I need curtains for the window in my head.

Silent Sunday

2012-03-18T10:32:00.001-07:00

Dear Mum

2012-03-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Mum,
Sometimes I find it hard to put into words just how much you mean to me. When I see you I always want to let you know how much I love you and what a beautiful and wonderful person you are but I can never seem to find the right time or the right way to do so. So I thought I'd write it all down. It might not come out quite how I want but I hope you read it and can see all the things I'd like you to...

Over the last few years I feel our relationship has grown a lot stronger. I always really look forward to when we meet up, it makes me very happy to spend time with you. I think I just needed to grow up more before I could understand you the way I do now and to be less self centred than I used to be. I'm sorry for not having done this sooner.

Having you there when Ella was born was, for me, a real eye opener and a beautiful experience. You made me feel like I could carry on going when my body was telling me I couldn't. I honestly wouldn't have had the wonderful birth I did have if you hadn't of been there. That moment, when Ella was born, made me realise how you feel about me. I'm your daughter, I always will be, even now I'm nearly 30. You have loved me and continue to love me, warts and all. It was only when I became a mum myself that I saw how important it was for me to rebuild our relationship, to show you how much I care about you and how sorry I am for all the upsets over the years. I hope I'm on the way to doing that now and that you know you are loved.

You are one of the hardest working people I have ever known. You always want to do the utmost for others to make their lives better and make them happy, sometimes to the detriment of your own happiness. You keep calm and carry on even when the crap hits the fan and that's something I am always in awe of. I wish you could take more time for yourself, to have the time to do more things that make you happy. I know that's not always the way the world works but I hope somehow, one day, I can do something to make that happen as you deserve it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I know I have not been a perfect daughter, very far from it at times in my life, but I am trying hard to make up those lost years. I want to be a daughter who makes you proud, who makes you happy and who makes you feel loved and appreciated.

Happy Mother's Day Mum, I love you.

Julia x

I want my hat back

2012-03-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

At times I despair at the book choices made by the librarians who work in the local library.
There is a distinct lack of interesting things to read (or perhaps that's just me being penickity or something). I desperately love libraries and the whole ethos behind them but our local one, since having it's "upgrade", just lacks a certain something. Whilst being prettier, brighter and now sporting a coffee machine (I never drink coffee in the library, just seems a bit weird really) that's where all the thought seems to have gone. No one seems to have come to the conclusion that perhaps the items on the shelves need a bit of re-jigging/updating too.
I keep thinking about writing an anonymous letter to the people who work there asking them to consider stocking a more varied array of titles (I know a lot of the population of my seaside town are elderly but they're not the only people who use the facilities there!) as I really feel it might pull in a few more people. (I must add that like with all other libraries you can order in books but it costs a fortune and quite often you have to wait forever and by the time you get it you've sort of forgotten why you wanted to read it in the first place!).

However, now and again when I'm rummaging through the umpteen shelves of things I've either already read or have no desire to read I find a gem. Something that just screams out to me to take it home and read it.
The book that did this yesterday was I WANT MY HAT BACK. It's a children's book (I was looking for something new to read to my daughter) by a guy called Jon Klassen.

(image from Waterstones website)

When I leafed through it whilst still in the library I instantly fell in love with his illustrations, they're just wonderful! The title and cover picture had already made me smile so I scanned my card, put the book in the machine thing and then took it home.

(Image from http://bit.ly/FPQZMb)

Back home I sat down with a cup of tea and decided to read it myself before reading it to my daughter at bedtime. I can honestly say I loved every detail of this book. I know I am not it's target audience but who cares! It made me happy, it made me laugh and it made me wonder what else Jon Klassen had done.
I looked him up and found more beautiful artworks and wonderful things. I've spent a big chunk of today looking at his website and trying to figure out how I'd get a print of the bear in the book sent from the States (sadly when I looked in the store thing the postage to the UK was off the scale!).

I'm sure heaps of you have already found this amazing book and seen what great work Mr Klassen has produced (sort of get the feeling I'm the last one to the party on this one!) but I just wanted to share my thoughts on it as it made me so happy :) I've ordered my very own copy today so that when I have to return this one to the library I wont feel sad that it's no longer on my shelf :)

Check out more of his beautiful work here : www.burstofbeaden.com and follow him on Twitter here : @burstofbeaden

Random things make me happy...

2012-03-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

Silent Sunday

2012-03-11T14:03:00.002-07:00

Palooka Tees

2012-03-07T13:47:00.001-08:00

My friend Jo is an awesome woman. Smart, funny, hard working, creative, outstandingly musically knowledgeable and generally far cooler than any one person ought to be (she ran my favourite and massively popular DJ night in Exeter for 8 years but sadly has now retired!).

I recently found out about a new string to her bow, Palooka Tees but I think I'll let Jo tell you herself what it's all about!

Here's the history of Palooka Tees:

I bought the licence for loads of original 30's, 40's and 50's advertising art, with a view to doing some shirts about 10 years ago. Due to difficult personal circumstances at the time I never got round to doing anything with them until now. I've always loved vintage Americana from this sort of era. There's something comforting about it. Naive, if you will. When times were simpler than now.

Then I discovered Twitter! I started being followed by and interacting with, a graphic designer from Eastbourne. We have become great friends, although we have never actually met in person, we use the great technology such as 'Face Time', to talk to each other. I showed him some of the images and we decided to give it a go together. He sorts out the images, makes them ready for the printer and designs the shirts and I do all the bagging up, labelling, sending out and marketing!

The t-shirt industry is absolutely saturated with people trying to make a go of things. But what I like about our designs is that they are authentic. There are so many 'retro' or 'vintage' shirts out there that are just a theme, whereas these are the real thing! They're quirky, innocent and funny.

We initially had 40 or so designs in mind and decided to make a first run of 9 images. We decided these by making our initial first 'Top 9' and comparing. It was surprising how many we had both picked.

In the future, we will add more designs and maybe take some of the ones away that don't seem as popular. It's a case of playing it by ear. Eventually, I'd like to be at a point where we can have our own Palooka labels in the shirts. Wouldn't that be exciting!

It's both exhilarating and scary starting things like this up. But I believe in what we are trying to do. Let's face it, the designs can suit anybody! Young, old, fashionable, standard.

Jo has set up a website: www.palookatees.co.uk and a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palooka-Tees/137556093032080 and is looking at setting up an ASOS Marketplace store soon!

I personally love the ethos behind these tees and agree with Jo about the designs being great because they're authentic, so much better than the made up cheesy ones you see so often! I've got my fingers crossed that Palooka Tees brings lots of lovely things Jo's way :)

Doodler's Corner - Scott Nellis

2012-03-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'm stupendously happy to have a new Doodler's Corner interview to share with you all! This week's resident artist is the amazing Scott Nellis and his outrageously intricate artworks....

Who are you, where doyou come from and what do you do?

Hi Jules, I am ScottNellis, an artist and freelance illustrator who has lived in Brighton for eightyears; I'm originally from Chelmsford in Essex.

My work ispredominantly drawing-based. A couple of years back I was mainly using fineblack pens on paper but have since developed my style to incorporate a range ofmediums including photography, found imagery, scanning, Photoshop, digitalprinting, monoprinting and various colour pens.

Who/what influenceswhat you create?

My ideas stem fromlots of different places. Sometimes Iwork to a brief, set by someone who has approached me for a commission, or Imay perhaps see an open submissions opportunity for a book or the like. Apartfrom that I create a lot of my own artwork.

I gain my inspirationfrom things like emotions, life experience, dreams, general interests and mysubconscious. Also, listening to music always gets my creative juices flowingand I find that looking at work by other artists also helps.

How do you decide ona subject for an illustration?

When I'm doing my ownstuff it can be anything: from something as simple as a quick flash of an imagein my head, or a silly little thumbnail sketch. From those tiny origins mydrawings grow very organically so my work is often completely spontaneousrather than deeply planned.

For a couple of yearsmy work was pretty dark and I would spend a lot of time on one drawing. Thesetended to be large, highly detailed scenes of negative emotion. Over the pastyear or so I have lightened up a bit and now use a lot more colour in my workand my choice of subjects aren't always quite so fearful! Joining Twitter hashelped me rediscover my fun side and people I follow have inspired me to loosenup and do quicker sketches and doodles; currently I’m drawing a lot of monsters(but nice ones, rather than the grotesques of old). Recently I submitted adrawing to be printed in a kids colouring-in book - it would be great if it'sselected.

Another big sideproject I’m working on is a personal project I started in mid January, entitledThe Scroll Project. The basic premise spawned from constantly coming across aroll of wallpaper border paper I’ve had lying about at home. The idea I had wasto create what will basically be a 5-metre long doodle on the back of the roll.It's so therapeutic working on something where I can just sit down and drawwithout having to worry about research or preparation. So far I’ve coveredabout a metre and a half so there’s plenty to do yet.

What's been the mostexciting thing that's happened in your career so far?

Notstrictly my career but I would have to say gaining a place to studyillustration at the University of Brighton. I completed a foundation year inart and design at Brighton and Hove City College in 2006 and applied to the unias a mature student. The illustration course at Brighton is hugely popular andvery difficult to get into with the creative standard of successful applicantsbeing very high- the odds of being accepted are not in one's favour. Needlessto say I was blimming chuffed with my acceptance. In all honesty, studying atBrighton enabled me to develop my skills and style to a level beyond my dreams.

What made you chooseillustration as an outlet for your creativity?

In common with mostillustrators I’ve loved drawing since a very young age but this wasn’t my onlycreative outlet. I was always involving myself in different creativeactivities, whether it be image-making (of a traditional or digital nature),writing stories or, in my teenage years, picking up various musical instrumentsand jamming or writing songs. I stuck with the guitar for a fair few yearsquite religiously before my creative time was consumed by art. Unfortunately Irarely play these days but I'm fairly confident I will get back into itsometime in the future.

