Good friends and a princess canvas

As the saying goes "It takes all kinds of people to make up the world". I am a classic introvert - I enjoy time by myself to read or to craft. I am quite comfortable with being in a room all by myself and to tell you the truth, I know that this time recharges me and helps me to relax.

When it comes to the issue of friendship, I know that they are harder for me to develop and maintain due to my introvert nature. There have been some magical moments though, when I have met a truly wonderful person that I just seem to 'click' with. We seem to share the same interests, hobbies, beliefs and feel happy and relaxed in each others' company. I treasure these people. They seem to pull me away from my introvertness and revel in the joy with being with someone else.

With that being said, time moves on and with that, friends move away. Part of me grieves as I lose that close contact - the spontaneous words of encouragement, the chance to debrief, the unexpected helping hand. On the other side, it makes the wonderful moments of meeting these beautiful people once again, so much more precious.

Recently, I got the absolute honour to create one of my 'princess' canvases for a wonderful friend who has since moved away. I enjoyed trying to make the princess figure look like her daughter. This canvas was created using bright yellow and blue/purple hues. I love working on these special creations.

I am happy to work on custom orders of canvases, if you have a particular quote or colour in mind. Simply send me an email and I can let you know of costs as some alterations may have extra costs due to work involved. To send me an email, please click.here.

Thanks for viewing!
~ Jen.

Lemon and Light Blue Princess Mixed Media Canvas

I look back to my high school years with dread. If I could erase and redo a part of my life, it would be those years. It was the desire to fit in and the fear that if I couldn't, then others would ridicule and ostracise me like they did with others. Friendships were fickle rather than a complete acceptance of the other person.

 I think that it is also the nature of that time of life - the contradiction of perceived individuality versus the need to be part of the accepted group. Mistakes of the past make one wiser and stronger, and when I meet a teenage girl who has no fear to be the young woman who she wants to be and boldly speaks what she believes (even when it is not what the 'crowd' thinks) I feel shame.

'True beauty' is not what is paraded on the outside, rather, it is the kindness, grace and love for others that cannot be contained and oozes out from within. I have been very blessed to have such women enter my life and with it, the refreshment of being accepted for who I am in their presence.

As years pass these valued friendships, my strengthening faith and the drive to learn from past mistakes has reminded me of the need to treat others with the same kindness and acceptance.

I am nearing the end of this colour combination - aqua blue/light blue and yellow. As mentioned before, this combination evokes happiness, therefore I wanted to create a canvas that depicts a carefree 'princess' and a quote that speaks of this lady's inner beauty and laughter. A lady figure that is inspired by the kind friends that have graced my later life...

She is beautiful in her own right, with her long, loose, wind swept hair and simple dress. Coupled with the quote, "Happiness bubbles over in her smiles and giggles", she is a lady that is positive and happy and I can imagine time spent with her would be filled with laughter, not at the expense of others, rather due to joy in time spent with each other.

~Jen.

Friday Thoughts - Thank you!

There is a lot to be thankful for...

...Every day people show courtesy and respect to us. Then there are those lovely people that go out of their way to help us out - looking after the children, giving us a meal, doing a favour...

We can show our gratitude to others in numerous ways as well - returning the favour, giving them a gift, a bunch of flowers, a box of chocolates, baking them a cake...

Recently, a friend of mine helped me out in a remarkable and selfless way. I couldn't let this act of kindness slide by, therefore I needed to create something. I tried a new card design, which I loved making...

(I also made one for my brother's birthday). The 'pop-up' idea is based on a design by 'Julie Munoz', however I have added my own spin to it :)

I also made up a rose brooch that could be pinned onto clothing or a scarf. Simple but sweet. I love this design (and colour) and will definitely make up more.

Handmade goodies are a great way to say 'thank you' to someone. Returning the love that someone has shown to you in every stitch!

Thanks for viewing and have a great weekend!

Weekend Wonders - Relaxing, Chatting and Munching

It is nice to sit down and relax for a bit...

After a few weeks that were very busy with work, I decided to have a weekend where I could relax and catch up on a few things...one of them being my craft! I managed to finish of my latest little doll. He is such a cutie. I plan to show him off with some photos posted of him tomorrow. He is also one half of my design. I started cutting out the pieces for his crime fighting partner and hope to get some more stitching done tonight.

It was also lovely to catch up with friends that are part of my Bible study group. We had an 'Indonesian Night' - cooking up some Indonesian inspired food and sharing a meal together. It was delicious and it was great to chat the night away! My contribution was some 'Mie Goreng' (Fried Noodles). Mr T and I spent a few weeks over in Indonesia a couple of years ago and this is one of the dishes that I lived off of, as I am vegetarian. My version was quite tasty, but not exactly like how they make it in Indonesia. I also have a problem that when I cook a noodle dish and try and mix the noodles with the vegetables, my noodles end up in one big clump. I tried very hard to disperse the noodles and the vegetables evenly.

Even though it has been rather cold and wet this weekend, I managed to get outside for a little bit to plant some crysthanimum plants that were given to me. I also tried to tidy the veggie patch a little by pulling a few weeds. The weeds seem to love the cooler weather and grow like mad. It is an effort to keep up with the weeding.

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend!