My Month in Numbers 2011: February

Hi, hi, hi.

So, that's month No.2 under our collective belts then. How was it for you? Too quick? Over in a flash? That's the kind of thing people say about February isn't it?

28 days = The number of days in February. A fact which people always comment on. But really it's only, at the most, 3 days shorter than any other month so how come it has such a marked effect?

I could have used those 3 extra days to work on deadlines ... but then, I'd probably only fill them with tea-drinking, web-surfing and general frittering. So perhaps it's all for the best ...

7 = the random number which has emerged from amongst the random scratches on our dining room floor:

All I need to do now is keep my eyes peeled for 5 more random numbers scratched into the tiles ... then I'm putting the lottery on ...

57 = number of screenshots I took and then prettified to illustrate my Tips for the Twitter-curious class:

That was a lot of editing. A lot.

I even taught myself GIMP so I could get the exact style I wanted. ['...taught myself GIMP' is such a weird thing to hear oneself say ... ].

But the class was well received and people have made positive comments about the look of the whole thing ... so it must have been worth it.

[If you still haven't dipped your toes in the Twitter waters ... don't forget that the whole series of posts can be found here].

2 months / approx 52 days earlier than last year = when I first 'pegged out' my washing on the line! They even dried too. But, and please don't tell the scrapbooking police, I didn't take a photo of it. I know ... what's wrong with me?

If you need to see photographic evidence that I do indeed have a washing line ... [I know, you're anxious for proof] you'll have to refer to last year's photo instead. Yes, there is indeed a last-year's first viable-spring-day-to-peg-laundry-online photo. This really could turn into some scientific climate monitoring ...

2666 = the title of the novel I'm currently reading:

898 = the number of pages in the aforementioned novel. And you thought my progress updates while reading Wolf Hall were painful ... at only 660 pages Wolf Hall was a mere appetiser for this tome!

12 = the page I'm on as of today. And so a year of 'oh God is she still reading that book' updates begin ...

£37:99 = the price of a pair of unusual leather boots I spotted in the Clearance section of TK Maxx:

I hadn't intended to buy more black boots. But they were such a find I could hardly resist.

Asking James for his opinion he responded: 'They're a bit weird'.

'You say that like it's going to put me off' I replied.

Then I bought them.

2 = the number of charity sacks filled with coats and bags from when I cleaned out the hallway. Yes bags. I'm voluntarily getting rid of bags. That can only indicate one of two things either:

1. I'm being virtuous and trying to simplify my life ... and my hallway ... or;
2. I'm clearing a space so I can buy more.

At the moment it's actually No.1, but we'll see how long that lasts.

18 = the number of items arranged in the 'grand hallway re-hang':

We only had a handful of things on display before, but after receiving some new [mainly birdy] pictures for Christmas I needed to branch out on to a new wall ... or two ...

I might start charging for entry to my gallery ...

---------------
There's a few people revealing their numbers along with me this month:

• Claire Salisbury / @craftyclaireliz has joined in again with a Month in Numbers scrapbook page here.
• And Beki Norman / @beksynormz has joined in for the first time here.
• Plus my favourite Hannah ever - @whoisHannahB has blogged hers here.
• Here's Candace's post.
• And Katy / @CatesbyK shared hers here.

So how about you? Are there any February numbers of your own floating about that you'd care to throw this way?

Or maybe you just want to make a note to start logging some numbers during March instead and check back in with me at the end of the month instead? If you let me know you're playing along I'll link you up here so everyone can drop by and see.

Either way, keep in touch, I'll look forward to hearing your vital statistics.

Julie :-)

The perils of being so busy you'd eat cardboard if it was offered.

Hi, hi, hi.

I'm busy. And it's not that I mind being busy, on the upside it keeps me out of mischief, it keeps me off the streets and it keeps me quiet ... almost.

