Dreams....

 Hi everyone

I hope you all had a lovely Easter. A good chocolate fix is so good for our soul.

Firstly I just wanted to share with you a couple of pictures from my week away.
It went by so fast but it was great to catch up with both our families. 

The first two photos are at the Tuross Head Memorial Gardens. My father-in-law's plaque is there and while we were in Tuross it was the anniversary of his passing 12 years ago. As we all walked down to the memorial the sun burst through the clouds and, as you can see it was a beautiful day to go and visit and remember him. Here I am with my youngest son and husband....

 The memorial gardens are also where the Anzac Day dawn service is held. It is on a headland at Tuross overlooking the magnificent beaches. At the service, the light horsemen stand on the right hand side of the memorial walls that you can see here. Everyone stands to the left so when the sun comes up over the water and behind the light horsemen, you are really enveloped in a very moving and solemn atmosphere. I remember going to all the dawn services as a young girl guide and laying the wreaths, a special day for all of us.

After the Dawn service I drove up to Ulladulla to my parents place.  They have a large area behind them that is natural bush and this is what we saw one morning after breakfast. It is a bit small but you can just see a wallaby in the distance.

 The weather wasn't the warmest or sunniest but we still walked around the headland to have a look at the beaches. I just love coming here any time of the year.

Even with the storm clouds and rain threatening it is a beautiful part of the New South Wales coastline.

 

I hated leaving but as there are those pesky things called bills to pay, we needed to get back to work today so we drove home on Friday just in time to sit and watch the royal wedding.

Here is my little dog, Tilly who is so well behaved in the car.

Speaking of the Royal Wedding, it inspired me to go create something in my art journal. I have always loved the Royal family and was a huge fan of Princess Di. I love the whole pomp and ceremony of it all and the traditions that go with it, even down to the tiniest details. Anyway, here is what I came up with...

If you remember a couple of posts ago, I mentioned doing an inks class and instead of throwing out the foam pads after we used them, I stamped and rubbed them over my art journal pages for future use. This is a mixture of ink pads and something shimmery.

I didn't know where I was really going when I started I just knew I had to use this new mask I bought recently. It is a Crafter's Workshop stencil called Mini Dragonfly Harmony.

I got out my Jo Sonja background paint in Lilac and put a few drops in a Mini Mister, mixed with water and started spraying

and this was the result. I wanted to keep the underlying colours with a misty look

The next step was to use Jo Sonja Pale Gold and sponge over another Crafter's Worskhop stencil called Mini Butterfly Meadow.

I then remembered a stamp that I bought at the paper craft expo last year and it was just perfect for where I was going with this page. I stamped it with the Impress inkpad in Indigo Blue.

I also stamped a scrolly border stamp that had little hearts with it in the Indigo. Then I found another stamp "Make a Wish" and stamped randomly over the pages with the Impress inkpad in Pansy.

I wanted the saying to pop a bit so I got out Jo Sonja Pearl White and Ultramarine Blue and a trusty credit card and stamped some rough borders.

After writing a few words and doodling a bit, outlining the gold stenciled images, the main stamp and doodling over the border scroll I was finished.

I am just loving these Crafter's Workshop stencils and masks, the possibilities are endless.

I also discovered easier way to pick my inkpad colours. I store them upside down so when you want to use them the ink is at the top of the pad (thanks Pam) but this means that when i am rifling through the box to pick a colour from the stack of pads, I can't immediately see what colour they are without turning them over. When I am in the creative rush I end up tipping them all out in my impatience so I decided that I would colour the underneath. Now this is probably a trick that everyone has been doing for donkeys ages but I hadn't seen it before and maybe I am a bit slow on the uptake but I like it. So here are my coloured inkpads.

I am working my way around to visiting all my friends in blogland so I apologise if it takes me a while. I will get there.

My quote today is inspired by the Royal Wedding

“Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.”

 

I hope you all find a little piece of a fairytale in your week. Look for something that makes you feel joyful, hopeful in your every day ordinary moments. 

 

Namaste 

Lee