Family Photo

I'm not one for asking everyone to drop everything and gather 'round for a family photo and I would have been quite happy not to have one at our Christmas get-together. But... despite some desperation of a couple of family members, to go home, an inability to find a tripod connection for the camera, and the fact that Hudson was asleep on the tiled-room floor, the demand was made to take advantage of this moment when we were all together in the one place at the one time. After all, it could be the last time we have this opportunity.

So here you have it - our family photo - and I'm glad. YAY!

Please Explain

Every so often, in the particular brand of eggs that I have been buying, I get a yolk that is relatively colourless. In the oft-parodied (in Australia, anyway) words of Pauline Hanson... Please explain.


This photo is taken half way through making, what we call, vegie pie/s - failsafe recipe that is a hit with most of our family. Here's the recipe.

one swede chopped and cooked in the mike then processed with
one stick celery and
4 shallots (could use leek, or garlic)
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder (no gluten)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp sugar
10-12 eggs (that serves 8-10 people)
long dash oil (I use rice bran oil - the nicest failsafe oil I have found - can use sunflower)

Put processed and chopped veg in bowl. Add sifted flour and dry ingredients. stir through.

add eggs and oil and mix up.

Cook in lamington tray as a slice or mini muffin tray or even big muffins. Nice and flexible. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top for a nice look.

For added pizzazz, put a little cube of Philly cheese in the middle of each one. Bellissimo!

Enjoy.

The 12 Days of Christmas - Large Family Style

I like to read The Philosopher Mom's perspective on life. She has 9 children and a fabulous, grammatically correct, way of writing that entertains me at the same time as it strikes me with a feeling of grammatical inadequacy!

Anyway. Kalynne posted this video and I can relate.

Be Green

I've been busting to show you this - my finished green page which has gone to live at my friend's place.


I showed you the lovely (even if I say so myself!) celery prints a little while ago. So to finish the page I had fun trying to recall my favourite calligraphy hand - uncial. I didn't do too badly seeing as it was quite some time ago that I last did it. I gave up on using a proper nib and 'cheated' by using one of those special Artline Calligraphy Pens (like this).

While we're on the topic of Uncial... I love the St John's Bible.

Speaking of the Bible... The verse is Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

That's all for now.

Joy

One of my favourite Christmas carols is Joy to the World - I love the words. And the rousing music written by Handel (one of my fave classical composers)

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

So I did a page in my AJ with that theme. There's something not-quite-finished about this page. I will ponder and maybe update one day. I was definitely inspired by Tim Holtz and his 12 Tags of Christmas.

Another Art Journal Entry

Here is my latest journal page captured in the last rays of light hitting the house yesterday evening!

I don't think I will give an explanation, except to say that it is not prompted by my DH. :) Or even yours!

Love Your Wife


Ephesians 5:25-28. Profound stuff. Even more so when combined with all the other passages of Scripture to do with marriage.

Try To Be Creative

That's what Annelise said she was going to do before she had a go at finishing her art works as Christmas presents for some of her family.




Try?! What do you reckon?

BB Girl

Susannah is always making something. Here's one of her latest creations - a Black Belt Karate Girl.

Make it Pink

I just needed a dose of pink and having been massively inspired by Kate Mason I decided to dive in and make it pink.

I had fun doing Kate's paper napkin and Mod Podge technique, then layering stamps, rubons, cut-outs, flowers, and cuttings from an old book.

So here is a layout about Caitlin on her 9th birthday and what she is into at the moment.



Products: Little Yellow Bicycle PP; Rubons - Urban Lily, Cosmo Cricket, KaiserScrapboo; Bella Jewel Bradz; Heidi Swapp Felt Flowers; Paper Salon Stamp.

A few weeks ago I went with the kids into the City to meet my friend, Saroja. We had a lovely time in the Sydney Botanic Gardens just enjoying the gardens, the city and each other's company. We planned to meet again this week but I was a tad sick and had no voice and couldn't go. Instead, I finished my layout. I just wish I had stuck my head next to Saroja's and taken a selfie.

Here it is, and, in case you don't recognise the layout, it is inspired by this person and by this layout.



Products: Paper:Making Memories, Basic Grey Paper; ColorMates Cardstock; Rubons: KaiserCraft,Daisy D's, Urban Lily, Jenni Bowlin; Alpha's:Pink Paislee, Carolee's Creations.

Still Catching Up

I'm etting closer to showing you my latest scrapbooking page, but first, here are some of my art journal pages in various stages of completion.

This is the envelope that my kit came in for the Polished Pigments Workshop by Vivian Bonder. Viv did the colour. I chopped it up and sewed around the edge to keep the padding in.



I'll leave this one to be self-explanatory at the moment. I had fun doing the sewing, and would you believe it?! the bobbin thread ran out about 2 inches before the end! Typical.



Guess what I used to print those dark green bits?! The end of a bunch of celery. Yes. I just couldn't throw that cut-off piece away without capturing some of its beauty. This is my green page (in case you couldn't already tell!) - more of this one soon.



I saw this technique on Leeann's blog some time ago and waited for the moment to have a go. That moment came with a blast of frustration. See that Envelope page up there? I wanted to put the word NOTE on it but did I have any e's? NO!!! So I said, "This is it!" and stuck the whole packet of Basig Grey Mini Monograms onto a page. Voila. Now I am waiting for the inspiration for a finishing touch.

Playing With Polished Pigments

Warning: Lots of Pics.

Annelise and I did the Polished Pigments workshop with Vivian Bonder. We had SO much fun dabbling, smooshing, squidging and splodging. Last weekend Annelise came over to start some art works as Christmas gifts (whiney voice - I want one!). After I got Annelise started, Sophie-Lee and I could hardly help ourselves. We started scrounging for chipboard and got stuck into some of our own. There's more to do but this is the start.

Annelise's first.











Sophie-Lee's next.







And my polyptych (that's what it's called - more than 4 or more pieces in the work!) This one 'developed'. I wasn't happy with it at first so I decided to do a mono print with gauze between it and the paper. This was the result after the mono print. Later I might show you the four prints that I made with the gauze and paper. Might not, either.



We still had some scrapings left and just couldn't discard them so with a mixture of palette knife and spatulas (cooking-type) we managed to cover some more board.







Conclusions: Matisse Gel Medium is much nicer than Reeves Heavy Structure Gel for using the Polished Pigments.

TFL

Backing Up a Bit

I'm going to put a few things out there because they have been on hold for various reasons for quite some time.
In no particular order (because that would take time and thought and..., some of Sophie-Lee's art journal pages. Check out Sophie-Lee's blog to read her explanations.

Edelweiss. So that is where my e's went!

Long Live Living

Roses

Utagawa Hiroshige

One of Sophie-Lee's first collage pages - she actually finished off Hudson's page when he lost interest.

And Sophie-Lee's first collage page - how cool is that?! Inspired by Vivian Bonder and her Art Journal Workshops that I did.

... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8



I have these lilies - real name, lilium formosanum, I believe - just outside my back door. I water them with the water I use in the various buckets I have in the laundry and they are loving me for it :) Now I just have to remember to water the gardens on the two days I am allowed to do that and the rest of the garden may bloom more heartily too.

That's all for now.

PS There's a scrapbook page coming. I've only been working on it for 5 days - one little bit at a time!!! (That is not an indication of its quality.) Anyway.

Advent Conspiracy

Check out more about Advent Conspiracy here.