trimmingthesails

And the winner is ... plus (gulp) ...

And the winner ...
of Sian's Pass The Book Painted Pages is ... drumroll! ... Harriet! Many congratulations, Harriet, and if you can email me your details for receiving post, then the lovely Painted Pages will be on its way to you. And commiserations to those of you who would have liked it this time - but in a month or so, Harriet will be giving you the chance to try again. Thank-you to you all for entering. :)

And the gulp is for ...
a scrapbook page which is not digital, has got lots of flowered paper in, and is ... ermmm ... purple. It's the talented Julie's fault, really: after Going Postal, she's Going Purple. All shades. It's quite a sight to behold. She's not gone too far yet, so you'll have no trouble catching up. But be warned - the consequences may have a huge effect on your creating, making and wardrobe! (I speak as one who has dye pots and a skirt at the ready for Friday.)

And thank-you to the Simple Aussie Girls on whose current sketch challenge this is based - do have a look at their wonderful interpretations. Lurking at the back of my mind for a year and a half now, these photos suddenly swam into view with titles and a sentence of journalling ready to go. I love it when that happens!

There have been many thoughtful comments this week on the LSNED entries; I've been very moved by your willingness to contribute and share your own experiences - thank-you :)

Oh my, I can see midweek mayhem marching madly in my direction: may all your moments be marvellously merry!

 

Phew!

Yes, I know that needing not to be caught up is fashionable but I do like not having things hanging around! So it is with some relief that pages 19-24 of Learn Something New Every Day are now complete:

 The brevity of this post is accounted for in day 24! Now where's that floor mat and cushion ... Hoping to be compos mentis corporis (is that a phrase?) by Wednesday!

Passing the Painted Pages and LSNED ...

Roll up, roll up! It's your once-in-a-lifetime (well, for at least a month) chance to have Sarah Ahearn Bellemare's Painted Pages sent to you for free, anywhere in the world! It came courtesy of the thoughtful and generous Sian to begin with (whom you might like to go and congratulate on her latest exciting news), has had a sojourn with the talented Sandie, (love those shoes in her header), and is now awaiting a new owner - will it be you? Let me know in the Comments below if you'd like to be in the draw, which will take place next Wednesday! Aesthetically, I loved the feel of this book with its soft cover, the size of it (almost square), and the pretty colours ...

What's it about? The intro to the Intro says it all: "This is a book about finding your way, your own way, in the everyday, to be creative and make art." I loved it! Alongside dipping into its inspiring pages, I've also been forging ahead with my own for LSNED 2011 (pages all now together in the album in the sidebar):

OK, so I am not quite caught up, but will have to be by Monday because it's fast approaching the end of both September and Learn Something New Every Day. And, as I could have added to the 18th above, Left-Overs Never Get Finished: They Just Grow Fur. Get Them Shifted!

How's your own LSNED going? If you don't 'keep up' with a project, does it ever get done or it is just (ouch!) abandoned?

Posting change ...

... and will be posting on Saturdays, rather than Fridays. Autumn slipping into the garden here amidst the last of the summer sun:

And hope to see you tomorrow!

LSNED contd ...

... though it's continuing slowly rather than apace. There have been comings and goings and more comings here, and it's been a litle dreich ...

Still, here's where the page design is up to:


In fact, with all this ebb and flow, I think I am, more or less, a basket-case! But hoping to be more compos mentis by Friday. :)

 

It was SOS ...

 ... at the weekend. Sorry to be so histrionic. Having learnt that putting on your reading glasses with a needle in the same hand isn't clever, and that working in bare feet with a precariously-balanced paper guillotine on the desk above is off the Silly Scale, I'm not quite out of drama-queen mode. Deep breath. So, that was S for successfully painting the wooden magnets masquerading as draft-pieces (befogged? see here), and O for organising some pretty paper scraps and ribbons ...

Even Gladys looked Surpised when they were finished ...  


She didn't seem to mind either that they weren't perfectly straight or even, and is clearly taking a leaf out of my crafting friend Karen's book, whose motto is ... but I'll leave her to tell you that herself in the title of her very first post, over here. We've been nagging gently persuading her to begin a blog and despite her assertion that she didn't know when she'd be back to post again, there's a couple of pretty things on there already. If you'd like to welcome her and her many creative talents (you ain't seen nuthin' yet) to the crafting blogosphere, please do pop over and say 'hi'!

Sorry to cut and run -  it's time for another Soothing Ointment Session, along with some Sighing Over Stupidity ... :).

  

A cornucopia of congrats to Kirsty ...

