Some things that I love

A little while ago I was very kindly given this award.


Thankyou Julia at: East Of The Sun West Of The Moon.

To accept this award I have to list 7 things that I love. This isn't difficult to do, so I,ll play along...
I won't include family, as they know I love them already :) x

1. Sparkly things and turquoise green



2. Snow!

Don't worry!.. I,m not going to post another snow picture :) Although I could quite happily snap pictures and pictures of it as I LOVE it! And, I'm sorry but I can't guarantee that there will not be any more pictures of it this year ;)

3. Beautiful old doors and windows.

(These are from the gorgeous little fairytale cottage in the grounds at Stourhead in Wiltshire)




I would love to have a front door like this....



4. Notebooks.
I fill them with scribbles , sketches, ideas, lists, books that I must remember to read, music that I have heard and want to hear more of and snippets of stories that dance inside my head, that hopefully I can pin down into picture books one of these days not so far away.



5. My garden.
Especially in the spring when the air is filled with the scent of apple blossom, the cowslips are in flower and the lawn a carpet of daisies.



6. Birds and birdsong

I dare not imagine what the world would be like without a sky full of birds and the beautiful songs they sing.

7. The night sky

I could just sit and stare at a starry sky and the moon for hours.
Last summer we all decided to sleep under the stars. Not in a tent, but just on camp beds and duvets on the grass in front of the front door. I fell asleep looking at star filled heavens. Luckily it was a saturday night, otherwise the postman would have thought we were a little strange. Our neighbours did I think?

So, thats my seven things. I am supposed to pass the award on to 7 other blogs, but as there are so many wonderful ones out there , I don't know who to choose?
So I invite anyone to play along.

Now I really must get on. This week has flown by in the blink of an eye and seems to have been filled with domestic jobs and silly little but never the less important things that have had to be seen to, therefore I have very little to show for it creative wise which is quite frustrating, but I'll survive :)

Winter wonderland

The Snow Queen visited us again last night ...







With her icy breath and swarm of white bees, she tranformed the garden into a magical place for snowmen to be born....



and cats to go adventuring.....

More Hearts

We had been hoping and watching the skies. Crossing our fingers and toes. Listening to the weather forecast and sniffing the air.
And at last... we have some snow!!! :) :) :)
You have probably gathered that we like snow in this house.... very much!



Yesterday I spent many many moments just gazing out of the window watching it fall.
And walking outside letting the snowflakes settle in my hair and on my eyelashes.



When the children came home from school, we stayed out until twilight having snowball fights and throwing snowballs for Jasper our cat to chase. Its the first time he had seen snow and absolutely loved it. He used his paws to push the snow like a snow plough then would suddenly jump up and charge around the garden excitedly. (I wish I had caught him on camera)


Its cold, but we are happy.

Whilst not playing or looking out of windows, I have been doing these.....
More wooden hearts that will be listed on Etsy shortly.
These however are not hand painted, but are decorated with printed imagery from cards I have illustrated in the past. I'm afraid the hand painted ones are so time consuming I have decided to only do them very occasionally.


Stay warm everyone!

Harlequins, ammonites and tea

Its 11 am. That means time for a tea break! So, let me take a moment to introduce you to our visitors....
They have been with us since mid November and will probably stay til around early March? They don't take up alot of room and do not require feeding. They have visited us annually for 10 years and mainly prefer the two south facing bedrooms.What am I talking about?....................Why Ladybirds of course!


So pretty and so useful in the garden. But take a closer look because all is not as it seems!

When we moved into this house and first met our annual visitors, they looked somewhat different.Mainly smaller with two or five spots, these were our native ladybirds. We rarely see these anymore because, we have been invaded by the Harlequin Ladybird!
Harlequins are considered the most invasive ladybird on earth.Apparently they arrived here in Britain in 2004 and are now gradually spreading across the country.
The bad thing about them is that when food is scarce they will eat our native ladybird, butterfly and moth eggs.And even bite humans! (Have only just found that out...yikes!) There is loads of information at the Harlequin ladybird survey here.
I sent some hibernating ones to Cambridge University to be correctly identified a couple of years ago when I suspected we had them. The survey are keeping track on their progress and habits, so if you suspect you have any near you,then please contact them.

Well, my mug is empty now. So,..... I'll let you take a peep into my sketchbook.





I've been working on ideas which will hopefully evolve into a painting, soonish?

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Trailer

We sat down and watched this after tea last night.
If you have children, they will love it!
If you don't, then the child in you will!
Mine want to go on holiday to Loch Ness this summer now!

Two Hares and Thank you's

Outside the sun shines but everything is wet. The garden sparkles with last nights raindrops.
My green house is calling to me, reminding me that I have a large bag of sweet peas ready for planting....
I have been inside finishing these two 'Valentine' inspired Hares.
They will be leaping across to Etsy later.