If you weren't anillustrator what job would you love to do?

I would love a jobthat involved lots of travel - perhaps a travel journalist? Although I’mnowhere near achieving it yet my main aim, indeed the aim I’ve had for most ofmy adult life, has been to travel as much as possible. So far I have beenfortunate enough to experience some of the various cultures and countries ourworld has to offer but there are many more places I wish to visit.

What is your absolutefavourite thing that you own?

If you had asked meten years ago I probably would have answered my guitar but these days I reckonit's my computer. I love being connected to the internet and as far as mybusiness goes I am totally reliant on it.

Whose work do youadmire and want to adorn your walls?

Oh I wouldn't mind abig Caravaggio slapped on my wall, or perhaps something by the painter JoeColeman.

What’s the best thingabout doing what you do?

I love the wholecreative process from beginning to end so I’d say it’s either starting with ablank sheet of paper and making it evolve into an original, complex image, orthe satisfaction of quenching my thirst to create that builds between projects– both are feelings I’ll never tire of.

I'm not greatlymotivated by money but, to have the skills at my disposal through which I canearn a bit of cash (especially from selling something I’ve created from nowtmore than thin air and an idea), is pretty damn awesome. Add to this the oddcompliment on my work and I’m always guaranteed a nice buzz!

What does the futurehold for your work?

It's difficult to predictbut I hope it will be much more than just something people view on theinternet. Hopefully regular freelancework will come my way, and with the odd exciting exhibition opportunity thrownin, I hope to keep the wolf from the door - as well as allowing my subconsciousto keep the ideas running free.

Huge thanks to Scott for his wonderful answers and truly amazing art! If you'd like to see more of his work you can have a look at his website : www.scottnellis.co.uk and find him on Twitter at @scott_nellis :)

If you're an artist, illustrator, photographer, designer, maker or generally creative person and would like your work featured in a Doodler's Corner interview please drop me an email! :) curtainsforthewindow@gmail.com

"Shall I be Mother?" or "My afternoon with Action Aid" :)

2012-03-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

Tea. It makes people happy. Tea in pretty cups makes me ESPECIALLY happy. Add in some cake, some vegan biscuits (oh yes, they found me vegan biscuits and even vegan millionaires shortbread!!), a lovely bunch of bloggers and some friendly folks from Action Aid and you have the makings of a wonderful afternoon!
Back in January I spent such an afternoon at the ActionAid office in Clerkenwell, London. I've been trying to write this post for over a month now but I keep editing it as I just keep feeling I'm not doing them justice...I really am that in awe of the work they do....

ActionAid are a charity who are working towards a world without poverty, they work with people in some of the poorest countries in the world and help to improve things like education for children, rights for women and facilities for communities. I got involved with them last year as part of their Get Lippy campaign on International Women's Day (the 3th of March this year just in case you didn't know when it was). I learnt a lot at that point about the work they do to help empower and assist women in horrific situations around the world and really wanted to learn more about the other work they do. The focus of the afternoon was their child sponsorship programme, a really successful way of getting help not only to children but to their families and communities in some of the poorest and most challenged countries in the world.

The afternoon had a very relaxed atmosphere and as we all sat down with our cups of tea we watched this video about what it is that Action Aid are trying to achieve with their child sponsorship programme....

The man who had to follow the video was Mark Watson. He's a very well known comedian and blogger but not only that he's also an ActionAid ambassador. Listening to him talk about his experiences from his trip to Senegal with the charity interwoven with chuckle inducing witticisms about life with a small child was a wonderful experience. He was a warm and interesting speaker and you could really feel how passionately he cares about the work that they are doing. He started his blog when his son was due to be born and he was turning 30 ( and has promised to write it for 10 years (that's a big promise! I find it hard to keep writing for a week sometimes!). He brought up one of the questions that has often plagued my mind when thinking about charity : when you donate money, where exactly does it go to? It can be hard to picture from the literature charities send out sometimes. He chose to sponsor a child and then travelled to Senegal with the charity to see the sort of things they were using sponsors money for. I spoke to Mark after he'd finished his talk and asked him what he felt was the best thing about being a child sponsor and he told me that it's amazing getting contact from the child you're sponsoring and that instead of chucking money in a bucket and it "disappearing" you really do get to see how much your monthly payment helps not only that specific child but also their community.

We then heard from a lovely couple who sponsor a 13 year old boy in Lesotho, somewhere I'd never actually heard of until their talk. It was whilst they were on a holiday in South Africa that they saw an ad about child sponsorship on a train. After starting to sponsor their child they then asked ActionAid if it would be alright for them to go and meet him and his community whilst they were going to be nearby in South Africa. It took two months to organise the trip, ActionAid drove them to the village from the capitol. They talked emotionally about the wonderful welcome they received, the happiness of meeting their sponsor child and his mother and the huge effort the villagers had gone to even though they had nothing. The village school was up a mountain and the children climbed it every day to go to school, 90 children between age 5 and 15! They then told us about how their sponsorship money had helped the community....I got very teary eyed during this part! From schooling to community farms, healthcare and other basic facilities, you really got a feel for what being a child sponsor would be like and how much it could really do.

(I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the beautiful china they'd hired for the event....so pretty!)

In between the speakers it was really good to talk to the other bloggers who attended, some who I already knew and others who I hadn't. Had some great conversations! It was a wonderful and hugely informative afternoon and left me feeling like I'd like to do more with ActionAid in the future to help raise awareness of their campaigns and whatever else I can try to do!

Huge thanks to all at ActionAid for organising the tea party, for the wonderful goodie bags (I gave my pink fizz to my friend who I stayed with!) and for helping me with my travel (I'd missed a fair few other events of theirs so was really really chuffed to make it to this one!), am really happy to be part of your Bloggers Network! (P.S. Apologies for this post taking so bloomin long to write, I kept editing it and wanting to add more bits in and I still don't think I've said everything I wanted to!!)

Silent Sunday

2012-03-04T02:14:00.001-08:00

Stuff and things...

2012-03-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being a bit quiety of late, I've been trying hard to adjust to new meds and sort myself out a bit plus if you saw my other recent post you'd have seen that my house is being torn apart as we speak......sadly those things don't seem to mix very well with blogging so I've just been quietly doing some stuff, getting my head straighter and having xrays of my foot done (long story!)......

So in a bid to get myself back into things here's a list of cool stuff I've been making/been given/have found etc recently.....

Rowan kept asking me to get her a chick or a chicken....after much pestering I caved in and made her this rather cute little chickadee which she has since named Penny.

The pattern was printed out for me by my lovely friend Katie from this wonderful blog : http://whipup.net/2009/03/29/easter-tutorial-chickummyjig/

I went for a wander around the local charity shops on my endless, fruitless hunt for crochet hooks and came across this little book that I happen to have been wanting for ages......the massive bonus was that it only cost me 50p!!! I love anything by Keri Smith, she's so inspiring and her books really make me think and want to do more creative stuff!

My middle daughter Ruby decided I needed a pincushion for all my loose pins....so she quietly sat and made me a little jam tart type thing out of material scraps and some red felt! It's so cute and has pride of place on my desk now :)

My first issue of Mollie Makes arrived. I'd heard talk of how lovely this craft/lifestyle magazine is and wanted to see for myself! All the things I've heard about it are true, it's a beautifully set out, brilliant read with plenty of lovely things to make in it and some really interesting interviews/features. Can't wait to make myself a cute little mouse like the ones on the cover...

This beautiful little surprise arrived in the post the other day and really really cheered me up when I was feeling particularly cruddy....a super cute and useful birdy book mark....am already putting him to good use in my current read! Thank you so much to the lovely folks at Howkapow for sending him to me (who have proved my theory that putting nice thoughts and ideas out there brings nice stuff back to you!)

But I think the biggest and nicest surprise of all came when I went to a car boot sale a while back with my lovely friend Katie.....I was rummaging around all the stalls looking for nice things to put in my new attic room and came across four of these beauties! They're made by a company called Figgjo Flint and are made in Norway....perfect retro design!

Apparently these cups are pretty rare and collectable.....really chuffed!! :) I'm currently selling three of them on ebay to try and raise some funds for other stuff, got my fingers crossed that they go well! I'm keeping one which has a minor fault with it to remind myself that sometimes I really do find some awesome stuff and that the unexpected can happen at any time....

Hope you're all having ace weekends, I'm off to enjoy some sunshine :)

Boom ba boom ba.....

2012-02-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

You know that thing when you become obsessed with a song and play it over and over again until you can't hear anything else in your head? Yep....I have that going on right now.....I stumbled across this song after hearing/seeing the wonderful lady who sings it in Gotye's "Somebody I used to know". Her name is Kimbra, she's a and if I'm completely honest I'm a bit surprised I hadn't heard of her before as the music she makes is right up my street.
Anyway, the song that I heard is "Settle Down" and the video is brilliantly weird and fun.....I'm now listening to anything else I can find by her :)

Oh and this is now a firm favourite.....

Earth and straw

2012-02-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

I currently feel like I'm living in some smaller circle of hell. Things all where they're not supposed to be, no room to move around, dirt and dust all over the place and a general feeling of unease have spread through my house....whilst the attic room is pretty much done bar the carpet it is now filled with furniture as the chaos has now moved to the dining room.....

Living in a cob house is much like living in any other kind of house until you knock off the plaster and it suddenly comes to you that technically you're living in a fancy mud hut......lol......

Lath and dirt and plaster....and some ruddy great big holes!!!

So all of this is what has been consuming my time lately.....the house is too much of a jumble to concentrate enough on blogging so I'm going to try to get down to my local library at least twice a week for an hour or so to write my blog posts in peace :)

DFM - The first ever guest!!

