Book making

I've been making notebooks, journals, scrapbooks and mini photo albums for a few years now, loving the diversity of the many designs, layouts and size. I'm a collectaholic, (is there such a word? my automatic spellcheck doesn't seem to think there is) and I'm always on the look out for bits of ephemera and memorbillia, cuttings from magazines, sheet music, script, quotations and so much more besides. You name it, I keep it.

Now some might scorn at what I'm about to say but I actually check out charity shops for old books which are long past their use by date and about to go into the great bookshop in the sky. Why you ask? Well I've been learning all about the craft of Altered Books or Book Reinvention. Basically ripping the pages out of a hard back book (the pages can be saved for later use eg making book page sculptures or Christmas decorations - more about that another time). Anyway once the pages are out and the spine is intact then you have a solid cover for turning into your own journal, notebook or whatever.

Just punch some holes in the cover and correspondingly your own paper and there you have it. The titles of some books are often very apt for the kind of book I'm making. For instance "In and out of London" ideal for recording my trips into town. "Looking back at the past" great for my family history and so it goes on. Never a dull moment!

I love paper in any shape or form and have enjoyed using various techniques on many types - sketchbook paper, handmade, lined, squared and even wallpaper lining paper. Stamping, painting, drawing, writing, torn edges, there's so much scope for creating your own personalised work of art.

So, here is one of my recent makes - a scrappy, shabby kind of book which I can add to whenever and wherever I want. Memories of anything or everything, recent or not so recent.

I sprayed my cover with a few different water colours and then decided on a name - couldn't be anything else could it? 

I'm very much looking forward to filling it now that 

I've prepped all my pages

And because it's an anytime kind of scrappy book I can start my recollections wherever I want to and a perfect place for my eclectic musings, sketches, poems and favourite quotations.

As well as the occasional photos

Enjoy the rest of the week and I'll be back soon.

Bye for now x

My corner of England: The River Thames

I've lived in Essex since I was three years old and always by the coast. Canvey Island is a small island measuring approx 3 x 5 miles and sits just off the mainland in the Thames Estuary. Before it became the island it is today, during the first half of the century the only way onto the island was by means of stepping stones over the muddy creek when the tide was out or by a dinghy ferry when it was in. Now a bridge carries the heavy traffic onto and off the island.

From the age of about 7 or 8 years old, I spent many happy days playing in the sand and paddling in the rock pools on the beach at the top of my road with school friends - it was quite safe but I hasten to add something that would never occur these days, apart from anything else I couldn't even swim ! Mum always knew where to find me though and even though we didn't have watches we always knew when it was time to go home for dinner.

Courtesy of Canvey Island.org

The river played a huge part of my growing up as my parents always owned their own boats and belonged to the local yacht club.

This was one of the first - a converted fishing boat named 'Pegasus' 

This was our last boat named 'Amola' which dad built himself

Champagne for all as she was launched (note the 1960s bouffant hairstyle)

Most weekends were spent on the Thames off the coast of Leigh on Sea and Southend with several trips to the River Medway in Kent when we visited towns such as Chatham, Rochester and Maidstone.

Courtesy of Google

Once we even motored up the Thames to London - and us girls were absolutely amazed when dad told us that Tower Bridge was opening for us (only to find out within minutes that a huge ship was cruising behind us and was the cause of the opening !! )

That's me fourth from the left on the top row

I belonged to the Sea Rangers aged 14 and was always messing about on boats - canoes, dinghies, sailing boats - and I still couldn't swim!

As I said the river was just at the top of my road and just 800 yards off the foreshore was the Chapman Lighthouse on the Chapman Sands a series of mud flats which had been a problem for sailors and their vessels for hundreds of years.  

Courtesy of CanveyIsland.org

This red iron framed structure rang a bell every fifteen seconds during foggy weather and believe me when I was a child, London and its environs suffered many "pea soupers"  I can tell you, and that darned bell would be ringing all through the night. Nowadays a bell bouy has replaced the old lighthouse which was demolished during the 1950s. 

As a family, most Sunday afternoons during the summer we'd be seen walking along the sea wall, watching all the boats cruising along the river and looking at the fishermen catching their tea. Often mum would pack up a picnic and we'd walk over to the salt marshes beyond the sea wall when the tide was out - being very mindful that the tide would come in again within an hour or two - dangerous as we'd be cut off from the mainland. 

 c.1950 with dad. mum and auntie Rosa on one of our picnics

This area is known as "The Point" and takes you literally to the furthest point of the island from where you can see Leigh on Sea. Here beautiful purple sea heather grows in abundance and us girls took great pleasure in trying to pick some for mum. The aroma is still with me today.

Courtesy of Google

Well that's just a little snapshot of my life as a child on an island in the Thames which I hope you enjoyed. I'll be back soon with some more of my "My Corner" soon.

Jar of Reflections

Just wanted to let you know that I was overwhelmed with your kind responses to my turning the corner so to speak and becoming my own woman, the new not-so-crafty me. It was quite obvious that I'm not the only person who has got caught up with the roller coaster of finding/doing new crafts.

