Welcome to the land of Shiny


The home of exuberant amateurism.

Saturday 22 August 2009

ABAA Challenge Aug 2009 - A Bird in Hand? Spanky does Mrs Pippy

(This is the Big Posh Bird in Hand project that wasn't ready in time.)


During the "Ask Spanky" coffee morning held at Ferdinand's Flotsam and Jetsam Emporium earlier this month, Mrs Pippy piped up and asked

"Hi Spanky, My sister Buffy and I are identical. I need some individuality, can you help me?"




Mrs Pippy is the Buff Rock Bantam on the left.


Spanky says:

"A bird in your hand is just a bird,
but six in your hair is a masterpiece."



Click on the pictures to make them bigger.





It is so hard to get a good shot of shinyness with a camera (well I can't do it). The background is loud gold and silver and the headdress is edged with shiny bronze but I can't get it to show up without making the rest of it look like smare.

This is the best I could manage for shinyness (Sorry Spanky, don't sulk) -





But with messing with the colours it could look like this:-







My youngest son says that he can tell which hen has laid each egg by the egg's smell.
Amazing huh? (That's ma boy!)
Alas, along with most everyone else, I don't have this talent (perhaps it is a gift that skips a generation?) .
So Spanky bless her, has fixed it that every human bean can tell which eggs Mrs Pippy has laid.




A funny thing happened on the way to Sylvia's blog.

Well, not exactly on the way there, more once I'd arrived, but that would have messed up the play on words of the post title with the film. In fact the post should probably be called
" Husbands - gotta luv 'em!"
Anyway...

I went to Sylvia's blog to say thank you for this lovely award



and noticed that visitors were writing in rhyming verse, and seeing as I excel in this art form *cough* I thought I would have a go.

This is how it went:-

Day 1 post:

Sylvia how do you do?
I am a very happy moo!
Thank you for my friend award,
I'll keep it on my ship aboard,
You may now call me "Mi'Lord",
I'm nothing if not untoward...

It could have been worse, the second line could have been "I am a very happy poo!"
Well - I'm rubbish at rhyming poems as you can tell.
My award is very lovely and you are very sweet to give it to me :-)
thank you very much
Gini xx

Day 2 post:

OK, Himself saw my drafting of your poem on a scrap piece of paper, he said it was awful, (which it was, I freely admit I can't do rhyming) so he drafted this instead, in about 3 seconds flat. Now I can look at this two ways:

1. I could think "Show off, show off, pick your nose and blow off" if I was very childish, which of course I'm not :-)

OR

2. I could think "Aren't I lucky to have such a talented husband" and do the self congratulating thingy and go get him to earn some extra money writing verse for cards, the extra 50p will come in very handy.

Verse take 2 courtesy of Himself:

Sylvia what a lovely thing
that you have done for me
Thank you for my friend award
I'm happy as can be.

I've put it up on my blog
So everyone can see
That you are kind and thoughtful
and a good friend to me.

Aaaah it's so much better second time around!!
Gini
xx

Tuesday 11 August 2009

ABAA A bird in hand? Challenge August 2009. ATC We clad ourselves with false colours

I really didn't want to miss the challenge this month but had resigned myself to the fact that I would because my project is big (A3 size), she's posh and she's only half finished. She also wouldn't take kindly to being rushed. So I'll post her later in the month when she is ready and I have more time.

But then the lovely Sylvia sent me a book on making ATC's, showing ones with flaps and windows and hidden bits of loveliness and it set my brain cell whirling.
Also the delightful owl stamp that came free with the July 09 edition of Craft Stamper magazine has been sitting on my desk hooting "use me, use me". And then a phrase from the book 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith has been buzzing around in my head, so I've put them altogether tonight in a little ATC.
If you've never read Alexander McCall Smith before he has a deft and sensitive understanding of human relationships and is well worth trying. He's also written lots of books to choose from!










We've all done this at one time or another haven't we?
Trying to fit in or trying to stand out or trying to banish loneliness.
I like him best in his real colours, I think we all shine best in our real colours, whatever they may be.

I hope I'm not too late for the deadline.
:-) This is my best shiny side smile Linda and Rosie!

Will finish visiting everyone this week, look forward to seeing you all.