2012-02-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited to post the first ever guest post on my blog!! Not only that it's hopefully the first of many guest posts about Dairy Free Monday!! This week's wonderful guest blogger is the outrageously lovely Utterly Scrummy (otherwise known as Michelle!), her delicious blog is a must for those with rumbling tums, inquisitive baking minds and lovers of all things chocolate brownie based! Michelle has very kindly put together two lovely coffee morning/ tea time recipes for us, so without further ado here she is......

I love making recipes more user friendly and adapting themto make sure that everyone can enjoy tasty treats. It’s such a shame that those following adairy free and/or gluten free diet have difficulty finding recipes for bakingthose treats we all take for granted. Why should those with allergies or food intolerances miss out?! It makesme so cross! I hope you enjoy thefollowing recipes that I make often, especially when I’m asked for alternativerecipes for coffee morning treats.

Dairy and Gluten-freeChocolate Cake

3/4 cup rice flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup hot coffee

1/2 cup soy, rice or almond milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease a ring mould withsome oil.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa,baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the centre ofthe dry ingredients. Break the egg intothe well and beat in with some of the dry ingredients. Add the remaining wetingredients and beat well to combine.

Pour into the ring mould and bake for 30-35 minutes until askewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the cooked cake from the oven andallow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin, if you try andremove the cake from the tin too soon it will crumble. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Ice the cake however you like. I just make a basic chocolate icing usingcocoa, icing sugar and water.

Dairy free Vanilla Cupcakes

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

1/2 cup icing sugar

hot water to mix

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.

Use a cake mixer to beat the sugar, vanilla extract and eggstogether, until they’re pale and thick and have trebled in volume.

Gently but thoroughly fold the flour into the egg mixtureuntil completely combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases and bakefor 10-15 minutes, or until golden and springy when gently pressed in thecentre. Allow to cool completely on awire rack and then ice with basic icing.

For the icing:

Combine icing sugar and a little water to make an icing of spreadableconsistency. Ice the top of each cupcakeand decorate with sprinkles or whatever you like.

Huge thanks to Michelle for putting these tasty treats in a post for me! I'm itching to try the chocolate cake!! If you have a favourite dairy free recipe, have found a great cafe or restaurant that sells delicious dairy free food that you'd like to recommend or if you have a story about dealing with the ups and downs of living dairy free please please drop me an email to curtainsforthewindow (at)gmail (dot) com as I'd love to hear from you!!

A family story

2012-02-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

Last September I went on a trip with my parents back to the North East to visit my wonderful family who live up there. It was so nice to go back to the part of the country I still think of in my heart of hearts as home. I had a wonderful time, laughing with all my family, drinking endless cups of coffee and looking through stacks of old photographs. I found this one buried in a big box of them. I looked at it for absolutely ages before I worked out that the curly haired boy on the left is my Dad. I'd not really seen that many pictures of him when he was that sort of age before.
There are numerous photo's at my Mum and Dad's house of him when he was in his early twenties and a few of when he was really little but hardly anything inbetween. I reckon he's about 11 or 12 here, helping gather up some turkeys for market or something like that....it's just an awesome picture really and it makes me smile so much when I see it. By the way, he's just as handsome today as he was then :)

I just wanted to say....

2012-02-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been around much lately, life has been getting in the way/on top of me/all over me like a sodding rash this last week....Still love you though :) x

(p.s. this is my first ever animation....I'm pretty pleased with it.....did it on my phone with a time lapse app thingymabobbery.....hee hee!)

Second

2012-02-09T01:35:00.000-08:00

Tick.

No tock to follow

from a clock with one hand

and no sense of timing at all.

The eternities held

within that sound held hearts heavy,

waiting for the minute sounds in between,

the click and whirr of nanoseconds

that mean life can still go on.

A body caught in so small a grain of time,

falling through the glassy curvatures

quicker than imagination,

as fleeting as dreams,

Briefly beautiful

for all of a second.

(This beautiful image is by Christopher Ryan -check out his blog here : http://cdryan.com/blog/our-love-is-an-hourglass/)

This poem was written as a response to the wonderful Writing Workshop prompts over on one of my favourite blogs, Sleep is for the Weak.

Silent Sunday

2012-02-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Doodler's Corner - Royal Mint :)

2012-02-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

We're heading to somewhere a little different (and a whole lot fuzzier!) this week in Doodler's Corner. If you're ever so quiet you can sneak up and take a peep at the small but perfectly formed creations of Sabina, otherwise known as Royal Mint!

Who are you, where do you come from and what do you do?

My name is Sabina Gibson and I am an artist. Right now I'm really into softsculpture, foam latex fx puppets, film making & animation.

Who/what influences what you create?

Folk lore, myths, legends, Japan, freaks of nature, 80's genre flickslike Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Predator, Aliens, Star Wars, The Thing, E.T etc.)and also my dog

How do you decide on a subject for a sculpture/creation/animation?

It just happens mostly.

What's been the most exciting thing that's happened in yourcareer so far?

That is tough to say because whatever I am working on right at the moment is oftenthe most exciting thing. I’m super stoked to be starting development on a newanimation with my soft sculpture characters. Any opportunity I get to dowhatever I want creatively is the most thrilling kind of work. I'm excited towake up in the morning and get busy.

What made you choose sculpture as an outlet for your creativity?

I was never as good as I wanted to be at illustration. I had always longed tobe able to do classical animation and I draw all the time, but I still was notwhere I wanted to be. With sculpture I could explore my ideas a lot further andfelt less hindered than I did with a pencil. I started doing soft sculpture andlatex/silicone sculptures in 2004. I then took those sculptures and beganmaking puppets and animating them through stop motion and live actioneventually developing a style that could combine the two without the pains ofdrawing thousands of cells or increments as with traditional stop motion andanimation.

If you weren't a sculptor what job would you love to do?

If something happened to me physically where I couldn't use my hands to makeart anymore, I'd always have directing as an outlet to be creative.

You can only wear one colour of clothes for the rest of yourlife, what colour would you choose?

I would have to say black for practical reasons.

Whose work do you admire and want to adorn your walls?

I admire countless artists work, but I don't have much of any art on my walls.I don't like the thought of owning any paintings or framed artwork because mytastes change over time. I wouldn't want to ever grow bored or feel burdened bya piece of art. That would be a shame. Even with my own work, I feel the needto get it out of my life and make new things all the time.

What’s the best thing about doing what you do?

Freedom and the ability to create constantly in a variety of ways. I also lovethe idea of connecting with people all over the world through a piece I'vecreated. It's an amazing feeling.

What does the future hold for your work?

Hopefully a long and prosperous career. x fingers crossed x

I have completely fallen in love with Sabina's creations.....they remind me so much of the animals and creatures I'd dream about as a little girl, there's a wonderful, ethereal quality about them. Also I am in awe of the sheer amount of detail and work in each tiny piece! Huge thanks to Sabina for taking the time for the interview and if you'd like to see more of her amazing creatures take a look here : http://www.etsy.com/shop/RoyalMint?ref=pr_shop_more

Right now....

2012-02-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

Right now I am drawing. I haven't drawn anything for ages so I thought I'd have a go by taking part in the great 28 drawings later project! This mug was sat on my desk wiht some thread stuck under it so I thought I'd try sketching it......it's not great but I'm kind of pleased with how it turned out :) Really looking forward to seeing what I produce over the next month and also finding out what other people are drawing too!

What are you reading? - The February Issue!

2012-01-31T06:14:00.000-08:00

Firstly I'd like to apologise to those lovely folks who always join in with this little bookish thing...sorry I didn't manage to sort myself out and put up a post in January! Well I'm back in business and here's the first What are you reading? post of 2012! I'd love it if, if you want to that is, you pop a link to your post in a comment and I promise to come look at all your lovely reading lists! :)

Here are the books I'll be munching my way through in February :

Grab the button and link to my blog

DFM - Sri Lankan coconut roti

2012-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

This week's Dairy Free Monday recipe is an old favourite of mine, I've made it for ages (pre finding out about my lactose intolerance) and I'm really happy that it's something I can still eat as it's dead tasty!!

The recipe comes from a wonderful book called Quick Breads by Linda Collister, which is jam packed full of tasty recipes for super quick bread type stuff....it's really easy to substitute the dairy elements of some of the recipes and make really lovely, tasty food :)

Anywho, back to today's recipe!

(Image photographed from the book! Original photography by Kate Whittaker)

You will need:
100g desiccated coconut
450g atta (chapatti) flour or sifted fine plain wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
50g dairy free spread
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten

How to:

Mix the coconut with 225ml water in a bowl and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dairy free spread and rub in until the mixture looks like fine crumbs
Stir in the chopped onion, chilli and soaked coconut, followed by the egg.
Mix with a round-bladed knife to make a soft dough. If the mixture is dry and stiff ad more water 1 teaspoon at a time until soft then leave for 30 minutes
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten out into a disc roughly 14cm across. Cover until ready to cook.
Put a greased frying pan or griddle over a medium heat. Cook the roti one at a time for about 2 minutes on each side until lightly flecked with brown. Keep them warm in a low oven, covered with foil or baking parchment, until ready to serve!

These go so well with pretty much any kind of curry you can dream up but also with soups and spicy stews!

Yum! :)

If you have a favourite dairy free recipe you want to share, have been to an amazing cafe/restaurant that serves dairy free food and want to recommend it or want to share your experiences of living dairy free please email me at : curtainsforthewindow@gmail.com, I'd love to hear from you! :) x

Taking Leave

2012-01-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

When she was leaving

(taxi at the door, engine running)

he wrote, beyond speech,

(the familiar hand grown sketchy)

I didn't know you were going so soon.

And people leave, it's like that, always

sooner than they knew,

sooner than they thought, and things don't wait,

and a whole lifetime

isn't enough to discover the words.

Uncover, recover the words.

By M.R. Peacocke, from her book "speaking of the dead" published in 2003

Musical Interlude

2012-01-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Not done one of these for a while.....this tune has been playing a fair bit lately in my house.....not that I want you guys to have a Bad Day......I just like the song and really love this little video!

