Smirk

These are the 4 cards to be made at the Workshop on Thursday. (Set aside the bad photo and cropping skills...those are on my huge 'things to improve before I die' list). I bought the stamps with the intention of using them in a workshop, and I only ever buy stuff that I like and want to keep. But oh boy, I had a LOT of trouble finding inspiration for these characters. I still feel actually that apart from stamp, colour and cut out, there's not much to be done with them. And they're too small to just sit on a card without exaggerating the proportion of everything else; good grief, not for the first time, I went off a range of stamps before I'd even had a chance to get ink on most of them. How strange. Am I alone? My collection is much smaller than it used to be, but nevertheless, my stamps talk to me - they say inspiring words when I look at them. But this lot are literally smirking at me because I don't quite 'get them'. Gawd, perhaps they're too young for me? Aaagh. Moment of realisation and awful epiphany - even craft has age related trends. Have to run, they aren't going to be allowed to sit on the shelf smirking at me because I'm too old, that's for sure!

Like so many people, we've spent a weekend basking in Spring sunshine and the warmth of our family. Mr Dunnit's parents celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary with a party, filled with their friends and family we don't see enough of. A wonderful evening, particularly enhanced by their four beautiful grandaughters; they were shown off and admired and were sweetness and glamour all rolled into one, the little fairy above sort of sums it all up for me! Mr Dunnit raised a loving toast to his parents and we danced. Follow that? Micro neice's 2nd birthday and a trip from the Easter bunny. Marvellous family days. Follow that? OK. Slipper Lady, Cricut Queen, Miss Enthusiastic Educator and I went to a semi-local craft store and had lunch. Snazzy Stamping at Swindon was marvellous; neat tidy and full to the brim with stash we all wanted - indeed some of it did of course, come home with us. We had lunch and tea in Marlborough and it was lovely; time out with the girls. I picked up new stamps and new papers and even a new ink pad and again the four of us offer thanks for the luxury of shops like this that are within our reach.
Ah, and my quest for routine and achievement goes on. We lurch into serious revision for Miss Dunnit, Mr Dunnit is planning to finish the cupboard to stand on the new floor and me? Well, I finally have a couple of work deadlines, there's a workshop I'm conducting at Kraft Crazy in Tidworth on Thursday morning (01980 844010) based on the Smirk range of characters...so I'm actually scheduling routine work time this week, for me and for Miss Dunnit..it has to be easier to revise if you know other people in the house are working too, I figure. No doubt you'll hear about the success or otherwise!

So now we have 135 meringues safely nestled in 4 draws from a unit I used to have in my workroom -- they take up a ridiculous amount of space! My lovelies are in fear of moving them or worse, trying to stack something on the precarious cling film lids I've made...when I say 'in fear'; I mean of me. They will seriously be amazed by my dramatic reaction and devastation if even so much as one of these blighters is crushed! Oh the draaaama! Am very much looking forward to plonking on a large spoonful of fresh berries and a dollop of cream, I must say!

I've been in the kitchen again today, making some cute duck shaped biscuits to go in the easter baskets...and of course, using up egg yolks. But while I was being Suzy Homemaker, Mr Dunnit was, well, doing it. He'd set himself the task of gluing down the new 'lino' for the hall floor. Of course, when I say hall, I mean the small space through the front door that gives access to the rest of the house and the stairs. We aren't talking vestibule, grand entrance or sweeping staircase here. Aside from the fact that it's our home, there is nothing large or remarkable about our home - it's an average size and blah. This is not to take any achievement or glory from Mr Dunnit for his DIY skills; he's really amazingly good at it. But, like crafting, this DIY thing is phsycologically revealing. He runs all the time from hither to yon - in this case from front door to van to garage. This I assume, because he is keen. I don't run across my craft room, but in the early stages I do eschew the stool until I've settled to a point where everything I need is gathered within arm's reach (!). When spreading the adhesive, he sticks his tongue out and frowns; in concentration, for sure. When I need to concentrate, I turn down the music, put my glasses on and frown. I suspect that I don't stick my tongue out because dribbling is a big fear of mine (some other post, perhaps...). Struggling with the lino (pre-measured, cut, measured again, edges 'shaved' to fit and measured again), he uttered a rather pointless wish that it would fit. I usually offer some small threat to the object or image I'm working on. Then he committed himself and stuck it down. And I stick it down. When an air bubble appeared near one of the thresholds, he swore questions at it about why it wouldn't behave. As soon as I realise it's not straight, I swear. But not at it, at myself. Now, I don't believe he expected the inanimate objects to reply, but it was nonetheless entertaining for me. Then, possibly because it didn't answer, and he was angry, he jumped up and down on it. Really. I've never done this..but I have been known to fling the offending card or paper if I'm really struggling with it! It was not appropriate for him to see me laughing, so I hid behind the kitchen door. It worked though...there's no air bubble now and the floor is looking good, and flat. Usually I can recover something..after all some of our best creations are born from mistakes, huh!

