Doodle version 2 & 3

Hi fellow bloggers, I just couldn't resist another try at 'The Blob'. This time I printed it into the centre of a sheet of paper and took it to a meeting I needed to attend yesterday. Meetings can be pretty boring but doodling while listening aids the concentration, doesn't it? of course it does, well that's my excuse anyway.
so here is version 2

The Jockey and the General

version 3
No. 48 bus to Toytown

the 'naked' blob and my first doodle can be found here

Go on have a go yourself you know you want to and I'd love to see what you produce and I'm sure Rinda would too

Nature's Calendar - Love in the Mist

Now this is really crazy, not just the odd bloom but a whole bank of Love in the mist in full flower at the end of November? this month has been so mild that we have had spring flowers out.

Doodling

I have been having a little play with a blob. I found the idea on Rinda's blog here as you will see if you read her blog it idea originated Carla Sonheim Blog (don't you just love hopping around the blogs finding lovely ideas)
this is the 'blob'

and here is what I came up with.

How about you? what would you make of this 'blob'?

Nature's Calendar - First Frost

Nature's Calendar - Moss

Nature's Calendar - canopy

Nature's Calendar - The Lane in Sunshine

I thought it would be a good idea to take this photo of the Lane in sunshine from exactly the same place as I took yesterday's night time one.

Nature's Calendar - The Lane at Night

Something a little different. I took my camera out into the lane last evening set it on a steady post and took this shot, the orange street lights give everything a golden glow and it isn't so much nature as a mixture of man made and nature together.

Nature's Calendar - Golden glow

I love the way the sunlight has turned these leave to gold. In the centre of Swindon we have many trees and it is lovely to see them sparkle like this

Nature's Calendar - Raindrops

The back lane

Today the weather has made my walk down the back lane more like a November walk should be. There was dampness in the air which gave the lane a mystical appearance,

you could hear the leave falling making little popping noises, I wondered, at first what it was then I realise as the water on the leaf met the water on the ground it made little splashes

I could hear a crow calling somewhere and the sparrows twittering but the mist muffled the sound and the direction was unclear. As I paused and listened I could make out a dog in the distance, barking, had he seen a squirrel? for there were plenty around, chasing each other through the trees.
I find this walk so refreshing any time of the year and in any weather, it lifts my soul, changes my deadness to life and I feel at peace again.


Today I am grateful for the peace I find in this walk
for a reason to get up of a morning
for being able to walk with ease, not crippled by pain.

Nature's Calendar - It's that Squirrel again

I know I've already used the squirrel but I just couldn't resist this photo, I think it is the best one I have yet photographed. He was sitting in full view eating the nut he had just dug up. I watched him digging it out from beneath the tree then carry it up to this branch and sit there eating it.

Counterfeit Kit challenge - layout

I have done another layout using my cfk, I actually did it on the 9th, but as it was for another challenge that my team on UKScrappers had set, and that didn't go live until today, I couldn't post it here until now.
the criteria for the UKS challenge is
Use a greeting as your title
Oldest piece of paper or stash
Stamp using an item which is NOT a stamp
I had a lot of fun with this trying out different things to stamp with, in the end I went with a little seal from a Per Una label that had hearts on and the inner seal from a Coffee Mate tin using one side for the background paper and the other side for the circle chipboards.

I've also done a couple more layouts for UKS challenges
for this one we had a sketch (one of mine). I had fun getting messy making the pattern paper on the left hand side lots of inking with distress ink and then spritzing with shimmermist


and for this one the challenge was to use paint, an odd size or shaped photo and either glitter or bugs (the team setting the challenge is the Glitterbugs)


I painted over some of the leaves on the patterned paper because they were bright blue and looked all wrong but this fitted one of the challenge criteria perfectly

Nature's Calendar - Curled leaves

I wonder what has caused the leaves to curl in this fashion?

Nature's Calendar - Old Oak Tree

The leaves are now brown but not all are on the ground under the old oak tree
Some leave still cling waiting for the wind to strip them from the old oak tree

Nature's Calendar - Tangled

My Wisteria has been cut back and now the tangled stems can be seen

Nature's Calendar - Little Holly bush

I discovered a little holly bush at the bottom of my garden, how it got there I don't know, probably a berry dropped by a bird. it's only about 12" high at the moment I wonder if it will have berries on next year. Of course it could be a male bush and not produce any

Nature's Calendar -What on earth???

The Change in the weather & Journal your Christmas preparations

Goodness I was only saying yesterday how different this November is to last the weather has been so mild, but today it has turned decidedly chilly so I suppose we could end up with frost or even snow the same as last year.

I'm going to do Journal Your Christmas again this year, this is one of Shimelle's classes and I think it is probably my favourite one. If you have never done one before why not pop along to Shimelle's blog and book yourself in.
This will be my third year and I'm ringing the changes I'm daring myself to do a paper journal and not a digital one. I managed to get some 6"x6" black envelopes, fixed them together concertina fashion using the flap of each to join the next.
the untidy side (where the envelope folds up) I've stuck a piece of pretty classy embossed paper in a range of 4 colours

I played around with distressed inks again and also glimmer mist for my cover. unfortunately the photos doesn't do it justice as everything has a lovely sheen to it. The title was cut on my Robo machine using Fancy Pants font, the black paper has a sparkle to it as well. The star is rough cut from a piece of corrugated card and the outer cover torn off then I painted it with pearlised paint.

I've also printed off some date stickers

I've collected together lots a Christmasy papers ribbons and other embellishments so hopefully I am now ready for the fun to start.

