Jeudi Journal - A Wrap

"That's a wrap on a day where I acted like I knew what I was doing" is the quote for today from Wendy.  Coupled with Jo from Art Journal Journey and her theme "Wonderfully Wild" I give you my latest Art Journal page. 

"Annabel was an aspiring young actress and she had got a part in a new TV Movie which was set on safari.   She loved the fact that at long last she had a part, albeit a small one it was, nevertheless a part.

It was a lovely movie and the people who were starring in it were ever so kind to her, recognising that this was her first role where she had a speaking part.  She loved getting up and going to work each morning.  This was helped, in no small way, by the fact that the leading man was an absolute 'dish'.  All her friends had pictures of him up on their bedroom walls and she could see him every day now for however long it took to make the movie.  She was the envy of all of her friends.  But she didn't tell them he was a bit stuck up.  Neither did she tell any lies and say he spoke with her often.

The director was a bit grumpy at times and she had been told off on a couple of occasions for being stood in the wrong place.  Those times had made her feel a bit sad and she wondered if she would ever make the grade and become a movie star.  It had been her wish for so long to work in movies, maybe go to Hollywood at some time.

When she wasn't required for a scene she would sit and dream, especially if the leading man was around, dream of being his leading lady in some Oscar winning film.  She had found a little spot to sit without getting in the way where she could watch what was going on some days.  Finally it was the part of the movie where she had her speaking part.  She had been told to begin doing her breathing exercises about five to ten minutes before she was due on set.  One, two, three - breathe in - one, two, three - breathe out.  Slowly she began the exercises the wardrobe lady had told her to do before she went on stage.

The moment arrived and Annabel walked on from the right side, delivered her lines, acted the part and then five minutes later walked off.  

"Phew!" she uttered "that's a wrap on a day where I acted like I knew what I was doing" she said in her head as she walked off.

"Well done" said a deep melodious voice.  As Annabel looked up she saw it was the leading man who smiled down at her.  "It's a great feeling isn't it?  I remember my first day on set, it can be nerve wracking."  And with that he walked off.  Annabel felt dizzy, HE had spoken to her!  She had just done her first role and it had been a 'take'.  Maybe one day she would be his leading lady herself."

WOYWW 795

 Well, the weather has certainly changed somewhat over the past week.  We have had rain, and some of it pretty darned heavy stuff, over the past week or so.  Last Saturday we were lucky in that we arrived at Fell Foot Park (bottom of Lake Windermere) just minutes after they had had a real heavy downpour, and it was lovely and sunny.  Loads of families were out enjoying and taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend and the sunshine.  Wish I had taken more pictures to show families picnicking under gazebos they had hired or brought with them.  It was lovely to see all the watersports and surprising how many were in the water in just swimwear (not all had wet suits on).

The weather forecast isn't great but it does look as if it is going to brighten up at weekend.  That means I have had time to do some crafting - and some knitting!  I've spent more time knitting than paper crafting but I am only knitting patches for elbows and new pockets for my old cardigan that I cannot bear to part with.  I only wear it to sit up in bed but it is so useful, especially when my back is bad and it needs massage or a hot water bottle.  I've also done quite a bit of reading and am now into a detective series set in and around the parts of Lancashire that I know well enough to picture the scenes.  (Not the grizzly bits).  Anyway, my desk - set out to show you what I have done but ready to do a bit more as it is raining again.

The ones (4) on the left plus the mermaid one are the ones done out of class.  The others are as we did them with Jo.

These are all toppers for cards made with scraps and were done in a workshop with Jo Rice, head DT, Lavinia.  I thought I had all that we needed but forgot about words so these are, in the main, waiting for words to be added - all are awaiting a base card to be adhered to.  Just one missing as it turned into a card for a special man in my life and I don't want him to see it just yet.

I have lots of scraps of white card so decided to continue with some stamping and will work on colouring them later at my leisure.  So black and white ones were not done in class, just done when I felt like it.  Obviously I have been working on the big project, from before, behind scenes, did a second one but think I prefer the first one actually.  Shame as it is just the sky I don't like on the second one.  Will see what my friend thinks when she chooses which one to laminate onto a tumbler.

That's it folks, hope you all have had a lovely week.  I see the weather has been good down south so hope lots of you got out and about and enjoyed yourselves.  Until next time - I'll see you over at Sarah's for now.  Then in September - eek!  where is the time going?  Hugs.

Jeudi Journal - Best Thing

 Today's quote I was given to work with was "I'm the best thing that ever happened to me" - does that make you think of Gladys Knight and "You're the Best Thing that Ever Happened To Me"?  Did me.  So I thought we would turn the song on its head.  Ready?

