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 ….