A missed anniversary

I thought I would sit and plan my one year anniversary blog post. It's at the end of the month right? WRONG! It was last week! Oh well, never mind. I guess it doesn't really matter when we celebrate. I've been having similar thoughts about my 40th birthday party which I have still to organise. I can't say I really feel much like going out much in this weather. I'd rather wait until the summer and have friends round all day for a barbie. I can hear a steady dripping on the windowsill. Is it melting snow or rain?

Anyway... Yipee! One year of blogging, well done me. Time to reflect and share some deep thoughts on the matter. A matter indeed that ties in very well with today - Friday - when I share happy thoughts from the week for Jamie's Happy Book Group.

How many posts have I written then? 281! Wow! I can't even remember what prompted me to start in the first place aside from a desire to write, but how happy am I that I did. I can confidently say that this blog has changed my life. How's that for a bold statement? So, how?


1. I have made new friends across the world. This was an unexpected bonus, but one I treasure so dearly.

2. I have rediscovered my love and passion for art and grown in ways I never thought possible. I picked up a paintbrush again around the same time I started this blog, but at first it was the same old watercolour flowers and landscapes that I'd always painted. Then, I came across a blogging group who together 'Wrecked their Journals' (thank you so much for pulling this one together Jamie!) and that was it - something was released and I haven't looked back. Watercolour rarely gets a look-in these days when so much fun can be had with mixed media. I found all these wonderful creative challenge sites where the support from the wonderful artist has helped me grow and develop as, dare I say it, an artist. Without this support and encouragement (particularly from the ladies at Inspiration Avenue) I would never have dreamed of opening my own Etsy shop let alone actually selling anything I had made. Thank you one and all. If I could hug you now I would. I've taken online courses I found via my blog hopping and have seen my work grow and develop. I really feel like I've made some progress.

3. Writing is becoming second nature. Last year I promised myself to try and write every day and this blog has been the natural catalyst. And I love it! Words pour from me rich with creative juice. I've learnt from both the writing and the art that what is most important is that I do this for me, that I am happy with the outcomes. Receiving positive comments is naturally the icing on the cake and adding to the list of followers gives me a warm glow, but I am proud of myself too. I feel like I have really achieved something by sticking at it.

4. I fill my evenings with all the above, rather than watching mindless drivel on TV just because it's there. Most evenings will find me floating off somewhere around the world via my pc or if not that, delving into a fantasy art world land. When I'm creating - whether words or pictures, I feel like I'm doing what I'm meant to do. I am ME and that is someone who went missing for a while. I'm pleased to have her back and keep buying her nice treats like paintbrushes, clear gesso, pretty fibres, canvas boards....

Yes, it does have its downsides. Sometimes I spend far too much time travelling blogland and painting when I should be doing something else (notably cleaning the house), but hey that's not too high a price to pay is it?

Happy Blog Anniversary to me - and thank you to all those who helped it happen - you know who you are. You have done more for me than you can possibly imagine.

Soft furnishings and the modern man

I was in HomeSense at the weekend. If you don't know the store, it is, as the name suggests - items for the home. Pictures, mirrors, frames, storage, lamps, ornaments, interesting ironwork - a girlie haven. . I love it in there and could happily spend a fortune. For those of you who read my post about Anthropologie - it's very similar products but about a quarter of the price. The place for the 'sensible' shopper.

Anyway, I was browsing on Saturday. Gently fingering fabrics, peering at paints and coveting cushions. They had some real beauties with frills and fancy bits. A young couple were standing in the way of a particularly fetching deep purple paisley print velvet specimen I couldn't wait to get my hands on. The female asked his opinion on two she was dithering over. The poor chap, he looked terrified. "The thing is" he stammered. "I'm just not all that interested in soft furnishings..."

I couldn't help but smile and, seeing as I really wanted to get to that purple velvet, I just had to butt in.

"Of course he's not going to show an interest in cushions" I lamented. "He's a bloke."

Bloke in question looked at me with gratitude and agreement. Here was a girl on his side at last. And I wasn't even finished yet..

"You're lucky you got him in here at all" I continued (receiving a nasty look from the cushion coveter). Then I returned home to my man who was on the edge of his seat in the closing minutes of the big game. We had tuned into the radio on the way home just to check if it would be safe to cross the threshold, but needn't have worried. His team won.

Clearly the girl hadn't a clue how to handle her man. I mean, seriously, you don't take them shopping for cushions for one very good reason. No, not because they don't care; they get bored in 2 seconds; or would rather be watching sport. The reason is simple... they will never find out how much you just spent on two squares of fabric stuffed with fluff!

Bad Hare Day

A bit of a cop out going on here. Well, you see, I just know I'm not going to have enough time to create my purple entry for Inspiration Avenue this week without putting myself under undue pressure so I'm showing you a couple of purple pieces I made earlier!

The first is also rather topical since I am indeed suffering a severe case of the bad hair day. I actually looked better with bed hair this morning than I did after shampoo, conditioner, 'styling' and product had all attacked my mop. My hair has never been a tame puss cat, more like a Tasmanian devil I think. Fine; straight; brown. A cause of much distress to my mother over the years. As a child she'd torture me with rollers and granny-style hairdryers before parties - you know the kind, they look like you're wearing a bucket on your bonce. I grew up believing not that blondes had more fun, but that you needed to look like Shirley Temple to be popular (love you really Mum!).