"Felicity, or Flick as her best friends knew her, was a petite, pretty girl, one of those who wears spectacles and you think 'gosh, she looks good in those' - you know the kind of young girl I mean.  Well, Flick had been going out with her boyfriend Billy for six months now.  She was getting a bit tired of the way things had been between them both lately.  All the little things that she thought kind of cute at the beginning were starting to get on her nerves now.  He didn't wear the kind of clothes she wanted him to wear, the kind of clothing that she knew would make him look much better to her friends.  He never used the expensive cologne she had bought him for Christmas, wasn't that keen on using deodorant and he ate too many spicy things.  There were other things such as his lack of interest in the things she liked, plus he wasn't that intelligent to be honest.

It was a fine day in June and they had arranged to go to the local zoo.  Flick wasn't that keen on zoo's, why did nobody think about the poor animals being fenced off like they were?  She knew Billy had a totally different viewpoint to her his idea being that they were safe kept like this whilst out in the wild there were lots of predators ready to kill or harm them.  It had been a bit of a non starter visiting the zoo when she was feeling 'off him'.  Inevitably the question of whether wild animals were better off in a zoo or not came up and the two of them had an argument.

"I think it is about time we split up" said Flick.

"What" gulped Billy, "over a silly difference in opinion on animals?  It's not as if they are like us humans, or had brains."

Flick could feel her blood rising "What do you mean, they have no brains?"

"Well" said Billy a little hesitantly, "I mean they don't have emotions like us."

At that moment they were approaching the giraffe house where one of the giraffes had recently given birth to a little one.  

"Can you see the way that mother giraffe is looking after her baby, how she is close by him the whole time in case he falls.  His legs are probably still a little weak." said Flick in a rather harsh voice.  "I don't think I want to be with you any longer if that is how you feel, especially how you feel about animals.  You know how much  I love them".

"Yes" said Billy, "and I love you.  In fact you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Sorry" replied Flick, "I'm the best thing that ever happened to me.  Sorry Billy, it's not you."

With that Billy began to cry.  Flick felt awful, but she had said it and that is how she had been feeling for a while now.  They'd been too young to start a serious relationship and to be honest she wanted to go out with her girlfriends a bit more.  Billy did not approve of that.  This was for the best.  But she couldn't leave him there crying.

"Look Billy," she said, let's go and sit down somewhere a bit more private and have a chat.  I'll get us two ice creams and we can talk it over."

With that Billy stopped crying, dried his eyes and off they went for some ice cream and a chat."

The outcome of the chat is up to you and your imagination.  I wonder what it will be?

The background was one I had started when I was on a pencil crayon workshop, I'd only done the leaf on the top left so I had to do the others, a couple of years (?) later.  All I had learnt had gone out of the window but I managed something.  Just don't let Tracey see this.  Figures are Dylusions of course, including the giraffe and I am entering this into Jo's challenge at Art Journal Journey which is ''Wonderfully Wild.  See you over there!

WOYWW 794

I must point out that some of you did not get the picture correct about the Leigh Show last week.  It was not the fault of the organiser of the show - it was the management of the whole Arena.  This show happens three times a year at more or less the same time and each year is pre-booked for the full year.  Looks as if the Arena big wigs just got greedy and took more bookings from other organisations but the little craft fair got the brunt of it all as there was so many parking spaces taken with other events setting their stalls up.  Really naughty but I expect they got a roasting from the show's organiser.  I know him well.

Anyway, you came to see my desk.  Hae been busy but don't want to show you as yet what I have been doing.  Trying to follow a very fast demonstration on You Tube which has taken most of my stamping time up.  Here's my desk as it stands:

The book on the left is a Pig Pig one that I am using at the moment as my journal for Thursdays postings.  I covered the front, years ago, with die cut shapes and then went over the top with crumpled aluminium foil and darkened it in the creases with shoe polish.  Something I used to do with my Girl Guides years ago.  The clear boxes have my Lavinia stamps in and the A4 box has things I am currently working on inside.  The white top is a bottle of masking fluid and the orange tin is what I keep my butterflies in and the yellow one has my bees in it.  The other one has tiny numbers in.

