Leaving 2010 behind and welcoming in the new....

It's that time of year again, where we make resolutions and plans for the year ahead and leave behind the best and worst of the year before.

It's time to say goodbye to the old and welcome in the new.

2010 was the year that I said goodbye to my beloved Dad, after a humour filled battle with Alzheimers Disease whilst it stole his memories and his independence. It never stole my Dad though - he was there, sparkling amidst the mud he crawled through every day, glinting at me as he took my hand and stroked my cheek, and sang his final "Goodnight girlies".

It was also the year that I said goodbye, once again, to my independence and my driving licence. Alas, epilepsy doesn't care that I had it back for a measly 7 weeks, nor does it care that I cried for an entire day, having tasted freedom before it was snatched again from me. 

2011 will be a year of moving forward, of personal development and exploration. And if that doesn't make me sound like a new age hippy, nothing will!

This year I truly intend to get my creative mojo back. It's been pretty much missing for the last couple of years, for various reasons, and finding it may take some time!! However, the intention is to work my way through some exercises and structured lessons (I'll supply a bit more information on these as I go through the year) and really explore what makes me, me.

Part of getting this back is learning to let go of my inner critic. We all have one, it's just that mine has become far too vocal and far too loud recently! Now it's time to tell her to shut her face. I think I spent far too many years (nearly 15) working in a field where I spent my day drawing items with massive attention to detail and very little spontaneity. Actually, cancel that. Make it NO spontaneity. Creativity, which originally was essential for my job and was valued, became a bad thing and was frowned on by the powers that be. My talents were no longer useful, it seemed. Well, it's time to throw off all the habits and rules created and ingrained from that time, and find freedom again.

Fancy joining me? If anyone's up to it, leave a comment, as it would be a lot of fun to do these exercises together and share our results.

Happy New Year everyone. Lang may yer lums reek.

xx

Unique Etsy buys for christmas

Now they've all been opened I can finally show the items I bought on Etsy for my family. The majority of gifts were books, as we're all avid readers, but for my sister in law and my Mum, I wanted something different.

I bought this beautiful necklace for Sandi. She's a complete coffee-aholic and it just seemed appropriate!

Handpainted on clay, coffee lovers necklace from TheNicestThing 

For Mum I bought a bee hotel for her garden. She's pretty much got everything she'll need, so I thought this would tickle her fancy and be a bit different.

the iBee bee hotel from Wudwerx

I hope to buy an awful lot more gifts from Etsy in the future, but it's all dependent on my selling some of my own items. Fortunately I've sold a few things recently so could spend my paypal earnings on gifts. Lovely!!!

McEtsy festive ornament exchange

This was suggested and organised by Jennifer of Littlebirddesigns and, whilst not many of us did it, ultimately it was a small (3 of us) but perfectly formed swap of festive ornaments, with each person making two ornaments, one for each of the other two participants.

I received my first swap item a week or two ago, some beautiful felt bird and heart bunting from Littlebirddesigns, but had to wait a while for royal mail to finally deliver the item from Jo, Dragonflightdesigns. 

Jo made a beautiful bejewelled design including a hanging loop, that has gone immediately onto the tree, whilst Jennifer's bunting has wrapped itself around a lamp in my workroom!

Anyway, here they both are, and I'm thrilled with them both. Not the best pictures, but you get the idea.

 Made by Jo at dragonflightdesigns

Made by Jennifer at littlebirddesigns

Happy Birthday Dad

 Dad and Mum with Fawn the dog on Redcar beach in the 1950's.

Photograph taken by Grandad.

Icicle magic....

All these beauties are hanging from the guttering of our house. 

Fortunately none are over or near the door!!!

New bags on Etsy

I had a bit of a struggle listing these due to missing parts of my listings page, but finally, after changing my web browser from IE to Firefox, I was allowed to see everything I needed!

Poppy Bag

Diva Bag

Click on the links to go to my shop!

Ginger & Pear Muffins

For Maisy!

255g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground ginger
90g caster sugar
1 egg
I finely chopped ripe pear - core but I don't bother peeling.
150ml milk
90 ml vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C, Gas mark 5

Prepare muffin tins with paper cases (mixture makes 10 to 11 normal sized muffins)

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and sugar.

In a different bowl, beat the egg lightly with a fork. Add the milk, oil and chopped pear.

Pour all wet ingredients into dry ones and stir until just combined. This batter is thicker than most muffin mixtures as the pear will release juice as it cooks.

Spoon into prepared cases.

Bake for about 18 to 25 minutes until tops are lightly browned and spring back when gently pressed. Cool a bit before eating as the pear chunks are like lava!!!

Variations :

Chopped apple and cinnamon powder.

Chopped apple with chopped walnuts (about 60 g) stirred in at the end, and cinnamon and a wee pinch of cloves for the spice.

Pear with crystallised ginger instead of the ginger powder.

All are absolutely delish.

Winter white

A wee dusting of snow.....

A Winter Landscape

All night, all day, in dizzy, downward flight,

Fell the wild-whirling, vague, chaotic snow,

Till every landmark of the earth below,

Trees, moorlands, roads, and each familiar sight

Were blotted out by the bewildering white.

And winds, now shrieking loud, now whimpering low,

Seemed lamentations for the world-old woe

That death must swallow life, and darkness light.

But all at once the rack was blown away,

The snowstorm hushing ended in a sigh;

Then like a flame the crescent moon on high

Leaped forth among the planets; pure as they,

Earth vied in whiteness with the Milky Way:

Herself a star beneath the starry sky.

Mathilde Blind