Stress, so early in the year

Are other people experiencing stress too? I do wonder. Last week I received an email with a UPS tracker number listed and a winzip file. I downloaded it to print off and suffered a total lockup of my PC! It was a scam and contained a virus so people out there BEWARE! but the good news is that PC World cleaned up my PC, put in a new antivirus software and made the whole thing mega fast again. They did it all in a day which was most excellent of them. However, being without my PC for 4 days was very stressful.

On another note, a very nice thing about Monday was that the refuse collectors were out and about and not only did they empty the green wheelybin but came back a few hours later for the black one. I hadn't put this one out and dashed to the door so I didn't miss them, and the young lad waved his arm, dashed up the drive and took the bin to the wagon to empty it and then put it back up the drive...I can't thank him enough.

Well, as I had no PC I got to work on some journals. The dragon fly one is for the Mixed Media Monday challenge...Wings. The dragon flies are made with a top layer of painted fine lutrador, then a stamped and painted cotton layer, then green felt and lastly a dryer sheet so it moved nicely under the needle. Then I free motioned variagated thread around all the outlines before cutting each fly out. I made these up a while ago as an experiment but had no idea what to do with them.

I made up the journal with stone coloured suede and couched the dragon flies over it.

The inside is a piece of japanese kimono silk that complemented the outside.

I also made a black velvet journal with gold panels which I have done before. This journal looked so good I had to make another to match. I revampted another gold tissue paper one too, adding that bobble wool that's the latest fashion wool to knit around the edge and redoing the inside papers in a more modern twist.

There was a second good thing from yesterday, I looked in at "The Works" shop in town and found all I needed at half price in the sale. The 3rd good thing (my luck just managed to make it!) was that when I did finally get my PC going I had my online bills for gas and electric to view. Both services showed that I had overpaid by quite a bit and they owed me money and I was able to cut my monthly payments down. I went to bed feeling really good about 2010.

Serendipity

One of those 'what if' ideas...I had a Zentangle starter kit bought for me for Christmas along with a jigsaw cutter for my Big Shot. I had this idea to cut the jigsaw pieces out of card, fling them up in the air, and tangle them, then put them back together and see what happened...et voila!

As a first try it will do, but as the only pieces I could recognise were the corners it was mainly pot luck and some of the pieces were heavy and together, but then it wouldn't be serendipity, would it? I think I could be more creative in how I apply the doodles too.

Another project from Craft Stamper magazine is an art journal by Kate Crane, in 3 parts, and I have completed part 1, just have to wait for the other two parts to complete it then personalise it.

Weather-wise it is very confusing. If I watch the weather on BBC it says we are under several feet of snow, however when I look out of my window there is very little snow left and what there is is thawing fast. I was able to drive to the supermarket today and stock up on food etc. I keep waiting for the forcasted snow to arrive but so far it has missed us altogether.

Bored, bored...

I am so bored, with the snow and ice taking away my freedom, I have been unable to go to the market and collect waistcoat orders so time has hung heavily on my hands. I did manage to get my car off the drive last Saturday and fetch some food for me and the dogs, but was unable to get it back there as the drive is quite steep and the road icy, so it had to be parked on the road until I can get it back safely. My dogs, Peggy Sue and Digger have really enjoyed the snow and are in an out of their door hatch all day.

But I have not been idle, I made another of Jan Maas's Violet dolls, cleaned out my drawers and back bedroom when I returned the Christmas decorations to the loft. Sorted out my family photos to fill the space left by the decorations.

Then I went through all the blogs I like to keep in touch with, and came upon this inspiration from Taylor's Textile Trials (see blog list) - a postcard book and 52Qs - a kickstart to my muse for 2010. I made the book to fit the shipping tags I intend to use for the 52Qs, I should have used a thinner paper for folding such a small book, but it does hold the tags better. I also made the first two tags but I'm not showing what the answers are, that's for me.

I also had a go at the challenge from GPPS (see under blogs) but my snowflakes were too big and didn't give the look I wanted so I'll be trying that again.

