Rose tinted glasses

It's been a while, quite possibly after I claimed I would start blogging weekly, I, erm, stopped blogging, well these things happen, lets not get all pernickety and shine a flashlight on it!  

So what's spurned on this spontaneous blog.  Well If you are over on facebook then you may have noticed I started a 100 days daily doodle challenge, if not, well you know now.  Anyway it is actually todays doodle that has brought about this post. I wanted to explain a little about the rose tinted glasses that we like to wear (otherwise love/heart spotting) because that is the theme for the doodle.

I'm not quite sure when I began to notice hearts, although I'm sure if I thought about it really hard and for long enough I would remember.  What I am sure about is that it is not new and no doubt came from someone or something that inspired me, and if it was you then thank you.

I do remember in the beginning consciously looking for hearts, through a need to be reminded that love was there, all the time, even in the times that it felt like it couldn't possibly be there, it was there, just waiting.  Seeing heart shapes would remind me of that.  So for me I guess seeing a heart shape is like someone (love?) saying to me 'hey lovely, we're here'.  That's how I see them.  Now what's really cool is that my eyes just fall upon them, no more consciously looking, they're in the cereal bowl, spilt water, a puddle, a leaf, a stone, even a piece of loo roll, or rotting piece of rubbish! Their beauty and their message can be found everywhere.  And not just the good lovey dovey times either. Yes at times when I'm freaking out or losing my temper with the kids (and myself with it) I'll spin around in a blind panic or rage and there on the kitchen floor is a piece of heart shaped cabbage from the night before - Bam - it catches my eye, stops me in my tracks and gives me a bit of a reset, and then I can choose, I can continue to shout and feel rubbish or I can take a deep breath and choose another way.

What is even cooler is that my family have just naturally picked up on this habit too, and they love pointing them out so I get the pleasure of seeing the love through their eyes as well.  And cooler still, at times it is a kickstarter for conversations about kindness, love and all that jazz - which is great - especially in a society that can lean towards moaning and negativity and fear that if we don't worry then we really will end up with something to worry about!  And it's actually quite good fun.  Seriously, sometimes when one of us spots a heart its like the equivalent of stumbling across the bottom of a rainbow and having a chat with a unicorn whilst counting the gold - or just being really excited you know.

So........ it figures that I would love doodling heart shapes and crocheting hearts and filling my home with hearts too. 

So this morning whilst Luca was counting all the hearts in todays doodle I thought it might be fun to share an unpainted version in case someone out there fancied a little heart spotting, hopefully (fingers crossed) you'll be able to click on it, save it and print it if you like (if it doesn't work then be sure to let me know and we'll figure it out).  You or any kiddies in your care can count the hearts, draw in more heart or colour them in.  If you do please share, I'd love to see!

 

 

Much love,

Charlene x

Space invasion

This week has mostly been about me sharing my 'space' with my daughter as she worked day and night to complete her latest college assignment which was to pattern and create a theatre costume for an 1890's shopkeepers wife. There was no escape. It was messy. Like that kind of maniac, craziness that only comes when you are faced with a deadline and feel like you have no time to even breathe, in fact I had to remember to breathe, never mind her!  We also made the discovery that we both like very different environments to be creative in, Robyn likes constant radio background noise, lots and lots of mess and well..... I don't.  Yep it was a very interesting week and there wasn't much crochet done on my part. 

Here is Robyn in the thick of it but things are starting to take shape and just in case you were wondering - she is never, ever sewing another scallop again, EVER! That's what she said..... 

Ta Dah!!! Fast forward two days... Here I am modelling the final garment, crazily impressed! Still never going to sew scallops again Robyn?? 

I absolutely love what she has created although I have no idea how the women of that era coped with such restrictive clothing - give me comfort any day! I'm sure her tutor will love it too but she'll have to wait until assessment day. Robyn has achieved loads this week and learnt loads too. I'm not so sure I have managed quite the same but I have learnt that next time I'm moving out for a few days for both our sakes! 

I love going to the theatre and actually can't wait until the next time I do so that I can be extra thankful for all the people that help bring all the characters to life - in case any of you are reading this, and including Robyn of course - you are AMAZING!! Thank you, you fabulous creative people!! 

Charlene x

Happy New Year!

Hello!

Already it is the 9th of January and probably feels a little late with the Happy New Year title but I just really like the photo! And wanted to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR and may 2015 be filled with an abundance of love, peace and happiness! 

When I was thinking what I would like more of in the year 2015, one of the things that came up was to be more proactive here, in this blog. Although it felt like a miracle to just get started last year, the frequency of posts was a tad, shall we say, infrequent?!  The reason being I think is that I never quite felt like I had anything important to write. So whilst I was pondering this, the quote 'sing like nobody's listening, dance like nobody's watching' popped into my head and I had a little aha! moment when I found myself thinking 'blog like nobody's reading' and really there's a pretty good chance that nobody actually is anyway.... So my mantra for my blog life this year is just that, blog like nobody's reading!  Well I may not share EVERYTHING but you know what I mean.  And given that my challenge is to blog weekly, I apologise now for any drivel you may endure (not that anybody is actually reading of course!) This year I'm also going to take on the following too - 

give like nobody's judging

receive like nobody's counting

sketch like nobody's looking

If you could change the above quote what would yours say for 2015? I'd love for you to share it

Much love for the year ahead and if you do happen to read this, thank you

Charlene x