Last chemo

Yay!  I have been quiet because mum has been having her last chemo session and it's end of term as well so I havnt had time to do much except look after mum and manage kids. Now she can start growing her hair!  :-)
Chemo is so much better than it used to be,  she didn't need to use her wig and,she kept her eyebrows! 
* feeling happy*

Spring is also in full flow
Sunshine and blossom everywhere! 
XO. Sev :-)

Time for myself.

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Sketch time ! Now that the weather has fully thrown itself into spring I can get out and about easier . These sketches were made on the cliffs above one of my islands beaches . Im loving those sharpies ! I need to get more colours . I bought them for using in my filofax but I love them so much they have ended up an art tool . 

The beach . These cliffs and beaches are full of fossils and crystals but I was down there for the sketching . I plan to have some more cards and postcards printed with my artwork on them . 

Wild plants and flowers  Early april and buds are bursting everywhere . I love this time of year :-D 

Autistic spectrum .

Hi all .
Well as you know this blog is a life blog that includes everything , not just painting and filofaxes because life isn't that simple hey ? so .
Mums having chemo now after a successful operation  , thats all going well but in other news we have a few other answers . My boy is likely to have Autism . I already know he has ADHD with Aspergers tendencies , now I have a new direction to look in and from the preliminary booklets we recieved , it seems this explains a lot . Its great to have things make sense to me now , and for me to see into his head and emotions a bit more . Good progress !
His school has been very supportive and the local doctors as well and I finally feel like we are getting somewhere . It helps so much to know what we are struggling with .

Because of the prevalence of cancer in my family I recently underwent a series of appointments to calculate my risk of contracting cancer . and it seems my risks are low which is another big lift for me , I am getting my worried reduced one by one . Being proactive has really made a difference to my daily stress levels . One thing at a time .

Art wise , i've been back in the studio making art and I have nearly finished my latest mountain painting .

THis image is partway through the painting. 

New filofax week setup in my retrobloom .

Raspberry Finsbury!

I have a new raspberry Finsbury A5 filofax :-D 

I use this filo for keeping track of all my online blogs , websites , Etsy shops and anything else I need to update on a regular basis plus a gallery log of ideas to paint , inspirations and competitions . 

I have a thing about the stitching .

Details details :-) They make me happy . I love the fabric inside with filofax on it and I love that its engraved on the ring support too . 

I have a world map and a time zone map in it . LOADS of cream lined paper , finances , to do etc but no calendar in this as i keep my work calendar as a year to view in my A4 . 

It came with a cream A-Z . I have always wanted one of those ! This is a filofax I won from ebay , it had a torn pen  loop but a bit of superglue fixed that and its fab ! 

It has loads of credit card pockets which clearly should be renamed stationary pockets . I love those martha stewart stickers ! I also remembered to put some of my business cards in it . 

Setting it up with my studio page . Each tag relates to a blog or Etsy shop etc . 

I love how the pink bits in the map match the deep raspberry cover . Its all in the little things . 

Not to be left out , my retro bloom personal filo has a new week in it . With plenty of raspberry to match its new workmate :-D 

Sorting out my Etsy shops . Being organised online with my filofax FInsbury raspberry .

I have a cunning plan .
This year I am going to organise blog posting , shop maintenance , studio time , competitions to enter , everything work related into a filofax .
I have an A5 raspberry Finsbury that I adore . I have divided up into sections for each thing that I do . My main focus of course is my art . Thats who I am and what I do but I also have several fun shops for other interests because being a creative person I cant just do one thing . Nope , has to be lots .
I really need to make these shops effective and that means work . It also means not forgetting that these things need work and thats where the filofax excells .

Today my first thing to do was upload new makes to my Etsy shop scandichalet .
This shop is all about homemade bright warm , fun but useful quality items . Mostly fabric but anything household could sneak in here . I have plans for some filofax related goodies now I am officially an addict .
Here is what I have uploaded today . These summer dresses my nine year old loves . She has one in her size and wore it all summer at the beach over a white T . Looks fab with a plain knitted jumper or cardigan and sandals . It was so easy to wash and dry . I hung it in the caravan awning overnight and it was done by morning .