The snow has kept the postman away for over a week and all the things I'm waiting for are still in transit, much frustration! I'm still waiting for the fruits of my voucher presents to play with and hopefully gender more ideas. I wonder if the refuse collectors will come today? They also have had a hard time getting to houses locked up by the snow and the bins are rather full now.

I'm off to see if I can rescue my car, maybe...

Tired Dogs

My mother asked me to put up photos of my dogs, Peggy Sue and Digger for a neighbour's daughter to see. We have just been to the local park and had a long walk round and up the estuary and they came back absolutely black with mud etc.  I washed them down and they are now sitting in the sun drying off.

Christmas Day was great with phone/skype calls from all my children, Mother and Bert. I was very lucky to get vouchers for Rainbow Silks and an online stamp company, so when they arrive (snow permitting) I'll be able to indulge my passion for buying creative goodies.

I made quilted book bags for my 3 granddaughters and they seem to be quite a success, Edith filled hers with a bananmilk bottle and other goodies and put it under her new pram. However, they were derived from a reference in a medievel novel when in the 1100's monks and clerics were the only ones taught to read and write and books were copied, bound and kept in leather satchels and hung on pegs in a librarium. I put a matching journal in Lucy's and little books in Edith and Nancy's bags to start them off.

It seems really strange that here in Devon the sun is shining and it is lovely and warm, when other counties further north are having cold and wintry weather and my Mother has been practically snowbound; not that I'm complaining, mind.

Surpise!

This past 4 weeks have been so busy, getting ready for Christmas, doing a doll course to make a present for my daughter's birthday and making sure I had all my presents together for my trips north and south.

and here she is, my interpretation of Cindee Moyer's The Fairy Catcher. Stephanie was most annoyed when I chose the Raven for the course she bought me for my birthday in September, little knowing I had booked both courses to make a surprise for her. She now has the doll and seems very pleased with it. It is not an easy doll to make and I had trouble with the face and extended arm. When I pushed a dowel rod through the arm to go into the body the sleeve split so I had to make the whole dress and arms again as I had used up all that particular fabric. Also the face ended up with two black eyes because I didn't spray it with hair spray to stop the ink leaking into the face fabric. However, it came together eventually and I got it into the post in time.

Bert was with me that week, but he was so anaemic and fragile he had to stay an extra 3 days before attempting the journey home (as if I minded!) and he spent another week recovering from the journey back too. However, he seems to be OK now and is more active. He gets very frustrated with himself when he feels so down and weak - just like all men - and it is hard to keep his spirits up.

I spent 10 days overall going to Plymouth to deliver Gareth and Ed's presents and then back 1 day then up to Cheshire to deliver Mother's presents. It has taken 2 days to recover myself and get going again at home. Now I have (hopefully) time to play with all the paints and papers that have been waiting for me to get to them and dive into the ideas I have been storing up in my brain. I wonder if other crafters find the same problem, time to concentrate just on the goodies piled on their worksurface?

Dormant

Unfortunately I learned this week that my Stitched Textile Group is going dormant for a while and as I had already done my piece for this month - MOTHS AND THE MOON - I thought it best to lodge it here so I don't lose it. This is the Lunar Moth and the background is made from painted ludrador, cut and shaped with a soldering iron to look like tree bark. The lutrador is painted with quink ink and lumier textile paints. The moth is made from pale green organza with trapped angelina between the layers. I made the body from a piece of cocoon stripping, stuffed and attached to the 5" wings (actual moth size).

This week I had a backlog of 6 waistcoats so I had to really go for it and achieved 5 of them, and I had two more orders yesterday so that will keep me busy next week.

Bert has finished his radium treatment but it has left him very tired and anaemic, so our plans for him to come down today had to be postponed until next week. He has to wait 6 weeks to clear the radium from his system then have a scan and see if the surgeon can operate on the tumours.

Doodling

This zentangling is quite addictive, here is my take on TREE for Inspire Me Thursday. I had to draw back and find out when enough is enough because I could have added and added and then it would have looked a mess. I also wanted to put colour on it, but I'm too new at this to attempt it...maybe next time.

Anyway, it is based on tree striations (is that how it is spelled?).