What are you reading this Christmas?

I've always liked to do a bit of reading over the Christmas period, I have my old favourites that I read every year, the first being a favourite of many,  'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. The version I have has been illustrated by Arthur Rackham, (1869-1939) a brilliant artist who done a huge amount of work.

A selection of illustrations from 'A Christmas Carol'

  Another book I read every year, also by Charles Dickens, is 'The Chimes' A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang an Old Year Out and a New One in. This story is not so well known and it gets lots of mixed reviews, (I know a couple of people who prefer to listen to it by audio book rather than read it). The story of The Chimes can be a bit long winded but I find that like any book, if I read with lots of inflection and emotion (sometimes even accents) then it is more enjoyable.

'The Chimes' by Charles Dickens. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

 My third Christmas book that I like to flick through is Penhaligons Treasury of Verse & Prose, (pictured below) it was scented at one time but I've had it so long and it's been thumbed through so many times there is no perfume left. As you can guess from the title it is full of wonderful verse, from the well known carol...

The Holly and the Ivy (sung here by Annie Lennox) to 

In the Bleak Midwinter sung by the Moody Blues

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

                                   Treasury of Verse with a picture of a Victorian Christmas Card                                    

Well that's some of my reading organised,  do you have any Christmas favourites?

I have a few new new bits that I painted this week, I'd like to show you but I need to keep them secret ;) at least for one more week :) but I'm going to link this post to 1st Unique Gifts Blog and go and have a peek at some great makes and great blogs.

Whatever you are doing this Christmas, have fun, be good and stay safe. Best wishes to you all.

Jan x

How many 'sleeps till Christmas'?

Wow it's only........

well it was when I posted this..... I have a few more bits to do for my Christmas Orders then it's time to relax and enjoy, but not until I've..... painted 2 Tinkerbell Canvases for a pair of twins whose birthdays are in early January, a couple of Door Plaques, again for a couple of January birthdays, all of which I want to get sorted now so I'm not panicking to get them done during the holiday.

Oh yes, I also need to go shopping for a few more prezzies, get my food shop sorted, pop in to see a few friends, put the tree and decorations up and any other last minute things I will think of.

How many of us say every year 'I'll be more organised next year'? Yes I'm guilty but somehow Christmas creeps up on me every year, I don't know why, it's not like a big last minute surprise, as long as I've been aware it's on the same date every year,  but 'I'll be more organised next year' so watch this space!!!

Have a good week every one

Jan x 

A trio of Plaques

What a busy week we are all having, I've hardly had time to think straight, although my thinking is usually a twisty winding road. I do try to get around all the blogs I follow but with the run up to 'the big day' time is of a premium, I usually manage to take a bit of time out and read most of them but unfortunately I don't get a chance to comment on all of them, so if I've missed you out don't take it personally :) I'm sure we are all suffering from the lack of hours in the day.

I'd like to show you a little of what I've been doing.....the following trio of Plaques are winging their way across the miles and will grace 3 doors in Hawaii  along with a selection of my Fairy Doors, hopefully lots of smiley faces on Christmas morning.

I've linked this post to Wendy's blog, I hope you can pop over and take a peek.

Wishing you a productive week

Jan x

Flight of the Purple Heart

Wow, what a whirlwind weekend, but I'll tell you guy's about that in another post, today I want to tell you about one of my canvases. 

Those who know me from the  Craft Forum may remember that one of my paintings has been accepted for the Christmas Exhibition at the Apex Gallery in Bury St Edmunds. The Apex Gallery is advertised as a new and exciting contemporary art gallery. It is in the centre of the new 'arc'shopping centre and in the advertising blurb it says it would be of interest to "those seeking to look at or to buy high quality contemporary work".There is a nice bar and Coffee Shop there as well for those who want a break from the hustle and bustle of shopping.

All the art displayed will be based on the following quotation: “...Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything...” Plato.

So on Wednesday I set out with my painting feeling ridiculously excited and handed it over to the exhibition organiser and Gallery Director Cate Hadley.

The painting I submitted is different to anything I have shown on this blog, it is part of 'the other side of me' and here it is.

Flight of the Purple Heart

The Exhibition opened Saturday, 3rd December and runs until 16th January 2012, I hope that if you are in the area you can pop in and have a nosey, and maybe a coffee and cake while you are there, and talking about popping in, don't forget to pop over to Handmade Monday and check out what everyone else is up to.


Jan x