The Gallery - My Photography Resolution

2012-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

I have one photography resolution. I want to take at least one picture every single day, be it on my DSLR or just on the camera on my phone (which is pretty much always in my pocket these days). I want to record what I see in a way that I had thought perhaps would be boring before. I've since realised that it makes me happy, chronicling even the mundane every day stuff.

Here's a picture I took today....

It was just quickly snapped on my phone as I walked past and saw the gall thing growing on the tree (kind of looks like a weird little brain doesn't it!) but I'm really happy with how it turned out....it made me happy to just stop briefly in my tracks and take it. Maybe that's what it is more than anything, just stopping for a second and noticing something I might otherwise have walked straight past. It's a good thing :)

Doodler's Corner - Michael Jennings, Doodle Boy!

2012-01-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you get talking to someone and you really do find that you like them immensely as a human being and sit and wonder at their talents......this is what has happened with Mick Jennings and I. I've been merrily conversing with him through the wonders of email and Twitter for ages now and honestly can say he's one of the nicest guys ever, plus he's a flipping awesome doodler! Come take a look....

Who are you, where do you come from andwhat do you do?

Hello, My name is Mick Jennings, Born inMaldon Essex but we moved to sunny North Devon when I was 6 weeks old, and beenhere ever since! I used to work in retail but currently trying to make it as anillustrator and designer!

Who/what influences what you create?

I have many influences, I have always drawnbut started doing more over the last few years, I have been buying tees from NoGuts No Glory in Exeter for a few years so the artists who have contributedtheir work to the store obviously gave me a great insight into that side ofillustration/design, those guys being Becca Allen, Phillip Harris and themighty Joel Millerchip. A great illustrator named Adrian Dutt who I know fromhere in Devon also does some fantastic work with birds, you must check him out!However I have recently been heavily influenced by the amazing work of RichardSayer (Funeral French), that guy is ridiculously talented!

How do you decide on a subject for an illustration?

Well I love birds, I really enjoy drawing them, and so that’s always an easy decision. I went through a faze of drawing flowers, Roses especially, I have been told that the feathers on my birds look a little bit like leaves which is pretty cool! I try to put as much detail as possible into the feathers and create lots of layers, I hope everybody likes them!

Sometimes I like to draw some things with a bit of humor thrown in; they usually just come to me, and are usually pretty rubbish! Haha.

All things are Black and White, I am awful at using colors, if somebody would like to teach me that would be ace!

What's been the most exciting thing that'shappened in your career so far?

When Nathan at No Guts No Glory agreed tosell my first T shirt I designed in his store! Like I mentioned before I havebeen buying tees from his shop for a while now, and to have the chance to sellmy own design in his shop was awesome! Thank you Nathan :D

What made you choose illustration as anoutlet for your creativity?

I have always enjoyed drawing, since I wasa little kid, however I have started to do more in the last few years for manyreasons from being influenced by the clothing I would by from shops that usedsimilar artwork, but also by my Brother in law who is a really talentedtattooist in Shoreditch, I have always been amazed at what he could do, so Iguess I wanted to get in on that!

If you weren't illustrating what would youlove to do?

Well I am a qualified fitness instructor!Haha, and I love to cycle to bicycle, Iwould be pretty chuffed if I could juggle all three :D. But that’s a boringanswer! I guess I’d like to be traveling the world all my life!

If you could be any animal for a day, whatwould you choose to be and why?

A Bald Eagle, then I could take photos ofmyself in the mirror, and then once I return to human form I could draw them! But they are just incredible creatures, whowouldn't want to be an Eagle?

Whose work do you admire and want to adornyour walls?

As mentioned above, I love Richard Sayer(Funeral French), incredible stuff, his Eagles are insane! I have a piece byJoel Millerchip and another by Sandra Dieckmann courtesy of No Guts No Glory J. I would like some more Millerchip bits, butI would really love to do a big piece with several artists and get a good mixof varied styles in there.

What’s the best thing about doing what youdo?

Getting comments and feedback from peopleis ace! I have met some lovely folk through all of this, and hope to meet manymore!

What does the future hold for your work?

Who knows! More of the same, and lots more,I am currently in the process of having prints done, another range of tees areon their way, and I am also doing a range of plates with a rather handsomedesign on! Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you! :)

See what I mean? What a truly lovely guy! I know I'll be keeping a close eye out for those plates (my crockery habit continues apace!) and on his work in general!

If you'd like to find out more about Mick and the work he's so great at take a look here :

http://michaeljenningsdoodleboy.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/MickP_J

Tar Brush...

2012-01-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

You’d have to have been living under a rock for the last fewmonths if you hadn’t come across some kind of news piece, article or blog postabout the shakeup of the British benefits system and how it may or may notaffect people. Some of the press I have read about it is very positive andpeople are really working hard to make sure that everyone gets fair treatment(as they should do) but I have also read a lot of very negative thingsappertaining to people who currently receive benefits and I feel this iscompletely unfair and needs addressing.

(Image from http://www.centretownbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/budget.jpg)

I currently receive benefits payments. I have been out ofwork for a fair while due to my illness and without this help my family and Iwould be unable to live. We are not scroungers. We are not spongers. We are not“helping ourselves to the wallet of England” as I saw someone put it once. If Iwere well enough to work, I would work. I would work hard and do my utmost tomake enough money to feed, clothe, house and look after my family. Sadly,currently, I cannot do this. THIS IS NOT A CRIME! Why should those of us whotruly are unable to support ourselves for a time be made to feel like we aresecond class citizens? I understand the public view of those on benefits isgenerally a very dim one. The giant brushthat is used to tar us with coats not only the people who do take advantage ofthe system but also those of us who are just trying to survive whilst dealingwith crippling illnesses, long term disabilities and other life alteringsituations. This is massively unfair and is something I find hugely upsetting.

I have written posts on a number of occasions about aspectsof my illness and how it can affect my everyday life. I haven’t, however,spoken about the financial aspect of this or the emotional aspect when it comesto being viewed as a “benefits scrounger”.

My illness is not one you can physically see; it is an ongoinginternal struggle. This does not make it any less debilitating or difficultthan one that can be physically quantified. We currently receive enough moneyin benefits payments to live off (we receive well under the Conservative’s suggestedcapped benefits amount of £26,000) but we are by no means swanning around inthe lap of luxury. There are five of us living in an average sized 2 bedroomrented house. We are very careful with the money we do get and are constantlytrying to stretch it as far as we can when it comes to things like food,housekeeping and clothing the children. I read an article the other day thatsuggested that whilst the hardworking people of the UK are cutting rightback those on benefits are buying wide screen televisions, driving nice cars and taking outsatellite subscriptions. In my own personal experience that is complete andutter balls. I cannot afford any of those things. I have no car, an old T.V. that wasgiven to me by a friend and I just about manage to pay my bills let alonemanage to have fancy T.V. channels!!! I’m sure there must be people out therewho do receive enough money in benefits to do those things and in their case Iwould highly recommend cutting back the amounts they receive.

The main point I’d like to make is that when people find outthat I don’t currently work and that I am on benefits they automatically seemto think I’m living the life of riley and mustn’t care about the fact that I’mnot contributing to society as a member of the economic unit. Their eyes glazeover and instead of seeing me, a human being going through a pretty rough time;they see some kind of giant parasite sucking the financial life out of theirvery own pockets. Well to those people I say come and walk in our shoes for amonth. Come and follow the budget we have to adhere to and see the difficultieswe face. If you can’t picture that then try this: imagine if you suddenly gotsick. Imagine you could no longer work, that you needed some way of keepingyour lovely family afloat whilst trying to get yourself back to a place whereyou COULD work and support yourselves. Imagine then that all and sundry thoughtyou were a piece of crap for taking the help that is offered and that youdesperately need. It’s not a pleasant thought.

We don’t want more money than we need. We’re not trying totrick the country out of its hard earned cash. We just asked for help at a timewhen we need it. As the gap between the rich and the poor gets ever largershouldn’t we remember that a society is only as strong as the bonds that holdit together....the further we are pulled apart the weaker we all become. I wantto live in a country that CARES about those people in need, not one that viewsthem as an extra chain around their already straining necks.

DFM - American vanilla pancakes!

2012-01-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

There is a wee bit of a sweet theme running through these posts so far but I assure you there will be savoury ones in the future!
This week I've moved from pudding to something kind of interesting in the breakfast department that I came across on the food bit of the Channel 4 website (they've got a great selection of dairy free recipes!) :)

(image from http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/healthy/dairy-free/american-vanilla-pancakes-with-rhubarb-recipe)

You will need :

250g sliced rhubarb

150g caster sugar

150g plain flour

1/2 tsp of baking powder

3 eggs

150ml vanilla soya yoghurt or other alternative

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp sunflower oil

The "how to" :

Place the rhubarb and 50g of the caster sugar into a pan and heat gently for roughly 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender
Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a bowl. Mix the eggs, soya yoghurt and vanilla extract with 3 tbsps of cold water.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together into a smooth batter
Heat the oil in a non stick pan, add three separate ladles of the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the bases are firm and then turn over. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the pancakes are spongy and cooked through.
Serve the pancakes topped with the stewed rhubarb.

And voila! A different, healthy and delicious breakfast! (this amount would serve at least 3 people I think!)

If you'd like to see your favourite dairy free recipe featured here one Monday, if you've got a favourite restaurant or cafe that serves up great dairy free food or if you'd just like to share your experiences of living dairy free please drop me an email, I'd love to hear from you!

curtainsforthewindow@gmail.com

Silent Sunday

2012-01-22T13:19:00.001-08:00

Questions, questions, so many questions....

