Bloggy Goodness

Now that the house has evicted its latest batch of germs (honestly, I don't know what's been going on, but we have hosted far too many bugs over the past few months), I'm back.  Today I wanted to share some of my favourite blogs.  In some cases, these blogs have lots of followers, but I don't see many bloggers I know there.  Hope you find somewhere new and interesting to browse.

Better After
Lindsey's blog focuses on all those before and after pictures ranging from whole houses (a bit too much DIY in my book) to wall ornaments.  Very occasionally, I'll prefer the before, but there are tons of great ideas here and loads of content.  Look at the funky ladybird car for a toddler....



Summerland Cottage
Paulette makes gorgeous ceramics, jewellery and art.  I love her inspiration from nature.    Just look at her bisque designs fresh from firing:



Alisa Burke
I'm always delighted to see a new post from Alisa in my Google reader.  I love her celebration of colour that riots on my screen, and her use of shape when colour is absent.  This is her new book, which I am tempted to purchase although sewing and I are never found in the same room...



Happy reading!

Made with Mica

I spent a happy afternoon playing with the mica backgrounds I had put together.  I had decided that a little stamping would work well, so I inked up (fingernails are still very dodgy-looking) and here are the results:

Birds on the Estuary: Eight of the Water Suit - Playing Cards 2011

Blossoming: Three of Earth - Playing Cards 2011

I think this needs something else, but I'm not quite sure what yet.  I'll let it mull for a bit.  Perhaps a bit more dimension with the flowers???

A Page for my Travel Journal 2011

ready for my July holiday (paid the balance today, and am now all excited!)

First Draft of July 2011 Calendar Journal. 

I was feeling kinda retro by this stage, hence the life rings, bathing suits, bags, surfboards and cocktails.  It's not finished yet, but I'm quite amused by it so far, particularly as it's so not me...

Mica Love

Welcome to one of my new favourite things: Cosmic Shimmer Mica Watercolour Paints.  

Are they not delectable?

I bought a small selection last week, and I'm already hooked and have ordered more.  Just dip a wet brush in the pot and away you go.  Here are some ATC backgrounds, some with a very light wash effect, and others with a deep accumulation of colour.

And some close ups.

These will be part of the 2011 Playing Cards Challenge for the water and earth suits.

2011 Calendar Journal: The One In Which I Got Overexcited

and made more months than I intended.  Check out the challenge at the Kathryn Wheel button to the right.

Here's April...first the original...

Then after I started playing with words, inspired by the concept of April showers.

If you can't quite read this, it says:

The rain it raineth on the just, and also on the unjust fellow

But chiefly on the just, because the unjust steals the just's umbrella

Then I broke into an exuberant May, full of butterflies and flowers with a funky striped background:

Then June was made up of a series of luggage labels, ready for the July holiday!

New Tree-Dwelling Beast

There has been building work going on at the end of the road for some time now.  So I wasn't unduly surprised when a sound like a dentist's drill permeated the air on Friday morning.  After it went on...and on...and on... I decided to investigate further, only to find we had a new tree-dweller (albeit temporary) across the road.

Here's where we started:

With the lesser-spotted tree surgeon hanging from the branches...

And denuded and stumpy (the tree, not the surgeon), before the trunk was felled.

I can't say I'm happy to see it go, but I hope it will give the deciduous trees that are next to it more room to wriggle their toes.  And seeing the tree surgeon at work was fascinating; he was veritably scampering up and down the trunk with his spiked shoes and the strap to sit on.

Since it was felled, the pigeons (who fortunately were nesting elsewhere) have been extremely annoyed.  They have been sitting on the telegraph pole or the lamp post and exercising pigeon vocabulary in displeased tones. I reckon they are missing their fun, as they used to bounce on the branches gleefully, as though it were some kind of pigeon amusement park.

WOYWW: Enlightening

I've been unnaturally quiet.  I had expected that a loss of mojo would involve a bit of a strop, slamming of doors and general unease as it left the building. As it turned out, mojo must have slunk quietly out of the back door, and sidled off down the back garden.  It seems to have returned slowly and quietly in the same way.  I'm glad to have it home.

How does your crafty mojo behave?

 

To celebrate the wanderer's return, I've treated it to some storage.  I love the pretty boxes, and if I fall out of love, they'll make a great base to alter.  I also found a very capacious shelf unit big enough for 12x12 paper on eBay; it was jaw-droppingly inexpensive AND only 3 miles away.  That's a deal...and my big paper stash is rehomed.

