Let us eat cake (and sip tea and settle in for a read)

Today I complete a very long and somewhat tiring project which I will share at a later date.  Needless to say this has taken me away from my art, my photography and my creative time.

So to celebrate I had tea and a bun in Starbucks and bought two magazines to fire up the inspiration.

Happy Friday to you all.

Helen xx

Late night doodles

So last night I grabbed a pencil and started to draw a picture I had my eye on painting for a while.  I took the picture of the teapot, jug and cup when Jim and I were in a tea room in the lovely St Ives and last night I decided to get it down on paper ready for some paint.

Then I saw my sketchbook, opened it and found half a doodle I started some time ago.  It was just three houses and that was it.  And before I knew it I had drawn lots of lines, opened up my paintbox and started applying paint.  It was late when I took these pictures so the light isn't good, but I want to post them more as a reminder to me that when I am being creative I really am at my happiest.

And right now I am itching to carry on......

Happy Thursday to you all.

Helen xx

Wednesday witterings

I have:

• bills to pay
• paperwork to sort out
• ironing to do
• a home to clean
• a home to tidy
• marketing to learn
• business plans to write
• research to do
• a day job to catch up on

I am also playing a waiting game on something which will change my life.

I haven't felt this stressed in a long time and the worst thing of all is that I haven't been that creative other than a bit of photography here and there.

So I decided to forget all the above, pick up my pencil, find some inspiration and let it flow. Push back any guilt, take tablets for my cold and just relish this moment.

Life isn't horrible.  Life is just busy and demanding and at the moment, a bit frustrating.  But yesterday as I cleared out some old cards I found this one by Sam Toft and stuck it up above my desk.  It's done the trick and inspired me to soothe my soul with what I love.

I adore Sam Toft's work I really do...so thank you Sam for reminding me I am a creative person!

Happy Summer Sunday

It's glorious weather here at the moment and I am thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather...it feels like we are having the summer that was taken from us in July.

This week has been full of events and things are now slowly falling into place.  I am almost too scared to talk about them just in case it all goes wrong, but rest assured that as soon as everything is more concrete then I will share.  The last three years efforts (yes three years) are all coming to fruition so you can see why I am holding my breath.  But it will be life changing.

Right, I am off to make Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes.  I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday wherever you are and have a fabulous week ahead.

Love and happiness.

Helen xx

A quote for a Sunday afternoon

JTC Photography

So very true.

Happy Sunday

Helen xx

If in doubt......bake!

My creative time of late has been filled by baking.  Daisy and I have created cakes and iced them to our hearts content.  I love baking and I love baking with Daisy.  Teaching her things my Nan and Mum passed on to me, seeing how excited she gets when she bakes and watching her gain confidence each time we make a cake, is just out of this world.  Children are so pure it's beautiful.

Anyway, here's some of our latest efforts.

After watching the Great British Bake Off one evening, I decided to bake some fairy cakes after the programme.  The next day Daisy asked me why I made these without her....talk about being guilt ridden.  However, that was quickly forgotten as she tucked in!

I made this Raspberry and Coconut cake on a whim and it was a bit of trial end error as I made it up as I went along.  However it did taste delicious (Rona, promise to email you the recipe!)

And then Daisy and I made these last night before she went to bed.  Nice chocolate fairy cakes.

We also made a low fat Date and Apple cake the other day, but I wasn't able to snap any pictures of that one.  However I will be making it again soon and will share the recipe too.  And whilst I am on the subject of photos.....I have a really good camera but snapped these using my phone so apologies as they are not great (but when you've got cakes to eat you want to tuck in straight away!)

And finally, I leave you with a video of Daisy being Betty Crocker....just absolutely adorable.


Daisy being Betty Crocker from Helen Mills on Vimeo.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Helen xx

A brief intermission

I am learning at the moment that I need plenty of patience and lots of determination.