[If you're sick of hearing me mumble on about how busy/tired/stressed I am right now ... imagine what it's like for James who has to live with me!]. ;-)

Apart from that mumbling and grumbling being busy has a few other side-effects ... which, in the interests of full-blogging-disclosure I thought I'd share with you ... I'm sure you're just the same ... hopefully ...

Side Effect 1: Absent Mindedness.

• Yesterday I very nearly put a container of salt in the fridge.

Side Effect 2: Postponing lunch until you're so hungry you'd eat cardboard.

• This happened one day last week and a quick, desparate scan of the fridge for something speedily edible failed.
• So I turned to microwavable tinned delicacies. Specifically these which James had sneaked into the supermarket trolley a few weeks ago:

I love you 3rd & Bird. A great deal. But boy-oh-boy does your pasta taste like a warm corrugated cardboard in bland tomato sauce.

[p.s: Kirsty - don't let the little windmill shapes sway you! Save your money and eat a box instead.]

Once again I'm reminded of the importance of making my lunch the night before. When I suddenly realise how hungry I am it's always such a relief to find something ready and waiting for me in the fridge.

Just so long as it's not a container of salt [See Side Effect 1].

Side Effect 3: Stir-craziness - leading to rash and embarrassing actions.

• I spent much of yesterday indoors, sat at a table, repeatedly embossing, punching and sticking pieces of card to other pieces of card for a magazine project.
• When I finished and began tidying the remains of that project away .. ready for the next one ... I spotted a scrap on the floor which called out for me to pick it up and do somehting embarrassing with it.
• So I did:

I think I'm rocking the 'haughty WW2 pilot' look. Either that or the 'mad woman who's been breathing in too much paper dust'. I'll let you decide ...

[If you're wondering where you've seen me with a 'tache before ... it's probably this you're thinking of].

Side Effect 4: You really can't fit everything in you meant to do plus, as if you had nothing better to do, you decide to do a random procrastinating blog post .. like this one.

A while ago I said I'd announce the winner of my Tips for the Twitter-curious giveaway today:

I did meant to do it in a post of its own etc etc and I meant to write out all the names of those who entered but ... apparently I'm too busy [have I mentioned that?]... so instead I just checked back through the comments and links left by those who blogged about my class ... put the number in the Random Number Generator ... it gave me No.2 and No.2 was .... Rebecca E. Parsons.

Thanks for your support Rebecca - I'll be in touch so I can set the bird collage free and headed your way.

-------------

OK then ... I've got a Month in Numbers post to write, while watching Glee and here you are trying to distract me by keeping me here, blogging this nonsense.

Busy-busy people. Busy, busy!

See you tomorrow.

Julie :-)

Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop

Hi, hi, hi.

After teaching the Tips for the Twitter-curious class earlier this month and after spending my working week sitting in on someone else's studies ... I've enrolled myself in a classof my own choosing!

It's Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshops ... and it looks like a lovely place to rest my weary head in someone else's arty hands for a few weeks:

You can read more about it here but - in brief - it's a mixed media class which I thought might keep me inspired to create and experiment with messy art techniques and backgrounds.

Plus it's the first class I've seen - since taking Dina Wakley's classes at Art From the Heart last year - which has eally grabbed me and felt like my kind of creativity [ie. expressive and imperfect, with every chance of messiness and a high risk of staining an item of clothing in the process!]

BTW: I'm in no way affiliated to this class! It just looks like it's going to be good so I'm telling you now ... before it's too late to sign up. Registration closes on the 27th.

I've already got two friends on board ... so if you too decide to join in let me know and I'll keep my eyes peeled in class for you - apparently there's a forum and dedicated space for us to chat and share our efforts.

With four deadlines to meet and a four day break in the country to fit-in over the next week and while feeling slightly under-par at the moment ... there's no way I'll be keeping up with the class. But that's OK, I'll catch up sometime or other ...

In the meantime I'll just sit back and enjoy the fact that someone will be teaching me something they're good at.

