Day Sixty-Five: Blippity blip

I knew this would happen at some point. A blip. But I have remained determined from the beginning that any pause in service would not scare me away from this year-long experiment. I always knew life would get in the way every now and then.

You see, my working life (yawn) has suddenly got very busy. I like to be busy so that is good. But the work is tremendously dull, so that is bad. I am good under pressure and accomplishing things and impressing people with my efficiency and organisedliness makes me happy. But I am sad to be things I do not find utterly absorbing. If only one day my organisation would decide they needed a full-time person to mosaic kitchens, make cushions, flounce about all day on Flickr and make creative things out of paperclips I would be sorted for life.

But a busy-busy day at work, followed by a busy-busy early evening of being a mummy, then a busy-busy rest of the evening preparing for the next busy-busy day (I think you get my point here) can really sap your energy and your time. Before I know it it's 10pm and I am just finishing my dinner and trying to stay awake to watch Grand Designs. I couldn't start mosaicing then even if I had the energy to. Then there's the half-sewn dammit dolls, the projectless fabric hidden in boxes, the endless balls of wools waiting to be turned into hats (that's the extent of my knitting ability), my fimo box and my mehndi tin haven't seen the light of day much in yonks. Don't get me started on the pots and pots of beads.

But (and this is a good But) the creativity is still there. Whereas before I would have just added all these things to my long list of things I don't have time to do (along with culling my socks and tidying under the bed) I now just plot and plan, make notes and sketches and still consider myself creative in mind even if I physically can't be doing it. I wouldn't have thought that way before I started this blog. So that's pretty cool.

Day fifty-six: Butterfly mirror finished!

The butterfly mirror is finished!

I really really enjoyed doing this one. I like working with ceramics, it's like cutting butter compared to glass. I really enjoyed making something out of another thing altogether too, this was an old green plate so the pieces aren't flat, which make the whole thing really tactile.

I gave it to my sister as a present for her 30th birthday and she is really pleased, she has promised to send me a picture of it in situ.

Now, what to do next? Tonight I start on a stepstool especially for my little girl.

She uses it every night to stand on and clean her teeth. It's solid wood from Ikea and she wants me to mosaic her footprints so she can stand on them. I'm looking forward to the challenge and hoping she is pleased with the outcome! I'll have to start on the top first and work quickly so it's not out of action for long. I know I could do the mosaic on mesh, but the idea of it makes me nervous...but maybe this would be a good project to try it with. Any tips greatly appreciated.

Day 49: Butterfly mirror and the flickr cool/warm challenge

There's only a few days left until the deadline for the flickr cool/warm challenge. I had started on my cool mirror:



I ran out of tiles so I need to somehow get to the mosaic shop in Central London to buy a new supply before my time runs out. However I also have my butterfly mirror:



For this I have all the necessary materials to hand so I will probably enter this one to the challenge.

It's been a tough week, the weather has made it difficult to get out and about with munchkin, so she's a little cabin-feverish. Hubby and I are both trying to throw of infections too, so we're tired and snippy. I just feel like I need some time off from work to concentrate on organising the home and finishing some of my creative projects. It's difficult to be so stuck in such a soulless, creativity-void job in a city that is grumpy and cynical, it's no wonder I sometimes struggle to be inspired! But by making the time, even during periods like this, it is having an effect. When the job gets to me, I have a quick browse on the internet and look at mosaics, or on Etsy, or look at the pictures I have of hubby and munchkin giving it a go, and I am reminded I have more important things waiting for me at home.

Day forty-seven: DVD

Mosaics and the like have taken a back seat the last few days whilst I concentrate fully on pulling together the DVD for my sister's 30th birthday. I am doing a really long slideshow to music of photos of her from a baby to the present day, then just when she thinks it's over it goes into our own version of the Peter Kay Show Me the Way to Amarillo video starring all her family and friends. It's taken ages to orchestrate but the result is fantastic.

Apart from that the snow has really thrown a spanner in the works. We couldn't get to work, had to dig our car out of the driveway and the snow has been a totally magical experience for all of us. There's a lot of people here in Blighty complaining about our lack of ability to deal with snow, I can't say I'm with them. We don't often get what my mum calls "proper weather" so there's little point in wasting money and resources in putting measures in place for things that happen only once every ten years or so. I for one was delighted to get an extra day with my family, screw the economy and the state of the country, excuse my turn of phrase, give me a snowman and a winter wonderland in place of commuting and work any day.

Day forty-three: Snow Day!

Today was particularly magical, we woke up to a snow covered imbolc! All trains going into London were cancelled, there were no buses running, and we couldn't get the car onto the road anyway! So hubby worked from home and the little 'un and I had a fairly lazy day, punctuated with very cold walks around the nearby neighbourhood in our wellies!





















Snow aside, it has been a creative few days in the snipsnaphappy household here in Kent. I have so far more or less successfully managed one creative thing daily, and it seems this is rubbing off on the hubby and the offspring! My little girl produced another fabulous mosaic, and even taught my hubby a thing or too; he started on a rather brilliant Robin. Can't wait to see it finished. He's very artistic my hubby, it just lies dormant most of the time!


















Having finished my genie bottle for the flickr mosaic challenge I started to work again on my butterfly mirror.
















It was lovely to be working to my own flow again, and also to use PVA glue after being stuck* with silicone for the last week or so. I absolutely love the flickr challenge group, it gives me such scope for practising new skills and materials, and it builds my confidence with each comment I get from the other (far more talented) group members. The group has allowed me to begin to discover what my own style is, or could be, what I enjoy, and what I am dismal at!



* excuse pun.