It's A Sign: How's this for an unsubtle memorial?

Hi, hi, hi.

A few months back I was in a branch of the Yorkshire Trading Company. Even if you don't have one near you, you'll be familiar with the types of shop it is.

It's the kind of place where fishing-tackle nestles on the shelves near bed-socks just down the aisle from sequin-trimming-by-the-metre. Where you can find raffle tickets, dog biscuits and cake moulds under one roof.  You know ...

The place you head to when you need to pick up air mail envelopes, drain unblocker ... and grave-side memorials.

Yes. They sell those too. And it was in this particular aisle - in a place filled with odd combinations - that I found the most noteworthy juxtaposition of stock.

Because ... hark ... what's that they've placed next to the 'Low Low Price' grave-markers, with their lines of comforting script and the artificial grave-ready flowers?

Why .. that would be ... a novelty parking meter. An appropriately 'Expired' novelty parking meter ...

*I assure you that I had no hand in mischievously rearranging stock for my own comic ends here. This is all the shop's own [no doubt purely accidental] creative display.

If you're in the mood for more smiles:

• you can catch up on previous 'It's a Sign' posts here ;
• and flick through the 'Funny Pages' from my Facebook page where I share photos of smirk-worthy pages I stumble across in my old books.

Happy week ahead.

Julie :-)

Sian's Storytelling Sunday: Oh. You meant *that* laughter

Greetings.

Yes this is my contribution to Sian's Storytelling Sunday [a tale-telling event on the 1st Sunday of each  new month at From High in the Sky] ... and yes, this is Friday. But let's not allow a matter of days to spoil the moment eh? [Plus, fortunately Sian welcomes entries for a whole week afterwards].

And so ... here's a story inspired by Sian's suggestion of sharing a school related story.

But first, you need to know: part-time, during term time, I work as an 'EPA' (Educational Personal Assistant) in a University supporting students with disabilities. Basically whatever their impairment prevents them from doing then - under their direction - I do instead.

It can be as simple as opening doors or carrying bags right up to taking notes, reading aloud, using equipment on their behalf ... and all kinds of other, intriguing and not always predictable activities.

And there's a Golden Rule for EPAs. One which is stressed by management during initial training and re-stressed again and again and again afterwards:

You don't get involved.

It's not your course.

It's the student's.

Do not take away their chance to have as independent student experience as possible.

In practise this means when you're at work - nothing's about you.

• You don't answer questions in lectures ... even when you know the answer and no one else is offering anything!
• You don't offer opinions in class discussions ... even when implored by desperate tutors;
• You don't correct mistakes in work that the student hasn't noticed ...even when you know it's during their final exam of a Masters degree ... (oh my, was that a tough 2 hours!);

In short: you sit on your hands, bite your tongue and act like a shadow.

And some days following that Golden Rule is hard to do.

And on others?

Oh ... on others you thank your lucky stars it exists ... like days when you have to accompany a student to a 'Laughter Workshop' ...

Oh. You meant *that* laughter

"I'm not sure what I'll have to do, but I'm interested in stand-up comedy, so I thought I'd sign up and see what it is".

So said the student as we made our way to the Fresher's Week event billed as a 'Laughter Workshop'.

Fine by me.  I try to be funny [you might not have noticed]. I'm interested in comedy. I might pick up a tip or two for myself.  I can think of worse ways to spend an autumnal afternoon. Except ...

Except there'd been a slight misunderstanding in the promotion of this event and ... and well ... well it wasn't about stand-up comedy.

At all.

[Not unless I ever decide a fancy a stint as a stand-up, in which case I'm definitely working it into my routine!]

Because this was one of those workshops where you literally have to LOL.

And you do it:

• LOUDLY ... and quietly.
•  From your belly. Fom your throat.
• At different p i t c h e s.
• At different    s     p     e      e       d    s
• While standing.
• While sitting.
• Stopping just short of ROFLMAO-ing
• With your shoulders.
• With strangers ...
• but without jokes!

Take a moment now to imagine the scene. And the stunned students in attendance.

