Thanksgiving

I just wanted to stop by and show you a few things I am loving and being Thankful for today, amidst the preparations for another show tomorrow.....

The wonderful world of Abney and Teal.  Thank you CBeebies!  I could while away hours watching these beautifully illustrated quirky, wonderful stories....aaaaah - just what children's TV should be.

Friends who make lovely things for my children and who I can share my love of handmade, pretty, vintage.....Thank you Jo

Noah's new P-Js - with elephant aplique

One of Noah's special friends was 3 the week before him

We had a pretty vintage tea party for her!  How cute!

A magazine that finally hits the spot for me as a maker.  Soooo looking forward to making a few of these when I get some time - Thank you Mollie Makes

and how gorgeous is this tutorial for a Christmas sleepy doll?!!!  Hmmm, do I have time to make one or two as presents....who would like one? Thank you Tone Finnager.

Finding satisfying things to make that bring new skips to my heart every time I make them - and these necklaces, just like my bags bring me that same excitement about colour and texture combinations. Oh, yes - I do love making these!

In fact, it occur ed to me that circles is a bit of a recurring theme in my work - right back to my student days and my final exhibition paintings.  These two belong to a triptych about Creation, the red being humanity, the blue being the cosmos and an absent green (it is currently on the wall of good friends) representing the organic world.  The pieces are a mixture of large gestures and small marks made with fingerprints and the holes cut into the surface of the painting are a reminder of our part in Creation and the space we have to fill with our distinct creativity. Thank you education system that encouraged creativity and valued individuality.

I loved the freedom I had during my 5 years Fine Art training to experiment and enjoy and although I don't have the space or time at the moment to create in this way, I am SO blessed to have my little garden studio, full of everything I need to make the small scale work I am able to these days.  Thank you Dad.
Anyway - must get back to the bag making! 

I'll check in again after the show tomorrow - and maybe with some pics of our Thanksgiving meal tonight.  Thank you America!
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Just a minute!

I've just got a few moments before cooking dinner with my lovely husband to show you a couple of things....

It has been another packed weekend and in amongst the getting ready for shows, I had the pleasure of creating a special cake for a special person.  One of the loveliest people I know turned 60 on Friday and I was asked to make a cake in honour of this momentous occasion.  The cake itself is a whimsical tribute to the farm diversification that is going on over his way at the moment in the form of six huge lakes for breeding carp.  Hopefully his two grandchildren enjoyed being featured along side their grandad on the cake too!

I have also been working round the clock (almost - but it does feel that way!) on all sorts of things for shows over the next few weeks - the first of these being this weekend.  If you have a look at the side bar, you can catch up with where I am selling.  I have also included a link to my facebook page, where you can have a peek at a few of the items I have for sale.

Suffice to say, after a busy weekend, full to the brim with family and friends and one thing after the next - we are heading into another even busier week.  But, hey - that seems to be the way we do things round here and one day I will stop saying to myself, "Once I get this out the way, I'll have a rest!" 

I am properly blessed to have such a busy time of it - and I do love it really!  There's a blog post in there for another time - when I'm not so hungry, and the pasta doesn't smell so enticing!!!! 

XXXXXXX

P.S.  Sorry about the rambling nature of this post - as you can tell, I'm a little tired!

Must...stay...awake.....

Half way through half term holidays and I have actually mostly avoided the chaotic inside of the house with 5 boys so far! My lovely husband has well and truly taken over child entertaining duties for the week and I have to say, does a better job than me! So far he has been out of the house every day with them - and even managed to time today's trip to see Tin Tin to coincide with the first heavy rain (and sleet!) we've had in a long time - well done!

I have been working away in my studio in the meantime, perfecting my new range of jewelery, ready for the Christmas shows coming up.

I'm quite pleased with the way they are working out so far. It's my aim to create a whole range of things that look like they've come from the same designer - namely ME! I have a tendency to veer off in every direction when I get a bit of time in the studio - which can be great if I have all the time in the world.....but that doesn't occur much these days! So, stick to the plan Naomi! I hope you like them as much as I do. I have quite enjoyed adorning myself with each new creation today for my little self-portrait photo shoot! I will have to make one for myself too!

So, I'm back out here again in my little crowded studio, the boys are playing Tin tin adventures in the house with a tired Daddy. And as for me - I WILL stay awake long enough to make something lovely.....I WILL....I will.....zzzzzzzzzzzz

Not really. The buzz of being out here always wins through on the tiredness - which can be a bad thing when it's midnight!

Hope you have a lovely evening too.
xxxxxxx

One Step at a Time

Every day is a new beginning. Even when the night has been LONG and disturbed! After a broken night, the last thing I wanted to do this morning was the pile of housework that had accumulated whilst I hid in the studio over the last week or so. However, the washing will always be with us and it's never good when there is more weetabix on the floor than on the table, (there you go - I've let you into my awful secret - this home looks lived in!). So a morning of home making was well and truly required!

Now I'm sitting here in the peace of this hour, most of the children in bed - one on his way, and feeling most content. I know my home isn't going to feature in any magazine. I know I struggle sometimes to find an inch of clear space to take photos of the things I make. I know there are seven people living here - Oh, my goodness, do I know! However, I also know that every clean surface, every freshly washed bed, every dinner cooked, every drawer full of folded clothes, every school project completed.....


.....is hard won in this house - as I am sure it is in yours! These are small achievements in the grand scheme of things - but taken together, they ARE the grand scheme - not the cleanliness - that's a means to an end. I mean the LOVE that is poured out and into making this home and family work like what my husband's dad called a "well oiled machine" the other day!!!


It doesn't always work like that. A lot of the time we are tearing around the place trying to find the lost football sock, or the form for parent's evening, or trying to cook dinner with a screaming toddler clinging to both legs. That's why I think it's important - for me, and probably some of you, to learn to sit in the peace, with the hum of the washing machine in the back ground and the sound of sleeping children on the monitor and remember that on the whole, you're doing OK.


You're doing OK.


And because I didn't want to show you photos of the washing pile (although I'm sure it would have made you feel a whole lot better about yours) or the weetabix on the floor (the food equivalent of cement), I have included some pictures of the projects I am working on in my hard won studio time. Hopefully a little bit more interesting and colourful!

Tomorrow is another day!
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