Albert Einstein Quote

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift,

and the rational mind is a faithful servant.

We have created a society

which honors the servant

and has forgotten the gift.

Albert Einstein

The greatest gift we can give future generations

The greatest gift we can give future generations

is air that's clean to breathe,

water that's safe to drink,

and a living environment

that celebrates the wonders of Nature.

In all things of Nature,

there is something truly marvelous.

Please be gentle with the earth,

it's the only one we have!

There's Always a Rainbow

Dreams are renewable.

No matter what our age or condition,

there are still untapped possibilities within us

and new beauty waiting to be born.

Dale E. Turner

As Winter draws closer, and the night and mornings grow colder and more crisp, the warm days of Summer are slowly becoming faded in my memory. Winter herals a time of hibernation and as the clocks go back next weekend the day draws to a close even more abruptly.

To me Winter is a time of slowing down, a time of reflection over the last year....seeing where I've been, how far I've come and what my plans are for the coming year.

I use to hate Winter and suffered badly from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D). Now I've come to appreciate it....there's something extra special about coming home from a long day at work, closing the curtains, putting the fire on and chilling out with a good book all cozy, safe and warm.

It's all a matter of shifting your focus and seeing the benefits of what we perceive as a negative situation.

Despite it being really cold and frosty this morning, the sun is shining and the sky is clear.... Hmmmm I feel a song something on....

Oh what a beautiful morning,

Oh what a beautiful day,

I've got the strangest feeling,

Everything's coming my way

If there's a situation that hasn't turned out as you wanted it to, or something that you feel strongly negative about

try your best to see the positive side of it....

there's always something good to focus on, however small.

It's Autumn....but what's this?!

Well after some doubt...it's finally here....Autumn in all it's glory! As artists we get our inspiration from all over the place, but nothing is so special as the colours in natures pallett. From the golden yellows and warm oranges, to the firey reds and burnt umbers.

The Hazel leaves have turned from purple to brown and are finally laying a carpet on the ground.
Whenever you need to be inspired for colour, go out walking in nature, for you are sure to find something that catches your eye....BUT WAIT....WHAT'S THIS?

Is this some kind of Natures Folly? Strawberry flowers in the middle of October?

And on closer inspection.....these.....

STRAWBERRY'S!

Ain't life strange?

I trust that Mother Nature

knows what she is doing.

Courage and Endurance

It never ceases to amaze me at the sheer courage and endurance that some people will go to in order to give to and help others. This morning I recieved the following email from a guy who organises The Didge Camp at Lime Tree Farm.......

Hi, sorry to push this on you,

Just thought you might be interested in following or wanting to support one of my brothers mates who is rowing the Atlantic and raising money for diabetes UK? If you are able to offer sponsorship they've still got lots of space on the boat for your name.

http://www.2menpulling.co.uk/501.html

If you aren't/don't then sorry for bothering you.

Kevin

I followed the link and this is what I found...

athis is taken directly from their website... and I make no appologies for stealing the words.....

Why this charity?
As an injecting diabetic, this is a charity close to Neil's heart. We're not aware of any diabetic who has undertaken an endurance event of this size before and the impact of diabetes is unknown. Please support our main charity by clicking the link SPONSOR US NOW It's worth noting that every penny sponsored goes straight to the charity - including gift aid too if you're a UK tax payer. Thank you for your support.

Please, if you can, give genourously....if not then every little helps.... however small.

My Mother-in-law, her son and her parents were all diabetic and as a genetic thing my son is also at risk, I also have a friend who little girl was diagnosed at only 18 months old and have had quite a few friends that have this condition over the years, so this charity is close to my heart.
I'm sure everyone reading this wishes them well and will be lighting candles for their safe return.

Love, light and bright blessings,
Sue xxx

Bookbinding Website

Hi all,
I've jsut found this website belonging to a fellow Calligrapher from way, way back and want to share the link with you all
Go to Cheryl Moots site by clicking the link here
In particular look at her Gallery.... bet it gets your creative juices flowing!

and this site is a fantastic source of links!

Even the most daring and accomplished people

Even the most daring and accomplished people

have undergone tremendous difficulty.

In fact, the more successful they became,

the more they attributed their success

to the lessons learned

during their most difficult times.

Adversity is our teacher.

When we view adversity

as a guide towards greater inner growth,

we will then learn to accept

the wisdom our soul

came into this life to learn.