That being so - and I promise I'm NOT going back on my word (oh no here we go again I hear you say) BUT I have seen a lovely idea on a few blogs recently and was reminded of it yesterday when I popped over to  Amy at Love made my home, and that is making a note each time something lovely happened to you and then and popping it into a jar.  As I'd rather like to celebrate next Thanksgiving Day in my own home, here in the UK, thought it would be a great way of remembering at the end of the year all the little things in life such as Random Acts of Kindness, Gratitude and of course Thankfulness. I guess too that if you're feeling a little down in the dumps one day, what better than to get the jar down off the shelf and have a sift through - fantastic way of lifting the spirits maybe. I shall call mine "Reflections".

The other thing that people seem to be doing is thinking of a special word for the year. Instead of making resolutions of things that may or may not achieve, think about a word that you can live by. I thought about this a lot and decided yes this could work. I do not like resolutions - never keep them and very often if I've not written them down - forget them! So, I came up with the word ** SPONTANEITY **

noun: inspiration - improvisation, inclination, whim, ad-libbing, impulse, tendency 

and will

Apparently this might mean "bursting into song on the street, or throwing down your rake and jumping in a pile of leaves". Well of course that wouldn't be me, but it also means trusting your instincts, making better decisions and saying what you think as well as having fun along the way.

So - my Reflections Jar is twofold now - whenever I do something spontaneous I shall add that to the jar too - if I remember of course!!

Reflections

I'd like to wish all my friends here a very Happy and Healthy New Year. 

I've heard the word Twixmas mentioned in blogland several times lately - a word used to describe the kind of limbo we experience between Christmas and New Year. A funny time of year where you can't settle down to anything until after 1st January. My tree and decorations have been put away for another year and so I've been playing around with a new Photo Collage app on my iPad. The results of which I want to share with you now - just a few reflections of the past year.

I've just completed a ten week course on the history of The Tower of London and John took me there a few weeks ago

Another trip to London's East End - more about this later

 Some very special family moments - 

A new boat for Emma and family; My graduation; Emma's 40th; Our Sicilian holiday and our new VW Campervan

 Some of our beautiful walks in surrounding woodlands

Some good times with special family and friends -

With Emma, Harry and Leo on the London Eye; with my two sisters Barbara and Helen at my niece's wedding; old friends Peter, Barbara, Ken and Freda on a Brittany beach; two of whom are brothers Ken and Peter; me with son Jonathan celebrating my Degree at The Ivy;  with friends Ellen and Norman at Rudyard Kipling's home Batemans (a post for the New Year maybe)

And lastly - remembering my late special Uncle Jack.

(quite a dashing young fellow in his day don't you think)

I hope you all have wonderful New Year's Eve celebrations whatever your plans - as for us we've opted to spend a quiet evening at home with even more reflections and maybe a glass of something! or three....

See you next year xx

My Graduation

Apart from my wedding day and the birth of my two children, yesterday was undoubtedly the proudest day of my life. From start to finish I had THE most wonderful day. It was held at the Barbican Theatre in the City of London and I couldn't have been more pleased that this was my venue.

I treasured my family being there with me

to share my special day

Son Jonathan

Daughter Emma

and hubby John

The weather couldn't have been better, the sun shone all day

After the ceremony the respective partners joined us for a surprise visit to Claridges in the West End for cocktails

before dining at  

A fabulous day with some wonderful memories.

Bye for now and have a great weekend

x

Results are in, and...........

 WOOHOO!!!

 I passed my finals and have been offered my

 BA (Hons) in Humanities with Classical Studies. 

I am absolutely overjoyed and my head is still in the clouds.

I got the results on my iPhone on Saturday when John and I were out having lunch

and all I had to do was press a button to find out - nervous or what.

Needless to say I burst into tears!

We popped in to see our daughter E and her family, where it would have been rude not to take a bottle of Champers, wouldn't it

Everyone in the family were thrilled and the phone hasn't stopped ringing

John took me out for a meal in the evening to celebrate - to a newly opened Bistro Cafe called the Beach Hut - literally right on the beach at Westcliff

Shame the tide was out - but hey you can't have everything!

Before I finish,  I must just tell you - several years ago before I started blogging, I was rooting around in my loft - as you do, and I found these old autograph books from my childhood

and at the time I was really struggling with one particular module - almost at the point of giving up altogether - when I happened to find something my dad had written when I was nine years old. To say this kept me going is no exaggeration - I tore it out and put it into my pin board above my computer for continued motivation.

He was soooooo right of course

Then - I found this my grandad had written at the same time (I think this had been a Christmas present and I was making the most of all my family - there are more, lots)

and this was to become the original inspiration for my Blog title!

The stuff I have in my loft is unbelievable and I dread to think of how we'll shift it if ever we move - but sometimes this stuff has its uses.

Anyway I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post about Working under pressure - and apologise for not replying personally but I took on board what you had to say and realise that I'm not the only one who works better when life is pretty busy.

Well - my graduation is booked, 20th September at the Barbican Centre in London and my Academic gown has been ordered and now I really can get on with my life.

Thanks to you all for listening to my moans and groans over the last couple of years and for the motivation you have given me, it meant a lot.

xx