... who is 200 posts old today, over at the richly inventive and creative Curiouser and Curiouser! Have you arrived here from Alison's lovely Life in the Slow Lane? Welcome!

And to celebrate, Kirsty thoughtfully posted us each a very pretty embellishment and asked us to make something with it for today. Being also this month the lucky recipient of Sian's Pass the Book, I've been reading about how to jumpstart creativity with a pinboard of inspiring items - remember pinboards? The precursor to Pinterest? Nope? Oh to be so young! Read on ...

Great idea, I thought. I think I'm ready for this. Unearthing and deconstructing my DD's magnetic board from when she last lived at home eight years ago left me with a white surface (good) and a clutch of pink and grey wooden circles which bore a distinct ressemblance to pieces for a game of draughts (not so good). Then Kirsty's lovely embellie leapt to my gaze smiling and waving "Look at me!" - and with a swoosh of blue paint and a swizzle of ModPodge, a sweet magnet was born ...

So thank-you, Kirsty - I will be making another four in similar colourways, and will be remembering you and being inspired by your own creativity every time I look at them. :)

(Oh, and I will be passing on the Painted Pages book next week, so do pop back if you are interested.).

And, ending with a fanfare, here are some of my favourite moments of Kirsty's; do go and have a browse as you pop back to her here, and so close the blog hop loop.

• Favourite page? This one - keep scrolling down below the photo.
• Favourite line? "I have a love-hate relationship with my Masters, but without the love part." Read the rest of her further degree lament in this post.
• Favourite story? Oh, we're spoilt for choice here. I really enjoyed the cider one. But then there's also the one about the snails ...

Bon, euh, alors, Kirsty ... félicitations et merci pour tout, et je te souhaite une journée - non, une année - merveilleuse. :)

(Please, Miss, did I pass?)

Polaroid Picnic ...

Popping photos into a polaroid frame in Photoshop for LSNED (Learn Something New Every Day) is not an unmitigated pleasure - I love the end effect, but the dropping and resizing takes time. And 'simple' also means 'quick' this week! So hurrah for finding Rita and The Coffee Shop Blog (via Celeste's super blogpost) where her wonderful Polaroid Effect action does it in one fell swoop, drop shadow and all. For those of you who like a little experimentation from time to time in Photoshop or Elements, you'll find it over here (sixth on the list) and if you're unsure how to load actions, comprehensive instructions here make it, yes you've guessed, a picnic! Here's how they look:


A lovely reader has been on my mind this week and I really wanted to include her in my 9 September entry, but felt she deserved more space. You may remember my post some weeks ago on clouds? Just look what came via email:

Digital mail art definitely rules OK! I was very touched and delighted, Miriam, and thank-you. (And you clearly have the art of drop shadows perfected to a T!). Do call in on Miriam; her own LSNED is shaping up delightfully, and I learnt a number of things I didn't know!

And this feels a good place to say a warm and heart-felt thank-you to you all for popping in so often, whether you're dashing through, perching on the porch step, or sitting down on the veranda and putting your feet up - I really appreciate your being here. :)

So that's zilch ...

... as far as playtime and letting-off-steam time goes, since days 7, 8 and 9 of Learn Something New Every Day are still in process. When I get to rule the universe, I'll be issuing everyone with a clutch of Stop-The-World cards. :)

In the meantime, my eye was caught by the lovely LOs and challenge from The Simple Aussie Girls this week. Based on an advert from a magazine (and you know how I love those), I couldn't resist.

Himself was dubious. Cue: head cocked on one side, eyes flicking from screen to print-out and a sharp sucking-in of breath through pursed lips. OK, so I've popped the double-pager onto an A4 landscape, and yes, I may have trimmed off a few photos and, fine, I hold my hands up, reversed the design. Plus, I left room to punch holes for the spiral binding. But I think it's close enough to count ... no? It does, in any case, make me smile just to look at it, and given the week I am having, that's a bonus. Even if there are no extra hours off for good conduct. :).

Can I do it, can I do it ...?

Yes I can, yes I can ... Oh hello! Sorry, it's the hours of reading aloud the stories of Thomas the Tank Engine, as he encourages himself to pull those chattering and naughty trucks up the very steep hill. But I think I can. Still catch up on LSNED, that is. I've read the prompts, taken photos and made notes - but it's the putting it together on which I am a little tardy. Still, here's days 4, 5 and 6:

And if I manage to get days 7, 8 and 9 done by Wednesday, the Fat Controller says I can go and let off steam with the other engines. D'you know, I really think I need to find some grown-up books. Just wait there on the platform while I uncouple myself ...