There has to be a method - the method becomes the routine that makes getting stuff done a little easier..no matter if you end up jumping up and down on air bubbles or spend 5 minutes finding your glasses; it's almost a settling thing, that allows you to free your mind of other stuff so that you stop the white noise of other jobs interfering and adjust your focus - for as long as it takes. Ah, back to routine again. My saving, recurring routine!

Proving a theory

Oh my. Since Monday I have been making meringues - I want to serve them as individual pavlovas to 125 guests of my sweet In-Laws this saturday evening at their Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration. My oven takes 12 at a time, so that's been quite labour intensive! I'm happy about it though, please don't read this as a complaint. More a prelude to another personal revelation! We talked earlier in this series of unconcise postings about how you're at the most inspired when you're tied up with something that you can't possibly leave or put off, and something entirely unconnected with craft. Well, I can now confirm this and even -reveal that routine helps me achieve far more than inspiration! - gasp - Ohmigosh that's a bit of a shocker isn't it! The number of ideas whipping around in my head are certainly equal to the revolutions of the balloon whisk that's still whipping egg whites into a froth. In the 70 minutes 'cooking' time for each batch, I've done domestic chores (sorely needed in view of the guests that are staying over after the party - we need to discuss motivation at some point!). But as day 3 of this bake off comes to a close, I realise that I've slotted into a routine and have caught myself looking forward to tomorrow - working with a timer next to me and seeing what I can fit in to each 70 minutes. I'm thinking that tomorrow I may make some cards. I've taken on a new routine and it's working! Gosh. I don't want to give you the impression that I usually wander aimlessly around the house doing nothing while I wait to be inspired and then gently waft into my craft space. No, it's slightly less fairytale than that. In the past when I've been genuinely 'working at home', a routine imposed itself and I didn't really notice; because it was working, probably. Now I'm under employed and fiddling about a bit, I realise I've come to thinking a lot about what I'm going to do, without actually doing it. Hmmm. I'm gonna work out some sort of routine for this craft thing in my head and see how it works. I'll report back.
Oh and by the way...I have 38 yolks looking for recipes other than sauces and cakes....please!

A heady scent

Yesterday I sat on a bench facing this flower bed and ate a picnic lunch. The smell of the hyacinths was just lovely, wafted to us on a gentle breeze The clever planting means that in another few days Spring will bring forth a burst of bright tulips too.

This gentle and frightfully English lunchtime marked a quiet end to a busy weekend. My beloved parents celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary and we Dunnits were among the lucky invitees which meant a glorious weekend away in Cambridge. We've had a chance to catch up with Aunts and Uncles and met people who my parents have called friends for 50 years and more. Really, the love and support that this sort of celebration reveals has to be experienced to be believed; we all take it for granted don't we, that our family and friends are 'there for us', and I think somewhere in the back of our minds we can add 'when we need them'. For it is when chips are down that we turn to those that love us for support, huh? But Saturday was completely the opposite. A chance for 40 or so people to get together to show our love and admiration for a couple who have been happily married for fifty years. Some guests had nothing in common but their friendship with the Bride and Groom, but that did not matter. The whole day was bathed in goodwill as warm and strong as the spring sunshine that poured through the stained glass windows of the Wordsworth Room. Of course there was champagne and beautiful flowers and wonderful food and best clothes to add to the occasion. It truly was a happy day and celebration and occasion are perfect adjectives to apply to it.
That shared goodwill and genuine celebration, Mr Dunnit whispering that he thinks we'll make it that far too, and the wonderful location will forever be conjured up for me by the smell of hyacinths.

