Happy New Year and here's to amazing things in 2011

I was just thinking today how funny life turns out.

Here I am, five months away from being 40, and finally with the man I want to be with for the rest of my life. And it started me thinking about how you think life will turn out when you are in your early twenties or younger. The hopes you have and the things you insist you will never do, especially in a relationship……then one day you look back and realise that things just didn’t work out as you had thought. And then you realise that you’re reaching that age where life begins and you are grateful that they didn’t work out that way….as you wouldn’t be here now.

Here’s to an exciting new year to us all :o)

A time for those we love

I hope you had a wonderful time this Christmas and spent it with the people you love. To me, that is the most important thing about this time of year....not the presents or the food, but being with those you love….and for that I am grateful.

I dedicate this post to a special lady called Kathleen, who sadly passed away on Christmas Eve. Too young to leave this world and such a special, loving person.

You will be greatly missed.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I wish you all health, happiness and love.....and an amazing 2011.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and here's to an exciting New Year!

Much love.

Helen x

Shall I shant I....?

I'm back! After feeling awful for a month I am now starting to feel more like myself. Tonsillitis, a cold and a cough that still wont go away has just made me feel absolutely awful. It will be good to be able to talk to someone without breaking out in a coughing fit or knowing that laughing at anything will just darn near kill me, but I can't complain really.

Aside from being ill, I have made some time to be creative and have hand made some Christmas and Birthday cards for friends, and I am also in the process of creating party invites with a Charlie and Lola theme for a 5 year old pyjama party! That will be a hard one but I am up for the challenge.

I am considering entering the Creative Every Day Challenge 2011, but I am not sure. I joined the Flickr 365 photo project and did really well until I became ill.....and the last thing on my mind as I stared down a toilet bowl was taking pictures....so after 10.5 months I have failed that challenge! (harsh words there!) Some people need a challenge to force them into making stuff, and I understand that. But what I found when I did the 365 photo project was that I started to lose the enjoyment of taking a picture and ended up using my iPhone more and more and captured what I could. And I don't want that to happen to my art. But I feel torn, as I do like to stretch myself! Decisions, decisions.

It's nice to be back and I hope you are all having a good week!

Helen

ps....the Robin at Kew picture was taken by my wonderful Jim on his first photography outing in a long while....all work and no play wasn't healthy for him, and as the robin looked well fed and happy, I just wanted to share him!

Colourful cottages

Last night I decided to play about with a drawing I did in my sketchbook a while ago and have a bit of fun.

I am loving trying out different techniques and materials and creating stuff which is not my normal type of painting. So here is a picture where I had a little play about with quirky shaped buildings and used inktense pencils.

There is something refreshing and invigorating not worrying about the end result and just thinking 'if it doesn't work out it's only a piece of paper'. I have heard those words many times in the past, but for some reason now, I truly get it.

It's great to be back being creative again.

A forced break

After my mad week, last week I was looking forward to spending time being creative and making a start creating all the paintings swimming around my head. However, my body said different and I came down with tonsilitis.

I've suffered with this since I was 18 and the docs just wont take my tonsils out....so when I over do things if I'm not careful, my throat suffers.

I haven't been able to create anything as I have just been too unwell.....so instead I have posted up a picture of one the the sketch challenge drawings I did a while ago as part of the challenge laid down by Kelly Berkey. It's not a great drawing, but I said I would post them all up, irrespective of whether I liked them or not. I am not happy with the proportions of her face, but I really do struggle with faces. Maybe I need to just concentrate on these for a while.

Off to the doctors again this week to see if they can sort me out as I am a bit fed up with it all to be honest.

Hope you've all had a good week!

Sail away....

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

Enjoy your day, wherever you are, wherever your ship is sailing to, whatever your dreams are x