Time goes by..♪♫

Where did that time go....one minute it was Halloween, now it's christmas eve! I have been busy, too busy to blog, I know, but I have been ever so busy!
I might not have mentioned, but I am now the chairperson of the school friends assoc, (like pta) and we have had the quiz, fundraisers & stuff to do....i had no idea how much work goes into all this & it has completely took over the last couple of months!
On top of that Mr H has decorated the lounge & installed a new bathroom, admittedly I didn't have a lot to do with that but there was lots of moving around & tidying up to do...& countless cups of tea, so less blogging time there then!
It's very icy here still, for the last couple of days, I have been unable to drive out of our road, as it is a downward hill into a busy main rd, as it's like sheet ice, I am terrified of just sliding straight down it!....looks pretty though!
I have found the time to make a few minis though, I made some decorations for the miniature Christmas tree, plus some crackers & baubles!
Now I am off to calm my (very) excited children & finish off some last minute jobs!

Merry Christmas xxx

Rockin' Bockin'

This Halloween, A medieval street in bocking, Bradford st, was rocking to the sound of The Wutars! It's easy to see why these boys have such a loyal following, & believe me, some of their fans travelled some way to see them last night when they followed them to our (usually) sleepy village to pack a pub to hear them play.

They sang tracks from their most excellent cd available from The Wutars or to download from itunes, plus some cleverly chosen covers including The Jam, The Smiths & The Beatles ♫♪♪♫

It's been a good few weeks for them, as well as a mention in the Daily Mirror, one of my favourites from their cd ‘Stay Up Stay Up’ was chosen by Gary Crowley as his London Calling track of the week on BBC Radio Click here to listen!


Can't wait until next time, but I think they will need a bigger venue!

Hot seats!

Well, last Thursday afternoon I was just recovering from a forest trip with fifteen four year olds, when I got a phone call...
"Hello, is that Samantha?"

"yes" I replied as I am,

" this is x factor, I'm pleased to tell you that you have been selected out of thousands of people to recieve tickets for our sunday live show"

"Is that when Robbie Williams is on?" I calmly asked

well at this point I nearly fainted, I had only applied for them a few days before, on behalf of my friend, & never expected to get them knowing what a popular show it would be, if I couldn't go, I would hand over the tickets, not that I could as I then found out..... the applicant has to be there...shame!

So off we went, early sunday morning as these tickets were stand by, not guaranteed entry so we would take it it turns to queue & go off in pairs to the local Mc Donalds for food & facilities! We got there at eleven in the morning, politely declined an interview with sky news about the sad passing of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, I didn't really want to be on the television & failed to see why the british public would want to hear about my shock & sadness at the news, besides, there was no shortage of volunteers for them to point the microphones at! What I was shocked at, was that every time a black car, with blacked out windows (no big deal nowadays, my own car has these at the back) pulled up/slowed down near the studio, mayhem broke out, grown men & women hurled themselves into the road & path of passing traffic to get a glimpse of Robbie/Cheryl/Simon etc...these were not teenagers or children we're talking about...adults, I couldn't believe it!

Anyway, we pased the time chatting & waiting, eating & waiting until finally there was some movement, studio staff came out & counted, we felt sick waiting to find out if our day had been a complete waste of time or not...& phew, we were let in at about six thirty, hooray!

It was much smaller than it looks on tv inside & we saw loads of celebs milling around, Girls aloud were in the audience, baby spice Emma Bunton, someone called Chipmunk, who I didn't know but have since found out is at no.1 (thats how hip & trendy I am then :( ) & I said hello to Cheryl for my daughters, I couldn't get autographs but they were pleased that she'd said hello back. It was a lovely night, Robbie was fab, despite what rubbish is in the papers & we were very lucky to be there!....couldn't take pics though...never mind ♥

Something way cool! ♪♫♫♪ (as my children would say)

Just a quick post as I have something to share-I have just received my new Wutars ep, & I had to let you know about it as it's wicked! I love it, so will you ♪♪♫♪♫

Click here to go to The Wutars myspace page & you can listen too!