It seems like I have been on this particular journey longer than I ever wanted and certainly longer than I thought possible.  So whilst every thing else in my life has kind of been put on hold, I have managed to achieve one incredible thing.  After far too many years to count, I have donned my swiming cossie and ventured back into swimming. 

I love swimming (always have) but the fear of showing myself in a cossie to the locals in the swimming pool was just too daunting.  However, there is one good thing about getting older.....you care less about what people think and more about yourself, in an unselfish way.  So I did it....I dipped my toe so to speak, and haven't looked back.

So whilst I try not to get stressed, frustrated and frazzled over things I cannot control, I make time now to spend it improving my health and fitness. 

Hope everyone is healthy and well and I really hope to be able to be creative again soon.

Love and happiness

Helen xx

Oooh a wedding....

It's been a while since my last post and things have been pretty manic.  I assisted Jim at a wedding on Saturday - how I love doing these.  I feel so privileged to be part of a couple's special day.  It's just the most fun ever and it's supposed to be work.  Get that!  Here's a little collage of some of the photographs.

I haven't had much time to paint which is terrible.  I have two commissions waiting to be started and fortunately I do not have an immediate deadline, although it may be better if I did!  I am kind of involved in a few projects which are taking up my time, which I will share in another post when the time is right.  I am also trying to learn wordpress (ssshh close your ears blogger) although I have no plans to defect, it's for one of the projects I am involved with.

But I am still here....doing the day job, being a step-mum and trying to fit in some creative time. I am tempted to keep a small sketch book with me so that I can fit some sketches in when I commute etc, but if I do I really musn't put myself under any pressure to fill the book.....just let it flow.

Hope you are well well and not flooded out.  It's supposed to be summer in the UK, but it appears to be monsoon season!

Oh and if you are in Excelsior Springs, MO, please do drop by my dear friend Kelly Berkey's art crawl.....she would love to see you!

Love and happiness

Helen x

Sunday Sketches

It may be a bit late in the day but I'm here for another Sunday Sketches.  Today's sketch is a little fishy.  Just doodles really and allowing my pen to follow my imagination.

I hope you are all well and please join me to look at the other entries, I just know they will be fab!

Happy Sunday to you all.

Helen xx

Sunday Sketches

Hello and oh my I've made it to another Sunday Sketches post.  It's been a bit too long but let's not dwell on  that....at last I can unveil the finished Octonaut's Banner.

I decided not to paint 'Happy 4th Birthday Ollie' on it as after all the work that went into it, I thought that Ollie would like to hang it on his wall.....which he has done.  So lovely Jim found the Octonaut font and created a separate banner with the words on which I must say looked good.

This was a real challenge for me (a labour of love) as I've not painted such a huge long piece of work before and it was difficult to find places to lay it out.  I've certainly learned a lot from this should I ever be mad enough to offer to do this again (although I fear I already have....).

Above are some shots of each piece of the banner as it was over 6ft long.  I decided to scan in and print off the characters faces, logo's and the inside the Octopod and stuck those on to give a more realistic effect.  The rest was all painted in acrylic paint on wallpaper....a remnant of the cottage renovation.

 And here's the birthday boy himself!

Please join me in visiting the other Sunday Sketchers.....there is always such a variety of artwork to see.

Happy Sunday to you!

Helen xx

ps....I think if you click on the images you get a larger version which may help when viewing the banner.

Branding

The other day at work one of my suppliers came to see me.  It was, I suppose his annual visit and being the lovely supplier he is, he bought me in a present.

When I saw the box the first thing I said to him is that this company has really thought a lot about their brand.  Inside this exquisite box were two of the yummiest cupcakes I have ever had the pleasure of tasting (lovely Jim and I shared them).  But before I even knew what was in this box, which I must say was ideal to carry home on public transport, I was already won over by whatever the product must be.  I knew I was going to like it.

Branding is so important to any business and after having been the recipient of Bea's of Bloomsbury's products I am certainly going to be looking at mine.  It's on my to do list and will be something I address.  