We have had some lovely weather, up north even, and that has meant lots of lovely days out resulting in not a lot of stamping being done.  Sunday saw us in Heysham, a lovely little Lancashire village by the sea.  We walked along the promenade and this time took a different route back which took us past these delightful little horses 

There were 15 in total in the field

I never realised that there were links with Turner until I saw this display by the car park - he is best known for his landscapes and seascapes.

and here is the Rectors house where he used to stay

It really is a pretty village and there is evidence of a great community feel with lots of the houses boasting beautiful floral displays.  They won an award for Britain in Bloom last year (yet again as they have won several times in the past) and I am sure they will do well this year too.  I'll put some more photos up tomorrow.

See you over at Sarah's for the time being - now I must get on with some crafting - and get my journal post ready for tomorrow.

Jeudi Journal - Mess

 I'm still kind of a mess, but I think we all are" is the quote this week from Wendy to be used with Jo's challenge at Art Journal Journey which is "Wonderfully Wild" and so I painted my page green  and added some of Dyan's Toadstools along with some cute/funny little creatures.  Obviously the other figures, including the Zebra, are also Dylusions.

I just loved the little bugs that I added to the mushrooms.  Having had them for years I am surprised I have never used them before.  I always like the caterpillar and just now realise I did not put his 'feelers' on with a pen.  Hope you think it is a bit 'wild' in thinking with toadstools all over the place but just to be safe I added a zebra which then came into the story.

"Jen had taken her daughter to this wonderful new zoo that had opened in the next town.  It had advertised as having some unusual animals and lots of bugs in "Bugs Corner" which would be perfect for her little Angela.  As usual Angela had taken her favourite handbag with her, to hold lots of food which they would buy to feed the animals with.

She had been a little frightened at the roaring of the lions and much preferred the "striped horses".  Mum kept telling her that they were zebras but Angela would have nothing to do with what her mummy said, to her they were "striped horses" and she wanted to go for a ride on one of them.

Angela was a little headstrong for an eight year old and she wandered off on her own at one point, managing to evade her mum in the crowds.  She was determined to have a ride on one of those horses.  So, without a thought for her mummy worrying about her, she made her way back to the zebra enclosure and found a way she could squeeze in to be right up to them.  

"Here horsey horsey" she shouted as she held out her hand with a piece of bread on it.  "Here, this is for you" she said.  Then she let out a yelp as the zebra came over to the wire and bent down to her outstretched hand.  He had the most enormous teeth, they frightened her.  Tears began to well up in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.  A man rushed over to her.

"Did he bite you?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so" replied Angela.

The man examined her hand and could find no evidence of a bite, not even a single mark.  

"I think you are mistaken" the man said, "I can't find anything on your hand, are you sure he bit you?"

By this time a crowd had gathered around, and suddenly Jen burst through.

"Oh Angela, what has happened, are you ok?" she asked breathlessly.  

The man explained, he didn't think there was anything wrong, the little girl had just got too close to the zebra and she thought she had been bitten but her hand was fine.

Then an official came over to see what was the matter.  Having listened to the man and spoken to Angela he took mum to one side and told her to go and get a cup of tea as it was obvious she was shaken by what had happened.  Mum did so, taking Angela firmly by the hand and a little later the zoo official came to see how she was.

"Are you ok now Mrs Jordan?" he enquired.

"I'm still kind of a mess, but I think we all are." she replied, sipping on her tea, all the time thinking how she would scold Angela once they got well away from the zoo.  It wasn't the first time her daughter had done something like this and created a fuss but it would be the last!

WOYWW 793

Well, we have had some lovely weather, been away for 15 days and the weather was good the whole time, lovely this last Sunday but Monday saw a dull day and the pavement was all wet when we got up.  According to TV news friends down South have had the hottest day of the year Monday.  And I am up north!!  Don't get me wrong it's not poured down or anything and the sun did try to come out.  Still, the gardens needed some rain and, saying that, I must get out and pull one or two weeds up. My rockery is a total mess!  

Didn't stop me going to Leigh Show though.  Guess what I bought?  Not a thing!  I went with a list for some stamps but they didn't have a single one that I wanted so I just spent the time chatting to my friends.  Graham who runs Sincerely Yours Shows  is a good friend (used to work for his wife for years on the circuit) and so the staff, Graham, Tom, Pete and Izzy are the people I go to see, plus Jo on Stampers Grove of course, and my lovely friend Amanda of HoneyDoo Crafts.   Graham felt it hadn't been a good show as people had arrived and had to turn around and go home because there was no room for parking.  Somehow the people in charge of the venue had booked other things in and they had closed parts of the car park off meaning there was little room for those attending the show.  I actually saw a message from a lady in Liverpool who had travelled all the way to Leigh (nr Bolton) and had to go back without getting out of her car.  Not very nice, and she was not the only one.  

