Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

So i was going to wait until Christmas day to share this with everyone but what i wanted to blog about today i couldn't so i thought i would share this with you now. This is my Christmas painting that i did over the weekend. It is hanging above our Christmas tree in the lounge and i am very proud of how it looks. I will have to paint another one for the rest of the year.

As is the time of the year, new years resolutions are all the craze. This year, instead of doing the normal i decided to put a very small different spin on it. Instead of having things that i wanted to start on the first of Jan i have put together a list of goals that i want to achieve in 2008. Some of them i already know i will only be able to achieve in July and December and others will only take a few hours to do. I have put them in my sidebar so i can keep track of it and i am hoping that by the end of next year i will have a very nice list of goals that i can look at and see what i have achieved.

Another section that i have added to my sidebar, for my purposes as well as my faithful visitors, is a tutorial section. These are for tutorials which i have found across the web and amongst many of the blogs that i read. I hope that you enjoy them as much as i am going to and this year (or next year actually) i am going to start early to make my Christmas gifts. Handmade gifts for everyone next year!

The Festive Season

I am sure you all know just how close Christmas is - you don't need me to remind how many shopping days you have left or how many gift wrapping nights lay ahead. This year it has taken a bit of effort to get me into the swing of things. Perhaps its because i don't have children or perhaps i am just getting older. I'm not sure. But i do know that this weekend i have managed to find some of my lost Christmas spirit. I have had some Carols playing in the background. I did a Merry Christmas painting (which will be shown on Christmas day of course) and i have been spending spending spending.

Friday night i popped into Borders before i did my weekly grocery shopping. That afternoon i received a 50% off coupon in my email box and i decided that i should go and see what i could find. I went to my three favourite sections, cooking, crafts and then the magazines. While going through the craft section i found Journal Revolution. I have heard so much about this book that i thought i may as well pick it up. I have had a quick glance through it and so far it really does look good. Then i wondered off to the magazines and what should i find but a pile of Interweave Knits magazines. Now let me just explain that for the past 3 issues i have really been battling to find this thing. Short of ordering it directly from the states i have had to go web hunting to find a copy. The fall magazine i had to resort to buying it off of eBay at some extortionate price but now it looks like my local Borders is going to be selling it. Wohoo, she says while jumping up and down and waving her arms around wildly! It might take a month or so for it to arrive here in the UK but that is OK because i can pick it up at the normal price and i wont have to spend hours searching for it.

I spent a bit of team cleaning out my yarn basket that sits in the lounge on the coffee table. I haven't really picked up any knitting in a little while because i am finding that it is just frustrating me at the moment. So, to help keep my sanity, i put it aside for a little while and when i feel up to it i will take it out and decide what to do from there. Anyways, while i was cleaning it out i found this ball of yarn that picked up ages ago but i don't think i ever shared it. I am planing on using it for my first Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket.
On Sunday i got a really little treat and Stuart bought me Christina Aguilera's new perfume. Love the bottle and love the fragrance!
Apart from my Merry Christmas painting that i finished this weekend i also managed to complete this little canvas. "Sing your own Song". This was a combination of paint, ink, embroidery and felt. A LOT of fun.
Once my little canvas was ready i decided that it had to go up on the wall along with the other newly finished on. I went outside, grabbed OH's greasy hammer, some nails and happily went along hammering them into the wall. To nails downstairs above the Christmas tree and four nails upstairs above my dressing table.
It really adds a bit of me to the walls. I love it and feel so proud of myself for having them up for all to see....well maybe not for all to see but definantly for me to see.

That's it for me today, Hope you all have a lovely few days.

Live Life Everyday

This is my latest painting that i finished off last night. For some reason the background is much bluer than what it is in real life. It is actually a turquoise colour but i must admit that this blue looks just as nice as my turquoise does.
It is my first small (i think it is an 8 x 8) painting and it is going in my bedroom along with another one that i am working on and i am hoping to start a third one in the next week or so.
I love how quick it was to paint and the freedom that i felt with the smaller space.
This is just a reminder to myself to Live Life Everyday. You don't know how long you have on this earth and you don't know when you might find yourself in different circumstances so Live your Life Everyday!
I was introduced to Zen habbits by Ali a few months ago and just the other day it had an article on living your life consciously. It was about making conscious decisions about your day, your actions and your life. It was about being present in that moment in your life, not just aimlessly moving through your life. It also spoke about those decisions that are automatic. The ones that you just do and don't really think about them. Like picking up that second piece of cake or working in the same company that you have been in for the last five years even though you are not really happy there and living from pay cheque to pay cheque even though you could be managing your finances better. Just things like that. Decisions and choices which help to shape your life so that you get what you want, so that you don't have to settle for second best. I was inspired.

A life lived of choice is a life of conscious action. A life lived of chance is a life of unconscious creation.- Neale Donald Walsch

A lot of cooking

So how was your weekend? Mine was very busy but very good. I managed to get a lot of things done which is especially nice this time of year.