We have to think about how we want to be perceived.  What we want or customers to feel and also, what type of company we are...traditional, funky, modern, contemporary.  When I saw this box, I knew the product would be quality, carefully made and come from a beautiful environment.  It oozed everything I would want in a brand.

Well done Bea's of Bloomsbury for not only creating the best cupcakes I have ever eaten, but for creating a brand that goes with it.

Happy cake filled Friday xxx

Doodling

Sometimes it's good to doodle and let your pen wander as your mind does the same.  I wonder what an analyst would make of my fish, swimming with a heart he caught.  Who knows.....

Hope everyone is well.  I will post up a picture of the finished Octanuts banner soon.....I completed it in time and Ollie loved it and the rain stayed away for the party which was the main thing.

Sorry it's a brief post but I have to dash.  I aim to blog more again now that a few things have settled down, so watch this space.

Have a great Thursday xxx

Paint on my hands

It's been a while since I have posted and painted.  Both of which I have missed.  Let's just say that right now I have too many stressful things going on in my life and I am hoping that very soon they will come to an end.  It's affected my blogging but more importantly my painting time.

Little Ollie was 4 yesterday and I promised to create an Octonauts banner for his party this weekend.  As usual I have left things to the last minute so I am now frantically painting like mad in every spare moment.  The best thing is that I have had paint on my hands and felt it on my fingers which I find so comforting.  It's been just what my soul has needed.  Plus I have been listening to Absolute 80's as I paint and singing rather badly.  Why is it that belting out a great song that brings back great memories makes you feel so much better.  I apologise now to my lovely Jim.  He had to wear his headphones last night to block out the wailing noise coming from my studio.

I hope you are all having a good week and not letting the rain dampen your spirits.  Although right now as I type this, the sun is shining!

Take care ~ Helen

Happy Monday

Daisy and I made cakes yesterday.  Lots of them.  We decorated them with buttercream and added lots of sprinkles. 

It was just what I needed - some creative baking time, watching Daisy select and individually place every type of decoration on one cake, and then pick one to devour.

The simple pleasures in life are amazing.

Love and peace to you all

Helen xx

Let us eat cake

I have too many things going on at the moment so the best thing to do is eat cake I say!

Happy Friday xx

The return of the blogger and a weight update

Wow I can't believe my last post was the 29th April - just where has the time gone.  For me it's just whizzed by and has encompassed so much.

I am going through lots of journeys at the moment and one of them is my day job.  People have been made redundant and we are going through a massive restructure.  Believe it or not I am a part qualified accountant (story as to why I am only part qualified will be shared another time) but suffice to say it's a far cry from being creative.  So by the time I get home from commuting into London, I can be pretty much done in.  Which has been the pattern of late.  So much so that I was completely and utterly exhausted and came down with a throat infection.  A week at home sleeping and because I can never get away from it at the moment, working in between sleeps, has helped me get back to normal.  It's a pattern of mine that I need to break.  I exhaust myself which in turn forces me to rest.

I have lots of other things going on right now that are taking up my creative time, and I won't bore you with them, but instead I wanted to share something positive.  I am not sure if you recall this post whereby I declared my intention to lose weight.  Well I am delighted to say that since Christmas I have lost 2 stone!!!  YUP!  28lbs of me has gone and boy am I feeling so much better.  And I have decided to be brave and share a picture that was taken of me just before Christmas.  It's hideous and really made me want to lose weight.  And when I look at it, it spurs me on to keep going.

And here is me now, taken with me being 2 stone lighter!  Look, I have a chin and a jawline! Amazing.....I knew it was in there somewhere!

I still want to lose more weight and will keep on this journey.  The good news is that I am cooking up some really tasty dishes which I promise to share.  I will be the guinea pig and if I think they are good I will share them.

Well thank you for stopping by and not giving up on me.  I am not going to beat myself up for the lack of blogging and creativity, but instead do what I can to rectify it.

