Wishing you all Happy New Year for 2010!

An Arty Christmas!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. Mine was very quiet, just me and Hubby, our PC's and the TV! We just had Pepsi and Max for company, a large Christmas tree (which I really go to town on) and a rose garland intertwined with twinkling lights along the mantelpiece. Will see if I can post some shots or video before the week's end. Hubby excelled himself with the food, cooking a duck with cherry sauce for Christmas Day lunch, and today did the most delicious baked ham, which he hadn't done before and was a triumph. Also been working our way through a huge raspberry, amaretto, sherry and cream trifle, which is divine! So I expect I'll get a nasty shock when I climb on the scales again come the 4th Jan! Hardtack and water from then on mefears :-)

Anyway when not watching the old goggle box, Hubby mainly entertained himself with his Flight Sim program, while I concentrated on my digital art, enjoying myself creating some more panels of kaleidoscopic designs. I am in the process of uploading them to my Imagekind store, where they are available for sale as prints, posters, canvases, cards etc. I've added a few examples of my latest creations below. Prices at Imagekind start at about $10 for a small print.

I've started getting ready for my daughter and grandson's visit, they are coming up from Devon on Thursday and staying until Sunday, and then I'm back to work on Monday (boo hoo!). Looking forward to seeing them and giving them their presents and seeing in the New Year together. We will be visiting Hubby's daughter and grandson sometime after that, don't know when yet, but hope it's not too long!


Fractal Art 935 by Charmaine Zoe


Fractal Art 936 by Charmaine Zoe


Fractal Art 934 by Charmaine Zoe

A Christmas Card from us to you

Click to enlarge

Jewelled, the latest range from Kaleidoscope Kreations

Jewelled is the latest range available on Zazzle, an absolutely gorgeous range of 20 different designs, each with sparkling elements and beautiful colours. These are just some of these great designs. Available at the moment on Fridge magnets, keychains and sticker sheets which make great stocking fillers, party favours etc. Thay can also be supplied on any other product by request. Check out the complete range in my GIFT SHOP. They can be customised with a message or name and the stickers come in two sizes which are ideal for book plates, property of, thank you, envelope seals etc.

Jewelled Kaleidoscope 36 by CharmaineZoe
Create custom stickers with zazzle.com

Jewelled Kaleidoscope 34 by CharmaineZoe
Get a sticker online from zazzle

Jewelled Kaleidoscope 23 by CharmaineZoe
Get some stickers from Zazzle

Jewelled Kaleidoscope 25 by CharmaineZoe
Design personalized stickers with zazzle

My first Australian Sale!

Just got my first Australian customer today. That's my 3rd continent, as I've already got customers in North America & Canada and Europe! A lady living in Hamilton, South Australia bought a postcard of my Fractal Kaleidoscope Art 670 Design. Not much, but it's start and I hope to extend my customer base in Australia and New Zealand from now on. I have a Zazzle store for Brazilian customers as well so hope I get sales from there soon and can then add South America to my InterContinental Sales coverage. All very exciting :-)

Fractal Kaleidoscope Art 670 by CharmaineZoe
Create a Full color postcard with zazzle.com

Moving Mandalas on Flickr

The first of a series of short (90 second) videos of animated kaleidoscopes I'm uploading to Flickr. If you like this check out my 'Latest Kaleidoscope Kreations Video' post for a much longer example set to a musical accompaniment and links to my YouTube Channel for even more!

12 Days of Christmas & The Christmas Can-Can : Straight No Chaser Videos

Found this great video on the Alive with Trivita Blog and had to share it with you if you haven't already seen it. Hopefully it will raise a smile, it certainly did for me - great fun! If you would like to see more of Straight No Chasers videos visit their YouTube Channel. Have also added a great version of the 12 Days of Christmas. They also have a gorgeous version of Carol of the Bells, which is my favourite Christmas song, HERE.

Merrry Christmas from the Boys!

A Merry Christmas to all my visitors from Pepsi and Max (The Creatures from the Black Lagoon!) Hope you all have a great Holiday period and wish you all the best for the coming New Year!

This image of the boys available on lots of goodies from my Christmas Shop

Card of Pepsi as Santa Paws available in my Zazzle store

Latest Kaleidoscope Kreations Video

My latest animation with a musical accompaniment.

If you like this video visit my YouTube Channel to see more.

5 Sales this week on Zazzle!

My Zazzle Store is doing well, I've had 5 Sales this week, mostly of the Elvis Happiness Quote in WordArt, and the others of my kaleidoscope designs.