Meanwhile, the lady giving the class was straight from central casting: middle-class. Wearing a rainbow knitted jumper. Smelling strongly of incense. Honestly, if I'd made any of that up I'd have worried about over-stereotyping and being too far-fetched.

... and all that's even before I tell you that this self-proclaimed 'laughter therapist' was getting more and more frustrated at the very low number in attendance; she mumbled and complained that her event had not been publicised properly and tried valiantly to manage her annoyance that those who had turned up were expecting a comedy class.

And what was the song she was playing - in a constant loop - while she expressed this tension and frustration?

Well, that would be: Don't Worry, Be Happy.

I kid you not.

And ... when, as was inevitable, she turned my way ...

... and extended a well meaning invitation for me to join in ... with all that laughing-like-a-crazy-person-in-public-activity ...

... then never, never, neither before nor since, have I been happier to do as I was told.

To play by the rules.

To state management policy.

"I'm sorry" I replied ... "we're not meant to impinge on the student experience ... I'm really not allowed to join in ... ".

All together now: Don't worry ... be happy ... don't worry be happy now ... ooh, oooh ooooh oooo

Julie ;-)

Scrapbooking: Magic Beans

Morning! [Yes, it is.]

After all the excitement of yesterday's post it's probably a good time to settle down with some scrapbooking today ... especially as it features a way to use Plundered Pages [which you can now buy in a real shop!!! Oh ... yes, I forgot ... I'm meant to be settling down ...].

With vegetables ...

In the past I've scrapbooked:

• our first homegrown tomato;
• our first homegrown strawberry;
• our first ,and only, homegrown squash ... and now it's the turn of ...

... our first runner beans:

But ... as you shouold be able to make out in the photos ... these aren't just any runner beans ... they're magic beans.

Not that it states 'Magic Beans' clearly on the label.

In fact, I don't think they had a label.

They're just something James picked up from a nursery and brought home ... in exchange for our prize cow. No .. hang on ... no, that wasn't James ... I'm getting him mixed up with someone aren't I?

Anyway ... I've eaten runner beans before, so wasn't expecting the treat that was awaiting us when we popped open the first ripe pod ... they're pink! Pink beans!! Pink!!

So far, so amazing. But then ... 

A few weeks later we cooked a few [up until then they'd not been making it much further than the greenhouse where they'd be picked and summarily eaten] but this night I steamed a few and ... just when you thought I couldn't get any  more excited by the colour of a bean ... [my, how you underestimate me ...]

... imagine my levels of delight when I discovered that these magic, pink, beans ... well ...

... they turn lilac when cooked!

Look!!

Who knew??? [OK, maybe you did .. but I didn't!].

They're the horse of every colour of the veg world!

Then, while I was trawling my book collections, putting together entirely unconnected Plundered Pages packs ... I came across a page in a 1980's annual all about a bean family[obvs] which inspired me to get these photos scrapped and use up that perfect illustration [above] and this ridiculously appropriate text:

Thanks for reading today.

If you don't hear from me for a while, who knows, I might be off having an adventure ... up a beanstalk ...

Julie :-)

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Click to visit the Plundered Pages packs currently available online

**All other papers, buttons, ribbon + pins are available from 3DJean  [today's my day to share a Design Team project and along with this layout, I've created 2 cards over on the DT blog here]

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My SkyBlueRed Adventure: a tale of selling crafts + eating cake

Hellos.

For the second year in a row, throughout September, I'll be joining in with Shimelle Laine's Learn Something New Every Day project and in the first prompt Shimelle suggested we ease ourselves in gently and begin documenting the new month by answering the question: "What do you define as your last big adventure?" and for once I didn't need to ponder, pause or think about my response ...

Because it only happened the day before!

And this it what it looked like ...

9.30am, Friday 31st August. My Dining Room. Pre-Big Adventure:

 At this point I was feeling a little nervous, but not nervous enough to forget to take a photo before I left the house.

I'm a scrapbooker.

It's what we do.

Then, half an hour later, I was there.