Nature's Calendar - Leaves

Nature's Calendar - Dahlia

Random jottings from my little note book.

In Starbucks
I order my usual, a extra shot mocha and a cinnamon swirl and sit down in a comfy chair, today I feel like people watching
Young mums meeting for a coffee and a chat, a place to rest from shopping and feed their babies.
Businessman in the corner on his laptop, coffee growing cold as he gets engrossed in his work
Mother and daughter meet up, such a nice place to be, what shall we have?
Three people sitting at a small table discussing work, more relaxed to meet here than in the office.
I watch a small child crumble a cake, while mum is engrossed in conversation with her friend.
I've sat here, slowly sipping my drink and letting my mind wander. It's time I made my way home. I've have enjoyed my time in my favourite coffee shop. I'll be back

In early spring
I heard the woodpecker again today, I even found the tree on which he was hammering away. But could I see him? not a chance, wait just a glance of red,then he spread his wings and was gone from my sight. Try as I might I cannot capture him on camera.

Water fountains

A hot day

Fountain spray

Children play

Balls rise

before our eyes

lifts and dies

This is fun

in the sun

when shopping's done

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk down the back lane

Is so very quiet again

The children are back at school

The fountains are spraying

but no children playing

They are all back at school

Trolleys just have shopping

no children hopping

they are all back at school

Mothers are free

to enjoy the shopping spree

Their children are all back at school

Soon will be home time

but in the meantime

lets have a coffee while they're still at school

On the bus

Elderly lady, alighting from the bus, thanks the driver and says "You seem like a nice boy" which made the rest of us a chuckle.

Nature's Calendar - the next generation

Nature's Calendar - Marigold

Isn't it amazing we are half way through November but there is still blooms in the garden giving us a splash of colour in what is normally the dullest month of the year.

Labour of Love

I have made a very special little minibook today. The subject is Chester Christmas, the very last Christmas that John had, it was such a poignant time. The hotel was first class the staff so understanding and so caring. The trips out were not too far so John was able to enjoy them, though the coach journey down was a trial for him, he was in a great deal of pain.
At one stage we didn't think we would make it as John had been rushed into hospital and a lot of blood pumped into him. But the doctors and nurses did their utmost to get him home in time to catch the coach.
It was a Barnes coach trip to remember forever as far as I'm concerned as everything was done to perfection.
So to the minibook. The covers I made from Acrylic Art paper, which I had used Distress ink pads on. My two new ones Fired Brick and Rusty Hinge by Tim Holtz and Forest Moss which I've had for a while. I then spritz it with Micro Mist and using a baby wipe blended the colours together. I let this dry then spritzed again with Micro Mist.

For the embellishment of the cover I tore the fly sheet out of an old paperback book, and taking quotes from 'A Christmas Carol' I printed on the sheet using Edwardian Script font, tearing a small section, placed this over some stamped splashes. The rosette and title were cut on Robo I added the button and used the cut out bit of 'NOEL' mounted on black and raised on 3D foam.
The covers were cut and stuck to a black envelope which I had cut the ends off to give a pocket. The inside pages also have a pocket because I took 2 sheets of My Minds Eye patterned paper cut slightly smaller than the envelope and stuck them together at the sides and bottom.
I made a couple of journalling blocks.

The wording of the second one reads:-
John had hankered after a Christmas away for some time and as this was probably going to be his last we booked a Barnes coach trip to Chester. It couldn’t have been more special, though we nearly didn’t make it. John had been rushed into hospital and several pints of blood pumped into him. They managed to get him home with just an hour to spare before we caught the coach


I cut the inserts from an old photo album (sheets that had never been used).


today I am thankful for the lovely memory of this holiday.

Nature's Calendar - perenial Sweetpea

Another flower that shouldn't be still in bloom

11 on the 11th of the 11th Month in 2011

I didn't do 10 on the 10th I hadn't a clue, but to day seem the perfect day to record the 11th day of each of the 11 month we have had so far this year.

the verse at the side isn't very clear so I've recorded it underneath

In January the leaves were brown
In February street musician in town
11th of March a very special day
In April poor Sammy passed away
May brings a riot of bloom on the vine
June a photo of me; about time
July a butterfly a glorious sight
August and berries, that doesn’t seem right
September Rufus meeting the kittens
October a portrait of Muffin and Mittens
11th of the 11th in the year 2011
Coffee with a friend my kind of heaven

Nature's Calendar - Evening Primrose

Nature's Calendar - all lined up

Snowman without snow

I was shown how to make these cute little snowmen last Saturday so I had to have a go. The instructions are on Amy's blog here aren't they cute

I used a pair of girls tights for the body, well one leg will make two snowmen, and Alli who showed me how to do them had found that Primark have girls tights £2 for a pack of 2 and socks 5 pair for £1 so cheap to make and quick too. The rice was very cheap too only pence for a 1kg bag and you need about half kg per snowman.

Nature's Calendar - an abundance of Sloes

this tree is absolutely laden with Sloes but they are too high and behind a tall bank of stinging nettles, shame really they would be lovely to pick and make jam or sloe gin

Fireworks at the Polo ground

I do love to photograph fireworks, something that is so fleeting can be preserved for all times, well as long as I don't delete it.
How many of you have taken photos this year of the displays around your area? it would be nice to see all the different ones.
Mine were taken on my Fuji Finepix S8100 (a bridge camera)using its built in Firework setting and hand held therefore I am rather pleased with the result

They look like Chrysanthemums don't they