Taking Old and Making New

I made three more frog bookmarks with my inked watercolour paper.  This paper is very special as it is 100% cotton rag paper mould-made more than 50 years ago in Somerset, England!

As I had inked up 2 sheets of paper,  I didn't want to waste my lovely vintage paper by making gift tags that would end up in the bin so I made a few simple bookmarks with a lovely stamped message:

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Edited to add:

Some of you may be interested to read the information that came with the paper pack.

'This fine-art paper is a step or two beyond the usual quality of papers found in pads and sketchbooks.  Just touching it you can feel the quality and craftsmanship which is almost impossible to find in modern product today.

This paper was made in the 1950s or 1960s by a company called W.S. Hodgkinson & Co in a place called Wookey Hole in Somerset, England.  Paper had been made at this mill from at least 1610 until 1972 when production came to an end.

In 1965 the mill's in-house artist saved a few large piles of paper, just minutes before they were due to be re-pulped and converted into South American currency.  He owned them until 2016 when we acquired them on his retirement.'

Source: vintagepaper.co.uk

Word for the Year Suggestions

As I said in a previous post,  my word for the year - consolidate - came easily to me on this occasion.  In previous years I have struggled to come up with a word that had any significance for me.  If you are struggling to come up with a word this year, I may have some suggestions for you.

Searching through the Wild Wood Tarot cards, I noticed that words on some of the cards could be used a a source of inspiration as a word of the year to live by.  If I hadn't already chosen 'consolidate' I am sure I would find an applicable one from the words listed below:

Generosity.  Rebirth. Transition.  Home.  Attraction. Clearance. Empowerment.  Joy.  Happiness. Dedication.  Balance.  Tradition.  Fulfilment.  Celebration.  Challenge.  Creativity.  Respect.  Abundance.  Rest.  Reunion.  Heal.  Protect.  Journey.

Do any of the words resonate with you?  

I have found that by choosing a word each year it has helped me to stay focused on what I wanted to achieve that year.   Last year's word was 'advance' and I 'advanced' in many ways getting out of the rut that I had slowly been slipping into in previous years.  Advance was a good word for me in 2016.  Here's to 2017!  A new year and another word to live by.

Setting Small Challenges

I am in awe of people that set themselves huge challenges and achieve them.  However, I am not in the correct mindset to undergo anything too challenging at the moment.  That doesn't mean that I do nothing, instead it just means that I set myself small attainable goals.

Recently, I set myself the task of looking for seven words, mainly adjectives and a few more unusual nouns, in the English Dictionary and learning their meanings over seven days.  Each Saturday I put a new list of words and their description on the fridge so that each time I am in the kitchen I can learn a few words in between doing the cooking and other chores.

Here is an example of words for week 1:

Pseudo
Fortitude
Adversity
Hyperbole
Pragmatic
Gormless
Oubliette

I won''t include their meanings here and I don't suppose I will ever have the chance to use the word Oubliette* in a conversation!  I am hoping that an increased vocabulary will give me an added advantage when it comes to filling in job applications!

I am going to set myself a few more achievable challenges this week such as learning something new in jewellery making and cooking something I have never cooked before (fried chicken was a first for me a few weeks ago).

If you are inspired by this and in the mood for setting yourself a small challenge, let me know what it is in the comments below.

*A secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling.