whiteness somehow. This whole weather thing is unprecedented in my living memory - I wonder if my kids will look back and think it always snowed in winter and was hot in the summer....?


My battery is fading fast, so better save the other pages for another day. Thaks for visiting - I will be back soon!

still here. honest!

I know it looks as though I have fallen off the blog planet, but believe me I have been busy in between all the Christmas and New Year festivities. I finished my December page and am enjoying my January page - have even prepped my February page, but my computer is broken, so whilst I can do aquick post like this, scanning and uploading pics is a bit beyond my technological capabilities at the mo. Should be back up and running next week though, so will deluge you with work then. Look forward to joining in with the challege proper then!