and relax

I have had a truly lovely day today, thanks to my mum and (part of) her birthday gift to me in March.

We both went to the Inside Spa at the Pendle Wavelengths leisure centre in Nelson, Lancashire for a Spa Experience.

After arriving, having a quick drink and signing the usual health and safety form, we grabbed our fluffy robes and towels and headed off to find the changing rooms. Swimming costumes on and it was spa time!

Two* blissful hours spent luxuriating in four different heat rooms:
• Aromatherapy With Essential Oils - quite warm and with a menthol vapour in the air, this started to increase our body temperatures and certainly cleared our airways! I confess I was a bit of a grumpy cow on arrival but, 10 minutes in here and I was relaxed and grump free. Result.
• Sanarium - slightly cooler than a standard sauna and with humidity..I loved this one and it warmed me to my bones.
• Salt Inhalation Steam Room - much hotter and more humid (obviously).
• Sauna - hotter still...I didn't actually make it into here as I'm not a big fan of 'super hot'...it doesn't go well with my colouring you know ;)

There were also Reflexology Footbaths - I so very nearly nodded off here! It's a good thing the bubbles are on a timer or I'd have been a-snoring ;) - Monsoon Showers (hot or cold), a Hydrotherapy Pool, an Ice Fountain and unlimited cold water to sup as we made our way round the spa.

*It's funny, when we first arrived, I couldn't see how we were going to fill the time but after an hour and a half we were so hot, relaxed and blissed-out that we headed for the showers.

The other side effect of the relaxing rooms was a raging hunger, despite having had breakfast before leaving home. Dry and dressed, we headed for our new favourite haunt, Cafe Cargo at Foulridge Wharfe for a bacon butty (Mum) and a Cajun chicken baguette (me) with a good kick to it, and a little more chatting. *happy sigh*

See...a truly, lovely day indeed!

In fact, so lovely that we have pledged to return soon...it's good for the soul don't you know and at mere £13 each, it would be rude not to.

I hope your Tuesday has treated you well.

x

Lambs and daffs

Evening!


I've had a bit of a break from Ditsy Bird for the past couple of months...it was a conscious decision due to problems I'd been having with my right arm. It seemed sensible to cut right back on the sewing, cutting, drawing and painting until it was better, as doing any of the aforementioned delights definitely made it worse. *sad face*
Whilst I was on my sabbatical I had a good long think about the future of Ditsy Bird Designs.
It was becoming startlingly clear that I couldn't, and would never be able to, run the business as a full time affair - simply because, the act of creating large numbers of designs for bulk/wholesale orders would cause me all sorts of RSI related issues. *sob*

This is when I did all sorts of unexpected soul-searching whilst morphing into a domestic goddess to take my mind of the lack of creating in my life. Initially, I considered packing it in altogether...but that was rash & foolish! How could I not 'make' - it's what I do, who I am! I mean...I'd go spare if I had no creative outlet at all...and what of all the 'poof' ideas that pop into my noggin from time to time...what would happen to them? Who would give them life?
Nope. That would not do. Not at all.
So...another long think later plus the interjection of the idea-at-the-back-of-my-mind-that-wants-to-be-heard and I finally came to a decision.
I would continue Ditsy Bird Designs for my pleasure, for a bit of money and in order to help. "Help?", I hear you ask. "How so?". By donating 20% of all my takings to charity is how.

In December 2010, my lovely mum got some truly shitty news. She was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a terminal form of cancer in the internal chest wall (for Mum...it can appear elsewhere), usually caused by exposure to asbestos. See...shitty! There then followed tests, a couple of operations to slow down the bugger's growth and a course of chemotherapy. All of this knocked the stuffing out of my lovely mum for a good few months. But by the end of the year, things were looking up. A cruise with her sisters starting the happy times off perfectly! Then she regained her strength, started to put weight back on and had pink cheeks for the first time in nearly 18 months...yay! Since then, Mum has continued to improve and as of today is looking & feeling tickityboo, with each consultation with the oncologists concluding with 'stable no growth'. Fantastic. *delighted sob* The latest appointment, two weeks ago had Mum coming away with an appointment not for 2 or 3 months later but 6 months. Hoo-bloody-rah-yay!!! *happy dance*

It's been a really tough sixteen months for all concerned (and wow,how far those ripples spread!) but weirdly it's also been a wonderful one. We've been reminded of just how supremely amazing our large and bonkers family is, and just how many fantastic friends we have. But it isn't over and it won't go away. And this is the thing with Mesothelioma...there simply is no cure. It's for that reason amongst many others that I've decided to try and raise money for the Mesothelioma UK Charitable Trust - to raise awareness (we'd never heard of it until the diagnosis!), to support the amazing work they do and to give something back for the fabulous care Mum has had, and will need in the future.
I couldn't find a super-fabby way of doing it so...I will be totting up any takings at the end of each month and, if there are any, I will be paying 20% of it into my Just Giving account.