I can't believe that soon this blog will be 1 years old!
Since starting it, I have been amazed at the number of highly talented wonderful creative people there are living all around us. Whether they draw or paint, sew, knit,write, bake, garden .... it is a delight to open a door into their world and see their latest creations, how they have spent their days and what is inspiring them.
What amazes me even more though is how they can still find the time in a busy day to generously promote other peoples creations.
I would like to say a 'Big Thank you' to anyone that has linked me or taken the time and trouble to mention my work in their blogs. x

Annette has so kindly put my work in her beautiful animal inspired Etsy treasuries on numerous occasions. Please take the time and pop over to her at:
Dragon house of yuen She makes the cutest Arabella rabbit bags.

And Thankyou also, to Danielle at Notes from the Rookery. For featuring me recently in her Etsy treasury. Danielle does the most beautiful watercolours of Rooks, horses and Unicorns. Go and take a look!

Thankyou x

Love is in the air

Phew... Am I glad to have finished these Valentine hearts!
I'm not very fond of fiddly things!
I'm pleased I did them, its something that I haven't done before and variety is the spice of life... so they say... And, of course it all helps to keep that old wolf from tapping on my door!
Many of these are now hanging for sale in a local shop that I sell to.



Then I had a go at some individual ones.....



I enjoyed these more, but still fiddly. Hmmm....maybe I should get my eyes tested?
These in the bottom photo will be listed later this evening on Etsy.


Its been a beautiful day here with the bluest skies.
A robin flew across and sat himself merrily on the hawthorn branch as I was pegging my washing out. I'm sure he was speaking to me, he came so close. I think he was telling me about the beautiful white maidens that have appeared...

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Contained

Playing about in my sketch book....This is my submission for Illustration Friday 'Contained'




I'm Alice's white rabbit again though, as its a little late.

Hearts and too much red

It is quiet here.
The sweet twitterings of hedge sparrows and a gentle purr of a ginger cat around my legs, are the only sounds today. Hobbits are back to school and all festive decorations have been safely packed away til next year.
The house seems so bare. I am especially grateful to the odd ray of sunlight that twinkles into our home.


With many layers and my thickest socks and gloves. I ventured out, set up tools and cut a basketful of this and that. As I was finishing my last one it actually started to snow. Quite a magical moment... cutting valentine hearts in the snow. Forgive me for not taking a photograph. Obviously using an electric saw when it begins to snow is not the safest or wisest thing to be doing. I hurried to finish, so no time for a picture.




Now warm inside and painting....
Whoops!...A little bit too much red came out here! :)

Cakes, trees, and a recipe for new year

As most people these past few days have probably been doing, I have been taking time to think about the New Year ahead and what I hope or think it will bring.
I've been imagining the idea of the New year a little differently ....

Firstly I thought of it as being a bit like baking a cake....
The basic ingredients being the necessities or everyday things in life. The variety of cake we bake, what we add, or what we decorate it with, are our decision and based on what we have pre planned or have in our cupboard at the time. A cake, (especially one that I've baked) never seems to turn out the same. Sometimes its perfect, other times it sinks and something doesn't turn out quite so well.... Similar to the ups and downs of life.

Then I imagined that The New Year could be a tree....
Bare branched, waiting for new leaves to grow. Each new leaf could be our plans, dreams and hopes. Some might get pruned, eaten by caterpillars whilst others will mature to Autumn and produce fruit on its branch. Some will fall and set a seed for a new tree to grow.

Then, I had a little play about in my sketchbook...



So whatever 2009 has in store for us all...
Let the adventure begin!

Me,I will continue to walk my path and see where it will lead, letting the stars shine on my face whenever I can.



May they shine on you too!

An enjoyable time

Feasting, singing, game playing, walking, reading, painting a ceiling and cinema going, are some of the things I have been enjoying this Christmas week.
We've had a lovely time. But time flies of course, when you are having so much fun, and here we are a whole week later. Jack Frost has been back to visit and old Father time with the the New Year is tapping impatiently at the door.
I've always felt a tinge of sadness saying goodbye to the old year. Knowing that the days have passed and gone, and moments cannot be relived. Thankfully this feeling doesn't last for long. For when the door is opened for the New year to come in, its replaced by wonderings, hopes, expectation and plans.




Whatever your hopes are for 2009,I wish you peace, happiness, love, light and laughter, good health, and many many magical moments!
xxx

Happy Christmas !

Well the sun has set on this magical night.
We have decorated a ginger bread house and baked mince pies. The Glastonbury candle has been lit and now its time to relax, roast some chestnuts and watch Scrooge.
I'd like to wish everyone that stops by here a very very Happy Christmas!

xxxx

Busy with birthdays!

December is always a busy time here, not just Christmas , but we have 5 family members birthdays too!! My smallest hobbits was today, the last one on the list....



