I haven’t posted in a while because I haven’t created much on the art-front, and I haven’t felt I had anything significant to share with you.

Today I heard something that lifted me up after a period of feeling quite uninspired and a bit flat.

A man was asked the question that if God really loved us, why did he make bad things happen to people? He was given the response that if a child was out walking with her father and fell over, the chances are that she would have fallen over whether her father was with her or not. He would not make her fall over. However, she could be sure that her father would pick her up and tend to her wounds and help her to feel better, she would know that his love for her was unconditional.

In the same way, God does not make bad things happen to us but we can be sure that when they do, we  he will be by our side to pick us up, tend to our pain and help us carry on.

I have often been asked the same question by people and have been at a loss as to what to say. I found this explanation to be a breath of fresh air and after I heard it, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders and suddenly started to feel, and I think that I don’t often experience that. It’s a bit like the sensation of being able to fully open my eyes after a period of my eye-lids being really heavy.

There you go, don’t say I never give you anything! :o)

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April’s SBP for ANUK using a new-to-me technique using water-soluble oil pastels and gesso.

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With the weather the way it has been recently, I’m not sure if there’s going to be a slight chance of showers or heavy rain-fall. I don’t know what to wear, or whether to even get up in the mornings. Some days it’s really fine out, and others it’s well, you know… this morning when I woke up it was bright and sunny, then after lunch it started raining hard, and possibly hailing (I think), and this evening it’s been relatively clear and bright again. How bizarre. All this chopping and changing has made me want to make like a hedgehog and curl up into a ball and roll into the nearest pile of leaves.

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This week’s Challenge is about Food. Most people I know have a week spot for a certain type of food (then there are those of us who who have a weak spot for food generally, but that’s for another post - LOL!) so the Challenge is for members to create a piece to express what their achilles heel is. For some it may be sweet, and for others savoury, and for some it might be a specific type of food, such as cheese or chocolate.

Can you guess what my weakness is? Yup, I’m afraid mine has to be anything made with sugar, it tends not to stand a chance of making it to the next day unfortunately. I’m guessing this probably has something to do with the diabetes, but I can tell you it doesn’t do much for the waistline either! lol!

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The Weekly Challenge on Express Yourself this week was to create a piece on the theme of Home. My piece was “Home Is where the heART is”, and the background was made up of all the different types of roads names that I have lived on in London. The very first was a Gardens, the next was a Road, then a Rise, an Avenue, a Place, a Park, then a Close, a Place again, and now a Crescent. I used one of Julie Van Oosten’s cute little houses chipboard pieces for the house itself.

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I realised last night that today would have been my parents’ 51st Wedding Anniversary. I somehow ended up with my mother’s wedding ring after she died, but not long after I got married my fingers started swelling and I had to take off both my mother’s wedding ring and my own, just keeping my engagement ring on my finger.

Amazingly, this morning whilst looking at my mother’s wedding ring this morning, I tried it on, and it slid on my finger easily, as did my own wedding ring. So I have kept them on. Miles was pretty happy that I was wearing my wedding ring again, as was I!

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The theme for this week’s Challenge on Express Yourself is Numbers.

I used a selection of Glimmer Mist sprays from Katy’s Corner. I used Rum Raisin first, unfortunately the shimmer didn’t show at all so the colour came out a little flat. When that dried I attached some chipboard numbers with repositionable adhesive and sprayed again, with Golden Teracotta, this added a lovely sparkle to the piece. I then traced around more chipboard numbers and coloured in with Galaxy metallic markers. I added an additional chipboard number to add a little dimension to the page and used my Kandi Kane Applicator Wand to add some gems stones to the number 1.

I wasn’t overly happy with the end product here as the colours seem to make the piece feel ‘heavy’. Perhaps this is because the background turned out to be a solid colour so there is little movement in the piece.

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Upon reflection, I realise that it felt quite odd making this piece because it’s not my usual style at all, I think I usually end up with something that requires a bit more thought, from the viewer and is a little dark or grungey perhaps.

I think there might be something there for me about trying to create something that looks in the same ‘league’ (!!??) as lots of stuff I see online but ultimately feeling a little unsatisfied by it.

But then again, maybe that’s something for my next therapy session - ROFL!

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The first Weekly Challenge on Express Yourself was posted, members are invited to post a creation on the theme of Swirls & Flourishes and encouraged to note whatever stamps, papers, embellishments or collage elements were used.

Here I made a skinny page (5×3), not my usual style at all but I quite enjoyed it. I used stamps by Hero Art, Inkadinkado and Innovative Stamp Creations, Collage sheet by Lisa’s Altered Art and paper from Anna Griffin.

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I just bought some really cute digital downloads from an eBay seller Lisa’s Altered Art who I’ve had bookmarked to visit for ages, only to find that eBay change their policy on digital downloads on Monday - yes, the day after tomorrow! The image sheets are just $2 each and are soooooo cute. Be sure to check it out before Monday. She does have a website which is in the process of being designed, so keep your eyes open for that. I pointed the lovely lady towards Etsy, so we might see her there in future, who knows.

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