Lammas - August 1st

This post is from last year but i have re-posted it again as tomorrow is August 1st and Lammas/My birthday. All still worth a read and worth thinking about :)

'August 1st, it is also Lammas/Lughnasadh. The first of the three harvest festivals celebrated by most pagans. Some celebrate it as Lammas, the "loaf mass", which focuses on the grain and bread, and others honor this as a celebration of Lugh, the craftsman god. No matter how you see it, Lammas is a great time to enjoy the sunlight and warmth of summer.

Lugh the Celtic god of skills and craftsmanship. Take some time to think about the abilities you have, and the ones you wish to develop in the coming year. Be thankful for your talents and challenge yourself to learn new things. It's okay to be proud of the things you have accomplished!

For many Pagans and Wiccans, Lugh is honored as the champion of artistry and skills.

Taken from http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/

This made for interesting reading this morning. Paganism is something i find interesting but having the time to take on board all that it entails is something that i don't have right now but i hope to one day. I really need 'The idiots guide to Paganism' if there is such a thing.

Reading about Lugh and his many talents reminded me to be grateful for those that i have been given. Interestingly this kind of links in with another subject i was having the other day...finding you! I likened myself to a Russian doll, i know I'm in there somewhere!

On the outside i am a wife and mother, not sure

whether that should be the other way round. On the inside i am a hairdresser by trade but on a creative level i am a story teller, poet and have enjoyed many other crafts my current favourite being my felt. Some people on this planet seem content to have no hobbies or interests although i believe we must all have our talents.

I have enjoyed writing for some long time, its great for self expression. I wrote of Michael Jackson after he died and have been lucky enough to have my poem included in 'Poetry Rivals 2009' due for publication on 31st October 2009. It's not everyone who can say they have books on their shelves that contain words we have written. On the subject of future developments i hope in the coming year to have my own book of poetry or even one of my stories available to touch and read. Be aware of your talents and nurture them :-)

Look what i found :-

31/7/10 I was bought this book at Christmas and have been plodding through it ever since lol

Our Story Holidays

I am very keen on reading to my son. I have been since probably before he could understand what i was rabbiting on about lol. Anyway the plan is throughout this holiday to have a bit of 'Time' to read, a) a baby book which might encourage Brett with his words ready for school and b) a book we have in the house whether ours or from the library (in addition to his bed time story). So this list consists of so far...

One Bear Lost (I found this at a charity shop, as usual attracted by the cover and illustrations). This book helps alot with numbers particularly those going backwards as we start with ten bears and gradually work down to the lost bear. Brett and i gave this a thumbs up :)

Today's book was The Magic Sky, this again came from the charity shop. This books revolves around a family of Polar Bears and Rory the little polar bear can't wait to see the magic sky which he nearly misses when he disappears off on his own. This book again helps with the counting down of numbers and the magic sky tells of the Northern Lights. I have never seen the Northern Lights but after watching Joanna Lumleys journey to see them left me wanting more, magical. Brett and i gave this books a thumbs up too :)

Stay tuned for more books, coming your way real soon :)

Calling all bloggers

Does anyone know can you integrate blogs? As some of you know i have three, yes three blogs but to be honest i really don't have the time or the inclination to keep up with all three of them. Two of them barely seem to get many visits or atleast rarely comments so i know anyone is stopping by so I'm wondering whether i can blend them into one?!?

Challenge 39 Colour combo and Butterflies

This card is for Michelle Perkettes challenge 39. The challenge was to use the following colour combination and butterflies incorporating one of Michelle's images and Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays where the challenge was to make a card using any digital image :)

As i have several birthdays coming up i used Michelle's Festive cupcake and left of the Christmas star and sentiment. I printed the stamp of twice so i could double mount it and punched the butterflies out from the brown paper so the marbled handmade paper (made by my cousin :) showed through underneath.I think i may use this digi quite a bit this week as it makes such a good statement as who doesn't like cake :)

All in two days work :)

Well it's been a productive couple of  days, although in all fairness it's only 09.40 of day two lol. At the top of the list is baking, baking, baking one of my favourite pastimes. In the top left corner are the Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip cookies i was making around seven this morning, they are my favourite choc chip cookie so far. Next to them is Anzac Biscuits, based on an old recipe for Scottish Oatcakes both of these recipes are taken from 

This book which has been a source of inspiration.The flapjack is a modified recipe i found online to which i added some ginger yesterday, not sure what i think yet but time will tell.

So then there is Otis, this is a pattern i have from online, somewhere. I have many owl patterns because i love owls. I haven't touched my felt in months but yesterday felt the urge and so here he is. I cut out the pieces before i picked Brett up from nursery and in the afternoon when i got too hot and bothered i put him together :)

This is my new t-shirt which i picked up for £3 from Adsa, a couple of days earlier i had bought some transfer paper and so the experiment began. The butterfly got printed onto the transfer paper, the butterfly is one of my drawings. The one thing i didn't anticipate was the edge that i left showing and in my haste i didn't cut it exceptionally neatly. So in order to disguise the edge last night i sat and sewed some alternating beads round it and voila! Mind this morning i was a bit worried when my t-shirt seemed to have adopted a greasy looking hand print which I'm guessing wasn't grease as it came off but i have no idea where it came from. I will definitely be trying this again with other things. How well the transfer will last i don't know but I'll keep you posted. Phew now i must go prepare dinner. Listening to some early 80's tunes. So cool :)