Occasional Blues.....

New name....new start!

Why 'Occasional Blues'? Well, I wanted to keep some kind of a link with my previous blog name and, although my tastes have changed, it goes without saying you'll still be seeing some shades of blue here :-)
And there's also the fact that I've been experiencing 'the blues' off and on over the last couple of years (and that will probably continue as I don't have a miracle cure yet). More of that later.
But I really had to get rid of the word 'girl'......... hardly appropriate as I approach my 63rd birthday ;-)

So what can you expect to see here should you pay me a visit?
There'll be lots of photos.....mostly altered in some way.
Moodboards and mosaics.
My little paper and fabric collages.
Healthy recipes and tips I've picked up over the last couple of years.
Rants about my health.....I'll keep them short.
And tales of my travels.
Talking of which....I'm off to St Ives very soon. And we're going on the train! I can't wait.

My aims:

• to keep my posts short and frequent
• to be honest about stuff important to me. Be warned....some of it may be controversial ;-)
• to share any creative tips and ideas I can come up with
• to also share interesting stuff I discover on other blogs and websites (I'm an avid reader of health and lifestyle blogs)

Next post.....the reason why I've been such a rubbish blogger over the past year. 

And some new needlecases.

I'll leave you with a recent piece of digital scrapbooking.... 

.... a photo taken with my favourite iPhone app - Hipstamatic

....and a lovely recipe from one of my favourite health bloggers 'Oh She Glows'...... a Happy Digestion Smoothie! I need this today.......

Friday Finds

This is my contribution to Kim Klassen's 'Friday Finds', which I am going to try and join in with on a regular basis.  I used Kim's 'Magic Scripted' texture on my photo, plus one of her affirmation brushes.......a great quote and even more appropriate as the flower has a flaw on one of the petals.

I decided to make a start on my garden journal yesterday.....which meant photographing the garden at its 'winter worst', in order to appreciate the beauty later on ;-)
I had a lovely surprise though when I found the hellebore flowering amongst all the duller stuff.
I remember buying it last year; an unimpressive stem with four leaves which the nursery owner assured me would become a wonderful plant.  Well he was right.....

I printed out a few sizes of the digitally altered photo and spent a happy half hour sorting through my collage boxes to find matching materials for a collage (or two).

Angel was on hand to give advice....

So at last I am going to start sticking and stitching!! Its been a long time.......

Merry Christmas!

Had you given up on me? I've had a computer-free fortnight whilst I caught up with some jobs and made some Christmas gifts. Of course during that time the snow and frost provided great photo opportunities in my garden....

...and apparently its not done with us yet :-( 

I used some of my photos for digital art. The one at the very top shows the view from my window. That, and the ones below, have textures from Kim Klassen and DJ Pettitt.

 

Here are some of the gifts I've been making - felted brooches, purses, washcloths (knitted and crocheted).......

...the pink and green cloths are tied up with rhubarb and custard scented soap!

 

I'm quite proud of my flowers as I've only just taught myself to crochet.

I met my friend Clare for lunch yesterday and she gave me this wonderful gift...... a little cat decoration which she had hand-stitched herself. The snowflake stitches and the fish bones are so tiny!! Truly something to treasure...I love it!

I'm off to the shops now to find some dancing shoes for a party I'm going to this evening with my sister. Its all go.... :-)

I hope you all have a truly joyful Christmas.......

Love from Linda xx