STILL ALIVE OUT HERE ...

Well, we shoved all our furniture and stuff (so MUCH of it, I'm embarrassed to have so many worldly possessions!) and headed north. After 5 days we're beginning to emerge from a sea of boxes, although in terms of the Studio it is most definitely a case of trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot. One day I just wanted to cry because I figured a large amount of it would have to go, but when I looked I simply couldn't spare any of it!! Anyway, things are looking better now although there's still a long way to go, but more of that later - I have been taking pictures and promise to reveal all shortly.

This post is really just to restore my (flagging) sanity, and to share the Truth Cards I made in the last few days before the move when I couldn't really settle to anything more ambitious ....
And yes - they are ATC sized (which is 2.5 x 3.5") but mainly because I happened to have a lot of card cut in that size, but you could make them any size that works for you! I used to LOVE making ATCs anyway, and I get to keep these which is even better!

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS ....

And if that's true, I'm not too sure where mine is right now! The old home is in the process of being dismantled, and before too long we'll be in a new (much smaller) one, which will have both advantages and disadvantages ... Unsurprisingly, all my uncertain feelings about this have found their way onto a journal page.
The background is another of my experiments with masks and inky sprays, and the houses are from a Dyan Reaveley collage sheet. I've been working on the principle that "home is where your stuff is" and the assumption that when the stuff goes somewhere else that will very quickly become "home", with all its connotations of safety and sanctuary. There seems to be a small corner of me that isn't too sure about all this, but I'm working on it! Think I'm just too tired and stressed (OK I admit it, pretty cranky really) to be thinking straight right now.
BUT I am excited by the prospect of a new life in a new place, with all the possibilities it might offer, its just that right now there's too much negative stuff in the form of painful goodbyes and basically wrecking and dismantling what has been a much loved family home.
Crumbs this is all sounding like a distinct note of self pity. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER WOMAN! Hmmm doesn't that sound like a prompt for a new page ....? Did I pack my crayons yet??

ITS GETTING EXCITING NOW ...

This is the room which will become my new Studio when we move. I didn't like the (grubby) old carpet and although I do like yellow it doesn't go with pink does it? Anyway, see below for the new improved Studio, complete with new flooring - I wanted laminate but could only afford posh lino, though it looks GREAT! It now boasts spotty pink curtains and once I get my new white Ikea furniture in there I'm hoping it will all come together. Since I have to rest a lot, this will be where I spend the greater part of my time. Not sure about the Ikea spotlights either ... maybe I can find a sparkly chandelier when the sales are on??
After much deliberation I had the walls painted white - which may seem boring but I've got so much pink stuff anything else might have been overkill! Am debating whether to paint the shelving white too - there's lots more of it not shown in this photo. More pictures to follow in a couple of weeks after I get there!

SANITY - ITS PROBABLY OVER-RATED ...

In my defence I should point out that most people who are moving house in a little over two weeks are entitled to be slightly on the cranky side - and I was/am, though I am trying to work on that. Bear with me if you can. Anyway, we share our home with my Mother in Law and she is a dear really, its just sometimes ..... and she said something which really, REALLY got up my nose. Either that or everything just got on top of me, but this page is the result of my earnest attempts not to kill somebody.
I did very well - leaving the room sharpish before any bad words could be said, counting to 9 million etc, and I came upstairs to my studio and worked on this instead of looking for a blunt instrument. Its just so therapeutic this journalling lark, by the time I'd finished the page all my anger and frustration had dissipated and I was giggling again. Haven't had any murderous thoughts towards any of my nearest and dearest for at least 3 days now, which under the circumstances probably constitutes high achievement. I'm still alive too, despite probably not deserving to be, which tells its own tale about the forbearance of my family ....
I made the background for this page a couple of weeks back - more of my leftover scrapbook papers. Once I began to work on it I used quite a bit of paint and doodling, and a number of collaged or stamped images, and you can probably see how my pages just sort of grow and develop without any real plan. That's what I love best about this mixed-media lark, is that you can just throw whatever you've got at the page, and it all seems to work out somehow.
I ought to mention here one of my few claims to fame - and not many people can say this - is that I do actually have a certificate to prove that I'm sane (or was). It was given to me when they let me OUT of the psychiatric unit some years back. What evidence can most of us provide that we're basically of sound mind?? Answers on a postcard please ....