THE WORLD DIDN'T END .....

But then you never really thought it would, did you?  Having studied the Mayan Calendar years back, I did actually know that it was just the end of a cycle, but the media had a bit of fun with it didn't they?  So I really wasn't expecting the end of the world, but it did get me thinking .... well "ye know not the hour" and all that?  Overall my responses to the possible challenge were a) if it ends then I'll have wasted money on all that Christmas stuff, and b) hey you know what, its been fantastic so far, and I'm actually quite excited to see what happens next!  After all The Second Coming has to be one helluva party doesn't it?

This page began with the headline "the world ends on Friday" which I couldn't resist cutting out, so I knew when I began what the page would be about.  I don't always, and most just kind of happen!  I took my colour cue from the orange lettering of the headline and used my Caran d'Ache crayons to do something vaguely end of the world ish ... I was thinking about a combination of a sun burning itself up and/or a great light in the sky.  Yeah, well I knew what I meant, and I have to point out that I was still lying on the sofa nursing my bad back a lot when I did this, and cannot guarantee that I was altogether doing joined up thinking, or writing/drawing all that straight either.

So I drew a border around the outside edge and added so Mayan(ish) patterns down the sides, and had a go at Mayan hieroglyphs (if that's the right word) on the top and bottom.  A very intriguing form of writing, having more in common with Egyptian picture writing than anything else.  I found the Mayan idol on Google so had to add that too.  (All the lying down would have been torture without my trusty ipad).  I also wanted to be sure that a long time in the future, I'd be able to remember what this page was all about, so added the date - which was a couple of days ahead at that point.,

And then I just proceeded to have fun with it, and left a space at the bottom to add a footnote later ...  I did photograph it at that incomplete stage, but the picture turned out blurry, so there's a bit of a jump between the photos above and below ...

I'm sure you will agree that it was on the whole rather nice to have Christmas without Armageddon getting in the way ... you have to admit it could have ruined the festive season!  I did read about people having End of the World parties, which seemed a very sensible way to proceed on the "just in case" principle, and rather wish I'd thought of it! 

Bad back is much improved, and although I still can't sit for too long  at least I can do it for some of the time now, for which I give heartfelt thanks!  On the other it did allow me to be quite lazy over Christmas, which can't be all bad ..... :)

WORRIES ...

This is going to be another short(ish) post since although my back is improving, sitting down is the one thing I can't do very well.  My days are spent either pottering about upright, or lying on the sofa with my ipad.  Since all my photos are on my desktop computer, I have to sit down for this!

Anyway here I go again, worrying about stuff - but this time I think it likely that more than a few of you share this one?  This is a watercolour background, and then the border was stamped - its that stamp meant for making an impression into polymer clay again.

Then I did that thing with my box of bits cut out of newspapers and magazines - and what popped out was the red "on the web" piece, and it all kind of went from there.  I used another cut-out for the figure, but gave her this Stampotique face which I tend to use to represent myself (I've also got very short dark hair).

Then you can see above how the page developed, and it almost looked finished at this stage, except that I felt it needed more colour, not least to balance the red bit.  So then (below) I added red and white to the borders, and once I'd got the white pen in my hand I started drawing squiggly bits with it, and you know me, couldn't seem to stop.

So there you are - I'm a sad person much of whose life is spent online relating to people I've never met.  Oh you too?  Well then, that's not so bad is it?  Its a whole lot better than staring at the blooming walls wishing all my (real life) friends would come home from work .....  On the other hand you do have to remind me to STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER, and get a bit of fresh air and exercise, not to mention talk to some real people!!

USEFUL ADVICE

Typing this VERY gingerly while recovering from a bad back - sitting down is a bit grim!

I forget now what started me on this page - except that it was to do with giving or receiving good advice.  So I wrote some ....

Paint background done with my new (from the £1 shop and meant for children) watercolour palette.  Stamps on top, then below cut outs from my stash.

I was sort of imagining my daughters reading this when they're older (am I kidding myself that they will treasure my journals?) and wrote for them, and also to remind myself of the wise things I know but don't always remember I know.

Lots more writing and doodling.  Done.  Back can't tolerate sitting down any more so off for a toddle about to ease things up a bit.  Never rains but it pours - getting over a tummy bug too.