10:00am, SkyBlueRed Studio, Guisborough [N.Yorks], The Big Adventure begins ...

SkyBlueRed Studio is a recently opened gallery, shop and tearoom where I'm renting out some space in which to sell my paper packs, creativity kits, collages and cards for [at least] the next 4 months.

And, as it's the first time I've tried to sell my wares offline ... it really does feel like an adventure!

Here's some of my kits, awaiting price labels in their lovely bright workshop:

 And here's where they'll be going on display, in the shop area:

While I'm hiring out a particular size of retail space, it doesn't mean my products will be all kept together in one spot, rather they're going to be spread out and scattered amongst all of the other lovely handmade items by local artists and makers:

Do I sound excited? That'll be because I am!

I've always believed that my packs are the kind of thing that, once people get them in their hands, their real-life, fleshy, touchy-feely hands, their crafty-makey-stash-collecty hands ... then they'll find them almost irresistible ... and now I guess I'll find out whether I was right about that!

Right now, now that it's done and dusted and the packs are on the shelves, it feels so straightforward. So simple. So do-able.

Yet, doing this, taking the leap, putting my self and my products 'out there' has taken a lot of debating, plucking-up courage and back and forth arguing with myself about what to do and whether I dare do it!

Then I did.

So, if there's a "maybe I could try that" voice in your head somewhere ... whispering even with the tiniest of voices ... and you're shushing it up because you think it's all too scary and that people like you don't do that kind of thing ... then please let my little adventure prove you wrong.

In the nicest possible way!

And just let the voice talk to you some more. For as long as it takes. Then see what adventure it takes you off on.

So, with all the businessy bits out of the way, with my products handed over and my meeting with one of the gallery's directors complete, I ended the beginning of the adventure by doing three familiar things ... to restore some sanity normality ...

•  1: I bought something! A ceramic heart shaped brooch to be precise.

But not purely from an urge to have something so lovely in my grubby hands, but also because it felt like an appropriately karmic gesture. I'm a big believer that 'What goes around, comes around' and 'you get what you give' ... so it felt right to buy something from a place where I'd like to sell something.

And then ...

• 2: I had a cup of tea [because that's the British solution to most of life's dramas]

and ...

• 3: I ate cake! And it was very nice, very large, orange & lemon butter cream cake at that!

Both from the SkyBlueRed tearoom, all served on wonderfully mixed vintage crockery:

I'm pretty sure that all the best adventures end with cake. Wouldn't you say?

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So, let me leave you by politely [if not subtly!] suggesting that:

• if you're ever in the vicinity;
• or if you ever find yourself in the wider Teesside or North Yorkshire area in general ...
• and you can spare a mini-detour ...

... then maybe you - and your real-life touchy-feely stash-collecty hands - would care to drop into SkyBlueRed and just try [but not very hard] to resist my packs ... and their cakes!

Julie x

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You can find out more about SkyBlueRed Studio via their website and keep up-to-date via their Facebook page.

p.s: in case your hands are simply too far away to reach ... then fear not ... it's business as usual in my online shop.

My Month in Numbers 2012: August

Helloooo.

Have you noticed it yet? 

That slight chill around the ankles ... that slighly lower sun ... that sudden urge to re-visit your sock drawer ... that distictly Autumnal nip in the air?

There. I've said it. It's beginning to look a lot like Autumn. In fact, I've worn all 3 of my new 'back to school' cardigans [bought for my return to my campus job next month] already.

So, it's a perfectly suitable moment to say goodbye to August by taking a look back at My Month ... in Numbers:

1st = the Olympic Gold Medal the Team GB men's coxless 4 won while we watched from the vantage point of the art gallery 3rd floor viewing deck:

Is it just me or does it seem like an aaaage ago that we were inexplicably glued to the Olympics? I had to check and re-check the date-stamp on this photo to reassure myself that it did, indeed, occur in August.

