Winter Journal XII

Hello all, and welcome to what is almost certainly the last winter journal page before Christmas.  There may be more afterwards, but I can't realistically see me making and/or blogging much before the 25th December!  So here's something bright with festive greenery to take us into the heart of the festive season.

This spread uses up the last of the page of design paper which has been hanging around for months.  Some of it already appeared on the wedding page.  But mainly this page is a partner piece to the happy woman from Winter Journal VIII.








Again, we have a confident, independent woman captured in a photobooth moment (and again, I think it's a Darkroom Door one, rather than Idea-ology, but I'm not sure).
















The delicate fir fronds and branches surround her - echoing the fresh life and vigour which is clear in her expression.
















The inks are the same as before (in fact, it's the same piece of card that I cut them from as before)... Peeled Paint, Evergreen Bough and Iced Spruce Distress Sprays.













The usual suspects from these pages are all in place... the torn washi tape, the acetate film strip...













... and the Tim Holtz Paper Snowflakes Mini Thinlits.

And of course there's lots of white spatter, and extra texture from those torn paper edges.














There's a double helping of Idea-ology metal on this page, celebrating the freedom to wander wherever you need to...















... in the pursuit of knowledge.  Life-long learning is an important thing for me.  I'm never happier than when I'm on a steep learning curve in pursuit of something that inspires me.












I hope I'll stay curious my whole life.  When you stop growing, seeking, learning, you're done, as far as I'm concerned.













New horizons are always out there... and sometimes out there means inside yourself too.  And the pursuit of those as-yet-undiscovered depths and possibilities is both a delight and a necessity for me.








It's one of the reasons I value quiet contemplation at this time of year - a retreat from the outside world which allows for reflection and a recruitment of energies for the journeys ahead.   I know that for many the festive season is a time for socialising and for big family occasions - and I'll have some of that too, but I also look forward to the hibernation.

I hope you find whatever time you need this Christmas to be with others and to be by yourself.  I hope your days will be merry and your nights peaceful, and I wish you all the joys of the season, however you choose to celebrate it.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
Norman Vincent Peale
... we can only hope he's right...

I'm playing along again at Art Journal Journey for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's themes of My Favourite Season/Tis the Season
And I'm hoping that at Stamps and Stencils they will find this festive enough for their last challenge It's Got to be Christmas