♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 7/52

Hello Lovelies, 

a few sunny days have really lifted my spirits and made me think my wishes for spring to arrive may have worked. 

My happy photos , taken this weekend, are so different from those taken in the snow earlier this week.

1. Sunshine and flowers on my kitchen windowsill....... always makes me happy.........

 2. Drying washing on the line , it smelled WONDERFUL when I brought it in yesterday ( look at that sky ! ).....

3. Our little solar fountain in the pond has started working again after months if inactivity.....must mean the light levels are increasing. 

Loved the little ripples and reflected blue sky ( the plants are still looking a bit sad but hopefully they will recover).........

4. Visiting the library yesterday and enjoying perusing some interesting books with a piece of Christmas cake  when I got home ( there's only me who likes it ...so it's lasted ages and I think it tastes better as time goes by,  but sadly  there's not much left now)........

 5. Sneaking in an extra thing here. Crocuses in the sunshine this morning....perfect :0)

Thank you all so much for your marvelously encouraging comments on my drawing....they mean more than I can say.
Jacquie x

Dreaming of Spring....and drawing it

Hello Lovelies,
 over the past week or so I've  been busy drawing in my sketchbook some more.
Again my inspiration has come from the countryside and villages around these parts.
I took this picture last week.......

I love this tiny village hall that I sometimes drive past. The Sunshine was nice but I wished there were more signs of Spring. Never mind , I could add those, couldn't I?
Once again started sketching out a picture.

Here is a progress shot......taken at the scary bit when you have to commit yourself.....the coloured pencils don't rub out much, and I do lots of rubbing out at the moment :0)...........



What can I say about this picture.........mostly that I know it's not perfect, but again I LOVED doing it.
Here is the finished drawing........

 I loved thinking of ways to add colour and make it spring like. I really went to town with that . It was great fun imagining what it would look like on a sunny April day, with a Spring Fayre ( or fair, it was difficult to decide which spelling to go for )  in full swing.
Of course there had to be window boxes of multicoloured Tulips..........

A banner, and most essentially Bunting......GOT to have Bunting .....

And as I drew more happy spring things entered my mind , and were incorporated. Like the Cherry tree in blossom ( with another little birdy....love drawing those :0)

Then I decided to add an inquisitive cat , looking up at the bird...........

 I loved noticing the details of this pretty building and attempting to capture them, but yet having the freedom to change what ever I liked.
 I loved how the picture just sort of evolved in the way creative projects do.
But mostly I just enjoyed drawing it. I know my pictures are not as good as my crochet, but this drawing still makes me happy...........

Roll on Spring !
Jacquie x

Wintry Wednesday

Hello Lovelies,

 the weather forecast was correct and today we have had some more snow....it's still falling as I type , though it's not predicted to hang around for long. 

Just thought I would share a few pictures taken on the way home today. 

It's bitterly cold and I think these pictures show that ! 

The farmer had been out delivering extra food for the sheep and they looked happy about that..........

Though these guys didn't seem hungry......

 I loved the seed heads on the Ivy.........

 And when I had finished getting a good close up shot I was amused to see the sheep had gathered close by to investigate. Can you see the snow on their fleeces?
They must be very glad of their warm wool coat at the moment...........



Further along the road the falling snow made the distance disappear in a haze..........

 It's all a bit grey so a bit of colourful farm machinery really stands out........



The snow was settling on the road a bit as we neared home...........

It's bleak but still beautiful...........

 It was nice to get back to our cozy home and take a picture of my latest crochet creation. I've been busy developing a solid version of my popular Sunburst granny heart........I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, hope you like it .
Tutorial to follow soon :0)

Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 6/52

Hello Lovelies, 

I think my top happy thing this week has to be all your wonderfully encouraging comments about my drawing....you lot are so kind .Thank you. And thank you from Mum.

Here are four more simple joys from my week.

1. Eldests yummy Bakewell Tart.

 Made at school in "food tech" (it was  home economics in my day) . The pasty is crumbly and the fillings soft and almondy. A triumph ....there's not much left now....

2. So happy to see  Snow Drops this week. I just love this delicate , perfect white flower that you have to get up close to ,  to really appreciate.........

3. Youngest getting inspired to do his own version of that snow scene......I think it's just brilliant ..........

4. Noticing a beautiful sunrise during the rush to get to work yesterday.......the days are getting noticeably longer now.........yipee.

Hope your week has provided some reasons to smile...big or small.
Have a great weekend.
Jacquie x

Drawing on inspiration

Hello Lovelies, 

some of you may already know that my Mum is a talented artist, as I sometimes share her work here. For as long as I can remember she has sketched and painted at every available opportunity. It's been a life long passion and I can't imagine the day she looses interest ever arriving.

