One last post for Pluggers United Team!

I just couldn't let 2008 go without one last post for the Pluggers United Team, now could I?

Still being in holiday mood it was fun to trawl through the items that this great team have listed on Etsy.

For instance:

Now I know it is a little late in the day to be sending seasonal cards but this could be sent for other anniversaries as well!

 

Church Window - Handmade Note Card with Original Photography by Mercyming

 

Mr and Mrs Gingerbread Towel by Sew Happy Designs

These would be wonderful any time of year!

Looking ahead to the next 'event' which will be Valentine's Day I stumbled across this listing .. isn't he cute?

Cavalier King Charles Valentine Figurine by The Magic Sleigh

 

 

For my final item in my selection from this talented team I had to include this one!

Happy Belly Tea by Omshanti

Ate too much pizza last night? That deadline giving your tummy problems? Try Happy Belly Tea. A blend of chamomile, peppermint and fennel seed -- all known for their beneficial effects on the digestive system -- makes Happy Belly Tea both tasty and effective.

Just couldn't resist that last one which is useful any time of year!

All that's left is to wish everyone a wonderful 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last day of 2008

Whilst we spend the last few hours of 2008 reflecting on the past year, our mistakes, our joys and achievements, we should still be looking forward to another wonderful year ahead.  Life is what we make of it with a little luck thrown in!  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't so well.  It's all trial and error!

I am not trying to make light of situations but just feel you have to try to think ahead..... you know, the light at the end of the tunnel idea again?

Well, whilst you are all doing that I decided to have one more listing on Etsy for 2008!  Actually my shop On A Whimsey is just over a year old and I am pleased with what I have achieved so far.  I have loads of ideas in the pipeline for 2009.

Meanwhile, I digress!  Here is my latest addition to my shop.....

Pastel Pansies - giving us the hope that a lovely spring is just around the corner!

I love the delicate petals that pansies have with their meaningful centres which seem to give them all a soul!  Here I used my new hot air gun to swirl the different colours around the canvas.

That just leaves me one more thing to do and that is to wish each and everyone of you a very hopeful, good, healthy and happy New Year!!

Thank you all for your continued support - I do so appreciate it and look forward to seeing you and meeting new readers in 2009.

Amidst so much trouble and strife....

It saddens me to hear stories about so many folk who are suffering through illness or the loss of their jobs.  LIfe is not easy at the moment, for anybody.

Money is in short supply and what there is needs to be carefully used and spread on the necessities of life rather than the luxuries we have come to expect as normal.

I feel particularly sorry for those who have never seen life where you have to be careful and think ahead.  There was always 'another' job for those who seemed unhappy in their current positions.  Money was no problem either; you just spent what you earned because there would always be more.  Right?  Wrong! Times have changed and now is really the time to learn prudence.

However, on a more realistic note, please remember that however bad things appear now, there will always be someone out there who is worse off.  These times, though hard, will pass and there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.  So have faith, take the moment to re-evaluate your lives.  Find out what the really important issues are and how they affect you as well as your nearest and dearest.  Out of this situation you will emerge a stronger and, hopefully, wiser person who will be able to help others less fortunate.

So, rather than dwelling on the miseries of the present look to the future with hope and put a spring in your step!

Remember, faith, hope and charity!

The Muse .... She has returned!

My long suffering friend has returned! My Muse. Oh, I have been truly lost without her and have just drifted along with no real ideas or aim regarding my encaustics. This is really unusual for me but now I hope to be all geared up again.

At least with all those Christmas preparations over and done with I now have more time to devote to creating again. What really helped was that I was given a hot air gun with variable heat settings as a Christmas present. This would make hot air work so much more easy to do rather than fight with my hair dryer all the time when the hot air and wax had lives of their own!

Anyway, my first creation for quite some time has now been completed and I have listed it on http://onawhimsey.artfire.com

It is entitled The Eyes Have It. I love flowers and I guess I often look right into their centres and imagine I can see into their souls through their eyes. Using several layers of colours I moved the hot air gun over the box canvas. To add detail I used another small iron attached to the hot stylus to create the flower aspect. The final detail of the eyes was added with the hot stylus. The grasses around the painting which were also taken around the sides were added with my encaustic iron. So, there you have it. A touch of fantasy with some thought thrown in for good measure!

A very merry Christmas!

Without further ado, I would like to thank all my readers for joining me in my various escapades during the year, the highs and lows!

The parcels/presents are all wrapped and sitting invitingly under the tree... no feeling them to guess what is inside!  The shopping has been completed apart from the few last minute items.  The food is being prepared and readied for cooking on the big day.  Light up the lights, pull a cracker or two and share a 'not so funny' joke with a funny hat on whilst you try to play with plastic toy from the cracker.  Don't you love tradition?

So it just leaves me the important job to wish you all the merriest of Christmases.  May your cup be overflowing, as they say!  Some of you will be experiencing a white Christmas (and how!) whilst the rest of us in parts of UK will be enjoying a cool, damp day.  Where ever you are, may your Christmas be peaceful, share with family and friends bringing you fond memories to relish over the years to come.

Minstrels a Christmas Poem by William Wordsworth

The minstrels played their Christmas tune
To-night beneath my cottage-eaves;
While, smitten by a lofty moon,
The encircling laurels, thick with leaves,
Gave back a rich and dazzling sheen,
That overpowered their natural green.

Through hill and valley every breeze
Had sunk to rest with folded wings:
Keen was the air, but could not freeze,
Nor check, the music of the strings;
So stout and hardy were the band
That scraped the chords with strenuous hand.

And who but listened?--till was paid
Respect to every inmate's claim,
The greeting given, the music played
In honour of each household name,
Duly pronounced with lusty call,
And "Merry Christmas" wished to all.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

The last weekend before Christmas

I guess we will all now be in a flurry of activity as we work through our list of last minute things to do before the BIG day!  Did you remember to get Auntie Flo's present, you know the one that always seems to slip through the net?  Those elusive stocking fillers? And so it goes on.

Oh no!  Now it's snowing!!  Well not here in UK where we live in the south east  where it is just damp and dull.   However, many of my internet friends over in the US are experiencing a lot of snow.  Children love it but the adults just know that after all the digging they just want to sit by the fire with a mug of something lovely and hot!

Encaustics are on hold at the moment.  Too much to do what with shopping, cooking, organising of everything so the creative juices will have to take second place for a few days.  That is the joy of this time of year.  Once the main celebrations are over you can then relax and allow the creative muse to take over again.  I wonder what she will be creating?  Rather an exciting thought!

You wake up to find.....

.... a wonderful surprise in the form of the Butterfly Award! Liv of The Filigree Garden bestowed an award on my blog and mentioned me too!

Whilst you are reading her wonderful blog I am sure she won't mind me mentioning her shop on Etsy which is well worth a look! Here you will find a blend of vintage and new handmade jewellery.

One of the conditions of receiving this award is that I pass on the love to 10 other bloggers! And so, the awards go to the following:

1. Alis Clair
2. Purple Missus
3. The Lone Beader
4. Art Garden
5. Black Rose Creations
6. Art to the Extreme
7. Quilts Galore and More
8. Althea Peregrine
9. Razor Berries
10. Creative Apples
    

Now those receiving the awards are urged to do the following:
1. Post a copy on your blog.
2. Mention who gave you the award.
3. Pass the award on to 10 others.
4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honour has been bestowed upon them.

Happy hunting!!!