And this is my other big change this week.  Nope, not painting the ceiling, although that needs to happen.  Daylight bulbs.  Bringing crafting to the midnight hours without strange colour combinations and unexpected results (or no more than usual anyway...).

For more inspections of crafty desks, visit the Chief Desk Inspector Julia at the What's on Your Workspace Wednesday button to the left.

Playing Cards: Three of Air and Three of Earth

I've managed to get really behind on this challenge, but I have promised myself that I will catch up as I am really enjoying making these ATCs.  It's a great opportunity to try out new techniques.  To see more about the challenge, visit Rachel at the linky to the left.

First up today, the three of earth: Blossom

Promarkers and a calligraphy pen.  I've had a blonde moment, and forgotten to take a photo of the back, but it's all the same floral pattern as the front.

Second up: the three of air: Birds of the Air

Promarkers, ink and stickles for a bit of shimmer to the wings.

No stickles on the rear, and I've left a ragged detail on the bird.

More Liverpool Lurve

 A Pair of Passing Superlambananas at Runcorn Station

 

After visiting the Gormleys at Crosby beach, we headed back into Liverpool to the Maritime Museum at Albert Dock.  We were woefully short of time there, and have planned to head back soon.

The perspex figure of Aphrodite comes from the liner Reina del Mar.  The anchor below is from the Conway; you can get an idea of its size from the teeny pedestrians next to it.

In the dusk below you might just about be able to see two Liver birds.  (For those of you of "a certain age" - myself included - apologies for that earworm I've just introduced "What's got four arms, longs to grab ya, answer is two Liver birds...")

From our lofty perch in the restaurant, I ordered what the menu described as mini cakes.  The waitress apologised that they weren't exactly mini.  OH managed to finish them off, with the exception of the banana cake.  After a plate of brownies.

We heard a distant hooting, and the yellow duck boat plunged into the dock (on purpose, I hasten to add).

Finally we grabbed a cab to the Philharmonic.  At the traffic lights, the cabbie turned around, looked at us carefully and asked if we meant the pub rather than the orchestra...  "The Phil" is architecturally gorgeous, with the men's loos being so spectacular that women are invited to go and view.  I passed up on the offer, but OH assures me that they were fabulous.  The main room and bar are both gorgeous, and it was a perfect end to the day to snuggle up in some wing chairs with a drink.   The decoration is called the "murmur of the sea" and features mermaids to the left and mermen to the right.  Look at that gorgeous ceiling...

Holding Mr Gormley's Cold Cast Iron Hand

Waiting for the tide

Today I met some of Antony Gormley's cast iron, life size figures, which are spread out the foreshore at Crosby.  Known as Another Place, the installation is made up of 200 figures, all made from casts of the artist's own body, and shown at different stages of rising from the sand.  

Number 21 and I get acquainted.  

Antony Gormley states that Another Place "harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature", saying: 

"This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet."

I don't remember when the awareness of Another Place first seeped into my consciousness, but I do know that it's been on my bucket list for some time.  We had hoped to drive to Crosby last month when we were in Chester, but were thwarted by snow, and lots of it.   Armed with a cheap rail ticket offer from London Midland, today was the day to go and meet the Gormleys.

Eager to see them, I fairly bounded up Hall Road to the coastguard station.  And there they were, as starkly outlined as I'd imagined against a low tide, the industrial landscape, and a line of wind turbines.

I had heard that they spent some time dressed up, and Number 22 had a particularly fetching outfit for the day, although somewhat unsuited for the weather.

His poor feet looked very chilly, and I loved the way that the sea life had taken over.

 

Number 22's bracelets: the original and the new.

This may sound rather odd, but tonight I feel strangely content.

Tomorrow - the superlambananas, some perspex, and more of Liverpool...

Bad Day at the Office

Firstly, that's a bit tongue in cheek; there are no major crises here.

But March's journal page for the 2011 Calendar challenge (see the Kathryn Wheel button to the right) has turned out rather badly.

I had in mind a lovely green and yellow page, delicate, springlike and stamped with flowers to act as day markers. As I didn't have enough pale inks, what I got was something that had been left in the coffee machine too long and went mouldy (charming thought, I know, but strangely accurate - and don't ask how I know).  Here's the offending item.

So the good news is that I get to do it again.  Hopefully without the contents of an ancient sump.

But it won't be tomorrow.  Tomorrow I get to do something I have wanted to do for a long, long time.  If I tell you that by tomorrow lunchtime, I hope to be holding the hand of a man on a beach (and not OH's hand either) would you be able to guess...?

I'll show you the object of my desire tomorrow.