Check out the new website! The Wutars



Todays happy thought;-Never do today what can be put off until tomorrow!

Giveaway winner!

Thank you to those who entered, the winner is Nina Take a look at her blog, it's inspirational!

I'm having a very busy time at the moment, I have just taken on the role of chairperson of the school pta...very scary, so I'm up to my eyes (& ears) in minutes, agendas & files of stuff to sort through, thats as well as having the house turned upside down for decorating!...perhaps I'll just go & sit in Happy shed, where it's quiet ♥

Ok, so the summers almost over, well school holidays anyway, I still have lots of holiday photos to show you, but I thought we could have a summer giveaway to keep those summery feelings flowing......My holiday has inspired me to get my paints out again...I'm loving all those beachy seaside textures ♥ what I want to know is, what has inspired you most this summer? just leave your inspirations in a comment, for an extra entry, let me know what your favourite item is in my Etsy shop...

The winner who will be picked by my family on.....18th September will recieve a 12th scale miniature dropped ice cream, like the one pictured here on my beach! perfect for a garden or outside scene ☼
so there you go then, can't wait to see your inspirations!

Todays happy thought: A Mother holds her childs hand for a short time, but holds their hearts forever.

Brushing off the sand...

I've still got sand in my shoes & a few mosquito bites, but my holiday in Portugal is well & truly over :( but it was lovely, we stayed in a very luxurious villa with it's own pool so I could get up & have a swim before anyone else got up...it was fab ☼

We stayed in a gorgeous little fishing village in the Algarve called Alvor, my family have been holidaying there for many years although it is fourteen years since I have visited myself, giving up work to look after children tends to have that effect on trips abroad! It filled me with inspiration to create, the harbour, fishing boats, the sea, the food- mmmm the smells of the fresh fish being barbecued outside the restaurant is delicious.....

My eldest daughter & I went out to sea on a boat to look at dolphins, we saw loads she loved it, her face was beaming the whole time ☺


One thing I did learn was that dolhins are fast, not easy to catch on film, the best thing to do is guess were you think they are going to leap & point the camera there, I have got an awful lot of pictures of "where a dolphin just was"! ...please also forgive the ameteurish-ness of the video, I have never used a video camera!











It was so good being that far from the shore, so peaceful, we didn't want to come back in!

Todays happy thought.-Portugal..aaaaah!

Holiday pendants

Hello, this will probably be my last post before I take some holiday ☼ as I will be too busy weighing suitcases frantically, stressing over the clothes bulging on the inside of them & fretting over leaving something behind (or forgetting something)...anyway, I thought I would make myself some holiday inspired pendants...These are to go with some of my lovely new clothes, & to jazz up some of my old ones....I couldn't think of a name for the third one, any suggestions??

Sam ☺

sew cross :(

I made my youngest daughter a gorgeous little pink gingham shorts & top set the other day, I did this in one day & it wasn't too hard, so I thought...right, I'm on a roll now will squeeze one in for eldest daughter before the end of the next day, so off we went to choose fabric, a lovely pale yellow with a subtle silver thread running throuh it!

I cut it all out fairly quickly, pinned it al together, even tacked the sleeves on just to make sure all was well....lovely I thought, let's get it stitched together before tea, then I can clear up & get the table set..I thought feeling all pleased with myself that I can now just whip up a top, just like that!

Then I looked closely...lovely though the fabric is, it's really hard to tell the difference between the right & wrong side, I had put the sleeves on inside out :(...worse still, the fabric is too delicate to unpick, so now that top is wasted, I will try, when I have calmed down a bit, & stopped being annoyed,attempt to cut out a top for my little one from it, & go & get some more fabric for the larger project...but right now I have got the hump with it & all the sewing stuff is in the corner in disgrace!

Todays happy thought: If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?

End of term ♥

At last, the summer hols have started, nearly six weeks of not watching the clock all day, the children not having to go out & fewer lunches to make at six thirty in the morning!