So, we have a purple homage to the bad hair day. This was painted as a preliminary sketch for .... drum roll...... my commissioned piece! Look at me... A proper artist or what? I rather foolishly forgot to capture the final work in digital technivision but you get the gist.

Below we have a piece entitled simply 'Sister's birthday card'. The small blue flower in the middle is from my ephemera stash and I created the painting around it with acrylics and ink. I was rather chuffed when she framed it and gave it pride of place on the bedroom wall.

Happy Birthday Boy!

This time six years ago I was some way into my 'giving birth' story. As all Mum's will agree, being able to share this tale with others and watch their horrified expressions is an unexpected perk of the experience.

Fear not readers, I'm saving it from you today. Let's just say it was long - we're talking days here) and involved virtually every pain relief method - and leave it at that.

No, today I shall be recalling how wonderful it felt to finally hold that little bundle of joy that I'd been growing inside me for the past nine months and to thank him for all the love and pleasure he has given me ever since. I am such a proud Mumma.

He had his party at the weekend which was loud and energetic as all good parties should be. He's still of an age that when Mummy suggests he gets up and dances with her, in front of all his friends, he's only too happy to oblige. He danced in the Italian restaurant we went to for dinner tonight too and showed all the waitresses 'his moves'.

Doesn't seem like 5 minutes since he was a gurgling newborn in my arms and I was suddenly struck with the realisation that I was now responsible for this little chap.

Happy Birthday my sweet little boy!

PS: Can I have a go on your scooter?

What's the big deal about cupcakes?

I live in a rather dull provincial town. Here, if you fancy a cake that doesn't come ready boxed and poly-thened, you head to the bakers. We don't do patisseries here - far too posh and most people couldn't pronounce it anyway. Donuts, iced buns, custard tarts... that's what you get and be thankful for it.

(image credit: The Little Cupcake Company)

Fortunately, I get to travel - all around the world. OK, so it's mainly virtual travel, but don't knock it. Frankly you wouldn't believe the places I've been via my computer in the kitchen. Too bad I can't collect airmiles, but at least my CO2 emissions are low.

On my travels I have discovered a new revolution in the aforementioned delicacies. The cupcake seems to have enjoyed something of a transformation in recent years. Last time I had one it was a small sponge with some icing that was deceptively thicker around the edge then in the middle. Usually, there was a choice of four 'flavours' - orange, yellow, pink or chocolate. There was a ritual to be observed when eating. The icing was always carefully removed first and placed to one side on your plate. The dry sponge would be washed down with a cup of tea or orange squash before the sweet food colourings and additives were allowed to tingle on your palette.

Now, the cupcake has suddenly become an art form. Less topping is no longer more. In fact, I believe that unless your topping measures a ratio of at least 3:1 it can't be considered a bona fide cupcake. Colours and flavours sparkle and delight. Artists can't paint enough of the things, they grace greetings cards and gift wrap. Open a copy of Vogue and the sugar and buttercream sits strangely alongside the skeletal models - one model even claimed to eat them (though I find that hard to believe). When I was in London (for real, not virtual) I even spotted a whole shop selling nothing but them. It was very pretty!

Where did this new obsession come from? I thought we were supposed to be all calorie-conscious these days and eating our five fruit and veg? Is it a fad or are the Marie-Antoinettes of cakes set to stay?

I feel I must investigate further. Perhaps a trip here, here, or here to sample the best of British. Or, maybe I need to go further afield... I'm thinking New York, LA, Sydney, Rome, Paris... I wouldn't want to cultivate a biased opinion after all.

At the very least, I feel I must make a purchase just so I can paint one. What do you think? The perfect excuse? The question is though, would it be with me long enough to paint?

Reflection

You would think that when I set a creative challenge over at Inspiration Avenue that I would have something pre-prepared (or at least in mind) for what I might be presenting. Sadly, in this hectic world, that is never the case. And this week, more than ever has been rather busy with no free time for artistic endeavours. However, I couldn't let the side down so the sketch book came out and a few ideas were pondered.

Naturally, because I was in rush and painting this late last night, things didn't go entirely to plan, but then again I'd like to reflect that this is not such a bad thing after all. You see the top half of this picture was a mermaid rising from the water, the bottom her mirror image in the moonlight. Well, that was the plan... Instead we ended up with a multi-coloured blur where the effervesence refused to glow and the moonlight looked more like spilt milk.

Well, we know not to cry over that my friends. So this morning, she paid a visit to my good old friend Photoshop and we created a new bottom half. Ah, how I love a spot of digital manipulation. Photoshop saves the day!

She still needs a bit work... another day perhaps...

Entrancing

For my happy sharing this week, I am cheating slightly and borrowing the talents of others. I'd love to direct you to some wonderful postings that made me smile and clap with joy.

First, have a read of Amelia's musing on what art can teach us about life.

Do you believe in fairies? Read this post and watch the YouTube link set within (be sure to view it all now), then tell me you don't believe...

Finally, more YouTube magic. Have a listen and let the dance vibe invade your soul.