Monogram : Choca Mocha : A by CharmaineZoe
Make a custom stein with zazzle.com

Elvis Happiness Quote on Red by CharmaineZoe
View more Quotes Mugs

Elvis Happiness Quote on Red by CharmaineZoe
See other Quotes Mugs

Elvis quote - Someone to Love by CharmaineZoe
Browse Saying Mousepads

Mandala 208 Fridge Magnet by CharmaineZoe
See other Kaleidoscope Magnets

On Boredom

Have neglected the blogs, especially this one, very badly lately! Unfortunately I have been spending more and more time with my online stores at Zazzle, Imagekind, America Fine Art and now Deviant Art where I display and sell my art work. I now also have 2 new website domains at http://www.charmainezoe.com and http://www.charmainezoe.net. The first is my personal 'web hub' and the second my website for promoting my art. I've also got 12 Squidoo Lenses which keep me busy as well as regular Twitterings, Facebook visits, a full time job and a Social Science course with the Open University!

I often find myself thinking there just aren't enough hours in the day! I can never understand people who say they're bored. Life is just too short to waste in boredom. This becomes ever more obvious as I get older and head ever faster to eternal oblivion. There's nothing wrong with enjoying one's leisure and I am reminded of that lovely poem by William Henry Davis, 'Leisure'.

"LEISURE"

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to 'stand and stare', but boredom is a completely different kettle of fish. It's such a shame that so many people seem to be oblivious of the wonders that surround them, from the diversity of life, both human and otherwise, out into the farthest reaches of the Universe or even the fascinating events of history, or all the modern discoveries being made in the Sciences. There is always something new to discover and marvel at!

Sorry this post didnt start out as a rant on boredom, it just seems to have ended up this way, but all I really want to say is, life is a wondrous thing, don't squander it in boredom. it's but a fleeting thing, make the most of it!

My Little Bit of Heaven in Devon!

We are on holiday in our caravan in deepest darkest Devon and it's glorious! We are back at Wrenwell Meadows in Denbury, this time for a fortnight. We also managed to get the awning up we bought with the caravan (which we bought on eBay!) OK so we had to have help from a neighbour, who was very sweet and really mucked in with getting it up for us, but it is the first time we've used it and we're delighted with it. It's in great condition and came with not only a skirt for the caravan, but a ground sheet and a support bar so we can let one of the front panels down during the day. It's an NR Pullman model and has 4 zip out panels which is really useful, as we don't have to get the roof up with the full weight of the canvas.

Having the awning up also means we can leave the beds made up all the time in the caravan and not have the hassle of making them up at night (whch tends to be a real pain!).

Wrenwell Meadows is very peaceful as it's right out in the country and being a CL only has 5 vans max on it, and it's such a large area we're not too close to the neighbours, which is nice. Although there is only one toilet and shower, plus 2 sinks for washing we've never had a problem and Mr Partridge, the owner, keeps it all scrupulously clean. And the great thing is dogs are allowed, and our 2 are having a great time, they love being on holiday in the caravan. We like our creature comforts and have a microwave in the 'van, a flat screen TV and our laptops in the awning, in which we have a couple of tables, 2 loungers and a couple of folding bucket chairs for the boys or visitors. We also have a standard lamp. a desk type fan for when it gets too hot and a little fan heater for when it gets a bit chilly in the evening. So we are quite comfy cosy!
The view from our awning, peaceful isn't it?

So Who's been using my Photo's?

It's amazing what you find when you Google yourself! I do it periodically as I have been on line for over ten years and have a reasonably large footprint on the web, and it's always fascinating to see what Google turns up.  But I got a surprise today when I Googled for images connected to my username.

I found that TowSure, a large Caravan and Camping supplier with 3 stores and a big website was using one of my Flickr photos on their caravanning page (that's it with the blue car, taken while we were on holiday on the Isle of Wight). I do allow a lot of my photos to be used freely with a Creative Commons License, and occasionally get requests in my Flickr inbox. I have had requests from a Danish University, a Californian nature reserve and a Tourist Guide website to name a few. But very often I just find them by doing a Google images search, as most people give me accreditation..

Todays discovery is the most exciting so far though and I thought it would be fun to add a page to my new website with a list of the sites that use my photos. Who's using my Photo's?

New funny Swine Flu T-Shirts now available on Zazzle!

Sold my first product on Zazzle yesterday, which really made my day.It's a Crazy Pink tie. Now I've just posted a range of funny Swine Flu T-shirts (all in the best possible taste - naturally) Check them out on my Zazzle Store. Have also posted more great tie designs.