The last week however was hectic as usual, we made fudge for a couple of the teachers, (there was some left over for us...delicious it was too!) biscuits for one & I had my ice cream cone order to finish......I also made an interesting purchase from a charity shop, but more about that next time!
Todays happy thought;- The best thing about being a teacher is July & August

Hello Summer!

Hello, just a quick update as I am about to go & watch Top gear! I am back down on planet earth after seeing Take That last week & accept now that reality is kicking in & life as we know it will continue without them!...there now I have been busy with an order for a customer in Italy who has a miniature Ice cream shop, this has led to many ice cream related creations...pics to follow, haven't had chance to take them yet!

Here are some pics of my barbeque goodies that I have been creating....a homemade barbeque for the credit crunch hit dolls house family, they found an old tin bath in the shed & transformed it & were soon sizzling sausages on there, I also made rolls for the hot dogs & burgers, find them all on Etsy!

Please check out my fan page....

Itsy Bitsy Art by Sam on Facebook

Take That ♪♫♫♪

I am very tired this week as I have been to see Take That at Wembley on Wednesday, only just had the energy to post as I haven't danced that much for a very long time, they were of course Amazing....it was a real treat as they launched more or less straight into the oldies that we haven't seen them perform for, oh

about 15 years...wow that makes me feel really old,

but on wednesday, I felt 22 again!
We were really high up, so high, some poeple were so scared they were refusing to climb any higher, they soon forgot their vertigo though when Take That came on & despite the small space available around their seats, remembered all the old dance routines!

Back then, when I had more money & no responsibilities other than myself & thought nothing of driving into London & getting home at three thirty in the morning, (I didn't used to have to get up at six am to make family sandwiches & get them off to school!) we used to go more than once, & get much closer, but now (what with touts buying all the tickets to sell on ebay within five minutes, ) I am lucky that I can get tickets at all & very grateful that I did, I have to be content with going just the once & soaking up the atmosphere, & having the time of my life....roll on next tour, Take That ..you are the best ♪♫♫♪

Thought I would give this a try, I'm so proud that my miniatures sell worldwide so I found a way to share this with you!
Please bear with me , it will take a little while to add all I have to add so far, if you have recieved creations from me, please let me know so I can add them!

Worldwide sales of Itsy Bitsy Art by Sam

Map Legend: 2%, 6 of 263 Territories

Maroon

© worldmapmaker.com | Travel Insurance

Giveaway winner!

Hello, do you like the banner for the school fete, Shelly, (my Artist friend ) & I painted it yesterday morning at school!

Thanks for entering those of you who did, the winner picked last night at random by my family is .........

Elsie

Congraulations! I think my next giveaway will be holiday themed, to celebrate my very exciting upcoming holiday!!

I have been very busy this week, I think I'm burning myself out a bit, today, I can feel all the things I need to do & all the things I want to do buzzing round in my head, & all my body wants to do is have a duvet day!, here's the things I need to do...

☺Iron (yawn)
☺put already ironed stuff away (er...where exactly?)
☺tidy everywhere...can you see where I'm going with this....?

now, things I want to do...

♥make some little clay barbeque goodies
♥claying
♥clay some more
♥paint the rest of the banners for the school fete..
♥restore my fairy picture

Now the thing is, I can't do the want list until I've done the need list, what can I do .........I think I'll walk to school, get some fresh air, hopefully the rain will keep off, when I get home, storm through the need list, then maybe tomorrow can be a play/clay day!

Todays happy thought; Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?

Happy studio

I think I should really call it Happy studio now, as shed doesn't seem to do it justice, I have now hung up some of my framed sculptures no & it looks like a sort of mini gallery, I made some curtains for covering the cupboards & I love it in there, It's my little space!

Pictured is my fully restored Garden of Eden, I loved creating this, it took a very long time as each leaf, blade of grass is individually crafted, I have now added some moss as it gives a softer texture to it, I can't take these to craft fairs though, as I don't think they will take too much travelling to & fro :(

















Also pictured is Mother Nature, I repainted the background & added some big forget- me -nots, this is not my usual style, very abstractesque (new word I think, made up by me!)