Thursday night we had our company Christmas party. It was a little weird having it on a school night rather than a party night but it was a nice evening. I took a few photos from Thursday night but for now i just have two to show you. One of me and well....one of the back of me...lol

Saturday we decided to put up the Christmas tree and decorations. This is our tree this year. We also have lights but i couldn't get a nice photos with the lights on so this will have to do.
Friday morning my foam wreath arrived in the post. I had ordered it off of eBay and was so pleased that it had arrived in time for the weekend. I pulled out my Christmas fabric and spent about 45 minutes making this for our front door.
Saturday afternoon we went braved the crowds and went shopping. I came home with a new steamer which folds away to practically the size of a pot which is just fantastic for my small kitchenand a whole bunch of blank stretch canvas's. I had run out of them but since Saturday evening i have already started on two of the small ones. I am hoping to to finish one of them tonight and the other one later in the week.Sunday was filled with cooking. After visiting my parents for a few hours i came home and made some Bacon, Potato and Leek Soup for my lunch for the week. This photo is the soup only half way through but it has turned out very nice.
Ingredients
Serves 5

4 rashers rindlesss lean bacon, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, trimmed, halved, thinly sliced
750g Sebago potatoes, peeled, chopped
1L (4 cups) Continental Real Chicken Stock
1/4 cup cream or plain low fat yogurt
1/4 cup chopped chives

Method

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-heat for 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove to plate lined with paper towels.
Add oil and leek to saucepan. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add potatoes. Toss to coat in leek mixture.
Add stock to saucepan. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Blend, in batches, to desired consistency. Return to saucepan. Add cream and 3/4 of the bacon. Stir over low heat until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and chives.

Then after i had made my soup i decided to try some Christmas cookies. These are from the Splenda website and had some really great reviews so thought i would try them.
Serves: 36
Ingredients

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter, brown sugar, SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener and vanilla together in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until well blended and creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Scrape sides of bowl. Add flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Place level tablespoons of cookie dough on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire cooling rack.

These are really tasty but they turned out to be more of a chocolate chip sponge cookie than they are cookie.

And finally on the knitting front I have probably knitted this now for the third time. First time I didn't have enough stitches. Then it was too big and now look what i have gone and done! Argghh. Now i am going to have to frog back to that row and carry on.
Well, its been a long post today. Hopefully tomorrow i will have a canvas to share.
Have a great Monday

Flower girl

This is flower girl - my third canvas. ( My second canvas is still only halfway done) When inspiration hits you you just have to go with it. So here she is - Flower girl.

I love how she turned out. I am getting better with my faces as well as the colours on them. I drew hands and even made her a crown. Now let me just tell you that this part was probably the most difficult for me. I am a GREAT lover of books and trying to find one that i could actually tear the pages out of *gasp* was VERY VERY difficult for me. Eventually i just picked one and tore out the first page before i had a chance to change my mind. *Shame on me*

Boys and their toys

It is officially the 4Th of December and I can proudly say that all my Christmas shopping is now done - well except for my Christmas presents but there is plenty of time for that. Plus, another bonus is that all those gifts, par one, have all been wrapped up and gift tagged. Now I say "par one" because on Saturday we ventured into town to pick up Stu's Christmas gift. We headed straight for Virgin Megastore, with only one short detour in Game, where he promptly found what he wanted on display, almost pulled it straight out of the demo showers hands and had a full on jam right there in the store! Needless to say we left the shop with one very happy little boy, I mean one very happy other half.

Now, if I managed to have my way, it would have been wrapped up along with the other ones and then he could have it at Christmas but that was not even an option for him. He took it home, opened it up and has been pretty much playing it ever since. This is a photo of him and his brother "rocking"….lol.

I guess on the up side to this, while he has been playing - I mean rocking - I have had some spare time to do some art. After we picked up his Guitar Hero 3 we wondered over to the local art shop where I managed to pick up some Masking Tape fluid to use on my canvas's. When I got home I pulled out a canvas and had a play.
I really love how easy it is to use and next time I want to try something else. My first attempt was pretty simple and straight forward but I have ideas for more! Once I finished the first canvas I decided to pull out my second one. This one is probably about 70% done so I hope to complete it by tonight.

I have also been working in my art journal. I completed one page and am busy with two - don’t ask my why I didn’t finish the one before I started the other but it seems to be a trend that I need to work on. I love my little art journal and this new painting thing that I have started. I'm finding it a great way to express myself, to try something new and to have something which I can feel proud about.
Last night while lying in bed I realised what I would like for Christmas. Some tickets to a ballet or a Broadway show or something along those lines. I have let Santa's little helper know so now I just have to wait and see what happens.

If I do manage to finish my next canvas tonight I will post a picture of it, along with the story behind it, tomorrow.

God Bless