Romance

One January night we finally spoke

after admiring from afar

such a romantic beginning

our hearts burned within us

love and commitment from the start

married a year later

now 33 years on

still our hearts burn

with love for each other

and I am so grateful

that you are the one

who loves me like no other

who is my best friend

who is the left hand to my right hand

who believes in me when I doubt myself.

Thank you for these years and for being you

I look forward to another 33, and then some!

I love you.

Thoughtful Friday No. 78

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters,

compared to what lies within us"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Decorating......

bags  - plain brown bags and making them special for a special person

an idea from here and scroll down to the Jan 5th entry.  I love Jenny's blog and her new ideas.  Jenny was Editor in Chief for Stampington until recently when she left to creat her own company - Cresendoh and there are lots of exciting things going to happen over there very soon.  She is one very talented and creative lady with lots of very special connections.  This week she has been at the CHA craft show in the  US where she lives and has given a daily report on who she has met with links to their websites or blogs.  I feel as if I have been on tour with her and have made some new acquaintances!

 Stampington has to be one of my very favourite magazine publishers and craft suppliers.  It seems to me that they produce everything to such a high standard.  Although they are rather hard to find here in the UK, I have found a localish supplier (not good for the bank balance as they are rather expensive).  I particularly love the title "Where women create" which features the studios and creative areas of lovely women who craft in all sorts of mediums.  I also love Artful Blogging, Art Journalling and Somerset Studio and Somerset Life - in fact, let's face it, I love all of the titles!!

Inside these wonderful titles are pages like these

I confess to getting very excited by looking at these wonderful creations and they never fail to inspire me to give things a try. Thank you Jenny and your team at Stampington and I look forward to all you will share with us through Cresendoh.

Creative Every Day endeavours

I've found myself needing to 'spill' on to the page recently in a variety of ways

with a variety of media

It's been a lot of fun and has felt releasing in many ways....  there are a lot of ideas inside that are just

bursting to come out......

and I've had some expert help from here

which has pages like this

and Diana's blog can be found here and her artwork is featured on the latest edition of this

I absolutely love it!

Artistic patience!

This is an amazing work of art and patience which I must share with you.  Why don't you just take a moment, get a cup of something nice to drink and be inspired.


Patience from Glowing Heads on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did.

Thoughtful Friday No. 77

"Our minds are like crows.  They pick up everything that glitters, 

no matter how uncomfortable our nests 

get with all that metal in them."

Thomas Merton

Creative Every Day moments

A collage for my art journal (to be cut up into different shapes)

A journal of words and quotes I find inspiring

some of the inside pages

a walk in the sunshine yesterday in a local park, watching the birds on the lake

and this little fellow who just seemed to love to sing his heart out for us!

Thoughtful Friday No. 76

"Laughter is the sun which drives winter from the human face"

Victor Hugo

Look who's hiding...

someone likes my quilt in progress as much as I do!

but maybe it is time to come out and see what is going on

oh my!

and what's this?  even more?

I think I'll just go back to the sofa and take a nap

meanwhile the smell of freshly baked bread wafts in from the kitchen.....

Thoughtful Friday No. 75

"Good habits are not made on birthdays, nor character at the new year.

The workshop of character is daily life.  The uneventful and commonplace

hour is where the battle is lost or won."

Malbie d. Babcock

Amazing!

I've never seen someone draw in sand so beautifully! Have a creative 
Thursday!

Creative Every Day (CED) Challenge

The CED challenge suggested theme this month is 'body' so here is a much overworked part of the body and one that doesn't get a great deal of blog time, except of course if you knit beautiful socks and like to show them!  As is happens these feet are sporting a delightful new pair of Cath K socks which I received as a Christmas present from daughters 3 and 4 together with some gorgeous new spotty wellies (waiting for their turn to be photographed on another occasion!).

And although this doesn't look as appetising as it was, broccoli and stilton soup was the order of the day yesterday to warm our bodies after an extremely cold day.  Recipe from here.  It was absolutely delicious I have to say.

Thank you cards made using distress inks, a mini brayer and some swirl stamps from here with one or two flowers and flower brads added for interest.

The Creative Every Day Challenge

Happy New Year!
As you can see Tea and Toast has had a makeover for 2010 and I hope you like it.  There are a number of new things I want to take up this year and one of them has been to sign up for the Creative Every Day challenge 
What I like about this is the following, taken straight from the website and gives inspiration, motivation and a little nudge to at least notice what we are creating as we go about our everyday tasks and roles.
If you'd like to join in, it's not too late as you can join at any time - there is real flexibility which I love.
I'll let you know how I get on and will post some of the creative things that happen around here as a result.

Here's to a creative 2010!!
And here is what Leah Piken Kolidas says:

"Creativity is meant in the broadest sense, so it doesn't have to be something art related. Your creative acts could be in cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, singing, playing with your kids, brainstorming ideas, gardening, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay...or whatever!

You do not have to post every day! I know for myself that having to post every day for a year would be too much. You can post about your creativity in whatever form you like, whether that be once a day, a few times a week, once a week, or once a month. Do what works for you!

This is a low pressure challenge, with the idea of bringing more creativity into our lives. I will not be the creativity police. I hope that we can all find ways, simple and grand to express our creative selves. Have fun with it!" from www.creativeeveryday.com

* * * * * * * * * * *

Ginger Spice Cookies featured above which are delicious.  I've made three batches over Christmas!  The recipe and lots of other fantastic ones can be found here at Our Best Bites

Thoughtful Friday No. 74

"And now let us welcome the New Year

Full of things that have never been."

Rainer Maria Rilke