I love me, because...!!!

On Facebook I joined a group called "Loving the Woman in the Mirror" which is a group for the average woman , who is juggling the demands of a busy daily life,and has little left over for self care and personal growth.
Err think that might be all of us yeah..?? Well it is all about wanting to attain a more positive image.
It is run by a luvvly woman named Joyce Lee . This message was in my inbox the other morning and it really struck a chord with me, so I asked her if it was ok to show you all and was delighted when the answer was yes.

"Worrying is using our imagination to create something we don't want..." Abraham

Good Morning....Makes ya think doesn't it? My mom was a real worrier... I wish she had access to this information in her time... I think she worried herself to her end... too early...

Not me... I am choosing another way and so can you...

Been worried about:

~ Money.... then give some away and put some away... even if it's only a few dollars... share your abundance with others, and save some for a rainy day... you'll change your focus and your energy

~ You body/temple... then drink your water and go for your walk... do some loving self care... take your vitamins... paint your toes, make your doctors appointments... own your power, change your focus and your energy

~ Your relationship(s)... then notice what is going right... notice where you have strength and power... decide to be healthy... know you deserve happy... own your power, change your focus and your energy

~ Your Job... then notice the positives... think about what you would like... put your positive order in with the universe... own your power, change your focus and your energy

These are "One Day at a Time" thoughts... use your imagination to create what you want for your self and your circumstances... you can do it with anything..

In friendship and confidence and personal power...
JOYce ♥ ♥ ♥

Hope it meant something to you as well. I,ve just signed up for her bi-weekly newsletter,

NOTES TO SELF. Every two weeks, you will receive a feature article on a different aspect of personal growth in line with the Law of Attraction, along with spiritual thoughts and ideas for your journaling work.

Sounds good to me..!!!

Well another early blog from me. I am sat at work drinking Ginger Beer and listening to Gentleman Jim Reeves. I can pretend my Dad is sat around the corner singing to me. Many happy memories. And its only taken me 8 years to get to this stage, lol, so I must be healing.
God bless Pops this ones for you babe. xx

Ooh sorry not sure how this photo appeared..!!!

Enjoy xx

Just a perfect day..!!!

Today was Maisie day, yayy. The day when I get her all to my self. Oooh priceless. I picked her up at the crack of dawn and scooted around to bezzie Su's. I have been promising her for ages that she can go play with Sus girls and the little minx never forgets a thing. So 8.30 found us knocking at the door..!!! We took flowers and choccie biccies to soften the blow, lol. By the way, we didn't just turn up we were invited...

Su,s house is home to the biggest collection ever of Lego and Duplo. I have never seen so much in one place. Maisie loved it. I had a doctors appointment and so left them to it and when I got back Bekah had made a farm with her and here's Gorgeous George operating the never ending train.
Just like her Dad and Grandad, builders bum..!!

When we were leaving I asked if she had enjoyed herself and had liked it. She replied

" no I didn't like it, I liked it lots and lots and lots of likes.."" yup I,m confused as well.

We then swung round Matalan where we purchased this seasons must have, co-ordinated set of rubber duckies and floats. I managed to avoid buying any shoes because I was informed

"Mama, you haven't got enough days left to wear the ones you have, and they are all the same and boring"

So that told me. Mind you there were some stunning bronze metallic 5 inch lace ups that were to die for. With any luck they will sell out of my size soon..!!!

Maisie needed a wee but the toilets in Matalan were closed so unfortunately we had to improvise with McDonalds. Whilst in there it seemed rude to use the facilities without dining and a Happy Meal was gratefully devoured. She was in shock as she doesn't normally get such pleasures from me. Then it was on to the garden centre to see all the fishes, ponds, plants, frogs, and patterned wellies. Oh yes she was amazed cos they are all fancier wellies than hers.

Finally we arrived home ready to paint her masterpieces. We rolled back the rug, stripped to0 undies ( don't panic, I meant Maisie not me ). and started. First of all she primed the bauble.

Nice one Maisie.

We speeded up the drying time with a hair dryer.

And then base coated it again.

We hung it up to dry and Maisie cleaned up her mess, well you have to start them young don't you..??

Then we started on the wooden trio. Look how carefully she paints, I often forget she is still a toddler. Mind you she has been painting with us all since she was one year old, and Jay is as much a stickler for teaching her properly as I am, lol.

Onto the stars.

And the first hat and scarf had to be her favourite colour.

Just look at the concentration..!!