2012-01-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

This is my last six months of being in my 20's. The stark realisation of entering my third decade is beginning to throw up a lot of questions. Who was I in my 20's? Who do I want to be/will I be in my 30's? What kind of person have I turned into? Am I happy/proud with myself and what I've achieved so far? Where will the next 10 years take me? It's a fairly confusing time.

So I've decided to start writing a short series of blog posts to get myself to answer some of these questions as a way of processing some of the last 10 years before I start the next 10. I know it will help me out a lot and hopefully it'll make for an interesting read too....

I guess I'd better start with who I was in my 20's.

I had my first daughter a month before my 20th birthday. The utterly life changing experience of becoming a parent really helped me straighten out the horrific kinks of my late teens (I went through a whole heap of horrible crap I can tell you!). Being someone's mum forced me to grow up rapidly and re-evaluate the kind of person I had been up to that point (a very messed up, troubled and to be honest horrible person). It was uplifting to think that I could throw myself into caring for my tiny baby and not think about all the horrors I'd left behind.

We were offered a job with a rent free cottage in a teeny tiny rural hamlet and moved in not long before my first daughter turned one. It was hard work and strange to be living under the watchful gaze of the Boss all the time. The house itself was nice enough and the garden was beautiful so to start with we were very happy there. My second daughter came along when I was 21 and she really cemented the deal. I wanted to be the best mother I possibly could be, although I wasn't really sure what that meant at the time. I put all my time and energy into giving my children all the love, care and devotion small children need.
Like a lot of young mums I found it hard to integrate myself into the clique infested world of toddler groups. Those who didn't sneer at me for having two young children before I was even 22 didn't seem to feel like they could talk to me because they were so much older. It was a hard lesson that, especially in rural communities, young parenthood is still very much looked down upon. So we moved house as I was feeling more and more insular and insecure living in a tiny village with no one to call a friend. To be honest the move didn't really help matters to start with as I still didn't fit in at the toddler groups but at least I was nearer to family and old friends who started becoming a bigger part of my life again.

I'll skip a couple of years to a time that ultimately destroyed me in order that I could be rebuilt. Sounds weird huh?
A month before my 25th birthday I went through a total and utter meltdown. My mental health was all over the shop and I didn't know if I was coming or going. I convinced myself that by becoming a mother so young I had missed out on all kinds of wonderful stuff, that I'd never be the kind of mother I had wanted to be, that my family would be better off if I wasn't there. I told my beautiful, wonderful partner that I didn't love him any more. I moved out of our family home and in to the spare room of someone I worked with. I saw my children 4 times a week for nearly five months.
I hated myself and what I was doing but I just didn't know what to do or who I was any more. I felt so alone and utterly disgusted that I had gone from being a loving and caring person to being so selfish and stupid. Over time some lovely friends helped me realise that I didn't want to be living where I was, that I wanted to be at home with the man I really did love and my beautiful children. They helped me come to terms with the fact that I was ill (again) and that I could go home, start to get better and rebuild my relationships with my little family. So I did. It was so hard and I felt so so very guilty right down in my bones for what I had done to them. It's taken me a very long time to come to terms with it and realise that I was sick and not in my right mind at the time. Like with all regrets I wish with all my heart and soul that I could go back and stop it before it happened but then I guess that would lead to a butterfly effect type thing and perhaps I wouldn't be the person I am now.....I'll never know. Thankfully my partner is the most wonderful person on the planet and we've been happily back together for over 5 years now. I still feel like I need to make it up to my children all the time and that my dream of being a wonderful mother was torn into a zillion pieces but I'm trying very hard to be as good as I can be now.

In 2009 my third daughter was born at home in our front room. It was a wonderful birth, so peaceful and calm and utterly amazing. I found a spark of pride that I had not felt for a long time. I remember looking at my partner, looking at the baby and feeling the prickling, hot tears running down my face as I realised that I was exactly where I was meant to be, doing what I was meant to be doing with the beautiful people I was meant to be with. It was a heart twistingly, stomach knotting rush of happiness. Sounds pretty damn soppy huh? It was......and I am......hehe! That moment led on to many more happy moments as I continued to rebuild my life with my family. Things are always changing, evolving and shifting but we're back to being the solid family unit we once were. I've even managed to go to toddler groups and meet some lovely mums who don't look down at me or anything like that....it's pretty darned nice.

So now it's 2012, my three amazing girls are growing up quickly, the love of my life is as wonderful as ever and I'm doing my damndest to win the battles with the mental health demons in my head. Sometimes I win, sometimes they win but ultimately I now know that no matter what I'm where I'm meant to be, with the people who I love and who love me best of all. It doesn't get better than that really, does it?

The Joy of Books

2012-01-19T01:37:00.000-08:00

After seeing a link to this video on Facebook this morning (thank you to the lovely Deborah for sharing!) I decided it was far too amazing not to share it! I've watched it about four times already and think it's such a wonderful advertisement for real, beautiful, PAPER books....(yes, I am a little bit anti Kindle/ebook!)...also having worked in a book store before it really spoke to me about how magical book stores are. I'm now going to go find one and buy myself a book, a real book and then read it on the tube :)

Also for anyone who may be wondering about "What are you reading?", the monthly book feature I do on my blog, it will be back in February as I completely forgot this month!! However, if you have written a post or want to write one for this month please please feel free to put a link to it in the comments here as I love reading them/finding out what you're reading! xxx

A belated DFM!

2012-01-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

I know it's Tuesday but sadly I was mega busy yesterday and didn't have time to put this post up, as it happens it's much better because I actually made this recipe today!

Today's Dairy Free Monday recipe is : Coffee and Walnut loaf!

You will need :

100g golden caster sugar (you can use normal but I find this makes it taste even nicer!)

100g self raising flour

100g dairy free margarine (or if you can have it then butter!)

2 medium sized eggs

50g of walnuts (take some out to decorate!)

1 tbsp strong black coffee (you can use more or less depending on how much you want it to taste of coffee!)

For the icing:

2 tsp strong black coffee

100g sifted icing sugar

50g dairy free margarine (or butter)

First cream together the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time whilst adding in half of the flour with each one.

Chop/break up your walnuts and add them into the mixture along with your coffee.

Give it all a good mix and then pour into a lined loaf tin or cake tin of your choice (please note different sized tins will take different amounts of time! Don't want you to burn your lovely cake!)

Bake for around 45 minutes or until you can poke a skewer into the middle and it comes out clean.

Leave to cool

In the mean time beat the margarine and gradually add in the icing sugar until it is all incorporated.

Gradually add in your coffee (please make sure it's cold otherwise the mix will split!).

Leave to chill in the fridge until ready to put on your cake!

When the cake is cool you can have fun icing it and decorating it however you please, one of these days I want to get a piping bag and have a go at that but for this cake I just splodged (technical term! lol) it all on the top and then put some walnuts down the middle :)

Hope that if you try this recipe you like it!

If you'd like to feature one of your favourite dairy free recipes or a story about what it's like living with a dairy free diet etc please send me an email to : curtainsforthewindow@gmail.com

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A Bloggers Tea Party

2012-01-17T02:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will be boarding a train up to the big smoke so I can attend the Action Aid Bloggers Tea Party. On Thursday the 19th of January they are hosting an afternoon tea party where we will hear about their work with some of the poorest children all over the globe, some stories from current supporters and how we, as bloggers, can help them. There will also be some special guest speakers including comedian and Action Aid ambassador Mark Watson (who I think is bloomin hillarious....tee hee!). I have been trying to get to one of their events for about a year now but every time they've held one I've either just left London or have been unable to get up there! This time, however, it's all fallen in to place and I'm very excited about meeting some of the people who work for this wonderful charity and finding out more about how I can help, in any small way.

I have three daughters, three lovely wonderful healthy daughters who, whilst perhaps not having everything they want (but then no one ever does really do they?!), do have everything they need to live a healthy and happy life. It makes me very sad and angry to think of the hundreds of thousands of children out in the world who don't have access to basic amenities like clean water, food and shelter and also the chance of an education. It's amazing how, when you stop to look at the wider world for a moment, you realise how much you really have and how very lucky you are. My children are all fed, watered, clothed, sheltered, have access to medical care and are receiving an education. That, in my mind, is something that EVERY child everywhere should have.

So I'm going to go and try to sponge up as much information as I possibly can on Thursday and find out what I might, even in a tiny way, might be able to do to help the worlds poorest children around the world. Will let you know all about it! :)

To find out more about Action Aid, the amazing work they do or how you can get involved/help please take a look at their website : www.actionaid.org.uk

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Deer Lady

2012-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes really really lovely things happen to me....like this one....

I entered a competition to win the first ever signed print of the insanely talented illustrator Sandra Dieckmann's "Deer Lady" artwork and I won!!! I bloody won! Me! Yeah!....(lets just say I'm more than a little bit chuffed about this....way more!)

(please excuse the shoddy blurry photo, I stupidly forgot that the cellophane was still on it at this point....and when I remembered I'd already put it in a frame!)

Having seen a picture on t'internets of what the print was like I knew it would be beautiful but wasn't prepared for quite HOW beautiful it is in the flesh.....I can't stop looking at it! There's so much detail, there's a sense of stillness but also movement.....I dunno, I just bloody love it I guess....

I'm going to get a much better frame and mount for it as soon as I can but I just wanted to put it up and look at it and keep it safe (having small people around makes it hard to keep things nice unless they're up out of reach!)....

Thank you so so much for this Sandra....I'm going to treasure it forever.....xx

P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for a future Doodler's Corner interview with the lovely Sandra!!

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A bit of spit and polish....

2012-01-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

This morning, for some weird reason, I really got the cleaning bee in my bonnet. I set about sorting out all my kitchen cupboards, chucking out things that were out of date and decanting half bags of stuff into jars.....once that was all done I realised I needed more storage for all my baking stuff (have REALLY got into making my own bread now!) and for other bits and bobs.

I thought about it for a bit and then decided to give myself a bit of a job for an hour or so!