Barbara Rose

Peace - Burma - A Global Road

Dear friends, Burma's generals have brought their brutal iron handdown on peaceful monks and protesters -- but inresponse, a massive global outcry is gathering pace.The roar of global public opinion is being heard inhundreds of protests outside Chinese and Burmeseembassies, people round the world wearing the monks'color red, and on the internet-- where our petitionhas exploded to over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours. People power can win this. Burma's powerful sponsorChina can halt the crackdown, if it believes that itsinternational reputation and the 2008 Olympics inBeijing depend on it. To convince the Chinesegovernment and other key countries, Avaaz is launchinga major global and Asian ad campaign on Wednesday,including full page ads in the Financial Times andother newspapers, that will deliver our message andthe number of signers. We need 1 million voices to bethe global roar that will get China's attention. Ifevery one of us forwards this email to just 20friends, we'll reach our target in the next 72 hours.Please sign the petition at the link below -if youhaven't already- and forward this email to everyoneyou care about: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php The pressure is working - already, there are signs ofsplits in the Burmese Army, as some soldiers refuse toattack their own people. The brutal top General, ThanShwe, has reportedly moved his family out of thecountry – he must fear his rule may crumble. The Burmese people are showing incredible courage inthe face of horror. We're broadcasting updates on oureffort over the radio into Burma itself – tellingthe people that growing numbers of us stand with them.Let's do everything we can to help them – we havehours, not days, to do it. Please sign the petitionand forward this email to at least 20 friends rightnow. Scroll down our petition page for details oftimes and events to join in the massive wave ofdemonstrations happening around the world at Burmeseand Chinese embassies. With hope and determination, Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena andthe whole Avaaz Team

Latest Commission - A Royal appointment

What a busy week it's been. I was asked to do a piece of work for Action for Blind People's 150th Birthday to be presented to HRH Princess Alexandra. (Please read her website as she is a wonderful and amazing person). Of course I accepted. Action for Blind People have been the most helpful and supportive charity that I have ever had the pleassure to deal with.
I am in constant contact with their Self Employment Advisor (Hi Jon) and without him I know I would never have had the courage to set up and continue being self employed.
Their logo is the most wonderful Fuchia Pink and the ribbon and the writing reflect this.
As the creator and as it co-incides with my birthday I was asked if I would like to go to London and present it myself to HRH. Sadly, but putting business before pleasure I have had to turn them down as I am enrolled on my Wed Site Design course on Wednesday nights and as it will be only my second week I don't want to miss it.
Below is a detailed shot of the piece.

Merlin Am I

Well I've done it...the Dahm the Bard piece is finished....and I'm really over the moon with it. Above is the full piece and below is the detail. Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge.

True Friendship

I love this....and hope you do too.
In love and appreciation to all my friends...I offer you this....

"True Friendship"
(With none of that Sissy Crap!!!!) Are you tired of those sissy "friendship" poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card- just the stone cold truth of our friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you that way.
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you finally got laid.
4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want to catch whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.
9. This is my oath..... I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask?, "Because you are my friend".

Friendship is like peeing your pants: everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.
Send this to "all 10 of your friends, then get depressed because you can only think of four!!! (don't send it back to me...I don't want to hear it!!!) And remember....when life hands you Lemons, get some tequila and salt and call me

Saturday's Workshop

Canvas Workshop - Below is my canvas

Saturday morning...10am....rain and a broken nights sleep. Not the best way to start a workshop, but these folk know me and are very forgiving! lol.

After the statutory cups of tea and coffee, a catch up on the latest happenings and a quick demonstration on how I create my backgrounds, my able students went off and produced backgrounds of their own.
As time went on quotations were found that suitably suited their creative backgrounds. An impromptu mini lesson in painting on Wonder-web to create a textured surface that can be fixed to card as well as ironed on fabric to embed items onto. (Thanks Sarah!)

Jill decided to add these squares using this very technique! Unfortunately the photo is a bit light and doesn't do the actual piece justice. It's hard to see from the photograph but Jill sprinked glitter in this piece. you can probably see it in the top left hand corner. So I think she qualifies as a Glitter Sister!

This is Sarah's piece and she had informed us on the morning that she wanted to do a piece for a friend who was moving away and she needed to give her it on Monday!!! No pressure then Sarah? I'm sure her friend will be delighted!

And this is Susan's piece. Isn't it fantastic? The lettering suited this piece really well. It is common for calligraphers to emphasis one word as a form of contrast to the rest of the piece. Susan only had a very short time to practice the lettering for this piece and I'm glad that it worked.