My New Zazzle Shop

I've been so busy lately that I'm afraid I've been neglecting the blogs, and this one in particular. I've actually had my hands full doing a course for a Psychology Degree with the Open University PLUS I've been creating lots of gorgeous designs to start up my own ZAZZLE Shop - Kaleidoscope Kreations.

Our Easter Holiday in Devon

I've just got back from a great week in the caravan in Devon. We stayed in a CL (Certified Location, these are small sites certified by the Caravan Club and take a maximum of 5 vans only) called Wrenwell Meadows, in the pretty little village of Denbury, just outside Newton Abbot. This was our first CL, as we normally stay on the larger more commercial sites. There is a 5 star site called Dornafield about a mile away from our little CL, which is where we normally stay, and although a fabulous site it has just got too expensive. Our CL cost a quarter of what we would usually pay, and we were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.

We had a field with horses on the front side and the adjoining field had sheep in. We saw foxes, pheasants, owls, buzzards, greenfinch, blue tits, robins and other birds just while we sat in the 'van. The weather was lovely virtually all week, and when it did rain it tended to be late evening or at night when it didn't bother us. We got the dog drying routine down to a fine art and just protected the seat cushions with towels for any remaining dampness.

On our first night we decided to eat out as it was quite late by the time we had set up the 'van and Ian was just too tired to cook dinner. So we went over to Broadhempston to our favourite eating place called the Coppa Dolla, a lovely olde worlde restaurant in a pretty Devon village. We had a super 3 course meal, finishing off with a crunchy brandy basket with hot cherries in kirsch sauce and the nicest cornish cream ice cream I've ever had.

The next day we went down through Torquay and Paignton to Dartmouth and crossed the river on the car ferry. Dartmouth is a very pretty town at the mouth of the River Dart and incredibly picturesque. We wandered around looking at all the lovely old buildings and browsing the shops and then bought lunch to eat in the car before returning home via Totnes.

Another of our trips was onto Dartmoor which is only a few miles away from Denbury and drove over to Widecombe (home of Uncle Tom Cobley and all), passing the beautiful scenery of the moors and the great rugged granite peaks of the Tors.

Thursday we went out again for a meal at the local pub, the Union Inn which was having a Folk Night, and I had crab cakes, followed by duck with cherry sauce - lovely! Afterwards we went through to where the folk singing was going on and had fun joining in with all the songs with great merriment.

On our last day, Friday, the weather was glorious, so we drove down to the South Hams and Salcombe, one of our favourite places, but a nightmare trying to find anywhere to park! We returned via Kingsbridge, Slapton and Blackpool Sands, back to Dartmouth and crossed the river on the ferry again before driving up through Paignton and Torquay. It's lovely to see the sea and coast again, as we are about as far from it as you can get where we live now.

On Saturday we drove home back up the M5, which took us about three and a half hours with no delays or hold ups and the weather was again kind to us. Unpacked the 'van and left it on the drive, rather than take it back into storage. We'd like to go away somewhere more local for the later May bank holiday and have already booked a couple of weeks back on our pretty CL in Devon for August - and I can't wait!

Kaleidescope Fun 2!

These are my latest efforts at kaleidescope art, both based on photographs of my aquarium. The first is of a shoal of green barbs and the second, one of our red clawed crabs called Buster.

Monthly Weight Loss Report: March

I hit my 2 stone target this morning, so thats 28lbs lost in total, which is great. I am really noticing the difference in the way I feel and look, not to mention the clothes I can fit now. I'm down two sizes so can fit into clothes I haven't been able to wear for a couple of years!

My next stage is a 3 month timescale to lose the next stone (14lbs), deadline for which is May 31st. Which works out at an average 4 & 1/2 pounds per month. Easy Peasy Japaneasy! (She says optimistically :-). Will post an update again at the end of the month, so come back and see how I do.

Kaleidescope fun!

I've been having so much fun this weekend playing with my kaleidescope creating program called Dazzling Reflections from Poppy Hill Designs. I even managed to create an animated gif with them, the first time I've tried this. I used a photo of a lovely sunset with dainty birch trees silhouetted against it that I took in Wales last year when we were on holiday in our caravan. I made 5 different kaleidescopes with this particular photo and put them in Serif's PhotoPlus X2 to create the gif. You can see one of the kaleidescopes and the photo below.

I have done lots more as well, many with lovely bright colours and most are in .png format with transparent backgrounds. You can see them all at Flickr. Make sure you view the original size if you want to download a .png. Theres a piece of fun art using some of these more colourful ones below as well.