It's almost SPRING....

Today was rose pruning day in my garden.

 I pruned the roses and the shrubs. The sun was shining warmly , the sky was a perfect blue and I had 3 awesome garden assistants to help me:

 Big Bear- aka the bodyguard- he lies in the shade and keeps watch over my every move...

 Bonny Bon-Bon  aka the hosepipe inspector - who makes sure that the water is coming out of the hose while we water the garden and ends up soaking wet and looking like a drowned rat....

And Shadow - aka the Bug-catcher.  She runs around madly chasing every little flying insect in the yard. She stops occasionally to "eat" a flower-  well you know they   look so good and they smell so good..... just a pity they dont taste so good! 

While we were busy gardening, the three of us, I noticed some definite signs of spring....

Little snowdrops peeping thru the foliage...

Sweet violets flowering gently under the apricot tree....

The first elegant Arum lily .....

An oh-so-fragrant purple Iris .....

And of course the Jasmine... OH the Jasmine.... my favorite favorite!  It is blooming prolifically this year because there has not been much frost (saying that with fingers crossed).

Isnt a garden the most wonderful of blessings......

Wishing you all a wonderful sunny weekend.
much love
Angella.


HAPPINESS is a form of COURAGE.....

I Pimped My Pitbull

I have some talents but SEWING is not one of them
I have some virtues but PATIENCE is not one of them (which probably explains why I am no good at sewing)
However, with the cost of a doggie jacket at Pick n Pay being R137  I decided to make them myself.
My Pitbull (male) and GreyhoundX (female)sleep in the laundry at night and its rather cold in there, so I wanted to make the jackets for them to wear at night for a bit of  extra warmth.
And of course Her Majesty (Maltese-female) had to have one too. So here are the pics of  them in their new jackets - (not the best seamstressing but they work) :

Wishing you a warm and cosy week.
much love
Angella

"The purpose of  LIFE is a life of PURPOSE."
-Robert Byrne-

10 things I'm loving right now...

 
1.    RAIN ! RAIN! RAIN!

2.    Being more mindful of all there is in life to be GRATEFUL for

3.    dirtyfootprints-studio.com FREE e-course (on fearless painting) called: TOTAL ALIGNMENT

4.   Springtime !

5.   Art  journalling for self-expression and inner healing

6.   Wearing sandals again - yay!

7.   Painting my heart out

8.   The way that Bear and Shadow have bonded

9.   Two fabulous new art/journalling books that I got today in the post -  whoopee-do!!!!

10.   This fabulous blog:  jennibelliestudio.blogspot.com - AWESOME !

As I promised here are some more of my art journal pages to keep you inspired:

(unfinisihed)

(unfinished)

TOTALLY random quote today - but I just loved it:
"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."
-George Bernard Shaw-

Scrapbook Friday...

This is tomorrow's scrapbooking lesson :

Its made in four separate sections and then glued onto one background piece.  Click on the photo to see a larger image.  I was very bold with my colours this week:  cherry red and brite lime green - who knew it could look so good??! Also I used black and white photos which I haven't done for a while- and its quite refreshing!!!!

This weekend I will be posting some more of my art journal pages and also some great art journalling links that I have found.  WATCH THIS SPACE :oD

Have you ever asked yourself this question: 

                       "What am I HOPING for?"

Support your local SPCA

Every time I look at Bear I think : "where would he be now if it wasnt for our local SPCA?"  Please support your local animal rescue association.  They do such an important job!
Today our Bear got his first bath since he has been with us (I didnt want to stress him out by bathing him straight away because he had just been neutered and was in a new home and had so much to deal with as it was.)  He was very good and stood still while he was bathed although he did not like it.
Here is a photo of  him all cleaned up with his brand new blue collar on (which says: "now I belong").

(the bandage on his leg is because he decided to pick a fight with our Pitbull and he came off second) However, he's tuff and he'll be fine {I cant say the same for my poor nerves though...:-)  }

"human beings who leave behind them no great achievements, but only a sequence of small kindnessess have not had wasted lives." -C.Grey 1932-

A hint of summer in the air....

The past few days have been so warm and sunny.  The early fruit trees in my back yard are blossoming already and I even found a few tiny Jasmine blossoms!

This past weekend was a full one for me.  I could not do my usual Sunday blogpost because our internet was down (aaargghhh!)  But I worked on my Art Journalling for my e-course.  (You can see photos of  these projects on my facebook page.) I also brought work home from the factory.

My "homework": The flowers are cut from Nguni cow hide and each one is hand stitched onto the fabric. (no easy task)

 These beautiful cushions are the end result!

These cushions are available from www.afritan.com plus many more gorgeous products made from the hides of African animals: buck, zebra, wildebeest etc.  They also produce placemats, bags, mats, ottomans ,a large range of different cushions and much more.

In case you were wondering Bear is doing well.  And of course here are more photos of him:

Already making himself  WAY too much at home!!!!

He has some weird quirks-  he lies down to eat his food, he drags his matress and blanket around all over and he growls like a bear (especially when he cant get his own way).

Daniel says the only way that this family can get any weirder is if we buy a bear and name it "Dog" !!!

A question to ponder this week:

WHAT WOULD YOUR PERFECT DAY LOOK LIKE?


"We need both FAITH and REASON to make meaning in an uncertain world"   -B.Brown-

More Photos of Bear. . .

I took some better photos of Bear this afternoon, out in the garden and decided that I REALLY had to share them with you. . .  :-)

Our New "Baby" . . .

Lots of photos today of  our new dog: BEAR.  We adopted him from the SPCA.  He was found locked in a room in a yard and starving.  He has been at the SPCA for a month.  You can tell he is still rather skinny from the photos but we will "feed him up".  He looks very mean but is really very gentle and affectionate with us.  However, I dont think anyone will just walk into the yard with him on guard!  We only got him yesterday so there is still a lot of adjusting for him to do.  He has to get used to the other dogs , I think he was an "only dog" where he lived before. We do not know anything about his previous owners or his previous life.  We think he's a boerboel-ridgeback cross.  and we estimate him to be about 4 years old.

I had quite a challenge trying to get him to pose for me...

Now for something arty....

Yesterday's scrapbooking class was great fun.  I used some of the techniques that I have been learning in my Creative E-Course...  painting, stencilling and "decoupage"  (Thanks for the inspiration Regina!!)
This is the page we created:

And this week my scrapbooking class money went to the purchasing of a range of new paints that I need to complete my assignments for my creative e-course.  And what fun it was to choose all these lovely colours:

It's going to be a happy creative weekend. . . . . .