Happy, happy times.....

As Britney was so fond of saying.." Oops I did it again" !! Yes I made you cry.. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to. I have just found that it makes me feel sooooo much better when I get the crap out of my head and into words. But I also, apparantly, seem to have this knack of saying exactly what you are feeling and daren't lol.  I have learnt that life is life whatever may be thrown at us and it doesn't come with a sugar coating. I have spent far too long trying to keep up the front and be who I am expected to be, and I have finally realised that it doesn't matter a jot. Life does stink at times and I feel that I need to honour that as much as the good times. You see if we didnt have crappy times we wouldnt realise we had good times.!!

I have been reading on a lot of peoples blogs about focusing on one word. Typically I now can't find one single blog to refer back to ( give me a shout if you know of one, please). Apparantly instead of making ( and quickly breaking) New Years Resolutions, you have to pick a word for the coming year and focus on it instead.  Reading through the list the other day the word Abundance jumped out at me straight away and I thought I was all set to go. But no, for the last 2 days another word has been nattering away slowly in my head shoving Abundance out of the way. It won't budge no matter what I do, so that's the one I am going with. The word is Gratitude. Kind of apt for me, anyway. Because I now understand myself a lot better I have become to realise how grateful I am for the people and circumstances in my life. I am a big believer in what will be, will be, but it seemed to get lost over the years till it ended up that I woudn't ask a question until I knew for sure what the answer is. Now I am learning to have faith in what is in store for me, that I will attract positive, not negative elements into my life. Ooer get me..!!!! lol. Anyway if you are participating in this let me know.

Onto some really cool news about my guest Art Journaling tutor.  It is the fabulous Dina Wakley, who is making her debut Art Journal appearance. She is in the Uk teaching scrapbooking at the Inspire retreat and then hotfooting it over to mine. I have taken an online class with her and it is fabulous and highly recommended. She has a totally fresh and different approach to her journals, and it is also very, inky, very drippy and very painty....just what we like eh. This is the link to her own art journal, go check it out. She is a fabby person, almost as passionate about journaling as me and from what I,ve seen, not quite as bonkers as me...!!! Well are you surprised. You may have seen her work published in the Autumn 2009 copy of Art Journaling by Somerset Studio.

 Take a hop over to Dinas blog and look for her Art Journaling and get ready to be blown away. It looks fabulous but when broken down it becomes extremely obtainable for all. She is teaching 2 full day workshops and registration will begin at 12 noon on Wed 3rd Feb ( tomorrow ). Please don't try to book before this time as you will just get an out of stock message fooling you. And no, if you miss out, you aren't getting my butt off my seat for nowt...even if you came accompanied by a large group of fireman. Don't forget Claudine sold out in 6 mins flat, so be warned, set your alarms...

Here are the description of the 2 classes, you can attend either or both of the sessions.
Tues 2nd March Art Journaling with Dina Wakeley 9 - 3.30pm £65.00

Masked and Stenciled Motifs on acrylic painted backgrounds...how to push spray ink to its limits to create masked and stenciled pages. Includes a little design & gestalt theory to help with page composition. All materials included, plus class handout and a goodie packet for each student.

Dina asks if you would like to bring the following please do - Favorite scraps of paper, images, fabric, photographs...any ephemera that's personal to you & your life. ( Don't worry if you don't have any as we will have some for you to use).

Price includes Lunch, Snacks, Tea & Coffee and all class materials


Wed 3rd Mar Art Journaling 2 with Dina Wakeley 9 - 3.30pm £65.00

Your Layering Toolbox

Techniques and methods for creating an art journal page loaded with layers. We will talk about getting comfortable with layering, and I will push you to create a page with at least 20 layers!

Dina asks if you would like to bring the following please do - Favorite scraps of paper, images, fabric, photographs...any ephemera that's personal to you & your life. ( Don't worry if you don't have any as we will have some for you to use).
Price includes Lunch, Snacks, Tea & Coffee and all class materials

BOOK BOTH THE ABOVE FOR £117.00 a saving of 10%.

I am so overwhelmed that two such fantastic artists such as Claudine and Dina are making their debut at my studio. I know they will both be given a wonderful Yorkshire welcome and have a fabulous time.  And before you ask me again, no, Tim can't make it this year, and as for next year, well, if I told you I just might have to kill you, lmao...

  Those of you panicking about when my latest brochure will go online - it will be tomorow, My fault its late (theres a shock eh?),  whilst poorly I had noooooooo inclination to get my arse into gear, but its been well and truly kicked, and typed up as we speak.. Ben will get it online for you all tomorrow, and there will be a 10% discount all day for web bookings (this does not include Dina Wakely classes)

It always amazes me how some people can be so kind. I get emails from complete strangers thankiing me for sharing and inspiring. I recieved one earlier today from  a lovely lady in the USA, who calls me the Queen of wonderful journals...How cool is that..?? Thanks Shirley x.
On Saturday I got a bag of cheer up goodies from Sexy Susie.
On Sunday I recieved a gorgeous bunch of my favourite white lilies from the lovely Clare.
 Today I recieved a beautifully decorated ornament from the gorgeously thoughtful Olive, or Barbies Mum as Our Maisie calls her, lol.

A Cath Kidston cloth bag from little Julie which perfectly matches my overnight bag. I just love the cowboy pattern , it is just soooooo kitsch. Anyone know where I can get fabric like this from, would be ace on journals. In fact this is going to be wher I keep my current journals, not all 19 of them of course, I would need a suitcase for that, lmao.

And how about this. A new man from the lovely Pat.

And the lovely Liz has been raving on and on about this set of books which she is certain I will love. So certain in fact that she has bought me my own copy of the first book. Now just need to set apart a few hours to get stuck into it...

Ooh and just found out I am being treated by Sexy Susie a night out at a Paloma Faith concert. Yayy just love that chickies voice. See what I mean about Gratitude, I have such a lot to be grateful for and will continue to look for the silver linings that make it all so worth while. Thanks ladies you mean the world to me.




Gonna leave you with one journal page from the outward journey.

Enjoy xx