This baby jumper is so snuggly . My kids are all 9 and above and only the youngest will put up with being grabbed and hugged just because I like the jumper . I called this peony pink because I have those flowers in this exact colour . 

This is the baby version . I wasnt sure about this fabric until it was made up into the dress then I totally fell in love with it . It looks like the sort of dress I see in very expensive clothing magazines but can never afford . Its so crisp and fresh . Im really happy with it . 

My Scandichalet shop page inside the raspberry finsbury A5 . 

Sunshine and stickers

Finally the storms stop , if only for a little while . YAY And my dizzy is mostly gone . I wanted a bright new week so spring green was the way to go . Feeling fruity too :-D 

I am reallly loving how easy it is to move my tags (and jobs) my stress levels are down a lot and my sleep is better because I know everything is written down . I just LOVE those apple stickers and I  am sad I only got one sheet . They are the best . I also love my cheeky Rilakkuma bear sticker . He makes me smile and the name  relax bear reminds me to take time for myself . which I will need because my boy has been tentatively re diagnosed as ADHD Autism . Explains a lot . 

Whilst I have been ill Valentines day happened and as I was putting cups away I realise I have a bit of a love themed cup cupboard . This shows how much I love my coffee :-D 

I also love my husband because he takes me out to but stationary supplies and actually realises it is important for me . These pens I picked up for a pound for the set , Tesco I think . And they work really well . 

These rainbow sticky notes and the leather look box were a find in The Works . 

These stickers , mostly my local pound shop , two for a pound ! Filofax fun coming up for sure . 

Owl notepad . sadly the paper inside is plain , it would have been awesome with owls on it too  .I write notes and shopping lists and all sorts of things in this and then clip the note onto the inside cover of my Retro bloom filofax personal with a mini bulldog clip . 

Just to prove we have sunshine in Kent , my mums crocuses :-) We went for a fab walk along the beach , blue skies   , blue sea , no wind (NO WIND) to the local park cafe but we had to actually lift the picnic bench out of the bog water to sit at it with out coffee ! Everything is just so soggy here . I cant wait for it to dry out a bit . 

Art wise , I have some great projects coming up , I have applied for an artists residency  at an exciting venue , more on that If I am selected , and next week I am demonstrating for an art group . I am really looking forward to that . I hope to finally get back into the studio and get stuck into some mountain and wildlife art over the next few weeks too , I have one started and will upload progress on my other blog with a link from here when its live . I have gone moody on a mountain canvas .
I hope the sun is shining wherever you are too , thanks for reading
 Sev XOXO

Filofax Classic Italian leather chocolate A4!

My new Filofax Classic  chocolate italian leather A4 ! 

A total Ebay bargain . Hardly used and smells absolutely divine . Its perfect for all my art project work and I have a year planner in it too to keep all my artist activities /demonstrating,exhibitions etc organised . Although I have all the dates in my Retro bloom personal filofax its nice to see all my  artist related work in one place so I can see my timings . 

It just so happens that this came at the perfect time . I just recovered from the HORRID dizzy virus and I was asked to submit an application for an artist residency . It's a complete pleasure to plan for it in this . 

I adore the stitching details in it , it feels very secure and classy and the colour is fab . 

It has a full length today marker plus cream dividers . I have an A4 hole punch so I can add in whatever pages I like to this plus plastic sheets to hold loose pages which is a complete bonus . 

I Love the cream A-Z too .

My A4 is purely business so I wont be customising it . It is business as usual though in the retro bloom personal filofax . Here is my next week set up . 

I love using the 3D butterfly stickers . They simply squash flat when I close the pages . I have never been so organised ad I am loving it . no more missing or forgetting things . Using filofaxes is really working for me . I have been collecting from Ebay , only small purchases but I have fun uses for them all :-)  

I am decorating with some of the cheaper tapes I found , this one was from The Range . Its not quite washi and it does pull up the paper a bit if you reposition it but i found as long as I am careful using it then its perfectly ok . Lovely patterns and colours . I am still using the removable task post its . Moving anything not finished onto the next week takes a lot of worry away  . I know I havn't forgotten anything and that helps me to sleep . Which is great because my boy is being assessed now for autism . This will be a fun ride but it explains an awful lot ! 

Sunshine ! Makes my whole day feel brighter . 

Sev xoxo