This chest of drawers was in the attic and was absolutely filthy inside and out. The top and the sides were black and the drawer fronts were all speckled and grimy.

I decided to give it a damn good scrub and see how it came up....

Part way through the clean up, the top and sides had been done but look at the yuck on the drawer fronts!!

I really hated the drawer pulls too so I removed some handles from a broken old chest of drawers we're getting rid of and put them on it instead and...

Voila!!

Eventually I might re-paint them but for the moment I'm kind of liking the "knocked about, slightly discoloured, battered" look....

The drawer knobs were a bargain buy from Camden Market, I think they were 50p each or something...

I even put a little hanging up thing on the side so Row has somewhere to put her apron!

All in all I'm well chuffed with my morning's work and now have a lovely piece of decent storage in my kitchen that pretty much cost me nowt!

Happy face :D

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The Gallery - Phone Photos

2012-01-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I like this picture or not but I'm going to put it up anyway. This is my face. Well, it's my face after a very heavy night on the tiles....note the "still in the clothes I fell down in" look and the lack of me having taken my make up off.....please ignore the many rolls of fat around my neck and instead try to focus on my peaceful and (weirdly) reasonably pretty face....well, it looks a darned sight nicer in this picture than it did when I got up I can tell you! I remember half waking up in the middle of the night and for some reason in my drunken stupor deciding it'd be great to get a picture of myself asleep.....(yes, it is a stupid idea)...and this was the result. Obviously I am not really asleep, merely posing whilst half cut after one too many G&T's, but I quite like the effect. It was taken using some retro camera app or another on my phone (which is still defunct, sob sob!)....I'd obviously prefer it if this photo was a real polaroid but I just can't afford the films! So in this modern, high falootin' world we now live in I, like many other folks, have resorted to these apps. They're good fun, give instantaneous cool to otherwise cruddy photos and are easy enough for even a sozzled 29 year old to work out :) Good stuff!

My Highs and Lows of 2011

2012-01-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by the lovely Fiona over at CoombeMill to share my highs and lows of 2011 as part of a meme type thingymabob....so here's what happened!

2011 in a nutshell :

Fun, hard work, illness, medication, started this blog, wrote for a few different sites, got poorly again, tried therapy, left therapy, saw lovely family and friends, watched my girls grow a little bit more, tried to figure out what I'm going to do, didn't get too far with that...attended Cybermummy11 (met some ace folks)...went to Newcastle, London, Cornwall, Dorset.....friends had babies....errrm a whole bunch of other stuff happened too but I can't quite remember off the top of my head!

1. What was your happiest event?
I'm not sure.....there were a few good ones! I had lots of fun at my friend Lara's 30th birthday as loads of old friends were there and it was a lovely day....Boxing Day with lots of my partner's family was pretty good fun too, my friend Katie's baby girl being born was very special as well....lots of happy things!

2. What was the saddest thing to happen?
A lovely friend of ours passed away in a tragic accident....she's very sorely missed. :(

3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?

Going to Cybermummy I think. I never in a million years thought I'd manage to get a sponsor and go but I did. I feel very proud as I'd only been blogging for a very short while and it was a great learning experience plus I met some very very lovely people :)

4. Who let you down?
Not so much a who as a what. Therapy turned out to be a massive let down again even though I tried a different form. I guess I'll just have to keep on trying till I find one that works for me!

5. Who supported you?
My amazing little family, my awesome folks, my outstanding friends.....who could ask for more!

6. Tell us something you learned.
I'm better at things that I let myself believe a lot of the time.

7. Tell us one thing that made you laugh.

Rowan (my youngest daughter) makes me laugh every day.....she's just bloody hysterical and has the greatest comedy timing (as most toddlers seem to!)

8. Tell us one thing that made you cry.
Frustration. I get insanely frustrated with how my mental health issues mess up not only my life but my partner's life and my kids lives. I get frustrated because I know I could do amazing things if only my brain would give me a break and let me get on with it. I get frustrated because I'm going to be 30 in 2012 and feel like I've hardly done anything.....it's rubbish.....

9. Tell us three things your child did to make you proud.
Ella : Ella really worked hard on her maths skills after being told she was a bit behind and is now right back in there with the other children :) Am so proud of her for digging in and working it out!

Ruby : Rubes signed herself up for school choir without my knowing! I only found out when she brought home a slip saying she'd auditioned and got in and they needed my permission etc etc! She sang in 5 concerts over Christmas and was really brilliant (yes, I know I'm biased but she really was!)

Rowan : Row managed to identify a Peacock butterfly when we were on a walk a while back.....I didn't even know she knew what one was! Felt very chuffed!

10. Tell us one thing that made you proud of yourself.
Keeping this blog going for a whole year has been a pretty great achievement for me! When I started out I never thought it would have gone anywhere, just that it would be a space for me to share my thoughts and ideas, a place to share the wonderful work of others and to generally speak my mind I guess......it is of course all of those things but I'm so surprised and pleased that people enjoy reading it! I never in a million years would have thought anyone would have found my inane ramblings or oddments of things from t'internets interesting! It makes me happy every day :)

11. Tell us one challenge you overcame.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/image_galleries/full_english_bus_journey_gallery.shtml

I went on a bus ride on my own. Sounds ridiculous but I'm petrified of bus journeys. If I have someone with me, be it my other half, a friend or even my daughter Rowan I'm not too bad but on my own it's like hell. However I managed one short bus journey on my own without breaking down into tears or throwing up so that's a definite plus!!

12. Is there anything you would like to change about your life in 2012.
I'd love to get my mental health issues more under control, sign up for some kind of creative course to get my brain working again and generally smile more (although apparently I'm quite smiley most of the time anyway....lol)... :)

I'm now meant to tag some folks but most people I can think of have already done this one! So if you haven't and you'd like to be tagged drop me a line! :) xxx

DFM! (Dairy Free Monday!)

2012-01-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sure the inner workings of my guts are of absolutely no interest to anyone other than myself but this post isn't just about my stomach.....it's about hundreds and thousands of stomachs!

Going lactose free wasn't really a choice I made, it was forced upon me by my failing digestive system. I loooooove dairy. Seriously. Cheese. Milk. Cream. Chocolate. Butter. I grew up on a dairy farm for god's sake! So it was the cruel hand of fate that led me to realise that the reason I was feeling so sick, bloated, uncomfortable, in pain (sometimes agony!), windy (parp! please excuse me!) and had such an upset tum (not pleasant at all) was because my insides just can't deal with the dairy any more.

The stupid thing is having known this information for quite a while I persisted in trying myself with bits of dairy here and there.....the odd bit of cheese in a butty, the odd bit of butter on a bit of toast, the odd cream bun (ok, ok, the last one is stomach suicide but I'm only human dammit!).

This year I have committed to being completely lactose free. We're just over a week into 2012 and so far I'm managing pretty well I have to admit. Whilst I am finding alternatives for most dairy filled produce there are some things that just don't seem to work minus the all important milk :

Cheese - There is just no substitute for a good piece of cheddar or a slice of Cornish Yarg (my favourite, sob!). I've tried most of the alternatives and so far I'm hugely unimpressed. Lactofree cheese is actual cheese but for some reason it's very rubbery and doesn't melt very well at all. Sheese (although I haven't tried all kinds yet!) is just a very strange texture to get used to and the flavours can taste very very fake. There are many other dairy free cheeses out there so I guess I'll just have to keep trying!

Cream buns - Dairy free whipped cream is just plain disgusting. The end.

Butter - I've just heard that Lactofree (saviours of my morning cup of coffee!) have brought out a lactofree spreadable butter....I'm really hoping this is true! There's just not any other butter type thing out there.....dairy free spreads are fine and dandy (some are actually pretty damn tasty!) but I do love butter on hot toast....

Anywho, I'll quit wiffling on now! As part of my pledge to give my stomach a break and look after myself better I'm going to post a dairy free recipe on a Monday as I'm going to be making a lot more things myself (I like baking and it's cheaper than buying dairy free cake in the shops!). DFM (Dairy Free Monday) will be open to guest recipe posts, people's experiences of being dairy intolerant, recommendations for good cafes that cater for those of us with sensitive tums etc etc!

So, to kick it all off here's the first DFM recipe!

Chocolate beetroot cakes

(recipe by Jill Dupleix on the BBC Food website)

Ingredients

- 75g/2½oz cocoa powder
- 180g/6½oz plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 250g/8½oz caster sugar
- 250g/8½oz cooked beetroot
- 3 large eggs
- 200ml/7fl oz corn oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- icing sugar for dusting

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4. Arrange paper muffin cases in a 12-mould muffin tin.
Sift the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the sugar, and set aside.
Purée the beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and oil and blend until smooth.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the beetroot mixture and lightly mix. Pour into the muffin cases.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is firm when pressed with a finger.
Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Let me know if you try this recipe (I'm going to have a go on Wednesday and will post a picture of the results!) or if you'd like to feature a recipe of your own making, one that you just love or have any ideas for DFM features! :)

Silent Sunday

2012-01-08T02:38:00.001-08:00

Doodler's Corner - Mercury Arts

2012-01-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the very first Doodler's Corner of 2012!!

I'm mega excited about having a whole year of interviews and chats with wonderfully talented people and showing off the outstanding work they do!

This week's feature is with the amazing Mercury Arts (aka Helen Russell)...come take a look...

Who are you, where do you come from and what do you do?

My name is Helen Russell and I trade under thename Mercury Arts. I live in the beautiful Pennine hills where my head is quiteliterally in the clouds most of the time! I am a ceramicist first and foremostbut mixed media probably describes a large part of my range more accurately.

Who/what influences what you create?

I’m a sucker for the natural world and spending timeoutdoors and this is reflected throughout my work. I launched Mercury Arts inApril 2010 so my work is still evolving but I’m really enjoying combiningceramic work with illustration and can see this being a theme for quite awhile. My work is based on observation but I like to twist what I see to createsomething that is quite stylised.

