thoughtful Friday No. 93

"To affect the quality of the day is

the highest of arts"

Henry David Thoreau

Thoughtful Friday No. 92

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when

you have really lived are the moments when you have done things

in the spirit of love"

Henry Drummond

Thoughtful Friday No. 91

"Every journey has a secret destination of which the traveller is unaware".

Martin Buber

It's finished!

Just before daughter no.2 left for Uganda for her two year stint with Voluntary Service Overseas, we picked out some material for a quilt for me to make for her while she was away.  When I knew she was being sent home to recover from her recent operation, it set too and finished it so it was waiting for her when she arrived home.  It was a labour of love, as are all quilts, but I do love the finished result and more importantly so does she!

Of course there is someone else who loves it too!!

Soooo busy but...

I have been dying to get to this challenge since Michelle posted it but real life has taken over somewhat especially with being away for some of the time and now looking after the lovely daughter no.2 while she recovers as well as work and other necessary things.  Anyhow, yesterday was my first opportunity!  Hooray, an afternoon to myself up in the craft area with all the necessary supplies.  This challenge called for plexiglass - boy did I have trouble finding this here in the UK!  I went to art shops and was told to go to architecture specialists, I went to hardware stores and was told to go to building supply shops but in the end I used a piece of perspex (possibly the same thing but a different name? who knows?) from a photo frame and it did the trick.

Firstly it was a question of brushing paint onto the perspex and then placing a piece of card over and seeing what transpired but, as Michelle said, it was in the second or even third printing (using a stencil and spraying water on the paint) that the really interesting and exciting images emerged.  I got so carried away that I didn't remember to clean the perspex so ended up turning it over!!!  Here are some of the results:

As you can see I made a couple of stencils (from acetate; Michelle suggested tyvek but I didn't know what that was so made a guess!) - three hearts in the end and one sort of tree affair which I didn't like and stopped using after the second attempt.

This was a beautiful image on the perspex itself which went all spidery and centipede like - truly amazing and I have now idea how it did this!

As you can see I used a range of colours and had a great deal of fun!  Daughter no.1 took a look this evening and said "Mum, should you make this into a book, why not sew it together" which I thought was a great idea so that is what I am going to do!  And I will be sure to show the finished result.

Thank you again, Michelle, for taking me out of my comfort zone into new territory and for giving me a really fun afternoon!

This morning, hubby came in with a much larger piece of perspex and said would I like it for to do the same again another time only much larger - would I?  Whoo hooo! Now that might be an outdoor job when the weather is fine and using lots more paint but how exciting to see what results I might get.  I need to perfect the art of cutting stencils but why not think what else I could use?  The mind is whirring!

Thoughtful Friday No. 90

"Even if you have a lot of work to do, if you think of it as wonderful, 

and if you feel it as wonderful, 

it will transform into the energy of joy and fire, 

instead of becoming a burden."

Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

Thoughtful Friday No. 89

"I arise at dawn with a winged heart and

give thanks for another day of loving"

Kahil  Gibran

She's ok!

Last week was quite a week!  And it didn't help that we were away from home at a conference!  However all is well.  Daughter no.2's foot got a lot worse as did her general health and the drs decided that she needed to be flown home to the UK for an operation.  However the flight was scheduled for the day of the ash cloud so despite her bag being packed, she could not come.  Things deteriorated rapidly and she was whipped into theatre for the operation there and then and is now recovering well.  She is being flown home hopefully on Monday where she will recuperate for a while!!  Can't wait to have her back and to give her some much needed TLC.

I have never sent so many texts in my life!  It is the best way to communicate with folk in Uganda so despite the fact that I could only stand in one tiny corner of our accommodation in order to get reception (remember it was north west Wales we were in!) I managed to keep in touch with the lovely daughter no.2 and also with the organisation she is with.

So normal service will resume very soon now and because I had two long journeys (7 hours each way) I have one or two things to show for it!! A bientot!

Concerned!

I had all sorts of plans to write about a lovely birthday weekend with all the girls (2 weeks ago now!!) and Easter etc etc but my weekend has been consumed with concern for lovely daughter no.2 in Uganda who was admitted to hopsital on Friday night.  She has been very poorly with an infection in her foot which is travelling up her leg.  Hospital care in Uganda is so very different from here and she was already misdiagnosed and given the wrong treatment which has slowed the healing process.  I am grateful that I can at least contact her via skype on her phone although a text very early (5.40am our time) said she was running out of battery and didn't have her charger and felt worse!.  It's hard being so very far away at at time like this and although she is very capable, the mother instinct just wants her back here with the right treatment making a good recovery.  Hubby and I are off to Wales tomorrow for a conference where we are both working on exhibtion stands!  To say that I don't feel like doing this would be an understatement however.....

I hope to be back here soon with good news about happy, creative things, till then.....

Thoughtful Friday No. 88

"Art is the only way to run away

without leaving home"

Twyla Tharp

Thoughtful Friday No. 87

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but

have everlasting life"

John 3:16 (the Bible)