Making the best of it

Photos of a small fluffy thing moving quickly? In a cage, in poor light? Never going to be brilliant. But the story was far too important not to record. Little Waldy is one very persistent degu, and quite inspirational.

Loving layered embellishments, stickers and paint splashes. And life with the degus.

An autumn weekend

This weekend I have mostly been...

Finding new paths. I have driven on these roads all my life and I've never parked up and explored beyond the hedge. It's very special to walk slowly along, looking for fruit, listening for squirrels and soaking in the beauty of it all.

Foraging for blackberries. More than I can carry, mostly small but sweet and full of flavour. Every so often you can find a big juicy one, hidden behind a leaf or protected by a bramble. They taste all the better for having to fight to get them. 

Being grateful. Somewhere after crossing this stile I dropped my phone (which is what I was using to take these photos). We walked on and eventually left....a couple of hours later I realised what had happened and we returned to trace our steps. Before we had even parked the car, someone rang to say they had found my phone in the long grass and where could they meet me to return it. I am amazed that they found it, and that they returned it. People are good.

Resting. Much like these little sweeties in the pet shop. I wish I could take them home, but I don't think a certain pussy cat would approve.

Being inspired. Taking photographs for future reference (and sketching). Enjoying colours, shapes and scents.

Doing things differently. Being outdoors doing stuff means I'm not indoors making stuff. I'm making the most of it while the sun still shines, and it feels good.

Simple inspiration

Remember this page from yesterday?


I had a lovely message to ask if I'd be happy to be the 'Inspiration du jour' on Craft Gossip. But of course!

Golden

I love autumn. The colours are beautiful, the air feels fresh, and it's the season of my birthday. What more could I ask for?

I've spent the last four days in beautiful Gloucestershire with Mindy. Nothing fancy or complicated, just four days away from all the stress and worries of home. Some shopping, some sightseeing. Lots of coffee and cake. Some humour (no, vegetarians don't eat bacon), some assertiveness (if I say this meal is too spicy, then it is, ok?) and some terrifying moments (did you know you can fit a car through the gap in the pedestrian barrier in the Ikea car park? Well you can.)

One of the best things about the weekend was the number of independent shops, artists and craftspeople that we found. Cheltenham was hosting By Local, a brilliant collection of art and craft from local people, occupying a shop that would otherwise be empty. We spent ages in there admiring the work, and couldn't leave without a souvenir or two. In Cirencester we found M.A.D.E., which I think might just be the prettiest shop in the world. It's thrilling to see somewhere so packed with handmade goodies. In fact, Cirencester was a lovely town altogether. Beautiful old buildings, some lovely cafes, independent retailers...and not a Primark in sight.

I took my sketchbook away with me and I didn't draw a thing. Instead of working on completing projects I have come back feeling inspired with new ideas, colours and textures. The previously mentioned trip to Ikea has brought me some new storage and I finally feel totally comfortable in my craft room. Maybe I should start calling it a studio now? I have so many ideas flying around now that I can't wait to get started on making some of them a reality. Autumn might be a season of endings, as the year draws to a close and nature packs itself away, but I feel like it's the start of something big.

Inspiration

When I actually studied art, Rene Magritte was always one of my favourites. Not the most fashionable surrealist, I liked his thought-provoking images. This one, Empire of Light, is not one of his most famous paintings, but I love it. I'm not sure how long I looked at it before I realised what was 'wrong' with it.


I used to have a copy of it on my bedroom door. It was the first thing I thought of when I took this photo yesterday:

Sunset over Newport and the sky looked like it was on fire. This photo is almost SOOC, but I will admit to bumping up the colours a little bit. Who could resist?