Erratic mojo

One day I seem to have some creative juices, the next day the well is empty.  Today it was half full.   So with no mojo I tidied my craft desk,  cleaned the mat, changed the blade in my craft knife, tossed all the sundry stamps into a box.

Then I felt like doing something, so decided to play with one of my new masks, the bamboo mask.  I first embossed some card with it, then reapplied the mask and did some inking.  After that I put the swirly leaf mask on top and inked it.

Then I turned my attention to one of the jigsaws I'd picked up.  I saw them in Dunhelm Mill,  there are 6 in a pack,  just 2.99.  Just the thing for us crafters.  I did some silhouette stamping with the Birdhouse Clarity stamp set.  For the sky I just made do with some sponging.  I'm quite pleased with this.  I'm going to try it with the gelli plate.

And that was it, the mojo had gone!   I had gone to Dunhelm Mill not for craft stuff but for curtains.  I felt like a change in the living room,  and wanted something warm in colour.  I'd have liked some patterned curtains in autumnal colours, but couldn't find any I liked, so settled for a nice warm red.   What I hadn't realised was that I'd picked up the wrong size and I didn't find out until I was back home!  So that meant a return trip the next day.   I had been trying to get stuff done, the shopping, curtains and prescription...  everything else went like clockwork and then I go to the chemist.  I arrived at 11.45, there were already 6 people waiting, this was not a good sign, but usually they are quite efficient, so I decided to wait.  So I waited, and waited, and waited.  one chap told me he'd been waiting 45 minutes!   Everyone was getting annoyed and the pharmacist seemed to be taking an age to do each prescription.  The staff were also getting annoyed with him, the final straw was when he had printed out the wrong labels for one large prescription!   I heard the senior assistant telling him to get a move on before there was a riot.  Another 4 people joined the queue,  the chap who had already waited 45 minutes was finally given  his prescription after 1 whole hour!   All I wanted was an 'owed' item, which I felt should have already been ready for me to pick up, but it wasn't.   I had a 45 minute wait, 3 people gave up.

I also treated myself to a new shirt,  well why should the house get all the treats?    My book also arrived, oh sorry, did I mention I'd ordered a book?   It was recommended on an agony aunt page, it was in response to a letter about grief, the agony aunt suggested that the young woman read a book called Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.  Since I'm going through the same difficult process I thought I'd get the book.  I'm so glad I did as it is one of the most profound and inspiring books I've read in a very long time.   It is the story of a former college student who learns that his old professor is now dying, so he goes back to see him,  .   It is not a schmalzy book,  it is very straightforward, Morrie, the professor,  simply puts forward his take on life's many mysteries.   I think this is a book everyone should read.

Well that's it for now, hopefully the mojo will find its way back to me at some point.  Have a lovely week.

At last

My mojo seems to be returning,  yesterday I just hit a brick wall.  I was attempting to make this tag but nothing I tried was working.  I came back to it this afternoon and well, as you can see it came together.  I wanted something bright, but not too bright.  I'd already made the tag using the brown cardstock,  so I made some red and black flowers,  used some gilding wax on them after embossing them,  added the musical notes,  but it still needed something more. So out came the letters I bought last week,   and to finish it off I put on some white flowers and added the twisted wires, which you can't really see in this photo.

I made the background using masks and stamps,  just random stamping.   The little crown was recycled from a card. 

On this photo you can see the wire.  It's jewellry wire, I just wrapped it round my pokey tool.  The small flowers are from a punch, the bigger ones are from a die.

I also had a lovely surprise in the morning, the lady who had the fire popped round to thank me for letting her use my flat.  All I did was ask her to come in and sit down so that the paramedics could check her over, nothing special.  But she gave me a beautiful bunch of flowers.   Her flat is now back to normal,  her kitchen has been repaired, and the drier replaced.


I also heard from the art therapy people, just have to make a phone call to arrange a meeting.  They also sent information about other art therapy groups.  I'll soon be spoilt for choice. 

I do hope the weather perks up,  I'm fed up of these grey skies and rain.   All for now.

Bookends

The weather is officially yuck!    Yesterday it was lovely,  once the rain moved away we had sunshine and it felt quite warm. Today has been a washout, a windy washout.

The crafting today was also a washout.  I just couldn't get going.  That seems to have been the story of the week, not even the delivery of my new stash could motivate me.  I did work on the two tiles I'd ordered and forgotten!   After a coat of gesso, I used one of my new masks, Tando mask,  to give the warped honeycomb, then added the sentiment.  It will eventually become a bookend, and when you see the other it may make more sense...

Here's the second one, a repeat of the first but with a different sentiment. So they are going to be bookends,  I chose the quotes because when we read we go on a Journey,  and at the same time are asked to 'believe' in what we are being told.   Well I thought it was clever! 

I had some plain plastic bookends,  and these will be stuck on, after I've tarted up the bookends a bit more.  I did one yesterday, then looked at it today and hated it.  I like the tiles, they're fine.     But when I tried heat embossing today it just kept on going wrong, obviously my heart wasn't in it.  So I began to make a tag,  a large one, I've abandoned making the small ones.   I've just been painting a few embellishments to go on it.

This is NOT the tag I just mentioned, this was me messing.  The leaves are from one of my new masks,  I just dabbed some versarmark through it, then added the dragon flies.  Underneath the embossing is the tangled mask,  love it, it just looks like a tangled piece of string.  It had been a piece of A5,  then I cut it down.  I added the compass for interest.  Not sure what will happen to it next.  