Then its the noses.

and the spots and stripes for the hats and scarves.

We cheated and she added the eyes and mouth with a Sharpie pen

How proud does she look..??

Awwwww I just love it soooooooo much. She is available for commissions, but be warned her fee always includes an hours trampolining and Fox,s party rings.

By now the bauble was dry so we added the details together.

Painting in the nose.

And then the eyes

She helped with her name on the back and then drew kisses over it.

Oh forget to tell you that this snowman has hair, because Maisie thought he would be too cold otherwise.

So here he is in all his glory.

I was telling her how proud I was of her and how she was so clever that it wouldn't be long before she could come to my regular kids workshops. She thought that was fabby and asked if she could teach some of them...!!!!!! I laughed and said yes, and she could come and teach the ladies as well. She replied

"no thanks Mama, cos they never listen to you"...!!!

How astute is that eh. I thought it was hilarious.. In this picture she was giggling so much that she trumped on my leg, lmao.

Aww I love her to death, she is my little ray of sunshine. Then it was bath and cartoons. She wanted toast, and whilst I was bringing the washing in, it got stuck in the toaster and burnt. I told her I would make some more but she insisted that she would eat it burnt. I said you cant eat it burnt, babe. to which her answer was that's the only way it comes in our house Mama..!!! Priceless...

Enjoy xx

Vacancies for elves..!!!

Well I have work coming out of my ears, just for a change..!!! And fast running out of time to do it. But don't worry as

I put the call out and 2 painting elves arrived in a woosh of stripy tights and pointy ears. I love elves, they just need music, cups of tea, paintbrushes and a bit of instruction and they are off, lol.

Here's Sarah with the Macduff sledges. Sarah first started coming to my kids workshops approx 10 yrs ago and is one of the most accomplished painter I have ever taught. Her work was always beautiful, so it was a pleasure to rope her in.

And of course the lovely Katie, who was so glad it chucked it down today so she could come and paint rather than landscape garden with her Dad.

Whats great about these two elves is a lot of the time I can just leave them to it whilst I get on with other things. Like phone calls, emails, orders, lists, instructions, pretty parcel wrapping ( Oh yes I am the Goddess this week ), Post Office and tea making. Think I have got the bum end of the deal somehow, don,t you..??? lol

This is how they looked as end of day loomed.

Nice work so far girlies (oops before I spell checked that sentence it said nice work so fat gitlies..lmao) sorry girls.

I did manage to start some of the bauble commissions. Aww they look so newborn and sweet with their bald bonces don,t they..??

I am sat typing this whilst eating an extremely nutritious evening meal. Oh ok then I,m not. Old habits...cold hot dogs and walnuts. What..????? I know, I know, but I like them and they cant be worse than the 85 or so Wispa bars I,ve been throwing down my neck lately. Sugar sends me lairy at the best of times, so I am on a strict ban, and its back to nuts. swished down with Fiery sugar free Ginger Beer. Ooh I know how to live, me.

My brain is fried this evening and I cant concentrate at all so I am about to embark on one of my favourite non taxing hobbies. Cutting out images from magazines. I get asked all the time where do I find the images I use. They are all magazines. I have had a major thing about good quality glossy magazines since I was about 12 yrs old. My french teacher used to bring in French copies of Elle magazine for any one who wanted them, and no one else did, so I snaffled them. I used to spend hours cutting out the images and sticking them onto anything and everything. My wall was covered , there must have been about 1/2 in worth depth by the time I left home. And I am still the same, I just love the glossies. After I have read them I save them in a big pile ready for nights like tonight and then attack them with scissors. Just love it.

I got given another blog award today from Gill at Take Nothing for Granted who left me a lovely comment on my last post. Thanks hunny.

Now I am rubbish with blog awards, well the sending it on bit, cos I am always too worried I will upset someone by not nominating them, so as is usual with me , I nominate you all....lol.

These are the conditions for this one.

Name the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.

Nominate 7 others, link to them, and notify them.

Display the logo in your post. (right click the image to save it and then upload it).

And list 10 honest things about yourself.

So here goes

1. I own every Jim Reeves cd there is. Every time a new "greatest hits" comes out I have to buy it, even though he has been dead for years and there is never anything "new", I still have to buy it.

2. I used to be a seamstress, specialising in kiddies designer originals. I,ve made loads of ball gowns and wedding dresses and lost count of the number of soft furnishings I have run up over the years. Now the only sewing I do is buttons on canvas's.