How do you decide on a subject for a piece of work?

I’d love to say that there is a plan! I do work with themesthat I think I can progress but after that I just wait for ideas to pop in myhead. There’s not much development on paper, it all takes place as a thoughtprocess and then I get stuck into seeing if I can transfer those ideas into a3D or wall art format.

What's been the most exciting thing that's happened in yourcareer so far?

I took a big (but I like to think educated) risk when I leftmy job and set up as a full time Designer-Maker. Every moment has been excitingso far and the way that my work has been accepted and bought by people (whobecome quite involved in what I’m doing) makes me pinch myself! I thank mylucky stars every day.

What made you choose art as an outlet for your creativity?

I trained in Three Dimensional Design 10 years ago butdidn’t feel I had the business skills or the thick skin needed to set up anartistic business. I also really loved promoting the work of other artists andso trained with the Chartered Institute of Marketing and worked in Tourism andArts marketing from the completion of my arts degree until I set up MercuryArts. I loved this work, and I think learnt the skills I need to make what I’mdoing now a success.

If you weren't a Designer/Maker what job would you love to do?

Obviously I’ve got a background in marketing, but if Iwasn’t a Designer-Maker now I’d love to bake cakes!

You are reincarnated as a household item, what are you?

A pillow

Whose work do you admire and want to adorn your walls?

We have paintings but my real passion is craft. I have abeautiful pot by Peter Beard but I’m not a collector. I only ever buy one itemfrom each artist as there are so many artists and designers I admire. Myultimate goal is to own a Samantha Bryan piece of work as they make me grinfrom ear to ear!

What’s the best thing about doing what you do?

For the first time in a job I feel in control. The down sideof marketing is that you are always waiting for information from other peoplein order to do your work. Now if I have a decision to make I make it and ifit’s a good one great, if it’s a bad decision I deal with it.

What does the future hold for your work?

Now that would be telling!

Seriously gorgeous jewellery and super cute little birds (yes, my obsession with birds continues!)....who could ask for more??

Find out more about Mercury Arts and what the super talented Helen makes here: http://www.mercuryarts.co.uk/home/

Remember, if you'd like to be involved in Doodler's Corner, if you are or know a great artist, illustrator, photographer or designer/maker then email me at curtainsforthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com!

Cleo Ferin Mercury

2012-01-04T00:49:00.000-08:00

I am completely, utterly and totally in love with the designs of Cleo Ferin Mercury. I meant to feature one of their wonderful collars in my "I want one of these" features but I just felt they deserved more of a look! Having stumbled across the website whilst looking for headscarves (have a bit of a collection going on folks!) I now would love to own pretty much everything on the site......seriously, all of it. These aren't just scarves, they're definitely wearable art!

The company was started in 2010 by the lovely and talented Cleo and Chris and (unsurprisingly as their scarves and collars are so clever and gorgeous) is going great guns. Their wares are stocked in amazing places from the States to Japan. Here in blighty you can find them in Tatty Devine (if I could live in one of their stores I'd be a happy lady for the rest of my days!) and some other lovely places around the Great British Isles.

If I had to pick three favourite pieces, you know, if someone twisted my arm and stuff like that, I'd have to go with these beauties.....

The Arctic Fox "Hibernate with me" silk collar. (my absolutely all time favourite I think......)

The Wanda Jackson "6 Icons" silk scarf. I like everything about this scarf. She was a legend!

The super cute and kitsch Bambi silk scarf. It's just plain awesome.

Like I said before, they're all eye-wateringly beautiful. I fully recommend having a snoop at their website and find something that makes you go "Oooooooh that's amazing".

I'm nearly certain you will :)

www.cleoferinmercury.co.uk

Learning

2012-01-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

It's a saying that for some reason has always bothered me in it's obviousness but "You learn something every day!" really applies to the following post for me!

I went for a walk on my local beach and found a shell I'd never seen before. I pondered picking it up and taking it home to identify but on closer inspection found it still had an inhabitant! I left it where it was but took this picture of it......

It was about the size of a golf ball (it's hard to tell in a photo with out a scale I know!) and had some amazing coloured patterns all over it. I couldn't find a similar one in any of the books I've got so I ummed and ahhed and eventually decided to try and find someone who could help me find out what it was.

After a rummage about on the internet I came across The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. I sent an email to their President (who happens to live in my part of the country which was cool) and he emailed me back very quickly with a great explanation of what it was. I can highly recommend their website if you're trying to identify a shell or species of mollusc :)

Apparently it's a large species of Top Shell called Gibbula Magus. It usually lives just below the tidal zone, but is sometimes found low down on the tidal shore (however I found mine right near the top of the shore!). They are often washed up dead (mine was alive) and it is found round Southern and Western England. It is a grazer, living on algae.

I'm hugely thankful to the President of the society for being so helpful and it's really spurred an interest in what other species might be living on the beach that is only ten minutes walk from my house.....time to get my bucket and spade out methinks!

12 resolutions

2011-12-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

(image from http://www.koolzila.com/?p=1513)

I know most people at this time of year are thinking about the things they've done in the year just gone and the things they'd like to experience/change in the year to come. My brain has been going into overdrive, round and round in little circles thinking about what the next year will bring and what I'd like to do to make it as good as I can.

I find making lists a very helpful thing as there's something so satisfying about ticking things off when they're done......so here's my list (in no particular order) of 12 resolutions for 2012......

I will give up alcohol completely for 6 months to see what effect/improvement I see on my mental health. I have a distinct feeling that removing it from the equation entirely will be a good thing but we shall see. I'm not exactly a huge drinker these days but it has been known for me to have one too many sherberts on a night out, I guess once this 6 month trial is up I'll be able to decide whether to carry on being dry or to have the odd pint or two.
I will write something every day. A blog post, a journal entry, a letter....whatever, but at least something wordy every day.
I will go for an hours walk completely on my own at least once a week.
I will take a picture of my face every day for a whole year and see how it changes over the course of 365 days.
I will get my bust measured properly as I'm pretty certain I'm wearing the wrong sized bra (again) and that can't help my back at all.
I will lose a minimum of a stone by my 30th birthday on June the 10th. Would kind of like to go into my 30's being a wee bit less wibbly than I am now, I reckon it's doable!
I will work harder on the Doodler's Corner aspect of my blog and try to make it bigger and better as I'm sure it can be :)
I will listen to a band I've never heard of before once a week and write a review of what my personal reaction to their music was.
I will take my camera with me to as many places as I can and take more pictures. Taking photos makes me happy.
I will make sure I keep my doctor updated on the state of my mental health. She cannot help me if I do not want to help myself by letting her know how I feel. I want to get as on top of my issues as I possibly can.
I will buy an alarm clock and get up at 7.00am every day for two months to see if it makes a difference to my crap sleep patterns.
I will meet up with at least one of my friends every week for a cup of tea/bit of cake/a walk or something. I need more social contact in my life.

So there you have it. It's a bit of a mixed bag, some usual suspects (losing weight/giving up booze) and some less obvious ones......I will of course keep you all updated on my progress through this list throughout the coming year!

If you'd like to join in or have already written a post about your New Year's resolutions please feel free to leave a link to it in the comment form below....would love to see what you're hoping for/giving up in 2012!

Mystery creature...

2011-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

Went for a walk on the beach yesterday and found these two guys (I know they look nearly exactly the same but one was missing a front pincer and the other was missing about four legs, lol)....can't seem to find out what species they are? Any help would be greatly received!!

Peace and Love

2011-12-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

I really really love mobiles.

I found this really pretty one in a local charity shop today for 50p so I bought it for myself as an early Christmas present.

Turns out it's made by Flensted Mobiles who happen to be THE people for mobiles.

A family run Danish company, based on the island of Funen, they have been creating beautiful, interesting and structurally amazing mobiles since 1954.

This one is called Peace and Love, which is very apt for this time of year and I also love that in the little brochure that came with it it says : "for even in an apparently completely still room the mobiles catch the slightest current of air. Just as being engrossed in music, watching the slow motion of a mobile is a remedy against stress."

I'm certainly enjoying looking at mine :)

The Red Tree

2011-12-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

A little while ago I met an amazing lady called Natasha in a pub/at a party. She is full of life and energy and exudes happiness. I ended up talking to her about some of my mental health problems and she said if I gave her my address she'd send me a book she really loved and that might be good for me....so I did and to be honest didn't really expect to hear anything more about it.
I was wrong to doubt her......

She wrote me a lovely note in this cat card.....will write back after the madness of Christmas is over....(funnily enough I used to have a poster with that cat on, can't remember where it went....)

The book itself is by Shaun Tan, an artist I had briefly heard of before but hadn't really seen much of his work (other than Eric)

The artwork is beautiful, the story is very moving and uplifting and I couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful, insightful and beautiful Christmas present. It's a book I am going to treasure forever and ever. And if you ever read this post Natasha, thank you for sending this wonderful book to me x

I've caved in.....

2011-12-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

It's

only

three

sleeps

till

Christmas

Day

here...

Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I'm all excited,

are you? :)

Bert and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year x

Musical Interlude......

2011-12-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

I've expressed my love of these ladies before but having only just discovered this little gem I thought I'd share...

What are you reading? The December Issue!!

2011-12-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hello folks! Bit late in the month with this one but I've been sooooo busy interspersed with being poorly that I just haven't had time to put this together till now!

This month's What are you reading? is a little different....instead of letting us all know what wonderful books you're currently reading I'd like you to share a little part of your Christmas list.....what books would you love to see in your present pile under the tree this year? What books are you desperately hankering after? What tomes would you love to spend Boxing Day flicking through?

My top 5 are......(am not posting links due to all of the following books being widely available from numerous bookstores both online and off, not wanting to favour one over the others!)