Ludgershall Crop

..is on Saturday, 4th April at the Scout Hall in the village. All welcome from 11am as usual. Bring what you're working on. There is no shop involved and there are no lesson sessions planned this weekend, it's a 'pure' crop! The SLipper Lady will be in charge, so be kind to her!

If posting here is a bit thin over the next 72 hours, forgive me. I'm off to have a major amount of fun!

Scientific Poll

Of course, the title is a lie to start with! CoventryAnn will be wincing..sorry if I reeled you in there gal! I need to talk about Digi again. Your comments after the last article made me laugh smile and nod in agreement, for a community that revel in our differences, we're certainly all singing off the same sheet of 12 x 12 with this one! I think the very unbalanced survey that came out of your comments can sum up Digi - up and coming, for those who are brave enough!
Not me, for sure...I can't do it because, well.......embarrasingly, I don't want to learn how to. Although I absolutely love being the ahem, 'author of a blog' (I pinched it from a newspaper and I may well have to change my passport to include this as my new occupation), and I cannot imagine life without email and the blog hopping - and the forums - and possibly the shopping, I don't want to spend any more time at the computer than I already do. Honestly, it's worse than a new baby for sucking up my time. And that's just simple decisions like changing the background colour of this page! Are you OK with it by the way? I miss the black but familial pressure to change the colour and increase the font size was too great; after all, you don't want to give your family reasons to criticise, they're waaaay too honest!
I'm in the generation that was caught between metric and imperial and was just leaving school (at 18!) when they introduced a computer room..with 4 computers in it! So you understand my general ignorance. My reluctance is, like a lot of you said, born of the need to handle, stroke, cut stick and actually use the lifetime's stash I've collected in a handful of years. Lady Nurse's husband, Bendy Bob, has told me on more than one occasion that when the worst happens and Lady Nurse goes to craft in heaven, I've got ONE week to get over there and relieve him of her lifetime's collection of craft supplies and equipment. Or he's going to throw it in a skip. I think it will be prudent to wait a week and a day and then go and collect the skip, that way I only have to organise it once. This digression is purposeful; there is a tipping point for stash accumulation; and digi would stop us using any of it! And there's another reason for me. All of my photos are already stored on the computer..putting them on Digi LOs and re-saving them is almost counter-intuitive fore me..I'm trying to free the photos rather than increase the size of my technological shoebox by making the computer an album instead of storage.
I do have another problem with doing Digi scrapbooking, and this is very controversial. Either don't read any further, or learn how to brush it off:
I can't help but feel somehow that it's cheating. Despite my happiness to acknowledge that I have none of the skills required (and you need more skills to do Digi than to do paper and glue); despite my keen-ness to explain that I don't want to learn (because that's what it would require - lessons). I have no idea why I feel like this, but it lurks at the back of my head - 'specially say when I'm demonstrating cards/stamps/blah. A lot of conversations are struck up with bored husbands who always start with their digital prowess - "I do all that on the computer, it's easier/quicker/more colourful/blah blah "..the psychology of that for a bloke is a different discussion (you know, the whole crafting is for girls nonsense).( And as an aside from that..the psychology of actually dragging your bloke to a craft demo? Don't get that, either!) But do I have in my head that Digi is for Boys? Or do I have in my head that Digi is fast easy and cheaper and therefore can't be a craft? I think I do. If you ever saw me faffing about with a Layout, you would agree, I suffer for my 'art', and perhaps that's why I think Digi is cheating - it just doesn't look hard enough. Even though it would be for me. Because I can't do Digi. Aren't you glad I started this? Comment, do. Change my mind...I want to be broad minded and multi-tasking. I do. Because I want to be coooool. What do you think the torture over the iPod was for?