Ditsy Bird is very much still up and running but with a different agenda and at a different pace.
Thankfully, me being me and stockpiling products as I do, I have lots of stock ready made to add to my shop - I will be slowly working my way through brooches, hair clip, gift tags, cards, masks, necklaces, rings, embroidered hoops, paintings and whatever else I can find...adding them as I go.

Why the lambs and daffs then? Well, that's because I love Spring (even if it is so terrifically wet) and wanted to share the love with a discount on my wares! If you enter the code LAMBSANDDAFFS at checkout on the website or in my Etsy shop, you will get 20% off your order. 


Well I'd best get back to the listing before the call of the sofa and Fringe gets too strong! Have a lovely weekend.


Thanks for popping by...cheerio for now!
x


UPDATE: I forgot to say that I when to see the doctor today (finally) about my arm, she told me that I have tennis elbow. Hmph. Could be worse tho ;)

inactive...inspiration

Whilst the serious making is on hold for the time being, I thought I'd share with you some of my recent inspiration...Cloth•Paper•Scissors.


Probably not new to any mixed media artists out there and it wasn't new to me either but, whilst inactive & needing inspiration, I asked the mister to buy me the latest issue whilst he was out & about (the newsagent in the Town Hall car park in Skipton stocks a wealth of hard to get publications & a lot of them arty/creative).

Back he came with the Jan/Feb2012 issue & I swear I have never devoured a magazine quite so thoroughly & with such pleasure! I carried it around with me for the first week, dipping in & out of certain articles as they caught my fancy & trying out one of the tutorials...Word Birds by Ann Ellis.

I have wanted to try collage for a long, long time but seeing the amazing creations other people dream up, very much stopped me from trying it myself. Silly really but when I see collage and mixed media art I'm always struck by how free the artist must be to pull it all together so naturally...I was worried I wasn't 'free' enough & that anything I created would look forced. So, with the idea of filling a whole canvas being a monstrously daunting task, I hadn't bothered even trying.

Until I came across these birds! They were the absolute perfect size to break my teeth on...and so I just got stuck right in, drawing and cutting out 8 bird shapes and their wings [this is another problem I have...I can never just try 1, it had to be 8 *shakes head at self* ] & then pulling out tissue papers and the like ready to make. Now I will say that after gesso-ing all the shapes (I'd used old Graze boxes which are brown in colour & I didn't want this showing through) and pva-ing 6 of them & gluing on the torn tissue bits, I did start to think I was wasting my time.

You know that "what AM I doing feeling"? But I persevered & even dug out the paints for a couple of them. Once the wings were on I could start to see them come to life and quietly lost myself in the process for a couple of hours, playing with colours, sticking on embellishments & writing out little sayings.

Now, you can see that they are hugely influenced by Ann's own designs but I am so pleased with them - they were such fun to make that I'm having a crack at some of my own designs but using a similar method & hoping to use them in a different way. 


Well, I've become very sidetracked with telling my birdy story when what I intended to do was to tell you all about Cloth•Paper•Scissors *tsk* *tsk* Ms Ditsy!

I loved this issue & I think a lot of it was down to timing...the whole mixed media/collage slant plus my break from making-to-sell giving my creative mind time to think, ponder & stretch a little. Wanting to feed this stretching, I registered with the CPS site and my, oh my, there is SO much help & information & inspiration & wonderful free resources...and for all sorts of media. I urge you to take a look when you're next on the pc or your phone and having a little internet browse. You never know what it may spark off so remember...

x

Flickr group picks

Whilst browsing Flickr yesterday, I came across these delights posted within the groups I'm a member of and thought I'd share the joy...

Valentine's pouch by listen to the birds sing found on the Craft Blog UK group stream

Silver elephant brooch by The Beauty is in the Detail found on UK Handmade Magazine group pool

Lavendar by Cristina Papacu from the Cuteable group pool*

Beano stickers by Swirlyarts on the We Love Folksy.com pool

Green Hare Pincushion Ring by Wychbury from the Craft Soup pool

*if you've yet to discover Cuteable, then please, allow me to introduce you...click here for loveliness

x

Clear the cobwebs

Hello! 