Any of these would make me stupidly happy in the face.....more than one would possible blow my mind!

If you'd like to link up with your list of literary lovelies that you'd like to find in your stocking you can do so by leaving a comment with a link to your post as I can't get the linky thing to work at the moment, sorry!! :) xx Merry Christmas!! xx

What's it all about then, Julia?

2011-12-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Why do I blog? Why do I put myself in a position where I pour my soul out into the ether? Or randomly splurge out images of things I would love to have in my life? Or find wonderful, clever, artistic people to show you their amazing works?
Why do I do this? Because without it the brain I hope I have inside of my head would look like this......

I blog for sanity. I blog for a semblance of reality and order to my day. I blog because at times it's one of the best outlets I have. Most of all I blog because it makes me happy. Writing things down, sharing beautiful things I have found, talking to outrageously interesting people and showing you their ideas really really makes me happy.

On the 3rd of January 2012 I will have been writing/putting together this blog for a whole year. I find this fact rather mind boggling. It's been an interesting and varied year of things......

The blog was started with not much of an idea of what it would be about, mostly as a place for me to empty my overflowing head at times....it's since grown to have a few regular features including the popular Doodler's Corner interviews and the monthly What are you reading? book list...I'm thinking of branching out to doing more interviews with crafts people too as I really enjoyed the one I did with furniture designer/maker Tony Hartley.
Went on a bit of a musical trip through the alphabet with my Musical Interlude posts.....more of those to come next year as it's really helped me expand my listening tastes! Suggestions for themes are welcome :)
I contacted god knows how many companies/corporations in order to get a sponsor to go to Cybermummy......in the end the amazing people at Mothercare came up trumps and I was over the moon as I'd only been blogging for a short while! Sadly I didn't feel particularly comfortable at the conference due to my personal issues/the size of it all but I did get to meet some of the people behind some of my favourite reads...I've decided not to attend either of the big two conferences next year, I can't afford to for one thing and also my nerves wouldn't take it I think!
Managed to nearly do a blog post every day for a whole month as part of NaBloPoMo in November.....maybe next year I'll actually do the full whack!
Have realised that I'd like to learn more about photography as I've enjoyed taking snaps so much over the last year and find it a really good distraction from my problems sometimes.....also I'd like to produce a zine (have been drawing up/writing ideas for this for ages now, need to whittle it down and ask some folks for help/input etc.....), pluck up the courage to go to a few arts/illustration/zine events through the year and write about them.....also I want to find out how to get the word about Doodler's Corner out there a bit more as I think it could be a really great platform for artists and illustrators and I love putting it together so much :)

Basically blogging for this last year has given me a lot to think about, some interesting opportunities, some not so great ones that I've learnt from. It's taught me that this is MY blog and only I can decide what I do and don't want to put on it, share on it or who I let use it. I don't have to try to be bigger than anyone else, I don't want to make tonnes of money out of this, I don't want to be famous.....I just want to make some people smile, make some people think and hopefully make some other people get noticed for the amazing things they do. That'd blow me away :)

Thanks to everyone I've spoken to over the last year to do with the blog.....you've all made this year pretty darned cool.....here's to next year, I hope I talk to lots of stupendous people and see lots of interesting things!! xxx

Curiouser and Curiouser...

2011-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Curiosity Project is something I'd heard about from someone a while back and never quite got round to finding out about until last month....
The idea is simple, you put your name down, you then get given an address to send a box/parcel of nice things to and someone sends a box/parcel of nice things to you....I only just got round to posting mine the other day as I was waiting for an item to arrive for it/have been a bit hit and miss with the old grey cells lately....I hope the person who receives it likes each thing in there as much as I do :)
My parcel from someone else arrived this morning and what a parcel of delights it is!

A bundle of little parcels inside a big parcel......it reminded me of playing Pass the Parcel when I was a little kid, however this time I won all the prizes!

Look at the beautiful contents!! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!! So many lovely things I didn't know quite where to begin!

A lovely Scandinavian style Christmas card (right up my street, I love anything of that ilk!).

A gorgeous handmade embroidered purse made by the lovely lady herself...and it even came with a penny inside (it's an old tradition to never give someone a new purse without first putting a penny inside...glad I'm not the only person who does it!)....

Super cute hand made spotty gadget cosy.....I love spotty things and it fits my phone perfectly....will stop all those knocks and scratches that seem to happen in my giant satchel/rucksack......

Stupendously gorgeous book - The Language of Flowers by Mandy Kirkby.....it's all about the hidden meanings of certain flowers. The Victorians were fascinated by what different flowers symbolised and for instance would never dream of giving a loved one a yellow rose (it would show they had been unfaithful) or Basil (apparently it showed hatred!) but a posy made up of Daisies and Tulips would signify innocence and true love.....it's such a lovely book to look through as the images are so pretty and the information is really interesting....

Thank you so much to the lovely person who sent me this package, I'm seriously over the moon with it and will enjoy using/reading these! I hope the person who gets the package I've sent likes their presents as much as I like mine :)

Silent Sunday

2011-12-18T08:47:00.001-08:00

Some people just make me smile.....

2011-12-17T13:46:00.001-08:00

A while ago I put together a little package of things I'd made and found for the lovely Anna Searle as she was feeling under the weather and I thought it might make her smile.....and just the other day she did the same for me! I found a wonderful parcel on my doormat....made out of a map of the North East and Scotland....it's so wonderful as I can see the town I was born in, the town my Grandmother and family live in, the village I grew up on a farm near......brought a tear to my eye!

Inside the package were all kinds of wonderful things, I felt like I was a wide eyed five year old delving into the depths of a Christmas stocking.....

An amazing origami box drawn and made by Anna herself! Am going to keep special things in it :)

I loved reading through this page from an old book.....and the illustrations are so cool!

Anna wrote me a really lovely note and sent me one of her handmade Christmas cards....

This was the most amazing little bundle of stamps, teeny tiny envelopes that Anna had made, vintage buttons, owl stickers and heart stickers and a little illustration from an old book.....little wonders!

A great cut out piece.....not sure where it's from but it's now going to live on my shelves! :)

Teeny envelopes......teeny tiny envelopes......these made me happier than you could ever imagine!

Thank you thank you thank you to the amazing Anna and I'll be putting together another package in the New Year so keep an eye on your postbox :) xx

Lionheart

2011-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was meant to be attending the wonderful launch party for the insanely inspiring Helen Martin's new magazine, Lionheart. Sadly I couldn't make it up to Bristol to see what wonderful things she'd cooked up at her party but by the sounds of it it was a roaring (pardon the pun!) success!

I did however pre-order a copy and by gum I'm glad I did! It arrived in the post the other day and I've been leafing through it ever since.....seriously, I haven't wanted to put it down!

The articles are on such varied and wonderful subjects, the interviews are fantastic little windows into the lives and inner workings of some highly interesting people and the photography is beyond words really....

I know I sound like I'm banging on about how wonderful this magazine is and YES I BLOODY WELL AM! It deserves all the praise and recommendation it can get, Helen took her dream and made it into paper....paper which I now own and will cherish forever. It's one of the most inspiring things I have ever witnessed and has really fired up my own imagination to try and be more creative/outgoing/brave (the theme of this issue is bravery!).

So I'd like to say a huge congratulations to Helen and the team for creating something that I want to share with as many people as I possible can whilst also perhaps keeping it for myself.....can't wait to see what happens in the next issue!!

Lost

2011-12-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have spent the last couple of weeks lost in a wilderness that is sparsely populated with Christmas trees, vacant looking people shopping and the faint murmur of "Jingle Bells" floating through the air....it really is a most curious time of the year. I am in no way, shape or form a Humbug and yet I find myself questioning the meaning of Christmas more and more every year. Even in these times of economic hardship and downturn I've overheard god knows how many train conversations that revolve around who is buying who what, how much people have overspent, who can get the best presents for someone, whose Christmas dinner will be the biggest and best...It makes me very cross. Very cross indeed.

I am a non religious person, I do not celebrate Christmas because it is the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. Nor do I celebrate it as the pagan holiday of Yule. Nor do I want to celebrate it as the commercial/capitalistic pressure fest holiday it has seemingly become over the last few decades. I would like to celebrate it as just a small holiday. Spending time with my nearest and dearest, sharing some food, some laughter, some tears and some hugs. Yes, there will be presents, I am not totally rejecting the giving of gifts, in fact I love giving people presents (far more than receiving them I have to admit!) but I am trying to make sure the gifts that I give are well thought out, not massively expensive and where possible either made by me or by a lovely crafts person.

I didn't write a Christmas list this year (I know I'm an adult and probably shouldn't any way but it's something that I've done for donkeys years.....). There is honestly no particular physical thing I can think of that I want. Perhaps there are things that I need but those things are usually provided for eventually anyways but that's beside the point. What I mean is that the main things I want for Christmas aren't things someone could buy me. The main things I want are to be happy, healthy and have time with as many of my loved ones, both family and friends, as I can.

So, Father Christmas, if you're out there and your internet is working, don't worry about getting me anything this year, I have more than enough "things" already. Please just make sure that those I love and who love me have the best Christmas they've ever known and that'll be the best present ever.

Love from Julia x

Silent Sunday

2011-12-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

We interrupt this broadcast.....

2011-12-08T13:12:00.001-08:00

Dear everyone who reads this bit of fluff blog,
I apologise for the lack of postings recently, life is getting on top of me and I'm doing my best to stay afloat. Normal service will hopefully resume soon so I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with me, big love to you all.....
J xxx

The Gallery - Awesome Photo

2011-12-07T13:55:00.001-08:00

I love this photo....it looks like a giant dark twister is coming down to suck St. Michaels Mount away into the ether....the weather was so weird that day in Penzance.....

a very weird blanket of cloud....felt like the Apocalypse was nigh!!!

Silent Sunday

2011-12-04T07:08:00.001-08:00