3 = the number of library books I've read:

I mentioned in this earlier post that it'd been far too long since my last trip to the library. So I rectified that and took out 5 books, so far I've read:

• The Lying Tongue by Andrew Wilson [a great, rattling, twisty-turny, read-in-one-day thriller];
• Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant [a fabulous read, unique language and style, very quirky, gentle and funny book - highly recommended];
•  and also Three Horses by Erri de Luca [a slight book in size, but filled with big themes].

I read them in quick succession and allowed myself to be completely absorbed, carrying my books everywhere I went. Yes. Everywhere ...

Then ... when I uploaded some recent photos on to my laptop ... look what I found while I was there:

A sneaky photo of me reading in the garden.  Taken through the dining room window. Without me realising.

Clearly James has been up to his paparazzi tricks again!

2 = the number of charity bags filled with the results of a long overdue wardrobe clear-out :

Last month when I mentioned how I'd been shredding old paperwork, it brought on a deluge of responses from people who'd been doing the same. So, if July was Communal Shredding Month I'm wondering ... was August a Clearing-out-and-getting-rid-pre-Autumn Clean for you too?

0 - 8= the items gracing one of our bedroom walls - before and after a little re-jigging and re-styling.

Before [roughly how it's looked for around 6 years or so]:

And now after:

Granted, it's not a gigantic change, but I tend to keep the bedroom really simple and light and as non-distracting-from-sleep as possible, so this is about as 'decorated' as I'm willing to go for now.

12 = the number of pieces of 'best' jewellery now on display [they're now inside the pin-board box frame, as seen on the left of the photo above]:

Having them so easily accessible, rather than in a jewelley box in a drawer, is already working. I've worn 4 different pairs of earrings in the last 5 days.

10 = the number of dresses I can now safely hang on my new metal wall hook:

Believe it or not [you know how I love clothes] this is the only wardrobe in the room.

And we share it!

Until that hook went up, I had to hang up [some of] my dresses on a make-shift Heath Robinson-esque construction of coat hangers precariously hooked over the top of the wardrobe.

It was a death trap. They frequently tilted, slid, collided, collapsed and fell off. All at once. With an almighty clatter, sending coathanger shrapnel and patterned dresses everywhere.

Imagine Jenga, or Kerplunk ... but with frocks ... and you'll be on the right track.

Oh and yes, that photo above reminds me ...

2 = the number of original 50s pin-up girl posters I've been kind enough to allow James to hang in the bedroom. If you coul dsee them in real life you'd know that, when the door's open ... you can't actually see them.

Whether or not there's any truth to the rumour that I've been leaving the door open more often than usual ... well ... I couldn't possibly comment ... ;-)

35 = the number of bloggers who pulled themselves up to their full height and then shared it with us all during The Height of Summer series.

33 = the new-to-me old books I've given a home to this month:

There are only 30 in this photo because I only bought the last 3 this morning and haven't yet taken a photo.

At this rate I could create my own 'A Vintage Book A Day' desk calendar ...

And finally ...

107 = the total number of my products which I took to a real life bricks & mortar shop, just this morning! I'm renting out some display space in a new local tea-room / craft shop / workshop - my first venture into selling my products off-line! But enough of that for now ... it's a moment which deserves a post of its own. And it shall have one, next week for, as all good bloggers should ... I took my camera!

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Rightio - over to you. If you're counting along too this month, the usual rules apply:

 

The Month in Numbers 'etiquette':If you write a post and want to leave a link for myself and others to visit and/or pin it to the dedicated Pinterest board please bear in mind it has a shared experience aspect to it.

• When you swing by my blog to drop off a link to your Month in Numbers post - please leave a comment for me while you're there. Not because I'm needy ... but because it feels fair. Reciprocal.
• Please link to my blog in your post. As much as I'd like to think that everyone who reads your blog already knows what 'My Month in Numbers' means... the truth is, they don't. So unless you explain where the idea comes from and how your readers can join you in doing the same next month, they are none the wiser.
• Please take time at some point in the month to visit and comment on a few of the other posts too.

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Thanks for dropping by today.

 

Hang on to your hats/socks/cardigans Mr.September ... because here we come ...

 

Julie