My own home is full of her beautiful pictures. Mostly watercolours , but also vibrant Acrylics and a clever collage. She paints for pleasure and last week brought a picture to show me , based on a photo in THIS blog post........

Awwwwww, my old red tractor. I loved her version of this photo I took........

Now I'm NO artist myself , art was never a strong subject of mine when I was at school and I've only very rarely tried to draw anything since then  , but I suddenly felt inspired to try capturing this image myself. 

I'm sure the beautiful artwork in my magazine was also an inspiration. I've also been enjoying THIS wonderful artists blog lately

I knew I wouldn't be able to do any thing accomplished , but never the less I fancied giving it a go. 

These are my eldest's watercolour pencils, bought by Mum, aren't they lovely.......

I sketched out the tractor , and then decided to add more details from my walk......so the picture was not an accurate image I saw on that magical snowy day, but more the best bits and the feeling all rolled into one. If you know what I mean.
I'm waffling a bit now aren't I. I hope you are not expecting anything astounding. I'm a bit nervous to share this ....but here goes.........


Ta-dah........

What can I say.........only it was such fun to do and for a non painter/ drawer I think it turned out pretty well...

I can see it has many faults but I love that it reminds me of that day and I was able to include things.....like the birds hopping about on the hay bales that I could not capture with my camera. I'm really pleased with how these two cuties turned out actually.....they are tiny on the picture so were tricky to do........

Drawing also gave me the opportunity to change the white sky for something prettier and make the lovely rolling hills we have around here appear more how they do to the naked eye (rather than all flattened out as the camera makes them)........

I've included the footprints in the snow that showed me which way the path went and all the colour in the bare hedge that doesn't really come across in a photograph either......

I think it's very much a starting point, and I was almost holding my breath every time I added a detail, not knowing how it would work out. But I know I loved doing it and that's the most important thing to me really.
Jacquie x

My Weekend

 Hello Lovelies, 

for Christmas I was lucky enough to get a years subscription to my MOST favourite magazine ( thanks Mum ).
This is the first issue I've received.....you have to be patient while waiting for this kind of gift to pop through the letter box, but boy it was worth the wait. This issue is filled with so many lovely and inspiring images and stories. I love this cover image ...........

And was very good, when I got a while to sit and enjoy it on Saturday. I did not flip through the whole magazine , but took my time , reading everything that interested me before moving on.

I always do this with my favourite blogs. Slowly savouring the words and waiting for the pictures to unfold.

Anyway, back to  my magazine. An article that I particularly loved was about a talented artist Emily Sutton.............

 this is  a closer look at one of her paintings.........

I adore all the detail, colour and timeless, illustrative style of her work. I could look at this picture for ages, with its Autumnal palette and pretty house. 

It's this picture that first caught my imagination though. We have allotments locally that look a lot like this. I'm fascinated by all their higgledy piggeldy sheds, neat rows of veg and imaginative bird scarers  so this subject really appealed to me.......

 

THIS is Emily's website if you want to see more of her work. I loved THIS image too.

As you might have noticed I'm very drawn by the garden at the moment. It was sunny on Saturday so I headed out there to prune my huge Buddlia . And also planted some garlic, simply using a few cloves I had and some recycled "pots".
 I haven't tried this before so who knows if it will be a success. HERE'S how to do it if you fancy giving it a try too.........



On Sunday I decided to go for an early morning run , hoping for a beautiful sunrise. But it wasn't to be. The early light WAS pretty...........

But the wind blew fiercely across the open fields and it certainly felt like spring was a long way off......

 

I stopped momentarily to capture the silhouettes of some bare trees, then headed home to warm up.....

In the afternoon we all headed to the park and fed the birds. Last years cygnets are getting really big.....

I'm trying to enjoy the seasons and not wish too much for spring. February is a short month and in the mean time I have a pocket of spring on my Kitchen windowsill to enjoy..........

At what other time of year can you enjoy a bunch of such wonderfully happy flowers for a few pennies........

Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 5/52

Hello Lovelies, 

so much to be happy about this week...... here are four simple joys

1. Sunshine and blue skys on my day off. The landscape is very different from all the wonderful snow of last week, but still gorgeous..........

2. After the big melt it was great to explore the garden and find little shoots and buds appearing...........

3. This year I seem to be gripped with a keen desire to grow Veg......this is a surprise to me as in the past I've wondered what all the fuss was about. I preferred pretty flowers any day.
We do have a small veg patch.....due to pressure from the children......but this year I'm actually looking forward to ( hopefully ) growing some of our own food. I've borrowed books from the library and already purchased some seeds ( floral and vegetable ).
I've even been getting excited about composting......I know !

4.My latest quick and colourful crochet project.....can't wait to share more with you lovelies.

 Crochet is such a major simple joy  in my life. It's relaxation, creativity and endless possibilities continue to keep me enthralled .

Hope your week has been blessed with happy.
Jacquie x