Waifs & Strays

So …..here we are blog number 5 OMG, I feel I better get back to the journey…..

.......where had we got to….I think so far I told you I had made my first clay heart with my lovely hen Doris’s name on it in 2021 to hang in the pear tree which grows in the chicken area, so she would always be with us in the garden and never forgotten......

I feel I need to tell you about my first rescue hens, they were 5 ex caged battery hens that had never seen daylight in their first 18 months, it was May 4th 2019……Red, Doris, Layla, Betty and Flopsie….they were so bald it was unbelievable and heart breaking in equal amounts, its an awful thing to say but they were technically oven ready.

The little gang consisted of gorgeous little Red (I had always wanted a little red hen called Red) she was the boss hen, she was so very sweet and never became cross with the others as she had a partner in crime, a hench hen called Doris…..yes Doris my little sweet hen who passed after only 6 months with us, she was number 2 and was like Red’s bouncer - ensuring the pecking order was maintained and kept in place at all times. Layla and Betty were very good friends and would often sit together and look like they were discussing knitting patterns and then there was Flopsie she was such a personality with her comb so big it obscured one of her eyes ……so I had my first flock….I was in love.

I think I mentioned before mum & dad had had a small holding from when I was around 10 years old …they wanted to live the good life, to be as self sufficient as possible. Chickens,

ducks including Daffy the handsome muscovy drake, the odd cow, a couple of pigs and a few goats. It was a wonderful way to grow up…there was often a baby lamb or calf in the kitchen getting extra TLC….much to the dismay of my eldest brother who lived away by this time and was absolutely mortified to find a calf on the kitchen sofa when he turned up one day with a new girlfriend…..a story often repeated in the family. Even though we only had the small holding for 10 years the love and compassion for animals was encouraged ….it was a place for waifs and strays …..and I love that concept, and it has stayed with me always.

So there you are an older lady with a new found thing that she absolutely loves doing enhanced by my lovely hens & cats all waifs and strays who live together with me and my husband ….

So what happened next well I shared my hearts with friends and they loved them ….they asked me to make them, not just for chickens but for all sorts of events ….birthdays, Christmas, christenings it was just lovely to share this and that is where Jules Handmade With Love began …..fast forward to March 2022….

So I had been making hearts and personalising them and decoupaging anything that sat still for about a year…making signs, buckets, memorial stones, just whatever I was asked if I could do, I just gave it a go.......it was so much fun and on route I met some wonderful people this was my journey.

So what happened in March 2022 took it to the next level ...this sounds dramatic but it actually was ……my lovely husband bought me some watercolour paints for my 54th Birthday …..now let me state for the record I had never ever painted anything in my whole life ......

……but during this journey I had started to surround myself with lovely people who were also creative and that give me the confidence to believe in myself….anything is possible….my very first painting was not brilliant but I loved it ….my

second was better and so on …..people often don’t believe me when I say I have

only been painting for just over a year but its all true….I love to sit and look and study …

I will be honest my drawing is not great ….and everything starts out as a really rough sketch but I love colours, the light and shade and how with light and shade things

become alive and have definition ….do I wish I had found my love of watercolour painting before now? Of course I do but I can’t change the past I can only embrace the future and what that brings.

As for the waifs and strays they constantly inspire me and give me the view that life is in the moment and we need to be part of the moment to make sure we don’t miss a thing…..easier said than done but its true…..just give it a go.

Thank you again so much for reading these ramblings of an older lady and taking the time to visit my little page….I really do feel like this is a two way conversation….I love your feedback ….take a look in my shop and please let me know what you think ….

Fresh & Vibrant.....

I’ve been reading ‘how to keep blogs fresh and vibrant’…….I sound like an advertisement for an anti aging cream or body spray ….the blog that keeps you fresh and vibrant…..thats it, its official, I’ve lost it.

I am actually going to stand up and say I AM AN ARTIST (there I've said it) - and by the way …...I AM 55 YEARS OLD.

The truth is I love being in my 50’s, I know some may think I am nuts and should sit down and possibly pretend I am still in my 40’s but I don’t want to......

…..being in my 50’s means I have experienced so much and I am still young enough to remember it…..if I had not been a teenager in the 80’s I would have missed so much ….. VHS & Beta Max, a choke on my first car, Wham, Culture Club, Disco’s in the village hall, tape decks in your car that jammed and you had to wind in the tape back in with a pen, not having to worry about designer clothes, Madonna ( I so wanted to be Madonna) Ra-ra skirts, roller skates, skate boards, hairdryers that were like a handbag with a hat…..TV remote control with wire attached to the TV !!!