The grand age of 11
Where has the time gone?
We had a lovely day and went to the Egg Theatre in Bath to see the Nutcracker.
For any one that wants to see Hattie Naylors adaption of the real darker tale of the Nutcracker it is WONDERFUL! Not overly sweet like the ballet, it tells the tale of what happened before, how the Nutcracker became a Nutcracker as well as the normal land of sweets and sugar. We loved it!
Bath is a convienient 12 minutes on the train, so we were back in good time to decorate the cake that was baked in the early hours last night.
Tonight I think it is early to bed for me!

On the hunt for a yule log

Its the wee small hours of Monday morning, and we have just got back from christmas drinks at a friends house, which was very enjoyable. Thankyou L&P x
However I am wide awake and not at all ready for sleep, so thought I'd show what we did earlier.
I've never had a yule log before, so after reading about them decided it was about time that we did!
Off we went to hunt....



These logs,probably just slightly too big for what we had in mind !



Apparently the traditional yule log was almost this large and had to be dragged home. Fire places were much bigger years ago. And, it did have to burn for twelve days and nights.
We found a small log just right for our own fireplace. Then, brought it home and decorated it with holly, ivy, gold ribbon and a pine cone. Next we sprinkled it with flour and a little tipple of spirit.


Then...



Happy Winter solstice !

All is looking cosy

I was going to wait to winter solstice on Sunday to traditionally deck the house with a smidgen of greenery. But with uneasy imaginings of me lying on the sofa, having picked up one of the latest bugs or colds that are doing the rounds, I decided it might be best to get on and do things while I felt fine and had the time. So, I have brought in holly and Ivy, bay and mistletoe. Unfortunately the mistletoe is not from my garden. I've been trying to grow it for a number of years without success. I love it! Anyone have any tips. I normally try to grow it on our two apple trees or the hawthorn?


School end of term today. My two hobbits both finished early so we decided to celebrate the beginning of the holidays, by sitting cosy by the twinkling light of our tree and watch 'The Lion the witch and the wardrobe.

And the winner is......

Is it just me, or has this weekend seemed to have blown by in a fleeting moment?...

After coming back from the Christingle service at church this evening, it was time to draw the name from the Father Christmas hat, for my first blog giveaway.
My son did the honours, and this is the name that he picked out...




Congratulations Annette!

A cause for celebration

This week I'm celebrating....

On Tuesday my youngest hobbit found out that she had passed her grade 2 violin exam! Hurrah!!

Yesterday, it was my Birthday! I had a lovely day and was very spoilt! ;)

And today will be my 50th blog post. Another cause for celebration I think!
So........... it must be time for my first blog giveaway!...



Just leave me a comment, then the first name picked out of the Father Christmas hat on Sunday, will receive this Angel print.

Enjoying my slippers

Jack Frost is having so much fun and being a little crafty and naughty too.
This morning as I walked my youngest hobbit down to school I had to take the teeniest of steps so as not to slip and fall.The paths had been transformed into invisible ice glass. We must have looked somewhat strange, me shuffling along and my daughter trying to attempt pirouettes.
Ideas and thoughts are all tangled with ribbon and bows at the moment.
Christmas draws near and I still have presents to buy. I have tried to keep a distance from all the madness that takes over and have been finding time to stand and stare and to tread placidly and have been enjoying simple things that December has to offer.

Sweet woodsmoke,fairylights,our little bird decorations that we collect,tiny toadstools,bookshop browsing, scented candles,frosty mornings, clear starlit skies,owls hooting,cats finding the warmest spots, and my toastie new warm slippers!




And tonight we will enjoy the school Christmas play.

This Morning

Frosted grass underfoot made that noise I love so much this morning. The crisp crunching of ice on leaves. I took my camera along with last nights scraps of tea, snippets for chickens.....and cockerels.






Bluest clear skies, tiny glitter sparkles, fairy diamonds in the sunlight.

The first door is opened

As December said hello with an icy breath this morning, many children and adults would have been opening the first tiny door on their advent calendars as my son and daughter did.

As a child I found these little calendars a magical part of the run up to Christmas. I especially loved them if they had glitter on and if each little door was thoughtfully positioned in places that would really open, such as a window, door, basket lid or box.
My parents always kept each years calendars so when the box of decorations was carefully lifted down from the attic, my two sisters and I loved to ponder over the old ones reopening them and enjoying seeing the pictures again.
I have carried this tradition on keeping all of my children's calendars.





Each year it seems to get even more difficult to find traditional picture Advent Calendars. The high street shops are swamped with the chocolate variety usually bearing a picture that has no significance to Christmas at all. I feel it is a little sad that children are not satisfied with the simplicity of a picture and have to have a chocolate instead. I am not the cruel mother one might hear of in fairy tales denying my children a chocolate one. In fact a couple of times we have had them, but on both occasions, they admitted that they had missed the little pictures.

Many many moons back, I had the opportunity of illustrating two advent calendars.
I thought I would share them with you:



The one below was published large, but also made into a greeting card calendar. This one is my 'special'copy.My sister found it on sale in Harrods!






What did you open this morning, Chocolate or picture? :)