Happy New Year

I always use this time of year to reflect on the year that has gone and to make goals for the coming year. More often than not I start off with the best of intentions which gradually dwindle as the year progresses. Next year will probably not be any different, but I will give it a try. Blog land has opened my life to so many new friends and for this I am extremely grateful. For all of your support, friendship, encouragement - it gives me the incentive and hope to go on and continue with my journey. If I try I won't succeed and I can and do learn from my mistakes. I look forward to continuing this journey with you, sharing in your joys, hopes, dreams, successes and together, let us fly to where our muse takes us and where our dreams unite us. Wishing you all a Happy New Year and may 2009 bring happiness and joy into your hearts and lives.

I'm Back!

We're back from a wonderful holiday away. We had perfect weather and lots of time to relax, read and shop. The male family members enjoyed the fishing and caught some huge snapper, lots of whiting and crabs. I spent the majority of time doing puzzles, reading books about raising a teenager and a book about losing weight! Hmmmm. New Year's resolution coming up. I only sketched one picture while I was away and I am hoping to paint it in the next week or so - I'll show you once I get started - it is called "New Beginnings". I finished this doodle, sorry the photo is blurry. Well, it doesn't seem like I was even away, it was back to work today, a day off tomorrow to get my Christmas grocery shopping and organising done, then back to work on Wednesday. The child care centre where I work closes down between Christmas and New Year and I won't have to go back to work until the 5th January, so it will be a nice break. My sister arrived from New Zealand a week ago, with her daughter, to live here, so we have been busy looking at houses on the internet and having nice long chats. They will live with us until they get settled here. I have some photos to show you - the view from where we were staying, my DH and one of the DS's with the fish they caught, my daughter with a joey she fed (the owners of the villas were fauna rescuers and looking after 2 joeys), one of the joeys - how cute is he!, and of course, my doodle.

Sharing some sketches

I have been too busy to paint this past week, yet I still have one more angel to complete as a Christmas present. It will have to wait unfortunately, as my family and I are off on holiday (vacation) to the beach (it is summer in Australia) for a week, returning 20th December. I will take my sketch book, so hopefully will have something to show you upon my return. These sketches that I share with you are just rough ones, I haven't even rubbed out a lot of the guide lines, but each night I try and sketch some girls. It is most interesting to look back on my sketches, some are really quite awful. A couple of these I really like and will paint them - I quite like my heart shaped girls and their spirally hair. I also just like to sketch and experiment, it's a lot of fun. Hope you manage to get your Christmas shopping done (I did majority of mine on line), and enjoy this wonderful festive season. Talk to you when I get back.

Christmas Cheer

Sorry, I haven't done any painting, but have finished this applique wall hanging (it is a pattern by The Chook Shed - well I think it is by memory). It is a teacher gift (school finishes next week here in Australia and the children start their new school year at the end of January with new teachers). Over the years I have made countless Away in the Manager wall hangings for friends and teachers - yes, that's right, so many I have lost count. Do I have one myself? Nooooo. I have never had the time to make one for me. Do you find that? Do you give away everything you make and have nothing left but memories? I love to see the joy my creations give to others, but gee I wish I had some of my stuff for display in my own home, LOL. Three of my angel paintings have gone to their new homes. My work colleague was thrilled with hers, so were the rest of the staff, they all want one of their own. One work friend was talking about how she hadn't had enough money to buy much for her Secret Santa person and asked how long it would take for me to paint an angel. I explained that it was quite time consuming and I wouldn't be able to do it for a week. Meanwhile her Secret Sister recipient asked if I could paint her an angel with brown hair and blue eyes and that she would pay me for it. When I got home I wrapped up the brown haired, blue eyed angel and gave it to my work friend to give to her Secret Santa recipient. She was overcome, and just about shed tears - she was so grateful. I said, if I had another one she could have that for herself and have promised to paint her one of her own as soon as I can. It was such a good feeling to make someone's simple wish come true. It was quite weird actually, because the painting was destined for someone in the UK, but for a couple of days I had been having second thoughts about sending it, so I guess that must have been the reason. Christmas really is about the joy of giving.

Two more angels completed

Had a good day in the studio today, completing two more angels. I rubbed gold rub 'n buff on the molding paste angel wings and it looks quite effective and incidentally, quite festive (she is meant to be a Christmas Wichtel angel). She flies off to the US tomorrow. The other angel has embossed cardstock on her wings, rubbed over by a Brilliance gold inkpad and surrounded by seed pearls. I'm really happy with how they have both turned out. Only have my blonde angel to finish off and that's it.

Yesterday I received this gorgeous painting that I bought from Sherry Carrigan, a wonderful artist. It is my Christmas present to myself. I could really relate to the sentiment of this painting - getting older and greyer "age is nothing more than maturity of the heart". It's just beautiful. Check out Sherry's blog and Etsy store, you are sure to find something you like.

Back to work tomorrow, so not a lot of art will happen at home. My cold isn't any better, in fact I think it has got worse but I'm sure I'll get better soon.

Oh, check out my niece's website, Chavah Kinloch, she has a special giveaway on her blog - you need to perform a random act of kindness and blog about it linking back to her site.

First completed angel

Yes, today I completed one of my angel girls. Thanks for everyone for their suggestions for wings. For this angel I used mulberry paper (I've had it in my stash for years, and years, and years ...). I think it works quite well as a wing. I've used German scrap for a trim around her gold and bronze lumiere painted dress. The quote on the pictures says "We are each of us ANGELS, with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another". She is for a work colleague for our Secret Santa swap on Friday.

My other angel has a wing courtesy of Golden molding paste. I masked her body and around the wing with masking tape, placed a crocheted doily on top and used a palette knife to smooth the paste over the doily. I then peeled off the doily (and immediately washed it), and the masking tape, and was left with this beautiful textured finish. (See the close up photo) I am thinking of rubbing some gold on it - what do you think? I really need to get her finished so I can get her in the post to the US on Friday. She is being sent to an unsuspecting secret sister as part of the Milliande Wichtel swap.

I still have a horrible cold and constantly sneezing, wiping my nose and my eyes streaming but I am having such fun painting these lovely girls. I already have my next project in mind - bought the canvas today for it - I am going to paint a pretty girl (ala Willowing and Suzi Blu) for my daughter for Christmas - can't wait!