So half term hols are over, boyo is back at school, the mister is back to work and I'm back to painting today.  But whilst the paintings dry, I thought I'd show you some photos from our walk with friends last week. We were having one of those "I NEED to get out of the house" moments, so arranged to meet a good friend and her children in Malham (we are very lucky to live on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales) to do a circuit walk...taking in Janet's Foss and Gordale Scar.  Both are very beautiful but in such different ways. It was an overcast day which rapidly turned into a drizzly and very blustery day (I had the most special blow-over hair do [like a comb over only purely down to the wind plastering damp hair against my head] at the end of the walk but we certainly blew away the cobwebs :)

posing in the car park

the view over a drystone wall

the wall

looking skyward

very pretty but it looks seriously chilly in there *brrr*

close of the rock on our way to Janet's Foss...can you see the face in the rock behind?

Georgie takes the middle road & very pleased with himself he is too ;)

nearly there...that waterfall up ahead is Janet's Foss

here it is in all it's glory

Georgie goes in for a closer inspection

peepo!

the intrepid explorers head off to the waterfall at Gordale Scar...you can actually climb it!

in all it's twin waterfall glory...a truly majestic sight

this gorgeous fella was munching his lunch as we passed but he stopped to get a good look at us

x

Perfect

How's your weekend been? What have you been up to?


This weekend was George's weekend to go to his dads so Mr Bird and I made the most of grown up/no child time.

herbs in a planter in the garden...using iPhone apps

Yesterday involved a delicious ladies-what-lunch meal at the Copper Dragon Bistro...it's Mum's birthday on Monday (the big SIX FIVE & I'm sure she'll be delighted about me sharing that hahaha) as well as cousin Jo's birthday on the 20th. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, we Center Parcs* gals all got together for chats and food, pressie giving and celebrating. As usual, the food was totally perfect...there were so many oohs and ahhhs over the desserts, is was almost obscene!

some of the Center Parc lovelies

Back home, rugby watching, reading the papers on the sofa and then a bit of gentle persuasion (a swift kick) and the Mister and I set off out in the cold for a brisk walk to the train station. A short train ride & another brisk walk later and we were in The Narrow Boat in Skipton for some oh so tasty Mary Jane ale. Yum. A couple more in the Woolly Sheep in an ever so cosy corner, and we were ready for fodder. Cue a very tasty curry in Mastabs with great service & we were home & snooze bound. Perfect.

our cosy corner in The Woolly Sheep

Today has seen the longest lie in ever, a pampering bubble bath, playing about with iPhone photo apps, reading the Sunday mags, scoffing a Subway butty that Mr Bird brought home for me (thank you fella!) and some quality (and why? free) time up in my studio/work room.

A bit of painting and a super cheesy film were the perfect thing for this Sunday afternoon...Battle: Los Angeles (yes really) and a Puddle Jumping door plaque later and here I am, typing up my ramblings before I head downstairs for more food, a glass of wine and (hopefully) The Lincoln Lawyer & a sofa snuggle.

I hope your weekend has been exactly as you hoped it would be!
x


*every year, I go to Center Parcs with 7 other female rellies for a weekend of bubbly, bubbles (hot tub), catching up, chilling out and general stupidity...bloody brilliant!

Why?

Some days I walk into my little workroom, plonk down my cuppa, pull up a chair, switch on the laptop and then stop. And think "why?".


Why...

   am I sitting here alone?

   do I spend my time making things & photographing & listing & promoting?
   am I not reading my book, or a magazine or watching the telly?
   am I using up all of this time in the vain hope that my products will sell?
   am I not out walking in the countryside?
   am I not cracking on with household jobs & chores?
   am I not meeting up with a friend for coffee?
   am I sat here wondering why?


Away from my room I make great plans - I schedule time for emails/making orders/designing/researching/editing photos/listing/promoting. I draw up timetables and print them out. I scribble down flashes of inspiration on scrap paper. I get all jazzed up with enthusiasm and write copious notes and plans and ideas in my notebook.


And then I walk in here and this happens. All impetus abandons me...all my "yes, this is what I should be doing" goes *poof*...and all of my plans just seem kind of silly.


SO the question is...why am I unable to maintain the motivation and the excitement, and how do I rectify it?


To be continued...


x