Roll out the red carpet!

I know this isn't craft releated but I wanted to share with you! I work for an organisation called Equals, running friendship groups for women from minority ethnic backgrounds. On the Isle of Wight there is only a small population of BME families and surveys showed that many of the women felt isolated due to rural living and language and cultural barriers, so the groups were set up to aid social inclusion, provide friendship and support, training, work skills and fun activities. A little while ago I entered us into the South East Community Empowerment Awards and we won 3rd place! Last night we attended an awards evening in Winchester to collect our trophy.

We were scored highly on: Good engagement of BME women, achieving empowerment and influence and supporting cohesion, community and local goverment working together and having a real impact on the community.

It was a nightmare getting there as all trains were delayed or cancelled due to a platform collapsing further along the line! But after changing platforms a number of times, having to get 2 trains to make the 15 min journey we finally arrived 20 minutes late just in time for our group to be called up to collect our award! Then we indulged in the lovely food provided (the yummy choux pastrys filled with strawberries and cream were my fav), beamed over our award some more before setting off for home! It was a lovely evening and I was so proud to be a part of it!

I also wanted to post some of the felt that my daughter and me have been making. We are doing a six week felt making course at my daughters school as part of their family learning programe. So far we have made pre-felt, thick felt and felted around stones to create a ball that was then slit open to make a flower. I am really enjoying it but have promised myself that I CAN NOT take on another hobby that will cost me money!!!

Thanks for looking,

Sami x

Mermaid

I have fallen way behind with my Magical, mythical makings course over at Willowing due to our house move. I started wk 2 which was an angel but I didn't like how it turned out so I will have to get back to that one. Week 3 was mermaids in the style of Chagall. Well I have done the mermaid but not in his style at all, but I am pleased with it. It was painted on plywood which was a bit of a challenge, the paint reacts so differently to canvas and it took lots of layers to build it up.

I used water colour crayons, acrylic paint and twinkling H2o's. I could not get hold of any of the 'Golden' brand mica flakes that Tam used on her painting so I made my own. When I experimented in my art journal I used gel medium straight onto the tail and then sprinkled 'magic scraps' on. This didn't work very well as the scraps kept falling off and the medium had taken away the shine of the scraps as it was matt. So on this piece I mixed the magic scraps(small crushed sparkly bits!) with a gloss gel medium in a little pot first to make a sort of sparkly glue, then I just smeared it on the tail where I wanted it. Because the gel medium had covered all over the sparkly bits when it dried they all stayed in place and kept their sparkle. The wood is about 15 inches high. Overall I am pleased with it and when I move back home I am going to hang it in my toilet!

TFL

Sami x

Spring Swap

Just a quick post to let you know that Jamie over at Lyrical Journey is hosting a spring swap.

Pop over and check it out if you are interested!

TFL

Sami x

Art work

Thought I would post some art work that I have completed over the last few weeks when I didn't have any internet to distract me!

'A call for Birth'

20"x30" canvas

This is a painting I did for my sisters birthday a couple of weeks ago. It is of the Goddess Ostara and spring and symbolises fertility and birth. It is a mix of water colour crayons, pencils and acrylics.

Journal page using Dylusions paints and ink sprays and various stamps. The big flowers were stamped onto kitchen towel that I had used to blot up the ink and then glued on.

I completed this page in my truthful journal yesterday. I used Dylusion paints and ink sprays, stencils, a crackle stamp. The main stamp is by paperartsy and I stamped it onto tissue and then used gel medium to stick it on.

This page is about our frustrating house move. Again, I have used Dylusions paints and ink sprays, a freebie stamp and the house stamps are by Invoke art. I used Tim Holtz tissue tape along the bottom and masking tape for the title.

I did this page a while ago but never posted it. Paints, spray inks and stamps by Dylusions and the lady was cut out of a magazine.

TFL,

Sami x

March calender challenge

Well, I am officially back on line! The wonderful Trav came and sorted it out last night for me (and all he got for his trouble was a big kiss and a few tears of joy!!)

So here is my completed Feb page for the calendar challenge over at Kates blog, a little late, but I did manage to keep up, even through the move!

And here is my March page. I forgot to take a photo before I started filling it in!

I am off to link my calendar to Kates blog and have a look at all the other calendars, and to catch up on my art course and other peoples blogs...oh internet freedom, where shall I start!

TFL,

Sami x

Hello Blogland!!

Hello! I feel I have missed so much in the last 4 weeks of being without internet. I still don't have my own internet but Paige has very kindly let me come and play on hers this afternoon as I was suffering major withdrawls! She has also phographed all my LO's from our retreat a couple of weeks ago so I can blog them. Paiges wonderful husband is coming to set up my internet tonight as BT have finally 'switched' it on so baring any problems I will hopefully be online tomorrow.
It has been such a pain without the internet as I work a lot from home and I have had to be running here there and everywhere borrowing other peoples computers to get my work done so that I get paid. I have not had the time to look at everyone blogs because once I've finished my work I've felt like I would be taking the micky to just start browsing for my own pleasure!

Not Even Remotely Dorky-
LO of Caleb in his new Big bang theory t-shirt
PP is Jillibean soup

Scrap with us wk 50-how I met....
PP Cosmo cricket
This LO is how I met Paige, my scrapbook inspiration!!

Scrap with us wk 51-End of the rainbow
PP We R memory keepers
Wight craft circle girls day out to southampton, shopping, dinner and a show

Scrap with us Wk 49 Did you know...
We rock! Photos of our new years eve celebration playing rock band.

Scrap with us wk 48- use a magazine article/advert for inspiration
Above is my family tree LO, below is the magazine page that inspired it.

Scrap with us wk 41 (yes I am well behind with the challenges!)-White space
This is my fav LO from the whole weekend and is of my puppys first bath and walk. PP is a mix of basic grey, october afternoon and DCWV from my scrap box.

Scrap with us wk 47-What colour are you?
PP is cosmo cricket
My 36th birthday dinner at Paiges house, and obviously my colour is purple!

Well, hopefully I will be online tomorrow and can come and browse all your blogs and leave some comments for you...I have missed you all!!! I have to dash off now to get the kids from school, I was hoping to check out your blogs today but this post has taken ages, I'm out of practise!
TFL
Sami x
P.S. Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the lovely comments about the calendar page...I will catch up and comment on your blogs! x

M3 and Calendar challenge

Really quick post as I should be packing boxes!

Just wanted to share my nearly finished painting for the first 2 weeks of the M3 course run by Tam at Willowing and my calender pages for the challenge over at The Katherine Wheel (link in my blog list).

My Goddess Cerridwen is nearly finished she just needs a bit of touching up.

This is my completed January page for the calendar challenge,

and this is my February page, all set to go.

Sorry for the short post but I shouldn't be on the computer at all as I should be packing (see post below). Just want to say to bloggers from the calendar challenge, I will try my best to get to your blog to look at your pages but the next few weeks are going to be really busy with the move and I don't know how soon I will get my internet back when we move!
I should be organised and back on line for the March pages though!

TFL

Sami x