Positive thinking

Let's all follow his wise advice

Marbling on top of painted paper. I like it

Marbling on paper with gold added afterwards

The sunrise this morning

How are you today?

I hope you are managing to stay well and that you are able to stay positive ....

I have learned to ration listening to news bulletins to just one per day. Having the radio on (unless it is a music station) is depressing and we need to find ways to keep ourselves feeling upbeat!

In the UK the sun doesn't rise until after 8am in winter so a simple challenge is to take a photograph of it every morning this week. This is day one.

You may want to set yourself a personal challenge which you will enjoy doing. Personally I find painting very therapeutic and always enjoy playing with my paints.

 The restrictions we have in the UK still allow us to go out for exercise and to meet one other person for a walk. So I thought I'd plan to meet someone different every day to enjoy their company on a walk. We're not allowed to travel so it has to be people who live close by.

David Attenborough:

Hero to millions around the world. Pictured above is his new book in which he sets out a plan for the future that will keep us and our planet safe.

I was given this book in the street by a woman who has spent £1,000 on copies of the book and is giving them out to people on the condition that they pass it on to someone else after reading it. She is doing what she can to save the planet and she deserves total respect for that.

Thinking about her and other individuals like her... the quiet heroes...made me want to find out more about what we can all do to give ourselves a more secure future in these risky times. Refuse plastic, give up eating meat, grow our own food - those are the obvious things but above all I think we should come together as communities to make a difference. Think Globally Act Locally. What do you think? 

By the way, David Attenborough has a new spectacular tv series on BBC1 starting this Sunday January 3rd at 8pm called 'A Perfect Planet.'

Our situation

I have enjoyed painting on paper this week

Needlefelting by me

The marbled paper I made glued to white card cut into gift tags.  

Saw this carved into a bench in Queen Elizabeth country park. 

Flower of hope. A camellia blooming this week in a nearby garden.

How are you? I hope you are managing to stay positive in spite of the awful news.

Here in the UK on Saturday we were told that because of the galloping rate of Covid infection we should stay at home. Even at Christmas. It was a bitter blow to millions. We had been looking forward to spending five days with our loved ones and suddenly that was whisked away from us. A last minute shock.

 

I am horrified by the daily number of deaths here in the UK. It feels worse than ever with no prospect of things improving in the near future. We are told things should be better by the summer of 2021. I hope that by then enough people in the world will have been vaccinated so that Covid-19 will not become Covid-21. But I'm not confident. Not unless Jacinda Ardern suddenly becomes world leader! 

Painting and Walking

Ink and acrylic

Painted papers collage

Marbling with red on brown paper with gold ink added after. 

Petersfield lake at sunset this week.

I hope you are ok.

I hope you are able to get out and walk.

I hope you are well.

One day I hope we will be able to look back on 2020 as just a very bad year safe in the knowledge that things are so much better in 2021. X

Sparkly tree and selecting papers

My sparkly tree in the window

Deciding what to do with my painted papers

Love the colours and texture of these painted papers

Does everyone love fairy lights? It feels right for decorations to go up early this year.

During lockdown I've painted so many pieces of paper. I've now got to decide what to do with it all. Make collages?  Make more cards? Sell it as it is in packs ? I can't decide. I just want to paint more!

If you're on Instagram do check out @jenny_handmade_happiness 

I might want to follow you.