3. I very rarely drink alcohol, but when I do its Champagne or Baileys with double cream and ice

4. When the kids were little if they wanted to get their own back on me for telling them off etc, they used to go and turn the tins around in my kitchen cupboards. This was always guaranteed to send me in a panic, because I had to have them all in order with all the labels facing forward otherwise the sky might fall down..!!!

5. Many of you know of my funny food habits due to my food intolerance's but I also have a 38

yr old eating disorder that I am finally confronting and trying to conquer.

6. Don't laugh, but really I am a shy person. I have just learnt to wear a mask to disguise it.

7. I have mild OCD which gets worse with stress but is funny really. The one that makes every one laugh is my obsession with the no 5. Including I have to eat in 5's. I,m just grateful its not the number 32, lol.

8. I am now officially an orphan and it frikkin stinks..!!

9. I have a brain like a dry sponge and I love reading anything and everything. I read extremely fast, 9 novels whilst in Egypt for 6 days. My favourite authors are, Martina Cole, and Jodi Picoult . I have all their books and I have to buy them in hardback the minute they are released.

10. If I ever get married again, it will be in Vegas, at the little chapel, with a vicar dressed as Elvis. I will be wearing a red spotty bikini and cowboy boots, the groom will be wearing a fireman's uniform, lol. I have to do it before I die, and I,m not actually bothered who I marry, ( how bad is that) lmao. Anyway its easily annulled, and if its good enough for Britney..!!!

So there you go, I need to start attacking the glossies now.

Enjoy xx

Ooh was that excited I,d blogged early I forgot to title it..!!! lmao

Was up and out early. I had a top secret meeting at 8am and needed to appear bright eyed and bushy tailed whilst subtlety flirting just enough to get the deal I wanted..!!!! Oh yes womanly wiles are a fantastic thing to own, don't you think...??? Works every time, lmao. So deal done, contractions getting stronger, expect to go into labour next week...!! woop woop...

Onto todays class, Art journaling , yes again..!!! They are so popular that I have to hold lots of them. Tuesday class is behind Sundays and so are always playing catch up. Today they were continuing with colour and emotions, which normally provides a few sticking points, but not for todays students, they breezed through the class. They were ace but it left me rather redundant so I painted spots all day lol. Daren't go near the stand that needs finishing or else Our Katie will have my guts for garters, but I couldn't help doing the top.

Here's the students. Sue and Sarah who travel all the way from Liverpool, and Annette with her fabby new hair cut.

Chris, Helen and her daughter Emma. (more about her later)

Janet and Jacqui queens of fabby necklaces.

Ann, who used to be the proud owner of "the biggest pants in the world" ( according to her son at a school session), and who is now gorgeously slinky.

And here is the lovely Emma, who is only seven yrs of age. She was a little star, she made journal pages from scratch, primed them, painted them, cut out images and collaged. She listened to everything I said, and she never once got fidgety or troublesome. A perfect student, can the rest of you please take note..lol

Ooh you seem to love the personalised baubles, I have been inundated with commissions, so decided to make a start today. Here's some drying away.

Regular Tuesday night class were on, all doing their own thing. They were a bit rowdy so I decided to shut them up with lollies, always works, lol

Here's bezzie Su and Ali

Little Julie and Elisabeth

Dawn, Julie, Elisabeth.

Forgot to tell them they would end up with blue tongues. oops, lmao

Enjoy xx

can you tell what it is yet..???

Today it was the lovely Katies turn to be indoctrinated in the ways of Xmas Folk Art painting, on the demo stands. Ha ha I drag them all in, don't I..? She did a grand job of stripping it down, priming it, and applying the base coats. I then drew on the design and showed her how to base it out.

As you can see she quickly got the hang of it.

Here it is in all its glory. Can you tell what it is yet.?? lmao

That's about it for the day before Our Ben dragged her away. Will keep you up to date with its progress

I have had loads of people email me about the personalised baubles, so we have added them on the website. You can find them HERE. Please note that they are hand painted and so you will need to allow for a later delivery. Please make sure that any names are spelt correctly on the order, as the baubles are non returnable.

You have a choice between Mortimer,

Or Angelica

They both come with co-ordinated holly leaves.

You can have it personalised as well. There are various options on the order.

I,m making some canvas's for sale as well and will get them on the web asap. Love this one..

Would you believe it, a quick post from me..??? That's cos I,m absolutely knackered and need a long soak in the bath.

Enjoy xx