Completed 2011 calendar challenge

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas?

I just wanted to post my 12 calendar pages from the calendar challenge over at Kates blog.

I have kept up all year, sometimes lagging behind, but I did it!

This has been an amazing challenge and I really enjoyed looking back over all my pages and reading about my year.

I have completed all pages but I noticed when uploading the photos that I have not taken photos of some of the filled in pages! I don't know why, I thought I had, but as I already uploaded them I cant be bothered to go back and take photos, edit them and repost!

 

  

 

 Still a couple of days left to complete on this one

 

I also added a couple of extra pages- a 2011 roundup where I picked a couple of things from each month to highlight

A recap page where I have journalled about things such as dreams fulilled in 2011 and challenges faced and my goals for 2012.

I do intend to carry on with this challenge in 2012, the sketchbook I used still has loads of pages left so I will continue in the same book.

I would like to say a big thankyou to Kate for hosting this and linking everyone up each month. I have found some fab blogs through this and have enjoyed seeing everyones pages every month.

Now, I had better find some time to get started on my Jan 2012 page!

TFL

Sami x

JOY days 17-22 and a very merry xmas!

A quick catch up on my JOY album

 Day 17-watching Bloodstone Dance Paige and Trav our good friends are in Bloodstone

 Day 17/18- Paige and Trav and wrapping the gifts

 Day 18/19-Thanks Sis and busy bees garden centre

 Day 19/20- tree decoration tradition and our Yule celebration(2 days early because of my birthday!)

 Day 20/21-Yule celebration (photo covered up because some people may not want their photo online) and Equals xmas party with the friendship group

 Day 21/22-photos from xmas party and Yule

 Day 22- up the Longstone at dawn

 Day 22 continued-my birthday celebrations and the wonderful dinner and cake my sister made for me

Day 22 continued- birthday tags and other bits from the day

Well, I am up to date but I will probably have to have a big catch up after xmas as from tomorrow it will be hectic!

I would just like to say a BIG THANKYOU to all the wonderful bloggers I follow for your inspiration and friendship and to the beautiful people who leave such lovely comments for me, and return again and again to my little blog! You don't realise how much your comments keep me going with my art and i really appreciate the time you take to comment.

Wishing you all a very  merry christmas and a happy new year!

See you soon

Sami x

JOY days 12-16

Just a quick catch up,

JOY albulm days 12-16

(Again, don't enlarge the first picture if you are of a sensitive nature as there are rude words, although some of my followers were annoyed that even after they had enlarged it they couldn't see them properly!!!!!)

 Day 12-another trip to the dreaded dentist

 Days 12 &13-visiting a friend in hospital and gift giving

 Days 13 &14-list of prezzies I have bought for people and friendship and community

 Day 14 &15-ladies of the friendship group and things I am grateful for

 Day 15&16-my gratitude list and one of my winter solstice poems. This page was inspired by this beautiful mandala on pinterest.

Day 16- My other winter solstice poem

Well, I am off to battle my way around the shops, I still need to pick up a couple of xmas gifts for people, and then I am going to watch my wonderful friends do some dancing in the town square with Bloodstone border Morris.

TFL

Sami x

Decorations and Joy

Hello! Just some more photos of my JOY albulm today and a couple of Xmas makes.(Warning do not enlarge the last photo of my JOY albulm if you have a sensitive nature as you will find some really rude words spelt out with fridge magnets!)

My son was off school for a few days last week with a nasty cold so we decided to make some salt dough ornaments. I am not doing xmas cards this year, waste of money and trees, so instead we thought we would give people decorations for their trees.

We doubled up on the salt dough mixture (recipe is 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water if anyones interested!) as when my group of ladies made Dias last month for Diwali out of salt dough we didn't quite have enough.

We had way too much this time though and must have ended up with a 100 ornaments!

 We rolled out the dough and used cookie cutters for the shapes. We then used a selection of stamps to imprint each shape. We then baked in the oven at 200 degrees until they went hard.