And that's very near the top of my list of favourite things to do in the world!

I'll let you know how I get on ... don't forget to let me know if you sign-up too.

Julie :-)

@notesonpaper

Art Journal Challenge: Weeks 5 & 6

Hello you. Yes, you.

How's your weekend been?

Mine began with some fabulous stand-up comedy, then included a new pair of boots and a pair of shoes, some perfect cheesecake and lovely perfume; and it's about to end with this snippet of blogging followed by some sifting through magazines for interesting things to cut out for my journals. So ... all is good here.

There are 2 new topics for the weekly art journal challenge for me to catch up with on UKStampers so I thought I'd show you my last two pages before I start any more.

Here's my response to 'What makes a perfect day?':

I couldn't pin it down to just one thing, but with blue sky, sunshine and good food I don't think you can go too far wrong can you?

The 6th prompt was to create something about 'Friends'. While flicking through a Jack Wills catalogue which was destined to be chopped up and cannibalised for interesting collagey bits ... I spotted two words which said everything I wanted to say about my friendships and thus inspired my whole page.

Which two deeply powerful and soul-reaching words were they? I'll tell you ...

Lounge + Pants:

Lounge pants! Such a great term and indeed a great addition to any comfy evening [I'm wearing a pair right now in fact. Zebra striped to be specific.]

But back to the art journaling ...

I knew I wanted to use those words along with a few of the images from the catalogue and so all I had to do was create a background for them ... and think of how to fit that very particular term on to the page:

And then it came to me: 'Friends are the people you wear lounge pants in front of'.

If you're unsure if someone is your friend, ask yourself 'would I wear my loungepants in front of them?'. If the answer is yes ... it's safe to say you can count them as a friend.

Disclaimer: This is true the majority of the time.

I know you can't always vouch for who sees you in them. Sometimes while you're still decked out in the pants-of-lounge non-friends drop by unnanounced, and sometimes you nip out to put something in the bin wearing them. And my postman has clapped eyes on mine from time to time [my lounge pants people! Keep your mind out of the gutter!], yet that doesn't really make me and 'The Bald One in the Van Who Knows Me' true friends now!

But overall ... I think my argument stands true!

Happy lounging.

I'll see you soon.

Julie x

p.s: If you're planning to join in with a Month in Numbers post of your own this month ... don't forget to jot down a few of those vital February statistics! eg: how many Valentine's cards you got ... etc

Tag art-journal: A Few Freaky Friends

Hello, hello.

I've got some freaky friends to introduce you to today. It's my turn to create for Scattered Scarlet - the 3DJean blog today - and this is what I've been making with the new range of Onirie papers plus Shimmerz paints and spray inks:

I've been on a few Design Teams now and - for what it's worth - in my experience if you don't make things you love or would make anyway, even if you weren't on the DT ... then it can become too much of a 'job'. and who wants crafting to feel like hard work?

All of which is another subtle way for me to say I'm a little bit in love with this book I've made! [I'm going for honesty over modesty here ... ].

I've decorated each page of an old tag book I received in a stash swap last year before adding in some art-journal style figures.

If you want to see how I made the backgrounds then hop over to my DT post here for the full details:

Have you worked out what all the little metal tabs are from yet?

They're from the ends of tape-measures and, when you tend to make things that aren't tape measures out of things that are tape measures ... as I do ... then you end up with a little collection of spare tabs! They just happened to be in my 'bit bag' when I was making these pages and suddenly I found a use for them!

Now here's the first of the 'freaky friends' who are going to populate each page:

I like nothing more than sitting with a pile of magazines, catalogues and scraps of paper on my knee ...

and seeing what - or who - leaps out at me:

I'll share some more freaks with you when I've made them!

I found a lovely mountain goat on Saturday who's just desparate to sprout wings and be added to my circle of friends ...

Don't forget to visit me at Jean's and I'll see you soon.

Julie :-)