Finally for now, my Braintree Dragon, I'm not sure if we really have Dragons here in Braintree, I bet no one can prove we haven't though, who knows however, what lurks in Happy garden, something is digging up the tulip bulbs without leaving a trace!

Don't forget the Fathers day giveaway, 10 more days to go, win a little extra something for your Dad ♥






Todays Happy thought-Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.

Fathers day giveaway!

Here it is, as we are approaching Fathers day, I thought I would kick off my new series of giveaways with a Dad theme, I am giving away a happy thought similar to the one pictured....all you have to do is leave a comment here about your Dad or your fave story about your Dad!...very easy this one!

A winner will be picked at random by my family on 10th June.....♥♥♥








Todays happy thought:Anyone can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Daddy!

I need a holiday!

I know it's coming to the end of half term & I'm supposed to be chilled out by now, but I'm not, I still have a never ending pile of ironing, that if I'm honest, I've been avoiding for more than a fortnight now, I have endless outgrown clothes to put away things to file, clean, sort out & alter...phew, roll on August when we are going on our first family holiday!....to Portugal!
The children are so excited & so am I (although I am now a bit nervous of flying having not done so for 14yrs, can't let them know that though!)

Here is one of my latest creations inspired by family holidays when, as a little girl & the day at the beach was over, I used to need to be carried from the sea by my dad & put into my beach shoes, as I hated the feeling of sand in my shoes ♥♥♥♥

Will keep you updated on my preparations!

Todays happy thought: A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.

Off to Wembley...!

It's the Girls Aloud concert tonight & I'm taking my daughter, I'm looking forward to it, but the not the drive or the late night!....so I thought I'd post before I get stuck into cleaning up & getting ready!
These poppies are in our garden, I think they're a lovely colour, must paint them one day.
I still have some pictures to restore, my favourite fairy one for a start, perhaps I can do that at the weekend, I need to spend a bit of time promoting though, I've been a bit slow on that lately as I have been rather busy, I really need to get into some sort of routine so that promoting becomes like a second nature when I switch on the pc!....I wonder is there a tool that can update my twitter, facebook fan page, Deviant art etc all at once, will look into it, I haven't been on DA for ages, my facebook fan page is slowly picking up fans, to find me search itsy bitsy art by sam, & there I am........

I'm also aware that I haven't posted happy thoughts for a while........will get my brain in gear & start again next post!

Restoration work.

As I have a bright new shed to work in, thought I'd do some work yesterday, I have some clay pictures that I created for an exhibition, five years ago that needed a bit of repair from when we moved house, I thought that if I restore them I could hang them up in the shed & then sell them, ...they're not going to get sold being kept in the dark old garage are they?
So I repaired my Braintree dragon & my Garden of Eden & still have to reset the frames....I also put my old oil paint pallette to good use, & made a clock, now I have no excuse to forget the time down there!...........

My first proper dressmaking attempt.......

Here it is, my first proper dress with a pattern, my daughter went to see Hairspray with Guides on Saturday & had to dress up like the film, I couldn't find anything suitable in the local shops so I thought I'd give it a go....no I didn't find it easy! I think some patterns are incredibly hard to follow, & they leave big chunks of instructions out of it, so you have to use common logic to figure out what to do, I stil don't understand the language, this frustrates me-as it could be explained in regular english aaaaaagh......any way it's done now & she looked beautiful!...and by the way, that is my youngest behing her, hiding, thinking I don't know she's there!

Happy happy shed.....

I was up early yesterday completely emptying the shed ready to go, it took ages, I sorted drawers, chucking out rubbish(any materials that could have come into contact with a mouse or a dropping!) ...good job it stayed dry for as, as it all had to go on the garden!

Mr H put the boards on the walls & we filled up any holes we found as we went along....I'm determined to keep out the little critters!

With all the boarding done, at around....five ish, I had to put all the cupboards back in, knowing I had to do it all again in the morning!
I decided to paint it all white, mainly as thats all we had, but also to give the shed a brighter look, it's usually so dark & dismal down there, it's too far down the garden to have electricity so white it was.....I've even got a little window sill now & floor tiles are being laid as we speak!
must go....things to do...!