My cousin called in on Friday, so I had a lovely natter to her.   It was nice for the day to end on a happier note as the morning hadn't been good.   I seemed to have been gripped by anxiety all morning, only just managed to make it to the supermarket, but that just made things worse.   I finally managed to calm down just after lunch.  This depression lark is no fun,  you think you are on top of it and wham, it comes back.   The miserable weather hasn't helped,  nor my sore back, both had kept me in during the early part of the week.   I at least managed to make a hair appointment,  and ended up having a really nice chat with my hairdresser.   Just to say we now have a hail storm! 

I'm also a bit annoyed with a friend. She skypes me a couple of times a week,  which is fine, and we have a really good old natter, and indugle in daftness.   Or we used to.  Now she had bought herself a laptop and thinks it okay to skype me whilst she is watching TV with her mum.   So I find myself competing with her TV, and also her mum!   I just think it is plain rude, last night was the final straw, not only was she watching the X factor, but her mum and aunty were sitting close by and chatting away.   I know I've got to say something, but I don't want to appear rude, yet I feel she is being very rude. 

I've ordered a couple of books from Amazon, one was mentioned on an Agony Aunt page.  The Agony Aunt was replying to a lady who was finding it difficult to get over the death of her grandfather.  The reply was full of good advice,  I feel like handing it to my counsellor.  Anyway I read a few reviews about the books and they were very complimentary.

Ah, hailstorm is over!   Wondering what the heavens will chuck down next?   I do love our weather, it is never boring. 

Have a lovely crafty week. 

Red mist descending!

Today I finally heard from the DWP regarding my medical for my PIP claim, it is on the 1st October!  That will mean it will have taken them 6 months to complete my claim, how ridiculous is that?   On the DWP site it says it should take no more than 3 months...   Well it took over a month for the form to arrive,  I was asked to send it back in good time, which I did, that was in July. So why does it then take ATOS over two and a half months to arrange a medical.  Moreover why is it in Ormskirk?   To say I am fuming would be an understatement.  I fired off an email to Duncan Smith,  and added that I am already being treated for depression and anxiety,  and asking how all this added stress has added to my condition.   They didn't even need to dump DLA,  it just needed to be tightened up, and ATOS replaced.    I would however like to say something about the DWP staff, at least those that I have encountered, all have been extremely polite and very helpful,  a pity they are being managed by a useless minister.

Moan over.  No crafting, well can you blame me?   I did start something yesterday,  but then I got the email from the Craft Barn saying my order was on its way, so crafting is on hold as I need a few bits from the order to complete the project.   Instead today was a boring day, laundry and housework,  the latter involves a few flicks of a duster.    I also tidied up the craft space,   well it had reached the point where I could no longer see my craft mat! 

And the photo?   A case of 'only in America'.  I took this in Santa Monica, me and my two friends were just walking down this street and we spotted the 'chicken' car,  it made us all giggle.

Now to enjoy a much needed glass of Black Stump.

Septembers shivers

On Wednesday I had on a T shirt, linen trousers and a pair of flip flops, today I am freezing!   I hope summer comes back to give us one last glorious week.

Well this weeks crafting hasn't gone well,  I've not felt much like sitting at my craft desk.  I did manage to make a tag, which I can't put on here yet as it is for a swap.   I even paid a visit to the craft shop in the hope of finding inspiration.  I did get some lovely papers and some Crafty Individual stamps, that are minatures of their dies.  I used the dragon flies on this little creation, along with the new paper.


I also got the gelli plate out.  I used some iridescent acrylic paint and a mask.  I'd been watching Barbara Gray on CnC the week before,  so I've got the amount of paint down to a T, but I had also noticed the gelli plate felt dry.  So thank you Barbara for your tip to use some baby oil on the gelli plate, it worked a treat.    I decided to have a spending spree and so visited the craft barn to get some more masks,  the local craft shop hasn't got a great selection.  So can't wait for them to arrive and  whatever else I ordered.

This is the set of stamps I got, all small, but a lovely set.  I've fallen in love with the dragon flies.  I've got four of the dies that match these stamps, would so love the bird cage,  and then I saw some lovely Marianne dies on CnC,  but since I'd spent some pennies at the craft barn I had to give them a miss.

I had a nice day yesterday.  I met up with a friend for a coffee, and we popped into an MBS fair.  I then caught up with two more friends who I haven't seen for a while.  And I allowed myself another two treats,  one of which is a gorgeous Jade cross,  I spotted it and just couldn't resist.  It had a lot of other jade beads,  but it was too tight, so the rest of the beads will go into a bracelet,  I put the cross onto a piece of leather.  My other treat was a banner,  which has a quote on it, one of those Buddha quotes.   For the moment it is hanging on the door, but when I get round to decorating the hall I'll hang it on the wall.

I was going to watch the Last Night of the Proms,  it was something that mum never missed.  She loved classical music.  I'd often find her conducting the orchestra during the Proms season!   But it was too much so I watched a film on 9/11,  which made me feel just as sad.   I also had a few 'bumps' in the night.  The first was happened at around 3 a.m. on Friday,  I was just getting back to sleep when there was an almighty bang,  nervously I went to investigate, the flat was locked up and everything seemed normal, till I looked down the stairs.  At the bottom of the stairs by the front door there are two cupboards for the electricity and gas meter,  they are also handy for storing stuff. One has paint tins, and it seems two decided to fall down.  I put them back the next day, made sure they were alright and in the middle of the afternoon another terrific bang,  yep, the paint tins had fallen out again!   I took the hint and got rid of all the old paint,  fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again.

Not sure what will take my crafty fancy this week, I like the look of the ABAC challenge,   that seems to have tickled a few creative juices. 

All for now, many thanks for stopping by, have a lovely week.