RECYCLING

some of the large quantity of old paintings

As we have no journal page prompts on milliande.com at the moment I decide to create some new journals from old paintings. Because I have dabbled in art for such a long time I have plenty of GONE WRONG paintings. In the past I have cut them up and used them to make ATCs but I thought I would create a journal.

I sorted out matching sizes and have joined them together with rings so I can add at any time although it will take me a while to alter the 24  already there. After doing that I created 3 pages straight away it has been a very cold day so it was a good excuse to stay in.

 I used the Sizzix rubber stamp vine and bird

neocolour crayons and Quink ink

Yesterday I spent 1 hour cutting out SIZZIX shapes from magnetic backed foam they are a lot bigger than they look in the photo. The longest wing measures 4 1/2 inches or 12 cms. These I will using as rubber stamps with ink pads.You can see I used the vine shape in the WEST COUNTRY page . They work quite well as long as you apply quite a lot of pressure.

TOUGH WEEK

This has been a strange week for me with a lot of down moments. Tuesday was a damp dark rainy day and I attended my uncles funeral (my mothers brother ) I had not seen him for some time but he was suffering from Alzheimer's and had been in a specialist home for some time.His wife  is there also suffering with the same awful illness.The last time I saw my aunt  just a couple of years ago she was a strong forceful woman and yet the lady helped into the Chapel supported by carers was a shadow of her former self.
This day was made harder for me because my Mother also has memory problems and I worry that I may lose her in the same way.
Add to this mix the fact that my Father was unable to attend due to the fact he has just started another course of chemotherapy for NON  HODGKINS  LYMPHOMA which at almost 84 is tough.So Tuesday was hard I caught up with relatives last seen at a happier gathering knowing that the next may be another sad occasion.

 Yesterday I was determined to finish DAYS 23 and  24 of my journal pages  I was quite happy with them in the end.   Milliande is having a short break so that gives us all time to catch up.

The Large oak Tree 

Frosted Seed Heads

Empty Stable

As this is such a boring blog entry I am  posting 3 photos I have altered with PICNIK

I HAVE NO WILL POWER

some of they many boxes

So the plan was a quick supermarket shop which went fine then home but I decided to pop into HOBBYCRAFT to get a new journal .The selection of sketchbooks/journals did not provide me with what I was looking for and that would have saved me money IF this had not caught my eye.
So 30 mins. later after searching through numerous boxes (this is only a small selection ) I am at the till spending more money.

In my defense everything was very cheap but the thing was I actually did not need any of it.This picture shows it laid out when I got home and yes that is a very long receipt.

I have made several attempts to finish Day 23 journal page I did the main part yesterday but I seem to have a mental block with text. I think I am putting to much thought into it. So watch this space.

It was very dull today and I found it cold  so I was wrapped up very warm when I took Wilson for a walk across the field.. I have been trying to get a picture of a large Bird of Prey which has been flying over the fields but with no luck  it is quite magnificent I think it is a Buzzard not a rare bird but a privilege to see.

In my quest to identify it I took these photos of a regurgitated pellet and very large bird droppings ( i know I lead a very exciting life ) I emailed the photos to a local bird expert who thought they may belong to a barn owl which made him very excited.

I also thought I would take photos of the fields as they change throughout the seasons at the moment everything is quite bare with no sign of life  except for the MOLES who are as busy as ever.

DAY 22 AND THE VISITING BUMBLE BEE

Weekends are always difficult for me I always want to be crafting but feel I must be doing something more practical. This weekend was no different we had a water leak in an annexe before Christmas during the sub zero temperatures. This has meant my husband working on putting it right. Apart from the day it happened when the water was flooding two floors I have not had much to do. But this morning I decided it was my turn to do my bit after all most of the items stored there are mine, Dozens of picture frames piles of mount board and a lot of paintings.Anyone who has ever had to clean up after plastering has taken place will know how difficult it is. It does not matter how much you wash the floor it still looks dusty and it stays in the air for ages,

This cleaning meant I was not able to finish yesterdays journal page until today I thought long and hard about this page because I was creating a page  about something not everyone would talk about.I suffer with IBS  (irritable bowel syndrome ) in my case this means I always need to be near a toilet. I have to say though that I am very lucky as some sufferers are in great pain and I am not.The prompt was A DAY IN YOUR LIFE

and I wrote a short poem about my day and actually felt I had created a proper journal page.

This afternoon we were visited by a bumble bee who would not sit still hence the slightly blurred photo taken with my phone.But it was lovely to see her and we had some lovely smiles.