Ooh, I am so angry with myself.  Made a birthday card that had four separate tags, each with a different picture (AAll & Create for a change too) and I forgot to scan it before I posted it off.  Just done the same with another card for a friend who is leaving her current job to take up a new career.  Only this time I can undo the envelope as it has not yet been sent.  Still angry after all the work that went into it that I didn't scan the other one. Anyway, the one card I managed to salvage.

But there were two cards I made that I didn't show in here the other week because I didn't want to show them until they had been received.  Both were for a swap on RSS which was "Time".  They were very similar, one blue and one green that Jamie and his mum, Tracey, at Lavinia had shown on a video.  Mine are slightly different but hardly noticeably so.

That makes me feel a bit happier that I have something more to show you. But really you came here for my desk which is very uninteresting.  Trying to get ahead of my blogging so busy doing journal pages.  See you over at Sarah's shortly.

Jeudi Journal - Going to bed

Still not got access to anything from the 'wild animal' world so having to make do with a few home grown leaves and a nice stamp of a Hummingbird, which I think looks a bit exotic, despite me seeing them in lots of friends gardens when I visited California.  In fact the friend I stayed with had just one tree outside her home, a bit of a 'scratty' tree, but one day I espied a nest and inside a tiny tiny hummingbird which popped its head out.  I was delighted but sadly I had to go home before she managed to hatch any eggs she was guarding.

This is my page for Jo's "Wonderfully Wild" challenge over at Art Journal Journey and it is coupled with Wendy's quote "One day I will rule the world, until then I'm going to bed" which always reminds me of James Cagney and "top of the world" for some reason.  Sorry it is not terribly "wild" Jo - but maybe her hair is a bit wild, the bird is exotic to me in the north of England and the leaves suggest warmer climes.  Anyway, to my story by way of explanation:

"Leah and her brother Justin had come into some money, quite a substantial amount and they had decided to blow a chunk of it on the holiday of a lifetime.  Both really wanted to go somewhere hot and steamy, the rainforest or jungle appealed to Justin and he had somehow persuaded Leah that was what she wanted too.

The holiday had been wonderful, lots of exotic and wonderful animals, birds and reptiles had been seen by the brother and sister duo.  There had been lots of walking through different kinds of terrain and the duo were pretty whacked out by the end of it.

I think I need another holiday to get over this one" said Leah, "it's been absolutely marvellous and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it for the world but I could just do with a week or so by a pool now.  Somewhere to settle down with a good book and be waited on."

"Oh , I don't know" replied her brother, Justin with a big grin on his face, "I could just do it all again but this time I want to see the big cats, elephants and rhinos and things.  Just imagine coming back and saying you had seen the king of the jungle.  Been quite close to him, seen him in action ruling his kingdom."

"Talking about ruling" answered Leah, "one day I will rule the world, until then I'm going to bed."

"Aaw, please don't go just yet, let's look at the photos and the video I made today.  Promise it won't take more than ten minutes and then we can both go to our rooms, have a shower and flop on the beds."

Leah always fell soft where her brother was concerned,  They had always been a close pair and looked after one another since they had left home after college.  She had promised mum she would be there for Justin as long as he needed her and she was determined to stick to her promise.  And so the two of them sat and looked at the days photos, deciding which ones were for the album and which for the bin.

Then it was time for showers and bed for the duo, so, saying 'goodnight' they each took off to their separate bungalows and a good night's sleep.  What would they decide  to do do next?"

WOYWW 792

 What a lovely week we have had with the weather.  Finally summer in the north of England.  And it did what we always want it to - a couple of nights it rained but by morning it was lovely and sunny again.  So I am afraid I have taken a back seat with crafting and instead been out and about enjoying the weather between being stuck to the tv at times watching the Olympics.

So proud of Keely Hodgkinson who won the gold for us in the 800 m.  Funnily enough she comes from Atherton/Leigh which is where we will be heading on Sunday for the craft show that I always try to visit.  The show is held in the Sports Village at Leigh and is run by Graham who I used to work for when I was demonstrating for his wife's business.  I only really go to see him, Tom his son and Pete and Izzy who help out with the general running.  There is the added attraction of Jo Rice though as she dems for Stampers Grove (and uses Lavinia stamps) and my friend Amanda at Honeydoo Crafts.  No doubt money will pass hands whilst there.

Today is the other half's birthday so it was over to him ask to what we did and he chose to visit Sizergh Castle which is somewhere we both enjoy wandering around.  Friends had told us of somewhere nice to eat and so we are off for a lovely lamb shank tonight - well he is - I will not manage so much to eat and have eaten far too much lately so need to tone down a bit.