 We then spent about 6 hours painting them all and adding the thread to hang them. Some of them went a bit soft after painting but after a few days left drying out they harded up again. They look really pretty!

 At our crop on saturday I made some leather journals for the kids and me. I have been meaning to make some for a while but never got around to it but after watching Kirsties homemade christmas last week I was inspired to have a go! I couldn't get any leather so I bought upholstery leather vinyl stuff from the fabric shop. They turned out really well, my sons is the brown one filled with plain paper, my daughters is the black one with the pink ribbon which I filled with pastel coloured paper and mine is the black one at the back and it is filled with squared paper.

 Day 7 JOY-some of the ladies at the group where I work making xmas decorations

 Day 8-making the xmas ornaments

 Day 9- a new haircut

 Day 10-last crop of the year

 Day 11-Shelby and Trav

Reverse of day 11-naughty words (do not enlarge this photo as you may be offended!)

I have been a bad blogger this week and have not had any time to go looking at peoples blogs so If I havn't commented on yours I will try today to get round to you!

TFL

Sami x

Confession to Santa and JOY days 1-6

Dear Secret Santa (via Carmens santa swap),

I need to be put in the naughty corner with Paige, as on saturday

 THIS WONDERFUL PARCEL arrived for me, from you.

I tried SOOOOO hard to resist but it was packaged so temptingly and squeezing and shaking revealed nothing, my will power is non existent, so I was a very bad girl and I opened it!

 Will you forgive me if I tell you how fan-tab-oulsly wonderful your gift was???!!!

I was blown away with the thought and effort you had put into my gift and the beautiful letter you wrote me.

 Your handcrafted Smash style art journal you made for me is fantastic!!I love it, I love all of it and can't wait to use it. You also attached a pencil case full of goodies to the book, sent a golden dragonfly (my totem animal) added a big crafy 'S' for me to decorate and sent me an awesome Tracy Bunkers book on hand stamping.  I think I got the best secret santa...sssh, don't tell anyone that! I hope I get to find out who you are in the New Year so I can send you a personal thank you.

Thank you so much, you made my day, week, month!!

I am so sorry if I have disapointed you by opening it early, but I am the same very year, I just can't wait for nought!!!

THANKYOU< THANKYOU>THANKYOU!!!!!

Confession done, hopefully apology accepted and no coal in my christmas stocking, here are days 1-6 of my JOY album.

 Day one

 Day two

 Day Three

 Day four

 Day five

Day six

I am struggling a bit with this as other years I have done it scrapbook/mini book style with the latest xmas papers and embellies. I have to keep reminding myself that this year its not about looking pretty, its an honest and true (and somedays boring!) acount of my December, in an art journal style as I get to stressed trying to keep up everyday when Im trying to make it perfect!

TFL

Sami x

Calendar Challenge and first day of JOY!

Hello! Here is Novembers (almost finished) page for the calendar challenge over at Kates Blog.

I can't believe its the 1st of December already, where has this year gone?

 November Page

 December page

I used Dylusions paints and sprays, sequin waste, chalk inks and a Tim Holtz stamp.

I drew the trees on book pages and collaged them on. I drew the Holly King and the Oak King to represent Yule.

At Yule the Holly King and the Oak King battle to rule the land. At this time the Holly King loses and reliquishes his crown to the Oak King who will rule until Summer Solstice, when they will do battle again.

After the Winter Solstice the sun climbs a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day and our ancestors celebrated the rebirth of the Sun King, who was the giver of life that warmed the frozen earth back to life.

Here are the first few pages of my JOY book (Journal our Yule) I am going for a more art journal look to my album this year.

Front inside cover and some tags I have made

JOY title page

My goals for this Yule

Christmas saying and a little bit about Yule

Rest of the Yule page and my Day 1 page ready for me to journal on later today.

TFL

Sami x