I really enjoyed the day. It was a gentle day with no hurrying. I think everyone did so well, and I'm really proud of them. They didn't want their faces included in my blog, which is a real shame....but there again it's MY blog and would probably be afraid of being associated with the Purple Pixie!

We hope to repeat the day again as soon as all these camps are over and done with. Thanks girls...I really enjoyed the day.

Tips Dor New Bloggers

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A dummies guide, tips, tricks, help for all new bloggers on Web templates, Blog templates, designs, widgets, layout, JavaScript, HTML codes, SEO, Google AdSense, gadgets, diagnostic tools, and how to monetize Blogger or Blogspot blogs.

Commission

Just enough time before I go home to add this commission to my blog. Not a very good picture I'm afraid but better if you click it and enlarge.

It has a gold streak along the bottom and gold heart decoration.

The piece is 9" x 16" and reads:

Life is strewn with miracles

For which those that love

can always hope

Hmmmm.... no comment! lol

"MAYA ANGELOU'S" Quotation

This email came from my daughter=in-law to be, who I love very much....Hi Sarah! This is so true and needs to be passed on...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .. enough money within her control to move outand rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .... one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family..

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...that she can't change the length of her calves,the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. whom she can trust,whom she can't,and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...where to go...be it to her best friend's kitchen table...or a charming inn in the woods...when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... what she can and can't accomplish in a day...a month...and a year...

Baby Birth Album and Fridge Magnets

Well it's the weekend again. I don't know where the time goes. I thought I'd share with you a baby Album commission that I've had to do this week. The little chap is called Oscar James...that's him on the cover...what a cutie!

This is the opening page.... his name and christening details. Also inside is a title page for guests and grandparents

This is a poem called Children are Like Kites. It's only a small section of the whole poem. It's a beautiful poem and I'll post the whole thing as soon as I get a minute.

Above and below are 2 of the fridge magnets that I've just started making and listing in my ebay shop. I think ALL women should have the Domestic Goddess one.
Well that's it for now....have a really great weekend!

And I'll catch up with you all soon.

Self Awareness

Years ago I suffered really badly with depression. I was give anti-depressants which after taking very few and realising that they would only numb my pain and emotions, I decided to get into self help.
During that time I was made to confront a lot of emotions that had lay burried for years...far longer than I first thought. I bought lots of books and became more aware of me as a person and how I tick. It was painful at times having to confront issues that I would have prefered to leave in a box and set asside. However opening the Pandora's Box and dealing with them made me stronger and able to be a 'feeling' human being. No longer did I beat myself up over my emotions and feeling and I was able to deal with not only my past but also my present and future. I found it fascinating to reveal my inner self to myself.
I realise through this therapy that 'I know' there is nothing I can't confront, and these fears never have to surface so painfully again. I went on to run a 'Self Awareness' group and it helped a lot of people come to terms, confront then lay to rest issues which had held them back for years. Anyone can be Knowledgeable but to gain Wisdom we must gewt in touch with these feelings and learn that by living through them we find our 'Enlightened Soul'. We are able to love and form truly wonderful relationships...not only with ourselves but with others too.

If you have things that you need to deal with I found this fantastic website CLCIK HERE.

Wishing you al a blessed and joyful life.
Love, light and all good thoughts,
Sue

Insanity! Try it becasue life's too short!

Hi all, I'm back....fit, healthy and well. I'll post about the camp very soon. At the moment I have to catch up with urgent orders for this weekend. In the meantime, I recieved this email this morning and just HAD to share! To all my insane friends....ENJOY!

Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity!

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write " For Smuggling Diamonds"

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8 . Don't use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.....send this E-mail to someone and make them Smile. ...I JUST DID!

the power of the heart

I trust so much

in the power of the heart

and the soul;

I know that the answer

to what we need to do next

is in our own hearts.

All we have to do is listen,

then take that one step further

and trust what we hear.

We will be taught what we need to learn.

Melody Beattie

Hand Made Wedding Album

This is the front cover of a Wedding Album I've jsut made. The book is Japanese bound and has crystal beads tied to the spine. The Album is cream, white and gold themed. The whole book had 15 pages all interleaved with Japanese Tissue paper.

The lettering is Gold Gouache and the heart and cross decorations are Gold Leaf.

The opening title page

Second page

Detail of second page above and below