Have a lovely Wednesday and I will leave you with this quote that I have just found.....enjoy xx

Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench when there is plenty of room at both ends - Anon

Sunday Sketches

Time for Sunday Sketches and this week I've included a sketch of an Octonaut - Kwazi to be precise.

I offered to do a large Happy Birthday banner for Ollie's 4th birthday party which is in the middle of June and I thought I ought to get sketching and get some ideas down,  I didn't get time to put some colour on it, but will post it up and probably some others another time.  If you click on it you should get a larger picture.

I hope your Sunday is going well.  It's a rather wet one here so it's housework, film time with Daisy and then some ironing for me.  Still, I'd rather do that on a rainy Sunday than a sunny Sunday.

Please join me at Sophia's blog to check out the others.

Happy Sunday xxx

Lynne Chapman - How to draw a cat!

Following on from my post the other day where I shared a video of the very talented Lynne Chapman showing us how she draws her dragon, here's another video......this time on how to draw a cat.

As always, well worth a watch.

Have a fab day - I an heading to Brighton to spend it with my best mate - a day for the girlies.

Take care xx

St George's Day

On Saturday our local high street was closed for St George's Day celebrations and Jim was asked by the local business association to take some pictures. We were going to attend anyway and thankfully the weather was okay......a few drops of rain, but nothing compared to the last few days.

There was a procession lead by some proudly dressed gentleman (please forgive my lack of military knowledge).

My favourites, the Harley-Davidson bikers - the sound of their engines really was like music to my ears.


The Harley's were behind some wonderful old vespa's and other scooters with an amazing amount of lights. (I love the hooters on this one).


The Morris Dancers were really very brilliant and this chap turned and beamed at me as I took his photo.


The cakes were yummy.


Daisy pondered over her choice.


And chose one with a red rose with lots of cream and silver glitter.


And Ollie had fun on the teacup.



All in all it was a fab day. These are just some of the pictures I took and I am already looking forward to next years.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Helen

Sunday Sketches

Happy Happy Sunday to you all. I am liking this habit of posting an entry for Sunday Sketches. Last year I did quite a few but other stuff just got in the way so it's great to feel like I am back!

Here's the finished Desert Island Pip. Had fun again just letting my imagination run free. Wonder if she will find any treasure?

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. We went to the local St George's Day celebrations yesterday and had a fab time. Jim was taking pictures for the local Business Association and I snuck a few in too. It really was a great procession and I especially loved the Harley's and the mopeds at the end. The noise was deafening but absolutely wonderful. I will post some more pictures soon but in the meantime, please head over to Sophia's blog to check out the other entries.

Happy Sunday.

Helen x

Colour swatches

A few years ago when I did a painting class in St Ives, the tutor suggested that we try mixing our colours up to see what they actually produced, as cool yellows with cool blues give you a different shade of green than warm yellows with a warm blue. I took it one step further and decided to try and mix almost all the colours in my paint palette to see what I would get. This resulted in the swatch above, which I still have to this day, albeit slightly faded and is stuck up on my side unit.

Accomplished artists know exactly what colours work and what ones don't but sometimes I think even the best can forget just how well two colours mixed together can produce one great colour. It's also great to see which pigments granulate and which ones don't as it can be cool to let paints do their own thing on the paper.

I don't know about you but I tend to keep my watercolours laid out in the same location in my paint box, so in order to help me pick just the right shade, I painted a bit of each colour onto some watercolour paper and stuck it up on the wall above my art desk. Even though I have been using these colours for years, I still find it useful to cast my mind over the colours to make sure I pick the right one if I am looking for a particular shade.

Last Christmas I was given a wonderful gouache paint box with the most beautiful vibrant colours in it so I am now getting used to different colours and how adding white affects them. I decided to do the same exercise with these paints to help me. I love how you can see the effect of adding white (it's the smaller line above each colour).

It's well worth experimenting if you haven't already.

Happy Thursday xx