…..I will stop or I will never get on but you know what I mean I just loved growing up in the 70’s & 80’s and I wouldn’t want to change that. I even had a CB radio before the internet and Facebook ….and no I won’t be divulging my CB handle ….well I might one day but its to soon just now…..I hardly know you .

I think growing up with all that went on in those decades definitely made me the person I am today …I wish I had done somethings differently who doesn’t but I truly believe we are on a path and some of us weave around on our path and take longer to arrive to where we are supposed to be, but we do arrive non the less ……I think I HAVE ARRIVED.

I AM AN ARTIST, I AM 55 and I HAVE ARRIVED!

I have found, mainly in the last couple of years that happiness comes from surrounding yourself with like minded folks…..don't let anyone steal your Chi - your life force, the energy that flows through you.

Being around positive people is easier said then done …you meet all kinds of folks in your life and some come and go and some come and stay…… but the main thing they need to be is a force for the good in your life….anyone who isn’t should just jog on but if you work with them or they are in a group you are in its hard to disassociate with them so you have to deal with them and protect your Chi…

Don’t let anyone bring you down, diss you, laugh at you unkindly because you are yourself, stand up and be proud of who you are and you will save your life force ….I just wish I had more often and not been afraid, but I think there is a saying ….hindsight is a wonderful thing…well its never too late to be you and dust off your Chi.

I seem to be rambling on again and not getting to any point …..maybe the point is ….love your age, grow old ungracefully …..be fresh and vibrant.

By the way how you doing, have you tried anything new this week that you thought you couldn’t do …I hope you have ….pushing boundaries is scary but it helps us ….and maybe some of it’s just pitballing, it might not all be gold, but having a go is the main thing……putting it on your CV for life …you might find you do it and I actually enjoyed it.

Oh and by the way I meant to add …..if you think you can’t you probably can ……you might surprise yourself ….I know I have.

I know this blog started only a couple of weeks ago with me stating I was going to tell the story of my journey into art and painting and it sounds like I am off topic but …. its all connected …by being yourself, and trying something new, you might just be fresh and vibrant :-)

Have a great week and remember we are only limited by our own imagination!

Also did you know if you subscribe to my website you will not only never miss a riveting word of my blog but you will receive a 10% discount code to use on my website when you need something nice.

If I was me and you was you

I hope you don’t mind but when I type my blog I am actually imagining you are listening and we are having a conversation like good friends….I know that sounds nuts but its like we have known each other years and we can share…..

So how are you, how’s your day been, how you feeling……I want to know about you so our conversations can flow, if not I am just a sad older lady rambling on ….and even if that is true I do love the thought that this is a two way conversation.

So before we go on with my journey into art and discovering that I AM AN ARTIST I want to know more about you and share the different parts of me and who I am.

I have always been a cheerful type …..some would say annoyingly so …but its not my fault I have a face that smiles even when I am not smiling…..how is this possible …I don’t know but it has got me in to trouble a time or two. The other problem is on the occasions when I am not smiling (and this can happen) people panic and think something is dreadfully wrong …when its just my face having a rest.

This got me thinking about how folks are perceived ….I am sure I am seen as light and fluffy and I know some wonderful people who have a f*@k off face most of the time but are really really nice….They say that first impressions count but also getting to know someone is important, knowing what makes folks tick and what is going on in their life.

As a smiler I am always seen as the one who wants to join in and the one who has lots of friends and the one who will get the party started …..when in fact nothing can be further from the truth. I am really not a people person at all ….I have select friends, I feel awkward in large gatherings and would much prefer to sit back and watch the party - so first impressions only count if you follow it up with getting to know someone, or you could be sadly disappointed in them when they haven’t even done anything.

To be able to fit in had always seem to matter to me even though to be honest I never really have … as I said I can feel awkward in social situations so fitting in has always been hard…..I have always worried that I have said the wrong thing, or said to much or folks think I am making stuff up (which I never do) …by the way if you haven’t noticed I am also an over thinker :-)

I cared too much about being one of the gang and to be honest it has made me miserable …hitting 40 seemed to help, my 'fitting in' hormone seemed to decrease and now at 55 I really don’t seem to mind being the uncool, weird girl…..by allowing this freedom it has allowed me to be me ….maybe this is why I am now finally finding my true path of creativity ….no longer is my flow being stifled it is free and happy and loving art and chickens and just wandering….and if people like me as I am I like them back …simples.

So the point I think of our conversation today...... is please just be you…stop being the you, you think you should be, be the you you were meant to be and you will find freedom and happiness in your own world with whoever likes you for who you are

Whilst on my website check out my originals and it may show you a little more of who I am ……

Have a wonderful week.