Full of good intentions I set out some crafting goodies last night but then fell asleep and so the table remains the same.  As we will be staying in until lunchtime I am hoping to make a start on a project I have had in my head for a while and get my journal page done for tomorrow.  So here goes

and look at our little visitor

We pulled up the other day and there he was sitting on the lawn outside the shed.  He dashed into the undergrowth when we got out of the car.  Nothing as exciting as was for our neighbour.  He woke one morning to find a deer peering in his window.  I'd have loved to see that but doubt we would as he wold have to negotiate steps to get to our caravan.  Dave has no steps on his pitch.

Well, that is it for today, sorry nothing to see and the project won't be ready for a while but there should be a birthday card or two soon.  See you over at Sarah's shed shortly.

Jeudi Journal - 100%

 Well, what can I say?  It's a new month and I cannot believe we are on what I regard as the last day of summer already.  Yes, we have had some hot days in the north recently but I wouldn't really say we have had much of a summer.  Far too wet up here.

Of course, as far as Art Journal Journey goes that means a new challenge.  For some reason I had a background page ready for the last challenge - maybe I thought we could squeeze one more day in July out!  What an inspiring page this month's host has done.  You really should go along to Art Journal Journey and see what Jo has done for you.  It's a wonderful page full of inspiration and I just loved it as soon as I saw it.  

Of course I am away from home on holiday and therefore unable to access my stash of wild animal stamps - or even pictures of some kind.  So I have to do something to do with wild life and I have to use the quote Wendy chose for this week which is "I understand everything you're saying and I am 100% certain that I really don't care".  Mmmm ... problems!

Well, all animals out in the woods or jungles are wild ones aren't they?  And the trees and flowers that grow outside in the woodlands are wild.  Hurrah, I had some of my Lavinia stamps with me and just happened to have flowers, trees and animals (of the woodland kind).  So, having chatted long enough here goes with a story to explain the picture:

"Kirby and Eden had been friends from nursery school and now both girls were in their teens.  Kirby had left school at 16 and started work in the local Council offices.  Eden had gone on to college where she was studying to go into nursing.   It was lovely and sunny and Eden had called to see what her friend was doing that day.

"Let's go for a walk down in the woods where it's nice and quiet and we can talk and walk and just enjoy the day" said Kirby.

"We could stay in and do just that" replied Eden. "but I guess we might as well go out and enjoy the sunshine whilst we can.  You never know, if we are really quiet we might see the hares at play like we did last year."

And so the two girls set out for a walk in the woods near home.  

It was obvious something was bothering Kirby and she began to open up about some trouble at work.  The only thing was, Eden had heard this story, or something similar, time and time again.  Each time it got a little more involved and as what Eden advised her friend to do, she didn't seem to listen and take on any advice Eden was willing to give.  Eden had had enough.  She really had done her best to help Kirby with her problems.  Even seeking advice from her tutors at college in order to help her troubled friend.

"You just don't understand." said Kirby, "You have no idea what it is like out in the big world.  You are still studying so it's pretty much like being at school for you and there are not the same problems for you to have to deal with.  It's so hard being an adult."

"So I am not adult?" enquired Eden.  "At least when you finish work at the end of the day you go home and that is it, the evening is your own whereas I get my books out and continue with my studies.  I do understand, I understand everything you're saying and I am 100% certain that I really don't care.  Not any more.  I've done my best to help you with these problems, I've even mentioned things to my tutor in the hope that she can help me to help you.  You walk around with this 'survivor' face on but you can't see the wood for the trees,  you don't see that there are others with the same or similar problems.  I'm sorry Kirby, I've had enough.  We've come out into the woods for a lovely walk and all you have done is go on about the troubles you have at work, you don't stop once to think about the problems I might have with my studying.  Ooh, Kirby, I don't want to fall out with you, I want us to be happy like we used to be at school not weighed down with things that can be solved."

Kirby just stood there.She couldn't believe her best friend had said she really didn't care.  But was Eden right?  She had listened in the past, night after night she had listened.

"You're right" she said, "I've been too wrapped up in my problems that I haven't stopped to listen or think about anyone else.  Can we start again and put all this behind us?"

"Of course we can" replied Eden, "let's just hug it out and enjoy the rest of the day here in the woods."

And so the two girls hugged, the little hares played, the hedgehogs went on their way and suddenly the world seemed a better place."

Yesterday we saw this little bird sunning herself on the shed outside

Now to sun myself - lots of suncream obviously